Seeing Old Preacher so out of sorts, William Clark felt a bit scared. He vaguely sensed that the information displayed in his mind was something extraordinary. He didn’t know whether it was good or bad, so he instinctively didn’t tell the truth.

“Talking in your sleep? No wonder. I was just thinking, how could you possibly be so accurate?”

After hearing William Clark’s words, Old Preacher let out a long sigh of relief. If William Clark had really calculated it himself, that wouldn’t be genius—it would be monstrous.

After cleaning the wound on his head, Old Preacher said, “You’ve already learned to read people’s expressions and moods. That means you’ve entered the door of this trade. Let me tell you about our Ma Yi lineage.”

The main reason Old Preacher took William Clark as a disciple was because life in the remote mountains was too lonely, and he wanted someone to talk to. Although he had taught William Clark many skills and taken him all over Maoshan to observe feng shui and earth energy, he hadn’t told William Clark much about the origins of their tradition.

Now, seeing how clever William Clark was, Old Preacher was moved. After all, he was over a hundred years old—who knew when he might suddenly pass away? The teachings of the founder still needed to be passed on.

“Our Ma Yi lineage’s founder is Ma Yi Daoist. By the time it reached me, I’m already the fiftieth generation. Although much has been lost over the generations, in the fields of physiognomy and feng shui geomancy, no one in the country can surpass us…”

“Master, I already know all this. Tell me something I don’t know.” Before Old Preacher could finish, William Clark interrupted him. He’d heard these self-praising words countless times.

“You brat, in our line of work, you need to talk less and observe more. So impatient!”

Old Preacher glared at William Clark in dissatisfaction, then continued, “Not counting you, I’ve taken two disciples in total. Your eldest senior brother is called Robert Harris. In 1949, he went to Taiwan with his family, and there’s been no news of him since. Your second senior brother is called David Carter. He should be about fifty this year, I think? He was with me the longest, but his family background wasn’t good. Around 1968, he fled to Hong Kong. Except for you, I never taught my health-preserving techniques to them. But neither of them is lacking in fortune. You might meet them in the future.”

At this point, Old Preacher couldn’t help but sigh. Although he had weathered a century of storms and was used to the comings and goings of life, these two disciples were both raised by his own hand, and thinking of them still made him emotional.

“Master, you have overseas connections? If you find your two senior brothers, couldn’t you go abroad and enjoy life?”

Hearing Old Preacher’s words, William Clark exclaimed in surprise. Things were different now than ten years ago—families with overseas connections used to do everything they could to hide it, afraid of being labeled as spies.

But now, having overseas connections was something people envied.

One of William Clark’s classmates had a great-uncle who came back from America and gave him a digital watch. That kid was so happy he had a runny nose for a week, and when he walked, he practically wanted to tie up his arm and hang it on his chest to show it off.

“Find them? Even if I did, I wouldn’t leave. The mountains here are beautiful, and I’ll just retire here.”

Old Preacher smiled and shook his head at this. He had witnessed almost all of China’s major modern events in his lifetime and had long since seen through worldly affairs. Wealth and glory really held no appeal for a centenarian.

Suddenly remembering something, Old Preacher stood up. “Alright, let’s talk about this later. It’s time to take you down the mountain to see the world. Go, fetch the ceremonial robe from the box in the room…”

Chapter 004: The Master

On the path down the mountain, two figures—one big, one small—were heading downhill. But what looked comical was that both were dressed in clean ceremonial robes, yet neither wore shoes, walking barefoot on the muddy path.

Both had a Daoist crown on their heads, covering their wounds. If you didn’t look at their feet, the older man really did have a bit of an immortal’s air.

“Master, where are we going?”

William Clark knew that there were two brand-new pairs of cloth shoes in the bundle on Old Preacher’s back, and he also understood why his master wouldn’t let him wear shoes. But he still didn’t get Old Preacher’s behavior. Dressed up so nicely, were they going down the mountain to swindle people?

“Yesterday, when I went down the mountain, I saw a white banner hanging at someone’s door. That usually means someone in the family has died. I’m taking you to perform a ritual…”

As Old Preacher spoke, he quickened his pace. That place was a bit closer to the main peak of Maoshan. If the family had already invited a Daoist from up there, this trip would be for nothing.

“Per… perform a ritual?” William Clark was dumbfounded by Old Preacher’s words. Wasn’t that a monk’s job? For a Daoist to do this—wasn’t that meddling in someone else’s business?

Sensing William Clark’s thoughts, Old Preacher snorted and said, “What’s wrong? The scripture I taught you to recite, the ‘Lingbao Wuliang Duren Shangpin Miaojing,’ or ‘Duren Jing’ for short, can deliver people from the three paths, five sufferings, and eight hardships, transcending the three realms…”

Old Preacher was right about this. Both monks and Daoists could perform rituals. Especially in the Maoshan area, Daoism was far more prevalent than Buddhism, and when there was a funeral, families usually invited Daoists.