Li Fu flattered Qi Yan along the way. Although Qi Yan’s attitude seemed a little cold, it didn’t dampen his enthusiasm.
After sending Qi Yan home, he would have shamelessly stayed on if it weren’t already late and he was worried about his family in the hospital. Yang Gang, who was with him, was not much better, but he had interacted with Master Qi before and knew that he was indifferent and didn’t like to talk too much with others, so he left with Li Fu in the end.
After the two respectfully said goodbye to Master Qi, they walked out of the community to find that their whole body was still tense. They had hardly recovered from the incident.
“Mr. Yang, saying that Master Qi has skills is an understatement.” Li Fu looked at Yang Gang with a solemn expression, “This is not just a skill, it’s godly!”
“I also had no idea,” Li Fu realized that he underestimated Master Qi’s ability after experiencing today’s incident, “Master Qi is so young and skillful. Before he is famous, let’s seize the opportunity to get close to him. After a while, we won’t get this opportunity anymore.”
As businessmen, even if they didn’t believe in gods, they were still respectful. It was better to be safe than sorry. Many wealthy people had spent a lot of money trying to light up the biggest and tallest incense on new year’s day, and others had spent a lot of money on temples in order to please these masters.
A master like Master Qi who worked alone, had no studio, and did not have mentor, was really rare in Capital City.
After Qi Yan sent Li Fu and Yang Gang away, he lay lazily on the bed. He hadn’t spent so much spiritual energy in a long time, and he needed a good night’s sleep to make up for it.
He thought he would sleep until dawn, but in the middle of the night, he dreamed of his master. The old man knocked him on the head with a feather duster, and scolded him, “You only know how to sleep! You wouldn’t care even if there was money falling from the sky!”
“Pa!”
Qi Yan fell off the bed. He looked for the clock and saw that it was 11.58pm. He turned to look out the window and saw the moon was extraordinarily bright. He couldn’t help but walk out to the balcony.
Looking up, the beautiful moon hung in the sky, and the soft moonlight blanketed the earth, bringing a gentle sense of tranquility.
There was a breeze and the clouds in the sky dispersed. The moon was flourishing, it was as beautiful as a scene in a video game with golden rays shining.
The golden rays were like threads falling to the ground. Some were absorbed by the plants and some disappeared before they reached the ground.
Qi Yan stared blankly at this magnificent scene, and before he could react, the golden threads rushed towards him, as if there was something special about him that attracted them.
As countless golden threads fell on him, Qi Yan felt an inexplicable sense of comfort.
But this feeling only lasted a moment. He quickly sat on the spot even though it was cold and he began to circulate his physical and spiritual power. He borrowed these golden threads to practice his technique.
If he guessed correctly, this was a rare occurrence that happened once in 60 years, the Spirit of Moon Flowers. It could provide spiritual energy to nature. But he didn’t know that it could affect humans as well. Regardless of how it happened, Qi Yan would definitely not let such a good opportunity pass.
The golden threads formed by the Spirit of Moon Flowers were still surging towards Qi Yan, and Qi Yan’s whole body was wrapped in golden light. He was definitely loved by the gods.
When Qi Yan finished practicing, it was already past five or six in the morning, the moon in the sky had long since disappeared, and there was a faint light of dawn coming from the east. He stood up from the ground, shook his arms and legs. Despite sitting out all night, he didn’t feel sore nor sleepy. Instead, he felt refreshed, as though he just got a massage.
The most important thing was that he noticed that his spiritual energy was skyrocketing, and it seemed that he had practiced for more than ten or twenty years in just one night.
No wonder his master woke him up in the dream. It turned out that money was really falling from the sky but this was more valuable than gold.
He had forgotten that today was the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, the day of the Ghost Festival.
The fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar is the day when the Chinese people worship their ancestors. Of course, it was also the only day when the gates of hell are wide open and all ghosts can roam the world. So on this day, many people would burn paper money for their ancestors who passed away, lest they don’t have enough money and be bullied by other ghosts.
The beliefs of the Chinese people were ambiguous. Some people worship both the Buddha and multiple gods. They never cared about the branch of religion. For most non-believers, they just prayed to the gods for peace of mind and nothing else.
There is also another important characteristic of the Chinese people. They revere their ancestors, so whether it is Qingming Festival, the Ghost Festival, or other important festivals, many people would not forget to pay homage to their ancestors. On the anniversary of their death or birthday, many people would light up some incense and offer flowers.
In Qi Yan’s view, this is also a lovely thing about Chinese people. They cherish the moment, but also value their relationship with their elders. Perhaps it is because of this feeling and persistence that the five-thousand-year-old culture of this nation remains, and it will continue to spread.
Qi Yan went out and bought some of his master’s favorite food, and placed them in front of the altar. After solemnly bowing three times and nine kowtows, he picked one of the biggest and reddest apples, and started eating it.
“Master, I bought you the best and most expensive one today. I’m a filial apprentice,” Qi Yan looked up at his photo, “It is not allowed to burn paper money here, why don’t I light a few more incense sticks for you? I made them myself, they are better than the store-bought ones.”
