Ignoring Zhu Su, Hu Nayin had been standing in front of the temple. She knocked on the door.
The sky was getting darker. The first drop of snow began to fall as the door creaked open. A middle-aged male Taoist Priest appeared from behind.
Hu Nayin greeted, followed by Zhu Su and Zhu Youdun. "Good afternoon, dear Priest. We... um..." Hu Nayin swallowed hard, tried to disguise their real identities but had no idea of the fake identity she should be disguised as, so she continued, "We are trapped in this mountain, and it starts to snow now. Would you mind if we stay temporarily here?"
The Taoist Priest blinked. He stared deeply at Zhu Su and Zhou Youdun. "Are you all... the former Zhou Wang, the former Zhou Shi Zi, and the Esper Hu Nayin?"
The three of them immediately gasped in surprise. Zhu Su felt his heart pumped faster than usual. It was him who continued in a hoarse voice. "Yes, Sir Priest. We are taking a relaxing walk and then it snows... and, please excuse us, it is so chilled... so, may you permit us... to stay temporarily here?..."
The Priest smiled broadly. "Of course you can. Please come in."
Hu Nayin brightened. She bowed deeply. "Thank you very much for your generosity, Sir Priest!"
Meanwhile, Zhu Su followed the kind middle-aged priest with an uneasy feeling.
If we just looked at its outward appearance, we would assume that this temple was small-sized, yet this Taoist Temple turned out to be spacious inside. It could accommodate twelve priests and priestesses to dwell, and even more, it still had three guest rooms. About the front yard, it was extensive and beautiful, as well as full of various kinds of plants. The back yard was even wider, it was even not enclosed as it was directly connected to the nature outside, with high mountains standing tall and astonishingly and the vast blue sky with its white, soft clouds stretching boundlessly as the background. The vestibule was a large hall, there a large-sized statue of Laozi was standing tall in the center, surrounded by the statues of other gods and goddesses. The fragrant aroma of the burned incense greeted them as they entered the vestibule, they also saw several priests and priestesses were chanting spells while sitting cross-legged. Shortly after, they passed several aisles before getting to their rooms, and they soon found that the interior of the whole temple was minimalist, only a few items existed here, thereby this temple was dominated by empty space. But putting off their assuming, there was a kind of mystical elegance surrounding it with this minimalist arrangement.
"This temple is very beautiful. And besides, it is so clean and neat," The three of them praised.
The priest laughed. "This is the hard work from us, the male."
"Huh?!?"
Looking at the surprise of his guest, the priest asked, "Why are you so surprised?"
"Ah... sorry but... doesn't the matter of cleaning become women's responsibilities?..."
"Here we do whatever we like, as long as it does not deviant from the law of nature. And furthermore, it is us the priests who do cooking and cleaning, while the priestesses do the management and financial matters of this temple."
"Do women have higher status than the men in this temple?" Zhu Youdun frowned.
"Why can you ask such question?"
"Well, because the male do lowly work while the female do more important work?"
"If you do cooking and cleaning, then you become the lowly person? And the person in charge of management and finance then becomes higher in status?"
"Doesn't it become the common norm in society?"
"Have you learned about Dao, Young Lord?"
Zhu Youdun answered firmly. "Of course I have."
"So you must have known that low and high is all but relative perception? That, it is no more than the result of subjectivity from our point of view?"
This time Zhu Youdun was unable to answer, since the priest's answer made him shocked. But apparently, not only Zhu Youdun who was stunned, Zhu Su was the same with his son. Both of them were watching the priest very seriously.
"Managing, controlling, creating works, politics, government, military... these are all Yang jobs - since it exposes us to the public and make us look prestigious in the eyes of the world. Meanwhile, cleaning, cooking, tidying up, it's all Yin work - since it is done inside and not producing any work which will make the world dazzle with us. Those who are attached to stereotypes immediately assume that the Yang jobs will be highly rewarded and classify it as the high-status job, while Yin jobs will produce nothing and it is then degraded as lowly work. But let us think deeply about it. If we don't do Yin jobs well, can Yang jobs be done? If our house is in a mess, no one cooks, takes care of the household, and raises children, can anyone conquer and rule this world? Can they do that?"
Together, Zhu Su dan Zhu Youdun shook their heads.
"They can't. Thus, Yin jobs are the same important as Yang jobs. It is only by chance that the men here prefer to do Yin jobs, and the women are more skilled in Yang jobs. Whatever you want to do, it must be based on joyful and awareness, and then the commitment will follow. If you are not passionate with it, then whatever you do won't last long. In the end, although it is the women who manage this temple and it is the men who take care of the household, because no one is chasing after wealth and fame, then every kind of work appears the same to us because it leads to the equal benefits."
Zhu Su's eyes went round. He bowed deeply. "Such a great blessing for us to come to this marvelous temple. Not only we get shelter to dwell in, more than that, we also gain the knowledge valuable for our life. Thank you very much, Sir Priest!"
The priest nid-nodded. "You are welcome. It is also my great pleasure to talk with three of you. Your talent in medicine, as well as your virtues to dedicate yourselves to helping the society, are truly heartwarming. It is we who should learn from you. Your coming is a real good thing for us, we can have the opportunity to discuss more knowledge and wisdom with you."
These Taoist Priest's words, of a sudden, made Zhu Su's heart frozen. Instead of being proud, he felt insinuated. Because his main purpose was basically to gather the sympathy of people to destroy Zhu Yunwen.