Wandering Gods of Day and Night

He lit the incense, bowed three times to the Buddha statue, inserted the incense into the burner, and then sat cross-legged to meditate.

"Young Master, do you want to come in and offer incense?"

The temple priest spotted Zhou Xuan waiting outside and asked.

The "Young Master" mentioned in his words was different in meaning from the "Young Master" referred to by the Bone Elder Association.

The temple priest simply noticed Zhou Xuan dressed impressively, assuming he must have some spare money, and respectfully addressed him as "Young Master," hoping he would buy incense and worship.

In small temples like this, the temple priest's income mostly comes from selling incense and the offering money from worshippers.

"I don't worship at Buddhist temples," Zhou Xuan replied to the temple priest.

"This temple is quite spiritual,"

The temple priest said, "This is the Little Living Buddha Temple, not one of those chaotic ones."

"What kind of Buddha does this temple worship?"

"The Merciful Golden Leaf Venerable."

"Never heard of this Buddha," Zhou Xuan remarked.

"Have you heard of Qiye Temple? The Seven-Leaf Venerable from there. For some reason, Qiye Temple no longer enshrines this Buddha, so we small temples worship it instead."

Zhou Xuan furrowed his brows deeply. Wasn't this just another chaotic Buddha?

Seeing that Zhou Xuan hesitated to buy incense, the temple priest guessed that he wasn't the type willing to spend a copper coin and decided to stop talking, shifting his gaze instead to Zhao Wuya inside the temple.

After waiting for several minutes, Zhao Wuya shook the Daoist robe he was wearing and stepped out.

The temple priest greeted him cheerfully, "Daoist Master, done offering your incense."

"Here's for you."

Zhao Wuya pulled a silver dollar from his bag and tossed it towards the temple priest.

The temple priest caught the money, his grin reaching his ears. Holding the floating silver dollar, he blew on it, brought it close to his ear, and listened attentively.

Hearing the humming sound, his joy came straight from the heart, and he said repeatedly, "Thank you, Daoist Master! Thank you, Daoist Master!"

Once Zhao Wuya got back into his car, Zhou Xuan called to the coachman, instructing him to run alongside Zhao Wuya's car to make chatting easier.

"Ya Zi, your beliefs are all over the place! A Taoist worshiping at a Buddhist temple — do you even know what temple you just visited?"

"The Merciful Golden Leaf Venerable."

"Nonsense. The temple priest just told me straight — it's the Seven-Leaf Venerable's temple. You know who the Seven-Leaf Venerable is, right?"

"Is it him?"

Zhao Wuya, who practically lived at Zhou Family's Jingyi Shop, couldn't possibly not know the name of the Seven-Leaf Venerable.

"Of course it's him."

"Well, I wouldn't know. I just had this feeling deep down, telling me to go offer my worship."

Zhao Wuya didn't seem to care whether the Buddha he revered was upright or crooked. He went on to chat with Zhou Xuan about his birth story.

"My dad told me that since I was a kid, I've had a Buddha connection. When the midwife delivered me, she said the moment she grabbed my foot, she heard Buddhist chanting. Right then and there, she kowtowed to me three times before daring to finish delivering me."

"On the third day after I was born, my family hosted a three-day feast to entertain guests. Guess what... While everyone was drinking merrily, outside in my family's courtyard came a massive group of spirit monsters: Rat Immortal, Fox Immortal, yellow-skinned ones — all lined up. They were kowtowing to my dad. No, correction... They were kowtowing to me in my dad's arms."

Zhou Xuan listened, his expression growing increasingly bewildered, and said immediately, "Wow, looks like you're something special... Maybe those spirit monsters thought you were a Sweeping Star descending into the world and begged your dad to send you back."

"Stop making things up. What I said is all true."

Beaming with pride, Zhao Wuya said, "Back in my hometown, all the elders said that I'm some reincarnated Buddha with immense Buddha fate. Those spirit monsters came because they sensed the Buddha essence in me, hoping to soak in some of it."

"Sounds straight out of a tall tale."

"It's absolutely true! If you don't believe me, go to my hometown and ask around! The folks over there don't call me the Dragon Seeking Heavenly Master — they call me Lord Zhao instead."

Zhou Xuan clicked his tongue in disbelief. In his experience, anyone nicknamed "Lord Buddha" usually wasn't someone great.

"Sounds like you're pulling my leg."

"You just don't get it. If Buddhist temple rules weren't so strict and deep, I'd have become a monk by now. Who knows — I might've truly become a Great Buddha."

Zhao Wuya pulled two paper-wrapped parcels out of his bag, handed one to Zhou Xuan, and kept one for himself.

"What's this?"

"Incense pork. Eat up."

Zhao Wuya unwrapped his parcel, took out a piece of crispy roasted pork dripping with oil, and stuffed it straight into his mouth. At the same time, he pulled out a small jar of liquor from his bag.

Sipping liquor and biting pork, he enjoyed himself immensely.

"Ya Zi, you're truly something! Out to collect Dragon Qi, but you carry a bag stuffed with snacks. With your style, forget Buddha and Taoism — join the Beggar Gang instead. Wouldn't that be more fitting for your status now?"

Zhou Xuan dismissed Zhao Wuya's story entirely. Such mystical tales, paired with Ya Zi's usual habit of running his mouth, left Zhou Xuan pretty convinced it was all nonsense.

"Landlord, I've reached six incense flames."

"Still blowing smoke?"

"Check if I'm really at six flames."

Zhao Wuya unleashed his aura. Zhou Xuan's incense wasn't strong, but his perception was extraordinary. With a slight focus, he sensed Ya Zi's energy. And wouldn't you know it — it really did feel like six flames.

"One Mo Tingsheng got you all the way to six flames?"

But Mo Tingsheng was just a three-flame Buddha Country person. Even if he poured all his cultivation into Zhao Wuya, there's no way five flames could directly ascend to six flames.

"It's still climbing — my incense is burning fiercely."

"Impossible. A three-flame boosting you to seven flames? How does that make sense?"

Zhao Wuya closed his eyes and focused, staying silent for a long time.

Zhou Xuan waited for a while, curious about Zhao Wuya's incense progression, and asked, "Ya Zi, has it reached seven flames yet?"

"It's burned down to five flames," Ya Zi replied painfully.

Zhou Xuan was even more shocked and said, "Your incense is so bizarre... burning backward?"