Chapter 61: Versailles Behavior in the Apprenticeship Ceremony

While people are feasting on the meal here, the painting style on the other side embodies the essence of "seeking immortals and asking for the way". Master Ding is wearing a white double-breasted training suit, a string of bodhi seeds wrapped around his wrist, his beard is all white, and he looks like an immortal.

His villa is decorated in Chinese style, which adds a touch of low-key and implicit luxury compared to the natural and unpretentious ancient style of this B&B.

A plaque with large gold-sprinkled characters hangs in the main hall, the desk is made of a whole piece of rosewood, famous paintings and calligraphy are hung on the walls, and a priceless guqin hangs on the wall. A Boshan stove is placed on the Luohan bed, with curling smoke and a lingering aftertaste.

"It's truly a good thing," Master Ding explained to the camera, examining a miniature Sanqing Bell in his hand. "The three prongs on top resemble a trident, and are also a transfiguration of the Chinese character 'mountain,' representing the Three Pure Ones. They are used in rituals like fasting, offering sacrifices, and repentance to communicate with the gods and convert demons."

Wan Ning pursed his lips in a smug smile, saying, "The bustling world can easily seduce people. I'm giving this gift in the hope that it will reach someone truly useful and alleviate their restlessness. My father bought it a while ago to use as a paperweight, so I'm just offering this as a token of my appreciation."

[It's obvious that the goddess has done her homework. Lao Xiao is lucky enough to marry into a wealthy family! ]

[My brother Xiao also gave me some tea, okay? Gifts are a thought, not a price comparison.]

【Then there is no doubt about it. 】

Master Ding seemed quite interested in the Sanqing Bell. He often posted videos of himself lecturing online, and now, with great interest, he moved the camera closer. "Look, the patterns carved into the gilded bronze are just like the scene in the Huainanzi, 'When Cangjie created writing, the sky rained millet, and ghosts cried at night.' It's the birth of writing that transformed people's minds from ignorance to enlightenment. It's a beautiful metaphor. Your father using it as a paperweight is perfectly appropriate."

Master Ding has good vision and substance, and he praises people without showing any emotion. Even a shrewd person like Wan Ning couldn't help but smile sincerely.

Seeing this, Liu Yichi smiled helplessly at the camera and lowered his voice: "What should I do? I feel like our group has no chance."

This self-deprecating remark triggered a wave of teasing and comfort in the comments.

I thought becoming a disciple would be a piece of cake, but Zhong Xue suddenly took out a scroll and handed it over: "Then I'll follow Sister Wan's example and do 'borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha'."

Xuexue is working so hard to achieve her goal. If I had her mindset, I would definitely succeed!

Now that we're here, we have to go through some process. Although reality shows are scripted, the production team certainly won't make it too obvious.

Master Ding thanked him, took it with a smile, and unfolded it. After a moment, his eyes widened slightly: "Huh, what is this-?"

Wan Ning had a bad feeling and tilted his head to look. Inside the scroll was a piece of calligraphy with the words "Don't seek outside help" written on it, and a dozen or so seals were randomly stacked on top of it. The signature was unfamiliar, and it didn't look like the work of a famous artist.

Seeing this, Zhong Xue felt a sense of hope and introduced herself calmly, "My mom and the Taoist priest of Taiqing Palace are old friends. Thanks to him, I was able to obtain this piece of calligraphy by Taoist Qixia."

Master Ding stroked the seal on the paper and said excitedly, "It is indeed authentic."

[Who is this? Is he some Taoist calligraphy master?]

[I specifically searched Baidu and found that Qixia Taoist Meng Chengyin is the twelfth generation head of Taiqing Palace.]

[It seems he was also a member of the Daoxie and Hecheng Calligraphy Associations, but I can't find any more information about him online.]

Ding Yihe felt a little conflicted.

Compared to the Sanqing Bell and the Qixia Taoist's calligraphy, the former was obviously worth a fortune, but to him, the latter was more precious. He had followed his master in the Dao since childhood, and had finally become what ordinary people considered a "master," but he knew in his heart that he hadn't even touched the line of true enlightenment.

This world is so cruel. Some things are not born with you, and you will not have them even if you work hard until you are seventy or eighty years old.

The same is true for spiritual roots.

Therefore, he could not forget the time in his early years when he accidentally entered a ghost cave and thought his life was over, but then he saw a young man coming with a sword, his posture like a heavenly soldier.

Ding Yihe never forgot this experience and even packaged it and put it on the podium, which made him an instant hit.

Only he knew that the young man whom he had deliberately omitted from his story was the Taoist priest of Qixia and the head of Taiqing Palace, Meng Chengyin.

This calligraphy and painting may not be considered valuable by ordinary people, but Ding Yihe is the only one who understands that it contains the spiritual energy he has longed for his entire life.

Unfortunately, the program team had communicated with him before that for the apprenticeship ceremony, he would give priority to forming a team with Wan Ning and Xiao Xu.

Ding Yihe looked at the calligraphy reluctantly and couldn't bear to refuse.

"Master Ding?" a smiling voice from the director's off-screen voiceover came over: "Have you decided? Which group of disciples' apprenticeship gifts are more to your liking?"

【Hahaha, Master Ding is starting to get confused! 】

[What's there to worry about? The Sanqing Bell is an antique! It's worth six figures at least.]

[Superficial, is the master short of money? He obviously values ​​substance more. The calligraphy Xuexue gave me is quite profound.]

