Chapter 15 Chapter Fifteen

A large group of birds and beasts surrounded Long Baiyue, who could barely move.Master Zixuan smiled and waved his whisk, the animals in the Shangqing Palace were all psychic, and immediately retreated obediently.Only then did Long Baiyue follow Master Zixuan into the Shangqing Palace. Xinzhou Longhu Mountain is a famous Taoist cave, and Shangqing Palace is a world-famous Taoist temple.As soon as Long Baiyue walked in, she experienced the extraordinary grandeur of the Shangqing Palace.Green pines and cypresses are planted in the temple, and the cranes and white deer are pacing gracefully under the trees.The main hall is magnificent, decorated with green colored glaze, cigarettes are lingering in the cauldron furnace, and the curved water flows under the steps.

But the strange thing is that the huge Shangqing Palace is deserted and deserted, and even a little Taoist boy can't be seen.When Long Baiyue was wondering, she saw the head of a little boy poking out from behind the pillars of the main hall. The little boy peeked at them and dodged it with a blink. "These bastards!" Master Zixuan squinted his eyes and smiled, pretending to be angry, "Come out quickly! Is it the Patriarch of the Shangqing Palace, am I or Cuixu is the Patriarch!" He tapped the cauldron with the handle of the dust whisk, and only then did there be any movement in the hall.Several little Taoist boys ran out with their tongues out, saluted them, and said crisply, "Master."

"What's more, I don't know etiquette." Zixuan pointed to Long Baiyue and Zimian beside him. The little Taoist boys turned to Long Baiyue and Zi Mian again, saluting very cutely: "Female benefactor...Uncle Zi Mian." "Well, it's good to know, and take the benefactor to Zimian's wing." "Yes." The little Taoist boys bent over, clapped their hands together, and obediently led Long Baiyue. Seeing Master Zixuan turning away, Long Baiyue didn't intend to continue to take care of them, so she could only follow the little Taoist boys to the wing where Zimian used to live.

She was also very curious about what the place where Zi Mian lived before becoming an official was like. A group of people walked out of the main hall, and after a long detour, they arrived at the backyard wing. The scenery along the way was full of fairy spirits. Long Baiyue was so fascinated that she didn't realize that the little Taoist boys were secretly looking at her all the way.The rooms in the backyard are graded, and Long Baiyue was led into a superior room with an independent courtyard.There are bamboos planted in the courtyard of the wing room, which are covered with black tiles and white walls. A black pebble path in the green moss all over the ground passes through the moon gate and goes directly to the eaves of the wing room.There is a short corridor under the eaves. In the corridor, there are rain gear used by Zimian in the past, an umbrella, a pair of high-toothed wooden clogs, and even coir raincoats and bamboo hats.

Zimian's wing room is not big, there are three rooms once you enter, the outermost is the study, the middle is the pharmacy, and the innermost is the bedroom. The furnishings are familiar to Long Baiyue, not much different from the ones on the ship, but not as elegant as the ones on the ship.The bed curtains and mattresses in the bedroom are all plain, and they have been replaced by Xiao Daotong, who has long been sent by Zixuan, who is not a prophet, and the ready-made ones can be used. Xiaodao boys brought hot water to serve Zi Mian, Long Baiyue could only avoid and sit alone in the study.She was bored looking at the room where Zi Mian used to live, and found that no matter whether it was a chair or a teacup, there was only one copy of everything.

A Xiaodao boy came to bring a pot of hot tea to Long Baiyue, just as Long Baiyue wanted to thank him, Xiaodao boy ran out like flying. She stood up curiously and chased after her, but when she chased to the door, she heard Xiaodaotong's excited voice from outside the door of Yuedong: "I saw her, she is very pretty." "What are you looking at, be careful that Uncle Cuixu will scold you to death if he finds out." Another little boy jealously poured cold water on him. "Don't be afraid...my master may not forbid me to come here." The little boy's voice was a little weak.

"Your master is most afraid of Uncle Cuixu..." As the two walked farther and farther away, the voice gradually disappeared. Who is that Cuixu?Long Baiyue was wondering under the eaves.She has heard this name twice since she entered the Shangqing Palace, so she must be someone with a lot of background. The Taoist boy in the room left after serving Zi Mian, and only Long Baiyue and Zi Mian were left in the wing room. She simply moved a stool and sat beside Zi Mian's couch to watch quietly, drawing his eyes on his quiet face. Eyebrows. He must have spent every day so alone in the past, Long Baiyue was in a daze of melancholy, who knew that there was a sudden commotion outside the house.

