Tai sui

The big black cat stretched itself, jumped onto King Zhuang's knees, and trampled on him boredly, its confiscated paws caught the thread of his brocade robe and blew it up, and rubbed against his cat's fur.

Zhuang Wang has no temper for it, instead of being annoyed, sometimes he will pamper the cat's head to make it step on it a few more times.

But at this moment, he was rarely in the mood to coax the cat to play.

The bell rang three times, and the door was knocked from the outside.

King Zhuang raised his eyes suddenly: "Bering, come in."

A piece of "paper" came in through the crack of the door in response, and the latch remained motionless.

After entering the room, the "paper" unfolded with a shake, and turned into a very thin man on the ground.This person has a long thin face and a good appearance, but for no reason people can't remember what he looks like, and even his pupils are three points lighter than others.

Entering the house quietly, his feet are lighter than a cat.

Bai Ling, the leader of the dark guards in the Zhuang Palace, was actually a monk.

The kind that has never been through the Ming Road!

Bering: "My lord."

Zhuang Wang waved his hand: "You don't need to be too polite, how about it?"

Bai Ling replied: "The earthquake stopped, and the seven Qinglong towers ambushed the evil formation. None of the people who went to steal the towers tonight escaped. Around five o'clock, the right deputy of the Tianji Pavilion who left the city led people." return……"

Zhuang Wang didn't have the patience to listen to him in detail, and interrupted directly: "Where's Xi Shiyong, the troublemaker?"

Bai Ling said: "Your Majesty is well, don't worry your lord, he came back with the fairy envoy in his chariot."

King Zhuang exhaled, his expression relaxed imperceptibly.

Since the chiming clock kept walking, he took a sip of water from a small pottery cup, and became the unmoved Third Highness again: "That's fine—why, he really ran out of the city by himself?"

"The cultivation base of the immortal envoy is too high, and his subordinates dare not approach," Bai Ling said, "I don't know the exact process, but the son was sent back by a car sent by Tianji Pavilion, and the blue clothes of the Yongning Hou Mansion also politely withdrew. , it’s not a bad thing after all.”

King Zhuang ordered coldly: "Tell the concierge and the guards that if that kid dares to come, no one will let him in. Just tie him up and send him to Lord Hou, and he won't be able to get out without a few beatings."

Laughter lines appeared in the corners of Bai Ling's eyes, and he let out a "hey".

Only then did King Zhuang ask again: "Xuanyin Immortal Envoy has come? In previous years, Immortal Envoys would have been able to reveal the wind several months in advance. Whose family is coming this year? How did they hide it so tightly?"

"This...forgive me for being rude." Bai Ling stepped forward and whispered a name to King Zhuang.

After Zhuang Wang heard this, his eyebrows twitched slightly: "Him?"

"Yes," Bai Ling said in a low voice, "the Lord of Shengling Peak descends the mountain in person, which is rare in a hundred years. I don't know why, but it may be related to the evil spirit that caused chaos this time."

Zhuang Wang patted the black cat, told it to play by itself, and walked to the window with his hands behind his back.

The rain in the courtyard hit the plantains, and the rainwater that fell on the banana leaves were all mud spots. It seemed to wash away the smoke and dust floating above Jinping. I don’t know if the fog will clear tomorrow after washing like this.

The miasma created by mortals eventually fell back into the mortal world.

There is one thing that others don't know, but the royal family's children are well aware of it - because of the Lancang incident in the south, the dragon vein of Dawan was cut off once.Xuanyinshan ordered the great elder Zhang Jue Xianzun to go down to earth to mend the dragon's veins in person, so that he could continue the national fortune.That is also the only "Cicada Slough" immortal in Xuanyin who has publicly appeared in the mortal world for thousands of years.

The supplemented dragon veins are not as good as the original ones, and they have to be strengthened every ten years, so Xuanyin Mountain will send an envoy down the mountain to preside over the general election.When strengthening the dragon's veins to align with the sky, the days are different every time, and the date of the general election also becomes mysterious.

Every election year, the dragon veins are extremely fragile, which is why Xie Chong chooses to take risks at this time.

This year, "that one" went down the mountain. Is it because the evil spirits who wanted to attack the dragon's veins were particularly powerful, or... Xuanyin Mountain alluded to the dimness of Ziwei, the loss of virtue of the king, and even the instability of the dragon's veins?

"Tell Wang Ziqian, this time we will stand still." Zhuang Wang pondered for a moment, then said, "Shengling is Shengling after all, don't be smart under that person's nose."

Bai Ling responded, and then said: "This time, the evil spirit is making trouble, and the inside story is unknown. The whole thing is weird from beginning to end. I heard that Tianji Pavilion is not very polite to the young masters who stayed in the General Administration last night. I am afraid that the election list will There is a big change. If the son of the world has good fortune to hang his name with the fairy envoy, isn't it..."

