Recently, Qi Zhi has been infuriating Bai Shuishui to the point of smoke coming out of her seven orifices. Bai Shuishui was now diligently practicing and hoping to one day give Qi Zhi a good beating.
Seeing this, the mischievous Qi Zhi teased her: "Bai Shuishui, if you're capable, then defeat me."
Bai Shuishui's fists clenched tightly.
She would subdue this demon sooner or later!
Misty smoke rose as in early June, there were especially many visitors burning incense to worship the Taoist scholar deity [God of Culture and Literature] Wenqu star, all hoping for good exam scores for their children in the upcoming college entrance exams.
Every year around this time, there was a constant stream of people coming to Lingyun Taoist Temple to worship.
Qi Zhi watched the spiraling smoke rise and glanced over the pilgrims, feeling bored. He went to look for Bai Shuishui again.
Due to the continuous flow of visitors, the open space for the Taoist priests to practice had been occupied, so Bai Shuishui had to go to the back peak. The terrain there was treacherous and steep, few people going up there.
Except for Qi Zhi, this shameless guy.
Qi Zhi yawned as he leaned against a tree. Seeing her powerful boxing skills, he deliberately provoked her:
"With those puny arms and legs of yours, even if you practice for another 180 years, you'll never be a match for this great lord."
Bai Shuishui remained calm, but her moves became increasingly agile. Her lithe figure unconsciously carried spiritual energy, and her speed was dazzlingly fast.
A flicker of amusement flashed in Qi Zhi's eyes. He mimicked Bai Shuishui's move from a few days ago, broke a tree branch and leapt into the air to spar with her.
Bai Shuishui's usually gentle and kind eyes turned sharp, as she blocked Qi Zhi's attack with a swift countermove.
Both of them were wearing dark blue robes. Bai Shuishui had her black hair pinned up with a wooden hairpin, while Qi Zhi had a clean short cut.
With Qi Zhi deliberately holding back, they seemed evenly matched in their exchanges.
After fifteen minutes, both stopped at the same time. Qi Zhi pointed his wooden branch sword directly at Bai Shuishui's throat.
The mountain wind blew over the top of Lingyun Peak, and Qi Zhi's stray hair fluttered lightly on his forehead. With a picturesque expression, he looked at Bai Shuishui and slowly raised his lips before saying, "You've lost."
Bai Shuishui pursed her lips, her eyes turned calm again, and she respectfully bowed to him in Daoist style. "May we have the infinite blessings of the Tianzun."
"Good!" Suddenly, Qi Zhi heard bursts of cheers from below.
At some point, a crowd had gathered at the foot of the mountain, each holding their phones to take a video of the two competing.
Qi Zhi frowned slightly, while Bai Shuishui calmly headed down the peak holding her wooden sword.
"Shuishui," Qi Zhi looked at her receding figure, his amber eyes flashed with heaviness that was different from his usual playful demeanor.
"What is it?" Bai Shuishui asked him with a sideways glance.
Qi Zhi tightened his grip, the branch in his right hand broke with a slight force.
In their past life, someone had also recorded a video of Shuishui practicing martial arts, drawing her father over to recognize her.
Qi Zhi shook his head slightly and sighed in his heart, "Nothing."
With him by her side, he would protect Shuishui well.
*
Things progressed much quicker than Qi Zhi imagined.
In less than an hour, the phrase 'Which fellow Taoist dare to compete here?' became a hot topic.
The public held great interest towards the mysterious martial arts in traditional culture.
What surprised Qi Zhi was that before Shuishui gained public attention, he himself became the focus of the video.
【Confused, isn’t this our big boss?】This was the comment of the official v of Qi Seafood under the hot search.
【No wonder we haven't seen President Qi lately, turns out he saw through the illusory mortal world and became a Taoist!】
【!!!】 Business partners who had been trying to collaborate with Qi Seafood but couldn't find Qi Zhi himself.
The large-scale recognition scene in the comment area made the video spread more and more widely.
Inside the Bai Group office building located in the center of Shangjing City, several employees gathered to discuss the video.
"Look, this Taoist master is so handsome." Someone showed it to their colleague in surprise.
Qi Zhi's good looks drew a wave of attention.
"Hahaha, he seems to be the CEO of the Qi Company." The female office worker said jokingly: "It's so funny that the CEO of a seafood company went up to the mountain to become a Taoist."
