Pawn Crossing the River

In the next half month, Qi Xuansu was afraid of "encountering" Zhang Yuelu when he went out again, so he stayed at home. In addition to reading the newspaper, he followed the Sanren's methods to improve his cultivation. However, he was still far away from the Jade Cauldron realm, so it was inevitably boring. .

The only good news is that his injuries have basically healed and he no longer needs to drink soup.

In a blink of an eye, it is the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th.

In the secular world at the foot of the mountain, this is an important festival second only to the New Year Festival, but Taoism does not pay much attention to the Mid-Autumn Festival.

There are three major festivals in Taoism, namely: the Shangyuan Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the birthday of Tianguan; the Zhongyuan Festival, the 15th day of July, the birthday of the local official; and the Xianyuan Festival, the birthday of Shuiguan on the 15th day of October.

These three days are the days of worshiping and worshiping heaven. Da Zhenren and Zhenren must fast and bathe, and worship God. It is very grand.

August 15th happens to be between July 15th and October 15th, which is inevitably a bit embarrassing.

In addition, most of the Taoist sects are orphans without fathers and mothers, so on this day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, there is not much festive atmosphere in Yujing City.

Qi Xuansu went out and bought a jar of wine, several cooked dishes, a small bundle of ordinary incense sticks, and a stack of paper money, and walked out of the city.

Outside the city, the wind and snow were still howling, and the ice was bone-chilling.

Yuxu Peak occupies a huge area. Yujing City is located on the sunny side of Yuxu Peak. There is a huge cemetery on the shady side twenty miles below Yujing City. After Qiniang helped Qi Xuansu retrieve the master's body, He is buried here.

The mountain road was originally difficult to navigate, but Daomen used manpower to dig out a relatively flat brick road that could be used by two horses to walk side by side. It used iron ropes as railings and led directly to the cemetery, so the twenty-mile journey was not too long.

Qi Xuansu braved the wind and snow to go to the cemetery and found his master's grave.

The tombstone in front of the grave simply says "Qi Haoran's Tomb" without any inscription. The handwriting is beautiful and it is Qiniang's handwriting.

As Qi Xuansu himself said, when his master died, he was still very young and did not know his personal dealings or connections. He only knew that his lineage originally belonged to Quanzhen Taoism, but he did not know why he was later After returning to Zhengyi Dao, he also became a disciple of Zhengyi Dao.

Qi Xuansu had neither a senior brother nor a junior wife. During the days when he was accepted as a disciple by his master, it was actually just the master and the disciple who depended on each other.

In Qi Xuansu's impression, Master is not a righteous hero, nor a rigid gentleman, nor a free and easy knight, but an ordinary person with an easy-going temperament, just like most ordinary people in middle age. Men are just like men, they have all kinds of troubles, and they have lost the impulsiveness and spirit of youth. They are neither free and easy nor happy.

So Qi Xuansu remembered very clearly that the master liked to drink.

Master is not an alcoholic, he just likes the feeling of being drunk. In his own words, he can forget many troubles.

One drink can relieve a thousand sorrows.

Moreover, Master drinks very well. When he is drunk, he just stares at the sky and murmurs something in a low voice that no one can hear.

Qi Xuansu was still very young and didn't quite understand this mentality. He just remembered that his master looked very different from usual before he died. He was covered in blood, his expression was like a diamond's angry eyes, and his voice was like rolling thunder.

The last word "go" still echoes in Qi Xuansu's ears.

Maybe Qi Xuansu will never forget it in this life.

Qi Xuansu first placed the cooked food in front of the grave, and then placed the jar of fine wine that cost him a peace of gold in the middle. He didn't know exactly how to do it, but after opening the mud seal, the smell of wine was very strong.

In the past few years, Qi Xuansu has never had the opportunity to come because he mainly makes a living in the hinterland of the Central Plains. He takes the land route to Kunlun. The round trip takes at least two months. Although taking a flying boat is fast, it is too expensive, costing 100 Taiping each way. Qi Xuansu couldn't afford the money.

Qi Xuansu lit the incense stick, stood it in front of the grave, and added some soil to the grave.

Then he sat in front of the grave, looked at the incense sticks, and said to himself: "Master, I have avenged you. People say that a gentleman takes revenge. Ten years is never too late. It only took me ten months." ”

"It's not that your apprentice is capable, but I was lucky enough to meet Qiniang, and you were the one who helped bury her. Speaking of which, Qiniang is really the benefactor of our master and apprentice."

"Actually, I once had an idea, but I never dared to say it in front of Qiniang. If Master, you are not dead, then I think you and Qiniang are quite a match. If you marry her, you will repay your kindness. It’s said in the storybook, there is no way to repay a great kindness, you can only promise it with your own body. If you marry Qiniang, the kindness we owe you will be repaid. After all, we are a family. "

"It's just a joke, Master, don't be upset. Since Master can't repay, then naturally I, the disciple, will repay. As for how to repay, Master, you will never guess. There is a plot about selling one's body to bury one's father in the storybook. I sold myself to bury my father today. I sold myself to someone else. Not only did I bury you, Master, but I also got my revenge. How good a deal do you think this deal is?"

"Let's not talk about this anymore. Today is August 15th. They say that people with a full moon are rounder. It is a day of reunion. We haven't celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival in several years. Today we celebrate the festival and drink together."

The wind on the mountain is so strong that even if more than ten sticks of incense are tied into a bunch, they will burn out quickly.

Qi Xuansu stood up, poured the wine in the wine jar on the ground, then rubbed three fingers together and lit the paper money that he had prepared.

