$506, Third-Class Retainer, a True Immortal in the World (Asking for Monthly Tickets)

Learn the arts of literature and martial arts, and sell them to the emperor.

From ancient times to the present, it has been the dream of scholars.

Liu Yi is no exception.

What's so good about being a wandering Taoist priest? Bai Gui, for example, doesn't even know if he has a certificate from the Ministry of Ancestral Temples. If there is no Taoist temple to stay, it is better to give up Taoism and become a Confucian scholar to obtain a good reputation.

Bai Gui did not comment.

He had just resigned from his post in Chang'an. If he had not resigned, he would have been the Shangshu of the six ministries. Even if he resigned, he would still be the Duke of Liuguo in the court, a first-rank official...

Liu Yi saw that Bai Gui did not answer, but he was not puzzled.

Everyone has his own ambitions.

Becoming a monk for Taoism and not wanting to be an official is also a common thing in the secular world.

Liu Yi paid for two bowls of plain noodles, and then took Bai Gui back to the Liu family. The Liu family was poor and had only two shabby rooms. In order to entertain the distinguished guests, Liu Yi gave his bedroom to Bai Gui, and slept in the woodshed.

"My great-grandfather was once a county magistrate, but later his family fell into poverty and moved to Sanxing Town. When my grandfather was alive, he could still have three meals a day, but when my father was alive, his family was in decline and he could only make a living by farming."

"My father died early, and my mother raised me with great difficulty. She sold her property and moved here. The money she got from the sale of her property was also used for my studies..."

"Now I am alone..."

Liu Yi sighed slightly and talked about his family situation.

The two shabby rooms were not originally his Liu family's residence, but his family fell into poverty, so he moved here after selling the property and built a house by himself.

It is not easy to support a full-time scholar. Pens, ink, paper and inkstone all cost money. Even if the Four Books and Five Classics are printed in large quantities and the price is cheap, the interpretation of the Confucian classics still needs to be purchased, which is not a low cost. The county school is an official school, and the tuition fee is not high, but it is not low either.

After calculating one by one, the cost of Liu Yi's study alone is enough for an ordinary family of three to live frugally for more than ten years.

It is not an exaggeration to say that studying leads to poverty.

"Brother Liu, don't belittle yourself."

"The land and house are just floating wealth. Your mother has a good idea to let you go to the county school to study. Even if Brother Liu has not passed the imperial examination, he can buy the land and house as a teacher."

"Besides, as long as Brother Liu passes the imperial examination, floating wealth will come naturally."

Bai Gui said with relief.

Liu Yi is a bit like Tian Xiucai, whom he had met before. Tian Xiucai is Tian Xiao'e's father. After passing the imperial examination, he has been scheming to pass the imperial examination and has not been engaged in production. But Liu Yi is different from Tian Xiucai. Liu Yi is still young and has the possibility of working hard for a few years. Tian Xiucai's decades of wasting time are just a foolish dream.

As for Liu's mother's thoughts, it is not difficult to understand.

Many people who buy houses in first-tier cities in later generations buy houses for their children's future education and learning. But the money for buying a house is several million. If you save a little, it is enough for ordinary people to squander for a lifetime.

I can only say that this kind of thing depends on one's own opinion.

Liu's mother's dream is to let Liu Yi restore the family lintel, not to eat and wait for death.

Liu Yi nodded.

He walked into the dormitory, thought about it, lit the oil lamp, and asked Bai Gui for advice.

In his current situation, he would save as much as possible. The oil lamp consumes oil. He used to read books at night, reciting the scriptures silently under the moonlight, and would not deliberately waste lamp oil.

But now Bai Gui is instructing him on his knowledge. If he lets Bai Gui read with him by the moonlight, it would be a bit of a guest.

Bai Gui has the experience of teaching Li Tai, and began to patiently guide Liu Yi.

Although the favor of a meal is nothing, Liu Yi's attitude is very good. It is a good thing for him to point out Liu Yi's knowledge.

In addition, he also wants to use Liu Yi's identity to explore Sanxing Town.

If Liu Yi is granted the status of a tribute student, then his status in Xiangchu County will certainly rise.

Entering and leaving the noble family is just a trivial matter.

Old scholars are not worth much, but young scholars are highly appreciated.

As a teacher who guides Liu Yi, he will also be more sought after and become a guest of honor in the rich and powerful families.

…

The one-month period will soon arrive.

In front of the Liu family, Bai Gui is meditating with his eyes closed and regulating his breath. He has been staying at home these days. At night, he teaches Liu Yi about his studies, and during the day, he re-collects qi and refines his magic power.