Footsteps came one after another.Two rows of Taoist boys filed in, filling Zimian's small wing to the brim.What's even more absurd is that these half-children either hold whisks or incense burners in their hands, and they look respectful like royal guards.The leading Xiaodaotong looked at Long Baiyue's stunned look, and sang a promise to her: "Real Cuixu is here." Cuixu?Long Baiyue stood up straight with awe. At this time, a young Taoist priest wearing cassock walked in.He is slender but slightly thinner, looks two or three years older than Zi Mian, has a delicate and delicate face, but looks cold, and his eyes are even more mean like two knives, as if he is ready to kill at any time. The nose of the person opposite is cut off.

"Humans are neither ghosts nor ghosts, what kind of virtue?" Cuixu glanced at the sickly Zi Mian contemptuously, and said viciously and meanly. He has a female voice, and he is probably a narrow-minded person.Long Baiyue guessed in her heart, and was a little angry.After all, Zi Mian is also a member of Shangqing Palace, the two of them should be related, why are they so vicious. Cui Xu stared at Zi Mian for a while, and then began to look at Long Baiyue, but Long Baiyue didn't dare to show his air under his gaze. "Who's next to Zi Mian..." Cui Xu, whose eyes were always high above his head, suddenly got stuck in his speech, and his pair of slender sword eyebrows couldn't help but tightened, his sword was on the verge of breaking out.

"Master, the master's uncle and apprentice are called Ming Chuangchen." Xiao Daotong on the side reminded. Cuixu finally remembered: "Where did that unprogressive thing go? Why is a dirty woman here instead?" Long Baiyue's lungs were about to explode with anger, she lowered her face and whispered angrily: "We left the window dust in the capital." "You?" Hearing this, Cuixu raised his eyebrows, and started to look at Long Baiyue again, "Are you his woman?" "No, it's not..." Is she really?Even she herself was a little confused.

