Seeing that the middle-aged Taoist was losing his temper, Nan Feng hurriedly followed, "I can do anything. I can chop wood and make a fire, and I can also run errands and do odd jobs."
After Nanfeng finished speaking, the middle-aged Taoist tilted his head and pondered, but did not answer immediately.
"I'm brave, even if I'm woken up at night, I can do it. I'm not afraid of getting dirty, and I can even pick up excrement and empty a bucket." Nanfeng added again.
The middle-aged Taoist tilted his head and glanced at him, but didn't say anything he wanted to say.
"Taoist Master, I came from the north and almost died on the road several times. You see, just a few days ago, I was bitten by a poisonous insect." Nanfeng raised his right hand.
"I saw you before when you were eating," the middle-aged Taoist nodded, "Are you really here alone?"
When Nanfeng heard this, he immediately understood that the middle-aged Taoist was tracing his origins, and nodded repeatedly, "It's just me. More than a month ago, I crossed the river on ice and encountered a water monster. A short Taoist happened to pass by there. That Taoist I jumped into the water, killed the water monster, and saved many people. He even saw me at that time, only me."
"The person you met must be Senior Brother Tianqi," the middle-aged Taoist nodded and asked again, "Why are you looking for Senior Uncle Xuanzhen?"
Ever since the middle-aged Taoist asked him if he came alone, Nanfeng knew that the middle-aged Taoist would ask this question sooner or later. Without knowing his identity, the middle-aged Taoist would not leave him in Taiqing Sect. Since he was prepared in advance, he answered quickly, "My name is Nanfeng. I am originally from Huazi in Chang'an City. I live with my companions in Tutu Temple in Xicheng. We committed a crime and the government wanted to arrest us. I was blocked in the temple. At that time, there was a blind man taking shelter from the rain in the temple. I don’t know what magic he used. Those who entered the temple couldn’t see me. I escaped. Afterwards, he gave me some silver coins and asked me to go to the temple. Qingzong sent a message to Master Xuanzhen."
The middle-aged Taoist's expression changed greatly when he heard this, "How old is the blind man?"
"More than fifty years old." Nanfeng said.
"More than fifty years old?" The middle-aged Taoist looked puzzled, "Is he blind or does he have no eyes?"
Nanfeng knew what the middle-aged Taoist wanted to confirm, "He has no eyes."
"When did you meet him?" the middle-aged Taoist asked eagerly.
"The days when the Dharma Conference was held in Chang'an." Nanfeng replied. Ninety percent of what he said before was the truth, but he only tampered with the most important part.
"Little Master...can you tell me what message the blind man asked you to bring?" the middle-aged Taoist asked.
"There is a black dog in Dongcheng Inn." Nanfeng said.
The middle-aged Taoist looked puzzled when he heard this, "What else did the blind man say?"
Nanfeng shook his head, "He left in a hurry, that's all."
The middle-aged Taoist thought for a long time and then said, "Don't tell others about this matter. If you don't mind the hard work, just stay in the mountain. Stay until September next year. If you can pass the three questions and six exams, you can become a concubine." clear."
"Thank you, Taoist Master, thank you, Taoist Master." Nanfeng thanked him repeatedly.
"What's going on?" The middle-aged Taoist pointed at the bag containing the bones.
"I picked it up on the way. If others think it is unlucky, they won't come to beat me." Nanfeng said.
The middle-aged Taoist sighed, "It's hard for you."
Nanfeng turned around and ran back to where he was, throwing the baggage into the woods. After carrying the baggage, he was about to go up the mountain with the middle-aged Taoist priest.
"Exposing the corpse is disrespectful to the deceased, so bury it." The middle-aged Taoist turned and walked north. "You go and bury it. I will wait for you at the bottom of the mountain. Don't take the bedding up the mountain."
Nanfeng originally wanted to go back and find an opportunity to get the tortoise shell again, but when he saw the middle-aged Taoist saying this, he immediately responded, ran back, picked up the baggage, and entered the woods to the east.
After walking a long way deep into the woods, Nanfeng threw away the bedding, dug out a shallow pit and buried the bones. On the way back, he found a sheltered stone crevice, took out the deerskin from his clothes, and ate the leftovers from the buns. The oil paper underneath wrapped the tortoise shell and deer skin and stuffed them into the cracks in the rocks.
Coming out of the woods, Nanfeng trotted across Yin Yang Square and arrived in front of the wooden house at the foot of the mountain.
