Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 524 Meeting before the Buddha

There were indeed many guests in the building.

By this time the guests had already gathered, and except for the rare new arrivals, most of them would have gathered together.

Pei Ye had never seen the so-called worship of Buddha, and at this moment he just followed Cui Zhaoye all the way up. The width of this building was indeed beyond his imagination. When he reached the seventh floor and turned forward through a long corridor, the scenery in front of him suddenly became clear.

There were no telling how many floors had been hollowed out in the middle of the building, it looked like a huge atrium, but now there were no colorful lanterns or dancing. Instead, the sound of soft and faint chanting began to float in the air. Buddha statues surrounded the high walls on all sides. Pei Ye raised his head and took a quick look around, but did not see the so-called "master".

But it was the first time I saw other guests.

The feeling of sudden enlightenment also lies in the characters. The first person you see is a person dressed in bright red, as bright as fire or vermilion. He is standing right in front of them with one hand holding the fence, and there is no one around to talk to.

It was obviously the figure of a tall woman, with her hair tied casually, and a slender sword box on her back, which was obviously longer than an ordinary sword box.

Hearing footsteps, she turned around and saw a domineering python mask on her face.

Pei Ye was slightly startled as she looked over, but Cui Zhaoye had already lowered his head and smiled at her, then pulled the young man away.

Cui Zhaoye stopped after walking several feet away and put the young man beside the railing.

"...What's wrong?" Pei Yeji asked in a low voice, "Do you recognize her?"

Cui Zhaoye stole a glance and said, "Why don't you recognize her? Everyone can see it, but no one dares to guess. Everyone knows that she wants to test the [Knife Ghost] this time. If you reveal it to her and make her unable to fight, then she will be in trouble."

Pei Ye was stunned: "...Who is she?"

Cui Zhaoye glanced at him and laughed softly, "Young Master Pei really doesn't know the heroes of the world - that is the current generation of [Sword Ghost] of Bailu Palace, and He Hongzhu who is now ranked fourth on the Crane Ranking."

"Well……"

Cui Zhaoye smiled and pulled him to see another swordsman lying on the beam, but Pei Ye came back to his senses and stopped him, saying, "Senior Sword Ghost, how old are you this year?"

"…Although you deserve to call me 'senior', I am only about 32 or 33 years old, which makes me a very, very young legend in the contemporary martial arts world."

Pei Ye heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and said to himself, "That's indeed still not as good as Miss Ming."

"..."

At the same time, Pei Ye suddenly felt a chill as a very oppressive gaze suddenly fell on him. Pei Ye froze for a moment and turned his head to look. The python face was staring at him motionlessly.

The mask is naturally expressionless.

After a moment, the python face looked away and lowered its eyes to look downstairs.

Although Pei Ye did not break out in a cold sweat, his heart and lungs only started beating at this time. Cui Zhaoye's voice beside him reached his ears at this time: "Hey, young man, there is no soundproof formation here."

"...Now I know." He said calmly.

"This guy seems to care about Miss Ming." He whispered to Black Cat in his heart.

At this time, he looked according to the girl's instructions. The swordsman on the beam was lying in a disheveled manner, with his clothes and one leg hanging down, and the cloth-wrapped sword placed on his belly. He squinted his eyes, not knowing whether he was drowsy or comfortable, and poured a wine gourd into his mouth.

On his face, he was wearing a friendly big yellow dog mask, which looked quite funny.

Cui Zhaoye laughed and said, "Do you recognize this man who uses a sword, Young Master Pei?"

Pei Ye frowned and looked for a moment, then shook his head - a swordsman does not have any more face in front of Master Pei than a knifesman. He thought that even if this man was naked, he might not be able to guess who he was, let alone he was wrapped so tightly.

"Haha, young man, you don't recognize me, but I do. This is Zhou Shise, the swordsman from the Southern Country. He's very good at using the sword. I've even written a sword review for him." Cui Zhaoye laughed, "Let's go and expose his identity!"