"It's not the best." Cuixu snorted coldly, "You can tell from your face that your fate is not high, and the people who get involved with you will not get any benefits." "You..." Long Baiyue was about to lose his temper. "Brother, you're quarreling with me..." Zi Mian on the couch woke up at this moment, half opened her eyes and saw two men with hideous faces. "Look at what you look like now." Seeing Zi Mian woke up, Cui Xu taunted him mercilessly, "I told you a long time ago that refining inner alchemy cannot follow the path of the Qing sect. Look at me, The dual cultivation of yin and yang has progressed much faster than you." Zi Mian looked at the complexion between Cui Xu's brows, and retorted weakly: "Brother, it's better not to rush for success, and pay more attention to nourishing Qi and nourishing the body..." Long Baiyue took a closer look at the Cuixu Yintang, it was indeed green and empty, with an overindulgent appearance, she couldn't help but chuckle. When Zi Mian returned to her hometown, she became childish. Cuixu was so angry that his jaw clenched, he gritted his teeth twice, turned his head and walked away with a blue face, and took away the two teams of young apprentices. "Is he your senior brother?" Long Baiyue waited until the room was empty before sitting down again and asked Zi Mian. "Yes." Seeing the silence in the room, Zi Mian couldn't help closing her eyes and wanted to sleep again. "Why is his attitude so bad?" Long Baiyue wanted to ask curiously. "He's always been like that, and I'm used to it." Zi Mian murmured, turning her back to Long Baiyue, and raised the thin blanket on her body, signaling Long Baiyue not to disturb her. Long Baiyue pouted resentfully, got up and retreated to the study, letting Zi Mian sleep peacefully. From time to time, little Taoist boys would sneak into the wing room, quietly drop the letter paper and leave.Long Baiyue picked it up and saw that it was a letter of greeting sent by Zi Mian's apprentice.They were clearly in the Shangqing Palace, but they were unwilling to come to greet them in person. Is it because he is afraid of Cuixu's despotic power?Long Baiyue thought about Xiaodaotong's conversation before, and guessed that they were all afraid of Cuixu.However, if you really want to have deep feelings, will you not come because you are afraid of being alone?Human favors are as thin as paper, and in the huge Shangqing Palace, the only one who really cares about Zimian is the real Zixuan... And that pervert named Cuixu! Zi Mian was bedridden in the Shangqing Palace for half a month, except for Zixuan Daoist who sometimes came to visit and Cuixu who came to harass him occasionally, Long Baiyue lived a very leisurely life every day.Apart from accompanying Zi Mian, she also got a general understanding of the situation in Shangqing Palace. It turned out that Zi Mian did live by himself, and Ming Chuangchen was an apprentice he accidentally accepted when he was appointed as an official.It is said that when there was a famine in the world, many parents could not afford to support their children. They either sold their children or tried to find a way to send their children to temples or Taoist temples, hoping to make a living and not starve to death. It was under such circumstances that Ming Chuangchen was sent to the Shangqing Palace in a daze by his parents, but unfortunately he was not talented enough and blunt from birth, and he couldn't even do sweeping.Other Taoist priests disliked him and wanted to drive him out of the Shangqing Palace.Just when Ming Chuangchen was crying while hugging the pillars of the Shangqing palace gate, Zi Mian happened to pass by, and moved with compassion, so he accepted him as an apprentice and gave him the name Ming Chuangchen. Ming Chuangchen is another name for Bai Ling Pill, Bai Ling Pill has strange medicinal properties, some people are safe after taking it, while others can die.Zi Mian decided on this name for Ming Chuangchen, hoping that he would not underestimate himself—your good medicine is his arsenic, and if you fail for a while, it doesn't mean you will be useless forever. Zi Mian only accepted Ming Chuangchen as an apprentice, and it was also because other seniors pushed him away.Every year, the talented Xiaodao boys will be picked up by Cuixu first, and the rest will be divided among the other seniors.The ignorant and ignorant child was threatened and instigated by the elder Xiao Daotong, who would take the initiative to follow Zi Mian, come and go, and Zi Mian would not fight, and became a lonely family. Zimian and Cuixu grew up together in Shangqing Palace, because of Zimian's special background, he has always been excluded by others.Cuixu was not the leader of those who pushed him away at first, but Cuixu's skills have improved rapidly over the years, gradually surpassing the older brothers in the group.It can be said that in the Shangqing Palace, the only one who can suppress the domineering Cuixu is his master Zixuan Zhenren. However, Master Zixuan is also a casual and naive person, blindly letting go, and even optimistic about Cuixu as his successor. As a result, the entire Shangqing Palace is now almost completely controlled by Cuixu. Cuixu basically bullied Zimian since he was a child, so even if Zimian was recuperating in Shangqing Palace, he still couldn't help but toss him a little bit. If you want to ask why Long Baiyue knows so much, it's really thanks to the skills she cultivated when she was an oiran. In a few days, she bought off a group of disciples and grandchildren from the Shangqing Palace. Climbing outside, I can't wait to tell her all the old things about the Shangqing Palace. He was about to catch a little boy to relieve his boredom, but unexpectedly saw Cuixu being entangled by a woman at the gate of Shangqing Palace. handle? !Long Baiyue was overwhelmed, and immediately tiptoed over to take a peek. Cuixu obviously just came back from performing rituals outside, and was still wearing cassocks, before he could enter the Shangqing Palace, he was grabbed by the woman. The woman was about forty years old, her face was haggard, her eyes were lifeless, her hair was disheveled and she knelt on the ground, clutching at the hem of Cuixu's cassock, she wailed, "Master, please help