Chapter 2, Mr. Baihe

On that day, Bai He took her into the inner room. It was only then that Qin Cai carefully examined his residence. The town had not yet reached the point where every inch of land was precious; the house was spacious, with the outer room filled with many incense candles and offerings for the deceased, while the two rooms inside were on the left and right, with the left being the bedroom and the right being vacant

After dinner, the sky gradually darkened. Qin Cai suddenly felt a bit homesick. She waited at the door for a long time but did not see Qin Lao Er, knowing in her heart that he might have already returned home while she was cooking.

Qin Cai took a long time to get up, she knew that this woman was named Huang Xiaolian, and she also knew how she had gone mad— the year Huang Xiaolian went insane, she was also among the crowd. A nine-year-old child, knowing nothing, only understood to join in the commotion

Bai He said with a twitch at the corner of his mouth: "Shut your mouth! This is the Ancestor of the Red Fungus! Do not be unreasonable"

Baihetou did not raise his head: "Hmm."

Baihe Smile: "In fact, there is no issue with the burial site of the elder Qiu family. It is merely that the time of the funeral and the time of death are in conflict, resulting in the Meihua Sha (Plum Blossom Killing). The flower has five petals, and when it turns to one petal, one person dies. Once the burial mound is formed into a circular shape, the petals are removed, and if it does not turn, then no one will die. This resolves the killing energy."

Qin Cai looked like a frostbitten eggplant, wilted. After a long while, she finally weakly waved her hand and said, "You win."

For the sake of one thousand two hundred yuan

Qin Cai remained silent for half a day, and finally could not help but jump up, "What the heck! This is outrageous! I don't want to be apprenticed anymore!"

The house rented in Baihe is located in the town, approximately eight miles from home. Early in the morning, Qin Lao Er urged her to leave, as she would be living at Baihe's house from now on

Bai He remained silent for a moment: "I gave you a salary of 1,200 yuan per month"

Bai He's expression became serious: "Speak."

Qin Cai also brewed herself a cup of tea and - a picture - a book, and she understood in her heart that this was indeed a matter of seeking accountability: "You have no right to interfere with me"

Then there are the Three Pure Ones and the Four Directions deities, as well as the ancestral master Zhang Jiao. Finally, Bai He stands straight beside them, his expression serious: "Bow again, and pay homage to me"

After much ado, Bai He gazed at her and finally handed over a red envelope after a long while, slowly saying: "From now on, you and I shall be master and disciple. Since you have entered my sect, you must diligently cultivate, abstaining from greed, lust, and anger. As we enter the mysterious path, we take on the fate of poverty, early death, and solitude. As your master, I am the one who embodies poverty among the three..."

At around 6 o'clock, this would usually be the time when the whole family gathered around the table for dinner, but Qin Caixin felt an emptiness in her heart. Seeing Bai He with his eyes closed, she reheated the remaining food in the pot, packed it into a plastic container, and quietly left the house

Qin Cai scoffed: "Go ahead and blow your horn. Since you know so much, why don't you lend a hand? You're just a Monday morning quarterback!"

Bai He explained in a methodical manner: "Poverty, a state of being destitute. Early death, a short lifespan. Loneliness, the inability to rely on family or friends."

Bai He lit three incense sticks, casually flipped them, and the three incense sticks ignited in a peculiar manner. Qin Cai was greatly astonished and was about to take a closer look when Bai He handed her the incense, saying: "Kneel down and bow to offer the incense."

Bai He was not angry; he merely tapped the enamel tea cup with the brush handle. Qin Cai had no choice but to brew him another cup of tea

Qin Cai imitated him, using a cup lid to press down the floating tea leaves, saying: "It's just a dream I had, what business is it of yours?"

As the sky completely darkened, Qin Cai finally returned to the house

Qin Cai knelt on the mat, laughing uncontrollably: "What red fungus and black fungus, these are clearly three mushrooms!"

