In the afternoon, Li Yuan left work early.
In the inner courtyard, there were only a few apprentices working on their strength. Most of them came into the inner courtyard with him, and most of them were at the level of Qi and Blood proficiency.
Du Yun and Lu Zhong in the front yard, and several female apprentices in the backyard.
At this time, seeing Li Yuan, Lu Zhong had a complicated look on his face and subconsciously moved out of the way. When he came to his senses, he couldn't help but lower his head with his face flushed.
Last autumn, he also taught Li Yuan Zhuang Gong and Hammer Technique.
But now, he is still stuck in proficiency and is unable to take any further steps, and the former apprentice in the middle courtyard is already a rookie in the blacksmithing shop, a figure that even the big shopkeeper knows.
"Senior Brother Lu."
Li Yuan said hello. He didn't know many apprentices in the inner courtyard. Among them, he only recognized Lu Zhong and Du Yun.
Lu Zhong responded, put down the stone grinder, and said in a hurry: "Ah, Li, Junior Brother Li, are you going to a private school again?"
Since entering the inner courtyard, his progress has been very slow. With Niu Gui around, Qin Xiong has not given him guidance for a long time. With Tang Tong leaving and Yu Zhen taking office, their situation is even more difficult.
Up to now, he hasn't even learned all the fighting styles...
"Yes, I asked Master Wang to find some books for me a few days ago."
"oh oh."
After chatting for a few words, Li Yuan left under the envious eyes of several apprentices. He walked through the inner courtyard and saw Mrs. Wang from the private school from a distance.
Mrs. Wang, whose real name is Wang Wenyuan, is an old boy in his late seventies. After many failed attempts, he accepted Cao Yan's invitation and came to the Forging Arms Shop to educate the disciples in the inner courtyard and take care of himself in his old age.
Not many of the disciples in the inner courtyard were willing to read. Most of them just learned some common words and then stopped coming, so he had nothing to do.
"Li Yuan, the books you are looking for were borrowed from some of my classmates."
Mr. Wang is quite strong, in his sixties, and his hair is not completely white. He is already familiar with Li Yuan, and he handed over a few books with a smile:
"I found a lot of talented people to borrow it, so you have to take good care of it."
"As you said, I washed my hands before coming here."
Li Yuan took it with both hands, replied with a smile, and lay down on the rocking chair under the tree nearby.
It rained heavily last night, and today there is still some smell of rain and soil mixed with vegetation in the air.
Li Yuan was half lying down, relaxing from the fatigue of the day.
Being poor in literature and rich in military affairs is actually a relative term. These days, those who can read and write are not considered ordinary people. There are not many people in the outer city who have a collection of books.
Thanking Master Wang in his heart, Li Yuan turned over the pages of the book.
"God Worship Cult!"
On the first page of the book, there are only three big words.
Li Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and continued to read. Starting from the second page, he mentioned this sect that he had inquired about for a long time without finding anything.
"Not a cult?"
Li Yuan was a little surprised.
This book does not mention much about the origin of the God-Worship Cult, except that it is a sect that has existed for a long time and can be traced back thousands of years.
It's called the God Worship Cult, but it's very different from what he imagined.
"This sect!"
Li Yuan straightened up unconsciously, his expression changing.
"The world will not be able to understand that fearful and frightened people, things, scenes, or imaginations call them gods, make clay statues of gods, and kowtow devoutly, thinking that they can get shelter, good luck, peace, and * **Hulu..."
"How absurd!"
"There is only one God in this world! Everyone in the world, from emperors to generals and ministers, to traders and servants, all worship this god!"
"Running around day and night, just to offer satiating sacrifices, working hard to satisfy this god's enjoyment and desires, spending my whole life trying to make this god's temple bigger and more beautiful, and just want to make the god's statue cleaner and more beautiful. ..."
"God is me, I am God. This is the meaning of the scriptures of my god-worshiping religion. Other than that, they are all false ways, false scriptures, false gods, and false believers..."
