Pawn Crossing the River

After all, Qi Xuansu and Yao Pei had known each other for less than an hour. They were not acquaintances, let alone friends. They were just slightly better than strangers.

Many times, it is most taboo to communicate briefly and deeply, especially when it is a matter of life and death. Qi Xuansu is even more unlikely to admit it casually, even if he guesses that Yao Pei and Qiniang are related, after all, both of them have the surname Yao.

So Qi Xuansu denied it and said: "Yao Taoist friend asked this question for no reason. I am not even a heavenly being, how can I have anything to do with the number one person on the Taiping List?"

"That's not necessarily the case." Yao Pei said lightly, "I heard that during the battle in Jinling Mansion, Lord Yao of Qibaofang and Wu Guangbi, the leader of Tianting's Avenue, competed for 'Xuan Yu'. As a result, Lord Yao of 'Xuan Yu' "Leave it to Fellow Daoist Qi. If you say that Fellow Daoist Qi has nothing to do with Master Yao, it is really unconvincing."

Qi Xuansu did not answer directly, but said: "Yao Daoyou is very knowledgeable about the news. First I heard about the secret agreement between Zhengyiyi and Quanzhen Taoism, and now I heard about the Jinling Mansion. People often say that scholars can know everything about the world without going out. Yao Daoyou has this Nothing worse than that.”

Yao Pei said expressionlessly: "It would be weird if I didn't know anything."

Qi Xuansu thought for a while, but finally decided to be prudent. He first asked Qiniang, the master of Yao Pei, before deciding whether to contact Yao Pei, so he said: "To be honest, similar to the question asked by fellow Taoist Yao, I have already learned from the Li family's I heard it once. Fellow Taoist Yao, you might as well guess how I responded."

Yao Pei said: "Then you firmly deny it."

Qi Xuansu cupped his hands and said, "If Fellow Daoist Yao has nothing else to do, I'll take my leave first."

Yao Pei didn't speak, just stood with his hands behind his back.

Qi Xuansu turned around and walked along the long bridge towards Mingtang.

Yao Pei did not bother Qi Xuansu, he just stood there, looking at Qi Xuansu's back, and suddenly closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes, they no longer looked like dead fish eyes that he had not woken up. He was more energetic, and his eyes were still calm, but no longer A pool of stagnant water, but a quiet lake. The difference between the two is that running water does not rot the door-joints and does not cause beetles. "Tai Shang Forgetting Love Sutra" pursues forgetfulness of love, not ruthlessness. If it is blindly dead, like a stone, only ruthlessness is left, it will fall into the inferior realm.

As Zhang Yuelu expected, Yao Pei was subject to various shortcomings of the "Tai Shang Forgetting Love Sutra". He was indeed abnormal, confused and had an unstable temperament, but there would be brief "sober" moments. But just this brief moment of clarity was like a three-foot long sword unsheathed for three seconds, its sharp edge revealed.

Qi Xuansu went directly back to Zhenyuan's residence. After sealing the entrance, he went to the study, took out the two jade slips left by Zhang Yuelu, and began to continue practicing "Qi-Wang Technique" and "Innate Divine Calculation".

It's okay to say that the former is not difficult as a simplified version of the "Immortal Qi Watching Technique". The key is that the latter, as one of the core magical powers inherited by Sanren, is still quite difficult and cannot be achieved overnight.

Before you know it, it’s lunch time. Not everyone knows how to fast. Unless otherwise specified, someone will come to deliver the meal. Qi Xuansu happens to be one of those people who doesn’t know how to fast. After hearing the knock on the door, he put away the two pieces of jade. Jane opened the door and took the food box from the ninth-grade Taoist priest without forgetting to say thank you.

After all, it is the standard of Taoist priests for the fourth-grade wine sacrifice. It is certainly not shabby, but it is not rich either. There are four dishes in total, a lamb leg, a duck soup, a bean sprout, and a baby cabbage.

Qi Xuansu took a sip of duck soup first and almost spit it out, it was so salty. I had no choice but to try the leg of lamb again. It was old and poor. Let alone the lamb leg, I was afraid it was not an old leg of lamb. As for the two vegetarian dishes, they looked good. Qi Xuansu tasted them. How should I put them, the word "old" and the word "生" summed them up.

When he was in the lower palace, he thought that he was living a fairy life in the upper palace, but he ended up like this: old, thin, raw, and stiff. It is true that this is much better than the rations of ordinary people, but the Taoist sect will not allocate funds specifically for ordinary people to cook. There is an allocation on it, and the result is like this. I really don’t know how much corruption has been done, and I don’t know how greedy it is. How many people were there.

Qi Xuansu even wondered if they did this on purpose to force many fourth-grade wine-sacrifice Taoist priests to take the initiative, so that they could save a fortune.

As for why Zhang Yuelu didn't mention it, he probably didn't know. Who told her to go without food?

However, Qi Xuansu had experienced hardship after all. He had eaten dry food that was as cold as stone, but it was still not inedible. He quickly finished eating it, put the bowls, chopsticks, cups and plates back into the food box, and hung up the food box. In front of the door, he left Zhenyuan and went to Kunyuan.

As the residence of the Grand Master and some high-quality Taoist priests, Kunyuan is very quiet, and because it is only connected to Duiyuan, few people come here.

Qi Xuansu spent half an hour walking through Duiyuan, which was similar in layout to Zhenyuan, and arrived at the gate of Kunyuan.

There was a female crown and two spiritual officials guarding the door. After seeing the jade pendant around Qi Xuansu's waist, they did not turn him away, but asked very politely: "What does this mage do for you?"

