Pawn Crossing the River

Qi Xuansu did not worry about Xie Qiuniang's true identity. He looked at the man who had been silent and asked, "I haven't asked, who is this brother?"

There was no need for Qin Xiang to take the initiative to introduce him. The man had already taken the initiative and said, "Xijing Mansion, Zhao Xuanting."

Qi Xuansu immediately thought of someone.

King Xiao Qin of Qingpinghui.

When Qi Xuansu met Li Qingnu for the first time, Li Qingnu told him a piece of news on Qiniang's orders: he was being targeted by a group of people and he had to be careful during this period. This group of people are all second-class members of the Qingping Society, and their names are Xiao Qin Wang, Xie Qiuniang, and Hua Jianyi. According to Qiniang's news, King Xiao Qin and Xie Qiuniang went to Zhongzhou, while Hua Jianyi kept sending people to pay attention to his movements.

The group of swindlers Qi Xuansu met in Jinguan Mansion seemed inexplicable at the time, but after thinking about it carefully, they were probably Hua Jianyi's subordinates.

Together with Xie Qiuniang, this person, surnamed Zhao, is from Xijing Prefecture. Daxuan was preceded by Dawei, Dawei was preceded by Dajin, and Dajin was preceded by Daqi. The surname Zhao is the royal surname of Dajin, and Xijing Prefecture is the capital of Qinzhou. It is difficult not to think of the king of Xiao Qin. people.

Qi Xuansu didn't show anything on his face and just nodded: "It turns out to be Brother Zhao."

Qin Wubing could see that there was something wrong between the two men and two women, but as the person with the highest status among the people present, he still had to come out and smooth things over: "Everyone, please stop standing and talking, please sit down. "

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu exchanged glances and sat down without saying anything more.

A round table, six people, three pairs of men and women, Qi Xuansu naturally sat with Zhang Yuelu, Zhang Yuelu next to Qin Xiang, Qin Xiang next to Qin Wubing, Qin Wubing next to Zhao Xuanting, and finally closed it up with Qi Xuansu and Xie Qiuniang.

Qin Wubing naturally dominated the topic. He saved Qin Xiang last time, so it was naturally impossible for him to keep Qin Xiang in the military camp. He would eventually have to send him back. Qin Xiang's family could not remain indifferent, so they naturally wanted to express their gratitude. Moreover, the degree of gratitude is closely related to status. If an unknown person saved Qin Xiang, he might just give him some peace money, but Qin Wubing saved Qin Xiang, which was a huge favor. But this is not a bad thing. As the saying goes, when there is a favor, there will be a relationship. Over time, the two families will form a good relationship, and they can even go one step further and form an alliance on this basis.

This time Qin Wubing returned home and passed by Longmen Mansion. Qin Xiang took the initiative to host a banquet for Qin Wubing and invited two friends to accompany him, namely Xie Qiuniang and Zhao Xuanting. Unexpectedly, he happened to meet Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu.

Qin Xiang was naturally overjoyed that his two benefactors were all here.

Coupled with the legendary banished immortal Zhang Yuelu, it is even more unexpected.

But for others, it may not be a good thing.

Qin Xiang deliberately sat next to Zhang Yuelu and kept chattering. Zhang Yuelu always treats people with evil intentions without any pretense, but when it comes to a relatively simple girl like Qin Xiang, he will not turn away people thousands of miles away and can only deal with it helplessly.

Qi Xuansu didn't speak much, just observing Xie and Zhao. He didn't know how Zhao Xuanting was doing, but Xie Qiuniang's skills impressed him deeply. Even if he faced Xie Qiuniang now, he didn't dare to say that he was sure of victory. Zhao Xuanting is a bit better than Xie Qiuniang, that is, a heavenly being.

After all, Li Qingnu said that both of them were second-class members, either with noble status or high-level cultivation.

Of course, while Qi Xuansu was observing the two of them, the two of them were also observing Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu, somewhat like they were afraid of both sides.

Qin Wubing saw all this, but just pretended that he didn't see it - he didn't want to get involved in these messy things, and both sides had a lot of background, so it was best not to offend anyone.

In fact, Qi Xuansu's mentality is also very complicated. Qi Niang has long told him that the Qingping Society is not monolithic, and it is common for members to fight each other. The two sides have a vaguely hostile relationship at this time, but Qi Xuansu has scruples, fearing that because of these two Instead, he implicated his Qingpinghui identity. After all, the other two people present, Qin Wubing and Qin Xiang, knew about Wei Wugui's existence.

At this moment, Xie Qiuniang suddenly said: "Master Zhang is well-known. Although he is young, he can be said to have been famous for many years. He is the youngest deputy hall master and has a bright future. Only Taoist Qi, few people have heard of him, but Taoist Qi can To be ranked among the fifth-grade Taoist priests at such a young age is to be considered something special."

