Pawn Crossing the River

Men have three major kinship families: father’s family, mother’s family, and wife’s family.

These are three very important family relationships, which can be specifically uncles, uncles, father-in-law, or cousins, wives and brothers. In the Taoist sect, because master and apprentice are like father and son, the relationship between these three kinships is made more important. Too complicated.

For Qi Xuansu, the Zhang family is the wife family. The real father-in-law, Zhang Kuqi, may not hold much weight, but Zhang Kucheng holds a lot of weight. He is the next head of the Zhang family and a popular candidate for the Celestial Master. If Master Donghua becomes the Grand Master, and Master Cihang becomes the wife of the Grand Master as the Zhang family hopes, then Zhang Jucheng will succeed Master Cihang and become the Master of the Tiangang Hall, waiting for the Heavenly Master to ascend. He took advantage of the situation.

The Third Division will definitely have to stand the last post, wait until the selection of the Seventh Generation Master is finalized, and then they will be put on their horses for a ride, and then they will ascend.

This is also for the overall interests of Daomen.

If Qi Xuansu wants to compete for the Eighth Generation Chief Master, he must rely on the strength of the Zhang family, so in addition to helping Zhang Yuelu, he is also willing to take care of the Zhang family's affairs, stand up for his brother-in-law, take care of his brother-in-law, and so on, adding own influence.

Take the brother-in-law as an example. Whether he punches his brother-in-law or treats his brother-in-law with respect depends on his abilities. The brother-in-law is capable, and the brother-in-law is like a biological son. The brother-in-law has no skills, and the brother-in-law is like a biological father. Human nature is what it is.

For example, Zhang Wuyue was very afraid of Qi Xuansu, because Qi Xuansu was so powerful that he would not be afraid of the shadow of a famous tree. If Qi Xuansu is just a fourth-level wine-offering Taoist priest now, do you think Zhang Wuyue is afraid of him? I'm afraid he will say harsh words to Qi Xuansu, for example, if you dare to disrespect my sister, I will make you look good.

No matter how close the relationship is, it depends on status. How the Zhang family viewed Qi Xuansu in the past and how the Zhang family views Qi Xuansu now is a good example.

Qi Xuansu has an advantage, he can hold grudges and he can also be generous.

Now, he is very generous when it comes to dealing with the Zhang family.

Qi Xuansu is not a good person, nor is he a purely bad person. He has certain ambitions and certain bottom lines. Being ambitious means that he must achieve some results and climb up. Having a bottom line means that his hands cannot be dirty when doing things, and he cannot directly do things that are not in compliance with the rules.

However, the ecological environment of Daomen in recent decades has led to a dilemma, that is, ambition and bottom line are often incompatible and sometimes even contradictory to each other. This created Zhang Yuelu's dilemma. Qi Xuansu saw this. If he wanted to realize his ambition while adhering to the bottom line, he needed support from both the top and bottom. The top was the backer and the bottom was the foundation.

With a backing, you can protect yourself from wind and rain. With a foundation, you can take root deeper. The backer is naturally Donghua Zhenren, which has both advantages and disadvantages. Needless to say the advantages, the disadvantage is that once Donghua Zhenren

If Qi Xuansu falls, he will be regarded as the "remaining poison" of Donghua Master and be eliminated. Regardless of whether Qi Xuansu contributed to Taoism or not, this is the biggest reality.

Qi Xuansu cannot choose his backer, but in terms of foundation, Qi Xuansu has considerable room for choice. He has always been interested in cultivating his own foundation, and his brother-in-law Zhang Wuyue is certainly one of them.

Qi Xuansu not only helped Zhang Yuelu solve a family dilemma and strengthened the relationship between the two, but also got a helper to make the Zhang family think of him and increase his influence in the Zhang family. This is a win-win situation.

Zhang Yueyue moved quickly. Shortly after Qi Xuansu received Zhang Yuelu's letter, he took a "Huang Chi" from Tianjitang to the Southern Continent.

