In a corner of the Chinese land, there was a simple and ancient town called Qingping Town. Most of the people in the town made a living by farming, and their lives were plain and peaceful. There lived a young man named Xiaohu in the town. He had lost his parents since childhood and grew up with the support of the neighbors. However, when Xiaohu turned eighteen, a long-buried secret, like a newly sprouted bud in spring, quietly entered his life.
It turned out that Xiaohu was not an orphan. When he was young, his parents had to leave due to a sudden change and had been out of touch ever since. Although Xiaohu grew up under the care of the villagers, his longing for his parents grew day by day. That bond of blood, as a bright lamp in the deep night, always tugged at his heart. Finally, on a sunny morning, Xiaohu resolutely packed his bags and embarked on a arduous journey to search for news of his parents.
He walked along the winding mountain paths, inquiring about his parents' whereabouts all the way. But the journey was much more difficult than he had imagined. The mountains were undulating, and the forests were thick. Not only was the road rugged and hard to travel, but also there were few people around. Every night, the roars of various wild animals came from the forest, and the eerie and terrifying atmosphere made Xiaohu's heart jump into his throat.
One day, as it was getting late, Xiaohu saw an open space ahead and planned to take a short rest there. He had just lit a bonfire and was about to eat some dry rations when suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew by, and the bonfire immediately flickered as if it were being toyed with by invisible hands. Xiaohu's heart tightened, and he looked around warily. In the darkness, he saw several shadowy figures moving faintly. Amid the dimness, he could make out that those figures were distorted and hideous, and they were actually the legendary evil spirits!
Xiaohu was so frightened that his face turned pale and his legs went weak. He wanted to run away but found that his legs seemed to be nailed to the ground and couldn't move. The several evil spirits let out shrill and strange laughs and approached him step by step. The air was filled with a putrid smell. Xiaohu closed his eyes tightly and murmured for help in his heart. At this moment, he deeply felt that he was in a desperate situation and all alone.
Just when the evil spirits were about to touch him, Xiaohu suddenly remembered that before setting off, an old man in the village had told him that if he encountered danger on the way, he could go to the nearby Taoist temple for help. As if grabbing a life-saving straw, Xiaohu summoned all his strength and ran towards the direction of the Taoist temple in his memory. Along the way, the evil spirits chased after him closely. He almost lost his way several times. In his panic, he didn't know how many times he had fallen, and his body was already covered with bruises.
After running for an unknown amount of time, a solemn and majestic Taoist temple finally appeared in front of Xiaohu. The gate of the temple was closed, and the bronze rings on the door glowed with a cold light in the moonlight. Xiaohu didn't care about anything else and pounded on the gate desperately, shouting, "Taoist priest, help!"
After a while, the gate slowly opened, and an old man in a Taoist robe appeared. The old man had a kind face and his eyes revealed a profound wisdom. Seeing Xiaohu's 狼狈不堪 appearance, he already understood a bit.
"Child, don't panic. Come in first." The Taoist priest's voice was low and gentle, like a warm current, instantly dispelling some of Xiaohu's fear.
Xiaohu followed the Taoist priest into the temple and told him everything about his encounter. After hearing this, the Taoist priest frowned slightly and sighed softly, "In this world, evil spirits run rampant. Poor child." Then he turned and walked into the inner room. Soon, he came out holding a yellow talisman.
"Child, this is the 'Path-Opening Talisman'. It is an ancestral item of our Taoist temple and contains powerful spiritual power. It can help you avoid evil spirits and find your relatives. You need to wear it on your chest and never take it off. And you must keep a calm state of mind all the way and never panic." The Taoist priest solemnly handed the talisman to Xiaohu, his eyes full of expectation.
Xiaohu took the talisman with trembling hands, his heart full of gratitude. He carefully put it on as the Taoist priest instructed, and immediately felt a warm current rising in his heart, and his originally panicked state of mind gradually calmed down.
The next morning, Xiaohu bid farewell to the Taoist priest and set off again. This time, with the protection of the "Path-Opening Talisman", his journey was much smoother. Along the way, although he could still sense the evil spirits lurking in the dark and eyeing him covetously, as soon as they got close, the talisman would slightly heat up and emit a faint golden light, driving the evil spirits far away. Seeing this, Xiaohu became even more in awe of the Taoist priest and this 神奇的符箓.
In this way, Xiaohu kept moving forward. Relying on his faith and the guidance of the talisman, he finally found a secluded dwelling in a remote valley. Inside the dwelling, a pair of haggard middle-aged 夫妇 were huddled together, their eyes full of confusion and helplessness. Xiaohu took a closer look and saw that it was exactly his parents whom he had been searching for!
Xiaohu rushed over excitedly, and the family of three hugged each other and cried. It turned out that Xiaohu's parents had gone out to do business years ago. On the way, they encountered robbers. Not only were all their belongings robbed, but they were also chased by the robbers to this deserted valley. They thought they would never see their son again in this life. Unexpectedly, Xiaohu found them with his tenacious perseverance and the 神奇的符箓.
Under the escort of the "Path-Opening Talisman", Xiaohu brought his parents back to Qingping Town safely. When the villagers learned about this, they came to congratulate one another, admiring Xiaohhu's courage and perseverance and being even more impressed by the 神奇的道教符箓.
After that, Xiaohu's family lived a happy and reunited life. They often went to the Taoist temple to thank the Taoist priest. And the story of the "Path-Opening Talisman" spread like a spark in Qingping Town and the surrounding areas. People told the story of the 神奇功效 of the Taoist talisman, and more importantly, they felt the compassionate spirit of protecting the common people and solving their difficulties contained in the Taoist culture. That small "Path-Opening Talisman" not only carried the hope of Xiaohu's family reunion but also made the ancient Taoist thought shine brightly among the people, becoming a warm and firm light of faith in people's hearts, passing down from generation to generation and never fading away.