"Two junior brothers, I came here this time because I have something to ask you to see Master. I hope you two junior brothers will inform you."
The middle-aged Taoist priest raised his hand and said politely.
It can be seen that this middle-aged Taoist priest is of high seniority in the Shangqing sect, but he is respectful in front of these two young Taoist priests, which is completely opposite to his attitude when facing other people.
I have long heard that the disciples of the Shangqing Sect are divided into the outer sect and the inner sect. Only disciples with outstanding talents can enter the inner sect and be taught the skills personally by the master.
Come to think of it, the middle-aged Taoist priest should have joined the Shangqing Sect not long ago. He is just an outer disciple because of his average talent. Although he has a higher seniority, when facing the inner disciples whose status is obviously higher, he will naturally Get down on your knees.
"who are they?"
One of the inner disciples pointed at us and asked.
"Oh, they come from outside to seek enlightenment, and they also hope to ask Master for advice in person."
The middle-aged Taoist priest quickly explained to us.
"Third Senior Brother, you should know that Master is busy with affairs, so not everyone can see things casually!"
The inner disciple said unceremoniously.
"I know I know,"
The middle-aged Taoist priest hurriedly stepped forward and said: "They have already promised that as long as they can see the master, they will pay corresponding rewards..."
The middle-aged Taoist priest said and gestured like pinching money: "When the time comes, my two junior brothers will be indispensable."
When the two inner disciples heard this, their brows relaxed: "Okay then, you guys wait outside first, I will go in and inform you."
After saying that, one of the inner disciples turned and left.
After a while, the disciple came out again: "Come in, Master has promised to see you."
After finishing speaking, the two pushed the Taoist temple door open from the middle.
We followed the middle-aged Taoist priest and walked into the Taoist temple.
This Taoist temple is large in scale. The courtyard is dotted with green pines and cypresses. In the middle is the Laojun Temple. Sandalwood incense lingers in the temple, which is quite a bit of Taoism.
But for some reason, I always feel that there seems to be a faint smell of blood in the air.
However, under the cover of sandalwood, this bloody scent is very weak and difficult to find.
As soon as we walked to the middle of the courtyard, the door of Laojun Temple was pushed open, and an old Taoist in purple robe walked out with two disciples.
This old Taoist is none other than the current leader of the Shangqing Sect, Ding Busan!
Ding Busan walked a few steps, and when he saw me, he couldn't help but be slightly startled and frowned.
"President Cheng, how come you have time to visit our Shangqing Sect's gate?"
When the middle-aged Taoist priest heard this, he looked at me with surprise: "You, are you President Cheng of the Yin and Yang Association?"
"Xue Song, you don't know him, why did you bring him to the mountain gate?"
After Ding Busan heard this, he immediately asked coldly.
"Master, I..."
Xue Song's face was covered with sweat and he was so nervous that he couldn't say a word.
"Master Ding, it doesn't matter how I came here. After all, as the president of the Yin Yang Association, I have no problem inspecting the sects under my banner, right?"
I said directly: "Don't Master Ding welcome us?"
This Ding Busan was not interested in me in the first place, and now that he is in his own territory, he naturally has a strong sense of superiority.
"Welcome, President Cheng is here to inspect, how could I not welcome him?"
Ding Busan said angrily: "I wonder if President Cheng is here this time. Do you have any advice?"
"Guidance is out of the question,"
I said calmly: "It's just that I have a question in my mind, and I hope to get an answer from Master Ding."
Ding Busan smiled and said: "We, the Shangqing Sect, have always lived in seclusion at the mountain gate to practice and do not care about worldly affairs. Therefore, I cannot guarantee that I can give President Cheng a satisfactory answer."
"Don't worry, Master Ding must be well aware of my problem."
I said coldly: "The Shangqing Sect is an upright sect, but it allows its disciples to go down the mountain to do random things and rob the villagers at the foot of the mountain. Such behavior is probably inconsistent with the status of a famous sect of the righteous way, right?"
When Ding Busan heard this, his pupils couldn't help but tighten: "My disciples have always strictly abided by the rules of the mountain. They are not allowed to go down the mountain without permission. How could they do such banditry?"
"President Cheng, you must provide evidence when you speak!"
I had long expected that Ding Busan would not admit it, so I pointed directly at Xue Song.
"If Master Ding is unclear, you can ask Taoist Xue Song and he will explain it clearly to you."
Ding Busan immediately glanced at Xue Song, a cold light flashing in his eyes.
"Xue Song, what on earth is going on?"
"Master, I..."
Under Ding Busan's cold gaze, Xue Song shivered and did not dare to speak at all.
"Master!"
At this moment, a group of Taoist priests in ragged clothes and covered with injuries suddenly ran in from outside the door, came to Ding Busan, and knelt down with a thud.
"Master, we followed your instructions and went down the mountain to collect grain. As a result, we encountered several outsiders. They were very powerful and injured us all. Even our third senior brother was kidnapped by them..."
One of the Taoist priests was recounting the experiences of his group. As a result, he glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw us standing not far away. He suddenly trembled and his eyes widened.
"Master, it was them, they were the ones who injured us!"
At this time, I also saw that this group of people were the Taoist priests who were injured by us at the foot of the mountain.
At that time, these guys were knocked unconscious on the ground and couldn't even get up. I didn't care about their life or death, and just let Xue Song take us up the mountain.
Unexpectedly, these guys were pretending to be faint. After we left, they all got up and took a shortcut back to the mountain gate.
However, when these people came back, they revealed Ding Busan's background. Even if he wanted to act, he couldn't continue acting.
There is no doubt that it was Ding Busan himself who instructed these disciples to go down the mountain to collect grain!
"You bastards, when did I instruct you to go down the mountain to collect grain?"
After Ding Busan was exposed, he immediately shouted angrily.
The group of disciples were stunned. They didn't understand why the master suddenly got angry. They all knelt on the ground in confusion, looking confused.
"My Shangqing sect is a well-known and decent sect. When each of you joined the mountain sect, I sternly warned you to strictly abide by the rules and precepts of the mountain and not to harass the residents below the mountain. Have you turned a deaf ear to my words?"
Ding Busan put on a righteous look, pointed at the disciples and scolded them angrily, and then turned to Xue Song.
"Xue Song, as an outer sect brother, you don't know how to strictly restrict the conduct of junior fellow students. Instead, you take the lead in causing chaos and harassing the residents at the foot of the mountain. What crime should you be responsible for?"
Xue Song opened his mouth, obviously understanding that the master was treating him as a scapegoat, but he still did not dare to speak and could only bear Ding Busan's anger in silence.
"Today, I will make you suffer the punishment you deserve according to the rules of the mountain gate!"