King Zhuang gave him a blank look, and Bering immediately shut up.

King Zhuang's long sleeves swept across the window lattice, and silver inscriptions flashed across the wooden frame.

That is the "Third Class Inscription", inlaid in the wooden beams, the room is warm in winter and cool in summer, without using ice and charcoal, it can hold the earth dragon to turn over three times.Even if the sky collapses outside, as long as the Qinglong Pagoda is not shaken down, the palace can still be as solid as gold.

Half-immortals in the awakening stage cannot achieve inscriptions. These inscriptions are derived from the hands of immortals above the foundation-that is, the inner sect of Xuanyin Mountain.

According to regulations, in the Dawan Dynasty, only those above the county king, or those who have made great achievements and enjoyed great honors, are eligible to use third-class inscriptions.

Xianmen occasionally grants two inscriptions, which are the honors that mortals seek all their lives.

But how far is the fairy gate.

Even if you get the recruitment post, you can enter the "Qianxiu Temple" to practice for a year, and if you are lucky enough to open your spiritual aperture, those who can enter the inner sect are rare.Every ten years, the inner sect may not be able to take a fancy to one.

The black cat jumped onto the window sill, raised its big tail, gave a long "meow" to its owner, and raised its head in a mean-spirited way to be petted.Zhou Ying recovered from being called by the cat, put her jade-like warmth on her face again, and said lightly: "Mr. Tang Hua's [-]th birthday is coming soon, please prepare a heavy gift, and ask someone to send a message to Chief Wei of Tianji Pavilion I just said that Yongning Hou Shizi's birthday is unrecognizable, and I'm afraid it will hinder the eyes of the immortal envoy, if possible, please ask the elder to take care of it for a while, in case the immortal envoy wants to re-draw the list of selected disciples, he will be removed from the list of candidates."

A selection post for Xuanyin Mountain can make the kings and grandchildren lose their heads. It was the first time that Bai Ling heard that people were withdrawn from the mountain, and he was immediately taken aback.

King Zhuang said in a low voice: "In Jinping, there is a tribulation and nine misfortunes that I can still block for him, but if you enter the Taoist sect, you will be beyond reach. I am just such a brother, even if he..."

When he said this, he realized that he had lost his word since "there is only such a brother"-in this way, where did he put the dragon sons and grandsons born of all the real dragons in the palace?Then he stopped, bit back the last sentence "Even if he was born ten years later", after a short pause, he said: "My family knows that he is not a good talent, and the Hou Mansion also has a pair of chopsticks for him, so don't ask for it." Those 'big fortunes' that can't be afforded. My uncle also knows it, so you just do it."

Early the next morning, the news of the envoy's arrival in Beijing really exploded.

All the movements of the previous night were immediately explained—that was General Zhi!

When General Zhi goes down to earth, not to mention the ringing of the bell in the holy temple and the startling of the dragon veins, even the real dragon twisted into a twist on the Nine Dragon Pillar is not new!

All of a sudden, the rumors spread out along with the bamboo shoots after the rain: some said that they saw auspicious clouds with their own eyes that night; Met the fairy envoy in Weifu, smelled the fairy smell, and immediately went to sink!

The places where you hit the fairy include but are not limited to wonton stalls, dim sum shops, tofu shops in teahouses and taverns... It can be seen that General Zhi not only cures all diseases, but is also a rice bucket who has eaten all over Jinping within a few days.

As soon as the raging rumors spread, the unprovoked turmoil in the dragon veins was covered up. The curfew in Jinping City was lifted without mentioning it.

The corpse singing at Huafang Ferry only said that it was drugged by the enemy, and Zui Liuhua, who was inseparable from the poisoning and murder case, completely closed the door, and the excitement of the Huahua Festival was like a firework.

When the fire is on, the river is full of red and fire, and when the fire is over, there is only ashes.

"Those who have taken the flower appraisal card don't dare to say anything when they go back," Pang Jian said to Zhi Xiu, who was checking the list of candidate disciples. Will spreading rumors damage your reputation?"

Yes, more than half of those rumors that ate a hundred restaurants were made by Zhi Jingzhai himself.

"It's better than letting them pass on the turmoil of the dragon's pulse. It's not good for His Majesty if it makes the people panic." Zhi Xiu said, "Fame...what do I want that perfect reputation for? Does it make a loud noise when it falls to the ground? ?”

He held a little wolf hair in his hand, and while speaking, he used the pen to swipe through the list one by one, and when he clicked on someone, the person's face, family tree, and whether he had any bad deeds would automatically appear on the paper.

