chapter 25 In troubled times, Taoists carry their swords and go to the rivers and lakes

After a moment of contemplation, William Lin spoke, "It's not always the case. Take, for example, when I first started working in jewelry sales..." "At that time, I encountered a mother and daughter. The mother had brought her daughter's dowry money to buy jewelry, while the daughter was pleading desperately for her to return the dowry." "Later, we found out that she had married her daughter off to a man she had never even met, who was more than ten years older. Isn't that essentially selling her daughter? There was no consideration for the daughter's feelings at all. In the end, the daughter looked at her mother in despair as she used all the dowry money to buy jewelry." As William Lin recounted the story, he too enjoyed the cool breeze and asked, "Why did you suddenly ask this?" However, Susan remained silent. William Lin turned to look and found Susan crouched on the ground, her head buried between her knees, doing something he couldn't quite discern. Seeing that something seemed off with Susan, William Lin hurried over to check on her. He patted Susan's shoulder and asked softly, "What's wrong, Susan?" After being tapped on the shoulder by William Lin, Susan finally came to her senses. She raised her head and looked at him, saying, "What's wrong?" Seeing Susan's somewhat teary eyes, William Lin inquired, "You seem a bit off. Did something come to mind?" Susan quickly shook her head and replied, "No, no, I was just asking casually. I just felt that Auntie is a very kind person." Listening to Susan's feeble excuse, William Lin decided not to press further. After Susan adjusted her state of mind, she stood up and pointed to the abandoned temple, saying to William Lin, "I want to go inside and take a look." William Lin nodded in agreement, as he too wanted to explore the temple, hoping to find some trace of the old Taoist monk. When he was a child, he didn't think much of it, but as he entered adulthood, William Lin realized that the old Taoist monk had imparted a lot of wisdom to them. Together, they entered the temple, and it was evident that it had been abandoned for a long time, with overgrown weeds everywhere. William Lin first approached the statue of the Sanqing Patriarch in the temple, cleared the area around it, and then began to pray devoutly. When William Lin received the inheritance, he started to believe in these celestial beings that had once seemed ethereal. As the saying goes, belief gives them existence; disbelief makes them nonexistent. Having experienced the truth, William Lin naturally grew more respectful. Susan watched William Lin and then approached the statue of the Sanqing Patriarch to pray, remaining silent for a long time. After finishing their prayers, William Lin began to explore the temple. As a child, he had only visited a few times, and he hadn't been interested in the solemn sculptures inside at the time. Since then, he had never returned until now. As he gazed upon these familiar yet unfamiliar surroundings, William Lin couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia. Wandering around, William Lin entered the room where the old Taoist monk had once resided. The modest room was covered in dust, containing only a wooden bed and a wooden table. Suddenly, William Lin noticed a book on the table. He picked it up, gently brushed off the dust, and began to read. It turned out to be a diary with the author's name: Eli Li. "Master said he and his fellow disciples had to go down the mountain to deal with some matters and left me alone to guard the temple. I asked Master when he would return, and he said he would come back during prosperous times. Year Xinsi." "Eight years have passed, and Master has still not returned! But now, I seem to understand what Master meant back then. Year Jichou." "Fifteen years have passed, and Master still hasn't returned. Although I know that Master and the others can't come back, I can't leave. As long as I'm here, the temple's legacy continues. Year Bingshen." "Today, I met some interesting kids. It's great to see them full of vitality now! Year Yihai." William Lin flipped through the diary, observing how the writing had transformed from the early, inexperienced entries to the more mature and confident notes in the later pages. On the last page, William Lin read the following words: "In a prosperous era, Buddhism flourishes across the nation, while Taoism hides deep in the mountains alone. In a turbulent world, the Bodhisattva doesn't inquire about worldly affairs, and the Old Taoist wields his sword to save the world." After finishing the diary, William Lin felt as though he had entered a realm of solitude, watching Eli Li's journey from childhood to old age as if he had personally experienced it. Unbeknownst to him, his spiritual power had also increased during this time. "What a chaotic era for Taoism to descend the mountains and face adversity," William Lin sighed, finally understanding why his mother had chosen to believe in Taoism over Buddhism. He carefully packed away the old Taoist's diary and placed it in his possession, thinking that Eli Li wouldn't mind, considering it a memorial for us descendants. After stowing away the diary, William Lin was planning to continue exploring, but Susan found him and said, "William Lin, Auntie called and asked us to come back for dinner!" ? William Lin checked his phone and realized he had missed two calls from his mother. Glancing at the time, he was surprised to find that he had spent over half an hour in the room. He quickly dusted himself off and left the temple with Susan, ready to return home. Standing at the mountain's entrance, William Lin turned back and bowed to the temple once again. He had learned so much from Eli Li's notes. The descent down the mountain was much easier, and Susan no longer faced the awkwardness of the uphill journey. They quickly arrived back home. Upon their return, they found that William Lin's mother had already prepared dinner and was waiting for them. They sat down to eat. During the meal, Lin's mother said, "Have you heard the news? The old master's daughter has been cast out of the house. It's quite strange because everyone knows how much the old master dotes on her." William Lin didn't find it strange at all. He remembered whispering in the old master's ear about the poison entering the body through alcohol. The old master had stopped drinking for years, but during his birthday celebration, he had taken a sip from his most beloved daughter's glass, unknowingly consuming the poison. Susan, curious, asked, "Auntie, can you tell us more?" Lin's mother then began to recount the news she had heard during her walk. "It seems that the old master's daughter poisoned him. The motive appears to be related to a piece of land outside that the old master refused to sell. It's said that someone else had their eyes on it, and they conspired to carry out this plan." "But we still don't know who the person wanting to buy the land is, and there hasn't been any information about them," she added. Hearing this, William Lin began to ponder, thoughts racing through his mind. After finishing dinner, William Lin cleared the table, and Susan followed his instructions to prepare the herbs and ingredients needed for Lin's mother's treatment. Tonight, William Lin planned to give his mother one final acupuncture session before starting her on medication. ... In the evening, William Lin began his mother's treatment once again. As he manipulated his spiritual power for acupuncture, he noticed a significant increase in his own spiritual power, which left him somewhat puzzled. Nevertheless, this was a positive development as it would expedite his mother's healing process and reduce her reliance on medication. After all, excessive medication could be harmful. Once he completed his mother's treatment, William Lin immediately prepared a herbal remedy for her to consume. After checking her pulse, he could already see that her condition had greatly improved, and with a few more rounds of medication, they could eliminate the accumulated illness from her body over the years. The treatment this time was much shorter than William Lin had initially expected. After taking her medication, William Lin helped his mother back to her room to rest. He decided to sleep on the floor in his room, leaving the bed for Susan. In the middle of the night, in a drowsy state, William Lin suddenly heard a cry for help! ..