nucmednet Chapter 73 Fame
Chapter 73 Fame
??
The inner hall was a large room that could accommodate forty or fifty people, but even if each villager only sent one person, there would still be over a hundred people. Adding Wang Bao's disciples, the inner hall was packed to the brim. To conceal their presence, the three of them chose the furthest corner.
After waiting a while, Wang Bao emerged from the inner room of the main hall and sat down on a prayer mat, surrounded by his disciples. Upon seeing the great immortal appear, the villagers all sat down properly, cross-legged. It must be said, Wang Bao was quite handsome; a square face, a flowing beard, and a certain air of otherworldly elegance. Liu Ye thought to himself, "No matter the time, a good appearance is always an advantage. If Wang Bao were a sleazy old man, he certainly wouldn't amount to anything."
After Wang Bao settled down, he kept his eyes downcast, appearing enigmatic and unfathomable, while his disciples presided over the proceedings. It seemed this kind of fortune-telling gathering had been held more than once before; the disciples gave a few brief instructions, and the villagers were quite familiar with the procedure. Villagers whose names were randomly selected walked up to Wang Bao with talismans, threw them into a brazier, and after they burned out, Wang Bao began his divination.
The first villager was a short, thin middle-aged man. Wang Bao looked up and made some calculations with his fingers before slowly saying, "You were born on the fifth day of the fifth month at the hour of Chen (7-9 AM). You are forty-two years old this year. You have four brothers and sisters, but no children."
Upon hearing this, the man trembled, knelt down, and cried out, "Great Immortal, you are indeed all-powerful! My wife has not been able to give birth to a child for many years. Please, Great Immortal, enlighten me!"
"Your Five Elements are dominated by Earth, and your Earthly Branch is Chen. If you do not change your fate, you are destined to be childless."
"I beg the master for mercy to change the fate of this wretched man!"
Wang Bao sighed softly, "Very well, if I don't help you two, you'll be left without a child to see you off in your old age, which is truly pitiful. I'll risk shortening my own lifespan to help you. I have a talisman for granting children here. Take it, burn it, and drink the ashes with water. After a year, it will break your fate."
Overjoyed, the man accepted the talisman and kowtowed several times, saying, "Thank you, Great Immortal! I still have a few acres of poor land at home. This is the land deed, which I give to you, Great Immortal. Please do not find it offensive!"
Wang Bao closed his eyes and murmured, "I have always been devoted to doing good. Money is just an external thing. Don't ruin my practice."
“The Great Immortal naturally does not covet such worldly things, but since the Great Immortal has gone to great lengths for us, the expenses for setting up the altar and performing the rituals should naturally be borne by us mortals. Please do not refuse, Great Immortal.”
Wang Bao remained silent, which was taken as tacit approval of the other party's actions. A disciple then stepped forward to take the land deed.
The second woman was a peasant. After the talisman burned completely, Wang Bao accurately stated her birth date and time, the number of people in her family, and that her husband suffered from tuberculosis. The woman was astonished by his knowledge of her situation and knelt down, begging for help. Wang Bao again produced a talisman, instructing her to burn it to ashes and drink it with water; she would recover in six months. The woman thanked him profusely, but then said with difficulty, "Great Immortal, my family is already dirt poor from trying to buy medicine for my husband's treatment. How can I possibly repay you?"
Wang Baoyun said calmly, "I did not come here for money. I know you are destitute. You have an unmarried daughter, fifteen years old this year, with an excellent destiny and a connection with my sect. So send her to me to become my disciple and join my sect!"
The peasant woman did indeed have a fifteen-year-old daughter who was quite beautiful. Upon hearing that she could become a disciple of the immortal, she thought it was a good way out and readily agreed.
Standing in the corner, Ling Xi'er whispered to Bai Lian, "Master, this Wang Bao is clearly going to ruin someone's girl."
Bai Lian's eyes flashed: "Although recruiting people into the religion is not limited by gender or age, and everyone is equal, given Wang Bao's character, this matter is indeed suspicious."
Liu Ye curled his lip and said, "What's suspicious? Fairy, you're too kind-hearted. Wang Bao set up this scheme to obviously cheat the rich out of money and cheat the poor out of people."
Wang Bao then received more than a dozen people, each of whom stated their problem and were given a talisman. An hour later, the disciple announced that the fortune telling for today was over, and those who were not chosen should come back another day.
After the villagers dispersed, the three had nowhere to hide. Wang Bao's disciples discovered them and demanded, "Who are you? The rituals for today are all finished. What are you still doing here?"
Wang Bao chuckled and said, "Don't be rude. This is the Holy Maiden who protects our sect. You should all pay your respects to her."
The disciples exchanged glances, gave a perfunctory bow, and called out in unison, "Greetings, Holy Maiden!"
Bai Lian didn't seem to care. Liu Ye watched coldly. It seemed that this so-called Holy Maiden of the Faith had less power than he had imagined. And Wang Bao's indulgence of his disciple's rudeness showed that he didn't take Bai Lian seriously. It seemed that without using some tricks, his plan to follow Bai Lian and infiltrate the rebel army with Wang Bao's help would fail.
"Why didn't you inform us earlier that the Holy Maiden has arrived? I could have sent people to burn incense and sweep away the dust to welcome her!" Wang Bao wasn't surprised at all by Bai Lian's arrival, because he had already discovered their whereabouts. With the appearance of Bai Lian and her disciple, they stood out like cranes among chickens among the villagers; it would be difficult not to notice them.
Impatient with these formalities, Bai Lian cut to the chase: "Protector Wang, I've heard you have spies in the rebel army. Whether we can use their strength for our sect is a major matter. As a member of the main altar, I should naturally contribute. Please help me infiltrate the rebel army."
Wang Bao chuckled and said, "Holy Maiden, you must be tired from your journey. It's getting late, so let's rest and recuperate before we talk."
He not only had informants within the rebel army, but also maintained close ties with a key figure within the rebel ranks. All of this was kept secret from the Shandong headquarters, all in pursuit of a highly ambitious plan. He couldn't allow Bai Lian to interfere and ruin his scheme. However, although Bai Lian lacked real power, she was still considered part of the headquarters, and he still had to maintain a facade of compliance.
Bai Lian thought about it and realized that this matter couldn't be rushed, so she followed his arrangement and went to rest in the side room.
After she left, Wang Bao's face darkened, and he remained silent. One of his disciples asked, "Master, this Holy Maiden seems to be here to reap the rewards. After all our hard work, are we just going to be the ones who benefit her?"
Another disciple said, "She's a saintess with no official position or power, so her words may not be effective. Why should the Dharma Master pay attention to her? Just find a reason to send her away." Several other disciples echoed this sentiment.
Hearing the murmurs of the crowd, Wang Bao finally spoke: "How can I let her interfere with the scheme I have laid out? However, she is, after all, the Holy Maiden who protects the main altar, and her martial arts are also highly skilled. We can only outsmart her, not force her."
Upon hearing this, the disciples all said, "Our Dharma Master is a master strategist; we will follow your instructions in everything."