After a month of hard work, he can finally move some of his magic power. Not much, only less than one thousandth. At most, he can perform a little magic.

"Master imprisoned my magic power to let me feel the way of practicing qi again."

"The breathing when I was a mortal and the breathing when I became a celestial being seem to be the same, but I have realized more things."

Bai Gui thought to himself.

At this time, he gradually realized that Taishang Laojun had imprisoned his magic power, but not completely. The purpose was to let him feel the way of practicing Qi again, to open the Qi of Yang Shen, and lay the foundation.

"Master Bai..."

"Master Bai."

Liu Yi's voice came from far away.

Bai Gui looked up.

Liu Yi ran from a distance, his thin body panting, and ran to Bai Gui, gasping for breath, "Master Bai, I will take the internal examination today. Although the results have not yet come out, I have seen the test questions and I am sure that the first place may be difficult to reach, but the second place should be possible..."

In fact, he has made great progress in his studies under Bai Gui's guidance these days. But he can't say everything. Although he is sure of getting the first place in the county school exam, he is still a lot more humble in front of Bai Gui and says that he should be able to get the second place.

The results of the county school exam will be released in about two to three days.

However, at this moment

A middle-aged man dressed as a butler came over with a group of servants holding sticks.

"Liu Yi!"

"My Alang told you to avoid my wife. Today you dare to order Xiao He to send a message to my wife."

"Alang, speak up and break your leg."

"I hope Mr. Liu Lang will not make it difficult for us servants."

The housekeeper of the Shi family scolded him first, and then said some soft but hard words.

“You can see a leopard through a tube, and you can tell autumn when you see a leaf.”

"The butler of the Shi family seems to be easy to talk to, but he puts all the blame for Liu Yi's beating on Alang of the Shi family..."

Seeing this scene, Bai Gui thought to himself.

Alang is what the servants call the male master of the family.

"Steward Shi, I have something to say."

"Why should it be so disgraceful to politeness?"

"Gan Yan and I were childhood sweethearts. When your Shi family was in dire straits, Gan Yan and I were considered close friends..."

Liu Yi turned pale at first.

But when he thought of Shi Gandang being so domineering, he couldn't help scolding him.

He dislikes being poor and loves being rich, and he can tolerate this.

Most people in the world are like this. The rich in the mountains have distant relatives, but the poor in the busy city have no one to care about. But Shi Gandang actually ordered his servants to break his legs. This was unbearable.

Judging by words and deeds, these four rules are the rules for imperial examination admission.

If his legs were broken, at least in terms of "body", he would definitely be deposed. This would ruin his future.

"When I first met Taoist Bai, Taoist Bai said that my hall was dark and there would be a disaster in the near future."

"Now it seems that this disaster comes from the Shi family."

Liu Yi took a deep breath.

But today is different from the past.

He encountered a disaster, but with the help of noble people, he might be able to survive this disaster.

"Today, the county schoolmaster personally took the test, and the test paper was rated as A-grade. The results will be out soon. In the future, I will definitely win the place for the township tribute in the township examination..."

Liu Yi gritted his teeth and said.

Immediately afterwards, he looked fierce and angry, and shouted: "If you hit me today, it will only hurt me."

"According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, anyone who harms the tribute of his hometown will have his entire family exiled for three thousand miles."

"How dare you?"

As a student of the county school, he has long known the benefits of becoming a township tribute student. At this time, his grades ranked first, and he would definitely be recommended to the state capital to participate in the provincial examination. The rural examination is just another assessment by the state government to prevent anyone from engaging in malpractice for personal gain. The person who really determines the quota for Gongsheng students is the county school in each county. Of course, the state capitals also have it, but the state capitals generally do not refute the quotas submitted by county schools.

The servants of the Shi family looked at each other and stopped holding the stick, not daring to make a move.

They dare not gamble.

If what Liu Yi said is true, the Shi family may be exempted from punishment in the future, but their servants will definitely be pushed out and used as scapegoats...

"Liu Langjun, let's give up today's business."

"If we, the Shi family, are allowed to find out whether what you said is false, then..."

Butler Shi stared at Liu Yi for a few times. Injuring Liu Yi was a trivial matter and he could do that. But if Liu Yi really became a rural tribute student, with officials protecting each other and ordinary people bullying the tribute students, the government would not end up well wherever he went. In the end, nothing will happen to Shi GanDang, but he may not.

He hesitated for a while, but still did not put down his harsh words, and left with his servants.

"Today Liu Yi realized that what Taoist Master Bai said was true."

"If my knowledge does not improve, even if I am spared this severe beating today, I will not be able to escape tomorrow or the day after tomorrow..."

