As the New Year is approaching, the solitary cold mountain naturally has no New Year atmosphere. For the outer disciples of Lunfa Tang, the end of the year just means the big exam.
The turning point that will decide the future is about to come. No matter how lively the annual meeting of the 'Hanmen City' under the mountain is, and no matter how loud the fireworks are, there is no time to sneak out and play.
Only Yu Qishu had a bright face, smiling at everyone she saw, with 'Happy New Year' written on her face.
Fragmented snowflakes fell from the vast sky. Meng Xueli wore a thick cloak and headed to the main peak with a hand stove in his arms, to visit the real person in charge.
Since Meng Xueli played a game in Jianping, 'Ji Xiao Dao Companion' is no longer a vague shadow of Changchun Peak after three years. Many inner disciples have recognized him, met him on the mountain road, and took the initiative to salute him. say hello.
The head master was replying to the letter in the side hall, and saw him smiling lovingly:
"Xueli, you're here just in time. I've been busy with things lately, but I forgot to look for you."
The fact that Mingyue Lake was made holy by the Qing Dynasty really gave Han Shan a headache for a while. However, the coming of soldiers will stop it, and the coming of water will cover the earth, and life will continue to pass.
The chief thought that Meng Xueli was here for the Great Beast of the Secret Realm of Hanhai.
"The trip to the secret realm, you can rest assured. I have rearranged the disciples to accompany you. They are the three of the Chongbi Peak. They are stable in temperament, reliable in their work, and will not make mistakes again."
Meng Xueli hurriedly put down the hot tea: "I have no problem going by myself! I can beat Zhou Wu, and it is more than enough to protect myself. It was originally my idea, how can I tire others?"
The head waved his hand: "It's not that I'm tired, the three of them signed up voluntarily. To be on the safe side, let's go together, so that we old guys can feel at ease."
Meng Xueli's ability to fight across borders proves that his fighting strength and talent are not bad. However, since he joined Ji Xiao at a young age, he must not have much experience in traveling and fighting the enemy. The environment in the secret realm of Hanhai is complicated and people are sinister. The headmaster thought so.
After Meng Xueli listened to it, he knew that this was a decision made by the peak masters of the Hanshan Mountains. Turning to the matter of wanting to take Yu Qishu as a disciple.
The head sighed: "It's him. Egret City's head and mouse are both ends, his status is a bit special, and it is really difficult to place."
He has seen a lot of this kind of aristocratic dude.
If you were born in the Taiping age, you should have 'fighting cock-fighting dogs for a lifetime, without knowing the safety of heaven and earth'. However, there are dark tides in the world of practice now, the storm is coming, and the younger generation is still ignorant and ignorant.
The Sect Master thought for a while: "It's okay if he wants to be your disciple. It's just that the etiquette cannot be waived. If you have to attend the year-end exam, he will also do the rite of worship." To prevent anyone from gossiping.
Meng Xueli replied: "Everything is done according to the rules. After apprenticeship, I will take him back to Changchun Peak."
The headmaster nodded in relief.
He didn't expect Meng Xueli to really be a master and teach Yu Qishu to become a good Taoist. He just wanted to find Meng Xueli a playmate. In order to avoid thinking about the deceased husband all day long, one day he can't think about it, and he goes with Ji Xiao.
Changchun Peak has a spacious place, one person is living, two people and three people are also living.
…
No matter what the disciples of Lunfa Hall feared or expected, this day has finally come.
The night before New Year's Eve, the disciples bathed, burned incense, and meditated all night. When the sky is bright, go to the main hall of the main peak together.
This year, there are more than 200 disciples in the Sixth House of Lunfa Hall, walking mightily on the winding mountain road.
It is rare that the snowstorm stops, the clouds open and the fog disperses, and the peaks of the cold mountains show their original appearance, either towering and dangerous, or beautiful.
The disciples watched as the pine forest at the foot of the mountain became smaller and smaller until it disappeared.
The square in front of the main hall is open, with tables and chairs arranged neatly, each seat spaced 10 feet apart, and only occupies one-tenth of the square.
More than 20 deacons have arrived and arranged for the disciples to take their seats. Behind the square, the gate of the main hall was wide open, and there was no one there, and the elders had not yet arrived.
The elders who are willing to accept disciples are different every year. The deacon hall should arrange the seats in advance according to the status of the elders. Because an innate sword spirit body appeared this year, many elders wanted to come and see it.
Meng Xueli's cultivation base is not high, but his seniority is high, and the seat is second only to the head and the peak masters. The other elders all lined up behind him.
The news spread from the deacon hall, and some inner disciples didn't like Meng Xueli, and a lot of criticisms arose:
"Looking at the face of the late Sword Master, calling him an 'elder', does he really think of himself as an elder? Even in the realm of 'perfect qi refining', he is too embarrassed to accept an apprentice and misunderstand a child!"
"Could it be that he beat Senior Brother Zhou once and thought he was great? But who would worship a Qi-refining realm as a teacher? No one would like to be his disciple at that time, let's see what he does."
Some disciples like Meng Xueli, so they speak for him:
"Elder Meng is patient and gentle. As his disciple, he will definitely not be disciplined. There are also magic tools and elixir left by Jixiao. Why not take him as a teacher?"
