Records of Strange People and Strange Events in the Old Mansion

Chapter 175: Virtue

The old house is located in the village of Lu Bu Dao deep in the mountains. It is isolated from the world and is naturally a good place for scholars to write books.

It is said that when Wu Yuantai went to the old house to write "Journey to the East", it was during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, and Taizu's grandmother had already passed away.

The reign of Emperor Shenzong of Ming Dynasty, Zhu Houcong, was called Jiajing. In the later period, the "Renyin Palace Coup" broke out and Emperor Zhu Houcong was almost killed by a palace maid.

Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Houcong, was suspicious and violent by nature, with erratic moods. The palace maids were often punished, and more than 200 were beaten to death. In the year of Renyin in the Jiajing reign, the palace maids finally could no longer tolerate it and launched a palace coup.

Under the instigation of Wang Ningpin and others, Yang Jinying and dozens of other maids took advantage of Emperor Shizong Zhu Houcong's deep sleep and put a yellow silk cloth around his neck, trying to strangle him. However, because the knot was tied, they could not strangle him all at once, so the maids used hairpins to stab Emperor Shizong. Among them, one of the maids secretly went to report to Empress Fang. Empress Fang rushed over and ordered the palace guards to subdue the maids and execute them all by slow slicing, including Wang Ningpin.

Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Houcong, escaped death and thought that it was thanks to his sincere heart to practice Taoism. He lived alone in the Western Garden from then on and devoted himself to practicing Taoism. He also issued an imperial decree to the world to believe in Taoism and respect alchemy. It was in this context that Wu Yuantai went to the old house to write "Journey to the East" and re-arranged the positions of the "Eight Immortals of Taoism", which caused Han Zhongli to come to the old house to cause trouble.

Zhu Hu smiled and said, "Old man, this is just a legend. Even if Han Zhongli wants to cause trouble in the old house because of Wu Yuantai's "Journey to the East" written in the old house, it has nothing to do with me. After all these generations, what am I?"

"Who do you think you are? You are one of the nine fairies in heaven, the ninth daughter born to the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother. You served Chouzhu closely in Zhu Yuanzhang's palace, and your blood was splattered on the red-robed Tuanlong. Now, as the mistress of the main house of the old house, you can completely re-arrange the positions of the 'Eight Immortals of Taoism.'" When the old craftsman said this, he subconsciously looked around.

Zhu Hu found the old craftsman's appearance funny, so he just pointed it out directly: "The old man must be the immortal Li Xuan, right?"

"The fairy has a keen eye. I have no intention of hiding anything from you. I know that you will surely be able to identify it, so I didn't tell you myself." The old craftsman played by Li Tieguai felt a little embarrassed when he saw that Zhu Huan had pointed out his mistake.

Zhu Hu wanted to tease Tieguai Li, so he frowned and cursed: "You are so good, Tieguai Li, you are as sweet-mouthed and treacherous as Lu Dongbin. I have always respected you. Humph, get out of my sight right now. I don't want to see you again."

"Fairy, calm down. Fairy, calm down. Fairy, please listen to my explanation, please listen to my explanation carefully." Tieguai Li was so anxious that he was sweating.

Zhu Huan said sternly, "What do you need to explain? Aren't you here for ranking? Tieguai Li, I tell you, you should always be ranked first among the 'Eight Immortals of Taoism'."

"Fairy, really? Really?" Tieguai Li was unable to react for a moment.

Zhu Hu still had a stern face and scolded: "Tieguai Li, are you still the scholar Li Xuan who saw through the world and embarked on the journey of visiting immortals and seeking the Tao without regrets? Where is your confidence? You are the first among the 'Eight Immortals of Taoism' to be enlightened by Taishang Laojun, and you are also the only god who was directly enlightened by Taishang Laojun. Shouldn't you be ranked first among the 'Eight Immortals of Taoism'? In addition, you have saved sentient beings with a medicine gourd, and your merits are immeasurable. You should be ranked first among the 'Eight Immortals of Taoism'."

"Thank you, fairy. Thank you, fairy. With your words, I feel at ease." Tieguai Li felt relieved. Just as he was about to wipe the sweat from his forehead, a rough voice came over: "Bah, you are a talkative person, you are an opportunist, you should have given up the first place long ago."

Zhu Huan looked up and saw an idle man with bare chest, waving a brown fan, big eyes, red face, and two big buns on his head standing on the door plaque. It was Han Zhongli.

Li Tieguai was about to chase Han Zhongli away, but Zhu Hu spoke up, "Zhongli Quan, do you think it's great to have obtained the immortality secret, the golden elixir temperature, and the Azure Dragon sword technique from Emperor Donghua?"

