Cross the river pawn

Chiming Palace.

Master Tiangang sat in the main seat without saying a word, and it was difficult for the others to speak.

However, there was one exception, and that was the deputy head of Beichen Hall. This third-grade Youyi Taoist priest from the Lu family of Taiping Road said softly: "This is rude."

He didn't say specifically who was being disrespectful, but everyone knew it.

Li Mingzhi, who also came from Taiping Road, immediately echoed: "Even if the great master values ​​her, it doesn't mean that she can be so arrogant and rude."

Master Tiangang finally spoke: "Wait for another stick of incense."

The two third-grade Youyi Taoist priests stopped talking.

A seventh-grade Taoist priest on duty lit a stick of incense in the incense burner nearby.

There was silence in Chiming Palace.

When there was still half a stick of incense left, a woman wearing plain Taoist robes entered the Chiming Palace without any trace of panic.

In the eyes of the waiting crowd, they didn't know whether to praise her for her calmness or to scold her for being arrogant.

After the woman entered Chiming Palace, the Taoist priest on duty slammed the door of Chiming Palace tightly.

The woman first saluted Master Tiangang, who was sitting alone in the main seat, and then explained: "Master Qi, I accidentally got lost on the way here and was late. Please punish me."

A slight smile appeared on Master Tiangang's face and he said: "The road to Zi Mansion is indeed a bit complicated. Please be careful next time and sit down."

At this time, in the Chiming Palace, there is a big table in the middle, which is the main seat. There are two rows of desks on the left and right. Except for the master Tiangang who is sitting alone in the center, the deputy head of Beichen Hall is sitting at the top of the table on the left, with his head down. It is Li Mingzhi, the deputy head of the Duzhi Hall. Zhao Jiaowu is sitting in the first place on the right, and the seat at the bottom is empty.

This vacant position is reserved for Zhang Yuelu. The three of them are all third-grade Youyi Taoist priests, but Zhang Yuelu is the fourth-grade Jiujiu Taoist priest. This obviously means that his position is low and his position is high.

Master Tiangang's attitude, the seating arrangement, and the previous casual remarks showed that Zhang Yuelu was outstanding.

According to the rules, Zhang Yuelu should be humble at this time, say some words of refusal, and then everyone would praise her again before taking a seat.But Zhang Yuelu didn't show humility, and not only did he not be polite to those below Tiangang Master, he didn't even look at him, so he calmly walked to that seat and sat down.

Everyone present, especially the three third-grade Youyi Taoist priests, looked a little ugly, but because of the presence of Master Tiangang, they could only endure it.

In this way, Zhang Yuelu happened to be sitting opposite Li Mingzhi.

Li Ming subconsciously looked at Zhang Yuelu, and when their eyes met, Li Mingzhi suddenly froze - Zhang Yuelu's eyes were like cold stars, exuding a chilling air.

This invisible momentum surprised Li Mingzhi, and he couldn't help but put away his previous contempt.

All this was seen by Master Tiangang. The face of the master did not change at all. He just coughed lightly and said: "Let's discuss the matter."

There was sudden silence in Chiming Palace, and everyone was sitting upright.

Master Tiangang looked at Zhang Yuelu: "You already know what happened in the Western Regions. I transferred you from Beichen Hall to Tiangang Hall this time just to let you take the lead in this matter. I have already reported it to the Master on duty, What Da Zhenren means is that considering your age, you should still maintain the rank of fourth-grade wine-offering Taoist priest, but you can temporarily hold the power of deputy hall master. What do you think?"

In a hall, there is only one hall master, Master Shen Zhi, but there are many deputy hall masters, and the number is not fixed. The deputy head master, Da Zhenren, has the right to temporarily add deputy hall masters.

Zhang Yuelu stood up and said, "Thank you, Master Dazhen, for your promotion and cultivation. My subordinates have no objections."

Master Tiangang raised his hand and pressed down, signaling Zhang Yuelu to sit down.

This discussion is mainly about the issue of monsters in the Western Regions. The so-called monsters may not be monsters, but may also be demons, similar to bandits, and need to be exterminated. This is the responsibility of Tiangang Hall.Just because of the war in the Western Region, the current Tiangang Hall has insufficient manpower and cannot let the leader of the first hall personally take action, so the real Tiangang asked Zhang Yuelu from Beichen Hall, so the deputy head of Beichen Hall will appear in Chiming Palace.

In addition, it also requires the cooperation of the Western Region Taoist Government and the corresponding funding from Duzhitang. This is why Zhao Jiaowu and Li Mingzhi participated in this discussion.

Today's discussion, to put it bluntly, is a negotiation for Tiangang Hall to allocate resources to other halls. Therefore, Tiangang Master personally presides over it, while other halls are represented by deputies.

Master Tiangang looked at Li Mingzhi and said: "Duzhitang is the God of Wealth. This time, the rotating master has added a deputy hall leader. Duzhitang should also allocate corresponding funds. This has been explained by the rotating master. pass."

Li Mingzhi stood up with a bitter look on his face.

Duzhitang corresponds to the household department of the imperial court and is the hall in charge of money.Every church has to ask for money from the Duzhitang. It has become a habit for the Duzhitang to complain and pretend to be poor. However, Li Mingzhi this time was not only out of habit, but also had some difficulties.Each deputy hall leader has a fixed quota, with a total of two principals and six deacons. When Zhang Yuelu was in Beichen Hall, he held the position of principal.

If there are only eight people, it's nothing. But under the deacons, there is also a staff. Each deacon must be equipped with at least ten subordinates and as many as dozens of subordinates. Based on this calculation, the staff is at least 60 people. .

