Taoist friendship is invisible and intangible. It seems to be an empty talk, but the truth in the world is never that simple.
A thousand words from a small person are not worth one or two words from a big person. The friendship of ordinary people is worthless, but the favor of a big person is something that many people can only ask for.
There is a wise and protective saying in the official circles, which is: "Don't make great contributions to the country, but you must show small kindness to the emperor." Don't make huge contributions to the country, as this will arouse the emperor's suspicion, but you can show small kindness to the emperor.
, this will gain the emperor's favor.
If Ellie chooses to help Taoism, then in a sense she has a small favor to Taoism. Taoism will not give her anything openly, but she will get many invisible benefits. For example, she will have the same treatment as a Taoist priest and can enter
Yu Jing, take a flying boat; for the same goods, Daomen will give priority to her caravan. ??
This is only a relatively basic treatment. If you can make great contributions to the Taoist sect, you can even become the guest of a real person, be awarded "real person origin", have the title of an ordinary real person, and be equivalent to a second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest.
As the lord of a city, Ellie naturally understood the truth and asked in a deep voice: "Is this true?"
"I can make the decision." Zhang Yuelu took out a blank ultimatum from the Xumiwu and placed it on the coffee table between the two of them.
Ellie glanced at the ultimatum. All the seals on it were complete, but the space for her name was empty.
Zhang Yuelu said: "This is a certificate for a fifth-grade Taoist priest. It is the quota given to me by the master. As long as I fill in my name, I can enjoy the treatment of a fifth-grade Taoist priest. Because I am 'born with the same Taoist priest', I don't have to follow the orders of the Taoist sect.
It is not controlled by high-quality Taoist priests, it only has advantages and no disadvantages."
Ai Li was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled like a flower, and ordered the maid: "Go and invite the other guests from the Taoist Gate."
She looked at Zhang Yuelu again: "No matter what the Master orders, the little girl will do her best."
Zhang Yuelu was not polite: "Okay, I would like to ask Lord Ai to order a search to see if there are any suspicious outsiders recently, especially people from Western countries."
"No problem." Ellie agreed happily.
Zhang Yuelu looked at Qi Xuansu again and winked.
Qi Xuansu immediately understood that this was making him look bad, so he had to say: "I also want to remind the city lord that if you have two feet on the same boat, it will be stable, but if you step on two boats, it will be unstable.
Gonna fall."
Ellie's expression remained unchanged and she smiled and said, "This is natural."
Qi Xuansu stopped talking.
Ai Li stood up and said: "Everyone has come from afar and rests in my house for the night. I will give the order now. We will discuss it slowly tomorrow morning."
"That's fine." Zhang Yuelu didn't refuse.
Ai Li clapped her hands, and immediately a maid walked into the living room. A female official saluted Zhang Yuelu: "Master Mage, please follow me."
At night, Aili held a banquet to entertain Zhang Yuelu, Lingquanzi and Zhou Bai. Qi Xuansu did not go, but ate with other Tiangangtang Taoist priests. This is the stay-at-home system of Tiangangtang. If something unexpected happens, Zhang Yuelu, Lingquanzi and Zhou Bai
No, Qi Xuansu is the leader of many Tiangang Hall Taoist priests. It can also be seen that Zhang Yuelu trusts Qi Xuansu.
Ordinary Taoist priests do not enjoy the dinner reception of the city lord, and their treatment is not ambiguous. The servants of the city lord's mansion specially prepare meals of Central Plains taste for everyone. There are four side dishes for each person, half meat and half vegetables, and one big dish for every four people, all of which are lamb legs.
There are also wines that are specialties from the Western Regions.
Daomen has a special poison testing instrument, which is in the shape of a thin needle, about half a foot long, and is installed under the barrel of the handgun, parallel to the barrel, and can be pulled out when in use.
After it was tested to be non-toxic, everyone started eating and drinking with confidence. Although the taste was not as good as the restaurant in Yujing, in the past half month, everyone had either eaten dry food, drank cold water, or eaten the same-tasting "marching pills". They hadn't had a serious meal in a long time.
Yes, it actually feels extra sweet.
Qi Xuansu, Cao Liyou, and Shangguandun shared a table with three people, but there was no particular emphasis on eating, talking, and sleeping.
Shangguan Dun took a sip of chicken soup and said, "I thought I could go out and brag to others about how good the food in the City Lord's Mansion was, but this is what happened."
"That's right. There seems to be spices added to this dish. It's weird and not authentic." Cao Liyou nodded in agreement.
When Qi Xuansu heard the two complaining, he laughed and scolded: "Some of them are good to eat, but they are also picky about fat and thin. Ordinary people cut off a pound of meat to make dumplings to celebrate the New Year. Don't be dissatisfied."
Having said that, Qi Xuansu still gave the best-tasting leg of lamb to the two of them.
Cao Liyou was a little embarrassed: "Deacon Qi, you should also eat some."
Qi Xuansu said: "Don't worry about me. I see that you haven't eaten much solid food these days, so you should take this opportunity to eat more."
"Deacon Qi, you have the word 'vegetarian' in your name, doesn't it mean you are a vegetarian?" Cao Liyou couldn't help but ask. In the Taoist sect, there are many monks who are vegetarians and do not marry, such as Lingquanzi.
Qi Xuansu said: "My name also has the word 'Xuan' in it. Should the Taoist sect allocate me a big house with three entrances in Xuandu? My surname is 'Qi', so the imperial court should simply give me a title."
