Great Daoist Master glanced at Huang Huai and said, "He wants to ask for a statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva. Why doesn't he go to Mount Putuo of the South Sea? Most of the deities enshrined by the various households on Taihe Mountain are revered Daoist gods."
Huang Huai smiled. "My friend heard that statues enshrined for years in temples and monasteries are imbued with incense and prayer, making them especially efficacious. So he wants to find a statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva that's been worshiped for many years."
He sneaked a look at Great Daoist Master and saw him watching with a smile. Huang Huai immediately said, "I was just thinking, don't we have a statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva in our temple? The one we put away a couple of years ago?"
Great Daoist Master nodded slowly. "That painted pottery statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva is quite an old piece. It was already enshrined here when I took over Xunzhen Temple. They say a lay Buddhist left it in our care near the end of the Qing dynasty, but they never came back for it. It's been nearly a hundred years now. A couple of years ago, I saw that after years of exposure to incense, the original paint was starting to wear away, so I had someone put it away in the storeroom."
Huang Huai's spirits lifted. "Oh, so it's an antique! Then I'd better turn my friend down."
Great Daoist Master waved a hand. "It's just an ordinary painted pottery statue, hardly an antique."
As he spoke, Great Daoist Master glanced at Huang Huai. "But if your friend sincerely wants to worship it, I can let him take it home. That's better than leaving it unused in the storeroom."
Huang Huai quickly thanked him. "Thank you, Master. I'll make sure my friend gives a generous donation for incense."
Great Daoist Master smiled. "Forget the donation. Sincerity is what matters. I'm only agreeing because you asked, you rascal. A statue that's been worshiped for a hundred years isn't something just anyone can take home."
Huang Huai grinned. "I knew you cared about me most, Master!"
Great Daoist Master shot Huang Huai a glance. "All right, if there's nothing else, go get some rest. That girl Shanshan will be here in a few days."
At the mention of his mother and younger sister, who were about to arrive, a smile crept onto Huang Huai's face.
The next morning, Huang Huai got up early. Though he'd slept only six hours, he was full of energy and not sleepy at all.
Huang Huai's spirited appearance made Chen Wei look even more listless.
As soon as the gates of Xunzhen Temple opened, visitors streamed in, and everyone at the temple began their busy day.
The temple was packed from morning to night. Chen Wei felt completely worn out, while Huang Huai stood nearby, bright-eyed and smiling as he watched visitor after visitor burn incense and pray for blessings. The way he seemed to relish it left Chen Wei utterly dumbfounded.
Chen Wei edged up to Huang Huai, looking baffled. "Hey, Xiao Jiu, did you get a shot of adrenaline or something? Why are you so happy just because people are burning incense and praying?"
Huang Huai gave Chen Wei a look that said, "You don't know a thing." Chen Wei understood it perfectly—and looked all the more wounded.
Huang Huai ignored Chen Wei. Every one of these visitors had come to burn incense for Holy Lord Emperor Guan and offer him Incense and Fire Prayer Power. With every additional visitor, the incense offerings to Holy Lord Emperor Guan grew.
Just think: those lofty High Gods in Great River City had to use miracles and blessings to obtain Incense and Fire Prayer Power. Meanwhile, all he had to do was watch people come to burn incense and pray in the hall, then sit back and collect it. How could he not be happy?
After a busy day, most of the people at the temple had already turned in.
In Great Daoist Master's room, Huang Huai once again mooched a cup of Spilled Jade Spirit Nourishing Tea. As the tea went down, most of his exhaustion from the day vanished.
After drinking it a few times, Huang Huai could clearly feel that Spilled Jade Spirit Nourishing Tea did wonders for his energy. No wonder even the High Gods were so fond of it.
If Huang Huai could tell the tea was extraordinary, then Great Daoist Master certainly could too. After all, he'd drunk every last drop brewed from that tea leaf—not a drop had gone to waste.
As a result, Great Daoist Master had been so energized that he stayed awake for most of the night. He finally dozed off for two or three hours around dawn, but when he woke at six as usual, he felt not the slightest bit tired. On the contrary, he was full of energy.
With Great Daoist Master's experience and knowledge, not to mention his expertise in medicine, he'd have had to waste half his life not to realize that the tea Huang Huai had given him was extraordinary.
But after noticing how remarkable the tea was, Great Daoist Master merely looked at Huang Huai, who was mooching another cup, and said, "You little rascal, this tea is no ordinary thing. Just keep your wits about you when dealing with that friend of yours."
Huang Huai smiled at Great Daoist Master's advice. "Don't worry, Master. I know what I'm doing."
As they spoke, Great Daoist Master glanced at Huang Huai and casually tossed him a key. "I know what you've been thinking about. Here's the key. Go get it yourself!"
Huang Huai caught the key and grinned. Then he downed the tea in one gulp. "Get some rest, Master!"
Xunzhen Temple wasn't very large, but it wasn't small either. The storeroom consisted of three side rooms and served as the temple's warehouse. One room held mostly everyday necessities like rice and oil; the other two were filled mostly with assorted odds and ends.
Huang Huai knew his way around the storeroom. He opened one of the rooms with practiced ease, and a faint, musty stench drifted out to meet him.
Clearly, the room was rarely opened, and the air inside had grown stale, carrying the smell of mildew.
As he stepped inside, he saw a pile of meditation cushions and several statues. His foot kicked something, and it clattered across the floor. Only by the faint light could Huang Huai make out the broken incense burner he'd accidentally bumped into.
His gaze swept over the statues. One painted clay statue of True Warrior Great Emperor was mottled and battered, its paint long since peeled away. Because it was made of clay, one of the statue's arms had broken off long ago, leaving it in a sorry state.
At a glance, he spotted two more statues, one of Supreme Purity Celestial Venerable and one of Jade Purity Celestial Venerable. They were just as badly damaged, thanks to their material. But the statue beside them was in remarkably good condition. Its painted face was ruddy, and it wore a yellow robe with a sash at the waist, giving it the sturdy look of a mighty warrior.
"Yellow Turban Warrior!"
Having grown up in a Daoist temple, Huang Huai recognized the statue at once as a Yellow Turban Warrior. He was familiar with these helpers, who served the great gods as enforcers, errand runners, attendants—almost all-purpose assistants.
The attendants beside some revered deities were often Golden Boy and Jade Girl or Yellow Turban Warriors. There was no doubt that this Yellow Turban Warrior statue had once been enshrined at Xunzhen Temple.
Huang Huai stepped forward and inspected it. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He gently stroked the Yellow Turban Warrior statue, then crouched slightly. In the light, several crookedly written characters on the clay sole of the statue caught his eye.
"Huang Huai was here!"
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