Even if calculated based on the minimum number of 60 people, including monthly salary, weapons and equipment, settlement, not counting subsequent expenses, it would still cost [-] yuan in peace money.

It’s just that Master Tiangang didn’t want to listen to Li Mingzhi’s complaints. He raised his hand to stop Li Mingzhi’s unspoken words and said, “If you have any difficulties, you can go to your hall master to complain. Now I just ask if Duzhitang can ensure that Will the peace money arrive on time?"

Li Mingzhi had no choice but to nod his head.

Master Tiangang turned his attention to Zhao Jiaowu again.

"The Taoist Government of the Western Regions will definitely support it with all its strength." Zhao Jiaowu was very happy. After all, Zhang Yuelu was not only personally ordered by Master Tiangang, but also recognized by the rotating Great Master. The current rotating Great Master is the Quanzhen Taoist Master. As a Quanzhen Taoist, he Taoist disciples have no reason not to support the Patriarch's decision.

……

The flying boat cannot enter Yujing directly and can only land at a lake outside the city, which is still several miles away from Xuandu.

The city of Yujing feels like spring all year round, but outside the city the weather is cold. A gust of white-haired wind blows by, and snowflakes fly like catkins and goose feathers, blowing in the wind.

Among the other passengers on the same airship as Qi Xuansu, some had already put on the wide-sleeved double-breasted crane cloaks or cloaks that had been prepared long ago, and some were dressed in single clothes with fluttering long sleeves. They had obviously reached the point where the cold and heat could not invade them.

Qi Xuansu had no corresponding preparations and could only rely on luck to withstand the cold air.

To put it bluntly, fortunately, he was born with a talent. If he had been born with a talent, he might have been frozen to death on the way and couldn't even get through the door of Yujing.

At this moment, Qi Xuansu felt a warmth coming from the mezzanine on his chest, and quickly reached out and took out an apricot-yellow talisman from his arms.

This is an improved version of the child and mother talismans. One person holds the child talisman and the other holds the mother talisman. They can talk face to face across thousands of miles. The disadvantage is that the mother talisman can only actively contact the child talisman. The child talisman cannot actively contact the mother talisman, and it is expensive. One set costs one hundred Taiping.

Qi Xuansu and Qiniang have a total of three sets of Zimu talismans in their hands.Qiniang holds two mother talismans and one child talisman, while Qi Xuansu holds two child talismans and one mother talisman.

Qiniang, Jingzi and Qi Xuansu were of course not so luxurious. These three sets of Zimu talismans were actually issued by the Qingping Association once a year.Qiniang planned to sell it for money, but Qi Xuansu sternly stopped her, so she saved it. At this time, a talisman on Qi Xuansu's body sensed it, and naturally it was Qiniang's "letter".

Qi Xuansu found a deserted place with no wind, poured his true energy into the talisman in his hand, used the talisman as firewood, and burned a ball of flame. It was not hot and hot, and only the shadow of Qiniang's upper body appeared in the firelight. , only the size of a palm, slightly distorted as the flames danced, as if watching people through the fire.

Qiniang's voice came out from the firelight, also slightly distorted: "Tianyuan, where have you been?"

Qi Xuansu glanced at the majestic city in the distance and replied: "I am in the ancestral court and just got off the flying boat. Is there anything wrong?"

"Feizhou? You are so willing. I thought you would walk there." Qiniang laughed, "Since you have arrived at the ancestral court, it will be easy. After you arrive in Yujing, go to Nanhuafang first. The head of Tiangang Hall named Sun Yongfeng will arrange for you to enter Tiangang Hall."

Qi Xuansu couldn't help but ask: "I remember that if I want to enter the Tiangang Hall, I need the deputy hall master's personal approval. You have found a master this time. Is it really possible?"

"Of course not in normal times."

Because of the limited time, Qiniang did not sell it this time: "This time is different. Tiangang Hall has a new deputy hall master. This deputy hall master used to be the head of Beichen Hall. He was just transferred to Tiangang Hall. He is new to Tiangang Hall. There are many We were not familiar with the matter, so the person in charge below was responsible, which gave us the opportunity to take advantage of the loopholes."

Qi Xuansu understood: "Qiniang, do you mean that I will work under the new deputy hall master in the future?"

"Yes." Qiniangshen said mysteriously, "Let me tell you another insider information. This new deputy hall master is a great beauty. She is not yet 25 years old this year."

Qi Xuansu was startled, and then his face changed slightly: "Qiniang, the deputy hall master you are talking about is not the genius who has reached the stage of returning to his true nature at a young age, right?"

"You guessed it, it's her." Qiniang said with a smile, "Her name is Zhang Yuelu, she has some relationship with the Zhang family of Dazhen Mansion, but she is just a remote branch, not a eldest lady. She can achieve her current status mainly because of her own efforts. As for Her cultivation level is indeed much higher than yours. As far as I know, she is not a qigong practitioner, a martial artist, or an alchemist, nor is she a hopeless Sanren like you, but a banished immortal."

"Exiled the Immortal!" Qi Xuansu was slightly surprised.

If warriors correspond to human immortals, alchemists correspond to ghost immortals, and qi alchemists correspond to earth immortals, then banished immortals correspond to heavenly immortals, and their status is far above ordinary martial arts, alchemists, and qi alchemists, not to mention the bottom-ranked Sanren. Yeah, there's no comparison at all.

Correspondingly, banished immortals are also very rare, and can even be said to be very uncommon, truly one in ten thousand.

Only then did Qi Xuansu understand why the ancestral court would give a semi-immortal object for the first time. It turned out to be such a reason. This also meant that as long as Zhang Yuelu did not die prematurely, it was a certainty that Zhang Yuelu would be promoted to heaven, and he was even expected to become one of the 36 Shenzhi One of the real people.