Apprentice Uncle Ming

The little thieves in Guangmingli, although adhering to the principle of "a rabbit doesn't eat the grass by its own burrow," wouldn't break into the homes of the poor people in the community.

But that didn't mean they would suppress their curiosity. All the strange places in Guangmingli had been visited by these people, and many of the skilled thieves even took it as a capital to show off to their companions.

Once, no one knew who suggested it, but several skilled thieves decided to visit Uncle Ming's Taoist altar at his home while he was at the stall, in order to verify whether Uncle Ming was really from a renowned celestial master family as others said.

After one night, some of these people went crazy and some died. Since then, no thief ever talked about anything related to Uncle Ming again.

Yin Xiu had heard this mysterious rumor, so when he came to Uncle Ming's house, he couldn't help but feel nervous.

Following Uncle Ming, they entered a room that had been set up as a small Taoist altar.

There was an offering table, two sets of incense and candles. In the middle of the table, two swords were enshrined. One was the long sword that had been used to deal with the fox demon before, and the other was a slightly shorter peachwood sword.

On the wall behind the offering table, there was a painting of a Taoist exorcising ghosts. The Taoist in the painting had sword-shaped eyebrows and star-like eyes, with his beard bristling in anger. He held a sword in his left hand and a magic ruler in his right hand, about to subdue the evil ghost that was under his foot.

"This is the founding master of our Mao family."

As he spoke, he took out perfume and breath freshener and sprayed them all over Yin Xiu. "There's no time for fasting and bathing. Just make do with this."

After spraying, he motioned for Yin Xiu to kneel properly on the futon and keep his eyes straight ahead.

Uncle Ming took out three sandalwood incense sticks and respectfully bowed towards the painting.

Then he looked at Yin Xiu again. "It's agreed that you're becoming my disciple just for an identity, and I'm just doing this because I don't want to have no face to see my great-grandfather after I die. After the ceremony is over, you can still go back to your work, and I'll continue to stir-fry glutinous rice."

"Outside, don't call me master either. Just call me Uncle Ming like everyone else. Got it?"

Yin Xiu nodded, and then under Uncle Ming's guidance, he performed the ceremony, took the incense sticks handed to him, and respectfully bowed three times.

After Uncle Ming chanted from the scriptures for a while, he took out a red envelope from his pocket and handed it to Yin Xiu.

"Here, wish you good health and great luck!"

"No, no, I can't accept this!"

There was a big smile in Yin Xiu's eyes. After tremblingly taking the red envelope, he quickly opened it.

It was empty!

Seeing Yin Xiu's confused look, Uncle Ming cursed, "You little rascal, this red envelope is for you to fill and give to me."

Yin Xiu nodded pitifully, reached into his pocket and rummaged around, taking out a pile of change. There were one or two recharge cards as the larger denominations, and some coins as the smaller ones.

When Uncle Ming saw that Yin Xiu was about to put the recharge cards into the red envelope, he shook his head in disappointment, "Just a little bit of money, like one or two dimes, is enough. It's just for the sake of good luck."

After the two of them drank the apprenticeship tea and bowed to the portrait again, Uncle Ming handed him a piece of yellow paper.

"This is my letter of recommendation. Find some time to go to Wong Tai Sin, spend some money to register, and you can become a Taoist. As for the Taoist certificates and such, it depends on whether you have the ability to obtain them in the future."

Yin Xiu excitedly took the yellow paper. The moment his fingers touched the paper, a voice sounded in his mind.

[Milestone achieved: Obtained a new identity.]

[Milestone reward: The Heart of Still Water, The Eyes of the Clear Mirror.] Description: The Heart of Still Water, a passive skill. As a Taoist, you are immune to all mental attacks from those whose level is not higher than yours, and there is a probability of resisting higher-level illusions. The skill improves with the individual's level.

Description: The Eyes of the Clear Mirror, a passive skill. Blessed by the founding master! As you've just entered the Taoist path, your eyes have been enlightened, and you've initially mastered the art of reading qi. Low-level demons and monsters will have nowhere to hide in front of you. You can enhance this ability with pomelo leaves. The skill improves with the individual's level.

This series of prompts and changes happened in the blink of an eye. Yin Xiu felt a warm current enter his body, and his eyes and mind became much clearer all of a sudden.

So as long as he completed specific events and unlocked milestones, he could get rewards?

These rewards should also come from the prosthetic limb on his left hand. Maybe there were other events that could be unlocked, but at present, this mechanism was still a mystery to him and could only be explored slowly in the future.

Uncle Ming didn't seem to notice anything strange either. He just felt that Yin Xiu's whole temperament had suddenly changed.

But he didn't care too much about it either. He just said, "Alright, you can go back now. If you have something to do in the future, come to the stall to find me, but it's better not to look for me."

"By the way."

Uncle Ming suddenly took out the demon core left by the fox demon before from his pocket. Now its surface had lost its luster and it just looked like a small mud ball.

"Your house has been demolished beyond recognition. I guess the landlord will ask you to compensate for it. And if you still live there, the fox demon won't let you off either. Take this demon core. The merchants in Temple Street should be interested in this thing and you can exchange it for some money."

Yin Xiu carefully took the bead and then asked, "Uncle Ming, do you mean the fox demon will come back?"

"Of course." Uncle Ming snorted coldly. "Animals like foxes have a very strong sense of revenge. Even if you just break a branch next to its den, it will come and pee on your bed at night to vent its anger."

Seeing that Yin Xiu was on high alert, he added, "You don't have to be too worried. After this battle, the fox demon's cultivation has been mostly destroyed. I guess it can't transform back into its original form now and it's not much of a threat. However..."

"You mean that werewolf?" Yin Xiu interjected.

"Exactly." Uncle Ming nodded. "That guy is the most troublesome. I don't know how those two beasts got involved with each other, but that beast will definitely come for revenge."

"And it might not just target you and me. All the residents in Guangmingli could become the targets of its revenge. The fox demon might also want to use the spiritual energy of the residents here to cultivate and reshape its primordial spirit."

Yin Xiu immediately asked, "Then Uncle Ming, when are we going to eliminate both the fox demon and the werewolf?"

We?

Uncle Ming had a poker face, but there was a hint of surprise in his eyes that was not easily noticeable.

"You little rascal, when an ordinary person encounters evil spirits, and two of them at once, it would be good if they don't get so scared that they lose their wits and go crazy. How come you can act like nothing happened? Aren't you afraid?"

"Not afraid."

With a couple of sneers, Uncle Ming said, "Fine, it's good that you're not afraid. Instead of letting them hide in the dark, it's better for us to go to their lair. Do you know where those beasts are?"

"Its lair should be in Portland Street."

"Portland Street? That does seem like a place where a fox demon would stay."

Uncle Ming placed his hand under his chin and pondered for a while. Then he looked at Yin Xiu again. "I'll let you know when I'm ready."

"Great!"

Yin Xiu walked out of the door. When he turned back to close the door, out of the corner of his eye, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of a faint purple qi lingering above Uncle Ming's head.