Holy Lord Emperor Guan

Huang Huai knew his own condition better than anyone.

Back then, Huang Huai's father had sent him to Xunzhen Temple on Taihe Mountain because he had been born prematurely and was frail from birth. He had asked Great Daoist Master to help improve Huang Huai's health.

After years of care and exercise, Huang Huai's health could be considered good. But a few days ago, when Huang Huai had caught a virus, Great Daoist Master had personally taken his pulse. Compared to now, if he hadn't been certain his hand was on Huang Huai's wrist, he would have thought he'd taken the wrong pulse.

Even so, Great Daoist Master couldn't help feeling the pulse beneath his fingertips carefully. Once he was sure it wasn't his imagination, he stared at Huang Huai in astonishment, unable to speak for a moment.

Chen Wei, who was standing nearby, noticed the change in Great Daoist Master's expression and couldn't help asking, "Master, is Xiao Jiu all right? He looks like he's in good spirits..."

Great Daoist Master came back to himself. He glanced at Huang Huai, then said to Chen Wei, "Xiao Jiu is fine. But if you don't hurry, it'll be dark by the time you finish cleaning the incense burners in the side hall!"

Chen Wei hurriedly replied, "Oh, I'll go to the side hall right away."

After Chen Wei left, Great Daoist Master looked Huang Huai up and down. With a smile, he patted Huang Huai on the shoulder. "Not bad. I was worried your high fever would drain your vitality, but it looks like I was fretting for nothing!"

Without waiting for Huang Huai to speak, Great Daoist Master said, "I left you some food in the kitchen. Go eat."

As Huang Huai watched Great Daoist Master walk away, he couldn't help sighing inwardly. It was obvious that Great Daoist Master had noticed the changes in his body. Given Great Daoist Master's medical expertise, if he hadn't sensed them, he wouldn't have been so widely respected.

He'd been frail from birth, and now all of a sudden he was full of vitality, strong and healthy. He couldn't exactly say that he'd caught a cold, and after recovering, he'd become like a different person.

But Great Daoist Master hadn't pressed him for an explanation, which came as a relief to Huang Huai. Otherwise, he really wouldn't have known how to explain it.

Although he'd eaten a little in the other world, Huang Huai was feeling somewhat hungry now. After eating in the kitchen, he headed for the side hall, where the lights were still on.

When he entered the side hall, he saw lamps flickering in the dim light. Several statues of different sizes stood in various places, including a statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, statues of the Three Gods of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity, and a statue of Guanyin Who Sends Children.

Huang Huai went over and took three incense sticks from the side. After lighting them, he stepped forward and bowed reverently to the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, then set the incense sticks in place.

A figure was busy shoveling ash out of an incense burner. Who else could it be but Chen Wei?

Chen Wei seemed to have noticed what Huang Huai was doing long ago. After Huang Huai finished offering incense, Chen Wei finally asked, "Xiao Jiu, there are at least a dozen gods of all sizes enshrined in these two side halls. How come you've offered incense to Holy Lord Emperor Guan more than anyone else all these years?"

Chen Wei had long known that Xunzhen Temple enshrined at least a dozen, maybe twenty, statues of gods of all sizes. Yet Huang Huai rarely even offered incense to the temple's principal deity, True Warrior Great Emperor.

But Huang Huai often offered incense to this statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, which had always puzzled Chen Wei. Taking advantage of the moment, he asked with some confusion as he cleared the ash and looked over at Huang Huai.

Huang Huai stepped forward, picked up a cloth, and carefully lifted the rather heavy statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan. He wiped it clean, set it back in place, and looked up at Chen Wei. "Brother Chen, have you forgotten who brought this statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan up the mountain?"

Hearing this, Chen Wei was taken aback. The statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan had been enshrined in this side hall for at least ten years. If Huang Huai hadn't brought it up just now, Chen Wei really would have forgotten that Huang Huai had brought it to Xunzhen Temple when he first joined.

Though a decade had passed, Chen Wei now remembered the day Huang Huai came up the mountain.

When Huang Huai joined Xunzhen Temple, Great Daoist Master's disciples had all witnessed his arrival.

Huang Huai had been not even ten years old, frail and pale, with the look of someone who might die young. His small figure had entered Xunzhen Temple carrying a heavy statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan in his arms. Chen Wei admitted that the sight had left a deep impression on him.

So when Huang Huai mentioned it now, Chen Wei immediately remembered that scene.

"I remember now. You carried this very statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan into Xunzhen Temple!"

As he wiped the statue, Huang Huai smiled. "That's right. A fortune-teller once said I was frail from birth, easily afflicted by evil energy, and unlikely to live long. So my father asked the temple master to let me join Xunzhen Temple. He even had someone specially sculpt this statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, hoping he would drive away evil and protect my life."

This was the first time Chen Wei had heard Huang Huai talk about the connection between himself and the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan. Understanding dawned on his face. "No wonder you've offered incense to him more than anyone else all these years."

Huang Huai gazed at the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, his face full of memories. "When I was little, I didn't understand anything. I just did whatever my parents told me to do. I offered incense and bowed to Holy Lord Emperor Guan every day. By the time I grew up and understood things, offering him a stick of incense whenever I had a free moment had already become a habit."

Chen Wei nodded. Thinking of everything Huang Huai had been through over the years, he realized Huang Huai was right.

Looking at Huang Huai's ruddy face, then at the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, wreathed in incense smoke and radiating supreme majesty and holiness, Chen Wei couldn't help saying, "I have to admit, with Holy Lord Emperor Guan watching over you, you've been free of illness and misfortune all these years, and now you're even stronger and healthier. Come on, let me offer incense to Lord Guan too and share in your good fortune."

Watching Chen Wei light incense and bow to the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, Huang Huai couldn't help laughing. "Brother Chen, that's what you call burning no incense in ordinary times and clutching at the Buddha's feet when trouble comes. If Holy Lord Emperor Guan knows what's going on from up in heaven, he'll be furious!"

Chen Wei burst out laughing. "No, no. Haven't you heard that the gods don't mind too many offerings?"

The two joked as they worked, and after some effort, they finally finished cleaning the side hall. Chen Wei looked at the sky, stretched, and said, "Xiao Jiu, I have you to thank for your help today. Otherwise, who knows how long we'd have been at it? People these days really have too much time on their hands. There are so many more people burning incense and praying to Buddha than there used to be."

Huang Huai went along with him. "Most of the people who used to burn incense and pray to Buddha were older, and they were usually looking for something to lean on emotionally. But now, all of a sudden, there are a lot more young people doing it..."

"People have much better lives now than they did before, but they're much emptier inside. For young people, burning incense and praying to Buddha has become quite the trend."

Still chatting, they left the side hall and returned to their respective quarters.

Xunzhen Temple stood among the mountains and woods, so the nights were naturally quiet. The lights were still on in the small courtyard where Huang Huai lived.