In the alleyway, Zhang Rongfang looked at the direction Xiao Qingying and the two left, until they could no longer see their backs, and then turned around and left.
Along the way, he occasionally met practicing disciples wearing light blue robes and white shirts.
Every time he had to stop, step aside and bow his head.
In the Qinghe Palace, the disciples were divided into cultivating disciples and handyman disciples.
Strictly speaking, handyman disciples are temporary workers and can be dismissed at any time.
But the situation is different for practicing disciples, so the etiquette regulations are very strict.
If there is any disrespect, the simplest person will face the wall and think about it and do the hardest labor. The most serious person will be beaten with a stick for dozens of times, or even killed with a stick and thrown down the mountain.
Zhang Rongfang quickly arrived at the laundry room and began to collect the buckets of dirty clothes brought in with a dozen other handymen.
Clothes, Taoist crowns, flat shoes, high boots, belts, etc., everything that needs to be cleaned will be thrown here.
After working hard all day, it was almost 10:30 in the evening when I finally rested.
As soon as it was over, Zhang Rong went straight to the Taoist management room without stopping, carrying the money in his chest.
Not long after, he came out of the management room. The silver wallet he had on him was completely withered, and only a little bit of the two taels of silver he had saved for a long time was left.
He breathed a sigh of relief and looked ahead from a distance.
The Qinghe Palace at night is filled with lighted oil lamps and candlelight.
There were still subtle sounds of chanting in the direction of the three main halls and the dojo. Those were not the voices of Taoist priests, but some devout pilgrims staying overnight in the palace to chant sutras.
What I am reciting is the Infinite Heart Sutra.
Zhang Rongfang walked along the cobblestone path towards the disciple bungalow area at the back.
The sound of dusk drums came from afar, getting stronger and weaker depending on the sound of the wind.
At the same time, accompanied by the sound of wind, there was also the aroma of some kind of barbecue.
Zhang Rongfang swallowed unconsciously. The black-faced steamed buns he ate in the cafeteria in the afternoon were not enough to fill his teeth.
The food for the handyman disciples consisted of two black-noodle steamed buns per meal, a dish of messy kimchi, and a bowl of egg drop soup that you could see at the bottom of the bowl.
A steamed bun only has half a fist, which is barely enough for a person who can't move, but it's not enough for handyman disciples like them who need to do hard work.
Passing by a cliff platform, Zhang Rongfang paused and looked down from the platform.
Black clouds filled the air below the mountain, and the crescent moon above cast a clear glow. The mountains in the distance were silent, with only the wind whistling through them.
Two noble men in sable clothes were also standing in the right corner of the cloud platform, talking quietly, whether they were admiring the moon or having a heart-to-heart conversation.
Zhang Rongfang took a look under the light of the Taoist palace. The brown fur of the sable fur reflected slightly under the light, making it shiny and smooth.
He used to think that sable fur was purple, but now it seems that he doesn't see any purple at all.
"What are you doing here? Don't disturb the lay people!" At this time, a group of Taoist priests walking behind him scolded in a low voice.
The leader among them was tall and strong, with a black beard, holding a lantern in one hand and a long stick in the other.
Looking from a distance, it looks like a tiger crossing the mountain, with blazing eyes and considerable power.
Zhang Rongfang secretly sighed in his heart. The handyman disciples just don’t have human rights...
On the surface, he quickly bowed his head and saluted, showing no signs of losing etiquette.
"Yes. I'll be right back," he replied.
That Gao Zhuang Taoist named Qi Shan was the leading disciple on patrol during this period.
Zhang Rongfang met him several times and was quite impressed by him.
This man is over two meters tall, with a thick waist and broad shoulders, and strong and strong limbs. He once practiced sparring in the dojo, and he still had the upper hand in a one-on-three fight.
Taoist Qishan nodded and watched Zhang Rongfang walking quickly towards the bungalow area of the handyman disciples. Then he looked away and continued his patrol.
