Chapter 185 Oriental Yin Yang Dao

"Good." After sending away the ghost of the old drunkard, Li Daoxuan put away his magic finger and opened his eyes.

The sound of rain was pattering in my ears, and the noise from the village gradually came.

A cold feeling splashed on his head, and only then did he realize that his whole body was soaked by the rain.

"It's really not an unprovoked disaster." Li Daoxuan picked up the oil-paper umbrella and then returned home.

Seeing that he was soaked, Aunt Sun was very concerned and found a dry towel, asked the maids to prepare hot water, and found some dry clothes for Li Daoxuan to change into.

"Young master, although you are young, you still have to take care of your health. It is easy to catch a cold if you get wet in the rain and blow in the cold wind. If you fall ill, how can I explain to the master and the mistress?" Aunt Sun kept chattering, unable to stop moving her hands or talking.

She was like an elder, caring deeply about Li Daoxuan's health.

Li Daoxuan let Aunt Sun wipe his hair, wiped the water drops off his face with his hands and smiled: "Something unexpected happened today, and I got caught in the rain. I will use an umbrella next time there is such weather, and I won't do it like this."

"Alas, I can't say anything. After all, the young master is the young master, the master of this family, and I am just a servant." Aunt Sun sighed, and there was less blame in her tone. After all, as Aunt Sun said, she was just a gatekeeper in the Li family. Master Li bought her to be a gatekeeper, not a master.

Li Daoxuan felt a little ashamed when he heard what Auntie Sun said, so he said, "Auntie, why do you have to say that? I have always regarded Auntie Sun as my elder. If I hadn't had Auntie Sun to take care of me this time, I would have been in a lot of trouble. I will naturally remember what Auntie Sun said, and I feel at ease."

"Young Master, I feel relieved when you say that." Aunt Sun said with a smile. "Come, change into this dress. It's comfortable to wear."

Aunt Sun shook the blue and white cloud-embroidered robe, then put it on Li Daoxuan, helped him tie his belt, and combed his hair.

This was something that should have been done by the maids, but Aunt Sun was afraid that the maids wouldn't do it well, so she did it herself.

She was an old hand and had served the lady before. Her skill in combing and bunting hair really made Li Daoxuan feel it was extraordinary.

After all, at this age, since the Qing Dynasty entered the country, except for monks, everyone has long hair. It is said that hair is given by parents, and cutting it is unfilial, so it is troublesome to take care of it. Whether washing or combing hair, it takes some effort.

Perhaps because of his Qi training and cultivation, Li Daoxuan's hair is smoother and softer than that of ordinary people. There is no lice in his hair, which is really enviable.

You know, who doesn’t have lice on their hair these days? With long hair and a bad environment, lice will naturally grow.

Poets often say that they cannot sleep at night, which may mean that they cannot fall asleep because their scalp is itchy.

If the family is rich and powerful, they can use Chinese medicine to make ointment to protect their hair. But even so, even the emperor of the Qing Dynasty would need to comb lice every once in a while.

After changing into clean clothes, Li Daoxuan sat in the hall, drinking the hot ginger tea brought by the maid to drive away the coldness in his body. He looked at Aunt Sun and asked, "Auntie Sun, have you ever seen monks come to the village during the time you have been in the village?"

"Monk?" Aunt Sun was a little confused and hesitant. After thinking for a while, she clapped her hands. "I remember some of it."

"Oh? Please tell me, Madam Sun." Li Daoxuan became interested and leaned forward to listen closer.

"He is the village chief of this village. He has invited Taoist priests and monks before. It seems that a wizard with strange clothes also came. He was said to be a Japanese." Mother Sun recalled and told Li Daoxuan what she remembered.

"Mage? Japanese?" Li Daoxuan caught a hint of important information from her words and was quite interested in this Japanese mage who suddenly appeared.

The East refers to Japan. Since the Meiji Emperor of Japan issued the "Restoration of Imperial Rule" edict in the seventh year of the Tongzhi reign, it is now at the peak of the Meiji Restoration. It has been constantly creating troubles in neighboring territories, and wars have also broken out in the country. It is not far from the Battle of Kagoshima in the southwest.

But why did the old village chief need to invite a Taoist monk? Why did the old village chief invite a Japanese magician? This was really strange. "Yes, the village chief's grandson passed away, so he invited a magician monk. The flowers that the Japanese monk wore looked a bit scary." Aunt Sun said, and Li Daoxuan listened quietly.