Liu Yi entered the door and expressed his sincere gratitude to Bai Gui.

Healed for two days.

The county school released its results, and Liu Yijia, among others, ranked first.

Shi Gandang led many servants and came to the door with many gifts.

"Brother Liu!"

"I misunderstood you before. I thought that Brother Liu, you were indolent and wasted my aunt's hard work, so I kept obstructing you and your dare to speak. But today, I saw Brother Liu's high school honors list, and I know that Brother Liu, you are They are dragons and phoenixes in the world, not things in the pond..."

Shi Gandang was dressed in gorgeous clothes and wore a golden longevity lock.

He held Liu Yi's hand and kept saying pleasantries.

Although Liu Yi knew that Shi Gandang hated the poor and loved the rich, Shi Gandang's words seemed to make some sense if he listened carefully. Furthermore, he liked Shi Ganyan, not Shi Gandang. Therefore, if Shi Gandang sincerely apologizes to him, he will not pretend to be arrogant and refuse.

"The person Liu Yi relies on is Taoist Bai."

"If Taoist Master Bai hadn't been teaching me my knowledge these days, I might have failed again this year."

Liu Yi did not dare to be greedy for credit and told Bai Gui's advice to him.

"Taoist priest?"

Shi Gandang was outside the court before and had never noticed anyone in the house. When he looked inside, he saw a young Taoist meditating, his immortal posture emerging from the dust, just like an immortal in the world.

Not an ordinary person.

"A Taoist priest who can teach Liu Yi knowledge is definitely a big deal!"

He secretly thought.

Knowledge cannot come out of thin air.

Bai Gui can teach Liu Yi knowledge, which means that Bai Gui has a deeper knowledge of Confucian classics. So it is conceivable that Bai Gui's identity is by no means an ordinary person.

"Three-star town Shi Gan should pay homage to Taoist Master Bai."

Shi Gandang didn't dare to be careless again, and bowed his hands to Bai Gui.

It is true that he likes to bully the weak, but he is also a bully who fears the strong. From Bai Gui's knowledge and appearance, he could tell at a glance that he was no ordinary commoner.

That's why I'm so respectful.

Bai Gui stood up from meditating and bowed in return, "Pindao is wandering around here and temporarily staying in the Liu family. I wonder why you are looking for Pindao?"

Shi Gandang just listened to Liu Yi's words and came to see him.

But as soon as he changed his words, it was as if Shi Gan was coming to ask him for help.

With one word, a trap was set.

Shi Gandang rolled his eyes and said again: "Although the members of Taoist Immortal's family can live in this thatched cottage, I feel that this thatched cottage would have wronged you, Taoist Priest. There are many empty rooms and courtyards in my Shi family. My mother has always believed in Taoism. Wong Tai Sin is my godfather. Why don’t Taoist Master stay in my Shi family temporarily..."

He felt that since Bai Gui was so good at studying Confucian classics, his skills as a Taoist priest must be good. The Taoist priests in the nearby Taoist temple were definitely different from Bai Gui in front of him.

Furthermore, his huge family fortune was all acquired through his godfather, Wong Tai Sin. Therefore, he has always believed in Taoism. The Bai Gui in front of him is a true cultivator, and it is the right thing to enshrine him in his family. His mother is also a believer. If Bai Guiruo goes, he can not only pray for his mother, but also make his father Wong Tai Sin happy.

Liu Yi wanted to stop it.

But then I thought about it, Bai Gui had been aggrieved a lot by living in his humble room for a while. Shi Gan was in charge of a big business, and his accommodation and food were much better than his humble house.

He really had no reason to let Bai Gui stay in his home anymore.

Moreover, if Bai Gui lives in Shi's house temporarily, wouldn't he be able to go in and out of Shi's house in the name of asking for advice? Then the chances of him and Shi Ganyan meeting will also increase.

"To travel on poor roads, you must have a BMW car."

Bai Gui made a condition.

"It's natural."

Shi Gandang frowned and smiled.

"A poor Taoist must eat twelve dishes every meal, including delicacies from mountains and seas, steaming, frying, stewing, everything is indispensable."

Bai Gui said again.

Twelve courses? !

Shi Gandang was startled.

Even he doesn't necessarily eat enough for twelve dishes every day. Moreover, these twelve dishes also require delicacies from mountains and seas and other conditions. It can be said that a meal costs more than 20 dollars.

This is not a small amount.

He glanced at Liu Yi suspiciously.

Not to mention the twelve delicacies from the mountains and seas, Liu Yi’s family couldn’t produce just twelve dishes.

