The housekeeper known as "Uncle Shao" has long been accustomed to his young master's harsh way of speaking.
Shen Qiu is the son of the head of the Shen family in Jinling who gave birth to a drunken man with a maid. The head of the house and his wife often quarreled over his presence. In addition, Shen Qiu was short and ugly, so the head of the family never looked down upon him.
Naturally, Shen Qiu scolded his family without mercy.
"Uncle Shao, although the Shen family is now prosperous and wealthy, its status is not stable. There is no future for living comfortably at home like my brothers do. " Shen Qiu continued to say in a sharp voice, "Have you noticed that since the current emperor ascended the throne, he has been targeting various powerful families?
"First, the Qingzhou Lu family was accused of treason." The nine tribes were executed for the crime, and then Zhao Changying, the Duke of Yan State, had part of his military power taken away. The cultivation of the fourth prince Xiao Shangzhen was abolished, and the emperor did not pursue it at all. Recently, I also heard rumors that the emperor wanted to depose the queen... If the queen is really deposed, it must be a very heavy blow to the Chen family in Xiangyang.
"Although the Shen family has not been affected yet, as a child of the Shen family, especially one like my father who does not love his mother, he must be prepared for danger in times of peace and find a way out for himself.
< p> "If this big ship of the Shen family really sinks one day, I can sit on the shore and quietly drink tea and eat melon seeds, and watch my brothers who can't swim splashing and shouting in the waves." Help'...Such a scene must be very interesting. "Steward Shao frowned slightly.
"Actually, Master, even if you don't stay in Jinling, you can have some other places to go." He pondered for a moment and said, "I I remember that not long ago, the head of Penglai Island took a fancy to your talent and hoped that you would join his sect and become his disciple——"
"——Penglai Island? That's a joke," Shen Qiu sneered, interrupting Butler Shao, "Penglai Island, Lingshan Temple and Shudi Jiange are known as the 'three major sects of the Daqi Dynasty'. Both Lingshan Temple and Jiange have saint-level experts in charge. Only Penglai Island has not produced a new saint for more than a hundred years. Finally got a Kongxuan Sanren, but he turned out to be an abandoned disciple, and not long ago he turned into a ghost... Even Zhao Yan from the Zhao family was able to beat up all the disciples on Penglai Island with one gun and one person. Say something...
"If I go to such a sect, wouldn't I be looked down upon by those in the family even more?"
Seeing that his young master had made up his mind, Butler Shao No more talking.
He knew that Shen Qiu appeared to be sharp-tongued and even dared to flirt with members of the three major sects and the royal family, but deep down he actually had a strong self-esteem and cared about what others thought of him.
Due to his appearance, Shen Qiu rarely appeared in public before, preferring to work behind the scenes.
But if you want to teach in Longmen Academy, you are destined to face the attention of teachers and students in the school, and even the entire capital.
At this time, Shen Qiu continued: "InIn my opinion, the selection of new teachings at Longmen Academy this time is different from every time before. It is said that the Imperial Master, the Chief of the Exorcism Department and Princess Zhaoning are all very concerned about this, so it must be of extraordinary significance.
"If I can stand out from the candidates, from an unknown bastard who is even despised by my own father, to a Fu Tao master certified by the saint himself, I will skyrocket to success; if I fail in the competition, I will also I can get acquainted with the powerful tasks in the capital by the way... After all, the person who can defeat me in the way of talismans must be a genius with a bright future - making friends with such a person is definitely more enjoyable than being a dog to my stupid brother. ."
Shen Qiu's words sounded harsh and harsh, but Butler Shao knew that he was telling the truth.
The name of Shen Qiu’s brother is Shen Hua.
He was born to the wife of the head of the Shen family and grew up with a golden key in his mouth. Everyone in the clan, old and young, from the old grandmother to the little maids who serve tea and water, from the Sixth Realm worshippers to the errand boys, are all surrounding him.
The treatment he received was naturally completely different from that of Shen Qiu, a bastard.
But Shen Qiu always felt that Shen Hua's stupid brain was not worthy of such treatment.
Not long ago, the head of the Shen family had tentative discussions with the royal family, hoping that Shen Hua could marry Princess Zhaoning Xiao Wanjun and become the new consort of the Da Qi Dynasty.