The paper money burned out and turned into black ash and flew away in the wind.

Qi Xuansu got up and left the cemetery, walking towards Yujing City along the way he came.

When Qi Xuansu returned to Yujing City, it was almost dusk. By the time he returned to his residence in Haichanfang, the lights were already on.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, which Daxuan had looked forward to for forty-one years, passed like this.

Qi Xuansu did not attend the dream meeting, nor did he meditate, but took a nap.

The next day is August 16th.

Qi Xuansu got up very early, changed into the attire of a seventh-grade Taoist priest, including a crane cloak, square-headed cloud shoes, and a Xiaoyao scarf. He took the certificate given to him by Sun Yongfeng and left the house at Yinshi. He came out of Haichanfang and walked along the north-south "Shanghai" "Qingdao" and walked towards Xuandu.

Xuandu Jade Capital is where the Taoist ancestral court is located, also known as the White Jade Capital in the Sky.

People in Taoism like to call the outer city Yujing and the inner city Xuandu.

Jiutang is located in Xuandu.

As for the Purple Mansion, it is the residence of the Grand Master, similar to a palace. No one below the fourth-grade Taoist priest is allowed to enter without permission.

At about nine o'clock, Qi Xuansu arrived at the gate of Xuanmen.

Xuandu is the residence of Jiutang and some high-grade Taoist priests, and the access control is very strict. Generally speaking, low-grade Taoist priests will not come to Xuandu if they have nothing to do.

Qi Xuansu walked to the city gate with the sparse crowd. In front of him was a tall man carrying a three-foot sword. The so-called broadsword is probably the shape of the Yanyue sword, but it has been changed from a long handle to a short handle. You must know that the most commonly used weapons among Taoists are various swords. Qi Xuansu’s weapon is a dagger with a spiritual appearance. There are also knives, but most of them are Huanshou Dao, Hengdao, and Yanling Dao. Lord, this kind of broad-bladed sword is extremely rare.

The tall man took out the ultimatum and handed it to the gatekeeper wearing armor.

The so-called spiritual officials are guardians of Taoism. They also have the same rank as Taoist priests, but are under the control of Taoist priests of the same level. Within the Taoist sect, they are generally regarded as lower-level Taoist priests.

These city-guarding spiritual officers are all of the sixth grade, equivalent to the seventh grade Taoist priests, and are under the jurisdiction of the sixth grade Taoist priests.

The highest level of spiritual official is under the control of the first-level innocent Taoist priest, which is equivalent to the second-level Taiyi Taoist priest, and is not qualified to become a great master.

After the gatekeeper inspected the ultimatum, he glanced at the broad-bladed sword carried by the man and pointed the spear in his hand.

The tall man didn't waste any time. He drew the sword out of its sheath. The cold light shone brightly. The blade was as clear as water, reflecting his face. There was a thin layer of frost on the blade.

The gatekeeper looked at it carefully for a moment, and then a slightly distorted voice came from under his mask: "Put it away."

The tall man showed a bit of displeasure on his face, and slowly put the big knife into its leather sheath.

The gatekeeper spiritual officer waved his hand, which showed that the entire palm was wrapped in a gauntlet, indicating that the tall man could enter the city.

The tall man looked deeply at the gatekeeper and walked towards Xuandu.

When it was Qi Xuansu's turn, he handed over his ultimatum and took off the dagger from his waist.

The gatekeeper had checked the ultimatum, but had no intention of checking the dagger, and signaled to Qi Xuansu that he could enter the city.

Qi Xuansu smiled slightly, put away his dagger and walked into the city.

In fact, weapons are not strictly controlled within Xuandu. It is a matter of choice. This gives the gatekeepers room to control flexibly. Not everyone can see the restrained murderous aura in Qi Xuansu like Zhang Yuelu. At first glance, Qi Xuansu looks more like a harmless "flower garden Taoist". On the contrary, the tall man in front of him is sharp and revealing. He has a domineering air, and it is obvious at first glance that he is not a good person.

This is the reason for the differential treatment.

The tall man who had walked out for a while just turned around and saw this scene, and couldn't help but snorted.

It was Qi Xuansu's first time to come to Xuandu. Compared with Yujing's chessboard-like structure of squares and cities, Xuandu's zigzag structure was more similar to today's imperial capital. Newcomers would easily get lost.

Fortunately, Tiangang Hall is famous and not difficult to find.

Qi Xuansu went north along the main road in the city, turned left after passing Nanhua Gate, passed Yangmiao, and exited Daodemen to Gushen Square. The building on the left side of the square was Tiangang Hall.

There is a hall master in Tiangang Hall, also known as Zhangtang Zhenren, who is held by the second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest, Shenzhi Jinque Shanshi Zhenren.

There are nine deputy hall masters. The chief deputy hall master is also a second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest, but he is not qualified to participate in the discussions of Jinque. The other deputy hall masters have the same positions and different grades. Most of them are third-grade Youyi Taoist priests. The lowest one is Zhang Yuelu, who has just been promoted to deputy hall master. He is only a fourth-grade wine-sacrifice Taoist priest. He is at the same level as many principals, but considering her age

, and was appointed by the rotating deputy headmaster Da Zhenren, but he was more eye-catching than many third-grade Youyi Taoist priests.

Under normal circumstances, if there is no major event, the master of the hall and the chief deputy hall master will not sit in the hall of Tiangang Hall. Instead, several deputy hall masters who stayed in Yujing will take turns to be on duty. Today it is Zhang Yuelu who is on duty. , and by the way, he met his future team.