Shi Gandang hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "My Shi family can afford twelve dishes. If there are any other conditions, the Taoist priest has also told me."

Distinguished guests, there are ways to treat distinguished guests.

He gave a penny to the poor, but felt it was worthless.

But every meal of twelve delicacies given to Bai Gui should be worth the money. Because Bai Gui may bring him more benefits. This little money is not worth the future benefits.

"Every day, Pindao will open a furnace to make elixirs. The materials used for making elixirs must also be provided by the Shi family."

Bai Gui said calmly.

Shi Gandang had limited knowledge and didn't know what it meant to practice Taoism and destroy one's family. He only heard that it was just some elixirs, so he breathed a sigh of relief and agreed.

"Please wait a moment, Taoist Priest. If you dare to take this seriously, I will order my servants to come to the carriage."

he said.

After that, he hurriedly left with his servants, preparing to return home to prepare the corresponding matters.

"Taoist Master Bai, I don't think you are a materialistic person."

"Why these demands?"

Seeing that everyone in the Shi family had left, Liu Yi asked curiously.

"When Feng Xuan visited Mengchang Jun, Feng Xuan leaned on a pillar and played his sword, singing: 'The Chang Chai has come back, and there is no fish to eat.' 'The Chang Chao has come back! There is no car to go out.', 'The Chang Chao has come back, and there is no home to call home." '"

"So Mr. Mengchang gave Feng Chen the treatment of a first-class guest. He had meat to eat, a car to travel, and a luxurious house to live in..."

Bai Gui explained smoothly.

Although Mengchang Jun Tianwen has three thousand guests, there are many roosters, dogs and thieves. But Tian Wen was not a fool. He divided the diners into three classes.

Distinguished guests live in "daishe". Meat is provided for every meal and a car is provided for travel; middle-class residents live in the "Xingshe", where they have fish for every meal and no car to go out; low-class residents live in the "Chuanshe", where each meal only has ordinary dishes, which is just enough for food and clothing.

Liu Yi suddenly realized.

Bai Guiruo temporarily lives in the Shi family. If you don't make these demands, then with Shi Gandang's character, you will definitely treat him with indifference over time. For making these demands, Shi Gandang has already incurred sunk costs. Even if Bai Gui is silent like Feng Xuan, Shi Gandang will not offend Bai Gui easily.

Secondly, Bai Gui's request is to see whether Shi Gandang is sincere.

If Shi Gandang is not sincere, in Liu Yi's opinion, with Bai Gui's methods, the world is so big that he can live anywhere, so why bother to compromise and go to Shi's house.

If the Shi family is not sincere, Bai Gui will not agree to Shi Gandang...

Of course, Bai Gui did not explain the deeper purpose, and it was difficult for Liu Yi to guess anything.

Waited for about a quarter of an hour.

Shi Gandang personally drove a high-end carriage and brought all the servants over.

Following him, there were also a lot of good people from Sanxing Town.

"Is this Liu Yi's teacher?"

"No wonder Liu Yi was able to win the top spot in high school. It turned out that his family hired an expert to give him guidance every day."

"..."

A group of people, whispering.

Seeing this, Shi Gandang felt that his decision was wise. He got off the carriage and trotted to the door of Liu's house. He nodded and bowed and said: "Taoist Master Bai, I have driven the carriage over, and I also ask Director Bai to come with me to the mansion for temporary residence." How many days.”

Although Bai Gui told Liu Yi the story of a retainer.

But Shi dared to invite Bai Gui into the house, but he never dared to treat him as a guest.

It's too late to be respectful to such a Taoist priest who has good moral principles. How can he dare to look down upon him? Besides, Liu Yi won the first place, which made Shi Gandang treat him so kindly, not to mention Bai Gui, the teacher who guided Liu Yi. With Bai Gui's method, the rural Gongsheng students are just looking for something, and even the Jinshi department will not be difficult.

"You have a heart."

Bai Gui nodded and glanced at the carriage which was more than 30 steps away from him.

Then, he chanted a spell, and his feet floated up, about three feet off the ground, as if he was stepping on auspicious clouds and riding the wind, and floated to the front of the carriage.

The curtain of the carriage rose without wind.

Bai Gui entered and sat down.

The whole process was done in one go, which made the onlookers drop their jaws.

"This is a real immortal! A real immortal!"

"What nonsense, in my opinion, this Taoist is at most a monk. There are many monks in some large counties. What kind of skill is floating?"

"Minister Bai, who resigned a few years ago, went to the Moon Palace for a banquet. This Taoist Master Bai is far from that Minister Bai."

Everyone was surprised and whispered to each other.

－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－－

Another 7,000 words will be updated in the evening.

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