Chapter 125: Cultivation in Seclusion

The morning bell shattered the stillness of the mountain mist.

Qin Qing rose at the sound, for once not lingering in bed.

Today, she planned to attend morning prayers.

Mumu, curled up at the bedside, jolted awake, confused as to why they were up so early.

It stood, gave a shake, and instantly snapped to alertness.

Qin Qing patted its head. “Morning, Mumu.”

“Wuu…”

But something felt off. She kept hearing a sound.

Turning her head, she saw a plump orange tabby cat sprawled belly-up on her pillow, sleeping soundly. She had no idea when it got there.

Qin Qing: “…”

She reached out and poked the cat’s soft belly, which oozed across the pillow like liquid.

The fat cat flicked its tail.

She poked it again.

The cat opened its eyes, licked its paw, and meowed lazily.

Qin Qing ignored it.

She gave her face a quick rinse with cold water, tied her hair into a simple bun, and slipped on her cloth shoes without bothering to pull up the heels properly. Then she headed out.

Mumu followed closely behind.

Feifei, the fat cat who had been watching her from the pillow, stretched lazily and hopped off the bed to follow as well, meowing all the while.

It sounded like it was cursing.

The morning dew still clung to the earth, and a faint blush had begun to rise on the horizon.

Qin Qing rubbed her arms, suddenly aware that she was dressed too lightly.

Around her, Daoist Masters from the monks’ quarters were already trickling toward the Chanting Hall. There wasn’t time to go back and change, so she bent down and scooped up the fat cat at her feet.

The cat’s body, slightly warmer than a human’s, became a cozy heater in her arms.

Feifei shifted slightly, adjusted its position, placed its front paws on her shoulders, and rested its chin on them, purring contentedly with its eyes closed.

As she passed a narrow alleyway, Qin Qing saw a large group of people emerging from it. Judging by their clothing, they were pilgrims.

She remembered that the alley led to the storage rooms. Had there been so many pilgrims lately that they were being housed in the warehouse?

A girl gasped softly, “Is that Feifei?”

“Can I pet it?” she asked, reaching out. The dozing cat suddenly opened its eyes and swiped a paw at her.

Qin Qing reacted quickly and pulled away before the girl could get scratched.

She took a few steps back.

“Still half-asleep, a little grumpy.”

“Ahhh, it even throws tantrums when it wakes up. So cute!” The girl and her friends were practically starry-eyed.

“You’re here for secluded cultivation too, right?” One of them noticed Mumu at Qin Qing’s feet and asked, “Is your job taking care of the temple pets?”

Qin Qing gave a light laugh. “Something like that.”

The girl’s companions chimed in, “There are jobs that cute? Why’s our luck so bad? The day before yesterday we were assigned to fertilize and weed the vegetable garden, and yesterday we peeled potatoes in the kitchen all day…”

Qin Qing glanced at them. Their Health Values and Mood Values were both decent, not like those who had come seeking healing. And their lively chatter didn’t match that of devout lay practitioners either.

There seemed to be quite a few people like them, both men and women, all coming from the direction of the storage rooms.

She was curious, but didn’t say anything. She planned to ask someone about it later.

The crowd gradually flowed toward the Chanting Hall.

Inside the main gate, the hall was divided into an inner and outer chamber.

The girls who had spoken to Qin Qing found spots in the outer hall and knelt down. They waved her over, inviting her to sit with them.

Qin Qing gently shook her head and said nothing more.

She carried Feifei into the inner hall.

Behind her, she heard someone whisper, “Huh… she went into the inner hall? Won’t the Daoist Masters scold her?”

In the inner hall, beneath a plaque inscribed with the words “Embrace Simplicity and Uphold Truth,” the Old Celestial Master sat at the very center.

Below him, seated in neat rows, were the Daoist Masters of the Wu generation, followed by the Cheng generation, and then the Xing generation, which had the most members.

Qin Qing found Xing Cai and Xinghe in the last row and went to sit cross-legged beside them.

Xing Cai was yawning behind his scripture, but when he saw Qin Qing, he perked up mid-yawn and greeted her happily.

