"My second uncle, like me, is also an idle person. He has been obsessed with stories about catching ghosts and subduing monsters in operas since he was a child. He has always loved to seek immortality and ask questions, but he suffered from the lack of opportunity and the lack of that opportunity.
If you want to learn Buddhism, you won’t be able to let go of the three thousand worries on your head; if you practice Taoism, you won’t be able to endure the hardships in the mountains. In the end, you will have to follow the advice of others and take medicine..."
"In the dead of winter, I only wore old and fluffy clothes. I boasted that I was immune to the cold and heat, and I felt like I was flying... The Taoist Priest must also know that it is just due to the medicinal properties. Taking too much will cause harm to the body. My father tried to dissuade me from doing so.
, he calmed down a little bit...but not long after, he found an expert who wanted to refine the elixir."
"Expert?"
When Li Changan mentioned this word, the first thing Li Changan thought of was the vice president of the Yangcheng Taoist Association, Suxuan's "real person" Zhang Dali.
Wang Zifu saw the Taoist priest's expression and just smiled and said:
"Those who have serious ultimatums."
So what? I have one too.
Li Changan didn't think so, but he couldn't say it out loud, so he just waited for the following.
"The Taoist priest's name is Luo Yuqing, Yunshui Sanren, and he claims to be the 14th generation disciple of Longhushan Zhengdao..."
"Fourteenth generation?"
When Li Changan heard this, he interrupted.
"The contemporary Zhang Tianshi seems to have only reached the fourteenth generation."
"Is that why you say you are an expert... Look, we are here."
During the conversation, the two of them walked into a spacious courtyard. The first thing Li Changan saw was a triangular bronze alchemy furnace in the center of the courtyard, about seven feet high, with bright green and red charcoal in the furnace.
In front of the alchemy furnace, there is an altar, tokens, long banners, bronze mirrors, floating dust... everything is available. The person who conducts the rituals is an old Taoist priest with good appearance. He is lean, with white hair and a childlike face, and has long sideburns.
With his hair hanging down on his chest, he is holding the talisman with his eyes closed and chanting endlessly. He must be the Yunshui Sanren.
In the upper part of the courtyard, there were several tables and chairs, surrounded by a group of onlookers, led by two middle-aged men. One looked nervously at the alchemy furnace and was pacing back and forth, while the other was sitting steadily on a chair with a faint look on his face.
Unpleasant.
Wang Zifu quickly led the Taoist priest to come forward and exchange greetings, and then he realized that the steady man was Wang Jing, Wang Jing's father, and the one who was moving around was Wang Qiao, Wang Zifu's second uncle.
As for Li Changan, the prince's suit only suggested that he was a wandering monk he had made friends with. Although Wang Jing was a little suspicious, he did not go into details. Instead, he asked someone to bring a chair for Li Changan to sit down and drink tea with him and watch the old Taoist make elixirs.
Li Changan was very good at it. He was also quite curious about this Yunshui Sanren.
……………………
However, there was nothing to see.
The old Taoist priest was reciting things very quickly and urgently. No one knew whether he was chanting sutras or cursing his mother. However, he occasionally jumped out of the altar and walked around the alchemy furnace in a very skillful way.
So, Li Changan quickly diverted his attention to other people, but after looking at it like this, he could see something.
In the courtyard, in addition to several masters of the Wang family, there were also many servants surrounding it. Except for a few serving maids, the rest were all large and round servants. They vaguely surrounded the atrium where the old Taoist priest was, especially the several exits.
They were all blocked tightly.
"Snapped."
There was a soft sound beside me.
Li Changan looked sideways and saw a stick as thick as an goose egg and a bundle of hemp rope lying on the ground. Next to him stood a plump servant, shaking his face, smiling "shyly" at Li Changan, and then put the stick away.
The hemp rope was hidden behind his back.
What kind of battle is this?
The prince suit snickered, covered his mouth and whispered:
"My second uncle insisted on refining this golden elixir, which cost a lot of money. Needless to say, ginseng, Ganoderma lucidum and other medicinal materials, pearls from the Yellow Sea, corals from the East China Sea, jade from the Western Regions, deer antlers from the Northern Xinjiang... many treasures were also invested.
A fire was sacrificed. According to a rough estimate, the cost is probably close to one million!"
One million?
To be honest, no matter which world he is in, Li Changan has always been a person who doesn't pay much attention to money and has never been rich. He really has no real sense of this number.
Before the smack could smell anything, something unexpected happened in the court.
Only a bang was heard.
"puff."
A stream of yellow smoke erupted from the alchemy furnace, and the old Taoist priest immediately screamed:
"Something bad happened!"
Everyone's eyes immediately turned to him. The father in the prince suit snorted coldly and turned to wink at the servant next to him. The second uncle Wang Qiao in the prince suit had already jumped up and rushed into the scene.
Zhong anxiously asked:
"What's the matter?!"
The old Taoist priest frowned.
"Dan is exhausted."
No one in the field knew what he was talking about. So what if the Dan Qi was exhausted? The prince asked Li Changan in a low voice, and the Taoist just spread his hands. Sorry, I am not familiar with this business.
