"Has the blogger finally stopped pretending?"
"Well, well, mass-producing thunderstruck wood now, are we?"
"Not professional enough. Use peachwood next time."
"What a fine Palm Thunder. One look and I can tell you're trained. Perhaps we can spar sometime—I specialize in the Type 81 automatic rifle!"
"Didn't that [@Brother Hang Takes You Flying] say the blogger was good at fortune-telling and feng shui? Why is he playing around with Taoist arts now?"
"A little fake. Not as good as True Person Ruozong—he even has to add that it's special effects, terrified we might actually believe it. (facepalm.jpg)"
"Special effects aren't scary. What's scary is a real one hidden among the fakes. (laughing-through-tears.jpg)"
"Blogger, I want to learn this!"
"The blogger has seen the light. Next time, remember to film sword-riding flight. All you need is to invest in a drone. (laugh.jpg)"
Naturally, not a single netizen took the video seriously. The active ones tossed memes around in the comments, while the inactive ones merely watched for amusement. Gu Zhao did not have many followers yet, so no trolls had shown up for the time being.
Gu Zhao happily watched the slowly climbing comments, likes, and shares, then spotted Zhang Hang's message in the comments.
Brother Hang Takes You Flying: "I underestimated you. Who would've thought that a guy with such thick eyebrows and big eyes would start playing with special effects!"
Gu Zhao only smiled without speaking, already wondering what expression Zhang Hang would wear when he discovered the truth behind those "special effects."
Elsewhere, at Yuanfa Palace.
Hui Bin stood at the entrance with several Martial Brothers, welcoming the guests.
"Who's coming this time? Even the association president is here to welcome them?" Hui Bin glanced at a middle-aged Taoist priest not far away and quietly asked the Martial Brother beside him.
"I heard it's an old Taoist master from Longmen Ancestral Court in Yandu." Another Taoist priest, whose Taoist name was Hui Ting, said, "He has devoted his life to visiting Longmen Taoist temples everywhere, collecting and organizing the Longmen Sect's treasured scriptures."
Hui Bin could not help turning to look toward the Scripture Repository inside the temple. "Do we have scriptures here that Yandu doesn't?"
"Who knows? He's just come to take a look. Our Yuanfa Palace joined the Longmen Sect three hundred years ago, and the abbot at the time was from the orthodox Longmen lineage. The Scripture Repository has been preserved since then—perhaps there really are some exclusive scrolls here." Hui Ting said.
"Oh!" Hui Bin nodded, rather proud. "I thought all the orthodox Taoist traditions were in Jiangnan and Jiangbei. Who knew our little place had good stuff too?"
Hui Ting shook his head. "We were already flourishing during the Ming Dynasty. There must be good things here. Compared to us, Yuchan Palace in Qiong Province is the truly new construction."
Hui Bin picked up the thread. "Huangxian Shrine in Guangzhou too!"
The two exchanged smiles, then saw several cars turn in from the intersection and stop before Yuanfa Palace.
Everyone stepped forward to greet them. A Taoist priest at the front went up to open a car door, raising a hand over the roof to keep the passenger from accidentally bumping his head as he got out.
The next moment, an old Taoist in a blue-cloth long gown and a Hun Yuan Scarf bent down and stepped out of the car. He first thanked the Taoist priest who had opened the door for him, then straightened and looked at the crowd.
"Daoist Master Yihong!" Everyone bowed in greeting to the old Taoist master.
"Good, good, good!" Daoist Master Yihong returned the salute with a smile.
"Please come inside, Daoist Master. You've just gotten off the plane and must be weary from your journey. Why not rest in a quiet room first?" A middle-aged Taoist priest stepped forward and said.
"No hurry, no hurry. I may be old, but I'm not feeble yet." Daoist Master Yihong smiled. "I said long ago there was no need to make such a great fuss. But since you insisted on having everyone greet me at the entrance, it would be far too impolite of me not to greet them properly."