Qi Xuansu is not stupid, he heard clearly, this is to test him, this group of people targeted "Xuanyu", and now they are deliberately asking him what is special about him, just to confirm whether "Xuanyu" has fallen into his hands. .

Qi Xuansu was not polite and said directly: "Miss Xie is questioning me. Miss Xie might as well speak frankly. In the language of the world, please draw a line from Miss Xie."

Xie Qiuniang said calmly: "The promotion system of the Taoist sect has always been strict, and the suspension of years system is no exception even for geniuses such as Li Changge and Yao Pei. If you want to be promoted exceptionally, you must have made great achievements. Taoist Master Qi can be promoted to the fifth-grade Taoist priest. I guess I have outstanding achievements, how can I, a little girl with no merit, dare to question Taoist Master Qi?"

She paused slightly and then said: "It's just that I follow the teacher to practice the way of cultivating qi. Although the teacher has repeatedly taught me that cultivating qi is not to compete with others, but I am still unavoidable. People of my generation always want to compete with each other.”

Qi Xuansu said: "This is a bit false. If cultivating qi is not for fighting bravely, then many of our Taoist sect's ancestors would not have died at the hands of the Confucian sect."

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere at the table suddenly turned cold.

Zhang Yuelu coughed lightly: "Those are all in the past. If it is not conducive to the unity of Confucianism and Taoism, it is better not to say it." Qi Xuansu followed the rules of good deeds: "It was my fault, so I will punish myself."

After that, he raised his glass and drank it in one gulp.

Xie Qiuniang said lightly: "Actually, I also agree with Taoist Master Qi's point of view. Carrying sharp weapons will naturally arouse the desire to kill. If one cannot achieve immortality with this kind of cultivation, it will naturally be used to fight and kill. There are thousands of Taoists in the world. , how many of them are running for immortality? Even the Immortal Immortal has a thunderous anger. Back then, the deposed Heavenly Master Zhang Jingchen secretly plotted against Mrs. Xuansheng. The Xuansheng Thunder was angry and turned the huge Yunjin Mountain upside down with one blow. , this is actually a fight with others.”

This statement is reasonable. Except for a very small number of the proud ones, most people will not aim for immortality. It is like being an official. After ten years of hard work, there is always a person who is satisfied with only a half-dozen official positions. Only when you become a county magistrate can you ask for a magistrate, and only when you become a magistrate can you ask for a chief envoy. No one is rushed to the prime minister from the beginning.

Xie Qiuniang continued: "The imperial court keeps men in black not only for decoration, but also for fighting. The sword should not be a ritual weapon, but a killing weapon. Swordsmanship is a killing technique. There are so many magical passages that cannot lead to immortality, but they can kill people." A person can live forever, and he can see the truth under his hands. So I have to meet with Taoist Master Qi today, and I want to join hands with him. What does Mr. Qi mean? "

Joining hands is a competition, and it is also a ritual in the world. The original intention of joining hands is to recognize that each other has similar strength. If two people let go and fight, both will lose, so they join hands to try their best to compete. Further, it has the meaning of announcement. The older generation openly joins hands with the younger generation, indicating that this younger generation has enough cultivation to pass on his mantle. It is a ceremony to announce to fellow practitioners in the world that the successor is established.

Qi Xuansu and Xie Qiuniang had no relationship with each other, so it was just a simple competition. In fact, Xie Qiuniang wanted to fight swords more, but because of the face of Qin Wubing and Qin Xiang, she chose to join forces.

Qi Xuansu said: "In Taoist terms, I was born as a wild Taoist priest. This word is very unpleasant. It means weeds, barbarians and savages. It means that I don't understand the rules and etiquette. What I am good at is dealing with life. We are fighting to the death and don’t know the rules of joining hands, but I want to ask for advice on how to join hands?”

Xie Qiuniang didn't speak, she just stretched out a finger and tapped on the table.

A chopstick flew up in response.

Xie Qiuniang caught the chopstick, held one end, stretched the other end towards Qi Xuansu, and said: "Back then, Buddhism opposed Taoism, and the two families went to war in the Western Regions. Taoism called it 'Buddhist Rebellion'. In the second year after the Buddhist Rebellion started, Donghuang visited the Sheji Academy on behalf of Xuansheng. During the banquet, Donghuang took a chopstick and asked everyone present to break it. None of the people present said anything. Instead, after the banquet, they agreed with Donghuang about the alliance between Taoism and Confucianism. Proposal to quell the Buddhist rebellion. At that time, Donghuang said that if anyone could break this chopstick, he would immediately leave the Sheji Academy and rush to the Western Regions. Today, I would like to ask Taoist Master Qi in the words of Donghuang, can you break the chopstick in my hand. This chopstick?"