"Is this Yiqing's daughter? She has grown into a big girl in a blink of an eye."
"You danced so well just now that my useless disciple was staring at you in amazement."
"Then you have to ask Yiqing first if he agrees."
"Qiongju's level is even more difficult, right? This is her apprentice."
Si Rong finished her performance and stood on the altar, her smile brighter than the sun. Shen Qingmang listened to the discussions from all sides and curled his lips.
The efforts were not in vain. This time the second apprentice did not make any mistakes and achieved success on his own.
After the music and dance, it was time to wear Zhusuo and taste Jiaoshu (Chinese glutinous rice dumplings). Zhusuo is a colorful string, and Jiaoshu is similar to zongzi (Chinese rice dumplings). In Shen Qingmang's opinion, the Mengxia Festival is similar to the Dragon Boat Festival. It's likely that Li Shutong was drawing inspiration from the Dragon Boat Festival when conceiving the festival.
The disciples of Wendao Peak presented the red rope of Taiyi Immortal Lord woven with mugwort to their teachers. The teachers distributed the colorful ropes to their own disciples, dipped willow branches in a hundred-herb soup, and dripped it on the disciples' foreheads to drive away evil spirits and bestow blessings.
Shen Qingmang held the silk thread in one hand and the jade bottle in the other, feeling like Guanyin Bodhisattva in "Journey to the West". Other teachers had at most four or five disciples around them, but the disciples in front of her were lined up in two rows, all looking at her eagerly.
"Why hasn't Sui Han come back yet..." She muttered, giving the red rope to the other disciples first. Si Rong rushed over like a flamingo. "Master, master, give it to me first!"
Shen Qingmang frowned. "No queue-jumping."
Instead, the disciples at the back said with a smile, "Let Senior Sister Si Rong lead first. She's worked so hard."
Si Rong smiled so hard that his white teeth were visible, and he almost had a long tail dangling from side to side.
Why are all my disciples becoming more and more like dogs? Shen Qingmang sighed and smiled, then picked up a willow branch and tapped Si Rong's forehead. Then, he let the jade bottle dangle in the air and personally put a red rope around her wrist.
Si Rong pulled a sachet from his sleeve and handed it to Shen Qingmang. "Master, Master, this is something Ah Rong made himself. It's stuffed with mugwort and pomegranate flowers, which I picked when I went down the mountain!"
"Thank you, Arong." Shen Qingmang was a little surprised. Daughter, no, female apprentice is really a caring little cotton-padded jacket.
Unexpectedly, it was not only Si Rong who gave her gifts. Other children also gave her many small items such as Aihu and peach wood boards. Her place was lively and attracted the headmaster and several elders.
"Qing Mang, are you busy enough? Master will help you." The headmaster happily took over a few red ropes. "Children, you can ask me to lead them."
"Isn't this the grandfather who eavesdropped on Master's class?"
"You are stupid, this is the headmaster who said a lot before Senior Sister danced."
The children were whispering to each other. Except for Lin Wei, no one went to the headmaster to get the red rope. They all waited for Shen Qingmang to distribute it.
Li Su Zhenren snorted. "This bunch of outer disciples have no respect for their elders."
The headmaster retorted, "It's a good thing that they're close to Qing Mang. It means they like Qing Mang. As an old man like you, without any disciples to cling to you, you feel empty, don't you?"
"I don't want it." Li Su stroked his beard, but did not leave.
The children were nervous for a while because of the arrival of a group of old men in red clothes, but then they started chattering again.
"They are all wearing red clothes. Why don't they ride in red carriages or drive red horses?"
"That's the attire of Zhurong God. We monks certainly won't be so formal."
"Oh." The headmaster laughed and said, "Do you know what Zhulu Chiliu is?"
"I know," said the child, who recognized the sect leader as the man who had been listening to the lecture outside. "Master told us it was Zhurong's scarlet chariot and red horse. It was quite majestic."
"Why did you even tell them this?" Li Su began to nitpick again. "'Ode to Summer' is classical music, how can you tell it to ordinary people?"
"You know it all, why can't they know it?"
Shen Qingmang learned from Li Shutong that the reason why Master Li Su targeted him everywhere was because one of his disciples fought against Qiong Ju in a sect competition and lost in one move. He was ridiculed by his fellow disciples and became possessed and died prematurely, which led to his hatred for Qiong Ju.
Although she felt the old man's grudge was unreasonable, she didn't bother to argue with him. She just mocked him and didn't pursue the issue further. She said seriously, "I not only taught them the contents of 'Ode to Summer', but also explained the origins of the Mengxia Festival. As a member of the Taichu Sect, you must understand this. Only by understanding the history and culture of the sect can you truly identify with it. Qiongju doesn't think he has done anything wrong."
"Qiong Ju's words make sense," an elder clapped his hands. "My unruly disciple should really listen to how others educate their disciples. He's so bad he didn't even show up for such an important ceremony, and I'm the one who tied his disciple's red rope."
Shen Qingmang noticed that this was An Yanxiang's master. She looked around again, but still didn't see Gu Suihan. She sent a message but he didn't reply. She felt a little anxious. She happened to see her senior brother Shi Mingli next to her, so she asked, "Brother, have you seen my eldest disciple? The tall, thin, fair-skinned one."
"No." Shi Mingli shook his head.
Shen Qingmang bit his lip. Where on earth had he gone?
At this time, on the rubble of Wuwei Peak, An Yanxiang leaned against the golden pillar, wiped the dust from his face, and said, "You are not Shi Mingli. That docile old bastard can't use such a bold move."
The person opposite him wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth without saying a word.
"What? You want me to peel your skin off before you show yourself? Otherwise, I'll send a message to Qiongju and ask who is giving her..."
Before he finished speaking, the other party trembled, the illusion disappeared, and a pale young man in blue clothes stared at him coldly.
"Where did you come from, little wolf cub? Oh... I think I've seen you before. Are you Qiongju's new disciple?" An Yanxiang approached, his eyes curved. "You're quite impressive! You've reached this level of cultivation in less than a year. Could it be that you've used some kind of sorcery?"
"No."
"Hmm... Your soul and body are unstable, and your heart meridians are weak. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, can you still stand? Don't die here with me and make Qiongju hate me. But you are insignificant to her, right? She hasn't come to look for you yet. After all, she has so many disciples..."
"Master has come to see me!" Gu Suihan interrupted him. "She has come to see me several times."
"Then why don't you just listen and go back to her? You have to cause trouble for me. You should be thankful that I just had a fight with Qing Mang and my spiritual power is depleted, otherwise..."
"You are not worthy to call her name!" Gu Sui Han glared at him fiercely, as if he wanted to cut him into pieces with his eyes.
"Oh, how funny." An Yanxiang laughed instead of getting angry. "The little wolf cub is trying to commit treason and covet Master?"
"I didn't." Gu Suihan had just finished speaking when he coughed violently for a while, straightened up, and said word by word: "I know what you want to do to her. In this life, the next life, or the rest of your life, you will never succeed."
An Yanxiang's pupils shrank.
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