IDWBE -Chapter 79 Baiyun Grand Temple

Baiyun City was changing more and more. Locals sometimes didn’t notice the changes, but visiting merchants from other regions felt them clearly.

The roads were smoother. Journeys that used to take several months could now be completed in less than a month. Even rain no longer delayed travel.

They couldn’t imagine what it would be like once the road from Sanhe to the southern provinces was fully completed!

The now clean and orderly Baiyun City made them wonder if they had come to the wrong place.

The roads were paved with cement, houses brand-new, and even the shacks had greatly decreased. The kids who used to run wildly around them were nowhere to be seen.

Moreover, when had Baiyun City become so wealthy?

Goods that normally took ten days to two weeks to sell were now gone the same day they arrived.

Most importantly, on the entire journey here, they hadn’t encountered a single thug or experienced any forced transactions.

Only from locals did they learn that the city’s law enforcement was handled by the “Heipi” (Black Skins).

Anyone caught fighting or causing trouble would be sent by the Heipi to labor reform.

Now, young women and newly married girls roamed freely down the streets.

In the past, this would have been unimaginable!

The more often the daughters of local gentry and wealthy families appeared in public, the more frequently Lin Yi went out himself.

With Hong Ying at his side, they dressed in short tunics and crouched at street corners. Even those who recognized them didn’t dare to approach.

“This one won’t do, legs too short.”

Lin Yi kept commenting on passing girls.

“Hmm, yellow teeth—bad review.”

“Whoa, nice figure,”

But when she turned around, he sighed again, “Can’t judge just by the figure—big face though.”

He foolishly critiqued a dozen or so, while Hong Ying didn’t react at all, making Lin Yi feel a bit bored.

He stood up, stretched lazily, and wandered along the street, glancing up at the high spire atop Baiyun Mountain.

Having been in Baiyun Mountain for so long without visiting the temple, he suddenly felt interested.

At the foot of the mountain, many horse-drawn carriages were parked, with elderly women and young ladies descending from them.

Because the path up the mountain was stepped, they had to climb step by step.

Lin Yi followed the crowd, slowly ascending. The mountain path was winding, not straight, making a large loop.

Passing a mountain spring, Lin Yi leaned forward to drink several sips, washed his face, and continued climbing.

The temple entrance was lively, with many stalls. Lin Yi bought a pastry and, just as he put it in his mouth, saw an old Taoist waving at him.

He glanced at the temple plaque: Baiyun Grand Temple.

He had come to the right place.

Curious, he walked toward the fortune-telling Taoist.

“The abbot of this temple must be generous,” Lin Yi said with a smile. “Allowing you to tell fortunes here.”

“Not so, not so,” the old Taoist shook his head. “You’re probably not a local.”

“Why?” Lin Yi asked.

“The locals know,” the Taoist said, “Baiyun Mountain has both a temple and a Taoist hall. The temple is Baiyun Temple, the hall is Baiyun Hall.”

Lin Yi looked around. “Then where is Baiyun Hall?”

The Taoist pointed at the plaque. “Isn’t it here?”

Lin Yi said, “Master, this clearly says Baiyun Grand Temple, not a hall.”

The Taoist replied, “Ankang City has the Dongyue Temple. Are all the residents there monks?”

Lin Yi froze for a moment, then laughed. “Dongyue Temple in Ankang City is indeed a Taoist hall.”

The Taoist said, “Then why must Baiyun Grand Temple be only for monks?”

Lin Yi had no reply—it made sense.

The Taoist proudly said, “In Baiyun Grand Temple, the monks live on the left, and our Baiyun Hall is on the right.”

“You share one temple?”

Lin Yi suddenly remembered Mount Heng, so he wasn’t as surprised.

One of the “Eight Weirds of the Southern Mountains” was the monk-Taoist sharing a living space, opening doors to each other, sharing incense offerings.

The Taoist snorted. “Longevity and fortune—why can the monks live here, and I cannot?”

Lin Yi finished chewing his pastry, clapped his hands, and asked, “Well, tell me—why are so many people calling me over?”

The Taoist stroked his beard. “Looking at your face: full forehead, square jaw…”

“So, you see a destiny of wealth and nobility?”

Lin Yi could recite this rhyming fortune-telling patter by heart.

“Not so, not so,” the Taoist shook his head, sighing. “Full forehead, square jaw, but eyes lacking spirit, spirit scattered, weak family ties, clashing with Tai Sui, fate…”

Slap!

Lin Yi slammed some coins on the table.

“I want to hear good things,” he said impatiently. “If you dare speak nonsense again, do you think I won’t dismantle your Baiyun Hall?”

Everyone wants to hear good news, not unlucky predictions.

“You may be mistaken,” the Taoist said, ignoring the coins. “I am not greedy. And you’d better be polite, as this is within the domain of Your Highness. But if you don’t believe me, you may test it.”

“One must know when to stop.”

Slap!

Lin Yi placed five more large coins on the table.

He was shameless—just to hear good words!

“Although you wear coarse clothes, your complexion is fair and your fingers delicate,” the Taoist observed Hong Ying and smiled. “With attendants around, it doesn’t look like your family has fallen on hard times.”

“Your eyes are sharp. Let me tell you, I have plenty of money. Your shamelessness is admirable.”

This time Lin Yi slammed about two taels of silver on the table. “Let’s make a deal. You’ve been here a long time. Tell me which young ladies are the prettiest?”

The Taoist waved his sleeve, and the silver and coins disappeared. He looked around and then said solemnly, “Sanhe is not lawless. You’d better not be reckless. Otherwise, you’ll be sent to labor reform.”

“Slender and virtuous—every gentleman’s choice,” Lin Yi said impatiently. “I have status; I won’t act indecently. Just tell me which young ladies are pretty.”

The Taoist pretended to be profound: “Far away in the heavens, close at hand before your eyes.”

Curious, Lin Yi turned to follow his gaze and saw a young lady in a white gauze dress hopping out of the temple.

“Miss!”

A maid rushed behind her, holding up her dress.

“Xiao Ying, pinch me. I’m not dreaming, right?”

Lin Yi stared at the young lady’s retreating figure, dumbfounded.

Hong Ying hesitated and didn’t pinch him.

“Master Taoist, tell me—whose daughter is this?”

The Taoist said, “She’s the illegitimate daughter of the Yan family—Yan Shiqi.”

“The seventeenth daughter?”

“No, no,” the Taoist shook his head. “She was born on the day the old Yan married his seventeenth concubine. Her mother named her Shiqi, hoping the child would be as cherished as the seventeenth concubine.”

“Clever meaning,” Lin Yi muttered, no longer wasting words, and hurried after Yan Shiqi.