Meng Xueli didn't know the various sayings among the inner disciples. Yesterday evening, before he left the Lunfa Hall, he was surrounded again.
Several of the younger disciples who often asked him to answer questions, heard that he was going to attend the examination this year, and wanted to worship him as a teacher.
Meng Xueli shook his head: "That's not right, you come to learn swordsmanship, but I have never practiced swordsmanship. I only accept you senior brother Yu."
The disciples cast envious glances at Yu Qishu. I saw Yu Qishu wearing a brand new brocade clothes, with a straight waist and a radiant face.
Suddenly someone asked, "Who do you think Junior Brother Xiao will worship?"
Immediately, a disciple replied: "It's still a question, this year's sect master also attended the assessment, and he must be worshipping the sect master!"
"But how can I hear the senior brother of Ziyan Peak say that Junior Brother Xiao is suitable for practicing the sword of thunder and fire, and he wants to worship the master of Ziyan Peak as his teacher."
"Your news is inaccurate! The day before yesterday, I saw the senior brother from Chongyu Peak come to see Junior Brother Xiao. He definitely intends to worship Chongyu Peak."
Meng Xueli listened, thinking that Xiao Tingyun had become a sweet pastry. That's right, the aptitude root bones are there, who doesn't want to accept a talented disciple and shine on the lintel
He still kept the thousand-word article written by Xiao Tingyun, but the game of 'supporting the party' should really end.
Xiao Tingyun will go to an unknown mountain, worship a good master, and start a monotonous life of practicing swordsmanship and cultivating hard, while he prepares for the secret realm of the vast sea. Probably never meet again.
Thinking that no one will lean over from the back row in the future, put one hand on the back of his chair and talk. Meng Xueli actually felt a faint sense of loss.
…
The morning bell reverberated in the mountains, and the birds in the forest were startled.
Meng Xueli led the Taoist boy into the high and wide hall, and the deacon took him to his seat and served melon and fruit snacks.
The assessment had not yet started, and he had just passed by the square. The disciples were sitting in front of the table, spreading paper and researching ink. Some were calm, some trembled. There are also acquaintances of the younger disciples who quietly greeted him.
Meng Xueli whispered, "Take the test well, don't be nervous."
He glanced at it and saw that more than 200 people had similar clothes and clothes, so it was hard to tell them apart. He didn't find Xiao Tingyun, but he saw Yu Qishu from a distance.
The two looked at each other, revealing a knowing smile.
Not long after, more than twenty elders entered the hall one after another, twice as many as in previous years.
Behind the other elders, there are direct disciples standing around, ranging from two or three people to as many as seven or eight people. The disciples wore swords around their waists, and they were proud.
There was only a childish Daoist boy standing beside Meng Xueli, who was not as tall as the back of a chair, so Changchun Peak looked weak and pitiful.
Sitting next to him, the Ziyan Peak Master shook his fan, showing a motherly smile: "You've lost weight again."
Meng Xueli was at a loss: "What?"
Peak Master Ziyan pointed to the melon and fruit snacks in front of the desk, and whispered: "Eat it if you want. In previous years, these were not offered."
Meng Xueli: "...Thank you."
So the other elders chatted and exchanged the current situation of each peak. The elders of Changchun Peak are eating melon seeds.
The bell rang again outside the hall.
The deacon stood on the high steps in front of the temple gate and announced the title aloud: "On the Confusion—"
In the square, all the disciples made low-pitched gasps.
'Blind' refers to an illusion. At the beginning of the practice, the meditation entered the timing, and the mind was not distracted.
But thoughts are difficult to control. During this process, if you are imaginative, you will see illusions.
Some people saw mountains of gold and silver piled up in front of them, and beautiful fairies descended from the sky, and some people saw themselves soaring up in the daytime and roaming the universe. Illusions vary from person to person, either greed or fear.
The topic of this assessment is to ask the disciples to discuss what their own delusions are, and how to transcend the illusion and enter into meditation in peacetime.
Even more leaked, time passed, and everyone buried their heads in writing, and the pen was long and snake.
Ji Xiao looked helpless, unable to write a word.
Because he had never encountered this kind of problem, he didn't know what an illusion was, and he couldn't make up false stories, so he had to wait for a blank paper.
More than 200 years ago, Han Shan did not test writing essays, only the recitation of Taoist scriptures and basic swordsmanship. The rules are also very domineering. If you fail to learn from a teacher and do not want to be a deacon, you will be considered an abandoned disciple and will be immediately expelled from the mountain. The sword stance that was previously learned in Lunfa Tang should not be used in the future.
Later, the real person Ji Xiao re-formulated the rules of the Law School, instead of taking the sword style test, he changed it to test the school's understanding of the Taoist scriptures, or interpret his personal practice.
In this way, even if the talent of the root bone is slightly inferior and the progress of the realm is a little slower, but the heart and understanding are revealed in the article, there is a high chance of being admitted to the door. If you fail the exam in one year, you can choose to go back to study at the Law School and take the exam again next year.
At that time, the real person Ji Xiao never thought that one day, he would return to the examination room.
Heaven is good to reincarnate.