Pei Ye was still thinking about how to greet him when the girl pulled him under the beam. She looked up and said with a smile, "Zhou Shise, aren't you embarrassed to be drunk for a while? Today's swordsman is very powerful, you must be the last one!"

"Hmm~~" The man on the beam stretched slowly, looking even sloppier, "Your beautiful eyebrows make me greedy, and your pretty figure makes me worried... Miss Cui, you are talking nonsense again."

"Why, have you made any progress in swordsmanship recently?"

"No, no." Zhou Shizuo narrowed his eyes and chanted like an opera singer, "Zhou will not draw his sword today."

"Oh, so you're just a coward."

"If you have nothing to do, you can live in a shell. You can only stick your head out when you have flesh... Miss Cui, if you can give me a scented note, let's make an appointment after dusk." Zhou Shise took off his mask and turned his face to the side. It was a face with delicate features but messy hair and beard. He smiled in a self-proclaimed gentle way and said, "What's wrong with me drawing my sword for a beauty?"

Cui Zhaoye laughed and said, "Get lost."

"Hmm~" Zhou Shise moaned and lay back on the beam, "There are several beauties today. I dare not ask the big beauties, but the little beauties told me to get out..."

"The Huan Pavilion is full of beauties, both young and old, both men and women."

"Those are not beauties, they are pitiful people..." Zhou Shise sighed, "Don't touch them, don't touch them... Alas, the descendants of the royal family are in high positions, it's better to drink good wine!"

He raised his glass and drank again.

"This is my favorite swordsman, Pei Ye. I'm introducing him to you. Remember to say hello when you see him next time."

"I understand." Zhou Shise replied vaguely.

Cui Zhaoye turned around, Pei Ye frowned slightly, and whispered: "What is 'Huan Ge'?"

Cui Zhaoye paused, as if she saw the clean and handsome face under the boy's mask. She hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "Why are you asking this, Mr. Pei? Don't learn bad things."

Pei Ye looked at her seriously: "Are they those people from Li Pavilion?"

Cui Zhaoye also restrained his expression and nodded slightly.

Then she looked at him with some worry.

"Hmm..." Pei Ye seemed to be thinking about something, then suddenly smiled, "What's that expression on your face? It's not something Miss Cui did. In my opinion, Miss Cui is a very good person."

Cui Zhaoye immediately broke into a beautiful smile, and quickly put his hands on his hips and said, "Master Xu and I are on the same side. Who is afraid that you will be angry with me... I am afraid that you will be angry yourself."

She had obviously heard something about this young man's past from somewhere, and it must have been related to fighting evil with his life.

"Ah, I've grown up a lot." Pei Ye smiled, almost a little embarrassed, "Don't ask about the past... Hey, there are still a lot of people over there."

When Pei Ye took the initiative to look around this time, there were indeed more things that caught his eye.

In the bright candlelight, a tall figure in a Taoist robe, with a white crane mask and a crane feather hairpin, stood by the railing and talked leisurely with people, occasionally taking a piece of gold or a jade from his hand and swallowing it.

—— Pei Ye must have seen it clearly, it was definitely not an elixir or something similar, it was real gold and white jade. "It's the Quanzhen lineage of Taoism." Cui Zhaoye followed his gaze and looked at it, "Quanzhen sect practices inner elixir internally, which is the authentic practice of Xuanmen; it practices external elixir externally, which is only used for various daily benefits. But later they painstakingly studied the substance [Dantian Bridge], which allows many substances to avoid the human body and directly reach the meridian tree, and then with the help of specific exercises, this external elixir has also become a way of cultivation... The persuading gold and swallowing white jade in the book can only be seen in them."

Pei Ye looked at him in wonder: "Does Miss Cui know who he is?"

"Hmm..." Cui Zhaoye tapped his chin and thought, "Quanzhen Divine Pills are often sold in Shenjing, and there are quite a few disciples in the city. As for the one who can come to Huanlou... Could it be [Red Snow Flowing Vermillion] Ning Chaolie?"

