After Zhang Yao and the others returned to the mountain, it was already sunset.
Taoist Qingliang first took the two of them back to the Hongfa Hall, took off their brand-new robes and cloud shoes, and put on the gray short coat again.
After bidding farewell to Taoist Qingliang, Zhang Yao and Taoist Qingyu walked towards the Danding Hall.
"Senior Brother Qingxu."
Qingyu looked at the Hongfa Hall reluctantly, with an envious look on his face:
"Tell me, if we had been chosen to serve as servants at the Hongfa Hall, how wonderful our life would have been."
"If there is a way to transfer from the Danding Hall to the Hongfa Hall, that would be great..."
Zhang Yao glanced at him, shook his head and said:
"The errands of Hongfa Hall are jealous of everyone. They are like carrots and pitfalls."
"Unless the palace owner opens his mouth, who has this power?"
Upon hearing this, Qingyu Taoist sighed a little.
The two of them returned to the Danding Hall. The real person Guanlu in the hall was not reading as usual. Instead, his brows were furrowed, as if he had something on his mind.
"came back?"
Master Guanlu heard the noise and raised his head to glance at the two of them.
"Meet the Master."
Zhang Yao was the first to salute, took out the money bag, and handed it over respectfully:
"This disciple was at the foot of the mountain, accompanying Senior Brother Qingliang in performing rituals, and received some gifts from the Huang family in Sishui Town, which I hereby dedicate to Master."
"Without Master's will, I wouldn't have had this unexpected gain. I hope Master will accept it."
Taoist Qingyu on the side was shocked when he saw this, and he quickly took out his money bag, but his movements were a little coy, and he was obviously reluctant to part with it.
"Um?"
Master Guanlu glanced at Zhang Yao in surprise, showed a smile, nodded and said:
"It's a good thing that you have this filial piety, but I accept your kindness, but I won't accept this filial piety."
"You have to grow up. There will be times when you need money in the future. You can keep this money yourself."
"Yes, Master."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yao immediately respectfully said yes and put the money bag away.
Of course he knew that Master Guanlu was in charge of the Danding Palace and was one of the senior officials in the palace, so he was not short of his little money.
But he understood better that money was not important, but his attitude was important. Since he would be working as an errand in Danding Hall in the future, he would certainly try his best to find opportunities to improve his impression in the mind of Master Guanlu.
Taoist Qing Yu on the side heard this and immediately breathed a sigh of relief and happily put away his money bag.
"I guess you have already had dinner at Huang's house, so go down early and rest."
Master Guanlu spoke again, his attitude obviously gentler.
"Yes, Master."
Zhang Yao bowed again and exited the Alchemy Cauldron Hall.
…………
the next day.
Zhang Yao took the opportunity to go into the mountains to collect herbs and began to investigate the terrain of Cuiping Mountain and the surrounding mountains to plan an escape route.
"The current Qingping Palace is very safe, but it will not be safe forever."
"There is only one well-constructed mountain road going down the mountain. But if there is a real turmoil, it would be too dangerous to escape directly from the mountain road."
With this thought in mind, Zhang Yao wandered around the nearby mountains and forests for several days.
Within a few days, he found several hidden paths leading directly to the bottom of the mountain, but soon he had deeper considerations:
This kind of small road is still not safe enough. What if someone ambushes you at the foot of the mountain?
After all, Cuiping Mountain is not big. If there are many enemies, they can definitely catch turtles in a jar.
So, he changed his mind and prepared to find an escape route that would take him halfway to other mountains instead of Cuiping Mountain.
In the end, he spent half a month and constructed several escape routes that he thought were relatively safe, considering the possibilities of pursuit and interception.
After checking it again in person and basically confirming the feasibility, Zhang Yao breathed a sigh of relief and felt much more at ease.
He prepared more than one escape route, and different routes, so that he could use it in various situations. If he could still be caught up and hacked to death, then he would admit defeat.
And after half a month passed——
The uproar in the palace that Master Guanyuan returned to secular life and the fight for the new Master of Du Guan finally came to an end.
On this day, all the great masters in the Qingping Palace, as well as the Taoist priests and Taoist boys from each palace gathered together. Even the palace master who was practicing Qingxiu in the Shangqing Pavilion came.
Guanyuan Zhenren, an old Taoist in his fifties, was dressed in a brocade robe of an ordinary wealthy family. Under the greetings of everyone, he left Qingping Palace with his luggage on his back.
"It seems that the rumors in the palace are true..."
Zhang Yao mingled among the many Taoist boys and stood next to Master Guanlu, looking at the back of Master Guanlu with some emotion in his heart.
He found that after Taoist Guanyuan returned to secular life, he did not look like a lonely old man returning home. Instead, he was beaming with joy and relaxed.
This coincides with the rumors in the Qingping Palace: several high-ranking officials in the palace secretly married wives and had children, and settled down at the foot of the mountain. In fact, returning to secular life meant taking their gold and silver possessions and going home to live happily ever after.
He only found out about this news when a senior brother who often went down the mountain to visit the brothels accidentally let it slip during a casual conversation.
"Most human nature is like this, so there's nothing strange about it."
Zhang Yao smiled in his heart and didn't take it seriously.
After he heard the news, he realized the real reason why this body and appearance were not selected for the Hongbo Hall in the first place.
Obviously, many of the innocent "orphans" recruited to the mountain had problems with their identities. This was a tacit secret among adults.
They were the only Taoist boys, most of whom were still ignorant and some were still lamenting their bad luck.
"Um?"
Zhang Yao withdrew his gaze and took a look at Master Guanlu beside him, and found that his face was gloomy and he could barely maintain a smile.
He knew clearly in his heart that this Guanlu master had also competed for the post of Duguan master, but failed.
Not only him, but all the Taoist priests and Taoist priests in the crowd looked a little ugly, but everyone in the Hongfa Hall was smiling and proud.
"It seems that the final winner is the master of the Hongfa Hall."
Seeing this scene, Zhang Yao made a judgment in his heart.
The master of the Hongfa Hall won, and the promotion of the master in charge of the palace also meant that another high-level position was vacant.
The current situation is not clear, and naturally everyone is happy, but it is expected that a new round of overt and covert fighting will soon begin until a result is determined.
But all this has little to do with him, a little Taoist boy, and he is happy to watch the fun.
…………
After Guanyuan Zhenren returned to secular life:
The next day, the head of the Hongfa Hall was officially promoted to take charge of Zangzhen Pavilion, one of the three pavilions.
After several days passed, a grand ceremony was held in the Qingping Palace. The palace owner consecrated a new real person to take charge of the Hongfa Hall.
At this point, the storm finally subsided, and Zhang Yao's life returned to peace.
