Chapter 314: Invitation from the Imperial Master
The scholar was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a scholar's cap and hair. Although his appearance was not unusual, he had a gentle temperament like a beautiful jade. Under this locust tree, his clothes fluttered, and he had the demeanor of a master who was one-eighth of Yu Qi'an.
This is extraordinary enough.
"My disciple, you are back just in time." The old Taoist priest laughed, "Come and meet this person..."
The old Taoist raised his hand and introduced: "This is the current state teacher of the Heluo Dynasty, Li Maoqing, Lord Li."
Oh? Li Chu was slightly surprised.
Heluo National Master is a real big shot.
In particular, the current national teacher Li Maoqing has been famous for over 60 years. He holds a high position of power in the court and is highly respected in the world. He is a household name both inside and outside Heluo, and many strange stories about him are circulated among the people.
I didn't expect him to have such a youthful image.
This reminded Li Chu of the little monk in Bailong Temple. He thought that if this state teacher did not have some miraculous secret to maintain his youth, then he must have lived a second life.
suddenly.
Li Chu thought of what happened at the Wang family just now.
That young scholar, could it be him?
Thoughts flashed through his mind, and Li Chuxian nodded slightly and saluted, "Greetings, Master Imperial Master."
"Oh, I don't dare to call you sir." Li Maoqing stood up and returned the greeting without any airs, "Master Li and I are of similar age, so we can just treat each other as equals."
Li Chu sat down and asked, "Master Imperial Master, have you ever been to the town before?"
"Haha, Taoist Master Li said it was about the Wang family?" Li Maoqing indeed knew about it.
"Yes." Li Chu nodded.
"Master Li, have you also noticed something wrong with his family?" Li Maoqing seemed to be very interested in Li Chu, and there was a gleam in his eyes when he looked at him.
"That's not the case, it's just that the Seventh Young Master of the Wang Family is my good friend."
Immediately, Li Chu told the Wang family about their experiences.
"Haha." Li Maoqing laughed when he heard that. "Indeed, when I arrived here earlier, I saw that there was an evil spirit there, and I couldn't help but meddle in other people's business, so I thought of a little trick to ward off disaster for him."
"I made three bodies out of clay, so that when the curse comes, I can share most of the evil power with him and save his life, but he will inevitably be seriously injured. Compared to Taoist Xiao Li's actual way of getting the life-saving medicine back... it's still a bit lazy and tricky."
Li Chu is not proud.
Li Maoqing's statement clearly shows his high emotional intelligence.
In fact, compared with his own hard work in going deep into southern Xinjiang, his ability to easily resolve the fatal crisis was definitely much more ingenious.
Even the master doesn't know this...
Li Chu glanced at the old Taoist priest and saw that the master had a smile on his face and looked calm, without any surprise. It seemed that...it was not necessarily that the master did not know this method, but just could not do it for the time being?
He then asked, "How can we distinguish the three clay figures given the Wang family's current situation?"
Li Maoqing immediately pulled out a yellow talisman from his sleeve, "The memories and appearance of those three clay figures are exactly the same as the originals, and they themselves will not know that they are fake. Turn this talisman into a bowl of talisman water and pour it on the heads of the four people respectively, and the spell will be lifted at that time."
Li Chu took the talisman, put it into his sleeve, and couldn't help but sigh.
The thousands of Taoist methods and myriad magical powers in this world are truly amazing.
After all, I am still just an elementary school student who has just started on the path of cultivation.
The Wang family's affairs have been handed over.
Yu Qian'an said, "The Grand Master came to my small Taoist temple, and said he was looking for my disciple. Now my disciple is back, what do you want to tell me?"
"Yes." Li Maoqing said, "I really came here because of your reputation."
"Has the Imperial Master heard of me?" Li Chu was a little puzzled.
"Of course, I heard three people mention Taoist Priest Li." Li Maoqing said with a smile.
"The first one is Gongsun Zhe, an official of the Dali Temple in Chaoge City."
Li Chu also had a deep impression of this former county magistrate. He was a very good official and has now been reinstated.
It is not surprising that he can come into contact with the current imperial teacher since he works in the Dali Temple.