Pang Jian glanced at it, and saw that General Zhi's pen was on a "Zhao Wenhong", and a upright young face appeared next to the name, and small characters appeared under the portrait, indicating that this person is a direct descendant of the Zhao family in Ning'an , How old is it, who are the parents, how many generations of grandchildren of a certain immortal, and so on.

Then there is a sentence at the end: Drunk and humiliating concubine sisters, women dare not speak.

Pang Jian: "..."

What birdman is this?

Although General Zhi was born as a general, but it may be because of his many years of practice, he has a very gentle temper. At first glance, he looks like an ordinary scholar.This image is very different from the legendary hero, or the master of Shengling Peak from Xianmen.

It wasn't until this time that Pang Jian realized why Shengling was the "Master of Jiuxiaoyun".

Pang Dutong has been in the Tianji Pavilion for 100 years. Excluding the years when he was on business in other places, he has also received five or six immortal envoys—there are also those in the late foundation establishment period, and even the foundation establishment Dzogchen. I have seen such methods.

The merits, demerits, good and evil of a mortal in his life, no matter what is private, what "heaven knows, the earth knows what he knows", all become transparent in front of General Zhi, as long as he wants to know.

He seems to be the "heaven" and "earth" who have witnessed everything.

Zhi Xiu crossed out the name of "Zhao Wenhong" casually, and asked, "Is there any Zhao family in Tianji Pavilion?"

"Yes," Pang Jian said for Zhao Yu's embarrassment, "I'll tell Junior Brother Zhao right now, and let him go home and figure it out."

In just one cup of tea, General Zhi crossed off nearly half of the original list: "Are there any candidates?"

"Master Uncle," Pang Jian couldn't help but said, feeling shocked even when he looked at it from the side, "Don't you think... there's something filthy about it?"

"Some are really outrageous," Zhi Xiu said in a very calm manner, "I ticked off all the problems. Fortunately, they are all descendants of aristocratic families, so it is not difficult to check or find. Who cares, just deal with them one by one. "

As he spoke, he raised his head, his slender phoenix eyes were like a pair of flat lakes, reflecting beauty and ugliness impartially, neither startled nor angry, when people looked at him for a while, his heart calmed down.

Pang Jian was silent for a moment: "Yes, my colleagues on the candidate list should have sorted out everything. Uncle Shi let me find it."

After a while, Zhao Yu submitted the candidate list, didn't dare to say more, and went home in disgrace to deal with the unworthy descendants.

Zhi Xiu clicked, and quickly listed the final list of 30 people, and handed it to Pang Jian: "You don't need to look at it later, it's just this year."

As soon as he finished speaking, a man in blue came in and said, "Uncle Master, Du Tong, the evil spirits who attacked the Qinglong Pagoda that day committed suicide after being caught. Even if the few in Anle Township didn't die on the spot, they didn't survive." After a soul search, we only found out a few scraps and half claws. These people usually use fairy artifacts made of 'reincarnation wood' to send messages, and they don't use their real names when they contact them. Uncle take a look."

Zhixiu said "hard work", and took it over to read it carefully: "This time I was negligent and misjudged. I didn't expect this evil cultivator to reach the consummation of spiritual ascension. I am tired and frightened."

Pang Jian asked: "Uncle, isn't it rare for evil cultivators to pass the foundation building test? How come there are still evil cultivators who ascend to the spirit? And..."

"Well?"

Pang Jian hesitated for a moment, wondering if he was too crazy to speak like this, but General Zhi's eyes gave people a feeling that "you can say anything in front of him, and he can tolerate everything", so he couldn't help saying : "I think this evil cultivator is a bit weak - of course I must have broken my neck and couldn't see the smoke under his feet, but... I think it's not quite... not suitable for the half-step cicada shedding I imagined .”

After he finished speaking, he waited for Zhi Xiu to smile, but General Zhi didn't smile, as if taking his words seriously, he nodded after thinking for a moment: "Indeed. There are many mysteries about this person, and what the teacher knows is limited. But Don't worry, this kind of evil cultivator is rare in a thousand years, and there will be big movements in the world, and the master will know in advance."

Pang Jian immediately heard that Zhixiu didn't want to say more, knowing that there were many taboos in Taoism, and those who didn't tell the elders couldn't ask casually, so he shut his mouth wisely and didn't ask any more questions.

Zhixiu looked at him with a smile on his face and said, "Wenchang, in the forest of Anle Township that day, if I read correctly, your spiritual bones should have been formed, and your Taoist heart has been formed, right? Now that you have consummated, do you want to go further? "

Pang Jian opened his eyes wide and licked his lips involuntarily.

Zhi Xiu said: "To establish a foundation, you need to enter the inner sect. Although I don't accept apprentices, I can still get one for you with the 'Reception Order'."

After crossing the foundation building, one will truly escape from the mortal world and live forever. There is no monk who will not be tempted.