Qin Cai was dumbfounded: "These three immortals are actually three mushrooms?!"

This home is only eight li away from her, and she can reach it in just over forty minutes if she walks and reads at the same time, but she cannot go back. If she secretly runs back and Bai He changes his mind, Qin Lao Er will definitely give her a severe beating

Qin Cai did not even lose the vegetables, holding a handful of bean sprouts as she rushed over: "Dad!"

That night, Qin Cai could not sleep soundly, always fearing that someone would come in, and even more afraid that the one who entered was not human. She tossed and turned all night, with not a single sound. It was not until the sky outside began to brighten that Qin Cai finally fell asleep, dreaming that Qin Lao Er and Qin Mama came to see her, smiling and saying they would take her home

The tea is ready, and he buries himself in writing again. His character is not particularly good, yet he has a beautiful hand in calligraphy. Whenever there are any celebrations or funerals in town, people like to ask him to write couplets. He gestured for Qin Cai to sit on the stool outside the counter, and after leisurely finishing a letter of paper money, he slowly asked: "How did you know that five people would die at the grave of the old master Qiu?"

Qin Cai is a diligent girl at home, and she cannot be idle at Bai He’s house either. As soon as she arrived, she tidied up the entire room and cleaned the tables, chairs, and those paper offerings. With only herself and Bai He present, there was no need to cook pig feed or feed the pigs, which saved Qin Cai quite a bit of trouble

Qin Cai did not want to be polite: "Then am I really going to sleep?"

Bai He picked up the brush again, dipped it in ink, and continued to write: "Because I burned a turtle shell, I discovered it was an omen of fortune and misfortune. At first, I was also puzzled, but later I understood." He glanced at Qin Cai, seemingly reluctant to say more, "Some things, over time, you will also understand; there is no need to rush. It is late, pay respects to the ancestral master and light incense, then go to sleep."

Bai He continued at a leisurely pace: "Most people exist in a state of mutual opposition between these two time and space dimensions, with the time of the negative side moving faster than that of the positive side. All events occur first on the negative side, and only then do they follow on the positive side. Some individuals have a thinner layer of separation from their negative selves, allowing them to keenly sense certain impending events. The majority, however, have a thick separation from their negative selves, and due to insufficient mental concentration, they gradually lose this ability entirely."

He spoke seriously, and Qin Cai also suppressed her smile—not out of belief, but out of fear of being beaten. Bai He stood with his head bowed, yet he was very respectful: "After the red fungus attained enlightenment, it transformed into the Three Pure Ones, namely the Jade Pure Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, the Upper Pure Spiritual Treasure Heavenly Sovereign, and the Grand Pure Tao Te Ching Heavenly Sovereign, who is also known as the Supreme Old Lord"

Bai He sat in the rattan chair behind the counter, holding a brush in her left hand as she wrote the cover for paper money, but her eyes were on her. Qin Cai put down her lunch box and said irritably: "What are you looking at?"

Qin Cai Sao Tou: "Is this ... ... going to be changed to science fiction?"

Qin Cai began to recount her dream, and as Bai He listened, his expression grew increasingly gentle; he seemed quite pleased: "In fact, the world is divided into two sides, yin and yang, and there is only a thin layer separating the two realms. These two worlds are originally parallel spaces and times, which means there will be two identical individuals, do you understand?"

Bai He remained serious: "At the beginning of my path, the first three hundred years were spent with disciples as teachers, while the latter three hundred years saw teachers guiding disciples. The predecessors who first entered my path did not know how to comprehend the Dao; upon witnessing the vigorous growth of the three fungi, they revered them as masters, dedicating themselves daily to understanding the Dao. After three hundred years of devoted practice, the red fungus attained enlightenment of the heavenly Dao and then began to teach its disciples"

Although facing the light, Qin Cai clearly saw a hint of a smile at the corner of Bai He’s lips: "Because I paid one thousand two hundred yuan a month"

"Alright," Qin Cai shook his head—this person is truly insane, "Let the Red Fungus Ancestor be the Red Fungus Ancestor."