…
"Take yourself as a god and seek it from yourself!"
Closing the first book, Li Yuan's heart
He was actually a little surprised. This was not the evil sect he imagined at all.
It's more like a martial arts outline that adheres to oneself and cultivates the physical body.
"Could it be the 'god worshiping method' mentioned on the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva statue and the incense burner?"
Li Yuan was very interested.
He has always considered himself a Taoist priest. Even though he has not been naturalized and has not studied many scriptures, he also knows that Taoists do not worship gods, but only worship their ancestors.
The pursuit of those true moral cultivators in the legends of the past life and becoming immortals are somewhat similar to the so-called scriptures of god worship.
If I don’t worship God, I am God.
Instead of worshiping immortals, I want to become an immortal.
"However, this kind of teaching is destined to not spread widely."
Li Yuan continued to read.
In the three books, there are only a few sentences about the scriptures and meanings of the God Worship Cult, and then it becomes a bit divergent. I don’t know if it is the travel notes of some failed scholar.
There is some gain, but not much.
At the end, he saw a very interesting sentence, very vague, but the meaning was obvious...
"If you regard yourself as a god, you will live a long life and be free from all kinds of diseases. You will have many children and grandchildren, so most of them will be high-ranking officials and nobles. They will be sought after by your prime minister. Grandfather, I am also happy..."
"Grandfather Taizu, Great Fortune Grandfather, Pang Wenlong?"
Li Yuan was thoughtful as he touched the prickly stubble on his chin.
Recalling the gods in the temples he had seen, he guessed that this god-worshiping sect was probably the imperial court?
"Well, small gangs occupy one street and one side of the sect structure. Then, wouldn't the imperial court covering all over the world be the largest sect in the world?"
Maybe, it's a sect alliance?
Li Yuan thought about it, and the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
It is quite interesting that Taizu Taizu and his sects rule the world, perhaps because the sects have contributed to the founding of the country, and may have been passed down for thousands of years...
"Master Wang, the book is in the room!"
It was getting dark, and Li Yuan stood up to say goodbye. Master Wang responded and asked, "Do you want any more books? There will be a big gathering tomorrow, so I can borrow them from my classmates!"
"Now that I have a job to teach you, I don't have to choose my disciples. I just have to read books!"
Li Yuan expressed his gratitude, stuffed a piece of broken silver into the book, then left, went to the forging room to retrieve the inner armor, and left amidst the sound of clanking.
It wasn't completely dark yet, so he planned to go to the Four Seasons Medicine Hall to buy some elixirs, even blood accumulating elixirs, which could be combined with a medicinal bath.
Pills are extremely expensive, and they must be used even if they are valuable. Otherwise, the speed will be several times slower. Seeing that his inner strength is ahead, how can Li Yuan endure it?
Before leaving, he glanced behind him.
In the forging room, the lights were brightly lit, and more than a dozen big men were still forging iron, but the sound was much sparser.
"Yu Zhen, come into your mother's arms!"
"Beast, straight bitch!"
"I'm so tired..."
Li Yuan could faintly hear the scolding.
Yu Zhen's ancestors are probably already completely dead...
…
…
Inner city, road mansion.
Lu Mansion is located on the south side of the Yamen. There is a small garden outside the third courtyard.
In the evening, smoke was rising from the Lu family's kitchen, and the servants and maids were quite busy.
The backyard was brightly lit, and it seemed like daytime inside the house.
County Magistrate Lu Yunqing wiped his palms gently. There were more than twenty dishes neatly placed on the large table, which could seat eight people. There was even a maid beside him, holding a wine flask, ready to pour wine.
Fang Yunxiu frowned slightly.
This table of food and wine would not be considered extravagant in Zhelong Mansion, but in Gaoliu County, it is indeed a bit too extravagant.
"Xiao Xiu, when will Elder Han come?"
Lu Yunqing glanced at the sky.
"I don't know."
Fang Yunxiu just shook his head, took a few bites, stood up and left.