Time flies in the blink of an eye, and half a month has passed.
During this half month, Zhang Rongfang visited the washing room, the homework dojo, the cafeteria, and the disciples' bungalow area every day.
The dry food he eats every day is completely devoid of oil and water, so he doesn't feel any signs of accumulating attribute points.
You know, every time he accumulates attributes, he can feel a trace of heat gathering in his body.
But once the consumption is too large, this accumulated heat will become significantly weaker.
For more than ten days, Zhang Rongfang had to clean large buckets of clothes every day, which was extremely physically demanding.
He knew in his heart that he had to find a way to get out of this state.
But everything was not without good news. After giving away the money, the handyman disciple was eliminated for the second time, and his name was not among them.
This made Zhang Rongfang feel relieved.
Taoists are highly valued in Daling. If they can advance higher in the future, their treatment will be much better.
Time passed day by day, and in the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed.
Qinghe Palace sent away a group of distinguished guests who came to hold a tea party, and began a new round of screening and assessment of practicing disciples every year.
Zhang Rongfang saw that the attribute points on his attribute column were not much at all and were still 0. He became more and more aware that he could not waste time like this.
But for a while, he didn't have any good ideas in mind.
*
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April 1183.
Zhang Rongfang picked up two buckets of clothes and walked along the mountain road towards the drying yard in the back mountain.
The sky is slightly bright, and the entire Qinghe Palace has a rectangular structure. The drying yard at the back is next to the mountain forest stone wall, which is located outside the Taoist palace wall.
Except for the Taoist monks who come to dry their clothes, almost no one else comes here.
All around were bare woods and pale white rocks.
Zhang Rongfang walked a few steps and rested a few times. On the one hand, the road here was not easy to walk, and on the other hand, it was foggy in the mountains at this time, making it difficult to see ahead.
Every time like this, he heard from the brothers and sisters in the laundry room that there might be monkeys and hozens in the mountains coming out to steal clothes.
So be extra careful.
Someone must be watching when drying clothes. This time Zhang Rongfang was lucky enough to get this relatively leisurely job.
The two buckets of clothing weighed sixty kilograms, and he had to pick at least fifteen buckets back and forth, and this was only part of the robes.
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Rongfang wiped the sweat from his forehead and prepared to move forward.
At this moment, faint voices could be heard faintly in the mist on the left front.
"...You didn't come, what happened? Did she suspect you before?" A young man said in a low voice.
"I don't know...probably not. She was having a heart-to-heart talk with me last night..." Another female voice replied with some fear.
"No matter what, this time I go to town for shopping, you are responsible for creating opportunities. Give me this thing and put it in her gourd before departure..." The male voice said as low as possible.
Zhang Rongfang felt a shiver in his heart. This was not the first time he heard others talking in private, but this time... there seemed to be something wrong.
In the Taoist Palace, because of the strong wind, once the wind is favorable, the sound from more than ten meters away can still be heard to some extent, even if it is muffled.
It is often not easy for the parties involved to detect it.
Zhang Rongfang immediately stood still and slowly stepped back.
There is usually no one here. Since the other party is secretly discussing this kind of thing, if he is discovered, the consequences may be disastrous.
Then he heard some explanations one after another.
He didn't want to care about this kind of thing, and he didn't have the ability to care about it. But just when he was about to turn around and leave, a name suddenly entered his ears.
Xiao Qingying!
Zhang Rongfang stood still, his eyes flickering.
After a pause, he continued to step back a certain distance, and then deliberately hummed the Taoist scriptures and walked forward while picking up his clothes.
The voice drifted far forward, and soon he reached where he was just now, and he really didn't hear the voice anymore.
Obviously, the two people who were conferring heard him approaching and left early.
Zhang Rongfang was thinking in his mind as he hurried forward.
He didn't know who the speaker was, but he remembered the voice. In addition, the conversation mentioned drugging when going to the town to purchase. It seemed that Xiao Qingying would be plotted on one of her shopping trips to the town.