Pei Ye didn't have time to ask what was so powerful about this man, as he was already attracted by the man opposite him. He was a young man wearing only a green robe, with a gentle and beautiful temperament. He wore a rather interesting chicken mask. Just by looking at him from a distance, it seemed that he had remembered his polite and gentle voice - maybe it was a little weak because of Xiao Ran's cold, but he must be looking at you seriously.

This person has no cultivation.

Cui Zhaoye obviously couldn't recognize them at first, and as he looked around, there were obviously more people he couldn't recognize:
A young cultivator with a sword was leaning in the shadow under a pillar. His clothes were extremely simple and he had a mysterious face like a black snake. He looked like a shadow. When Pei Ye saw him for the first time, his sword sense began to beat extremely actively.

A young man in black clothes stood quietly in front of the railing. His mask was made of cold iron, showing a majestic tiger face. He was obviously too young, but this majestic outfit did not look out of place on him at all, only highlighting his dignity. He really stood out in such occasions. There was no one around him, and he only glanced at others from time to time.

Even more eye-catching was a dragon mask, dark red like maple, worn with expensive silk and jade, and was walking towards Liang Shang Zhou Shise, waving a fan. His steps were brisk, and the expression under the mask seemed to be smiling.

……

There were about twenty people upstairs at this time. Pei Ye naturally could not recognize them, and they did not recognize Pei Ye either. However, although Cui Zhaoye denied Zhou Shise's accusation, he was quickly recognized by others and took off his mask with a smile.

When these young men and women came to greet her, Pei Ye stood quietly behind the girl, looking around without saying a word, and it was hard to say whether he was mysterious or well-behaved. Cui Zhaoye naturally smiled and said nothing, and would not reveal his identity at this time, so someone actually asked her where she found such an innocent little servant.

Especially when the bells rang and the Buddhist meeting began, all kinds of snacks began to be pushed up. Cui Zhaoye carefully selected a few delicious ones and shared them with him, which made people feel quite favored.

It was at this time that Pei Ye turned around and saw the young scholar who had won the imperial examination again. The sound of chanting scriptures was gradually becoming louder. He was sitting on a mat, staring at Pei Ye in a daze. He woke up when he saw the young man turned around and tilted his head to look at the burning incense and candles below.

But soon his eyes shifted to the chicken-faced scholar.

Lu Xiu was also holding a mask in his hand, and was talking to another young man who was still wearing a mask from a distance. Pei Ye didn't know whether this young man was recognized by others or was not allowed to disguise himself. After a slight hesitation, he walked towards him.

As soon as Pei Ye arrived, he understood why he was sitting here - Lu Xiu was a cultivator, but this weak scholar had no cultivation, and it was obviously a heavy burden for him to climb the stairs, run errands, and ask for favors everywhere for an hour. Only at this time did he have a free time to rest.

"My name is Pei Ye, please don't call me that." Pei Ye sat down next to him and handed him a snack. "What's your name, brother?"

"...Let's call you Xu Menglang." The man indeed had red lips and white teeth, and his hair was stained on his forehead by a thin layer of sweat. He raised his hand and bowed, "Nice to meet you."

Perhaps Pei Ye was the only person in the building who had a similar status and temperament to him. Pei Ye felt that he seemed to have relaxed a little.

"Miss Cui is so nice to you." Xu Menglang hesitated, looked at him with some envy and whispered. Apparently, the scholar had caught the sight of the girl smiling and handing the snacks to him.

"Ah...we are friends." Pei Ye said hesitantly. He couldn't just say "we are not in the same relationship as you do", but it would be troublesome to explain it clearly.

"I know," Xu Menglang nodded, and glanced at Cui Zhaoye again, "I mean... Miss Cui is really a nice person, willing to be 'friends' with you."

He smiled at Pei Ye.

