When the old Taoist closed his eyes and sat cross-legged, he was as quiet as a virgin, quite a bit like an immortal.
Hearing Zhou Yi's footsteps approaching, the old man slowly opened his eyes, his eyes were green and his pupils were red.
Under the firelight, it shone like an evil ghost.
His eyes moved as Zhou Yi moved around. When he got closer, he suddenly pounced on him like a vicious dog. His arms passed through the steel pillars and clawed at him, revealing five fingers that were as black as ink and as skinny as chicken feet.
Ouch——Ouch——
The old Taoist roared unconsciously, with black and yellow teeth in his mouth, sharp and sparse, each one as sharp as a knife.
He chewed the fine steel randomly, leaving a trail of tooth marks.
Zhou Yi had already anticipated this, and stopped exactly at the fourth step from the bottom.
After a moment of frenzy, he seemed to be exhausted.
The old Taoist gradually regained his composure and sat cross-legged in the cage again with a kind smile on his face: "I am a poor Taoist, Ji Sheng. I have seen this fellow Taoist. I wonder what year it is today?"
Zhou Yi's eyes were blank, as if he couldn't hear what the old man said.
"Thirty, forty, seventy or eighty years of seclusion. I don't know how many years. I have lived in a state of confusion..."
"I met fellow Taoist Daoist today and I felt very cordial."
"This poor Taoist has practiced hard in seclusion for five hundred years, and today he finally ascended to immortality, enjoying great freedom and freedom!"
The old Taoist's voice was sometimes high and sometimes low, or he was mumbling to himself, or shouting loudly, and his confused view of time in his words sometimes jumped to thirty years ago, and sometimes he went into seclusion for hundreds of years.
"Today, this poor Taoist ascends to immortality, and can travel to the immortal world with his fellow Taoists!"
"It was a vast world of clouds and mist, with fairies dancing and generals holding weapons..."
"Pearls and jade trees, phoenixes and phoenixes gathered..."
"The poor Taoist wears scarlet gauze and stars, rides on the clouds, rides on the flying dragon, and travels around the Thirty-three Immortal Heavenly Palaces... When we arrive at the Qiongtai Lan Pavilion, the golden bells ring in unison, and the heavenly drums sound in unison. Congratulations on my attainment and ascension!"
"On the day I preached, wonderful flowers descended from the sky, golden lotuses swelled from the ground, jade rabbits paid homage, and golden crows kowtowed..."
When the old Taoist finished speaking, his words were crazy and scattered, his eyes were as hot as fire, and his arms were waving wildly. He was completely like a madman who was trapped in an illusion and couldn't extricate himself.
Zhou Yi listened silently, understanding the old Taoist's strange behavior.
Anyone who is imprisoned in a small, dark prison for more than eighty years, and even the meal delivery person is a deaf-mute, is likely to have a mental breakdown.
Let’s call the old Taoist Ji Sheng. Every time I heard him say his name, it was different, and “Ji Sheng” appeared most frequently.
Ji Sheng rambled on for a long time, his voice changing from high-pitched to lonely, and finally he sat paralyzed in the cage with confused eyes.
Looking down at his hands, Muranjian's eyes burst into tears.
"Woooooooo..."
Zhou Yi waited until this moment before he dared to make a sound and put the food box on the third step.
Ji Sheng wiped away his tears, gathered up his messy white hair, rubbed his twisted and stiff face, regained some of his popularity, and bowed his hand to Zhou Yi.
"Thank you."
Afterwards, Ji Sheng carried the food box to the iron cage, opened it, placed a few dishes, and poured a glass of wine. His movements were slow and graceful, like a young master in trouble.
After eating, Ji Sheng put the food box back on the third step and returned to sit cross-legged in the middle of the iron cage.
"If your heart is as clear as ice, you won't be surprised when the sky falls. You will remain calm despite all changes, and your spirit will be calm and peaceful..."
Recite the Taoist mantra to clear your mind, drive away inner demons, and try to maintain your true self at all times.
Zhou Yi carefully retracted the food box and must not go down the steps just because Ji Sheng looked normal.
This is Jin Yiwei's experience gained at the cost of many lives. Ji Sheng may seem thin, but he is extremely powerful. If he catches someone, he will bite them alive until they die.
Zhou Yi returned to the entrance of the cave and knocked on the iron lid.
After a while, a gap was opened, and it was confirmed that it was Lao Zhengtou, and then the iron cover was completely opened.
Zhou Yi said hello to his colleagues and left with the food box, silently calculating the time when Ji Sheng would go crazy.