Not long after Zhang Wuyue arrived in the Southern Continent and before he could adapt to the climate here, he was led by Qi Xuansu to a strange manor. It had beautiful mountains and clear waters and was a good place to escape from the world and recuperate. Then came the usual banquet. Zhang Wuyue discovered that Qi Xuansu, who usually sat at the main seat, actually vacated the main seat today.

Only then did Qi Xuansu tell Zhang Wuyue that he had an appointment with Huangfu Ji of Xidaomen today. This real person enjoyed the treatment of Daoist Master Shenzhi. He is now the master of Juesheng Hall and the future leader of Xidaomen.

Zhang Wuyue couldn't help but feel nervous for a while. The mass of the West Gate is placed here, one of the five gates. To put it bluntly, the Celestial Master is the leader of the South Dao Sect, the National Master is the leader of the East Dao Sect, the Earth Master is the leader of the Middle Dao Sect, Emperor Daxuan is the leader of the North Dao Sect, and the leader of the West Dao Sect is comparable to the deputy headmaster Da Zhenren, who is the leader of the Third Division. One level. The future leaders of Xidaomen will be at the level of Master Donghua, Master Qingwei, and Master Cihang.

Although Zhang Wuyue was born in the Zhang family, he had not had much contact with such big figures. He usually says that dining with big shots involves many twists and turns, but he has never learned this.

Just when Zhang Wuyue was feeling uneasy, Huangfu Ji had already arrived.

Qi Xuansu stood up and said hello with a smile, "Brother Li Ming, long time no see."

Zhang Wuyue also stood up, his smile slightly stiff, "I have met Huangfu."

"Tian Yuan, it's not easy for you to take the initiative to treat us." Huangfu Ji greeted Qi Xuansu, but his eyes turned to Zhang Wuyue.

Qi Xuansu took advantage of the situation and introduced, "This is your sister-in-law Zhang's brother, that is, my brother-in-law, Zhang Wuyue. The 'May' that crosses Lu in May means Tianzhong."

Huangfu laughed very hard and said, "Since he is brother and sister Zhang, he is my brother. From now on, little brother in Tianzhong, don't call him real person Huangfu, just brother Huangfu."

This is quite a bit

The Jianghu atmosphere is not like that of people from the Taoist sect, but is also caused by the atmosphere of the Western Daoist sect.

Qi Xuansu said, "That's too flattering to him."

Zhang Wuyue could only smile.

After everyone sat down, Qi Xuansu said, "My Lao Taishan only has one daughter, Qing Xiao, but Lao Taishan also has a brother, Tianzhong's father. The two families are neighbors, and their relationship is extraordinary. Tianzhong is the daughter of Qingxiao." The relationship is extraordinary. On weekdays, Qing Xiao often told me that she wanted me as a brother-in-law to take more care of him, so I brought him to the Southern Continent to see the world and gain some experience. Don’t hang around women’s skirts all day long.”

Huangfu Ji smiled and said, "A good man has his ambitions in all directions. It's time to go out and make a living."

Qi Xuansu stopped talking and stopped talking about Zhang Wuyue. Instead, he talked about some seemingly irrelevant things, such as the progress of the construction of the new port. Then he raised his glass frequently, and those who didn't know thought Qi Xuansu was a good drinker.

When he was half drunk, Qi Xuansu glanced at Zhang Wuyue, "Tianzhong, here's a drink to Master Huangfu."

Zhang Wuyue immediately picked up the wine glass, stood up and said, "Master Huangfu, I respect you."

Huangfu was very polite, but Zhang Wuyue had to follow the rules, so he still used the honorific title of the real person.

Huangfuji didn't deliberately make things difficult. He picked up the wine glass and said, "Young man, do a good job." Then he drank it all in one gulp.

After a banquet, Qi Xuansu didn't mention a word about Zhang Wuyue's business, but just introduced Zhang Wuyue to Huangfu Ji.