When he was done speaking, Qi Yan also finished eating the apple. He went to the kitchen to wash his hands, and solemnly lit a few sticks of incense.
“People passing away are the same as lights going out. Even if I offer you some fresh fruits every day, you can’t eat it. What a pity.” Qi Yan looked at the wooden sign with a smile, revealing the small dimples on his cheeks, “When I was a child, you said that when I grow up, I have to take you to a nice hotel for dinner every day. Why wouldn’t you live for a few more years so that I could do that?”
It’s a pity that the only answer for him was the rising smoke, and the smile on the face in the photo.
Perhaps he ate the apple on an empty stomach, Qi Yan felt the acidity in his throat. He blinked at the old man in the photo, turned and walked out of the room.
“Boss,” Liang Feng walked over to Cen Baihe and whispered to him, “I heard a gossip just now that Master Qi seems to have solved the problem at Hongliang Hill.”
“Hongliang Hill?” Cen Baihe paused for a moment. He was very familiar with the name, because everyone in the area knew that it’s an untouchable hill. He didn’t expect that someone would actually develop the land there, and that Qi Yan was also involved.
“It might just be rumors that there is a dragon hidden under the land. Whether it’s true or false, the person who dared to develop it must be bold,” Liang Feng said and shook his head, “I heard that this person had asked several masters but no one could help him. It was Master Qi who finally appeased it. Now, many people are checking the identity of Master Qi, maybe it will not be long before Master Qi becomes famous. ”
“Qian Qian is different from other masters,” Cen Baihe signed his name on a document. “There is nothing to worry about.”
“Of course it’s different, Master Qi is younger,” Liang Feng didn’t continue the topic. “Some employees left a message on the company forum, asking if they could leave work on time as today is the Ghost Festival.”
“A lot of people usually work overtime?” Cen Baihe asked, “I thought our company’s policies are pretty good.”
Liang Feng smiled dryly and didn’t answer. Their company’s policies were indeed good within the industry, but no company was immune to overtime, unless the company’s situation was not very good, and the employees had nothing to do.
As he was talking, Cen Baihe’s phone rang. When he saw the caller ID, his expression softened subconsciously.
“Qian Qian,” Cen Baihe put down the pen in his hand, got up and walked to the window. His eyes were smiling, “Okay, I’ll come to you in a bit.”
After hanging up the phone, Cen Baihe turned his head and said to Liang Feng, “Tell everyone that they don’t have to work overtime tonight. Let them go home early.” After that, he switched off the computer and locked the drawer, “I’m leaving now.”
Liang Feng looked at his boss’ back as he left hurriedly. He shrugged and lowered his head to inform the HR department of the good news.
Soon, the employees were bragging about their company’s policies on Weibo, saying that the boss was worried that they would be afraid to go home, and allowed them to leave early. Many netizens were envious, and some even went to check which company they worked in.
When they found out who the boss of this company was, the people who knew him stayed quiet. This was Fifth Master Cen, whom no one could afford to offend.
Curious netizens didn’t understand why they were so secretive about it, and they weren’t able to get any useful information from these people. However, there was too much interesting news on the Internet so they quickly forgot about it, and those who knew about it did not dare to say anything more. Soon, it died down.
Sitting in the spacious and comfortable car, Qi Yan said to Cen Baihe, “Stretch out your hand, I have something good to give you.”
Cen Baihe stretched out his hand and asked, “Is it something I can see?” Qian Qian had asked him to extend his hand twice, but each time he didn’t know what was given to him. However, every time he received it, his body was much better, which made him wonder if Qian Qian had given him something very precious.
“Do you want to see it?” Qi Yan looked up at Cen Baihe. Seeing that he was eager to see it, he reached out and tapped his forehead.
At this moment, Qi Yan’s hand was placed on Cen Baihe’s palm.
Cen Baihe saw that gold threads suddenly appeared in Qi Yan’s palm, and after they wrapped around his hand a few times, they disappeared into his palm.
“What is this?” When Qi Yan withdrew his hand, he shook his empty hand and felt relaxed.
“Something good that appeared once in 60 years,” Qi Yan guessed right, although ordinary people couldn’t absorb the Spirit of Moon Flowers, he could send it into their bodies, “I specially saved it for you.”
Seeing them talking seriously about something he didn’t understand, the bodyguard was doubting his reality.
“Thank you.” Cen Baihe smiled, with obvious joy in his voice, “You said that you would take me somewhere.”
“Let’s go now,” Qi Yan glanced at the time, “We should leave and return early.”
“Where are we going?”
“Hongliang Hill.”
The villagers of Hongliang Village had been very disappointed recently, because they heard that the tourism development project would be canceled. They felt sad that they couldn’t make a small fortune from the project. However, after hearing that the developers would still pay the contracting fee for the next 20 years, they immediately became happy again. It felt like they had just received a sum of money without doing anything. It was still worth it.
When Qi Yan appeared at the foot of the hill with Cen Baihe and his two bodyguards, he found that the atmosphere here was much warmer. He pointed to the hillside and said to Cen Baihe, “Let’s go there.”