Fortunately, the old Taoist priest didn't keep people waiting for a long time and explained:
"This refining of the golden elixir is a creation that conquers heaven and earth. When the elixir is completed, it will be jealous of heaven. I have done this many times before, just to deceive the heavens. But I am ashamed to say that I am not good at learning and art, so I am not good at elixir.
Xie, it has been known by heaven, and the demon will definitely be sent to destroy the elixir in the furnace."
As soon as the old Taoist finished speaking, Wang Qiao hurriedly answered:
"Then what should we do?!"
The old Taoist priest walked around for a few steps to whet his appetite, then waved his hand and said with a smile:
"It doesn't matter."
"I have a friend who is the best at dealing with these evil demons. As long as I ask him for help, this elixir will ensure my safety!"
Li Changan had a rather strange expression on his face, wondering what was going to happen next: I must invite my Taoist friend in person before he is willing to leave the mountain, so please wait here...
But Wang Qiao seemed to have grasped the life-saving straw.
"Where is the Taoist Priest? Please invite him over quickly!"
The old Taoist smiled mysteriously and stroked his long beard.
"Penglai."
The joy on Wang Qiao's face suddenly stopped, Li Changan raised his eyebrows, and Wang Jing next to him sneered again and again, almost giving an order to arrest him.
Who knows Penglai, Fangzhang, Yingzhou, and Sanxian Mountain overseas? Not to mention that this mountain is still deep in the sea, even Juzhou City is thousands of miles away from the coast. How can we get there and back in a moment?
The old Taoist priest saw the look on Wang Qiao's face and laughed:
"Don't panic, don't panic. The poor will find their own way."
After that, he called a servant, took a scroll and asked him to shake it open.
But I saw that the painting used thick and light ink to outline a vast ocean. There was a fairy mountain hidden in the vast blue waves of the sea. There were pavilions hidden in the clouds and mist on the mountain. There were three words written in the blank space in the upper corner: Penglai Picture.
Finally, he turned to Wang Qiao and said:
"There's just one more thing I need you to know?"
Although Wang Qiao was confused, he still responded quickly:
"What are your orders from the real man?"
"I will try my best to go back as quickly as possible, but during this time, there will inevitably be little spirits coming to disturb me. In the meantime, I will bother the lay people to guard the alchemy furnace."
"I?"
Wang Qiao opened his mouth wide and pointed at his nose.
"If it's not you, then who is it? Could it be that little monk?"
As he said that, the old Taoist priest stuffed the wooden sword, bronze mirror, floating dust... all the objects into Wang Qiao's arms.
Then, he took the bamboo leaves from a clump of phoenix bamboo in the courtyard, folded it into a finger-long boat, and then threw it into the painting. The bamboo leaf boat instantly disappeared into the painting and turned into a simple sketch of a sailing boat.
"Don't keep a close eye on the fire, for you will come back as soon as you leave."
He ordered again, then flipped the sleeves of his robe, and suddenly his figure disappeared under the blue sky and white sun.
"Look at this painting!"
At the same time, the servant holding the scroll screamed. Li Changan looked at it and saw that the picture of Penglai actually came to life. The waves on the ocean began to surge. There seemed to be figures moving around in the attic, and there was another figure on the boat.
The long sail sailed into the depths of the waves.
"Master! Master!"
Seeing this scene, Wang Qiao almost jumped for joy.
"Brother, look, I'm telling you that Master Yuqing is not a liar, but the real Youdao Quanzhen!"
Wang Jing was also a little suspicious for a moment. Could it be that the old Taoist priest was really a living god as his second brother said?
While hesitating, I saw a plume of black smoke suddenly rising up, covering the sky and pressing down on the courtyard; a strong wind rose from the ground, blowing sand and rocks that made people unable to open their eyes; and a series of children's sharp laughter sounded.
, but only the sound was heard but no one was seen. Sometimes someone's tea was spilled for no reason, sometimes someone's belt was pulled off, sometimes someone's skirt was lifted... For a while, screams continued one after another, and the hall became a mess.
"Don't panic!"
Wang Qiao stepped forward and spoke loudly.
"These are the essence of the real person's words. As long as the alchemy furnace is kept intact, when the real person returns from Penglai, the other generation will naturally retreat."
After saying that, he called several servants and distributed the magical weapons in his arms one by one, leaving only a bronze mirror to hold against his chest.
"As long as you protect the alchemy furnace today, you will be rewarded heavily..."
"Lang...Lang Jun!"
Wang Qiao was trying his best to boost his morale. Unexpectedly, the servant next to him suddenly pointed to the corner tremblingly, his tongue trembling.
"Why are you panicking? I have a magic weapon to protect you, so what the hell..."
He took advantage of the situation and looked around.
"Bang."
He immediately stood on the spot, his bronze mirror dropped to the ground, and he murmured in his mouth.
"Little...little charm?"
But on the courtyard wall, a giant claw was placed on the top of the wall, and then, a giant ghost with a green face and fangs and a head as big as a millstone poked its head out from behind the wall.
Now even the prince suit couldn't sit still. He grabbed Li Changan's sleeves in a panic and called out hurriedly without caring about hiding his identity.