In the next few days, there was no need for Zhang Wuyue to participate. Qi Xuansu just asked him to adapt to the environment of the Southern Continent as soon as possible and understand the specific situation.

Although Zhang Wuyue didn't know what Qi Xuansu did next, he also knew that his brother-in-law was interested, because if he just dismissed him casually, his brother-in-law only needed to say hello, but his current posture was a real waste of favors.

Zhang Wuyue knew in his heart that his brother-in-law worked so hard not because he liked him, but because of his sister's face, and he couldn't help but feel a little guilty towards her sister.

This is how the world works. When you become rich, your relatives who have treated you as their own since childhood ask you for one thing. When their children grow up, they want to make a living. Can you help them? Help, I have repaid the friendship of the past, I wish you well and everyone is well. If you don't help, you will be called a wolf-hearted person, and you won't even be a relative.

Qi Xuansu did it for Zhang Yuelu and didn't want to make things difficult for Zhang Yuelu.

After Huangfu Ji returned, he asked his secretary to contact Duan Changqing, the real person in charge of Xishi Botang.

"Brother Duan, I have something to ask you." Huangfu got straight to the point.

Duan Changqing did not refuse to "establish a name."

Just give me any orders. "

Huangfu Ji said, "That's right. I want you to help me arrange someone. Zhang was born in the Shangqing Dynasty. He is Chief Qi's brother-in-law and Chief Zhang's younger brother. Chief Qi came forward in person, so I have to agree. After all, Chief Qi helps us in the west." Dao Sect has said that we can’t let people say that we don’t care about love, so we can only help to the end, right?”

Duan Changqing said, "This is natural. I must help Chief Qi."

Huangfu said, "Well, I'll leave this matter to your brother, is that okay?"

"No problem." Duan Changqing agreed immediately, "But I would like to ask first, how to arrange it specifically?"

Huangfu Ji said, "I heard what Chief Qi said. This little Taoist friend Zhang prefers to do foreign trade. Chief Qi and Chief Zhang have served as the chief deputy governors of the Borneo Taoist Prefecture. The real person in charge of the Jiangzhou Taoist Prefecture is also a member of the Zhang family. Let Mr. Zhang be responsible for the trade, which will save a lot of things.”

Duan Changqing said, "Our trade is mainly concentrated in Nanyang and Jiangnan. In the process of weaving the local relationship network, this fellow Daoist Zhang has a natural advantage."

Huangfu Jidao said, "That's right. This matter is not only for the sake of Chief Qi, but also really helps our development. The sphere of influence of the Three Dao determines many of our policy directions, although we will not admit it on the surface. These, but they do exist.”

Huangfuji paused for a moment, "That's too far. Then it's settled, I'll leave this matter to you."

Duan Changqing said, "I will report to you after I have made arrangements."

Although the two were equal, Huangfu clearly had the potential to be the heir apparent, so Duan Changqing still used the word "report".

After Duan Changqing returned, he asked the deputy hall leader who was in charge of this area, "Have you arranged anyone there?"

The deputy hall master already had a candidate, but he was obedient and naturally understood what Duan Changqing meant, so he temporarily changed his words and said, "Several families want to participate, but it has not been decided yet."

Duan Changqing said, "Just in time, I have a candidate here named Zhang Wuyue. Master Huangfu and I discussed it and decided to use him."

Naturally, the deputy hall master could not have any objections and kept saying, "Okay, okay."

Duan Changqing told him, "This fellow Daoist Zhang is from Shangqing Mansion in Wuzhou. Don't neglect me."

The deputy hall master immediately understood that this was a person from Shangqing Zhang. Qi Zhenren's Taoist companion was from Shangqing Zhang. He might have some relationship with Qi Zhenren, otherwise Huangfu wouldn't come forward in person.

In this way, Zhang Wuyue's matter came to an end. This matter reached the ears of the Zhang family, and everyone in the Zhang family naturally had a different impression of Qi Xuansu.