The bodyguards glanced at the boss hesitantly. There were few people up there, and the boss had a special identity, what if…
“Okay, you two wait for me at the foot of the hill.” Cen Baihe followed Qi Yan and set foot on the trail. Hearing the birds singing, he took a deep breath, “The air here is good.”
“It’s not that, but there is plenty of spiritual energy here,” Qi Yan continued to walk up, but he considered Cen Baihe’s weaker body and walked very slowly, “Stay here for a while, it’s good for your body.”
Cen Baihe’s heart suddenly felt as warm as the hot spring.
The Mountain Spirit was no longer angry, so they went all the way up very smoothly. Qi Yan walked to the table that he used yesterday, took out an incense and lit it, “I have come to visit again. Will you see me?”
As the breeze blew, Cen Baihe, who had his spiritual eyes opened by Qi Yan, saw many green rays appear around him. They traveled through the woods, reminding him of the earth after a spring rain which was full of hope and vitality.
“Thank you God.” Qi Yan turned his head to look at Cen Baihe beside him, “I only have one request. Please give him some life energy.”
The green rays bounced around even more fiercely, and Cen Baihe saw them surrounding Qi Yan, as if they were talking to him. They seemed to be attached to him. At this moment, Qi Yan’s body was full of golden light, and the green rays stopped moving.
After a few minutes, but also seemed like a long time, Cen Baihe saw the green rays flying away, and Qi Yan bowed again towards the top of the hill.
“Thank you God.” Qi Yan opened his palm, and a green ray appeared in his palm. Before Cen Baihe could react, he saw Qi Yan patted the light into his chest with his backhand.
“Qian Qian?” Cen Baihe looked around suspiciously, “What’s going on?”
“This is a thank you gift from the Mountain Spirit,” Qi Yan smiled as he looked at the green ray on his body, “I did it a favor yesterday, and it gave me something in return.”
Everyone thought that he was helping Li Fu, but only he knew that he was helping the Mountain Spirit.
As pollution became more and more serious, the Mountain Spirit had become weaker and weaker. If it wasn’t for the blessing of the dragon spirit that lived underground, it would have dissipated. Qi Yan asked Li Fu to set up a temple and statue in order to strengthen the belief of human beings in the Mountain Spirit, so that it could continue to stay in this place and protect the creatures and humans at the foot of the hill.
The Mountain Spirit still remembered that a long time ago, there was a child who got lost in the forest. After it led the child out, the child’s family came to the mountain to pray and burn incense. The child it rescued also came often to worship it. It remembered that it had provided food to many people and animals. It was afraid that after its death, these animals and humans would be left unprotected.
It missed the creatures on this land so much, Qi Yan didn’t have the heart to tell it that the children that it once protected had passed away or were dying. Now that humans have mobile phones and GPS, adults wouldn’t let their children play alone, let alone let them go hungry.
The Mountain Spirit only wanted to protect the living beings in its land, so it was so angry when it found out that someone was going to invade the land.
“Let’s go back.” Qi Yan bowed to the top of the hill, turned his head and smiled at Cen Baihe, “I want to eat at Qianweijiu’s.”
“Okay.” Cen Baihe’s vision had returned to normal, so he could no longer see the green rays, nor the energy around Qi Yan’s body. But feeling the warm mountain wind and the fragrance of the flora, he felt that he understood why Qian Qian intervened.
Because Qian Qian had a tender heart that no one else could understand.
They walked slowly down the hill. Cen Baihe looked at Qi Yan and asked, “Qian Qian, why did you give me the energy?”
“Because you need it,” Qi Yan reached out and touched the trunk of a big tree by the road. “My master said that I would live a hundred years.”
Cen Baihe fell silent. Just because he needed it, so HE gave it to him?
He touched his thumping chest. Initially, it was the feeling of being treated sincerely by a friend…
Seeing Cen Baihe covering his chest with his hand, Qi Yan asked worriedly, “Are you okay?”
Looking at his concerned eyes, Cen Baihe turned away slightly and shook his head, “I’m fine.”
Qian Qian’s eyes were really good-looking. They were clear and bright. He wanted to stare at them but he was shy.
In order to change the subject, Cen Baihe touched the top of his slightly warm ear, “Your master must be remarkable.”
The image of his master appeared in Qi Yan’s mind. He was sloppy and messy. When the two were alone together, his master would be too lazy to even move a finger, and they always fought about who should do the cooking.
Thinking about this, his master didn’t seem to be remarkable.
He nodded with a smile, and said to Cen Baihe, “Well, my master is the 22nd-generation grandmaster.”
“Who is the 23rd-generation?”
“I am…”
Whoosh…
Whoosh…
When Qi Yan and Cen Baihe walked out of the forest, the leaves were swaying, and the breeze was refreshing. Qi Yan waved his hand, “Goodbye.”
The wind stopped quickly, Qi Yan tugged at his hair that had been blown by the wind, and continued to walk forward with a smile.
When he was about to get into the car, he saw a big truck transporting building materials. When the car stopped, the driver bowed to the hill with a sincere and reverent expression.