Pang Jian is also human.

But he opened his mouth, and there was an obvious struggle on his face, but he swallowed the words again.Facing Zhi Xiu's gentle gaze, he bowed his head: "Uncle Shi, entering the inner sect... will no longer be 'walking in the world'."

"Naturally," Zhi Xiu said, "it's a rule."

After hearing this, Pang Jian was speechless for a while, General Zhi seemed to be infinitely patient and did not rush.

After a long time, Pang Jian said almost solemnly: "Thank you, uncle. When I entered the Tianji Pavilion, I didn't think about how far I would go on the road of cultivation. I just wanted to learn more skills and be a watchdog for the world. It’s a peace. Once you climb the fairy gate, you will never go down the mountain...I always feel...I always feel..."

Zhi Xiu laughed: "I betrayed something."

Pang Jian was at a loss and said, "Hey... this... my that..."

"Don't be embarrassed," Zhi Xiu waved his hand, with a little nostalgia on his face, "You are very similar to an old friend of mine—— so, I will save the invitation order for you, when you want to enter the inner sect, send me a letter .”

Pang Jian thought in a daze: what virtue and what am I capable of.

So even more restless.

Fortunately, at this moment, another blue-clothed man ran in: "Master, Du Tong, there is one more thing, what should I do with that 'bollworm'?"

Pang Jian seemed to be coming for a savior, and almost turned his head off: "What 'bollworm'?"

"Ah," Zhi Xiu paused, "I forgot about it, are you still alive?"

After a while, Pang Jian saw the little monster that led Xi Ping to the depths of Anle Township.

At first glance, the little monster looked like an ordinary child, with a big head and a thin neck, and was taken to the General Administration of Tianji Pavilion tremblingly.As soon as he saw Zhi Xiu wearing a "green" robe from afar, he flinched back desperately, like a frightened cub.

Pang Jian opened his mouth, met the little monster's fangs like a bed of nails, and let out a "huh": "Is this a 'bollworm half puppet'?"

Pregnant women are most likely to be affected by evil spirits. Babies born near places where evil spirits have stayed can easily grow deformed.The poor can't afford to take care of them, so they have to abandon them.Some evil spirits will pick up these deformed children, use evil methods to refine them into half-human half-dolls, continue their lives, and keep them as slaves and pets by their side, euphemistically called "bollworms" (Note).

"It seems a little afraid of me." Zhi Xiu didn't approach, and said to Pang Jian, "Have you brought a spirit stone, you can feed him one."

Pang Jian let out an "oh", and took out a "sapphire" spirit stone bead the size of a small fingernail. As soon as he took it out, the little monster couldn't wait to grab it and swallowed it greedily.

"I'm so hungry, I don't know how long I haven't fed it." Zhi Xiu sighed, "The bollworm is not a living person, can't eat and drink, and has to live on spirit stones—is this made by some evil spirit?"

"Yes," said Lan Yi who replied, "The original owner has already died in the forest in Anle Township."

"You want to eat spirit stones? Why don't you just swallow gold for a living?" Pang Jian said in shock, "Anyway, it's something evil, let me deal with it."

The little mothfly didn't expect him to be more ferocious, and was so frightened that he hid behind Lanyi.

"Wenchang, don't tease him, half-even may be less intelligent than ordinary children because of the refining techniques, and can understand human speech to some extent." General Zhi Xiu said, "Little things with undeveloped intelligence, good and evil have nothing to do with it. I Take it to Qianxiu Temple to see if there are any children from rich families who are willing to adopt."

"Speaking of this," Pang Jian looked through the rest of the candidate list as if "remembering something", "Hey? Why isn't that Xi Shiyong on the candidate list?"

"You mean that... the little guy in Anle Township who is as bold as you?"

"That's the prince of Yongning, the nephew of the imperial concubine in the palace. His name is Xi Ping, so it should be..." Pang Jian said "not paying much attention" very artificially, "Oh, it's strange, it may be that Ding Buwang is a member of the Xi family. , the subordinates were negligent for a while."

Zhi Xiu smiled, knowing that Pang Jian did it on purpose, and didn't expose it, so he wrote Xi Ping's name on the paper, and Master Xi's outstanding face floated on the paper.

Xi Ping's "crimes" are too numerous to list: on a certain day, together with XX, XX and others, beat a female actress with a sap and beat the son of the Minister of the Ministry of War; On a certain day in a certain month, give laxatives to a certain person's mount; on a certain day in Zhuang County, he bullied the weak and drove the cat up a tree...

Pang Jian: "..."

This brat is really a treasure, it's so boring.

Zhi Xiu laughed, and added Xi Ping's name to the final list: "Then add him one more."

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Note: Bollworm has the meaning of "adopted son".