She mumbled some incoherent words, occasionally bursting into an abrupt laugh.

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Qin Cai, who was weighing the red envelope: "What is a Pingyao mushroom?"

Bai He waited until she finished her worship before softly saying: "As the saying goes, joining a master is akin to being born anew. Since you have entered my sect, all matters shall be under my control until you are ready to leave. Your worldly ties are not yet severed, and thus, your master will not bestow upon you a name." His gaze turned to the portrait behind the divine altar, and he added, "This is the ancestor of our sect."

Qin Cai expressed her discontent: "Why should I bow to you? What have you done that is worthy of my respect?"

Qin Cai finally understood a bit: "Are you saying that there is another self behind me?" She glanced behind her and felt a bit uneasy in her heart

Bai He's voice was surprisingly calm: "No."

Bai He was not surprised; he simply set down his pen, took another sip of tea, and then said: "Tell me about your dream"

Old Qin only glanced at her, not even stopping the car: "Hmm, the pig at home is a bit sick, I will go call Liu Da to take a look."

Qin Cai was utterly perplexed. Upon entering the inner room, he discovered a shrine set up inside, adorned with several portraits. Among these portraits, one did not depict a person, but rather resembled... three red mushrooms.

Bai He directly brought her into his bedroom, and Qin Cai turned pale with fear—could it be that this fraudster really had some lewd intentions?

Qin Cai really did not want to laugh, truly. But she still held her stomach and could not straighten her waist: "Bai He, you are out of your mind, worshiping three mushrooms..."

She was contemplating what to use for self-defense when she discovered that there was a small room in Baihe's bedroom. The other rooms outside were occasionally visible with dust, but this particular room was exceptionally clean

Bai He stared: "Red Fungus Ancestor!"

Qin Cai did not have time to speak, as his bicycle had already passed in front of her. All Qin Cai could do was softly say to the raised dust: "Oh"

Damn it! Qin Cai took a deep breath and thought, fine, for the sake of money, I might as well bow down. But this guy doesn't have any mental issues, does he?

Walking in the direction of home for about 1 mile, there is a cornfield beside it, and in between the field and the road, there is a bomb shelter. Qin Cai placed the plastic box at the entrance of the shelter. Inside the shadows of the shelter sat a woman, and Qin Cai remained silent, squatting at the entrance and observing her for quite a while.

One is at a disadvantage when relying on others, and Bai He truly does not wish to criticize; thus, he obediently went to the incense.

Bai He intended to take Qin Cai as his disciple, but Qin Cai never expected that he was serious about it

Despite her utmost reluctance, Mother Qin still wept, saying: "Old man, Bai He has an unknown background and is a single man. If you let the fourth son live in his house, won't he be drowned in the spittle of the villagers?"

After becoming a disciple, Bai He wrote Qin Cai's birth date and some strange characters on yellow paper and burned it in front of the statue of the ancestral master. He then gave Qin Cai some money, and in the adjacent room, there was only an iron-framed bed. Qin Cai bought bedding, sheets, and other items, which meant she had truly settled in here. By the time she finished her tasks, it was already past 5 PM. In summer, it gets dark late, and while she was at the door preparing vegetables to cook, suddenly, Qin Lao Er rode his bicycle closer down the street.

Qin Lao Er remained completely unmoved; in fact, he had no choice, as this was one of the stipulations set by Bai He. He resolutely drove Qin Cai out of the house. 1,200 yuan a month is not a small sum; where could a mere maid earn that amount?

Qin Cai's anger flared: "What kind of society is this now? Do you understand what personal freedom means? Why must I be forced to become a disciple? Why should I join such a poor, short-lived, and unfortunate cult!"

Qin Cai moved into a rental apartment in Baihe with just a few pieces of clothing