In Bishan District, there were those who were happy and those who were sad. Those who were happy were those who knew their place. They had long pledged allegiance to the county yamen's Feng Guan and the other officials. Those who were a step slower were worried that if they wanted to become the honored guests of these important people, they would no longer be able to do so with just one or two hundred taels of silver. County Magistrate Feng Guan could be said to be riding on a wave of success. Yanzhi County's County Chief Hong Shandong personally came to the Bishan District yamen to commend him. The county's wealthy Zhu family also took the lead in donating three thousand taels of silver. In one night, they had gathered nearly ten thousand taels of silver. Of course, the eldest grandson of the Zhu family was also able to enter the county yamen's torture chamber. However, Zhu Zhengli wasn't too happy about it. This was because even though Brother Xu had survived the disaster, he clearly had no place in Bishan District anymore. He heard that Feng Guan had mentioned, intentionally or otherwise, to the prefectural governor, Hong Shandong, that this young Registrar had done many strange things on Golden Chicken Mountain. If it weren't for Head of Patrol Officers Wang Shiwei's guarantee, the Registrar position that Xu Qi had spent so much money to buy would probably be in jeopardy. Zhu Zhengli specially made a trip to the private residence and brought back two jars of Jiannan Spring Wine. He originally wanted to say a few words of consolation, but in the end, he was so angry that Xu Qi, this bastard, could still smile. Instead, he gave him a basket of Red Belly Golden Chicken, saying that if he didn't play with it himself, it would definitely be worth it if he gave it to the children of Yanzhi County. Zhu Zhengli was not in the mood to play with the basket of rare birds. He was worried that Xu Qi would soon pack up and leave Bishan District. When that time came, who would he find to drink with? Zhu Zhengli had no choice but to reveal his secret. He said that his family had accumulated some incense in Yanzhi County and that he could help Xu Qi put in a good word. He didn't dare to say that he would be promoted, but he had to at least keep his Registrar position. He didn't expect that this bastard would not appreciate his kindness and instead spouted a bunch of reasons. He said that his Zhu family had not had a young person who could shoulder the burden for so many years, and that the incense and incense that his seniors had accumulated in the officialdom would be used up every time they were used. He also said that it would be difficult to make a profit on Xu Qi. That day, Zhu Zhengli was dead drunk and it was Xu Qi who carried him to the door of his house. When he went to look for her the next day, the woman who was addressed as Madam Xu by everyone in the county yamen was still there. However, she said that Xu Qi had taken a leave of absence and went to Mount Wudang to relax.
When Zhu Zhengli heard this damned news, he squatted on the steps and sulked. This guy surnamed Xu was too disloyal. Once he encountered a little trouble, he abandoned his wife and brothers and ran away to hide himself? Zhu Zhengli lowered his head, lost in thought, and occasionally sighed. That refined and quiet woman, who he didn't know whether to call her sister-in-law or sister-in-law, was actually much, much calmer than a big man like him. She was scooping out a ladle of water from the water jar and splashing it on a small vegetable patch at the corner of the wall. After Zhu Zhengli came back to his senses, he hurriedly stood up and prepared to leave. Although he had only been here for a few minutes and was not afraid of a crooked shadow, there were always too many gossiping women and dirty men in the neighborhood. If some rumors spread, it would be easy for the atmosphere to change. When Xu Qi returned and heard the nonsense, it was possible that they wouldn't even be brothers anymore. Zhu Zhengli jumped down the steps and said goodbye. The woman didn't urge him to stay. She put down the gourd ladle in her hand and scattered a handful of rice for the chickens and ducks in the cages. She walked back to the empty house and sat on the bench. Looking at the courtyard outside the house, the corners of the walls were green and the crowing of the chickens could be heard. She was a little annoyed, not because he came and went in a hurry and didn't treat this place as his home. She just remembered that when he was the registrar, every day when he returned to the courtyard at dusk, he would be able to smoothly drive the chickens and ducks back to the cages. However, when he wasn't around, she would always be exhausted from doing this work and might not succeed. Yesterday, a hen that had just started laying eggs went missing. This made Pei Nanwei very angry, so she simply didn't open the cages today.
Pei Nanwei looked at the sky and remembered that there were still a few pieces of his clothes hanging on the bamboo pole. She walked to the backyard and wrapped them around her arm one by one.