"..." Pei Ye was silent, then smiled and shook his head, "She is willing to be friends with me, so I will make friends with her. I have met Lu Xiu in the Sword Training Academy a long time ago, and she usually ignores people, so I am too lazy to make friends with her - do you understand?"

Xu Menglang was slightly startled, and Pei Ye looked at him seriously.

"Everyone is the same." Pei Ye said slowly, lowered his head and picked up a pot of tea and poured it for him.

"...Hahaha." Xu Menglang suddenly lowered his head and laughed, "Everyone is born with self-respect, it is not given by others... Thank you, Mr. Pei, it has been a long time since someone told me such a simple and clear truth."

"You misunderstood me first. I didn't intend to reason with you scholars." Pei Ye smiled and looked down. At this time, the Buddhist chanting became louder and louder, and some rare musical instruments also sounded. At the same time, a faint, rustling sound inexplicably came from the skylight.

"But that's just nonsense." Xu Menglang raised his head and drank the tea in one gulp, and whispered, "Mr. Pei, the noble man in your dreams, your lifelong ambition, and twenty years of study... can you throw them all away just for the sake of your face?"

He tilted his head and smiled: "Why don't I farm at home?"

Pei Ye raised his eyebrows: "Why, if you ignore Lu Xiu, you won't get the third place?"

"Hahaha..." Xu Menglang tilted his head to suppress the sound, "It's not my call or not. If I wasn't more flattering, I wouldn't even have to enter the examination room... Ha, it's a good thing I was born good-looking."

Pei Ye was indeed puzzled: "What do you mean?"

Xu Menglang raised his eyebrows and looked at him: "Mr. Pei doesn't seem to be born in the Tang Dynasty."

"A country bumpkin, first time in the capital."

"The capital has been so lively these days. Just take a look at the national newspaper." Xu Menglang sighed as he stared at the railing. For the first time, his beautiful eyes showed a cold look. "As long as the 'public recommendation' is not abolished, who can surpass the noble families to become an official?"

“……” Pei Ye remembered it in an instant.

In fact, he went to school and read newspapers, talked with Xu Chuo, Fang Jidao, and Changsun Jue, and walked among the scholars in Xiuwenguan. He was always influenced by them, but the military affairs were always more pressing, so he never thought about these things.

Before taking the imperial examination, candidates were required to visit people of noble status and submit their essays; this was called "circulating essays"; examiners did not judge candidates based on the essays, but would refer to the opinions of high-ranking officials and literary celebrities before the exam and rank candidates according to their "morality, talent and reputation"; this was called "public recommendation."

This is not a custom that comes by coincidence, but a clearly defined system.

Pei Ye recalled what Qi Zhaohua had told him when he had dinner with friends the night he first came to Beijing. Only then did he understand the woman's mood when she sighed.

"But, Pei Ye, do you think this is my fault? Why did I go to the banquet to compose poems?"

"Why can't I let go of this 'beautiful skin and foolish body'? Why do I and those fifty-year-old scholars have to practice this flattering skin before we can enter those government offices? And what did he lose to me?"

"Enjun said that there are a million people like me in the world."

"...That's right." Pei Ye was silent for a moment, "It seems that the situation of you scholars is indeed much more difficult."

"What difference does it make if a warrior doesn't join a sect?" Xu Menglang raised his eyebrows and looked at him.

"Hmm? Do we cultivators have to cling to the aristocratic families as well?"

Xu Menglang laughed: "You have followed Miss Cui all the way here, but you say you don't understand? This is considered the most prestigious banquet in Shenjing."

Pei Ye was silent for a moment: "Don't you know what I'm here for?"

"Who can know this?"

"...I'll show you in a moment." Pei Ye sighed lightly, but looked quietly at the patio with a restrained expression.

It was a gigantic white snake head, floating up along the edge of the building, holding a page of scriptures in its mouth, and revealing half of its bright yellow pupils at their level.

(End of this chapter)