Chapter 11: Drunken Song and Extreme Joy

  It's just that at some point, the Land God Temple lost a word and became the Earth God Temple. And in the process, the Land God was transformed into the Earth God.

  Liu Buji sat quietly in the spiritual realm, seeing a small pool formed in front of his own home. The pool was not large, only about one zhang (a unit of length) around. With natural patterns, the light red pool water gently rotated, producing tiny ripples. It seemed as if many people were whispering in his ear, praying.

  It can be seen that whether it is the land energy of Fenglai Mountain or the incense and wishes of the three villages below, they are constantly pouring into this pool. Rotating and stirring, all merged in, just to make the spiritual pool grow imperceptibly by a fraction.

  In Liu Bu's sea of consciousness, there was another identical divine pool that was also operating. The two were closely related and had an inexplicable mysterious connection.

  It is just a small pool in the ocean of knowledge, but it's much too small, roughly only one-tenth the size, merely one foot.

  "Unexpectedly formed this spiritual pool..." Liu sighed and fell into deep thought. This was the total income of the entire Fenglai Mountain Spiritual Realm, while his own was only a tenth of the spiritual pool in the Sea of Recognition.

  However, this one zhang of spiritual pool outside belongs to the gods. Only this one chi of spiritual pool in the sea of recognition is truly one's own, forever and always.

  After this disaster, Liu Buji became even more aware of the difference. What was brought by the divine position could be taken away, but what he had for himself was true and not affected by any factors.

  It suddenly occurred to me that ordinary people all think that when you're an emperor, you can use the country's money and wealth as you please. But that's not actually true - since ancient times, there has been a distinction between the inner treasury and the outer treasury.

  The Outer Treasury bore the expenses of running the entire national government, while the Inner Treasury was responsible for the imperial household's expenditures.

  Of course, there were emperors who desperately transferred money from the outer treasury to the inner treasury. Similarly, there were also emperors who used the silver in the inner treasury to subsidize the national expenditure of the outer treasury.

  It's almost like this in front of your eyes!

  It's also good this way. Liu Bu Yi smiled slightly and stood up, looking towards Lai Feng.

  In the countryside, people go to bed early. Most households are already asleep, and it's dark everywhere. Only at the Yu family's place is there still a light leaking out.

  Liu Buji smiled slightly: "This time, thanks to Fan Zhen and Pan Yu's help, otherwise I wouldn't have passed so easily this time."

  Thinking that these two were indeed their own benefactors, they decided to go and see them. With that thought, he stood up and gave a few orders to his subordinates before striding towards the Coming Phoenix Inn.

  That night, Fan Zhen and Pan Yu were drinking wine and warming up books in Yu Fang's house. The three of them had vastly different temperaments and talents, but before they knew it, they had become good friends.

  Pan Yu wrote "Rhapsody on the Imperial Capital" at the age of thirteen, and overnight the paper became expensive in the imperial capital. He was naturally a young genius. Fan Zhen was also a member of the imperial clan, wise and intelligent by nature.

  Yu Shu was the only one, but he could only be considered a small landlord in the countryside. His talent was not particularly outstanding and barely reached the level of being selected as a filial and incorruptible official.

  However, after getting in touch for a long time, it can be found that Yu Shu is gentle and sincere, like beautiful jade.

  Especially after this incident, they have a deeper understanding of each other. Therefore, the three young people quickly became close friends.

  The two of them stayed at Yu Shu's home for several days, occasionally guiding some of Yu Shu's homework. On this night, the three were drinking wine with poetry and books when they suddenly heard a soft laugh: "How can noble men gather without me?"

  Upon hearing this voice, Yu Shu immediately became overjoyed and hastily stood up, bowing respectfully to the ground, saying: "So it's the Earth God who has arrived!"

  Fan Zhen and Pan Yu exchanged a glance, also smiling as they stood up and paid their respects.

  Liu Yi smiled lightly and said, "I haven't thanked the three gentlemen enough for their hard work behind my back to make a name for me. How can I bear the three gentlemen's excessive courtesy? On the contrary, it should be me who pays respects to the three of you!"

  Fan Zhen burst out laughing: "I always thought that Di Shen Jun was not an ordinary person, what's the point of saying these things? At worst, just invite us to drink!"

  Liu Yi smiled faintly: "Exactly what I had in mind! The three of you, please come with me!"

  In ancient articles and classics, there are often stories of gods and humans interacting, having fun together at night. But in reality, it's not that common, after all, the world of gods and humans is separated from each other. The three people listening also felt happy.

  Following Liu Yi's guidance, they left Lai Feng's place. Then, two green lanterns came towards them.

  Fan Zhen smiled and said: "This must be someone sent by the Landlord's Party to welcome guests. Let's just follow him!"

  Three people followed the lantern, all the way up to Fenglai Mountain. The Fenglai Mountain tonight seemed to be somewhat different from usual, but they didn't pay much attention to it after all, as the light was dim.

  We arrived at the top of the mountain and saw a wooden pavilion with two layers, flying eaves and corridors, exquisite in shape, as if it were about to spread its wings and fly.

  On both sides, there were warriors wearing armor and carrying weapons, looking very majestic. It was almost comparable to the imperial city's forest of flags. As soon as they saw three people, they all showed great respect and courtesy.

  Yu Shu saw the least of the world, and in his heart he had a faint sense of reverence. Thinking that the nobility of the gods is consistent with this, this lineup can almost be compared to the royal family.

  Pan Yu didn't pay much attention to these warriors, but looked at the plaque on the pavilion and said: "Ling Xiao Pavilion, good name. Unfortunately, this mountain is not too high..."

  Pan Yu's words were not yet finished, when a loud laugh was heard: "Staying overnight in the Lingxiao Pavilion, one can reach for the stars with their hands, but dare not speak loudly, fearing to startle the heavenly beings!"

  With the laughter, Liu Yiru appeared wearing a high crown, smiling and walking out, bowing: "Tonight I see three virtuous gentlemen, I still want to thank you for your help!"

  Fan Zhen laughed loudly: "The heavens are where the gods reside, tonight the Earth God has invited us to spend the night at Lingxiao Pavilion, isn't that also a chance to become heavenly beings? Then all grudges will be settled!"

  Seeing Liu Yi, although he was a ghostly figure. However, apart from having a faint red glow on his body, there was nothing unusual about him. He looked dignified and elegant, just like a Confucian scholar.

  Several people entered the pavilion, and saw that the pavilion was surrounded by light silk curtains. The night breeze blew gently, and the curtains swayed lightly. Several small black lacquer tables had already been set up.

  Everyone took their seats as host and guest, Liu Yi intentionally made conversation. In this era, there was a trend of clear talk, discussing Confucian classics, Taoist scriptures, and even the secrets of Buddhism could be dragged in.

  Everyone's knowledge is profound, and their words are naturally elegant. Only when I saw Yu Shu did I feel a sense of admiration and inferiority in my heart. I thought to myself: Di Shen Jun is naturally a great sage, and even Han Zhang and A You have profound knowledge and surpassing elegance, I am not as good as them!

  But then Liu Yi smiled and said, "Ah Shu is considered my disciple, although his learning is a bit lacking. However, he is a simple and filial person, like an unpolished jade. His mother prays daily before the gods for him to pass the imperial examination on filial piety. I was thinking of asking you two gentlemen for help, to lend him a helping hand, what do you think?"