Chapter 10: Brother Zhang and Elbow
The clouds in his vision cleared up and Li Daoxuan left the illusion in a trance. When he opened his eyes, it was already dawn outside. He looked at his fellow apprentices in the room and found that no one was in bed.

Last night, I was recognized by Uncle Jiu, and officially became a monk. So I followed Uncle Jiu to learn the rituals all night, and in a daze, I slept for a long time. Compared with waking up before dawn on weekdays, it was indeed lazy.

"I overslept a little." Li Daoxuan sat up, feeling the cold wind on his face. After putting on his clothes and washing himself with the snow water, he came to the place where he had his morning lessons.

Seeing a crowd of people not far away, it turned out that the mother and daughter from yesterday were leaving the mountain. Although there was no one around when they came, they were surrounded by people when they left. However, this was not the fault of the Taoists of Baiyun Temple. After all, no one expected that a woman who came alone with a child could actually donate a palace to Baiyun Temple. This was really a windfall for the Taoists of Baiyun Temple.

Although Taoists have no worries about food and drink, they actually live a simple life. After all, among the twenty-four precepts of Taoism, one cannot see merits destroyed or houses collapsed; one cannot steal or borrow without paying back; one cannot rely on the powerful to deceive the poor and the humble, or separate men and women.

Temples in the mountains need to be repaired all year round. If they are not taken care of, it is a violation of the precepts. Therefore, except for the big sects, most Taoist sects just muddle through, doing rituals, exorcising evil spirits and praying for blessings. There are few wealthy Taoists with pockets full of gold and silver.

But even so, Taoism is still doing well in this era.

The woman bowed to the old Taoist priest and stopped in front of Li Daoxuan. She looked down at him and Li Daoxuan couldn't help but yawn. Then he realized that he had lost his composure and quickly closed his mouth and pretended to smile at everyone.

Taoist priests: "..."

"Little Taoist priest was too tired yesterday." The woman smiled and called the maid behind her. She took a silver ingot from the maid and put it in Li Daoxuan's hand. "Thank you for leading the way that day, little Taoist priest, so that I could see the real person. This little gift is just my personal thanks, I hope you will not refuse."

"How can I be so embarrassed? You are too polite." Li Daoxuan said as he quickly put the silver ingot into his arms. This attracted the attention of the Taoist priests, who all looked at him with envy.

Li Daoxuan naturally couldn't make a fool of himself anymore. He had gained a lot now and had to leave quickly. He said hello to the old Taoist and got out of the crowd.

When he passed the woman, he saw a little girl wrapped in a pink cotton jacket. Her face was pink and tender, and her eyes were watery as she looked at Li Daoxuan. Perhaps because of her upbringing, or perhaps because she was held by the maid, the little girl looked at Li Daoxuan eagerly with her mouth open, wanting to say something, but she never said anything.

Li Daoxuan waved to her quietly and slipped out of the crowd. Touching the hard silver on his chest, he smiled.

I didn't expect that going to bed early and getting up late would lead to such a good thing, and I got the money for no reason. If it was during the morning class on a normal day, he would probably stay in the house and not know that the woman had left.

"Good fortune and misfortune are interdependent, good fortune and misfortune are interdependent." Li Daoxuan said happily, and went to the morning class to meditate.

When it was time for lunch in the dining hall, Senior Brother Zhang sat next to Li Daoxuan and said with a strange smile: "Junior Brother, I have something very important for you."

"Big thing? What big thing?" Li Daoxuan looked at him curiously, not quite understanding how big the big thing that Senior Brother Zhang was talking about was. After all, he had nothing to worry about, and he had not achieved anything famous. He had never done anything sneaky on weekdays, except being lazy in class and slacking off when he had nothing to do. What big thing could it be for him?
Could it be that the old Taoist wanted to accuse him of being lazy? Then most of the brothers would be arrested. After all, even if they were Taoists, there would be no one who would not be lazy in their spare time.

Just as he was thinking about what went wrong, Senior Brother Zhang slowly spoke: "Isn't it almost the New Year? At that time, the master of the temple will let the disciples with families go home to reunite. Didn't you say before that you also have family in Jinling? Won't you be able to go home and reunite then? You can eat delicious fish and meat, wouldn't it be much happier than spending the New Year in the temple?" Listening to Senior Brother Zhang's words, Li Daoxuan's chopsticks slowed down as he mixed the food. It has been nearly three months since he traveled here, and the memories of his previous life have appeared intermittently, which has also given him an understanding of his life experience.

His childhood memories were vague, he only vaguely remembered a beautiful woman. Later, he saw the scenery on the mountain. He followed a Taoist priest to Baiyun Temple and put on a Taoist robe to become a little Taoist priest.

What follows are all memories of the temple, ordinary days, learning to read and write, and drawing talismans every day.

As for his family, the family members in Li Daoxuan's memory were all his own illusions. He had been in the mountains for many years, and his family members down the mountain had never come to visit him. It seemed that this son was not alive and had no relationship with them.

Li Daoxuan didn't know what his previous incarnation was like, but he didn't care much about his so-called family. After all, he had parents who loved him, but they died in a car accident.

In Li Daoxuan's heart, his parents will always be irreplaceable.

So even though Senior Brother Zhang said so, Li Daoxuan felt calm and focused on eating, ignoring Senior Brother Zhang's nagging.

"Junior brother, you don't have any reaction? Don't you want to go home?" Senior Brother Zhang nudged him with his elbow and asked curiously.

Li Daoxuan swallowed a mouthful of rice and rolled his eyes at Senior Brother Zhang. He said unhappily, "Senior Brother, I haven't come down the mountain since I went up there. Don't you know that?"

"..." Senior Brother Zhang opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word for a long time. Seeing him quiet down, Li Daoxuan continued to eat contentedly. Ever since he could barely control the airflow in his Dantian, his appetite has been increasing day by day.

But before he had taken a few bites, he saw a pork elbow placed in his bowl. Li Daoxuan looked at it in surprise, and Senior Brother Zhang looked at him apologetically: "Junior brother, it's all my fault for being so tongue-tied. I hurt you with my words just now, so this elbow is my compensation. But don't be sad, even if you have no family, I am still your family. If you encounter any trouble, come to me, and I will definitely help you."

Li Daoxuan looked at the pork elbow in the bowl, and then looked at Senior Brother Zhang. For some reason, a slight sour feeling welled up in his heart. He suppressed the tightness in his chest, pulled the corner of his mouth and said, "Since you said so, Senior Brother, I won't be polite about this pork elbow."

"Eat, Brother, you've been tired of pork lately. Change to a lighter meal to nourish your body, so as to avoid being blamed by Daozu." Brother Zhang said with a smile, then shoveled all the food in the bowl into his mouth.

Li Daoxuan was chewing on the pork elbow that Senior Brother Zhang had given him, his eyes full of sourness. He knew that he was affected by his original body's emotions and his emotions were out of control. He comforted him in his heart, "Go with peace of mind. I will live well for you."

The uncomfortable feeling in his chest disappeared, and Li Daoxuan felt a lot more relaxed.

(End of this chapter)