Pawn Crossing the River

Early the next morning, Qi Xuansu and the Zhang family went to the "Jade Plain" of Ziweitang.

All guests can enter the Ziwei Hall of Zifu with the invitation letter, and then go from Ziwei Hall to the "Emerald Plains" of Kunlun Cave. Although many guests are regular guests of Zifu, many of them are visiting Ziwei for the first time. The government has been blessed. .

As soon as Qi Xuansu and his party arrived at the entrance of Ziwei Hall, two deputy hall masters came forward to congratulate them.

Qi Xuansu asked Zhang Yuelu to take his father-in-law, mother-in-law and Xiao Yin to the "Jade Plain" first, while he stayed here to greet the guests. After all, this is not a wedding. Qi Xuansu, the person involved, has nothing to prepare. There is no need to hide in there like a newlywed.

There was nothing much to say about this process, but Qi Xuansu met an unexpected and reasonable guest, Yao Pei.

Yao Pei is a disciple of Master Donghua, so it is reasonable for her to come.

But Qi Xuansu's apprenticeship would make Yao Pei very embarrassed. In a sense, Master Donghua wanted to replace Yao Pei with Qi Xuansu. It's not that Master Donghua has a problem with Yao Pei, but that Master Donghua is unwilling to be the transitional member of the Yao family.

Qi Xuansu thought that Yao Pei would make excuses not to come, but he came anyway, so it was unexpected.

"Su Yi, long time no see. How are you doing?" Qi Xuansu asked in a stylized manner.

Yao Pei still had the same Xuansheng face: "Tianyuan, after today, you will call me senior sister."

Qi Xuansu said: "In public, you should call me Chief Qi when addressing your position. As for privately, we can discuss things on our own terms. I will call you senior sister, and you will call me cousin."

Yao Pei said expressionlessly: "Let's just use the Chinese character."

Qi Xuansu turned sideways: "Please go in, the real person is waiting at the 'Emerald Plain'."

Yao Pei said no more and walked into Ziwei Hall.

People's hearts are changeable. At this time, the people of Ziweitang greeted Yao Pei. Although the enthusiasm was still the same and there was nothing wrong with it, it was always a little different than before.

In any case, neither Qi Xuansu nor Yao Pei can afford to offend anyone. They are both distinguished people. Of course, nothing will happen on the surface, but there is no guarantee that they will do something secretly. Even if they do nothing, if they do When you are a little angry, you can easily offend others. It has already been said that the fire at the city gate will affect the fish in the pond, and the fight between gods and mortals will suffer.

Of course, the people of Ziweitang must not offend both sides.

After Yao Pei, another special guest came to visit.

Li Changge, he didn't come with Zhenren Qingwei, he came with Princess Chiying - the latter is the adopted daughter of Emperor Daxuan and one of the participants in the marriage between Qin and Li.

Qi Xuansu couldn't help but sigh in his heart, no matter how reluctant Li Changge was, he still accepted his fate, just like Master Qingwei, no matter how he looked down on his family elders when he was young, he still had to compromise in the end.

Having said that, there are always people like this in the Li family. They are rebellious when they are young and eventually compromise with the family.

Qi Xuansu took the initiative to greet him: "Brother Yongyan, I haven't seen you for a long time. How have you been lately?"

Li Changge smiled slightly: "Everything is fine, congratulations to Taoist Brother Tianyuan. I heard that Taoist Brother Tianyuan is showing off his talents in the New World this time. I am deeply sorry that I was unable to go to the New World."

Qi Xuansu said slowly: "An ancient poem goes like this: prosperity means people suffer. Death means people suffer. But as the saying goes, it is better to be a peace dog than to be a man in troubled times. In any case, prosperity is better than death. The so-called flexing one's muscles, Resisting the Holy Court is only half of it, the other half is to help the Southern Continent get out of poverty and move toward civilization. Brother Yongyan, you don’t have to regret it. There will be many opportunities in the future.”

Li Changge was noncommittal. As a member of the Li family, of course he disagreed. Qi Xuansu said this on purpose, and he said it in a high-sounding way.

Princess Chiying said: "But if you want to help the Southern Continent get out of poverty, I'm afraid it will cost a lot of money? This money is all Taoist money, even if you are a brother..."

"Brothers, of course we have to settle accounts clearly!" Huangfuji's voice suddenly intervened, "The so-called win-win cooperation means that each side gets what it needs. One side suffers a loss unilaterally, and the other side unilaterally benefits. That's called plundering, and only if both sides don't It’s called development even if you suffer losses. But this benefit may not be reflected in simple peace money, but also in land, resources, and people’s hearts.”

Qi Xuansu took advantage of the situation and changed the topic: "Brother Huangfu is also here."

Huangfuji even wanted to imitate Westerners in the Western-style hugging etiquette, but in the end he just cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations Tianyuan."

Li Changge still smiled, nodded to Huangfuji, and then walked into the Ziwei Hall with Princess Chiying.

Huangfu looked at Li Changge's back and said, "The famous little national master is quite good at cultivating qi."

Qi Xuansu said softly: "Among the three talents of the Taoist sect, your sister Qingxiao is not good at cultivating qi and has a straight temper. The other two are not the kind of characters who will always look down on you and shout to kill you. There are many dandy in the family. It’s fake, but it’s hard to tell for the elites carefully cultivated by the family.”

Huangfuji said nothing more and walked into Ziwei Hall.

The farther back you go, the heavier the weight of the guests.

First of all, everyone should know the real people, such as Zhang Jucheng, Yao Shu, Qi Jiaozheng, Ye Qingshuang and others. Then there are several great masters of Pingzhang and the special masters of Shenzhi, Cihang and Qingwei.

