My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 544: Qingxuan Temple

After being scolded by his senior brother, Yun Jizi immediately retorted, "Senior brother, I've been practicing a lot lately! Watch closely, I'll show you a trick for summoning spirits right now."

As soon as he finished speaking, he stomped his feet heavily on the ground and mumbled a string of obscure and difficult incantations.

After fussing around for a long time, there was no sign of anything unusual in the courtyard.

An awkward silence fell over the room. Yun Jizi chuckled dryly and tried to salvage the situation: "It seems the gods in heaven are resting and sleeping today, too busy to descend to earth."

Xuan Yang was furious and grabbed a whisk, throwing it at him. Yun Jizi screamed in fright and ran around the courtyard.

From outside the courtyard wall, Zhang Lei took in the whole scene and chuckled to himself.

He had just become curious and secretly followed Yunjizi to find out the background of the two brothers. Unexpectedly, he found such a dilapidated Taoist temple and even witnessed the daily life of the two brothers.

Just as Zhang Lei was engrossed in watching, Xuan Yangzi suddenly coughed lightly and said in a calm tone, "Friends outside the courtyard, since you're here, please come in and have a chat."

Yun Jizi was startled by the sound and quickly turned to look outside the door, where he met Zhang Lei's gaze.

He felt a sudden pang of guilt, but then retorted confidently, "Hey, sir, the transaction was settled on the spot. I didn't cheat you. Why are you chasing me all the way to the Taoist temple?"

Zhang Lei completely ignored the flustered Yun Jizi and walked straight towards Xuan Yangzi, saying in a calm tone, "Hello, Master. I was just passing by and didn't mean to bother you, so I just wanted to come in and take a look."

Xuan Yangzi nodded slightly, his expression indifferent: "The Taoist temple is simple and dilapidated, we have been negligent in our hospitality. Please come in."

Zhang Lei stepped into the temple and looked up to see the statues of the Three Pure Ones enshrined in the main hall. He took three sticks of incense, respectfully bowed and worshipped, then took out 10,000 yuan in cash from his pocket and gently placed it into the donation box.

When Yunjizi saw the thick wad of cash, his eyes widened instantly, his face filled with shock.

Xuan Yangzi remained calm and looked at Zhang Lei, saying slowly, "If you have something to say, please speak freely. If my junior brother acted inappropriately outside, I apologize to you on his behalf."

Zhang Lei waved his hand, took out the peach wood sword from behind his back, and got straight to the point: "Master Xuan Yangzi, I would like to ask if this wooden sword has been imbued with anything special?"

Xuan Yangzi looked somewhat puzzled: "Why do you say that, benefactor?"

"I just felt that this peach wood sword was completely different from the ordinary wooden swords sold on the street, but I couldn't quite put my finger on the difference."

Yun Jizi, standing to the side, immediately interjected, his face full of pride: "Of course! This is a magical artifact that my senior brother personally consecrated and infused with Taoist magic power. You ordinary mortals naturally cannot understand its mysteries."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Lei's interest grew even stronger, and he looked at Xuan Yangzi: "Master, is that really so?"

Xuan Yangzi glanced helplessly at his boastful junior brother and nodded slightly: "It's just a little bit of skill, not worth mentioning. I'm sorry you had to laugh at me, benefactor."

"Master is too modest. In my opinion, you are the true master hidden in the city."

Yun Jizi quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, yes! My senior brother is a reclusive master who keeps his abilities hidden!"

Zhang Lei chuckled lightly: "You two masters don't need to be so polite, just call me Zhang Lei."

"So it's Mr. Zhang, I've heard so much about you." Yun Jizi immediately adopted a fawning demeanor.

Seeing Yunjizi's unreliable behavior, Xuan Yangzi could no longer tolerate it. He raised his hand and patted Yunjizi lightly on the back, and ordered in a deep voice, "Hurry up and make tea for the guests."

Yunjizi didn't dare to argue and immediately ran off to get busy.