Lu Bailing wanted to follow, but was stared back.
"Have a meal."
road
Yun Qing's expression remained normal, he finished his meal slowly, wiped his hands and face, and then returned to the study.
Outside the study, Yu Zhen slightly cupped his hands:
"Yu's sudden arrival didn't disturb you, sir?"
"What did Master Yu say? It's Lu who is being negligent. The servant didn't open his eyes and didn't invite the distinguished guest to come in and rest!"
Lu Yunqing scolded the butler on the side.
"Where, where."
After entering the study room, Yu Zhen looked slightly serious and said, "Brother Cao sent me here to ask you, sir, what should be done next?"
"Fajiu Mountain is huge and the clear water lake is wide. Searching for the Viper Gang will definitely take a lot of time. There is no need to rush."
Lu Yunqing sat behind the desk and responded calmly:
"As long as you don't miss the opening ceremony of Shenbing Valley! I heard that the master of Gongyang Valley is a man of the highest etiquette. On the day of the opening of the mountain, the inner disciples and outer elders must return to the mountain..."
"In this case?"
Yu Zhen's expression changed slightly: "Gao Liu is going to Shenbing Valley. It may take twenty or thirty days to walk alone on a fast horse. It's already June 28th..."
Lu Yunqing picked up the file with a calm expression: "The wind and snow are fierce in winter, twenty days is not enough."
"So, Yu understands!"
Yu Zhen understood and said goodbye. Before leaving the house, he thought of something:
"By the way, Your Majesty the County Magistrate, I would like to ask you to borrow a group of government officials for your use."
"Oh? Just tell Mr. Yu and Butler Zhong."
After closing the study door, Lu Yunqing's eyes darkened: "Ghost-faced Prajna Han Chuijun..."
"grown ups!"
Suddenly, there were exclamations and chaotic footsteps outside the door.
"Why are you panicking?"
Lu Yunqing frowned, but saw a family rushing into the door in embarrassment:
"The brothers finally blocked the man named Qiu, but unexpectedly, someone secretly took action and rescued him!"
"What?!"
…
…
Outer city, Chaiyu Fang.
In a small courtyard, Qiu Da groaned and woke up. In his dream, he was being chased and his expression was very ferocious.
"who!"
As soon as he opened his eyes, Qiu Da subconsciously wanted to run away, but he forgot about the injuries on his body. He fell to the ground with a groan, and black blood flowed out of the unhealed wounds.
During the more than two months of being hunted, his injuries had not been treated at all. They had already suppurated and looked shocking.
"If you put in a little more trouble, I won't have to save you. It's easy to dig a hole!"
Qiu Da struggled to turn around and saw an old man lying on a rocking chair under the tree to enjoy the cool air.
"You saved me? Who are you and why..."
Qiu Da was wary. He was being assassinated by his colleagues. He was very nervous at this time. He was about to ask the old man who he was when he felt a slight pain in the back of his head and passed out.
"He's so seriously injured, aren't you afraid of killing him with one stone?"
Han Chuijun gently shook his cattail leaf fan, and the ghostly mask became more terrifying and ferocious as it got dark.
"Mr. Han, my disciple has been waiting for you for two months and nine days!"
Fang Yunxiu walked in expressionlessly.
"I'll just rush back in early March next year. It's early. I don't know where I'll be sent again. I might as well take the opportunity to rest..."
Han Chuijun didn't take it seriously.
"You are always looking for heroes..."
"You are the deputy envoy!"
Facing this old gangster's generosity, Fang Yunxiu felt helpless, but could only hand over a pamphlet:
"This is compiled by my niece, Gaoliu, and six nearby counties. There are young men under the age of twenty-five who have fairly good root bones, and there are three high-quality root bones..."
"I found one, and it's pretty good. As for you..."
Han Chuijun didn't even raise his eyelids, but still shook his cattail leaf fan:
"I still have to remind you, it is better to be deficient than to overdo it. Your foundation and talent should be good as well."