Hsu Fengnian hadn't climbed Mount Wudang since he entered the state of mind and went to the top of Little Lotus Peak to practice his saber. After passing the stone memorial arch, Hsu Fengnian went up the steps alone. He didn't bring a single retainer with him, nor did he notify the authorities at the foot of the mountain. As a result, there wasn't any activity to welcome him on the mountain. However, as luck would have it, the old Daoist Song Zhiming would come to the memorial arch every few days to wait for someone. Today, the old Daoist slowly walked down from Big Lotus Peak and coincidentally bumped into Hsu Fengnian. Song Zhiming, who was the oldest on the mountain, turned around with a smile. He didn't say anything about not being able to meet him from afar and just accompanied the young King of Beiliang up the mountain. The old man couldn't help but sigh. The mountain was so cold and cheerless. Senior Brother Wang and Junior Brother were no longer here. Junior Brother Li Yufu, who was the Sect Leader, had yet to return. Junior Brother Wang had also left the mountain to travel for some time. In the end, only these old men with whiter hair were left to look after the house. How boring was this? There were some good seedlings on the mountain, but they weren't as free and easy as Junior Brother and Sect Leader Li Yufu. They were also thin-skinned and couldn't take the teasing of these old fellows. Some of the jokes, especially coming from the mouth of Chen Yao, who was in charge of Wudang's discipline, were unbearably cold. Most of the juniors trembled in fear. Song Zhiming didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Chen Yao, this old urchin, asked them in a serious manner if they had met any young and beautiful female pilgrims. It wasn't like he was afraid that their cultivation would be delayed or their Dao hearts would be damaged. In fact, this old fellow was just teasing the juniors because he had nothing better to do. Song Zhiming was no longer obsessed with alchemy and rarely fiddled with the pill furnaces. He would often wander around the mountain. If he didn't see Sect Leader Li Yufu at the mountain gate, he would return to the mountain and look at the Purple Bamboo Forest, the Turtle Carrying Tablet, and the Celestial Phenomenon Pond. When the Daoist children from the various Daoist temples on the mountain met this old and senior Daoist, they couldn't help but feel that Grandmaster Song was really old.
Hsu Fengnian and Song Zhiming walked along the mountain path of varying width, slowly walking towards Little Lotus Peak. Hsu Fengnian said softly, "Last time at Spring God Lake, I arbitrarily invited Beiliang's Dharma Image in advance and set up the Eighty-One Dynasties Ceremony for you. It caused a lot of trouble. I'm a snob, but fortunately, I don't like to say false words of courtesy. If there's anything you need Beiliang to do on the mountain, don't hesitate to ask."
Song Zhiming waved his hand and said with a smile, "It's not a business deal, so there's no need to talk about getting back the money. Ancestor Lu once left behind a precept that Wudang Mountain has the word 'Dang'. One of the Dang is to take responsibility. "
Hsu Fengnian didn't say anything else.
Song Zhiming continued, "Your Highness oversees the northwest gate and can be said to be one man guarding the pass. There's also the word 'Dang'. No wonder you have fate with Wudang Mountain."
Hsu Fengnian stopped walking and looked at the clouds in the sky above Little Lotus Peak. He sighed and said, "To tell you the truth, Wang Xianzhi rushed to Beiliang this time and caught me off guard. I could only come to Wudang Mountain to be a big rat in this paradise. There are only so many places for Earth Immortals. In the past, whoever ascended first would be replaced by the next person. I'm different from Wang Xianzhi. I forced my way up, and it just so happened to be his place. Therefore, Wang Xianzhi came to find trouble. After all, he's not a Daoist Enlightened Master. No matter how high his martial arts realm is or how profound his cultivation is, he can't pass the Gate of Heaven without entering. "
Song Zhiming asked in reply, "If the people on the mountain tightly hold onto the blessings of the paradise for generation after generation, how different would they be from the misers at the foot of the mountain?"
Song Zhiming quickly smiled and said, "When it's time to accumulate blessings, when it's time to scatter, scatter luck. Only this can be considered as flowing water not rotting. Otherwise, no matter how deep the secluded pool is, it's just a big puddle of smelly water that makes people loathe it. Of course, it's not because you, Hsu Fengnian, are the son of the Great General that you can take whatever you want. It's because the one who's blocking Beiliang's million control bowstring experts is you, the King of Beiliang. What you take is roughly equal to what you pay. Old Daoist and a few of my martial brothers have often mentioned you. Especially after you became the sixth in the world, we wanted you to really pull down that Wang Xianzhi. In the future, other things aside, if word gets out that the King of Beiliang used to practice the saber and martial arts on this mountain, there will at least be more pilgrims, right? "
Hsu Fengnian said softly, "When I first went on an out-of-body spiritual journey, I saw a child somewhere in Jiangnan. Later, I told the Headmaster, Li Yufu. I don't know how he is now."
Song Zhiming smiled and said, "Old Daoist knows that I don't have long to live. I've waited for half a year, but it's likely that I won't be able to see him. But it doesn't matter if I can't wait. This pair of martial uncle and martial nephew, or master and disciple, can just come up the mountain."
Hsu Fengnian nodded.
Song Zhiming suddenly said, "Old Daoist has a request."
Hsu Fengnian was just about to agree when Song Zhiming suddenly moved and heavily punched him on the shoulder. Hsu Fengnian smiled and didn't take it to heart. Old Daoist snorted and said, "No matter what, the Headmaster and my martial brother, one died because of you, and the other was disbanded because of your big sister. Old Daoist has a lot of resentment in his heart. I originally thought that I would take it to the grave with me, but you came to me yourself. Even if I can't beat you, Hsu Fengnian …"
Hsu Fengnian smiled and said, "Daoist Song, if you're still angry, how about another punch?"
Song Zhiming turned around and left with a straight face, saying, "Forget it. If I annoy you, the grand leader of three hundred thousand cavalry, the small Wudang Mountain won't be able to bear the consequences."
Hsu Fengnian dismissed it with a smile and walked alone to the top of Little Lotus Peak.
Song Zhiming, who was walking down the mountain with his back to Hsu Fengnian, secretly grimaced and cursed in his heart. Motherf * cker, worthy of being number six in the world. He didn't even fight back, but his entire arm was in so much pain. If he had known earlier, he would have been gentler.
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