"Indeed, this immortal has also received instruction from Immortal Huayang on the Taiyi Jiugui and Huofu Jindan, and has a thorough understanding of the profound Tao. I should be ranked first among the 'Eight Immortals of Taoism'." Han Zhongli waved his palm-leaf cattail treasure fan, looking very arrogant.

Zhu Hu cursed, "How shameless! I have never seen someone as brazen, shameless, and impudent as you in my three lives. Do you believe that I will remove you from the list of the 'Eight Immortals of Taoism'?"

"Hehe, Ninth Immortal, do you think that your Eighth Immortal sister can do whatever she wants now that she has awakened? Do you have the final say in removing me from the list of the 'Eight Immortals of Taoism'?" Han Zhongli still looked arrogant.

"Yes, on what basis did you exclude Master Zhengyang from the list of the 'Eight Immortals of Taoism'?" "Ninth Immortal, do you think you are still the same Ninth Immortal?" "You can't even protect yourself and yet you are talking nonsense, Ninth Immortal, you will regret it sooner or later." "It's not too late to surrender now, otherwise you will be in trouble." Lu Dongbin, Lan Caihe, Cao Guojiu, and Han Xiangzi appeared on the left and right of Han Zhongli.

Zhu Hao raised his eyebrows and pretended to be surprised: "Oh my, where did those four wild dogs come from? They barked as soon as they came out, so it turned out to be you four. You came at the right time, I know you have not given up. If you don't give up, the old house will not be safe. Today I will make you convinced and admire me, get out of the old house obediently and remove you from the sequence of 'Tao Eight Immortals'."

"Nine Immortals, do you think you can do whatever you want just because we don't dare to call you that? Every family has its own rules, every heaven has its own laws. It's impossible to ask us to get out of the old house, and it's even more impossible to kick us out of the sequence of 'Eight Taoist Immortals'." Lu Dongbin drew out the three-foot pure Yang Qingfeng sword in his hand and pierced Zhu Huan's heart.

A ray of colorful clouds passed by, and He Xiangu stood in front of Zhu Huan with a tender lotus flower in her hand, and loudly rebuked Lü Dongbin: "Chun Yangzi, don't be stubborn and think that you can rebel with Han Zhongli's support."

"He Erniang, what you said is wrong. When did Benzhen support Dongbin? When did Dongbin want to rebel against heaven? Don't you want to rebel against heaven yourself?" Han Zhongli waved a palm-leaf fan in his hand and questioned He Xiangu slowly.

Just as He Xiangu was about to argue with Han Zhongli, Zhang Guolao arrived on his donkey and questioned Han Zhongli in a leisurely tone, "Since the Patriarch Zhengyang has no intention of rebelling against the heaven, why mobilize so many troops?"

"Did I really mobilize a large force? I just wanted to invite all the immortal friends to visit the old house." Han Zhongli pointed the palm fan in his hand at the old house.

When Li Tieguai saw Han Zhongli's palm-leaf fan pointing at the old house, he quickly took off the Yin-Yang Bagua gourd from his waist, went over and used the Yin-Yang Bagua gourd to block the palm-leaf fan, and ordered Han Zhongli: "If you want to fight for a rank, then fight for a rank. Don't bring up the old house, and don't touch a single brick, tile, door, or window of the old house."

"Did I bring up the old house? I won't move a single brick, tile, door or window of the old house. I'll only move a single mortise and tenon, hehe." Han Zhongli smiled wryly.

Tieguai Li scolded Han Zhongli: "If you dare to touch even a mortise and tenon of this old house, my gourd will take you away."

"Li Xuan, do you think your gourd is omnipotent? Not to mention that it can't withstand a gentle shake of my precious fan, even Lan Caihe's flower basket is a hundred times better than your broken gourd." Han Zhongli looked down on him.

Lü Dongbin teased Tieguai Li: "Old Li, what use is your broken gourd other than storing old man Zhang's donkey urine? A single detour of my Pure Yang Sword will smash it to pieces, hahahaha."

"Why use a butcher knife to kill a chicken, Master Chunyang? To deal with a broken gourd, there is no need to unsheathe your sword. My tablet will do. With a thud, the broken gourd turns into nothing. Hmm." Uncle Cao breathed out through his nose.

Han Xiangzi was not willing to be outdone. He held the flute in his hand across his chin and said with a beaming eyebrow: "My fellow immortals, you think too highly of this broken gourd, don't you? I only need to blow 'Do Re Mi' and this broken gourd will be broken into pieces." "You guys?" He Xiangu raised her eyebrows and was furious.

