Ashley Cooper was trembling all over, and her best friend was also frightened. After a few seconds, seeing Ashley Cooper's pale face, she hurried to comfort her, saying, "Yingying, it's okay, we weren't hurt."

However, at this moment, Ashley Cooper could no longer hear her friend's words. That sentence kept echoing in her mind.

"A young lady only needs to remember one thing: if you retreat when you encounter water, you can avoid this disaster."

After a long time, under her friend's anxious gaze, Ashley Cooper murmured to herself, "So what he said was true."

……

Longhua Yipin, a high-end villa district, with each villa costing over thirty million. The people living here were all either rich or powerful.

"This is the place, according to the address my master gave me."

At the entrance of the community, Brian Carter gazed at the neighborhood for a moment and said softly, "Eight Mansions Feng Shui, the theory of Qi and landforms—this really is a place that gathers wealth. Looks like the developers did consult a Feng Shui master."

"Could you please inform the owner of Villa 16 that an old friend from Miaohe Township has come to visit?"

Villa 16, Longhua Yipin.

Inside the hall, a distinguished lady was sizing up Brian Carter. Although she wore a smile, she couldn't hide the worry on her face.

"So you are that young Taoist priest Brian Carter from back then. I've seen your photo. I didn't expect you to have grown up so much after all these years."

Laura Bennett looked Brian Carter up and down, but in her heart, she couldn't help blaming her husband. Why did he make such a promise back then for no reason? Now look, the person has come to claim it. Does she really have to marry her daughter to him?

"Being a Taoist priest must be tough, right? Eating vegetarian and chanting scriptures all day—most people can't handle that, especially at your age. Take my daughter, for example; she can't go a meal without meat."

"Auntie, not all Taoist priests are vegetarians. The ones you're talking about are from the Quanzhen sect, those are monastic priests. There's also a kind called 'householder priests' who don't have such restrictions."

Brian Carter replied with a smile. Of course, there was one thing he didn't say: he wasn't actually a Taoist priest, he just lived in a Taoist temple.

Laura Bennett was at a loss for words. She had intended to use this as a way to tell Brian Carter that, since he was a Taoist priest, he shouldn't be thinking about her daughter. But Brian Carter's answer completely blocked what she wanted to say next.

She really didn't know that Taoist priests could eat meat and get married.

"I heard back then that if it weren't for your master, your Uncle Ye wouldn't have survived. Your master is a great benefactor to our family." Laura Bennett could only change the subject. "All these years, your Uncle Ye has been so busy he hasn't had time to visit your master. How has he been?"

"My master passed away three months ago."

"Passed away?" At first, Laura Bennett didn't react. When she realized what he meant, she quickly apologized, "I'm sorry for bringing up something sad."

"My master attained perfect enlightenment and ascended. It's a joyful event, not a sad one."

Brian Carter didn't mind at all. If it weren't for him, his master would have left the mortal world years ago.

However, Brian Carter's answer and attitude made Laura Bennett tense up inside, thinking, "This kid has been a Taoist priest for so long he's become silly. Dead is dead, what ascension? No way, I definitely can't let my daughter marry him."

Laura Bennett became even more determined in her heart. Who knows if this brainwashed Brian Carter might one day drag her daughter off to seek death for so-called ascension.

But after all, she came from a scholarly family and couldn't directly break the engagement. After pondering for a moment, Laura Bennett came up with an idea.

"Brian Carter, to tell you the truth, my daughter is a Christian. She talks to me all day about God and Jehovah, and even says she wants to go to the Vatican to see the Pope."

As Laura Bennett spoke, she watched Brian Carter's expression. When she saw him frown, she was secretly delighted, because she had heard that people with religious beliefs tend to be hostile toward other sects.

With this, Brian Carter probably wouldn't be interested in her daughter anymore.

"Auntie, just to clarify, the Vatican is the center of power for the Catholic Church. They don't call God 'Shangdi' but 'Heavenly Father.' The Christian church that calls God 'Shangdi' is Protestantism, which doesn't have a Pope."

As soon as Brian Carter spoke, his words left Laura Bennett speechless again.

"Also, Auntie, you may have misunderstood Taoism. In fact, Taoism is the most inclusive—it accepts almost all deities from other religions."

Brian Carter had frowned earlier because he heard Laura Bennett's misunderstanding of Taoism, and her words reflected what most people thought. In reality, if Taoism weren't inclusive, Buddhism wouldn't have been able to enter China in the first place.

To give a simple example, if you've visited many Taoist temples, you'll notice that many of them also enshrine Bodhisattvas and Buddhas. This is a characteristic of Taoism.

Follow the way of nature, let all things grow together. The highest good is like water; it benefits all and does not compete.

As long as believers are willing to donate, enshrining deities from other religions in Taoist temples is not forbidden. But other religions are quite the opposite.

Take Buddhism, for example—it's rare to find temples that enshrine Taoist deities, though Buddhism does have a notable feature: it incorporates many local deities.