Then as long as you find out when she is going to town, you can secretly send a message.
After reporting the letter, if something happens, on the one hand, he can repay Xiao Qingying's favor last time, and on the other hand, maybe...
Zhang Rongfang remained calm and went to the drying yard as usual. He and another disciple put all the clothes on the clothes drying pole, pulling and patting them neatly in rows.
He did not go to report the news immediately, but continued to guard the drying yard. In the meantime, he ate the dry food and black steamed buns he brought here. It was not until the sun went down in the afternoon that he packed up his clothes and went back.
After a busy day, I finished my homework tonight and the evening drum was about to sound.
Zhang Rongfang quickly stood up from the dojo and walked towards Xiao Rong who was about to leave.
Xiao Rong is the Taoist who is responsible for the homework of all the miscellaneous disciples. His status is higher than that of ordinary practicing disciples, and is equivalent to the deacon in the Qinghe Palace. He is only under the Palace Lord, the Supervisor, and the Palace Master.
At the same time, he is also Xiao Qingying’s biological father.
Xiao Rong had a beard and always carried a wine gourd with him, but there was usually very little alcohol in it.
It is rumored that he is a real drunkard, but he is rarely seen drinking.
At this time, Xiao Rong saw a handyman disciple standing up and rushing towards him on the field. The pace was fast, so he paused and waited.
"Is something wrong?"
Zhang Rongfang clasped his fists and saluted. After he stood up and bowed, he said: "Disciple Zhang Rongfang, I have met Master Mingguang."
"Go on, the drums are about to start playing again." Xiao Rong had a gentle temper and didn't have any bad opinions towards the handyman disciples.
His Taoist name is also called Mingguang, and he has an officially certified mage title, so his honorific title is generally called Master Mingguang.
"That's it. When the disciple went to the back mountain to dry his clothes during the day..." Zhang Rongfang didn't hide anything and truthfully told everything he heard.
As for how to judge, he believed Xiao Rong had his own judgment.
As he narrated bit by bit, Xiao Rong's expression was somewhat casual at first, but gradually became serious.
After Zhang Rongfang finished speaking, he thought for a moment, glanced at the servant disciples who had already dispersed around him, and waved his hand.
"Are you sure you heard correctly?"
"OK!" Zhang Rongfang nodded solemnly.
"If you hear the sounds in the morning again, can you distinguish them?" Xiao Rong asked.
"It should be possible! I'm not sure." Zhang Rongfang nodded.
Xiao Rong looked thoughtful. Then he carefully looked at the reporting disciple in front of him.
"This matter is very important. Think about it carefully. If you slander other disciples, you will be punished with fifty sticks. With your body and bones, you will have no chance of survival after the beating." He spoke again.
"Disciple doesn't dare to lie." Zhang Rongfang said solemnly, "Actually, Senior Sister Xiao Qingying helped the disciple once before in the alleyway beside Xuanxin Palace. The disciple has always kept it in mind. Originally, if this kind of thing, if
If it were anyone else, the disciple should not and would not dare to rush out to report the news, but when he heard that Senior Sister Xiao was involved, the disciple would not dare to be at all concerned."
Zhang Rongfang looks sincere and calm. No matter in his previous life or now, he has the same character. He has a clear sense of grudges and grudges. All kindness must be repaid.
So these words came from the bottom of my heart and were said to the point.
Hearing this, Xiao Rong's eyes moved slightly. The composition of the handyman disciples was not that good, but it was extremely rare to have someone as clear in speech, clear in thinking, and kind and righteous as the person in front of him.
Among the servant disciples, most were abandoned sons from nearby towns who were sent by various families to occupy Taoist status.
Many of them were trained in how to serve others before they came here. As for being able to read and write, speak clearly, and think clearly, there are not many of them.
These days, not everyone is qualified to read and write. Even if rich peasants and wealthy households have the spare money, they still have to have the time and energy.