After Gongsun Rou arrived in Chaoge, she wrote a lot of letters. At first, Li Chu would read them carefully and write a polite but cordial reply.
But later on, I was often away from home, and when I came back, the letters from girls from all over the country would pile up into a mountain, so gradually I read less and less.
"He said that you, Taoist Xiao Li, are righteous and have profound Taoist skills. You are a rare talent in the world that only appears once in a century."
"Lord Gongsun, you are too kind." Li Chu responded.
"That's quite true. It's just that people who don't practice have a narrow vision after all." The old Taoist smacked his lips, "My disciple's appearance and talent are not only rare in a hundred years. It's not an exaggeration to say that it only happens once in four thousand years."
"He really said the lightest one." Li Maoqing said with a smile: "The second one is Chaotianque's python robe, Duan Lulong."
The father of the Duan brothers? Li Chu didn't have a very deep impression of him. He vaguely remembered that he was a senior executive of Chaotianque who had a bad temper at first, but was easy to get along with after getting to know him.
If you think about it carefully, Li Chu has met quite a few people like this in his career. Many of them are not human, and they all seem difficult to deal with at first, but after getting to know them, you find that they have good tempers...
"He said that you uphold the righteous path and have high cultivation. Although your actions are often unexpected, you always have unexpected results. I think you are in another realm."
When Li Maoqing repeated the story, his tone was flat, but I imagine Duan Lulong's expression must have been very exaggerated when he said this.
"Heh." Yu Qian'an chuckled, "Although it's just a python robe, he still has some vision."
Li Chu nodded in agreement, "Duan Mangpao is okay."
Li Maoqing looked at the master and disciple and paused.
Although he is the current national teacher and is close to the top in both the temple and the world, Chao Tianque's python robe... is still quite important.
How come in the mouths of this master and disciple, it sounds like some random cat or dog on the street? But his character is extraordinary after all, and he has no desire to complain, so he continued: "The third one is Master Jintan of the White Dragon Temple."
Little monk? Li Chu thought of this land immortal who had "joined forces with him to scare off" Xuanwu.
Although he looked out of place, he was a real big shot. Such a big thing happened in Shenluo City, it was normal for Li Maoqing, as the national teacher, to investigate. This should be how he communicated with the little monk, right? "He only said one thing about you..."
Li Maoqing's gaze turned deep.
"He said...the future is yours."
Oh? Li Chu didn't seem to be too emotional after hearing this.
It's not that he doesn't care, but he understands that other people's comments are just other people's comments after all, just listen to them. Before the college entrance examination that year, all the teachers in the school said that you would be the top scorer.
So what?
Isn't this the biggest setback in life?
“Hmm…” Yu Qian’an stroked his beard and nodded: “Although this little monk has average talent, average cultivation, and average wisdom, but… what you said is right.”
Li Maoqing blinked.
I can't help but want to say good job.
This old Taoist priest...
What kind of person can be taken seriously by him?
If Li Chu had not been sitting here, he would have absolutely, without hesitation, regarded this old Taoist priest as a charlatan who talked nonsense.
But with such a capable disciple here, he suddenly felt that the old Taoist priest was unfathomable.
A cool breeze blew by.
Li Maoqing turned his gaze back to Li Chu.
After all, even if the old Taoist priest added more drama, it was not his purpose in coming here.
"I was originally going to the southern border to investigate some things, and I came here specifically to meet Taoist Xiao Li and to extend an invitation to you."
"invite?"
"I invite you to participate in the immortal gate imperial examination in Chaoge City next year." Li Maoqing said slowly.
He handed over a letter, "With this handwritten letter from me, you can be exempted from the preliminary examination and directly enter the second round of the Xianmen imperial examination."
The imperial examination of the immortal gate.
Li Chu naturally knew about this. It was held once every four years, and it was more eye-catching than the imperial examination, and it was a grand event that the whole world would pay attention to. After all, the competition of magic and supernatural powers was much more interesting than the articles on the classics.
but……
Li Chu declined: "Master Imperial Master, I am not interested in this."