Is Taoist Qixia a famous person? I don't think he's as famous as Master Ding.

Does Master Ding care about fame? He values ​​the spirit of the work!

Although this aura is not that aura.

"Oh, sorry to make you laugh," the white-bearded old man took off his reading glasses, a shrewd glint in his eyes, and he sighed, "Wan Ning and Xiao Xu are both very good young men, with great understanding and intelligence, but this gift from Zhong Xue really makes it difficult for a greedy old man like me to make a decision!"

He pretended to be helpless and miserable, but made the situation clear, which won a knowing smile from the live audience. He also praised Wan Ning and the other two, and the scene did not become awkward.

The two big names were chosen not because the gifts were expensive, but because they were insightful.

The two newcomers were chosen not because they were better than the two big names, but because the gifts suited his taste - after all, this calligraphy and painting was far less valuable than the Sanqing Bell.

This way, no matter who is chosen, there will be a way out.

The audience will only believe that he is a noble and otherworldly person because he chose something of lower value.

"Congratulations, Zhong Xue and Liu Yichi!" the staff announced. "You've become Master Ding's disciples! You two can offer them a cup of tea!"

Ding Yihe held Xiao Xu and the other man's hands and said guiltily, "I feel guilty. If you two need any help from now on, please let me know."

Now that the matter was settled, no amount of fighting would avail. A barely perceptible gloom crossed Wan Ning's face, but she smiled, pushed and shirked the offer twice, and it passed. Xiao Xu was completely oblivious to the previous veiled rivalry, and shook hands with Ding Yihe. "Master, you're too kind. Perhaps this is fate. Perhaps this is where Xiao Zhong and Xiao Liu's destiny lies."

Liu Yichi still had his mouth open, not reacting: "I...was selected too?"

[Hahahaha, this one is truly marrying into a wealthy family. ]

Before Xiao Liu could even take out his gift, he discovered he had been admitted.

[I went straight to PhD from undergraduate, good luck.]

【Connect +1】

The show came to an intermission, and a small animation popped up on the screen shortly afterwards. Three scrolls unfolded one after another, recording the progress of each group.

Program limited mentoring:

Xiao Xu, Wan Ning - Master Zhang.

Zhong Xue, Liu Yichi - Master Ding.

Chen Songling, Jiang Bei——???

The exciting content will continue immediately, and it will be even more exciting after the advertisement~

As the dark live camera flickered off, the people in the lighting booth, those holding poles, those wearing earphones, and those hitting boards, all came to life as if from a mechanical state. Sun Qiang patted his stomach and leaned back on the bench, as if wanting to lean in, but felt a little too relaxed.

"This is the best wild vegetable hotpot I've ever had," he muttered. "I really want to have it again."

Wang Fengxu found it funny and stood up to clean up the dishes: "Come and wash the dishes after you finish eating. Each person who helps will get a Houttuynia steamed bun."

The staff, all wearing the same black T-shirts, sat up excitedly. "Huoxiang steamed bun?"

Wang Fengxu rolled his eyes: So you didn’t hear the words “wash the dishes”, right?

Just as he was about to turn around, a hand grabbed the hem of his clothes.

Long Zhu bit his chopsticks and looked at him expectantly: "I want one too."

It's over.

Wang Fengxu thought to himself: I have developed a new flavor for this guy.

No wonder everyone looked so hungry. Taoist Lingsu's love for orchids was well known, and she was incredibly loyal. She had nurtured a single Taixu Xiaolu plant for decades, even naming it after her adopted disciple, Wang Fengxu.

In other words, that orchid garden can be said to be condensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and absorbing the essence of the sun and the moon.

The small vegetable garden is adjacent to the orchid garden, and the vegetables grown in it are naturally products that are nourished by spiritual energy.

Fortunately, there were enough wild vegetables to dig, and Wang Fengxu soon used lotus leaves to carry out more than ten patchouli buns. The crust of the buns was crispy, with a blend of patchouli and sesame flavors. A bite of it was fresh, soft, and full of fragrance.

The director was a bit polite at first, waving his hand and saying that he was not hungry. But when he saw someone chewing a pancake, the aroma rushed into his head. After a while, he put aside his face and grabbed the last piece of steamed bun.

"It smells so good!" The director gave a thumbs up.

Meng Caiyun crunched the crust of his pancake and suddenly thought of something. He mumbled, "My dad said the Five Mountains of the Zhu League are all gathered. Hey, that kid from the Lan family didn't come this year. That's strange."

Wang Fengxu and Long Zhu looked at each other and remained silent.

It seems that the news about Lan Qingsi has not spread widely yet.

"It's time to draw lots once the game starts," Meng Caiyun wiped the sesame seeds from the corner of his mouth. "Last time, I faced Ruan Meng. I wonder who will be drawn this time."

Long Zhu: "Draw lots?"

"Yes, that's the rule every time," Meng Caiyun said in a relaxed tone, "Whoever gets picked gets to fight. It's fair."

Wang Fengxu's mouth twitched: "Versailles behavior."

Seeing Long Zhu's puzzled expression, he explained seriously, "Although this Meng may not be very impressive in front of you, he is a favored child of heaven in the Zhu League and a leader of the younger generation."

Meng Caiyun laughed a few times: "Thank you for your kindness."

Long Zhu: "What about you?"

Meng Caiyun: "Usually it's the person I hit."

Wang Fengxu: “…”