Zhu Hu smiled and said to He Xiangu: "Sister Xiangu, there is no need to get angry with these cows. Just treat them as cows mooing."

"Jiuxian, why do you compare us to cows? If you can't explain it, I won't give you face today." Lu Dongbin showed his vicious look.

Zhu Hu asked Lv Dongbin with a smile: "Master, when have you ever given me face? I have given you face time and time again, but you don't know what is good for you. You keep doing what you want, and you keep going all the way to the end, looking for trouble with the old house and me. I tell you, I will not give you face today."

"Jiuxian, I don't need you to give me face. I, Lu Dongbin, never need others to give me face." Lu Dongbin looked down on Zhu Huan with an arrogant attitude.

Zhu Hu smiled faintly and said, "Oh, really? Although others don't need to save face for you, I, the heaven above my head and the earth under my feet, do want to save some face for you. After all, it's not easy for you to become an immortal."

"There's no need. I, Lu Dongbin, am a relative of the royal family on earth and one of the Five Northern Ancestors in Heaven (the Five Northern Ancestors are Emperor Donghua Wang Xuanfu, Emperor Zhengyang Zhongli Quan, Emperor Chunyang Lu Dongbin, Emperor Chunyou Liu Haichan and Emperor Fuji Wang Chongyang). I am the only one who gives face to Heaven and Earth." Lu Dongbin was extremely arrogant.

Zhu Huan smiled and asked Lv Dongbin: "Really? Since you are a royal family member on earth, why did you change your surname from Li to Lv? Who did you rely on to support you among the Northern Five Ancestors in heaven? You will definitely say that it was Han Zhongli who supported you, but who enlightened Han Zhongli?"

"You don't need to worry about this." Lu Dongbin's arrogance subsided.

The smile on Zhu Hu's face disappeared, and he angrily scolded Lu Dongbin: "You lustful man, I didn't want to expose your past, but you are so outrageous that I have to show you your rotten ass. In order to escape, you actually betrayed your ancestors and changed your surname and name. If it weren't for the enlightenment of the old fairy Li Xuanli, could Han Zhongli have been promoted by Emperor Wang Xuanfu Donghua? You, on the other hand, don't remember the kindness of your ancestors, and follow Han Zhongli to compete for fame and status. It's ok to be shameless, but you are so lustful that you want to take advantage of Fairy Guanghan and my sisters. You are worried that I will report you to Laojun Shangbadong, so you use the destruction of the "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" sparrow in the old house to find trouble with me."

"I, I didn't. I was just speaking the truth and upholding justice." Lu Dongbin insisted, but he no longer had the same aura as before.

Zhu Huan cursed again: "Uphold justice? How many evil things have you done in the name of this? Do you think you are the only one who knows? The sky is watching, the earth is measuring, and they see it clearly and measure it clearly. Well, don't you think that the three-foot pure Yang Qingfeng sword in your hand is very powerful? I will compete with you bare-handed, and I will definitely take your sword and return it to Emperor Donghua."

"Nine Immortals, don't talk nonsense. Take it easy. Benzhen gave the sword to Dongbin, which is just right. Even if Dongbin has behaved improperly in some aspects, it is not your turn to point fingers and make irresponsible remarks." Han Zhongli waved a palm-leaf fan in his hand, looking leisurely.

Zhu Huan became even more angry and cursed Han Zhongli: "You are a hypocritical hypocrite. You have possessed Mr. Zhu for so many years. Not only has the old house become a mess, but you have also ruined the feng shui of my old house. You even placed the plaque of my old house, "You are tolerant and virtuous", in the cesspool, causing the people living in the old house to lose their morals, be greedy for profit, and be deceitful."

"Ah? It was you who threw the door plaque into the pit? I was so blind back then that I actually enlightened you." Tieguai Li was extremely angry and raised the Yin-Yang Bagua gourd in his hand to attack.

Lü Dongbin, Cao Guojiu, Han Xiangzi, and Lan Caihe all stepped forward to protect Han Zhongli. Han Zhongli laughed out loud: "Old Li, why are you making such a fuss? The Yangtze River has always had talented people, so you should give up your position, and I will take the top spot among the Eight Immortals of Taoism."

"Han Zhongli, what qualifications do you have to be ranked first? If you want to sit in the first seat of the 'Eight Immortals of Taoism', you should first ask the lotus in my hand if it agrees." He Xiangu raised the lotus in her hand high.