As soon as these words were spoken, several people immediately gathered around, saying, "Share the video in the group."
The video was sent to their internal chat group, spreading to more people of the Bai Group.
【Why do I think this Taoist looks a bit like the chairman?】As soon as this message appeared, the originally active staff group fell silent instantly.
【She does resemble him, especially the nose and lips.】
At this point, they hadn't yet realized the seriousness of the situation. After all, in such a large world, it's not uncommon for people to have similar appearances.
The fact that Bai Shuishui looked like the Chairman of Bai Group became a humorous topic that circulated internally within the company.
Soon, the news reached the ears of Chairman Bai.
Chairman Bai opened the video, carefully watching it over and over again. His hand trembled as he clicked the mouse, his expression changed from disbelief to a burst of ecstasy, and then darkened.
"It's so alike. Really too alike." It looked extremely similar to the child he and his ex-wife had back then.
The personal assistant who sent the video to Chairman Bai looked at his expression and stared at his nose and mouth. As his personal assistant for many years, looking at the chairman's expression his intuition told him that his relationship with the female Taoist Priest was not simple.
*
In mid-June, the scorching heat made it unbearable, as if the golden sun was melting everything away.
Cicadas cried in the mulberry trees, seeming to vow that something major was about to happen.
Qi Zhi fooled around accompanying Bai Shuishui through morning lessons. Then suddenly a senior brother came looking for Bai Shuishui.
"Xianyu, there's someone looking for you outside. The abbot wants you to go over."
"Okay, thank you senior brother for informing me." Bai Shuishui calmly replied with a Taoist bow before stepping out of the gate.
Hearing this, Qi Zhi stayed silent beside her. He extended his divine sense and noticed an additional unfamiliar aura in the Taoist Temple.
Qi Zhi's expression grew solemn. He didn't expect Bai's father to come to Lingyun Temple so quickly.
Qi Zhi strode over and followed Bai Shuishui.
"Someone's looking for me. Why are you tagging along?" Bai Shuishui looked speechless, her cheeks puffing slightly as she stared at Qi Zhi with her clear apricot eyes.
As Bai Shuishui spent more time with Qi Zhi, she became more expressive in front of him. Even she didn't realize that she was different from her usual calm demeanor when she was with Qi Zhi.
Qi Zhi raised an eyebrow and retorted, "You're going your own way, I'm going mine, how did it become me following you?"
Bai Shuishui was rendered speechless and didn't continue quibbling with him.
Over this time, she had come to understand Qi Zhi—the more attention you give him, the more he revels in it, becoming increasingly excessive.
Bai Shuishui even suspected more than once that Qi Zhi was not from the merfolk clan, but some kind of chatty parrot spirit reincarnated with a penchant for chatter.
As Qi Zhi and Bai Shuishui passed by outside the Taoist temple, they saw two cable cars still hanging on the cables.
The visitors had arrived by cable car.
Bai Shuishui's eyes flickered as she recalled that Qi Zhi also came up by cable car when he first arrived.
Lingyun Taoist Temple was located halfway up the mountain with rugged terrain.
However, those who came to offer incense and worship would walk up the mountain. They even kneel three times and kowtow nine times before going up the mountain.
This was because people feared that taking the cable car would make them seem insincere, and they would fail to receive the blessings of the Three Taoist Gods and various deities.
Qi Zhi glanced at the cable car. Having stayed at the temple for so long, he was also familiar with the customs. He said an old saying with implied meaning: "Those who come are up to no good. Good folks don't bother."
[lái zhě bù shàn , shàn zhě bù lái - An idiom. Its alternative meanings - Be careful not to trust foreigners. Or Beware of Greeks bearing gifts!]
Bai Shuishui pursed her lips and uttered the Taoist incantation: "May we have the infinite blessings of the Tianzun."
Hearing her chant, a dark glint flashed through Qi Zhi's eyes. He adjusted his Taoist robe sleeves and a murderous look appeared on his face.
I hope Shuishui won't follow her biological father down the mountain, otherwise……
*
In the quiet reception room of the Taoist temple, the abbot sat talking to an immaculately dressed middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
A faint scent of meditation incense filled the air, and thin wisps of smoke slipped out from the window, warm summer light shone on the middle-aged man's face. Qi Zhi glanced at him but couldn't clearly see his features for a moment.