The middle-aged Taoist was talking to a Taoist Zhike. When he saw Nanfeng coming, he pointed at Nanfeng and said to the Taoist Zhike, "That's him."
"Uncle Master, you go back first, I will send him up." Taoist Zhike was in his early thirties, with a round face, big eyes, and a very happy face.
The middle-aged Taoist nodded and said to Nanfeng, "There seems to be no shortage of manpower in the dining hall at the moment. I can only ask you to do some chores so that you can work hard and don't get into trouble."
"Thank you, Taoist Master." Nanfeng bent down and thanked him.
The round-faced Zhike Taoist interjected, "I don't understand the rules. Master Tianchengzi's uncle Naixia and his palace assistant are highly accomplished, so they should be honored as masters."
Tian Chengzi waved his hand, "He is new here and he doesn't know so much. Don't blame him." After saying this, he said to Nanfeng, "You can follow Taoist Master Lingxi."
Nanfeng thanked him again, and Tian Chengzi turned around, put his hands behind his back, and walked up the steps.
Lingxizi waved his hand at Nanfeng in disgust, "Let's go."
Nan Feng hurriedly responded and stepped up the steps.
"Did you walk that way? Take the small road!" Lingxizi raised his voice.
When Nanfeng heard this, he quickly retreated and followed Lingxizi. Although Lingxizi had a happy look on his face, he was not as kind as Tianchengzi. His attitude was very arrogant and he told Nanfeng angrily while walking. Talk about the situation of Taiqing Sect and the rules that should be followed.
This Lingxizi is a Taoist who knows his guests. It is his daily homework to introduce the Taiqing Sect to the pilgrims. He uses precise words and is clear in his speech. First, he flatters himself. Why is the Taiqing Sect the state religion of the Liang Kingdom, and the real person who teaches it is from the Liang Kingdom? The real protector of the country, and how many immortals there have been in the history of the Taiqing Sect.
After saying this, let’s talk about the specific situation of Taiqing Sect. This is only the ancestral court of Taiqing Sect, and there are many small sects affiliated with Taiqing Sect scattered throughout the country. The ancestral court of the Taiqing Sect had 5,200 Taoist priests, 810 Taoist boys, about 600 servants, and countless faithful laymen who offered incense every day. There are one Sanqing Hall, one Taiqing Hall, five Taoist temples, three other courtyards, and more than 2,000 large and small rooms on the mountain.
People living on the mountain belong to seven halls, which are Shangxuan Hall, Zhongwei Hall, Xiahe Hall, Lucha Hall, Collection Hall, Liyue Hall, and Secular Affairs Hall.
The Shangxuan Hall has the highest status, and it contains all the Ziqi masters who have survived the catastrophe and have been promoted to the mountain cultivation level or above. At this time, there are thirty-seven Ziqi masters in the Shangxuan Hall.
Zhongwei Hall is the second most powerful one. It contains blue energy masters who are accomplished in cultivation and have advanced to Dongxuan level or above. There are approximately 1,200 people in this hall.
The status of Xiahe Hall is a little lower. Taoist priests who have been promoted to Xuan cultivation level and below, as well as Taoist boys who have not been ordained, are all under the supervision of Xiahe Hall. The lower hall has the largest number of people, four to five thousand.
The Lucha Hall is responsible for supervising everyone's compliance with the rules of the mountain. There are only a few people, only a hundred or so.
The Collection Hall is in charge of the Taiqing sect's scriptures and classics. They are also responsible for inspecting and teaching Taoist scriptures when they learn various scriptures. Basically, the people living in the Collection Hall are elderly people.
The Ritual and Music Hall is responsible for offering sacrifices to heaven, planning various rituals, and performing music. The number of people is not large, no more than a hundred.
As the name suggests, the Secular Affairs Hall handles secular affairs. A small number of Taoist priests are in charge of 600 servants, and they are responsible for the daily life of the 7,000 to 8,000 people on the mountain and the cleaning and cleaning of the environment.
Each of the seven halls has a principal, two assistants, and a number of ministers.
After talking about the situation in the mountain, Lingxizi began to talk about the rules. Taiqing Sect has cross generations, Lingxuqing keeps upright, Changping Yixuantian.
Taoist priests have seniority when they first enter. Currently, it has been passed down to the Ling generation. Taiqing Taoist priests can keep their surnames, take the seniority, and suffix it with a common name. This is known as a Taoist whose common name is Liu Tianxi. After entering the Taoist sect, it was changed to Liu Lingxi, also known as Lingxizi.
