Volume 1: The Scholar's Sword Minister Chapter 41: Drinking

  Looking at the paper strip, it turned out that the paper crane was indeed sent by Qingyun Daochang. It was actually made by folding a talisman and infusing it with magical power, which could locate a person within a certain range and deliver information to them.

  At present, Qingyun is in Jiangzhou City with Guanghan Shu. The meaning between the lines of his letter is to ask Chen Jianchen to come and meet him, to test their fate, and see if Chen Jianchen can enter Guanghan's Dharma eye...

  Undoubtedly, Qingyun is a kind-hearted monk who appreciates Chen Jianchen's temperament and intends to introduce him into the Taoist sect. However, Qingyun himself lacks sufficient cultivation and cannot accept disciples, so he sets his sights on his master uncle.

  In the past, Chen Jianchen's desire to learn Taoism was urgent and straightforward, without any hesitation. However, since he obtained the "Three Stances of Truth" after opening the evil-warding brush, he knew that he had already taken a different path and could no longer intersect with Taoist methods.

  Faith must be pure and clean in order to achieve a "heart like an infant"

  If beliefs are mixed and disorderly, they will likely conflict with each other in the end, rendering previous efforts useless. For example, a Taoist would not kneel down to worship Buddha, nor would a Buddhist monk kneel down to worship the Three Pure Ones - this is a matter of principle for ideologies. Once principles are lost, one's mental state will be fractured and spiritual progress will come to a standstill.

  It's either the east wind prevails over the west wind or the west wind prevails over the east wind; they cannot coexist.

  For example, Chen Jianchen obtained the true transmission of "Sanli Zhen Zhang", but he did not believe in or respect ghosts and gods. Therefore, he had to achieve a state where there were no ghosts or gods in his heart. If he could not do so, and still harbored ghosts and gods in his heart, then they would be difficult to expel, and this would give rise to demonic obstructions in the mind, leading to extremely severe consequences, let alone being able to condense and cultivate his vital energy.

  Righteousness is not equal treatment for all, nor can it be.

  Because there is black, there is white; because there is right, there is wrong. No matter which world it is, fundamental opposition will always exist.

  Therefore, stance is very important, and stability of stance is crucial.

  As a veteran, Chen Jianchen's greatest advantage is that he can grasp his own position well. With his rich experience, he can see through many things on the surface and penetrate to their essence. In his previous life, he had read extensively and opened up a broad horizon of experiences, which was his greatest wealth.

  However, since Qingyun Daozhang has sent paper cranes with good intentions, Chen Jianchen felt that he should make a trip in terms of etiquette, which is also a kind of human sentiment and rules, and cannot lose his sense of propriety.

  Cheng Huang Temple, and the address Qīng Yún mentioned was actually there...

  Is it a coincidence, or is there another reason?

  Chen Jianchen put the matter aside after a moment of contemplation and continued reading his "Youweidang Travel Notes".

  The next evening, Chen Jianchen asked for leave from the school supervisor again. The supervisor was in his fifties, with a square face and three strands of whiskers, looking very dignified at first glance.

  He glanced at Chen Jianchen and said, "Liu Xian, although you have some talent and natural ability, the sea of learning is boundless, and you must never let pride arise, or become complacent..."

  What he meant was that Chen Jianchen is always taking leave and is not diligent enough.

  Chen Jianchen said: "Thank you, Dean, for your teachings. However, I have some personal matters to attend to recently and must go out for a while."

  Seeing him not listening to advice, the school supervisor was slightly displeased and said: "Fine, you can have it your way"

  Took the money, approved it

  From the standpoint of a school supervisor, what he said is naturally the truth: the imperial examination is by no means a simple matter, reciting the Four Books is only the basic skill, but also every word and every sentence must be read thoroughly and studied thoroughly, which consumes a lot of mental and physical energy. Many talented scholars have spent their whole lives pondering over "Zi Bu Yu Zhe Ye" (a phrase from the Analects of Confucius), yet still failed to pass the examination, all because they haven't mastered the skills.