Qi Xuansu took out the name card given by Zhang Yuelu and handed it to Nu Guan.

According to the rules, when visiting the place, you should give your name card to the owner of this place, but in a sense, the owner's name card is also a kind of passport.

After Nu Guan checked the authenticity of the name card, she returned the name card to Qi Xuansu with both hands and said softly: "Master, please follow me."

After entering Kunyuan, Qi Xuansu found that this place was very different from Zhenyuan and Duiyuan. There were fewer buildings, but each courtyard occupied a larger area. Moreover, the walls between the courtyards here were not brick walls, but similar ones. From the fence, you can have an unobstructed view of the interior. It is also completely different from the square mansion with several entrances and exits. It seems to encircle a circle, with the house built in the center of the circle and surrounded by open space.

Qi Xuansu saw many people doing various things in their yard. Some people opened up a piece of farmland in the yard, planted wheat, and built a scarecrow; some people were planting vegetables and picking vegetables from the lotus pond not far away. water; there is a little girl swinging on the swing, almost flying; there is also a young long-legged woman playing with a fire gun and shooting with a "sun-shooting gun", but wearing a straw hat and Qiniang's Those kind of sunglasses cover half of the face, making it difficult to see clearly.

Under the guidance of Nu Guan, Qi Xuansu came to the door of a courtyard. You can see a grape trellis set up in the yard.

The courtyard door is not closed, but open, allowing everyone to come and go freely.

The female crown stopped there. Qi Xuansu walked into the courtyard alone, not far from the grape trellis, and respectfully saluted: "Junior Qi Xuansu has met Zhenren Sun."

The old man closed the book in his hand and glanced at Qi Xuansu with some scrutiny: "Zhang Yuelu said hello to me and said that you were her good friend and hoped that I could take care of you. But let me tell you, you two It’s not just a matter of good friends, right? I’ve never seen Zhang Yuelu care so much about other people’s affairs.”

Qi Xuansu didn't know how to answer. He couldn't say that the two of them were Taoist monks who had already met their parents.

Fortunately, the old man didn't want Qi Xuansu to answer. He just said to himself: "Whether you two are good friends or Taoist companions, it has nothing to do with me, a bad old man. I will get straight to the point. Going to the palace is different from The lower palace is not so strict. Putting aside the candidates and preparations for sacrificial wine that were recently recruited. After all, they are fourth-grade sacrificial wine Taoist priests. They hold certain authority outside, and even act alone. I want you to be obedient. Students who study are actually a little unrealistic, so after you get to the palace, as long as you are not fighting bravely and fiercely, no one will care about you. Whether you are dawdling and staying up, or you really want to learn something, it all depends on you. "

While Qi Xuansu was listening, he took advantage of the opportunity to take a look at this old man of "He" generation. His beard and hair were all white, but he did not have the immortal air of a Taoist. Instead, he had the bookish air of a Confucian, but compared to the Confucian With the majesty of a master, this old man is very easy-going and belongs to the type who can hardly give people a serious feeling no matter how deep he is. It's like Qiniang, no matter how much she pretends, it's hard for people to associate her with the image of a submissive little daughter-in-law.

Sun Hewu got up and led Qi Xuansu to the living room. There were bursts of cold air inside, but it was not because of the formation, but because of the use of a very ancient ice mirror, some like a tripod, and some like an incense burner, with four legs and a square shape. The principle is similar to that of an incense burner, except that spices are placed in the incense burner and ice is placed in the ice cooker.

The old man took the main seat on the left and motioned for Qi Xuansu to sit down and talk.

Qi Xuansu did not ask Dadi to sit in the main seat on the right, but sat down below the old man.

Sun Hewu said: "Since Zhang Yuelu asked me to take care of you, you obviously didn't come here to hang around and wait for the three months to expire and leave. Tell me, what do you want to learn? I should be able to give you some suggestion."

Qi Xuansu hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively: "Can you learn a Dacheng method?"

Sun Hewu was stunned for a moment, looked at Qi Xuansu again, and then said with emphasis: "Young man, not everyone is Xuansheng, and not everyone is Donghuang. If you bite off more than you can chew, you might even choke yourself. ”

Qi Xuansu only felt that he was wronged and quickly defended: "Master, this junior has never learned the Dacheng method before."

Sun Hewu was a little surprised: "You are a fourth-level wine-sacrifice Taoist priest who is less than thirty years old. You are only one step away from the gods. Even though you are not as good as Zhang Yuelu and Yao Pei, you are still the best among the younger generation. You have not learned anything." The method of overachieving?”

It’s no wonder that Sun Hewu was surprised. Before Xuansheng integrated the Taoist sects, Dacheng’s methods were indeed very rare. Every family and sect hid them and refused to show them to others. However, since Xuansheng integrated the Taoist sects, although there are still some restrictions, but with Compared with the past, it is already too relaxed. Especially for young talents, it is almost necessary for everyone to have a master's method. For example, Zhang Yuelu even has two skills.

Qi Xuansu said: "This junior was born in the lower palace, but after leaving the lower palace, he just wandered around in the world. He really didn't have many opportunities to listen to the teachings of the senior teachers."

Sun Hewu thought for a while, nodded and said: "What you said makes sense. There is no great method in the world."

Then the old man asked directly: "Then what great method do you want to learn?"

Qi Xuansu asked tentatively, but he didn't expect Sun Hewu to agree so readily and directly. He didn't know what to say for a while. After thinking about it for a while, he said cautiously: "Master, I am a young man with little knowledge. I really don't know what to learn. I don’t know what I should learn, please give me advice.”

Sun Hewu smiled: "You are quite clever."

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