The position of Temple Master was under threat. Tang Xiaoyu had to pause his cultivation and focus his energy on developing the Taoist temple.
"How do I develop it? It's really headache-inducing!"
Tang Xiaoyu looked towards Xiao Hei: "Give me some ideas!"
Xiao Hei thought for a while: "We must first establish the reputation of our temple, then aggressively develop disciples, and finally, unify the cultivation world, so that this world only has our voice."
Tang Xiaoyu nodded: "The problem is, how do we establish our reputation?"
Xiao Hei scratched his dog head: "I don't know either!"
The two stared at each other for a long time but couldn't come up with any ideas.
Tang Xiaoyu said: "Why don't we first expand the temple to prepare for the future?"
"That makes sense. It would be embarrassing if we have people but no place for them to live in the future."
Xiao Hei raised another key question: "Who will build it?!"
"Hire people to build it!"
"Do you have money?"
"I don't."
"Then how to build?"
Tang Xiaoyu helplessly said: "Then we first make money."
"How to make money?"
"Why don't I carry sacks on my back? I can carry ten sacks at one time."
"Even picking spiritual herbs makes more money than you."
"Then should we go pick spiritual herbs?"
Xiao Hei glared at him and said: "Do you even know what spiritual herbs look like?"
"No."
"Do you know where to find spiritual herbs?"
"No."
"Then what the hell can you pick."
Tang Xiaoyu whispered: "Why don't we kill demonic beasts and sell their cores."
Xiao Hei bared his teeth angrily: "You don't take me seriously at all, huh?"
Tang Xiaoyu immediately surrendered: "Then you say, what should we do? Should I bring you along to perform on the streets?"
"You can definitely attract a lot of audience by smashing rocks on your chest."
Xiao Hei chomped at Tang Xiaoyu: "I will bite you to death, asshole."
"Stop stop, I have a good idea."
Xiao Hei released his bite and asked: "What idea?"
"We will go beg for alms."
"Just say you are going to beg, a lustful guy like you still talks about begging for alms." Xiao Hei said disdainfully.
Tang Xiaoyu despairingly said: "It's so suffocating without power, and still suffocating even with power. What's with this!"
"There's no point just thinking here. Let's go to town and take a look!"
Xiao Hei nodded: "We have no other choices."
Arriving at the town, the two wandered aimlessly. Seeing a place ahead with many people gathered, Tang Xiaoyu wanted to join the fun.
Pushing through the crowd, a kneeling monk appeared in Tang Xiaoyu's sight.
The monk had clear brows and bright eyes, very affable.
[Time to stir up trouble? Then I won't hold back.] Tang Xiaoyu thought to himself.
"Bald donkey, what are you pretending to be?"
The monk was not angry and calmly said: "To enlighten all beings."
Tang Xiaoyu sneered: "Enlighten all beings? How? With your mouth?"
"If that's the case, I can even enlighten you."
The monk asked: "How would you enlighten me then?"
"How to enlighten you? Of course with my fists!" He said and started beating him up.
While beating, he scolded: "You don't even have full grown hair, yet you want to enlighten others?"
"One who does not understand the suffering of others should not tell others to do good. Do you know that?"
"Also, put down your butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot. What is it, does your Buddhist door only accept wicked people?"
"A bunch of villains, can't even enlighten yourselves, yet you want to enlighten all beings. How do you even think?"
After beating him to satisfaction, Tang Xiaoyu took all the valuable stuff from the monk and put them in his own pocket.
"This is my turf. You even dare to come and make trouble. If you come again next time, I will beat you every time I see you. Piss off!"
It was unknown whether the monk's brain was damaged from the beating, he stubbornly stood up straight again, chanting Buddha's name: "Amitabha, donor, if beating me allows you to drop your prejudice, what does my death matter?"
Just as Tang Xiaoyu was about to continue teaching him a lesson, an emaciated monk with yellow complexion, wearing tattered monk robes appeared in Tang Xiaoyu's sight.
The monk carried simple luggage, eyes looking downwards, walking steadily towards a less crowded place.
Tang Xiaoyu knew they were ascetic monks, having seen them in videos in his past life. He was even moved to tears by their conduct and words.
They didn't care for money or fame and profit. They cultivated only to temper their minds, cultivate their Paths and sustain themselves. They believed that the suffering in this world has its allotted portions. They endured sufferings and left happiness for the people of this world.
Tang Xiaoyu tidied his clothes and hurriedly went after him.
The onlooking crowd mourned in silence for that monk.
"That monk will probably not escape a beating too."
"I've never seen this monk before."
The people around echoed: "Not just never seen before, this is the first time I've seen such a destitute monk."
"Who isn't saying that! The monks that came two years ago were all fair and bright, dressed nicely."
Just as everyone was worried for that monk, Tang Xiaoyu walked over with the utmost solemnity and saluted with his palms joined.
"Great Master."
The monk only joined his palms and returned the salute, without speaking a word, and continued walking forward.
Tang Xiaoyu hurriedly bought some buns and fruits and offered them.
The other party waved his hands again and again: "We don't eat after noon, and will not accept any more offered food."
Tang Xiaoyu took out some silver and handed it over: "Consider this an affinity with you."
The monk declined: "We have precepts, we cannot accept money or possessions."
Then he went on his way without another word.
Tang Xiaoyu murmured: "Could they be the real people who have seen through the mundane world?"
Watching the fading back view, his heart was filled with complex emotions: "Seeing through the mundane world yet unable to break free from it, such is the sorrow of being human?"
Walking out of the room, Tang Xiaoyu had a trace of enlightenment, but more was confusion.
"Xiao Hei, fix up the path down our mountain!"
Xiao Hei speechlessly said: "What is there to fix about that path? With or without it we can still come down. If you want to fix it, do it yourself. I won't go."
Tang Xiaoyu: "Fine."
Subsequently, Tang Xiaoyu started clearing the weeds and branches along the path.
The path was not very useful to Tang Xiaoyu, but it was quite useful for the commoners who come up the mountain to gather herbs, chop firewood and hunt.
Since he couldn't save all beings, then at least he should try his best to help the people around him.
One day, two days, three days... Working from sunrise to sunset, from a sheep-gut path full of weeds, it became a forest path that allowed three people to walk abreast.
Day by day, Tang Xiaoyu changed this downward path. The people who met him, from calling him young man initially, to calling him Tang Daochang now. From looking down on him initially, to respecting him now.