Qi Zhi couldn't go in, so he just sat on the meditation mat outside and closed his eyes to rest his mind.
Bai Shuishui stood at the door and bowed to the abbot, "Master."
From his talk with the abbot, Chairman Bai learned of Bai Shuishui's life experience. His gaze settled on Bai Shuishui, her age and looks matched, and she even had a safety lock.
He looked a little excited, as if he was overjoyed to have found his long-lost daughter.
"Shuishui." The abbot called her by her real name, nodded and gestured for her to take a seat.
Bai Shuishui's eyes were filled with confusion. Seeing the middle-aged man continuously scrutinizing her, she frowned slightly, but still maintained a calm expression.
"Child." Chairman Bai took off his gold-rimmed glasses and said in a choked voice. "I finally found you."
As he finished speaking, he took out an old photo from his file bag.
The photo showed a family of three, a man, a woman, and a baby who looked to be only a few months old.
"This is a photo of you when you were five months old."
Father Bai's voice was sincere as he recounted the story of how Bai Shuishui had gone missing. "You were just one year old when your grandma took you out for a walk while she went shopping, and you were abducted by a trafficker..."
Outside, hearing this, Qi Zhi snorted.
In fact, it was Bai Shuishui's grandma who dumped Bai Shuishui to the traffickers in the name of going shopping. Without Bai Shuishui, she could then justifiably bring Chairman Bai's soon-to-be-born illegitimate son into the Bai family.
"Dad has been looking for you all these years." After speaking, he took out a silk handkerchief to wipe his tears.
Witnessing this scene, the abbot repeatedly chanted, "May we have the infinite blessings of the Tianzun."
Since childhood, Bai Shuishui knew that she was rescued by her master from the hands of human traffickers.
She used to yearn for her parents to find her one day.
Later when she came of age, Bai Shuishui formally took the abbot as master and became a Taoist at Lingyun Taoist Temple, severing her worldly ties.
But now, a man claiming to be her father had come searching for her.
Bai Shuishui's mind was in turmoil, but her expression didn't fluctuate much. "May we have the infinite blessings of the Tianzun. This poor disciple has lived in joy and contentment at the temple over the years and suffered no hardships."
"You... don't be too sad."
"Shuishui—I am your father."
Bai Shuishui's father, seeing her detached and enlightened demeanor, stretched out his voice with a look of guilt and remorse on his face. "Losing you back then was dad's mistake."
As he spoke, Father Bai lamented to Bai Shuishui: "Whenever your grandma thinks of you, she can't sleep all day and night. She worships Buddha and observes fast at home, praying for your blessings."
Father Bai used his trump card: "If you don't believe me, we can do a paternity test."
Upon hearing this, Bai Shuishui's eyes flickered for a moment. "May we have the infinite blessings of the Tianzun. Let's do the paternity test first..."
Hearing that they were going to do a paternity test, Qi Zhi outside opened his eyes, his gaze turning cold.
Father Bai's assistant took two strands of hair with hair follicles and went to the pre-arranged hospital.
The abbot stood up, intending to leave the space for the long-lost father and daughter.
"May we have the infinite blessings of the Tianzun. This poor Taoist shall take his leave first."
The abbot bowed, then walked to the door and said to Qi Zhi with a compassionate expression: "Mr. Qi, please accompany this humble one for a walk."
"Alright." Qi Zhi nodded and accompanied the abbot outside.
On the way, Qi Zhi dropped his usual playful smile and said in a heavy tone, "Does the abbot believe that man's words?"
"May the Tianzun bless us with infinite blessings. Everything has its own predetermined fate." The abbot twirled the prayer beads in his hand. "Mr. Qi, with your spiritual powers, you should also know that the man is indeed Shuishui's biological father."
Qi Zhi raised an eyebrow, a glint of darkness passing through his amber eyes. His tone was slightly sarcastic. "He is the chairman of the Bai Group. The Bai family's schemes run deep. Who knows how Shuishui went missing back then?"
Upon hearing these words, the abbot let out a faint sigh and simply said, "May we have the infinite blessings of the Tianzun."
"Xianyu has fate with our Taoism. Tianzun will surely protect Xianyu."
Thinking of Bai Shuishui's tragic death in a haunted house in her past life, Qi Zhi sneered and cursed without restraint, "Protect my arse."