“I didn’t get a chance to visit you yesterday. I was planning to find you after morning prayers for breakfast.” He added, “Why didn’t you go sit up front?”

Feifei stretched dramatically in Qin Qing’s arms, then looked around, leapt to the ground, and darted straight to the front, curling up right at the Old Celestial Master’s feet.

The Old Celestial Master stroked the cat and smiled in Qin Qing’s direction.

Qin Qing quickly lowered her head and whispered to Xing Cai, “Doing my practice under the Old Celestial Master’s nose? I’m not that enlightened yet.”

On her other side, Xinghe had his head bowed, eyes fixed devoutly on the scripture spread across his lap.

Qin Qing asked Xing Cai, “What’s with him?”

Xing Cai yawned again behind his scripture. “He’s squeezing in a nap.”

Just as he finished speaking, Xinghe suddenly jolted forward, nearly toppling over.

Before Qin Qing could react, he caught himself and sat upright again, pretending to study the scripture with pious focus.

Xing Cai stifled a giggle behind his hand.

Qin Qing leaned down to look. Sure enough, Xinghe’s eyes were closed.

“…”

At the front, the Old Celestial Master had stopped petting the cat, but didn’t chase it away.

He formed a hand seal over the cat’s rising and falling belly and called out in a deep voice, “Zuo Wang.”

His resonant voice echoed through the Chanting Hall, and both the inner and outer chambers fell silent.

Xinghe snapped awake, momentarily dazed, and glanced at Qin Qing.

Then he obediently formed the hand seal.

Following the Old Celestial Master, they chanted the *Scripture of Clarity and Tranquility*.

“The Great Dao is formless, giving birth to Heaven and Earth…”

Wisps of blue smoke curled up from the four bronze crane incense burners at the corners of the Chanting Hall.

Qin Qing recited along with the rhythm of the Daoist Masters.

The words rolled from her throat in the unique cadence of scripture chanting. At a certain moment, the voices in the Chanting Hall resonated in unison, startling the swallows under the eaves. With clear cries, they spread their wings and flew off into the open air.

Within that sound, the unease and confusion that clung to the heart seemed to be burned away into smoke by the incense.

At first, Mumu had been curled up at Qin Qing’s feet, covering his ears.

By the time Qin Qing came back to herself from the scripture and finished the morning lesson, the little guy had already disappeared who knows where.

The Old Celestial Master flicked his horsetail whisk, signaling the end of the morning session.

The Daoist Masters rose from their meditation mats and greeted Qin Qing as they passed.

Some invited her to pick strawberries and mulberries, others to gather mushrooms, and a few even asked her to climb cherry trees with them…

Only the grumpy old Daoist Wuwang glared at her, his beard puffing with indignation.

“Hmph, so you finally remembered to come back? Have you even looked at how many medical cases are piling up?”

Qin Qing rubbed her nose sheepishly.

It was true—she had been the one to propose collaborating with Baiyun Temple in the first place. Who would’ve thought she’d end up traveling all over the country, leaving this whole mess behind for so long?

Wuyong walked past Daoist Wuwang.

She chuckled and said, “Senior Brother, you should be grateful. I’m still the one managing her studio, you know.”

Qin Qing gave an awkward laugh. “Well, what can I say? With great ability comes great responsibility.”

Daoist Wuwang opened his mouth, then closed it again, as if unsure what to say. In the end, he just gave another disgruntled snort.

Ah, the old man was kind of cute when he got like this.

Qin Qing said, “Daoist Master, I’m back now, didn’t even go home—came straight up the mountain. As for those medical cases, just arrange them however you see fit. We can start today.”

Daoist Wuwang stroked his beard and gave a grunt of acknowledgment.

Just as they finished speaking, Xinghe and Xing Cai came over, only to be waved away by Wuyong.

“Shoo, I need to talk to her.”

Qin Qing asked, “Is it about the studio?”

“Not to worry. Once everything was set up, I actually had quite a bit of free time. Our new Crystal Ball Experience Room is fully renovated and operational now. Revenue’s been growing exponentially. That alone is now making several times more than all the other services combined.

