Chapter 0001 Rushing for the exam

Jiupo Village is a mountain village surrounded by mountains and has beautiful scenery.

Legend has it that a great general was buried deep in this mountain. When the general was buried, his head was missing. His brave men made a head of gold and buried his whole body together. The burial place is a place called " "Nine Ridges and Thirteen Slopes".

There are countless ridges and countless slopes in the vast mountains. Later generations can't figure out where "Nine Ridges and Thirteen Slopes" refers to.

On the mountain road behind the village, Ash Heng was walking forward with a bamboo basket and bookshelf on his back. His washed-white clothes could not hide his clear and bookish look. He was tall, handsome, and fair-skinned, just like a scholar should.

He is considered to be the most promising scholar in the entire Jiupo Village, and he is also the candidate for the current provincial examination. This trip is to go to Beijing to take the exam.

Before setting off, he had to go to the mountains first.

Five or six miles away from Jiupo Village, deep in the back mountain, there is a Taoist temple that has long since faded, called Linglong Temple.

He wants to find the master of Linglong Temple.

The mountain road was rugged and difficult to navigate. Ashiheng stopped and walked, looking at the vast mountains and sea. His face was red and white. He was panting and sweating and resting, but the backpack on his body refused to leave his body.

Just because there is an important item hidden in the backpack, an important item that the world can't imagine.

When his father passed it on to him during his lifetime, he secretly told him that this thing was of great importance and was said to be related to gods!

It was already noon when we arrived at Linglong Temple, shaded by greenery. Ash Heng was still climbing the steps at the foot of the outer slope of the Taoist temple when he heard a "bang bang bang" fighting sound.

 what's the situation? He quickly climbed up to see what was going on.

The first thing that catches the eye is a distinctive black iron tower in the Taoist temple, and then there is the Linglong Temple where the remains of the white flags are still there.

The old master of Linglong Temple passed away three months ago, and the Taoist temple seems to have lost its backbone. After the disciples held their funerals, the white hangings were left behind for several months without being removed, and no one took care of the grass growing on the walls and roof tiles. , the signs before the Taoist temple is ruined and disbanded are obvious.

Stepping onto the ground outside the Taoist temple, Ashheng's eyes widened. He saw three Taoists with bruises and swollen faces lying on the ground struggling. There was also a young Taoist with a ponytail who stepped on another Taoist and was attacking him. The Taoist brother at his feet forcibly searched him, found the money and stuffed it into his arms.

There is a couplet at the gate of the moss-covered Taoist temple:

The world is prosperous without me.

The years in the mountains are unparalleled.

The two characters "wu" in the couplet represent the gains and losses of practitioners. Comparing the scene of robbery at the entrance of the Taoist temple, Ash Heng was speechless.

The young Taoist in front of him is named Yu Qing. He is the new master of Linglong Temple and his childhood friend. They are similar in age.

He refused the escort from the villagers and came to Yu Qing specifically because he had secretly made an appointment with Yu Qing. Yu Qing was going to escort him to Beijing this time without telling the others. Relatively speaking, Yu Qing is a martial arts practitioner, and his escort ability is not comparable to that of the villagers. He can be a little safer in this troubled world.

Who would have thought that the appointed time had passed, and after waiting for half a morning, Yu Qing did not come down the mountain to meet. Could it be that that guy had forgotten such an important thing? I don't know what happened, so I had to find it myself. Now I finally understand that Linglongguan is having internal strife and fighting among its fellow sects!

He was also familiar with the three Taoists who were knocked to the ground. They were all Yu Qing's senior brothers. The eldest was over fifty years old, and the youngest was almost forty.

The old temple master only has four disciples left.

How could Yu Qing defeat his three senior brothers by himself?

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Ashheng wouldn't believe it. Based on his relationship with Yu Qing, he had no idea that Yu Qing had such strength before.

Before, I couldn't understand why the old temple master passed the position of temple master to Yu Qing. Yu Qing was not qualified regardless of his age or seniority, and he was not mature and prudent. Now he seemed to understand something. The old temple master chose a Will the most capable disciple inherit the mantle?

With the money in hand, Yu Qing turned his head and saw Ash Heng coming. The fierce expression on his face disappeared, and he cracked a pair of white teeth and laughed. He looked quite heroic. There was also the spirituality of living in the mountains for a long time in his eyebrows, and his gestures There is a bit of wildness in between.

The young beard on his mouth is a bit eye-catching. Everyone who knows him knows that he didn't have a beard before.

Taking his feet away from his senior brothers, Yu Qing walked to the steps under the Taoist temple and picked up the package. He pierced it with his sword and put it on his shoulder with one hand. Ignoring the pained groans of the three senior brothers, he strode past and pulled it up. The confused Ashheng was dragged away directly.

The eldest senior brother regained his composure, half-climbed up and yelled at the leaving figure, "Yu Qing! You openly robbed fellow seniors of their money for your own selfish desires. You are not worthy of being the head of Linglong Temple, and you are not worthy of Linglong Temple." Disciple, my junior uncle will not spare you when he comes back!" There was endless grief and anger in his tone, and there were blood stains on his trembling beard.

The old temple master also has a junior disciple who is the disciple of the old temple master's uncle. The brothers Yu Qing all call him his junior uncle. He has been away from home for a long time and rarely comes back.

Today, there are only these five Taoists in Linglong Temple. The incense is indeed withering, and there is no way. It is a profession that is going to be extinct. It is already a miracle that there is still a Taoist temple here.

Ash Heng, who was being dragged down the mountain, heard the roar behind him and asked the boy next to him in shock: "Are you really robbing your fellow disciples of their money?"