However, before the elders could calculate the birth dates of the two of them, Shen Hua was discovered by the patrol censor from the capital when he was visiting the brothel. Later, Shen Hua was exposed in his own home. There are many male pets in the house.
When selecting a consort, the royal family not only pays attention to family status, but also to virtue.
After these things were exposed, it was naturally impossible for Princess Zhaoning to marry Shen Hua again.
The marriage plan fell through.
So in the following period, the entire Jinling Shen family was wiping Shen Hua's butt.
"Sometimes, I really suspect that my brother has been filled with shit." Shen Qiu continued to criticize his brother, "He was only a little bit away from having the chance to marry Luo Jing. The most beautiful woman as his wife, sleeping in the same bed with the de facto leader of Daqi - this is something that almost all men in Daqi have secretly fantasized about, but he chose to go to the brothel at this critical moment. Hanging out with a group of men... ruined his own reputation and the reputation of his family.
"Oh, who told him to have a noble mother?
"No matter how many things he does wrong, he will be forgiven and someone will help him wipe his butt..."
Shen Qiu said to himself while taking something from his pocket I took out white paper and charcoal pencils, scribbled on them randomly, and hundreds of ways of drawing talisman and seals passed through my mind.
Steward Shao sat across from him, looked at the tired look on his face, and sighed silently.
As of now, he only hopes that his young master can show his talents in Longmen Academy by virtue of his amazing talent in Talismans.
…………
In the next few days, Gu XuyiI have been shutting myself in the "Qingxiang Pavilion", practicing and reviewing the skills of talisman and seal script. Occasionally, when I have free time, I will try to practice the newly learned spells.
Unknowingly, he made some minor improvements to commonly used talismans such as the "Binding Talisman", "Xuanbing Talisman", and "Fire Flame True Talisman", and also made some small improvements in "Homesickness Ridge" "Go up one hundred and twenty steps.
During this process, the array master from the Yamen of the Exorcism Department’s headquarters came to the "Qingxiang Pavilion" once to maintain the damaged array.
——In fact, Gu Xu felt that if he was given some time, he might be able to study the principles of this formation clearly and repair it by himself without asking for help.
But for him now, time is the most precious thing.
Especially now that he is about to go to Longmen Academy to compete head-on with several well-known talisman masters.
So he chose to ask for help.
No need to spend money anyway.
So, after Gu Xu made a request, a middle-aged formation master with a beard and slovenly clothes came to the "Qingxiang Pavilion" - his appearance reminded Gu Xu of the university in his previous life. Those engineering dogs who stay in the lab all night, are obsessed with research, never care about personal appearance, and wear the same outfit every day.
The middle-aged formation master stood in front of the wooden screen on the second floor. He stared at the scorched marks on the screen for a long time, took a deep breath, and showed a surprised look on his face.
"Master Gu, are these marks...really caused by you while practicing your spells?"
"Yes." Gu Xu nodded and admitted, smiling sheepishly laugh.
The middle-aged formation master took a deep breath.
He felt that the flaws in this formation did not exist on the surface, but on the level of rules. To cause such damage to the formation requires a very deep understanding of the Tao.
This middle-aged formation master usually likes to shut himself in his room to study formations and rarely pays attention to external affairs. He is a person who "has no ears to hear what is happening outside the window."
He has heard Gu Xu’s name mentioned by others.
But when the young monks in the Yamen showed very exaggerated admiration for Gu Xu, he had some doubts and felt that these young monks might have exaggerated too much.
He broke through three realms in one year, mastered the art of talisman and seal script to a master level in one year, mastered the "Seven Styles of Burning Heaven", and even crossed the border to defeat his opponent in the Lantern Festival Tournament...
< p>How can these incredible things exist in the same person at the same time?To this day——
When he saw with his own eyes that the formation he participated in was destroyed and disintegrated from the rule level, he deeply felt the terror of the young man beside him—— His understanding of "Tao" seems to be stronger than that of some fifth and sixth realm monks.
The middle-aged formation master suddenly felt that the young monks in the yamen were not bragging, but stating the facts.
There may really be such a genius in the world - the things he does are more outrageous than what others say.
"Master Gu, it may be beyond my ability to repair this formation," the middle-aged formation master was silent for a long time, and finally reluctantly admitted his lack of ability, "You may need Go find the Chief of Staff and fix the flaws in the rules... The core of the rules was designed by the Chief of Staff. We just assisted in completing some side work under the command of the Chief of Staff..."