The greatest purpose of the immortal imperial examination is to gain fame.
That's right.
This is because the most relied upon cultivation organization of the Heluo Dynasty is Chaotianque, and after the talented disciples of the various immortal sects have performed brilliantly in the immortal sect imperial examinations, it is unlikely that they will join Chaotianque and change their sects.
The significance of doing this is to demonstrate the power of Heluo to the vassal states in all directions, and to show the prosperity of the immortal gate to the people of the world. At the same time, it provides a stage for the young and the most direct opportunity for the immortal gates to compete... The geniuses from all walks of life collide directly here, the winner will become famous, and the loser will be eaten.
As for those who are outstanding in the imperial examinations, most of them end up holding an empty position in the court and then go back to their own families. After giving them the title of the court, they can more or less win over their feelings.
Li Chu has suffered from fame. Now he can hardly walk normally on the street in Yuhang Town. Wherever he goes, he is chased by people. It has become too annoying.
His refusal seemed to be within Li Maoqing's expectations. But the Imperial Master shook his head and said with a smile: "This time's Xianmen imperial examination is different from the past."
"If I get a good ranking this time, I will have a real chance to serve the court."
He explained: "I have been silent for more than ten years. This time I came out to help His Majesty to strengthen the Mountain and Water Bureau."
Shanshuisi, Li Chu had only heard of this name vaguely.
It seems that in name it is an inspection of the Heluo Mountains and Waters, but in reality it is an institution created by the Heluo royal family to replace Chaotianque. However, for many years, it has never made any noise.
The security of the Heluo Dynasty still depends on Chaotianque.
Everyone actually feels embarrassed about this situation.
Chaotianque actually hopes that someone can share the heavy responsibilities on its shoulders, and the court does not want to rely entirely on an immortal sect that is not so effectively controlled.
But things can’t be done well just by intention.
"As long as you stand out in this immortal gate imperial examination, you can enter the Landscape Division. The Landscape Division will adopt a brand-new model and will no longer be run as an independent immortal gate. I hope it will not only replace Chaotianque, but also..." Li Maoqing said, and suddenly stopped talking and smiled: "There is no need to say so much. Next year will be the first time to select talents, and we really need help. And Taoist Xiao Li, I am very optimistic about you... As Master Jintan said, the future is yours. As long as you do well in the Landscape Division, my position..."
Li Maoqing looked straight at Li Chu.
The meaning is obvious.
As long as you have the ability, you can become the successor of the national teacher.
Li Chu looked at him.
But without giving it much thought, he just shook his head.
"No." He smiled and said, "I am willing to be a law-abiding Heluo citizen, but if I want to take up a public office... I think life in Deyun Temple is pretty good."
He gently pushed the letter back.
Li Maoqing looked at him with a look of pity, but still nodded: "Everyone has their own aspirations. Since Taoist Master Li is determined to be an idle wanderer, I won't force him."
He stood up, looking quite elegant.
"In that case, I won't stay any longer. Master Yu, Taoist Xiao Li, we'll see you later."
Li Maoqing said this and walked out of Deyun Temple.
Li Chu went to see him off, only to see him walk through the front yard and out of the gate. As soon as he stepped out of the gate, his body disappeared in the next step, and his whereabouts were vague and there was no trace of him.
He is indeed an expert.
Li Chu went back to the backyard and saw the old Taoist priest giving him a thumbs up, "My disciple is very generous."
"Hmm?" Li Chu was stunned, not knowing what kind of compliment this was from his master.
"In the second round of the Xianmen imperial examination, there were at least a thousand taels of silver in bonuses in previous years. If you made it to the palace exam, you would get ten thousand taels of bonus. Since they are making it so big next year, maybe they will increase it even more." The old Taoist said with a click of his tongue, "You pushed out at least a thousand taels with this push."
"Ah..." Li Chu sat down and said calmly, "They are all external things."
"Really?" The old Taoist looked at him suspiciously.
"Yes." Li Chu answered affirmatively.
"Do you regret it?" the old Taoist priest suddenly asked again.
Li Chu's shoulders slumped.
"yes."
(End of this chapter)
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