Zhang Lei sat down opposite Xuan Yangzi and said directly, "Master, I won't beat around the bush. I've come here to verify one thing—does magic and magical power, or the internal energy cultivation rumored in the martial arts world, truly exist in this world?"

Xuan Yangzi pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded: "It is indeed true. May I ask why Mr. Zhang is inquiring about this?"

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Zhang Lei's eyes lit up: "Since it truly exists, then I'll speak frankly. I see that Qingxuan Temple is dilapidated and deserted. I wonder if the two masters have any plans to renovate and expand the temple?"

Upon hearing about the repair of the Taoist temple, Xuan Yangzi's heart stirred slightly.

His lifelong wish was to revitalize Qingxuan Temple and continue the Taoist tradition. Unfortunately, he was not good at making a living and his income was meager. He could only barely keep the temple from collapsing and had no ability to repair or expand it.

At this moment, Yun Jizi suddenly appeared out of nowhere and said excitedly, "Senior brother! This is incredibly good news! Have you forgotten Master's dying wish? It was for us, his brother and I, to carry forward the Qingxuan Temple!"

After saying that, he turned to look at Zhang Lei, his eyes full of expectation: "I just wonder, Mr. Zhang, how much money are you willing to contribute?"

Zhang Lei smiled faintly: "Money is just a number to me. If I wanted to, I could easily repair ten such Taoist temples at the same time."

Upon hearing this, Yun Jizi was overjoyed: "Senior brother! That's wonderful! Our Qingxuan Temple finally has a chance to rise again!"

In contrast, Xuan Yangzi remained calm throughout. He knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch, and Zhang Lei's generosity was certainly not without ulterior motives.

"Mr. Zhang, you can't accept something for nothing. Please tell me what you want."

Zhang Lei spoke frankly: "Since you are so generous, Master, then I will take the liberty of making this request. I hope to be able to peruse the cultivation scriptures treasured in the temple, and I also wish to follow you two to learn some basic Taoist magic."

The two brothers were both taken aback.

They originally thought that Zhang Lei either needed to exorcise evil spirits from his home or had other worldly matters to ask for help. They never expected that he wanted to cultivate and learn magic.

Yun Jizi said nonchalantly, "Senior brother, what's wrong with that? Those old books are gathering dust in the corner, and no one has looked at them for years. It's no harm in letting him take a look."

Xuan Yang was so angry he almost vomited blood. Outsiders were right in front of him, yet his junior brother dared to belittle their family's heritage like that. It was truly shameful.

He coughed lightly and said seriously, "Benefactor Zhang, you may not know this, but the scriptures in our temple are all priceless treasures passed down through generations of our sect."

Zhang Lei's smile remained unchanged: "Master, rest assured, I will only peruse and study the texts; I will not take away or damage any of them. If you agree to my request, I will immediately provide one million for the overall renovation and refurbishment of Qingxuan Temple."

"One million?!"

Yun Jizi jumped up in shock, grabbed Zhang Lei's hand, and repeatedly asked, "Is this true? There really is a million for repairs?"

Zhang Lei nodded slowly: "Of course it's true."

Even the usually composed Xuan Yangzi could not hide his emotions at this moment. He had devoted himself to cultivation for many years and did not know how to make a living. This huge sum of money was enough to completely change the current dire situation of Qingxuan Temple.

After a moment's hesitation, Xuan Yangzi solemnly said, "Since Mr. Zhang is so sincere, it would be unreasonable for me to keep declining."

After saying that, he looked at Yunjizi and instructed, "Quickly prepare a vegetarian meal and let the benefactor have a simple meal in the temple."

Yunjizi immediately responded, casually adding, "Don't worry, Senior Brother! I'll go down the mountain to the village restaurant right now and order some hearty meat dishes!"

Zhang Lei almost burst out laughing when he heard this.

Xuan Yangzi simply waved his hand dismissively: "Do as you please, there's no need to force it."