Gu Xu also fell silent.
He began to hesitate whether to trouble the Chief Secretary for such a trivial matter... or to wait until the matter at Longmen Academy was resolved before repairing the formation himself.
…………
Of course, this incident was just an inconspicuous episode in Gu Xu’s cultivation process.
He was immersed in the pleasure of drawing symbols and climbing "Homesickness Ridge", and two days passed before he knew it.
…………
The twenty-fourth day of the first lunar month.
There is one day left before the Longmen Academy teaching selection.
Gu Xu finished his all-night practice, changed his clothes, and went to the Yamen kitchen to have breakfast.
On the way, a mortal servant in a coarse shirt took a letter and ran up to Gu Xu as fast as he could. He said breathlessly: "Gu... Mr. Gu, this is yours." Letter."
Gu Xu took the letter and thanked him with a smile.
Then he opened the envelope as he walked.
This letter was sent by Chen Jisheng from Yishui County.
The first sentence in the letter is: "Gu Xu, today is your eighteenth birthday. I hope everything goes well for you in the capital."
"Eighteen Years old..." Gu Xu sighed softly.
When a person celebrates his birthday, people will happily say "Happy birthday to you" to him.
But Gu Xu was not happy.
Because every birthday of his is a countdown alarm clock, telling him in a harsh voice: You have lost another year.
"There are still twelve years."
"It should be...in time..."
He thought this while continuing to read Chen Jisheng's letter .
Chen Jisheng said in the letter that the situation in Yishui County is very good, allowing Gu Xu to focus on his practice without worrying.
The Grand Master of Qi personally took action and sealed the "Nine Infant Snake Demon" underground again, causing the fire to extinguish and the flood to recede. The Exorcism Department headquarters sent many monks to help the Qingzhou Prefecture disaster area rebuild, and Yishui County quickly returned to what Gu Xu remembered.
In this disaster, a total of eighteen people died in Yishui County and twenty-nine people were missing. They were all ordinary people without cultivation.
The Exorcism Department provided pensions to their families.
In addition, the monks in the disaster-stricken area of Qingzhou Prefecture have received support from some cultivation resources.
Wang YangI have obtained a lot of elixirs, and in the short term, I don't have to do as much as I did in the past to get merit.
Although his talent was limited, he was strongly stimulated after this disaster and almost gave up all entertainment and rest time, focusing all his energy on practice - Chen Jisheng said, Wang Yang This display of forgetting about food and sleep reminded him of what Gu Xu had been like when he was in Yishui County.
Ma Qin, who participated in the promotion assessment with Gu Xu, also luckily escaped the disaster and now returns to Yishui County Yamen to continue working.
Because Ma Qin will be thirty-six years old soon, but still has not married a wife, he has been feeling very anxious recently. Chen Jisheng helped him introduce several girls out of good intentions, but due to various reasons, he was never able to negotiate a marriage.
Sometimes the woman dislikes Ma Qin’s precarious job and lack of real estate in Yishui County; sometimes Ma Qin dislikes the woman for being too old, mediocre in appearance, or because her family members are difficult to get along with; sometimes it’s just pure horoscopes Incompatible...
Therefore, Chen Jisheng hoped that Gu Xu could help him find out if he had time to find out whether Ma Qin was the lone star of the evil god who had been destined to die, but he had not been able to find a suitable partner for so many years.
"Oh, Brother Ma..." Gu Xu smiled and shook his head, not knowing how to evaluate it for a while.
Chen Jisheng also mentioned in the letter the hunchbacked old man guarding the warehouse - he never expected that in a small place like Yishui Yamen, there would be a clone of a "fierce god" level ghost, and it was hidden. No one discovered it for so many years.
Looking back now, it almost gives me goosebumps.
Finally, Chen Jisheng said that he had learned about what Gu Xu had done in the capital from the recent Di newspaper, and that he had won the first place in the Lantern Festival Tournament.
"Fortunately, you didn't embarrass our monks in Yishui County." This was the original sentence in the letter.
………
After reading the letter, Gu Xu stood there in silence for a long time, feeling a warm current in his heart.
At this moment, someone suddenly yanked his clothes from behind and said to him with a smile:
"Gu Xu, guess what, this heroine has prepared something for you. What birthday gift?”
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