"Exhaustion is getting faster and faster, and the fuel has been exhausted. I can't live for a few more years!"
Zhou Yi was not sure whether Ji Sheng would leave a legacy after his death, and he would not force it. He had never thought about negotiating conditions for exchanges with Ji Sheng.
Even if you get nothing, it will only last ten or twenty years!
…
Four years passed in a flash.
Last year, "Old Zhengtou" was old and frail, and he contracted a cold and could not afford to fall ill.
Jinyiwei bought a deaf-mute young man named Li Shun from Yahang, who was responsible for delivering food underground.
Zhou Yi suddenly changed and became Xiao Shunzi again.
There are advantages to being deaf and mute. Few people pay attention to Zhouyi on weekdays, so there is no need to worry about any flaws.
This day.
Zhou Yi carried the food box and walked deep into the prison. On the way, he passed a cell and saw a familiar figure doing Tai Chi.
No need to identify, it is Yu Su.
He paused and continued to move forward without sending a message to ask secretly.
Go underground.
When Ji Sheng saw a living person approaching, he started biting madly for a while. The time was shortened by more than half compared to four years ago.
Until he was panting from exhaustion, his red eyes slowly faded away, and he did not fall into crazy fantasy as usual.
Ji Sheng fell into many kinds of illusions, sometimes ascending to immortality, sometimes claiming ancestral status, and even imagining three thousand Taoist companions, basically enjoying all the desires of a cultivator of immortality.
"Emperor Dog, even if Ji Mou dies, I want you to kill the whole clan!"
Zhou Yi's eyes were blank and his expression showed no fluctuation.
…
Tongfufang.
The Yuan Mansion has expanded ten times compared to a few years ago.
Neighboring residents said that the horoscopes were incompatible with the house, which would have a great impact on official career and business, and they all asked Commander Yuan to relieve their worries.
Yuan Shun bought it at a low price and built rockeries and flowing water on a large scale to correspond to the famous mountains and waters in his hometown of Xuzhou.
Such extravagance is second to none in Shenjing.
The imperial censors wrote letters of impeachment one after another, listing Yuan Shun's ten major crimes, and asked the orthodox emperor to punish the nine Yuan family clans in order to rectify the national law.
The Zhengtong Emperor repeatedly protected Yuan Shun on the grounds of insufficient evidence, which made the Jinyiwei become more arrogant.
study.
Yuan Shun is practicing calligraphy, his pen moves like a dragon or a snake, and he has a vague style of a master.
A voice suddenly sounded: "The words are good."
Yuan Shun raised his head and saw an old man with white hair. He had worn a navy blue Taoist robe for who knows how many years. He quickly bowed and saluted.
"I have met the Lord."
"After all these years, I still care about false etiquette."
Zhou Yi sat casually on a chair, looked at Yuan Shun a few times, and said, "If you worry less and take more tonics, you may be able to live a few more years."
Yuan Shun was in his fifties at this time, an age when he should have made great achievements in officialdom.
As a result of practicing the Heaven Swallowing Demon Technique in his early years, he lost twenty years of life, and now has a gray hair, a senile look, and an appearance that is much older than his actual age.
Yuan Shun said respectfully: "Thank you, Lord, for your concern. I have already arranged for a successor, so I will not delay things."
"Remember to divide the Yuan family into one branch and go to Northern Xinjiang. I don't have time to take care of them too much."
Zhou Yi gave a few words of warning and then asked: "Why is that old man Yu Su in the cell again?"
"Yesterday morning, at the court meeting, Liu Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue, Dong Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel, and more than a dozen censors impeached Mr. Yu at the same time. It was said that members of the Yu family used Mr. Yu's identity to wantonly sell out titles and official positions, and corrupt officials and accept bribes."
Yuan Shun said: "At the same time, the magistrate of Hongzhou reported that members of the Yu family had embezzled land and killed many people. Because they were in the name of Lord Yu, local officials did not dare to control them."
"A member of the family?"
Zhou Yi raised his eyebrows: "I heard that Yu Su broke with his clan members a few years ago and even moved his father's tomb?"
"Your Majesty, I don't know. During the critical period of your struggle with Zhang Dang, many censors accused you of being unfilial and unable to set an example for scholars, let alone serve as the chief minister of the cabinet."
Yuan Shun replied: "Master Yu returned to his hometown, moved his ancestral graves back to the family, and entered his name into the family tree to show his full filial piety."
Zhou Yi pondered for a moment and continued to ask.
"The clan is in trouble, so the chief assistant will not be imprisoned. What is the real reason?"
