The incense offerings begin

He opened a webpage on his phone, then entered the keywords.

Soon, An Weiyan found a news report.

What the report described was none other than what had happened to An Weiyan.

The reporter had written out the whole incident: someone from a Taoist temple had used fortune-telling to catch several fugitives!

News like this had drawn countless eyes almost as soon as it was published.

To many people, this was far too fake. Working out criminals' locations through fortune-telling? What a joke!

"This is way too fake. If it really worked that well, why bother studying criminal investigation? Just study fortune-telling!"

"Exactly. Can't these unscrupulous reporters report something true for once?"

"Can't you people look it up? I just checked, and those criminals mentioned in the article all had bounties on them before! Besides, there are some things you really can't dismiss. My maternal grandfather was in this line of work, and he died in middle age. My family said his readings were incredibly accurate, but people in this trade can't get rich."

"Leaving everything else aside, let me tell you about my own experience. I'm a university student now. One year, a feng shui practitioner came to our home. The moment he saw our family's burial ground, he said the women in our family were more likely to get rich, because the willow beside the graves was growing lushly. That meant yin flourished while yang declined. Not only was he right, but even now, it's the women in our family who are really good at making money..."

The comments were bustling. Some people shared their real experiences to tell others that there were certain things they couldn't simply deny.

Others pointed out that this had involved cooperation with the police station, so it shouldn't have been fabricated.

Reading these people's accounts of real events, quite a few netizens felt very tempted.

Those who felt they had been terribly unlucky lately, or wanted a reading about their marriage prospects, asked where the people the commenters knew were, hoping to get a reading.

Quite a few others felt that, since the Taoist at this temple could tell fortunes, why not simply go to Cloud-Stilling Temple on Frost Crimson Peak?

Beneath the news report, there were indeed quite a few people showing interest.

"Everyone, I've decided to visit Cloud-Stilling Temple tomorrow. I happen to be in Cloudwater City. If this fortune-teller really is accurate, I'll come back and report to you!"

"I'll camp here for an update. Followed you! Just post a video and tag me when the time comes!"

"I'm camping here too. Let's see what happens!"

The main point of this news story was that he had helped catch criminals. That outcome made quite a few people feel that the Taoist in this temple might have some genuine abilities.

An Weiyan scrolled through the comments and found that quite a few people had taken an interest in the temple.

Things looked fairly good. If more people came and its reputation spread, there would be enough incense offerings.

After taking a look, An Weiyan felt somewhat reassured.

He then opened his phone and began searching for armor.

But after searching for a while, An Weiyan suddenly slapped his forehead. It felt as though staying in Linbei County had restricted his thinking.

He was in the modern world. What did he need armor for?

He could simply use ceramic ballistic plates and disregard cold weapons.

They could wear those underneath, with matching clothes over them.

With that thought, An Weiyan checked the prices. Ceramic ballistic plates only cost a few hundred yuan, so he placed an order straight away.

Soon, An Weiyan finished placing the order and bought some matching outfits as well. From what he had learned, the clothes originally worn by the Jiang Kingdom's yamen runners were much like flying fish robes.

For now, An Weiyan could simply buy clothes like those.

By the time he finished all this, it was almost dark.

An Weiyan threw together something to eat, then lay down and fell asleep.

The next day.

An Weiyan got up early. First, he went to Linbei County and moved some grain outside the door, leaving Uncle Fu to lead the others in cooking and handle the distribution himself, while An Weiyan returned to the main world and made himself something to eat as well.

By half past eight, the sun was already high in the sky. Still seeing no visitors, An Weiyan frowned.

Yesterday, those comments had said they would come to the temple today, yet no one had shown up even now?

Had the publicity failed?

Feeling a little anxious, An Weiyan waited another half hour before a sudden clamor came from outside the door.

Then An Weiyan saw a group of people walk in, both men and women among them.

But once they entered, they visibly grew much more reserved.

They looked around, then spotted An Weiyan off to the side.

"Taoist priest?"

The young man in front called out somewhat awkwardly when he saw An Weiyan.

An Weiyan glanced at them. Deep cyan appeared above their heads. Business had arrived!

Delighted, An Weiyan nevertheless restrained his excitement and nodded to them.

"Since you're here, why don't you all come in and offer some incense?"

Visitors were a rare sight, so An Weiyan immediately spoke up.

But the moment An Weiyan finished speaking, their expressions changed slightly.

Could this temple be making money through this sort of thing?

They had heard that plenty of places demanded payment after people offered incense. Some charged dozens of yuan, and others even charged over a hundred.

Seeing their expressions, An Weiyan immediately understood what they were thinking.

"I'm the only one at this temple right now, and hardly anyone usually comes to offer incense. That's why, when visitors come, I hope everyone can offer some incense and bring a little more incense-filled life to the place. Don't worry, there's no charge."

After reassuring them, An Weiyan took some incense from beside him and handed it to them individually.

An Weiyan's actions made it difficult for these young people to refuse. They could only light the incense and enter the main hall to begin making their offerings.

"Look, we only came along because you said the Taoist here was really accurate at fortune-telling. Why do we have to offer incense and all that? They aren't going to charge us, are they?"

Although An Weiyan had just said that, they still felt it wasn't entirely believable.

Lin Feng, standing beside them, looked a little uneasy too. He had only come because of what he had seen in the news.

How could he have known that the first thing An Weiyan would do upon their arrival was ask them to offer incense?

He felt something was a little off, but there was nothing else to do now except offer the incense first.

An Weiyan stood behind them, watching as they bowed three times and inserted their incense into the burner. Then he saw a wisp of the deep cyan smoke above their heads merge into the incense smoke.

It really did work that way.

At the sight before him, An Weiyan's eyes narrowed slightly.

He knew now that his earlier conjecture had indeed been correct. A powerful nation and a peaceful, prosperous populace were manifested through the people's essence, Qi, and spirit, which merged into the incense offerings when they offered incense.

It raised the grade of the incense offerings.

But among these people offering incense, some contributed more essence, Qi, and spirit to the offerings than others. Did that depend on how sincere they were?

An Weiyan watched the scene ahead from a distance, silently speculating.