King Qi has it, the whole Qizhou is mine."
Cao Liyou smiled a little shyly, stopped talking, and concentrated on eating the leg of lamb.
In the end, nothing was wasted. Shangguan Dun gnawed all the tendons of the lamb leg.
After the meal, a servant came to clear away the cups and plates, and brought hot tea.
Qi Xuansu took a sip of hot tea and asked: "Brother Shangguan, do you think this Lord of Ai City is related to the extraterrestrial demon we are looking for?"
"It's hard to say." Shangguan Dun was picking his teeth and said vaguely, "The Ai family is very powerful, and the real people in power are hidden behind the scenes. They pushed the young girl out. When the girl saw Master Zhang
, and pretending not to know, there are some...how do you say that word? Want to stamp, what kind of seal do you want to stamp."
"I want to cover up the obvious." Cao Liyou said.
"Yes, you want to hide it." Shangguan finished picking his teeth and his voice became clearer, "They must know the existence of this group of people. It's hard to say whether they are from the same group. Let me tell you, the Ai family is not those without roots.
A lonely ghost with a big family and a big business can run away, but the monk can't run away from the temple, so he won't dare to become an enemy of the Taoist sect."
Qi Xuansu nodded and said, "Brother Shangguan is right."
Shangguan Dun looked around and saw that no one else was paying attention to them, so he lowered his voice: "Deacon Qi, I see that your relationship with Master Zhang is not ordinary. Can you tell me exactly what your relationship is?
"
Qi Xuansu asked back: "Brother Shangguan, why are you asking about this?"
Shangguan Dun frowned and said, "Didn't I see that Master Zhang had that document of 'being of the same origin as a Taoist priest'? I was thinking about it. I led the way for the Taoist sect and I also have merit. Can you get one for me too?"
, I don’t want to be higher than that, just be a ninth-grade Taoist priest.”
Qi Xuansu said angrily and funny: "You didn't dare to ask Master Zhang, so you came to me."
Shangguan coughed: "If you don't have a ninth-grade Taoist priest, you can still be a Taoist boy. Just add the word 'Tao'."
"Do you want a Taoist?" Qi Xuansu said, "In the Taoist sect, only minors are called Taoists. If you become a Taoist at a young age, you won't be afraid of others laughing at you."
Shangguan suddenly tugged on his beard: "Tao people... it's okay, at least there is a word for 'Tao'."
Qi Xuansu didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I have no say in this matter, but I heard that 'from the same Taoist priest' has a fixed quota, which is determined by the Ziwei Hall every year, and the approval is extremely strict. I would rather void it than grant it randomly."
I said, Master Zhang will not agree unless you can make a contribution in encircling and suppressing the demons outside the territory."
Shangguan sighed: "Desperate things, hey... I
Let’s forget about the old bones.”
While she was talking, Zhang Yuelu came back. There was no expression on her face, making it difficult to tell whether she was happy or angry.
Everyone stood up one after another.
Zhang Yuelu waved his hand to indicate that everyone should not be polite, and then made eye contact with Qi Xuansu, who was responsible for staying behind.
Qi Xuansu understood and stood up, following Zhang Yuelu and walking out.
After the two left, there was a burst of whispering in the room, mostly speculating on their relationship.
The two of them came outside the house, the night was like water, and the wind was chilly.
Qi Xuansu took the initiative and asked: "Is the wine at the dinner good?"
"I don't know much about wine. It's sweet with bitterness, and bitter with sweetness. It has a unique flavor." Zhang Yuelu smiled, "I'm not used to this kind of dinner. I'm just asking for help and socializing."
Qi Xuansu turned to the topic: "Is the Ai family reliable?"
"I guess it's reliable." Zhang Yuelu didn't know if it was because he drank too much, so he rubbed his temples with his hands, "After all, the Ai family doesn't dare to offend the Taoist sect openly."
"This is the same as what Shangguan Dun said." Qi Xuansu roughly recounted the conversation between himself and Shangguan Dun.
Zhang Yuelu said with a smile: "He wants to be born as a ninth-grade Taoist priest? It's not impossible. As long as we can successfully exterminate this group of demon thieves, I will give him a ninth-grade Taoist priest's background, but the subsequent three hundred peace money will not
Yes, if he asks again, just answer him this way, it is up to him to choose whether he wants money or identity."
"Okay." Qi Xuansu nodded in agreement.
Then there was a moment of silence between the two.
Finally, Zhang Yuelu broke the silence: "Tianyuan, you seem to have something on your mind?"
Qi Xuansu did not deny: "There are some."
"Are you thinking about revenge?" Zhang Yuelu asked.
Qi Xuansu didn't expect that Zhang Yuelu would still remember this. A lie often requires more lies to cover up, so he had no choice but to say: "Yes."
Zhang Yuelu looked at Qi Xuansu and said seriously: "If you need my help, just ask, don't be polite."
The moonlight was bleak, and the moonlight poured on the woman's body like a curtain of water, making her figure become ethereal and blurry, as if she would fly away in the wind at any time.
Qi Xuansu was lost for a moment, then came back to his senses, nodded and said, "Thank you."
"No need to thank me, I said we are friends." Zhang Yuelu said softly.
Qi Xuansu was startled, put away his disapproval, smiled and said: "Okay, Miss Tantai."