Chad served in the army in the city. As a cook, he often had the chance to go out and buy groceries, so after experiencing the prosperity of the big city, he wasn’t content to settle down when he returned home after his discharge. All day long, he argued with his father, who was the village party secretary, about going out to work.

At first, Chad went out with a small contractor from the village, but he couldn’t handle the hardship. In the end, he found a job as a security guard in the city. This more than half a year of working life gave Chad, who was just starting out in society, a taste of how tough survival could be, which is why he now had so many feelings about it.

“What’s wrong with being a security guard?”

Hearing Chad’s words, Ethan Foster curled his lip and said, “I’ve said it before: ‘Heaven and earth are not benevolent, treating all things as straw dogs.’ Heaven and earth treat all things impartially, so what right do those people have to look down on security guards? Isn’t it just a job?”

“Ethan Foster, I think you’ve gotten stupid from staying in the mountains. You’ll understand once you go out…”

Chad stared at Ethan Foster for a while as if looking at an alien, shook his head, and said, “In today’s society, those with money and power are the bosses, and those without are nobodies. Someone like you would probably starve to death if you went out. I think you’d better stick with Mr. Chad me—at least you’ll have something to eat…”

Although he was also inexperienced in the ways of the world, Chad considered himself a seasoned veteran compared to Ethan Foster. This Ethan probably didn’t even know what money looked like, let alone how to use it.

“Starve to death? You’re saying I’d starve to death?”

Ethan Foster snorted and said, “I’m the abbot of Shangqing Temple, officially registered with the Taoist Association. Even if I go out and stay at various Taoist temples, they’ll welcome me with gongs and drums. I’ll definitely live better than you…”

As he spoke, Ethan Foster glanced at his own dilapidated temple and said a bit sheepishly, “Even if they don’t welcome me with gongs and drums, they’ll at least give me a vegetarian meal, right? My abbot’s ordination certificate is still in the house…”

Ethan Foster wasn’t bragging. His master, who spent his days loafing around, did only one thing for him besides raising him: before dying, he went down the mountain for three months and came back with a set of ordination papers and an ID card.

Many people think “abbot” is a Buddhist title, but that’s not actually the case. “Abbot” is the title for the highest leader in a Taoist temple, also called the “head priest.”

An abbot is a Taoist who has received the Three Altars Great Precepts, inherited the “Dharma” from a master, is strict in discipline, highly virtuous, and chosen by all the Taoists. In fact, the Buddhist use of “abbot” originally came from Taoism.

Given his master’s lazy nature, he certainly hadn’t had Ethan Foster receive the Three Altars Great Precepts. In their Shangqing Temple, aside from the rats in the kitchen, there were only Ethan Foster and his master. As long as the old Taoist agreed, it counted as being chosen by all the Taoists, so Ethan Foster could barely be considered the abbot.

However, Ethan Foster still had doubts about the set of documents his master brought back. Knowing the Taoist hierarchy well, he suspected his master might have seen those “get your certificate” ads at the train station and spent a few dozen yuan to get him a fake one.

“At your age, an abbot? You’d definitely get beaten up if you went out with that…”

Having grown up together since they were little, Chad could easily see Ethan Foster’s guilty conscience and said, “I think you’d better stick with Mr. Chad me. With your skills, if nothing else, you’d make a great daytime burglar. Even if people catch you, they wouldn’t be able to keep up…”

“Daytime burglar? What’s that?” Ethan Foster was stunned—he’d never heard the term before.

“Heh, it means robbing the rich to help the poor in broad daylight. Get it now?”

Chad let out a weird laugh. He’d heard about it while working as a security guard. Nowadays, there are people who steal in broad daylight, and some are even bold enough to hire moving companies to clear out all the valuables from someone’s house.

“You damn Chad, did you waste your years in the army?” Ethan Foster grumpily pulled Chad off the rocking chair and gave him a good beating, making Chad beg for mercy.

“Ow, don’t kick my butt, not there! Mr. Chad’s chrysanthemum hasn’t been developed yet…” The two had been roughhousing since they were kids, so Ethan Foster didn’t really use any force. After a bit of scuffling, they each lay back in their chairs.

“Chad, what do you think I should do if I go out?”

After hearing about the outside world from Chad, Ethan Foster, who had originally been full of longing for it, couldn’t help but sigh. Now he felt a bit uneasy—aside from some basic Taoist practices, he didn’t know anything else.

“Things are peaceful out there now. What you know definitely won’t be useful…”

Chad knew that the old Taoist used to do fortune-telling and exorcisms, but with today’s advanced technology, if Ethan Foster dared to do that kind of work, he’d probably be sent to the police station for promoting feudal superstitions.

“So what should I do? I can’t go out and perform on the street, can I?” Ethan Foster pulled a long face at that. He did have some real skills—if nothing else, the lightness skill he’d shown when catching cicadas wasn’t fake.