Jiang Daren, Shi Daren, Lan Daren, and the old master Sun Hewu came here together. It seemed that these elders had been drinking last night. Old people may not like drinking, nor do they think drinking makes them free and easy. They have passed the age of drinking and looking cool decades ago. They just use the power of alcohol to open up conversations, eliminate barriers, get closer, and reminisce about the past together. . After all, age is here, whether it is ascending or sitting down, the time in this world is getting less and less, and the state of mind is naturally different.

The four old people all have a good relationship with Qi Xuansu, and congratulations from the elders are indispensable.

Then came the two princes, neither of whom brought secretaries. Master Cihang brought his apprentice Xiao Yueru, and Master Qingwei brought his adopted daughter Li Zhuyu.

I don't know if it was a coincidence or not, but the two real people happened to arrive at the same time.

"In addition to congratulations to Master Donghua, I would also like to congratulate Master Cihang." Master Qingwei spoke first, as if the verbal conflict during Jinque's discussion had never happened before.

Master Cihang deliberately pretended not to understand: "What do you mean by Master Qingwei's words?"

Master Qingwei said: "Tianyuan and Qingxiao have made an alliance between Qin and Jin. Now that Tianyuan has become a disciple of Master Donghua, Master Cihang and Master Donghua are in-laws. Don't you want to congratulate them?"

"I heard that Yongyan and Chiying's marriage is about to be finalized. Although Yongyan has a higher seniority, in terms of Taoist seniority, you are his teacher, so I also want to congratulate you." Master Cihang smiled. said.

"Same joy." Master Qingwei was still smiling.

While talking, both of them climbed up the steps.

Qi Xuansu came over, greeted the two of them, and then invited them in.

Qi Xuansu entered the "Emerald Plain" last, and the venue was already decorated.

There are many strange beasts called "Tulu" here, with sheep heads and four horns. There is also a sacred bird named "Qinyuan" in the sky, which is shaped like a bee and as big as a mandarin duck. If stung by it, any bird or beast will die, and any tree will wither.

These are the guards of the Kunlun Cave. They are quite powerful. When the Six Enlightened Witches entered the Kunlun Cave and had a conflict with God Lu Wu, many of the great witches who accompanied them died from these two strange beasts.

In addition to the guards, there are also many white cranes swaying up, circling and flying in the air, and cranes chirping.

It was exactly the big white crane that Xiao Yin longed for, the kind that could carry people.

Xiao Yin was pointing at the white crane in the sky: "Big White Crane! Big White Crane!"

It's not that Xiao Yin has never seen the world. Xiao Yin's subtext is not surprise, but desire. She didn't want the big white goose at all.

Many high-level Taoists present did not express surprise at Xiao Yin. After all, there were people from Qingqiu Mountain here, and not all of them were human.

There are also many auspicious beasts walking on the grass, and flowers are blooming wherever they pass.

Daomen does not pursue luxury. It’s not that it doesn’t want to, but it’s that it can’t. The word “frugal” is attached to it. Therefore, Master Donghua chose the "Emerald Plain", where you can use rare and exotic animals. These are brought by Kunlun Cave and can be used repeatedly, so they cannot be regarded as extravagant and wasteful.

This time, Ziweitang did not prepare seats, and everyone stood.

There was only one chair set up, which was used by Master Donghua to sit and receive the ceremony during the ceremony.

Fortunately, the Taoist sect emphasizes equality. Not only has it abolished all kinds of lowly and slave status, promoted the status of female Taoist priests, but also abolished the kneeling ceremony. Qi Xuansu doesn't need to kneel three times and kowtow nine times. That's the dregs of Confucianism. Just bow.

The logic here is consistent. The king, the king, the minister, the father, the son, and the son are all wrong. Lord of Heaven and Earth, Lord and Master, Lord and Father have all been denied, and there is no reason why Master would be an exception. However, there is a very long master-disciple inheritance within the Taoist sect, so it is not easy to directly abolish the master-disciple relationship. However, in order to weaken the master-disciple relationship, a series of regulations have been made, including the collective teaching mechanism of Wanxiang Dao Palace and other Taoist palaces, the abolition of the master-disciple relationship. Kneeling down and worshiping, being able to become a master only after leaving the Taoist palace, etc. are all designed to weaken the so-called master and disciple as father and son.

However, the power of tradition and inertia is still strong, and many people still regard the master-disciple relationship as a very important relationship. The fact that Donghua Zhenren has such a grand ceremony for his apprenticeship is a clear proof.

As soon as Qi Xuansu came in, two female Taoist priests from Ziweitang came over to check whether there was anything wrong with Qi Xuansu's clothing and appearance. What's exaggerated is that the two even took a makeup box and a sewing thread bag. If there was any accident, they would ask for it on the spot. repair. After confirming that it was correct, the two asked Qi Xuansu to wait for now.

At this time, Master Donghua was speaking, which probably meant thanking all the guests for coming, mostly using clichés. Except for Xiao Yin and a few other people present, almost everyone can speak and speak.

When the speech was over, Qi Xuansu walked forward and walked through the carpeted aisle between the guests. At the end of the carpet was Donghua Zhenren sitting on the chair.

Taoism keeps all etiquette simple and opposes the cumbersomeness of Confucianism.

When he was still three feet away from the chair, Qi Xuansu stopped for a moment, gathered his clothes and straightened his face, then stepped forward to bow and salute.

Master Donghua accepted it.

Qi Xuansu offered the apprenticeship ceremony again, and Donghua Zhenren returned the ceremony.

The ceremony is completed.