PD -Chapter 89 The Daoist’s Daughter

The furniture store owner took a sip of tea before speaking.

“To be honest, Li Fei… that kid isn’t exactly a decent young man. Aside from having a pretty boy face, his ability and character are really just… not up to standard.”

“If it weren’t for the fact that his family is related to my wife’s side, I would’ve kicked him out long ago.” The owner sighed and continued, “I originally agreed to let him work in my shop as a salesperson… but after a month, he didn’t close a single deal. He was never even around during working hours, and what’s worse—his hands weren’t clean.”

“What happened? Did he steal from the store?” I asked, thinking this was a furniture shop—there was no way he could just sneak off with a wardrobe or something.

The owner looked troubled. “Ever since he came, customers have been losing things in the store—phones, jewelry, all kinds of valuables… It caused constant chaos. I don’t have proof, but I can guess it’s definitely him. Otherwise, where would he get money to buy a car?”

“As for that girl, Yu Qi, it was just a whim for him. I once overheard him on the phone bragging to his friends, saying he had hooked up with a college girl—and what’s more exciting was that her father was a Daoist.”

Zhu Zhu frowned. “That’s not right. According to Yu Qi’s account, on the night of the incident, Li Fei was the one who took out a diamond ring and intended to propose!”

“That ring might’ve been one of my customers’ stolen items from last week!” the owner suddenly seemed to recall something. He shook his head, looking disappointed and furious. “That’s just how he is.”

“So Li Fei was lying to Yu Qi the whole time? He never took the relationship seriously?” Zhu Zhu said angrily on Yu Qi’s behalf.

The owner nodded. “That’s why I’m telling you—please go and persuade that girl, teacher.”

I didn’t expect the owner to be so straightforward. After getting the information, we said goodbye and headed straight to the school.

“Did he just say Yu Qi’s father is a Daoist?” Zhu Zhu asked in the car. “Can Daoist priests get married and have children?”

Her question reminded me of Tang Shanshan, who always liked calling me a ‘smelly Daoist.’

I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. “I’m not a Daoist! And who said all Daoists can’t marry and have children?”

“If you want to understand this, you first need to understand the structure of Daoism.”

I began explaining at length.

“Since Zhang Daoling founded the religion in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Daoism has existed for more than 1,800 years. Over its development, many sects emerged… and eventually formed two major schools today: the Quanzhen School, focused on internal alchemy, and the Zhengyi School, focused on talismans and rituals.”

“The Quanzhen School, founded by Wang Chongyang, follows classical Daoist thought and emphasizes dual cultivation of body and spirit. It enforces strict discipline and believes worldly desires are obstacles to cultivation. Therefore, Quanzhen monks must live in temples, and they do not marry, eat meat, or drink alcohol.”

“But the Zhengyi School, which focuses on talismans and ritual ceremonies, is much more grounded. They don’t need to become monks. They can marry and have children.”

“So Yu Qi’s father is likely a Zhengyi Daoist priest,” Liu Xiaopeng said thoughtfully while looking at his phone. After a moment, he pointed at the screen again. “I just remembered—there really is a Daoist temple not far from Wenli College, called Huanglong Temple.”

He pointed to a location on the map.

I glanced at it and asked Liu Xiaopeng to send me the location, then we drove straight toward the temple. Since we were investigating this case, we had to be like police detectives—leaving no detail unchecked.

Soon, we parked at the entrance of the temple and went inside. We discovered that a ritual ceremony was being held in the main hall.

Everyone’s attention was focused on a Daoist priest wearing an apricot-yellow robe, stepping in ritual patterns and chanting scriptures with a goat-beard swaying as he performed the rites. No one noticed us entering.

“Brother Han, look— isn’t that Yu Qi?” Liu Xiaopeng looked around and pointed at a girl in a black sweater with a ponytail standing among the crowd. It was indeed Yu Qi from the video.

I signaled him to keep quiet.

We continued observing the ritual.

The priest leading the ceremony was likely the head of this temple, though whether he was Yu Qi’s father was still uncertain.

From the structure and chanting, this was a memorial rite for the deceased. The spirit being sent off… was Li Fei. On the altar, I could clearly see a portrait and memorial tablet bearing his name.

The ritual proceeded smoothly. Every step was precise and practiced—clearly something the priest had performed many times before.

After the ceremony ended, the priest put down his ritual instruments and walked toward Yu Qi. He patted her shoulder gently, comforting her as she cried. Under his reassurance, Yu Qi quickly wiped away her tears… From their behavior, this priest was most likely her father.

After a while, the priest and several other Daoists left the main hall first. Soon, Li Fei’s family also quietly departed. Once the hall was nearly empty, Yu Qi slowly walked out. I immediately stepped forward and stopped her.

“Who are you?” Yu Qi looked at our three unfamiliar faces, wiping her tears and asking in confusion.

“Hello, Yu Qi. We are teachers newly assigned to Wenli College. We heard about what happened to you and felt very sorry, so we came to check on you,” I said politely with a smile.

“We hope you don’t take it too hard,” Liu Xiaopeng added.

At that moment, the priest in the apricot robe approached and called out, “Qi Qi.” Then he turned to us and asked, “And you are?”

“Oh, Dad, they are teachers newly assigned to Wenli College. They came to check on me,” Yu Qi said.

I nodded at the priest and smiled. “Your ritual just now was very steady and well-executed. The chanting was clear and solemn—this is a very standard Zhengyi-style ceremony.”

The priest looked surprised. “Teacher, you have some understanding of Daoism?”

I shook my head modestly. “Just superficial knowledge. I occasionally broaden my reading.”

“Ah… none of us expected something like this to happen,” the priest sighed, then changed the topic. “In the future, I hope you teachers can take care of Qi Qi. She has had a hard life—lost her mother early and grew up with me, this useless Daoist… and now she’s encountered such a thing…”

We chatted a bit more before the priest went off to attend to other matters. Taking the opportunity, we invited Yu Qi to come back to the school with us.

On the way, I thought for a long time before deciding to ask her again about that night.

Yu Qi seemed much calmer now, though I could still see tears welling in her eyes when she mentioned it.

“Even though the police have no evidence proving I did it, many people still suspect I killed Li Fei,” she bit her lip and said.

“It’s all because I was too scared that night. I didn’t see anything… If I had been braver, maybe…”

“This isn’t your fault. Don’t overthink it,” Zhu Zhu patted her back to comfort her.

After a long pause, Yu Qi wiped her tears and continued:

“What I told the police was the truth. The killer was really invisible… because when the tires were punctured, I only saw a sword floating in mid-air.”

“A sword?” I frowned. This detail didn’t seem to appear in the police recording of her statement.

“A sword?” Liu Xiaopeng immediately asked.