me..." "Strange, you asked me to save your husband last time, now you are fine, what do you want me to save you?" Cui Xu sneered, trying to get rid of her with disgust. But the woman held him tightly, making him angry: "Why are you pulling me all the time?" "Really, you are so good at teasing people..." The woman wailed on the ground relentlessly, "You are trying to force me to death..." "When did I force you..." Seeing that he couldn't get rid of her, Cuixu winked at the disciples who were waiting around, and asked them to come up and drag her away, "You swore back then that you would trade twenty years of life for your husband's safety , I didn’t break your life, you should thank me.” The woman kept struggling, but she was no match for Daotong's strength, and was finally pulled away by them.She fell into the dust in despair, covered her face and screamed: "But you made me twenty years old!" Long Baiyue hid aside, her heart skipped a beat in fright from her desperate cry. Cuixu looked at the woman, curled his lips and sneered strangely, with a calculating look on his face. "That heartless one, he took a concubine within half a year after recovering from his illness..." The old woman's old face was twisted fiercely because of hatred, "I would rather die now... Watching him have an affectionate relationship with his concubine every day... , where did his original pledge of eternal love go?" Because of Cuixu's prank, she sees through the world of mortals and people's hearts. The newlyweds Yan Er and his wife were deeply in love, but a serious illness wanted to take her husband's life. She had nowhere to ask for help, wishing she could go to heaven and earth.When she begged to come to Reverend Cuixu from the Shangqing Palace, Reverend Cuixu, who clearly has boundless mana, stood by and watched.She was moved by her husband's lingering words on the sickbed, and those vows from life to life made her resolutely find the real person Cuixu, willing to exchange twenty years of life for her husband's safety. At that time, Master Cuixu just smiled strangely, saying that he was willing to help her, and she didn't need to pay such a big price of twenty years of life.When she was excited, she didn't think much about it, but she didn't expect that real person Cuixu would make her face look old for twenty years... She still remembered that after her husband recovered, he only thanked her for three days, and then he started to look away from her.The tenderness in the past turned into avoidance. After a few months of separation, he married a concubine. "Actually, you don't need to ask Master Cuixu, maybe I can be cured too..." "Who knows if you look old? There are three ways to be unfilial, and having no offspring is the greatest... I won't have sex with you? I'm sorry for you... Anyway, I will support you for the rest of my life..." Her husband's words chilled her heart.Seeing the husband repeating the sweet words to the concubine, those vows that once belonged to her, the concubine smiled like a flower.Her heart turned from cold to anger, from anger to hatred. Hatred tore at her heart, causing her to rush up the mountain today, not caring about face, and found the real person Cuixu again. "What do you want from me?" Cuixu saw her absent-minded, his eyes moved, his tone softened, and he smiled sinisterly, "Restore your appearance, and let your husband enjoy the blessing of being equal to everyone?" The woman was stunned, unexpectedly Cuixu would ask her back like this: "No, no...I hate him, but I am not reconciled...I have nothing left." She cupped her face in her hands and wept in despair. "Now you understand? Is it worth losing your life for that kind of person?" Cuixu looked down at her proudly, bent down and stretched out his fingers to pick up a lock of dry and messy hair from the woman's sideburns, "...Why don't you follow me to practice internal cultivation Dan, on the one hand, it can give you back your youthful beauty, and on the other hand, you can live forever, so you can feel proud." He actually used a negotiating tone, his voice softened, and he threatened and lured people irresistibly. Because of this, the woman's despairing gray eyes flashed a gleam of light, but she didn't dare to pull the life-saving straw: "Really..." This is simply abduction!Long Baiyue has seen many such tricks of playing hard to get before.If the rogue customers in the brothel cannot win the heart of a certain beauty, they will use various means to destroy the trust between her and the lover, so as to make it easier for them to win the love. The difference is just the means, most of the guests can use silver, while Cuixu used his own spells.Compared with them, Cuixu's methods are really more despicable. Long Baiyue hid to the side but couldn't watch, so she stood up and said, "Master Cuixu, don't you think it's a little too despicable for you to make this lady old?" The appearance of Long Baiyue made Cuixu very unhappy, he frowned impatiently: "I use this method to test her husband for my wife, and let my wife see through the ugly heart, what's so despicable?" "Can people's hearts be tested like this?" Long Baiyue sneered, "Human nature is to love delicious food and beauty, and everyone is selfish. How many people in the world can stand the test of real Cuixu? Is it because of this?" , so that everyone can avoid the world negatively?" "Hehe, it is precisely because of human nature to like the new and dislike the old, that I want my wife to practice the inner alchemy to keep her youthful and invincible from now on. How can it be called passive avoiding the world?" Cuixu retorted with a look of disdain. "But you ruined her originally happy life in order to let her refine the inner alchemy, is it necessary?" Long Baiyue glared at Cuixu and asked. Cuixu didn't look at Long Baiyue at all, he squinted at the woman sitting on the ground in a daze, his confidence made his expression even more domineering: "The world of mortals is just a magic barrier that confuses people's eyes and ears, I can also cast spells to restore your beauty now, Whether to cultivate or not, you choose yourself." The woman was dumb for a long time, and finally reached out and grabbed Cuixu's cassock: "I don't want to go back... I will follow the real person."