"Taoist Priest!"
Li Changan waved his hand to signal him to calm down, stood up slowly, picked up the copper kettle from the stove next to him, shook his head, and said something that only he could understand.
"The special effects are pretty good. It's much better than the domestic 50 cents. It's just that I didn't brush my teeth after eating leeks, so the taste was a bit strong."
After saying that, he suddenly rolled up his sleeves, held the bottom of the pot, and poured a full pot of boiling water into the empty space.
"Ouch!"
Only a miserable howl was heard, and scalding hot water poured out onto an old Taoist priest rolling on the ground.
Suddenly.
Dark clouds, strong winds, black smoke, giant ghosts... all kinds of strange phenomena are like the bubbles of a dream that disappear in an instant. Only the sun is warm, the breeze is blowing, and a few bamboo leaves are sprinkled into the courtyard.
Everyone looked at the old Taoist priest who was screaming on the ground, and then at Li Changan who was adjusting his cuffs. For a moment, no one could turn their heads.
It was the head of the Wang family who came to his senses first. With a hint of pride in his face, he stood up and shouted: "Why are you still standing there? Tie me up!"
The servants just woke up from a dream, took out the sticks and ropes they had prepared and swarmed over him. The old Taoist priest was also a man who accepted his bet and accepted defeat. He did not resist and was restrained. After a few strokes, he was tied up with four hooves.
Wang Qiao still seemed to be unable to believe the scene in front of him, and murmured:
"Brother? Real person? Why is this..."
"Real person?"
Wang Jing said angrily.
"He's a liar!"
"But..." Wang Qiao looked dazed, "Those strange appearances?"
"A blind trick!"
Wang Jing hated that iron could not become steel, and he kept angrily scolding him.
"My golden elixir?"
"Where is the golden elixir?"
Seeing that he was still stubborn, Wang Jing asked someone to knock over the alchemy furnace. Surprisingly, it was not empty, but contained a letter. He took Qishi, glanced at it, and threw it away with a sneer.
Wang Qiao's face.
Wang Qiao took it in a daze and chanted in a low voice. Li Changan was close and had good ears, so he heard clearly.
"This kind of wealth is not a righteous thing. I have a predestined relationship with you, so I came here to take it out to help you pay for the atonement in the underworld. It will be effective in the future. Fortunately, don't blame me..."
Okay, this old liar is really interesting. It's not enough to deceive people, but he also plans to leave a letter to show off.
At this moment, Wang Qiao seemed to have finally come to his senses. His old face flushed red, and he rushed to the old liar aggressively and grabbed his collar.
"Where's the golden elixir?"
have to.
Li Changan rolled his eyes.
Still confused.
…………………………
That night.
Li Changan bid farewell to the palace.
When he came, he was alone, but when he left, he had a big green donkey on his hands.
"You stupid ass..."
The Taoist priest caressed the donkey's head.
"If you don't want the fine clothes and fine food, why bother to live with me and sleep in the open air?"
During the previous farewell, the big green donkey had bitten the corner of the Taoist priest's clothes, but now it just shook its head and shook its head, making the bell jingle.
After a while, mist appeared around me.
Li Changan looked up and saw that there was a group of Yin soldiers in front of him, bowing their heads to him.
The Taoist priest returned the gift, but frowned.
The group of Yin soldiers in front of them is not the same group they saw last time. More importantly, Yan Dabeard is not among them. Only Lou Cheng is standing in front of them.
"Where's Brother Yan?"
Lou Cheng had a wry smile on his face.
"The brothers who provoked and committed the crime last night are all in jail to await their punishment."
Li Changan was surprised.
"Why is this?"
Lou Cheng shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"Everyone in the world knows that gods are good, but they don't know that although gods are free and happy, gods are rarely at ease. Everything they say and do must be within the rules, and there is no room for overstepping."
"Brother Yan killed Li Kuiqi last night?"
"Sending the Yin army privately and abusing the priesthood."
Lou Cheng changed the subject.
"Taoist Priest, don't worry too much. Although Zhao Feng was sent to jail to await his punishment, our soldiers and horses were not dismissed. I don't think Lai Fujun intends to punish him severely."
After saying that, he handed over a thick brochure.
"What is this?"
"This is the urn on which our names are written."
As he said this, he bowed solemnly.
"From now on, if Taoist Master Xuan Xiao has any mission, we will not hesitate to die."
………………………………
early morning.
Thick fog invaded the road.
The gate of Yuzhou City has not yet opened, but there is already a long queue in front of it.
The tea stall beside the road opened early, selling tea and breakfast.
"Jingle Bell."
There was a series of crisp sounds, and the shopkeeper turned his head to look.
Yo ho.
What a handsome big green donkey.
Fat, tall and strong, shiny and shiny.
The owner of the donkey was dressed rather strangely. He was a Taoist priest with short hair and a long sword hanging from his waist.
But these days, many strange and strange people have come to Yuzhou City, and the store owners are not surprised, but they are more cautious in their reception.
The man asked for a bowl of tea and some food, moistened his throat, and stopped the shopkeeper.