If we’d known earlier, we should’ve just focused on the ball-touching experience. Practically zero cost.”

Her tone sounded almost mournful, as if lamenting all the money they could’ve made.

Qin Qing replied, “…That’s great.”

Then Wuyong’s tone shifted. “But something’s off with you this time.”

Qin Qing clenched her hands behind her back.

“It’s nothing. I’m adjusting.”

“Did something happen? While everyone was chanting earlier, I slacked off a bit and cast a few divinations for you.” Wuyong looked at her seriously. “I’ve never been good at reading your fate, but this time, all three hexagrams came out the same—Xun wood sinking into Kan water, White Tiger carrying a corpse.”

Qin Qing hadn’t taken all those Daoist culture classes for nothing.

She could interpret the hexagrams herself.

The meaning was clear: overlapping yin lines forming a killing force. Within seven days, ominous stars would align. Avoid blades and weapons, stay away from water and fire, and don’t travel alone at night.

In plain language: a major calamity within seven days.

But her own journal showed no gray text or signs of ill fortune. She stared at Wuyong, speechless. “You must’ve made a mistake.”

Wuyong scratched her cheek. “I hope so too. But better safe than sorry. Just be careful.”

Shi Jiang suddenly spoke up. “I’ll stay with her around the clock. The other two security officers are also within immediate response range.”

Wuyong took a step back and patted her chest. “Where did you pop out from?”

Shi Jiang replied, “…I’ve been here the whole time.”

Wuyong: Huh?

Qin Qing patted her on the shoulder and joked, “Shi Jiang can turn invisible. Didn’t you know?”

Wuyong rolled her eyes.

“Hahaha…” After laughing, Qin Qing suddenly remembered something. “Wait, you were slacking off right under the Old Celestial Master’s nose?”

Wuyong said indifferently, “What’s the big deal? I’m not the only one. Sometimes even Senior Brother slacks off.”

The two of them chatted and laughed as they walked toward the dining hall.

There, they saw the noisy crowd of pilgrims again.

Qin Qing asked about them, and Wuyong explained.

It turned out that Baiyun Temple had been growing more and more popular.

More and more pilgrims wanted to stay on the mountain for a few days.

Many of them weren’t even lay practitioners or fans of Daoist culture. They came purely out of curiosity.

Wuyong felt that with so many of these people around, the Monk’s Quarters were no longer sufficient. Even those who truly needed a place to stay couldn’t find room.

“So I figured it wasn’t sustainable to let them eat and stay here for free. I renovated and expanded the warehouse behind the Monk’s Quarters and turned it into a hotel.”

Qin Qing’s eyes nearly popped out. “A hotel?”

Wuyong replied, “It’s basically a hotel, but we can’t call it that in front of the pilgrims. I gave it names like ‘Zuowang Hall’ and ‘Jingxin Hall.’ Then, following the model of the Crystal Ball Room, I opened up reservations through the Taoist Temple’s official account. Marketed it as a ‘retreat experience.’

Business is booming. Some stay for three to five days, others for a whole month. When they arrive, we have them join morning and evening lessons, teach them to handle their own meals and room cleaning, and assign them some temple chores…”

Qin Qing cut in, “Wait… is it free?”

Wuyong gave her a sideways glance. “If it were free, would I be calling it a hotel?”

She stretched out her arms, took a deep breath with her eyes closed as she faced the lush green mountains, and said, “With such a beautiful environment up here, I’m offering a premium service. Charging three, five, or seven hundred a night depending on the room size is already cutting it close.”

Qin Qing: “…So you’re charging people hundreds per night, without room service, meals and Daoist robes cost extra, and you even assign them chores?”

Wuyong stood with her hands behind her back, nodding occasionally to the younger disciples who passed by and greeted her. She carried herself with the full air of a Young Heavenly Master.

“Is there a problem? Bookings are through the roof. All rich folks, big bosses. Each reservation is for at least seven days. When they leave, they’re reluctant to go and even donate extra incense money to the temple. They all say their body and soul have been thoroughly healed.”

Qin Qing: “…Well, at least you’re not scamming poor people.”