Yu Qing snorted coldly, "Don't listen to their nonsense. Linglong Temple is too poor, and I want to reorganize the property in the temple... It's not like you don't know that they don't accept me as the owner of the temple. As the owner of the temple, I gave the order. , asked them to hand over the money, but they didn't listen and still made trouble with me, so I had to be polite first and then fight."

What is the difference between this and robbery? Ashheng was really shocked. He knew that this young man was greedy for money, but he didn't think that he could rob his fellow sect members. He thought he had other reasons when he saw the money being taken, but he didn't expect that he was actually robbing.

This is a bit bottomless! Ash Heng glanced at the beard on his mouth and sneered, "Your uncle used to beat you when he was a child, right? There's no point in pretending to be mature by growing a beard. He is even more shameless than you. Don't think you are the master of the show." I don't dare to deal with you. Just keep jumping around for now, and when he comes back, he will have to peel off your skin!"

Yu Qing seemed to be calm and composed, and let out a disdainful "chi". He turned around and saw that he was carrying a heavy load and was working hard. He reached out and took the basket from his body, stuffed his own parcel in, and helped Ashheng carry the things on his back. .

The two of them bypassed Jiupo Village before going down the mountain. When they reached the only road out of the mountain in the village, Yu Qing's Taoist attire had been changed into casual clothes to avoid being too conspicuous.

It was not a market day, so there was no one else on the mountain road, and the mountain was quiet and the wind was blowing.

We were about to reach the junction out of the mountain, and as we approached the official road, the sound of horse hooves suddenly broke the tranquility.

A carriage came slowly and slowly. They both stopped and pulled to the side of the road to make way. They were both a little confused. Jiupo Village was very poor and there were few carriages coming and going.

The carriage did not pass by, but stopped in front of the two of them. The driver behaved strangely, and Yu Qing immediately became wary.

The coachman, who was dressed as an ordinary person, took off his bamboo hat to reveal his true appearance. He looked like a rather dignified man in his late fifties, with long eyebrows and a square face. He jumped out of the car and offered his hands to Ash Heng.

Ashheng was obviously a little surprised, "Why is Mr. Pu here?"

 know? Yu Qing looked left and right.

When Mr. Pu saw Yu Qing nearby, he didn't recognize him and stopped talking.

Ash Heng: "As a member of our own family, don't worry. Mr. Pu is here, is there something wrong?"

Mr. Pu muttered: "I came here to stop the young master from going to Beijing. Please postpone taking the exam for this term. It won't be too late to take the exam next time."

 what's the situation? Yu Qing's eyes flashed wildly, looking from both sides.

Ashheng frowned, "Reason?"

Mr. Pu looked around and put the bamboo hat back on his head, covering half of his face. He could not hide his solemn expression, "Young Master lives in seclusion in a mountain village and studies hard. He has no time to hear about the outside world. Young Master, something happened in the six southwest states of Jin Kingdom. Suddenly there are evildoers everywhere, acting strangely and for some unknown reason, frequently targeting candidates who come to Beijing. Candidates have been killed in other counties. For safety reasons, the young master should hold off."

Ashheng frowned, "How could there be such an unreasonable and strange thing?"

Mr. Pu pondered: "I don't know what happened specifically. The superiors ordered the news to be blocked. But there are rumors internally that the matter seems to be related to the Sinan Mansion. It seems that something happened to the Sinan Mansion. I think it is probably true. Sinan Mansion It has the influence to silence the government."

Sinan Mansion? Both Ashheng and Yu Qing were secretly shocked, knowing that it was an extraordinary existence.

Rumor has it that there were some immortals living in this world in the early years, but then they all disappeared for unknown reasons. Some say they returned to the fairy world, and no one has seen them since. It is said that the cave where the immortals lived is still there, and there are still people who accidentally entered it and survived. For some people, they don't lack glory and wealth, but they lack longevity. Nothing is as good as a magical elixir that can extend their lives. Especially for emperors, you can imagine how tempting it is.

In order to find the Xianjia Cave Mansion and eliminate interference within the imperial court, the emperor specially formed a force dedicated to searching, which is the "Sinan Mansion".

The Sinan Mansion gathered capable people and strangers, and more importantly, they were seeking immortality for the emperor. Although they were independent from the court, their power gradually grew. It would not be an exaggeration to say that their power was overwhelming.

Speaking of the Sinan Mansion, Yu Qing couldn't help but look at Ash Heng's reaction. This young father must have had a close relationship with the Sinan Mansion.

It was only three months ago that he learned that Ashheng's father Ajiezhang, the crippled old man in the village who had been in a wheelchair for a long time and had passed away, had another identity after his master passed down some secrets on his deathbed. .

There were six departments in the imperial court, one of which was the Ministry of Industry, with four divisions under it. The Yu Department was headed by Ajiezhang, and Ashiheng's father was a doctor in the Yu Department.

Taking charge of the Yu Department is no small matter, and its influence goes beyond the official rank.

Looking for the remains of the Immortal Family inevitably requires frequent trips to deep mountains and old forests, and when it comes to the art of attacking mountains, no one in the entire court is better than Yu Bu. When the imperial court carried out large-scale construction projects or the Ministry of Works wanted to build something, the required mountain materials such as wood and stone were always prepared by the Ministry of Yu.

Having been dealing with mountains and forests for a long time, I naturally became proficient in the art of attacking mountains over time.

It naturally became the responsibility of the Yu Department to cooperate with the Sinan Mansion in searching for the remains of the Xian family.

An important participant in the emperor's favorite, and close to the powerful Sinan Mansion, one can imagine what kind of person Ajiezhang was back then.

Linglongguan also received great favor from Ajiezhang during that period, which led to the subsequent friendship between the two parties.