Lan Caihe raised the flower basket in his hand and said with a smile: "He Xiangu, my flower basket is just missing a lotus flower. Come here, thank you."

"You, you two-faced, androgynous Lan Caihe, how many benefits did Han Zhongli and Lu Dongbin promise you? You actually sided with them?" He Xiangu was very disappointed.

Lan Caihe responded: "Do you even need to ask this? Of course, I rank higher than you among the Eight Immortals of Taoism."

"Barefoot monster, is ranking so important? Don't be too utilitarian and don't forget the true mission of us, the Eight Immortals of Taoism." He Xiangu never expected that Lan Caihe would become so utilitarian.

Cao Guojiu, who was standing next to Lan Caihe, asked He Xiangu with a lewd smile: "Ranking is not important? Then give your place to me? I will put you below me?"

"Bah, including you in the 'Eight Immortals of Taoism' was a mistake. An old official-obsessed person like you is not qualified to become an immortal. You are really a bad apple that spoils the whole barrel." He Xiangu scolded Cao Guojiu.

Lü Dongbin questioned He Xiangu: "Hey, aren't you scolding me and Master Zhengyang? Uncle Cao is our disciple. We were the ones who enlightened him. Why are you jealous?"

"I'm jealous? Lu Dongbin, do you want me to tell you about the ugly things you did to harass me?" He Xiangu didn't even look at Lu Dongbin, she felt disgusted just by looking at him.

"Yes, yes, fairy sister, please tell it to us quickly." "Yes, yes, quick, quick, fairy sister, we are all ears, all ears." Red Boy and Little Dragon Girl jumped out from the collar of Red Badger, clapping their hands.

Lü Dongbin was furious. He pointed his sword at He Xiangu and said sternly, "He Xiangu, I warn you, if you talk nonsense, I will kill you immediately."

"Lu Dongbin, am I afraid of you? Do you think I'm the willow spirit or the sunflower monster? Can I be manipulated by you? Today I must seek justice for those sisters who have been bullied by you." As He Xiangu said this, she slapped Lu Dongbin on the head with the lotus in her hand. Lu Dongbin fought back with a sword and the two men fought each other.

"Fight, fight, everyone fight." "One on one, one on one, everyone fight." When Red Boy and Little Dragon Girl saw Lan Caihe, Han Xiangzi and Cao Guojiu were going to help Lu Dongbin, they shouted and flew over to intercept Han Xiangzi and Cao Guojiu, while Zhang Guolao went over to intercept Lan Caihe.

Seeing that a fight had really broken out, Han Zhongli waved his palm-leaf cattail fan and tried to catch the badger. Tieguai Li flew over to stop Han Zhongli and aimed the mouth of the Yin-Yang Bagua gourd in his hand at Han Zhongli's palm-leaf cattail fan.

Zhu Huan stood on a high place and watched the fight with great interest. He saw the ten immortals divided into five groups and fighting to a standstill: He Xiangu's lotus emerging from the water against Lu Dongbin's Chunyang sword, Zhang Guolao's Sanskrit fishing drum against Lan Caihe's colorful flower basket, Red Boy's fire-pointed spear against Han Xiangzi's flute, Xiaolongnu's dragon-tendon whip against Cao Guojiu's tablet, and Tieguai Li's Yin-Yang Bagua gourd against Han Zhongli's palm-leaf fan.

"Alas, just to fight for ranking, one can actually lose one's morals." Zhu Hu felt bored after watching for a while and went to check out the door plaque that Tieguai Li was carving.

"Hey, where are the words on it?" At the beginning, Zhu Huan clearly saw Tieguai Li transformed into an old craftsman and had already carved the three big characters "You Rong De" on the bluestone, and was carving the last character "大". How come this bluestone is now as smooth as new, without any traces of carving?
"Hmph, that lazy old man Han Zhongli must have cheated when he was standing on the bluestone just now, and fanned me with his palm fan." Zhu Huan thought of this and hated Han Zhongli so much that his teeth itched. You threw the door plaque of the old house into the cesspool, which is unforgivable, and now you want to destroy it? Are you deliberately trying to embarrass me? Make me look ridiculous? The opening ceremony of the old house museum cannot be held as scheduled tomorrow? Well, then I will embarrass you completely, and your accomplices completely.

Thinking of this, Zhu Hu turned to the "Taoist Eight Immortals" who were fighting fiercely, and shouted to Red Boy and Little Dragon Girl: "From now on, the 'Taoist Eight Immortals' will be abolished and replaced by the 'Chong Eight Immortals'."