He also understood why the old village chief invited magicians. It turned out that the old village chief's only grandson had passed away, so he invited these magicians to perform rituals.

The old village chief had a miserable life. He had a son when he was in his forties, and his only son died at the hands of bandits when he was in his 60s, leaving behind only his three-year-old grandson. He was able to become the village chief because he had been a minor official. Later, his grandson fell ill and died within a few days. The old village chief's bloodline was cut off, and he had no descendants.

Therefore, the ceremony was held in a grand manner, and many Taoist priests and monks were invited to attend.

It was only during this period that the Qing Dynasty experienced the defeat of the two Opium Wars. The declining Qing Dynasty was eroded by countless powers, and there was a scene of depression everywhere. Under the cover of Western artillery fire, Western missionaries carrying crosses came to the land of China. They built churches, recruited believers, and even interfered with the law enforcement of local governments. They preached everywhere and recruited believers everywhere in order to occupy more places on this Qing Dynasty land, which caused a lot of dissatisfaction among the people. People often took the initiative to fight against foreign religions.

At this time, even though Western missionaries were acting recklessly, Eastern monks were rare.

The Qing government had always been extremely opposed to the monks from Japan who wanted to preach in the interior of China, and had never recognized or allowed it until after the Boxer Reform. However, it was ultimately unable to stop the infiltration of Japanese Buddhist monks. Following the footsteps of the Higashi Honganji and Nishi Honganji of the Japanese Jodo Shinshu sect, various sects and schools in the East vied to come to China to preach.

Although both Buddhism and Taoism in the interior were dissatisfied and constantly fought back against the current situation, they were helpless.

After all, their ships are strong and their guns are powerful, and even real people cannot withstand the attack of artillery.

What's more, during the seven-year drought during the Chongzhen period of the late Ming Dynasty, the Xuanmen sect suffered severe damage. Many high-ranking masters of the Xuanmen sect died or were injured. The Xuanmen sect called it the "Dingmao Disaster."

In the year Dingmao, there was a great disaster between heaven and earth. Many people who possessed the true Dharma died, and many inheritances were lost.

Even the old Taoists often lament that the Dingmao disaster brought great disaster to the Xuanmen sect, the true Dharma was cut off, and the Taoist tradition was ruined.

For the Xuanmen sect, that disaster was even more tragic than the disaster at Yashan, and for the next hundred years, false magic and evil arts were rampant everywhere.

Therefore, Li Daoxuan was not surprised that the Oriental wizard appeared in the land of Shenzhou. What surprised him was that the old village chief was able to invite this Oriental wizard.

"Mother Sun, what is this Japanese wizard like? What has he done?" Li Daoxuan asked curiously.

Aunt Sun then told Li Daoxuan what happened that day: "He was wearing a flowery dress, dancing around with a white cloth in his hands. He was said to be able to call back souls, but I don't know if it was true or not. Anyway, he was buried later, and the Japanese wizard left."

"So that's how it is." Li Daoxuan nodded, thinking about the Japanese wizard. He inexplicably thought of the old drunkard in the Cheng family, and suddenly he realized something.

"A monk, an Oriental wizard, and an old drunkard. Could they be the Oriental Yin-Yang Taoist wizards?" Li Daoxuan was not very familiar with Oriental wizards. He had only heard some of them from the old Taoist priest.

For example, the Oriental Onmyoji was derived from the Yin-Yang techniques of China. Its methods of controlling gods, pardoning spirits, and exorcising ghosts are all the methods of the Yin-Yang school.

"Exorcist, the monster in front of Yushen's tomb" Li Daoxuan's thoughts drifted away. He seemed to have thought of something and slammed his fist on the table. "Yinshan, Yinshan, I just think it was done by the Yinshan Sect, but if it was replaced by this Oriental magician, it would be possible!"

The Yinshan magic book contains six methods: breaking through the confusion, calling souls, locking souls, driving souls away, adjusting souls and attracting wealth. Different from ordinary Taoist magic, the Yinshan school is good at driving away ghosts and controlling gods, which coincides with the Eastern Yin-Yang Taoism, both are methods of controlling spirits.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Thinking about all the strange things in the village, Li Daoxuan felt like the clouds were clearing and the sun was shining.

"Hahaha, good!" He chuckled. "Finally I caught you on the tail."

(End of this chapter)