  After leaving the academy, Chen Jianchen asked for directions and soon arrived at the Jiangzhou City Guardian Temple.

  The City God Temple has always been granted official titles, and the City God is also given an official position, known as "Old Master". Therefore, the status of the City God Temple is very prominent, with magnificent architecture that cannot be compared to ordinary temples.

  It was approaching dusk, and the number of people coming to the temple to burn incense and kneel in worship had gradually decreased.

  Chen Jianchen arrived at the spacious and square temple gate, looked up and saw a couplet: Good and evil will be rewarded when the time comes; Right and wrong should not be discussed too early or too late.

  Horizontal inscribed board: My place has no selfishness

  The characters are written with great solemnity, each stroke strict and precise, engraved on the wood, deeply imprinted, so that when people see it, they immediately feel a sense of reverence.

  "Is this Chen Jianchen, Young Master Chen?"

  A temple monk came up to Chen Jianchen and bowed his head saying

  Chen Jianchen returned the courtesy and replied: "Exactly"

  "Please follow me, young master," said Qingyun, "the Taoist priest is already waiting in the side room."

  Chen Jianchen followed him and walked through a winding corridor, entering a simple room where Qingyun Daozhang was indeed inside.

  Two people met, first exchanged a few pleasantries, then sat down to drink tea.

  At this time, Qingyun Daochang suddenly said in a low voice: "Chen Gongzi, wait for a while and my Shifu will come over... Hmm, my Shifu has a somewhat eccentric temper and is difficult to grasp, so Gongzi should be prepared to adapt."

  Chen Jianchen replied: "Thank you for your advice, Master Xie."

  After a while, with a loud crash, the door was suddenly violently kicked open from outside, and a Taoist priest covered in dirt rushed in frantically.

  He rushed in and quickly closed the door behind him, as if a dog was chasing after him outside.

  Chen Jianchen took one look and recognized that this person was the Taoist who had performed the "planting pear" trick on the street the other day, and it turned out to be Qingyun's Shu Shu, Guanghan Dao Ren.

  Qingyun hastily stood up and saluted, saying: "Greetings, Master Guanghan"

  His face remained calm and unruffled, as if he hadn't even seen his master's frightened appearance.

  Guang Handao's eyes twinkled as he suddenly said, "Qingyun Shixiong, hurry up and go outside. If you see a woman with a face full of flesh and a waist like a water barrel chasing after her, use some trick to lead her away."

  "Humbly listening to Master Shifu's instructions"

  Qingyun Daozhang left without asking anything.

  What's going on here?

  Chen Jianchen watched from the side, very surprised - he had never seen a Taoist priest behave like this before, indeed an unusual behavior.

  Guang Han let out a sigh, sat down, and directly picked up the entire teapot. He put the spout to his mouth and drank with relish, gulping loudly.

  After drinking, he heavily put the cup on the table and said: "The tea is indeed light and refreshing, but it's not satisfying. Bring me a cup of wine to drink." As he spoke, he stretched out his right hand middle finger and pointed at the empty teapot. In an instant, the aroma of wine wafted out, surprisingly coming from inside the teapot, clearly filled with a pot of fine vintage wine.

  "Would you like another cup?"

  Guang Han slanted his eyes and asked Chen Jianchen

  Chen Jianchen said: "Thank you, Daozhang, for the wine."

  Guang Han smiled and picked up the teapot, pouring wine into Chen Jianchen's empty cup. The wine was full and clear, with a delicate color and fragrance that wafted up to his nose, making him feel slightly drunk just from the aroma alone.

  Good wine

  At least it's been stored for over fifty years of top-grade fine wine

  At this point, the two of them were drinking cup after cup, having a great time. The jug of wine, which originally could hold no more than ten cups, had already been drunk to over ten cups by the two men, yet the inside of the jug was still full of wine, without any sign of decrease, as if it would never run dry.

  Inside the small teapot is an endless supply of fine wine.