There are many rules in the mountains, and Nanfeng cannot remember them all. He only remembers some important ones, such as obeying orders, men and women cannot talk casually, servants cannot talk casually with Taoist priests, and cannot enter the living area of Taoist priests without permission, and servants cannot When walking on the main road, if you meet a Taoist priest, you should say "Taoist Master, Master, Master" and bow your head to give way.
Since he had been scolded by Lingxizi for looking around, Nanfeng didn't dare to look around. He just lowered his head and followed Lingxizi ten steps away, even if he walked too fast. Lingxizi thought he smelled bad.
After burning the incense, a large courtyard appeared in front of me. It was located on the western slope of Taiqing Mountain. The courtyard was very large and there were many rooms. It was populated by lay people wearing blue cloth coats and very few Taoist priests.
Nanfeng had previously learned from Lingxizi's story that Zhike Taoist also belonged to the Secular Affairs Hall, so he thought about it, looked around and saw no one around, took out the two taels of silver from before, ran over and stuffed it into Lingxizi, "Tao Sir, I will definitely remember what you said. This was given to me by a kind-hearted person on the road. I feel sorry for you to have to walk such a long way with such a poisonous sun. It's disrespectful. You can buy some wine to eat."
Lingxizi didn't expect Nanfeng to come so suddenly. He looked at the silver in his hand, then at Nanfeng, and was stunned without saying anything.
Nanfeng said again, "I have remembered your teachings, talk less and do more."
Lingxizi was originally worried about Nanfeng's talkativeness, but when he saw what he said, he felt relieved and said, "Well, it's hard for you to have intentions. If I refuse, I'll look down on you, so I'll accept it."
"Thank you, Taoist Master." Nanfeng bowed his head and thanked him. He grew up in the market and has seen a lot of people and the world.
Giving gifts is the most direct and effective way to make friends. After Lingxizi received the money, he stopped speaking in official terms. Not only did he speak much more kindly, but he also asked his name and age with concern.
Not long after, the two came to the gate of the courtyard, where the servants lived. After entering, Lingxizi called a secular minister and said that Nanfeng was his fellow villager and asked that person to arrange a job for Nanfeng.
The minister himself was not a Taoist priest, but he was very respectful to Lingxizi. After hearing what he said, he immediately took out the roster and arranged a job for Nanfeng. However, he looked around and found no vacancies. There was only an old man who emptied the toilet and died not long ago. Lost.
Nanfeng heard the two talking from a distance and secretly complained. He said he was just talking about picking up feces and emptying the toilet. In fact, he was very unwilling to do this job.
Lingxizi also seemed to feel that it was inappropriate to ask Nanfeng to empty the toilet after taking Nanfeng's money, but after looking over and over, there really was no vacancy. Many jobs were fixed and done well. Even if Nanfeng pulled others down, Nanfeng would Even if the wind blows in, the south wind can't do anything.
Seeing Ling Xizi's appearance, the secular minister guessed that he had a close relationship with Nanfeng, so he sent him a huge favor, "Taoist Priest, I think that kid is very clever, so let's work with him on a mule cart." ."
"Is it appropriate?" Lingxizi asked.
"It's appropriate as you say." The secular minister smiled.
Lingxizi turned to look at Nanfeng, "Can you drive a car?"
"Yes." Nanfeng nodded hurriedly.
"Okay then, you are lucky enough. Sun Shishi is looking up to you and has a good job with you. Starting tomorrow, you will lead people to dump the toilets." Lingxizi made the final decision.
Nanfeng thought he was rushing to catch the bus, but he didn't expect that he would empty the toilet in the end. But he couldn't say no, so he could only say thank you.
Before leaving, Lingxizi whispered, "A mule cart is followed by eight people. You just drive the cart and tell them to do it."
Nanfeng had no choice but to thank him again.
Lingxizi left happily, but Minister Sun frowned and looked at him, "How long has it been since you took a shower? It smells so sour?"
Seeing that Sun Shishi's tone was wrong, Nanfeng hurriedly stepped forward, grabbed all the dozen copper coins left in his arms, and offered bribes again.
Seeing that Nanfeng was so sensible, Minister Sun also liked him. He gave him a set of clean clothes and ordered someone to take him to the backyard to take a bath...