Chapter Thirty-Six

  "I don't know if there are any other tricks," he continued to ask, "but what does one need to do after entering the faith?"

  "This, first of all, requires memorizing the teachings, then recruiting disciples for me until a certain number is reached, after which one can be promoted to a management position. With a bit more effort, one can be promoted to an official and take charge of managing the followers in a particular region. If one is even more impressive, there's still a chance to enter the headquarters and become a guardian or elder. I think you're a talented young man, and in the future, you'll definitely be favored by the elders and rise through the ranks effortlessly."

  "......Thank you for your favor, although I won't be able to return to the mountain, it's not like I'll become a guardian deity for you."

  Meng Mu interjected: "What if I want to meet Tongbai Zhenren?"

  "Shut up!" Lu Jiuqin suddenly changed his expression, completely disregarding the fact that Meng Mu was holding a long knife. However, since these people were potential recruits, he softened his tone and said: "The names of the Three Saints must not be spoken lightly, lest we profane the divine and incur punishment. These two saints are immortals from Mount Tiantai; it's not something that can be seen just by wanting to see - one needs to be extremely devout."

  Is this Xuan Yi Upper Immortal someone who can be seen with just sincerity? Meng Mu was puzzled, "What kind of sincere method is that? Tell me about it"

  "Sincerity is sincerity, don't you understand?"

  This man is quite strange, what does he mean by raising his eyebrows and winking? Mengmu looked at him again and again, only to see him put his hand on his waist and pat his purse lightly. Suddenly enlightened, he couldn't help but laugh: "What you mean is that as long as you're willing to pay, you can see Tong, oh no, San Sheng?"

  A child can be taught, Lu Jiuren nodded.

  "This is interesting." Meng Mu said with a slight raise of his chin, implying "You come ask, how many taels of silver is your master worth?"

  Dao Jing suppressed his anger and asked expressionlessly: "What is needed?"

  Lu Ji Qin was somewhat at a loss for words. After all, he had only recently joined the church and had never handled such high-level affairs before.

  "Probably, or perhaps ten thousand, fifty thousand? I'm afraid my teachings are not clear enough, but if you have the heart, I can ask Master Lang to take you to see the elder, he will certainly know."

  "......" Who on earth came up with this? I really want to beat him up.

  It's really a case of "heavenly calling me to die on the third day, the way is quiet and decided to hit the snake with a stick", so I'll follow this Lu Jiugui to see what this so-called elder is all about.

  After lunch, Lu Jiuqin took the three of them to a secluded courtyard, which was the home of the official in charge of this area. Before they even entered the yard, they could smell the aroma of wine and meat wafting out, indicating that someone inside was hosting a lavish banquet.

  But hearing a woman's laughter coming from inside, Dao Jing felt it was better not to go in.

  "Lu brother, would you mind going to invite Officer Lang to come out and meet with us?"

  Lu Jiukun naturally knew what was inside and readily agreed. Before long, he came out with a stout middle-aged man.

  This man is short and stout in stature, wearing bright satin clothes, with a ruddy complexion and sharp eyes, it's obvious that he has made a lot of money.

  Dao Jing explained his intention, but the person was not convinced and said that the opportunity had not yet arrived. He told them to wait and first enter the teachings before speaking further. Perhaps when the opportunity arrives, they can meet again.

  Others don't know what it means, can Mengmu not know? Hurriedly walking along the quiet path, he respectfully handed over the money bag, muttering: "Lord Lang, please help us out, let us see the Three Saints, my young master is sincere and doesn't care about spending money, as long as we meet the true immortal, he will immediately bring our family of dozens to join the faith together, please...

  "Hmm, not bad, you have a good eye for things." The official patted his money bag contentedly and tucked it into his bosom. "Originally, this was something that shouldn't be seen, but since you all are so sincere, I'll make an exception just this once. Follow me."

