"Look! It's just outside the door." Wang Dong pointed outside and yawned, "It really helps me have a sweet dream. I'm leaving now. I'll go back and continue sleeping."
"It's almost noon, are you still sleeping?"
Wang Dong waved his hand and left without looking back.
Zhang Shixun arrived at the door and saw a middle-aged Taoist priest standing outside, stroking his long beard.
"You looking for me?"
He is a typical atheist who believes neither in Buddhism nor Taoism, so he speaks bluntly.
"You are Zhang Tianshi, right? I am honored to meet you." The Taoist bowed and said, "I am Zhang Xubai, a guest from Jinmen. I have long heard of Zhang Tianshi's great name. It is truly a great honor to meet you today."
Zhang Shixun waved his hand. "No! I'm not some celestial master. My last name is Zhang, and my given name is Shixun. You can just call me by my first name. I don't like empty talk. Just tell me what you want to say."
"In that case, I will call you Master Zhang. How about that?"
"Yes, that's good." Zhang Shixun stepped aside and said, "Master, please come in."
The Taoist nodded slightly and followed Zhang Shixun into the yard.
The two girls were nowhere to be seen, they must have gone back to the backyard.
Gao Yanei was sitting alone in the living room, bored and drinking tea. He looked up and saw Zhang Shixun leading a Taoist priest in. He jumped up from his chair and grinned, "Ah! Isn't this Taoist Zhang Hu? Why are you here?"
"Haha, it's Chengzong. Nice to meet you! Nice to meet you!" The Taoist greeted him with a smile, then turned to Zhang Shixun and said, "The emperor saw that I have a slightly yellow beard and gray eyes, so he jokingly called me 'Zhang Hu'."
"Zhang Hu?" Zhang Shixun was puzzled and asked, "Why does the emperor call you that?"
"Hu means Hu people."
"I see."
Zhang Shixun laughed in his heart. Zhao Ji's teasing of a Taoist priest was really inconsistent with his status as an emperor and seemed very frivolous.
Everyone came to the living room and sat down as host and guest.
As soon as he sat down, Gao Yanei couldn't wait to say, "Master Zhang Hu, I've been unlucky for more than six months. My right eyelid has been twitching constantly these past few days. Can you tell me my fortune?"
Zhang Hu twirled his beard and laughed, "There's a Taoist saying: 'Don't divine when you have nothing to do.' Ya Nei has nothing to do, so why should he divine?"
"Old Taoist, you're talking without any hesitation." Gao Yanei was unhappy when he saw that he was unwilling to calculate for him. "Just because you're fine doesn't mean I'm fine. To be honest, I've encountered a lot of bad luck over the past six months."
Zhang Hu asked patiently, "What bad luck happened?"
"First, I was imprisoned by Nie Shan, the prefect of Kaifeng, and tortured in every way. Later, I encountered bandits on the Imperial Street, who beat me with clubs..."
He was talking about the time when he caught a thief in front of the prime minister's residence and was scared unconscious by the remnants of Fang La.
Zhang Shixun, the person involved, did not reveal the truth. He observed the expression on Zhang Hu's face and listened to Gao Yanei's nonsense with a smile.
"Yanei, stop talking." Zhang Hu stopped Gao Yanei and said, "As far as I know, there have never been any bandits robbing people on the Imperial Street, let alone beating people with clubs."
"That's because you are ignorant."
Gao Yanei knew that his lie was a bit difficult to cover up, so he pretended to rummage in his sleeve for a while, pulled out a piece of straw, licked it with his tongue, and put it on his right eyelid. Then he changed the subject and said, "Let's not talk about the beating for now. Let's talk about the military camp. I used to be a comfortable commander. I had no worries about food and drink, and I didn't have to go to the army to be on duty. I could just sit at home and collect money like crazy, as if it was falling from the sky. I didn't expect Cheng Yaojin to jump out halfway. Since he appeared, the good days are over. What fell from the sky is no longer money, but bricks..."
Zhang Shixun asked with a smile, "The Cheng Yaojin that Yanei mentioned is referring to me, right?"
"I didn't mention your name." Gao Yanei licked his dry lips. "These past few months have been a living hell. I've had to get up before dawn every day and walk around the playground like a donkey pulling a millstone. I can't drink, leave the barracks, or visit brothels. What's even more hateful is that I can end up in solitary confinement if I'm not careful... Taoist Zhang Hu, have you ever heard of solitary confinement?"
Zhang Hu shook his head: "I don't know."
"Digging a deep rat hole underground and locking someone in it is called solitary confinement. It's pitch black in there, completely unsuitable for human habitation... Old Taoist priest, can you please judge for yourself? Is this really such a torture?"
Zhang Hu had a headache. He originally came to look for Zhang Shixun, but he didn't expect to meet Gao Yanei, and he didn't expect Gao Yanei to be so annoying.
"Zhang Shixun, look, I can't bear to listen any further."
Zhang Hu was so angry that he wanted to find a piece of rag to cover the guy's mouth.
"I could tell you all about my misfortunes in three days and three nights. It would make anyone who heard it sad and bring tears to their eyes." Gao Yanei, looking bitter and resentful, tugged at Zhang Hu's Taoist robe and said, "Old Taoist, it's not easy to see you once. Please calculate my fortune for this year and see if this year will be a good year."
Zhang Hu said with a gloomy face, "I have learned the art of Taiyi Liuren. It's fine if you want me to calculate for you, but I don't have the Taiyi Liuren plate with me. What can I do?"
"Taiyi Liu... Ren-style disk?"
"Yes! The Taiyi Liuren Plate."
Gao Yanei scratched his head. "I've been to your Taiyi Palace a few times, but how come I've never heard of these two people you mentioned?"
"What two people?" Zhang Hu was confused by this guy.
"Taiyi Liu and Renshi Pan, you just said that you must bring them with you to calculate for me."
Zhang Shixun laughed out loud.
Although Zhang Hu was furious, he maintained a righteous demeanor and patiently explained, "The Taiyi Liuren Plate is based on the roundness of the heaven and the squareness of the earth. It was a technique bestowed upon the Yellow Emperor by the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady... Ren and Gui water in the north, Wu and Ji earth in the center, representing the four corners of heaven, earth, man, and ghosts. The twelve zodiac signs on the plate symbolize..."
Zhang Shixun and the other man were overwhelmed after hearing this and looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Brother, do you understand?" Gao Yanei turned to ask Zhang Shixun.
"I didn't understand a word...how about you?"
"I couldn't understand anything more. I just knew he was chanting scriptures."
When Zhang Hu heard the word "chanting sutras", he immediately became annoyed: "I am a Taoist priest and I never chant sutras. Chanting sutras is what monks do."
Gao Yanei curled his lips and said, "Don't kid me. Monks and Taoists are all the same family. They are all monks practicing Buddhism. There is no difference."
Zhang Shixun couldn't help laughing.
"Young Master, stop talking nonsense!" Zhang Hu flicked his sleeves, stood up and walked out. Just as he stepped out of the threshold of the main hall, he suddenly remembered the purpose of coming here, turned back, and sat down on the chair angrily, "Huff! Huff!" He gasped.
Zhang Shixun saw that the old Taoist was very angry, and he felt a little bit sorry in his heart, "Master, Gao Yanei is innocent and naive, and his words are rambling. If he says something that cannot be achieved, don't take it to heart."
"Is this what you call innocence?" The old Taoist understood clearly that these two people were singing the same tune and were clearly birds of a feather.
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