The people who were kneeling in front of the altar and worshipping devoutly were still devout, but the surrounding people cheered in unison. This scene gave people the feeling that it was like the reaction of the audience when a juggler performed a dangerous trick in the Fragrance Workshop.
The ceremony of praying for blessing and moving the rain was officially over. The little Taoist children were preparing to move the altar and ritual objects into the Taoist temple. Unexpectedly, the sky suddenly darkened and the spring rain fell again. Sangsang opened the big black umbrella with both hands and looked at Ning Que proudly with her little black face. The onlookers who did not have umbrellas scattered and hid under the eaves of the street. They looked at the embarrassed Taoist children and even faintly heard some mocking voices.
Looking at this scene, Ning Que could not help but laugh. Suddenly, he thought of something. When he looked at the old Taoist priest in the drizzle again, there was more shock in his eyes than pity.
He believed in his eyesight. The wooden sword and Fu paper were not tricks, so it could only be … cultivation methods! According to the knowledge taught by Lyu Qingchen, even if the old Taoist had not entered the third state of cultivation, the No Doubts State, he had at least been immersed in the second state of Perception for a long time!
In the whole world, except for the West-Hill, Chang 'an was probably the city with the most cultivators. But he never thought that he would meet a cultivator while strolling around with Sangsang. And this Taoist priest, who was about to enter the real state, even had to rely on these methods to perform.
It was a pity that the Taoist temple wanted to use this method to attract believers, but Lord Haotian, whom they worshiped, did not give them face. Actually, even those sages who had entered the Limitless State and Tianqi State, as mentioned by Lyu Qingchen, did not have the ability to summon wind and rain, not to mention this old Taoist priest whose cultivation state was not high enough.
Ning Que frowned slightly and looked at the gradually closing door of the Taoist temple. He remembered something.
Haotian Taoism was known as the only orthodox religion in the world and was highly respected in all countries. The Taoist temple occupied countless fields and never paid taxes. The divine priests of each branch were highly respected. In countries like the Great River Kingdom and the South Jin Kingdom, when their monarchs ascended the throne, they even needed the blessing and approval of the Great Divine Priest of Haotian Taoism from the West-Hill.
However, judging from the ridicule of the onlookers just now, one could tell that the status of Haotian Taoism in the Tang Empire was far lower than that of their counterparts in other countries. Although the priest of the South School of Haotian Taoism was conferred as the Nation Master of the Tang Empire, the whole world knew that the relationship between the South School of Haotian Taoism and the West-Hill where the sacrificial hall of Haotian Taoism was located had always been ambiguous. The right to confer the title of the abbey dean of each Taoist temple was all in the hands of His Majesty, and the West-Hill could not interfere at all.
There was even a rumor that Haotian Taoism was forbidden to preach within the borders when the Tang Empire was founded!
Logically speaking, Haotian Taoism, known as the world's number one orthodox sect, with hundreds of millions of believers and extremely powerful strength, could not tolerate this kind of suppression and humiliation. In fact, they did not tolerate it. Everyone believed that the shadow of the West-Hill Divine Kingdom must have been behind the historical curtain of the 17 countries' war against the Tang Empire.
At that time, the allied forces of the 17 countries, which claimed to have millions of soldiers, invaded the territory of the Tang Empire, but they were directly crushed into pieces by the empire's vigorous cavalry, which was like the rising sun. Then, the army of the Tang Empire seized the opportunity to attack the Yanggu Pass like a tide, sweeping the world and destroying countless cities. After this magnificent battle, the so-called allied forces melted like ice and snow. Three of the countries were directly conquered by the Tang Empire and became the three counties of Hebei Province today. These three counties were also the three counties that Emperor Taizu of the Tang Empire squeezed the most during his expedition to the north.
What was puzzling was that in this magnificent war of the world, the West-Hill Divine Kingdom had always stayed out of it, and the countless hidden powerhouses of Haotian Taoism had never taken action. Perhaps because of this, when the power was re-divided after the war, the Tang Empire did not deliberately attack Haotian Taoism again, and Haotian Taoism finally obtained the qualification to preach within the territory of the Tang Empire.
After this battle, the Tang Empire established its position as the world's hegemon. Haotian Taoism still had the most believers in the world, one in the secular world and the other in the religion. Both sides hated each other, and because they did not have the confidence to fight each other, they pretended not to see each other, and gradually lost interest in fighting each other.
This situation had been maintained for a thousand years, and there was no change until now. Therefore, Haotian Taoism was still superior in other places. In the territory of the Tang Empire, even the smallest Taoist temple had to pay taxes. In other places, all the people were believers of Haotian Taoism. In the territory of the Tang Empire, even the South School of Haotian Taoism, which was controlled by the imperial court, had to send out cultivators to perform tricks on the streets for the people of the Tang Empire to see if they wanted to attract believers …
Walking in the rain under the big black umbrella, Ning Que thought of the previous scene and couldn't help shaking his head with a smile. He said, "Speaking of which, that old Taoist is really pitiful. I wonder if the Nation Master of the Tang Empire is the same in the palace."
Holding the big black umbrella with her right hand and shoulder, Sangsang was eating a wife cake bought from an unknown stall in her left hand. She said with a lisp, "Young master, it seems that you like Chang 'an very much."
"Different places and cities nourish different people, but the taste of people can also change the taste of the city." Ning Que answered with a smile, "Rather than saying that I like Chang 'an, I like the people of Chang' an."
As he said this, he suddenly frowned and said, "Three, four, seven … eight."
Sangsang was stunned and stuffed the wife cake into her small mouth. Her left hand quickly reached out to a place on his back and scratched twice. Ning Que frowned and took the heavy big black umbrella from her hand. He corrected, "No, it's still seven and seven."
"Got it."
In the continuous spring rain in Chang 'an, a big black umbrella like a dusty black lotus was walking between the straight streets and winding alleys, between the eaves of the high-rise buildings, and among the pedestrians with umbrellas and straw raincoats. Under the big black umbrella, Sangsang held the wife cake in one hand and kept scratching Ning Que's itch with the other. Both of them looked happy and satisfied.
…
…
Except for those who sold umbrellas and ran carriage businesses, there were probably no businessmen in the world who liked the spring rain in Chang 'an every year. Brothels were no exception. Because of the accident that happened outside the side door a few days ago, the House of Red Sleeves was forced to close for one night. Also, some unlucky rumors were spread. Now the light rain outside the building was suitable for playing the zither and painting, but it looked a little lonely in broad daylight.
The girls who were qualified to have their own small courtyard could not bear the loneliness and gathered in front of the building. After greeting Mistress Jian, they went to the music room and chatted with each other to kill time by eating melon seeds. Until Ning Que and his handmaiden stepped in, the situation suddenly changed. For a moment, the whole building was filled with silver bell-like laughter.
In a quiet room on the top floor, a man about 40 years old saw this scene and looked at the girls under him. He could not help frowning and scolded in a low voice, "They really think that they are young ladies with nothing to do. Meng III, ask Mistress Jian … remember to be respectful … Who is that lad? If he has no background, drive him away. The young ladies I pay for are not here to chat with him."
"I advise you not to be rough with that lad, because … he is my last tenant."
Beside the small table, a middle-aged man looked at him and said with a smile. The sword at his waist was quietly placed aside. This man was the owner of all the shops on Lin 47th Street.
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