Pawn Crossing the River

This list is said to be a book, but in fact many files are fixed between two cardboard covers with movable clips, and pages can be added at any time.

Zhang Yuelu opened the folder, took out the files of Qi Xuansu and Xu Kou, and placed them side by side on the desk.

The reason why Zhang Yuelu was appreciated by the great masters and real people and rose to a high position at a young age was not only because of her talent and cultivation. If she had no cultivation, she would be nothing more than a spiritual official. Zhang Yuelu's careful thinking, coupled with her tenacity, are the key to her being promoted repeatedly.

Comparing the two files, Zhang Yuelu immediately noticed something was wrong.

Although Xu Kou's file is a bit ugly, the content is very detailed. It is generally possible to know what Xu Kou has done over the years, and his ascent and descent routes can also be traced.

But Qi Xuansu is different. It seems ordinary, but in fact there is something fishy.

So clean.

Qi Xuansu's file is too "clean". Apart from the basic information such as name, apprenticeship, age, affiliation, and realm of cultivation, there is nothing else. There is no record of past meritorious service, no record of past mistakes, no relatives, no Taoist companions, and no other records. He has no friends, does not live in the ancestral court, and does not work in the local Taoist government. He seems to have always been outside the Taoist system. So how did he rise to the seventh rank of Taoist priest?

Zhang Yuelu's eyes fell on the three characters "Qi Xuansu" on the file, and he fell into deep thought.

It is undeniable that Zhang Yuelu has a good impression of Qi Xuansu, but this does not mean that she can ignore the many doubts about Qi Xuansu.

Zhang Yuelu's first reaction was to ask Sun Yongfeng, the person in charge, how Qi Xuansu got on this list? Did you sign up yourself? Or should you, Master Sun, discover it yourself? Or was it recommended by others? So who is the recommender?

Regarding the establishment of a deputy hall master and his subordinates in the Tiangang Hall, it cannot be completed overnight. It is not surprising that the news has spread early and someone knew the inside information in advance. But a seventh-grade Taoist priest does not have such qualifications, let alone a seventh-grade Taoist priest who is not in Yujing City.

The discussion in Chiming Palace has just ended, and the official public information has just been released. How did a seventh-grade Taoist priest who had not been in the Yujing ancestral court for many years find out about the addition of a deputy hall master in Tiangang Hall in such a short period of time? And he immediately appeared in Yujing City?

There are only two possibilities, one is a coincidence, it just happens. Another possibility is that he has other channels for information and has made arrangements in advance.

Zhang Yuelu didn't believe there were any coincidences in the world. She was more inclined to the second possibility, which was that Qi Xuansu had other sources of information and had made arrangements in advance.

This is not a baseless guess, there is also evidence, that is Qi Xuansu's three-year evaluation.

Since Qi Xuansu has never served in the local Taoist government and is not in Yujing City, what about his annual evaluation? How can I be rated above average for three consecutive years?

In the Taoist sect, it is not unusual to have a backer. For example, for Xu Kou, his backer is the Qizhou Taoist Office. The file is also clearly marked with the recommendation of the Qizhou Taoist Office. This is something that is obvious. .

But Qi Xuansu's background was not made public, as if he didn't want others to know his existence.

Who is Qi Xuansu's backer? Why keep it secretive? What are they trying to cover up?

Zhang Yuelu looked at the bright red word "quasi" and hesitated whether to add the word "no" on it.

However, she quickly rejected this idea and also gave up the idea of ​​asking Sun Yongfeng.

Sun Yongfeng is an old man in Tiangang Hall. He can be said to be "up and down in the officialdom." People like him are like loaches in the water. They are slippery. They must have prepared their words. If you ask him rashly, you will let yourself go. Fall into passivity.

Instead of taking the initiative and alerting others, it is better to pretend not to know and let them relax their vigilance, and maybe they will reveal their flaws themselves.

Zhang Yuelu put Xu Kou's files back to their original places, leaving only Qi Xuansu's files still on the desk.

She stared at the bright red word "quasi" on the file and whispered to herself: "I want to see, who are you?"

…

"Ah sneeze!"

Qi Xuansu, who was cleaning the fallen leaves, sneezed again and felt strange. Why was there always someone talking about him?

It was probably Qiniang who was planning on letting him do hard labor.

Qi Xuansu shook his head, no longer thought about it, and continued to clean the fallen leaves.

What Qi Xuansu didn't expect was that this time it was indeed related to Qiniang, but it was Qiniang's miscalculation. She didn't expect Zhang Yuelu to be so alert.

In fact, the fact that Qi Xuansu's files are so "clean" is indeed related to the Qingping Society. Qi Xuansu has been stuck as an eighth-level Taoist priest since his master died. Later, the Qingping Society secretly operated and he was promoted to the seventh rank of Taoist priest.

With the power of Qingpinghui, this kind of operation is not a problem until he is promoted to the fourth-grade Taoist Priest. However, the Qingpinghui is also aware of this problem. I want Qi Xuansu to enter Tiangang Hall to enrich his resume and make contributions.

If Qi Xuansu doesn't want to enter Tiangang Hall, Qiniang won't force it. The result is as Qiniang said, Qi Xuansu will be stuck on the threshold of the seventh rank. After passing the age, there is no hope of promotion. If he is lucky in this life, he can be promoted to the fourth rank of Taoist Priest Liquor. If he is not lucky, he will stop at the fifth rank. Taoist priests, stop thinking about wearing a sword of wisdom.