  Mengmu patted Qing's shoulder, meaning "bear with it", and the latter silently brushed his hand away, calmly nodding.

  The location of the General Assembly is in a large mansion in the west of the city, this courtyard is as large as the tea house. Unexpectedly, in just one year, Sanping Island has developed to such a scale.

  After chatting along the way, the three of them came to understand that nowadays, the Three Pure Ones clearly marked prices for everything. Disciples who joined the sect had to pay dues and buy elixirs, but after getting a position, they could enjoy salaries. Moreover, recruiting ordinary people into the sect would also earn rewards based on headcount. Each Lang official had several managers under him, and the money contributed by his disciples was divided with the main altar taking 80%, the Lang official taking 15%, and the manager taking 5%.

  The people in their area have to pay for medical treatment and inquiries, with the money being divided into five parts for the head of the region, three parts for the official, and two parts for the manager. Even a ordinary manager like Lu Ji-qin can earn at least 30 taels per month.

  Nowadays, a peasant's annual income is only a few dozen taels of silver, but they often quote prices in the tens of thousands. What's strange is that there are still many common people coming to see them. It can be seen that the world is not at peace, and people's minds are floating, and it has reached this point.

  Inside the main hall, incense wafts through the air. Outside the gate, many people kneel, mostly women, with their heads bowed, muttering to themselves. From time to time, disciples come out to call someone in, and when they emerge again, some are beaming with joy, while others look dull and expressionless.

  These people all came to see the elder and priest, according to the rules of the Three Ping Tao, only after kneeling down and praying sincerely would they have the opportunity to meet. In other words, even if you spent money, it's not necessarily possible to see them. Fortunately, because of the previous efforts, the three of them were specially approved to enter the side hall to meet the elder.

  In the side hall, there was no shrine for worship, but instead, a couch and a few low tables were set up, making it look like a place for receiving guests. Dao Jing did not sit down, but took advantage of the momentary absence of others to cultivate his skills and sense the spiritual energy within the main hall. Who would have thought that as soon as he started cultivating, the copper mirror hanging on the wall in the hall suddenly shone brightly and buzzed loudly, immediately attracting the attention of the disciples outside the door.

  Five or six disciples stormed in with swords drawn, Meng Mu drew his knife to protect Dao Jing's body, and for a moment the two sides confronted each other, on the verge of clashing.

  "What kind of people are you?"

  An old man's voice came from behind the disciples, and the crowd made way for the entrance. A white-robed Taoist-looking old man walked over with a swagger.

  Dào Jìng saw that this person had a certain air about him, and the other disciples all called him "Elder". It seemed that he was indeed the one they were looking for. He then ordered Mèng Mù to put away his sword and politely bowed, saying: "The three of us have been waiting here for Elder, I don't know where we offended your esteemed disciple, please forgive our ignorance."

  The elder neither approved nor disapproved, and it was unclear whether he believed or not. He glanced at the copper mirror on the wall with a mixture of intention and unintentionality, raised his hand to dismiss those beside him, and smiled faintly: "It doesn't matter, ignorance is no crime, please sit."

  Dao Jing revealed his intention and said that there was a family matter, he wanted to ask for an audience with Tongbai Zhenren to resolve his confusion.

  "If it weren't for the mundane affairs that didn't require such great trouble, I suppose this young master indeed has some unresolvable worries. But Tongbai Zhenren resides high above in the ninth heaven; if not for a sincere plea, it's probably hard to get a glimpse of him."

  Why are you two always talking about money? Meng Mu interrupted, "We've all heard what Officer Lang said. Everything will be done according to the rules here, it's absolutely right."

  The elder merely cast him a sidelong glance and did not immediately agree. Instead, he asked: "I wonder what it is about? Can you tell me first?"

  "Family matters are not convenient to reveal, please forgive me, elder."