Daoist Master Yihong had no airs about him. From the moment he stepped out of the car, he strolled toward Yuanfa Palace while greeting the Taoist priests, young and old, who had come to receive him.
"May the Heavenly Venerable grant infinite blessings!" The young Taoist priests bowed in salute.
"Hello, hello." Daoist Master Yihong smiled and cupped his hands in return.
Among those gathered to welcome him, the Big Shots from the provincial and municipal Taoist associations stood at the front, Yuanfa Palace's senior Taoist priests stood in the middle, and juniors like Hui Bin stood at the very back.
Daoist Master Yihong continued onward, greeting every Taoist priest equally as he strolled past.
But just after Daoist Master Yihong finished greeting Hui Ting and arrived beside Hui Bin, he could not help pausing.
"D-Daoist Master, hello!" Hui Bin greeted him politely.
Daoist Master Yihong stopped walking and let out a soft sound of surprise. After carefully sensing for a moment, the look in his eyes as he regarded Hui Bin turned uncertain and startled.
That gaze made Hui Bin's heart pound wildly. He had no idea whether something was wrong with him or whether he had committed some offense.
Could he have heard me complaining just now? Hui Bin was both shocked and terrified. Is this old Taoist—no, this senior master—blessed with ears that hear the wind, or can he read minds?
"Daoist Master Yihong?" A middle-aged Taoist priest came to the old Taoist master's side, unable to understand why he had suddenly stopped.
Daoist Master Yihong chuckled, reached out, and took Hui Bin by the wrist. "What is your name?"
"I... I'm Lin—no, I'm Hui Bin." Hui Bin nearly gave his secular name.
"Good, good, good." Daoist Master Yihong led Hui Bin along with him. While greeting the others, he asked Hui Bin, "Where are you from? How many years have you been in the order?"
"I'm from Xiang Province. I've been in the order for six or seven years, and I've always been at Yuanfa Palace." Hui Bin replied.
Daoist Master Yihong nodded. "That's not particularly long. Why did you enter the order? Are there other people in your family who follow the Taoist path?"
"I simply like our country's traditional culture, and I also like Taoism's purity and naturalness." Hui Bin replied. "No one in my family follows the Taoist path. I'm the first."
"Mm." Daoist Master Yifeng nodded. "You have spiritual roots."
"Thank you for your praise, Daoist Master!" Hui Bin hurriedly thanked him.
"You needn't thank me. I didn't see it myself." Daoist Master Yihong smiled. "It must have been noticed by some great master of the Taoist path, who also gave you a truly consecrated protective talisman."
At this point, Daoist Master Yihong asked curiously, "There are not many Taoist priests in the country with such ability. May I ask who gave you this protective talisman? I wonder whether this old Taoist knows him."
"Huh?" Hui Bin was utterly baffled.
"Huh?" The people following behind them were equally baffled.
Hui Bin panicked and hurriedly denied it. "Have you misunderstood? No one gave me a protective talisman."
Daoist Master Yihong could not help freezing. He turned back and scrutinized Hui Bin's expression carefully. Once he confirmed that Hui Bin truly was not deliberately concealing anything, he grew even more curious. "No one gave you a protective talisman?"
"No!" Hui Bin decisively shook his head.
Daoist Master Yihong patted Hui Bin on the chest. "Then where did the protective talisman inside your clothes come from?"
"Inside my clothes?" Hui Bin froze at his words. "How could there be any inside my clothes..."
As he spoke, Hui Bin suddenly remembered that a few days ago, a young man had indeed drawn a Five Thunder Talisman and given it to him. He had casually tucked it into the inner pocket of his outer robe, then forgotten all about it.
He had not washed his coat these past few days, so he had not taken out the Five Thunder Talisman either.
Hui Bin reached into his clothes and took out the Yellow Talisman folded into a triangle. In disbelief, he asked, "This one?"
Daoist Master Yihong drew a deep breath and said with certainty, "This is the one."
Before you continue