In the development of Taoism to this day, it has passed the stage where realm cultivation is everything. In many cases, high realm does not necessarily mean high status. Although there are still rules that non-celestial beings cannot serve as real people, the strength of real people is also uneven, and some Real people have just crossed the threshold of heavenly beings, and some real people are only one step away from the three great real people.

Anyone who wants to gain the status of a true person without taking the normal path and only relying on his realm of cultivation may have to be just a sliver away from being an immortal.

As for Dacheng Zhenren who is above the real people, especially the deputy head master Da Zhenren who is the leader of the three major factions, the first thing is to convince the public. If he cannot convince the public, no matter how high his cultivation level is, he will not succeed.

As for the Grand Master, who is at the highest level, the representative of the Supreme Being in the human world, and the leader of the Taoist sect that even the three first-level innocent Taoist priests must bow to, it’s okay not to mention it.

Even if Zhang Yuelu is such a genius, everyone's expectation for her is only to fill the role of the Thirty-Six Immortal Masters in many years, but they dare not ask for the position of the Great Immortal, let alone talk about the position of the Grand Master. These four positions are not just It is as simple as looking at qualifications and abilities, but also depends on strength and luck.

When the last ray of the setting sun disappeared at the end of the sky, Qi Xuansu finally tidied up the old house. He went out to the shop on the street to buy some food.

It is strange to say that the price of rice in Yujing City is almost the same as the price of rice in the world at the foot of the mountain. A pound of brown rice costs three Ruyi qian, and a pound of polished rice costs 5 Ruyi qian. It is definitely a big expense to transport grain and rice to Yujing City, which is located at the top of Kunlun. Then the price of rice should rise, and even the cost of transportation has exceeded the price of grain and rice itself. But the price of rice in Yujing is obviously The cost of transportation has not been calculated. I really don’t know whether Daomen bears the transportation costs, or whether Daomen has the means to farm on the top of Kunlun, directly eliminating transportation costs.

Qi Xuansu bought forty pounds of polished rice, which was two hundred Ruyi coins, equivalent to two small circles. In addition, he also bought some seasonal fruits and vegetables, ten kilograms of vegetarian oil, one kilogram of meat oil, two kilograms of fine salt, five kilograms of bacon, a tea brick, and various sauces and vinegar condiments.

In addition, there were prescriptions written by Qiniang. Qi Xuansu went to the nearby drug stores to get the medicines separately, just in case anyone found any clues from the prescriptions.

A total of more than nine hundred Ruyi money was spent, which was nearly one Taiping money.

It can be seen that Sun Yongfeng asked for two hundred Taiping coins, which was really a huge sum of money. It was beyond Qi Xuansu's expectation that Li Sanxin could possess a flying sword worth more than a thousand Taiping coins. According to common sense, a seventh-grade Taoist priest should not have such a net worth.

Afterwards, Qi Xuansu speculated that the flying sword was probably temporarily lent to Li Sanxin by someone else. Li Sanxin failed to win the "Xuan Jade" and lost the flying sword. He would be severely punished when he returned, fearing that there would be no room for improvement. .

Qi Xuansu hired a sheep cart to transport all these things home. Since the distance was less than one mile, one mile would cost ten Ruyi coins.

The sheep cart walked in front, and Qi Xuansu followed on foot. On the way, he met a former neighbor, a Taoist nun from Quanzhen Taoism, whose surname was Cui, who was one level lower than his master and a fifth-grade Taoist priest.

In the past, when Master was still around, the relationship between the two families was quite good and they had contact with each other.

Taoist Cui was obviously surprised when she saw Qi Xuansu: "Tianyuan, when did you come back?"

"I just came back not long ago." Qi Xuansu replied with a smile.

Taoist Cui's smile was somewhat unnatural: "It's good to come back, it's good to come back. By the way, what about your master?"

Qi Xuansu sighed and said nothing.

Taoist Cui quickly changed the subject: "Look at my mouth, I always refuse to open the pot. Are you planning to stay for a long time when you come back this time? Or..."

Qi Xuansu said without any trace of confusion on his face: "I'm lucky enough to find a job in Yujing City."

"What's the errand?" Aunt Cui asked.

Qi Xuansu said: "It's an errand for Tiangang Hall. Recently, Tiangang Hall has added a new deputy hall master, which has more than a hundred employees. I have saved some money over the years, and this time I took the path of a master mage. It’s pretty close.”

"This is a good thing." Taoist Cui nodded, "Although the work in Tiangang Hall is a bit hard and tiring, and you have to travel far away often, the treatment in Tiangang Hall is not low, and it is also among the best among the nine halls, and the Taoist sect has been in recent years. I have always admired Tiangangtang, and it sounds nice and respectable.”

"Who says it's not the case?" Qi Xuansu said with a smile, "So I am lucky."

Taoist Cui said: "If you have a serious and decent job, save some money and find a job."

When a girl with good personal character becomes a Taoist couple, everything will be complete. "

Speaking of this, Taoist Cui became interested: "Tianyuan, you have been outside for so many years, but... you don't have a romantic partner? If you do, take her home, and my aunt will help you with your eyes."

The smile on Qi Xuansu's face gradually froze, and then he coughed slightly.

Taoist Cui smiled and said: "Tianyuan, it's time for men to get married and women to get married. There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

Qi Xuansu quickly pointed to the stopped sheep cart and said, "Auntie, they are waiting for me to unload the cart."

"Then you should be busy first, and come and sit with Auntie often when you have free time."

"sure."