  The elder picked up the tea bowl, blew it lightly for half a day but didn't drink, his expression unchanged, only saying that this matter still needs to be discussed with the ritual officer, please wait for a moment. After speaking, he went out the door by himself.

  "What does this mean?"

  Dao Jing took a look at Meng Mu's wide-eyed stare, made a silencing gesture with his hand, and originally wanted to use the technique of splitting himself to personally go to the main hall to check what was going on. However, thinking that just now he had slightly exerted his true power and was immediately detected, it seemed that this copper mirror on the wall was quite formidable, and these three Taoist priests were not ordinary people.

  He whispered to Meng Mu: "Are you a demon? What kind of demon?"

  Mengmu Lao Da was displeased, "Why did you bring this up? I'm a demon, what's strange about that? You look down on me?"

  "He" received a special warning, he honestly said: "It's a tree"

  "Tree spirit?" This didn't seem very useful, Dao Jing sank into deep thought and remained silent.

  After waiting for a long time, no one came. The two who knew magic didn't dare to make any moves, and the one who didn't know magic was helpless. As the sun began to set in the west, the followers outside the door gradually dispersed. Except for Dao Jing, who remained seated quietly, the other two had already fallen asleep due to boredom.

  It was not easy to wait until there was a commotion outside the door, and Dao Jing immediately pulled Mo Mu over and whispered something in his ear. The two had just sat down when they saw the disciple open the door and walk in, still the same elder as before.

  "I'm afraid several of you have waited for a long time, but the news I bring may disappoint several of you..."

  Dao Jing didn't say a word, but Meng Mu suddenly stood up, stretched his waist and yawned loudly: "It's okay to be disappointed, is there food? I'm hungry."

  The elder had always been feared, but he didn't expect this young whippersnapper to be so bold and arrogant. He scowled and said, "Young man, do you know what kind of place the Three Ping Dao is?"

  Meng Mu raised an eyebrow, "What place is this? I've spent money and waited for half a day, can't they just let me in?"

  "Nonsense! Get out!" The elder waved his sleeve, and several disciples rushed in from outside, their swords shining brightly as they pointed at the three of them.

  "Drive us away? I'll see if you have the ability!" With that, he drew his big knife and started fighting with his disciples.

  The disciples were originally ordinary people, only roughly familiar with martial arts. How could they withstand Meng Mu's skills? They were all knocked to the ground in just a few rounds.

  That old man, although advanced in years, still had some ability. With a grab of his right hand, he suddenly had a long sword in his hand, and the sword light shot towards Meng Mu like lightning!

  Two people were fighting hard, and it was difficult to distinguish between them. The fight started from inside the hall and moved outside, which shocked more people. Many disciples drew their swords and joined the battle circle, and several people who seemed to have some skills used magic spells to resist.

  Lu Jian hid behind Dao Jing's body and pulled his sleeve tightly, "What to do, will Meng Mu be in danger?"

  Dào jìng chén zhe de yáo tóu, "wǒ biàn shì yào tā nào"

  Translation:

  Dao shook his head calmly, "I just want him to make trouble".

  After finishing, taking advantage of no one's attention, he secretly went around the side hall and wanted to find a way into the main hall to take a look.

  But considering Lu Jian's safety, he found an empty house to settle her in and told her not to move, saying he would come back for her soon.

  Behind the temple, there was a small door. Dao Jing saw that there was no one around and quickly slipped in. Inside, he saw some bookshelves with many books on them. After flipping through them roughly, he found that they were records of the sect's income and expenses. Further inside, the lanterns were dimly lit, and it was very dark. Dao Jing didn't mind this, but what puzzled him was that the back temple seemed not to be very big, yet the lights from the main temple could be vaguely seen. However, no matter how he walked, he couldn't seem to get closer. His feet were clearly on the brick floor, but after walking for a long time, the objects around him hadn't changed at all, and even the firelight hadn't flickered.

  It was... sealing!

  Jin Chao Mama 2014/9/19 23:42