Chapter 16: Revisiting the Old Place

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu changed into casual clothes and walked leisurely to Taiqing City without calling for a taxi.

The entire Jade Capital has a very cold temperament. It is not only immovable by all winds, but also kept away from people thousands of miles away. However, Taiqing Square is the only exception. Various shops gather here, with the largest flow of people and the most pyrotechnic atmosphere.

When you come to Taiqing Square, the first thing you see is a majestic statue of Taishang Taozu, which is ten feet high and has a three-story Xumizuo. Shangqing Street and Yuqing Street intersect here, and the statue of Taishang Daozu is located at the intersection of the two. It is the center of Taiqing Square and the center of Yujing.

It is said that at the earliest time, someone proposed to erect a statue of Xuansheng here, but it was rejected by Xuansheng and was changed to Taishang Daozu.

Around the statue of Taishang Daozu, there are twenty-four sky lanterns hanging with tassels in the outer circle and twelve in the inner circle, for a total of thirty-six. Each sky lantern is the size of a water tank, surrounding the statue of Taishang Daozu. It rotates slowly in a strange trajectory, illuminating the entire Taiqing Square at night.

Although Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu are very famous, not many people know them at the level of ordinary Taoist priests. After all, Taoist sects will not print their portraits in newspapers and spread them to the world. Most people still only hear about them. I don’t know the person by name. I know there are such two people, and I also know their deeds, but I don’t know what these two people look like.

Therefore, when Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu entered Taiqing City, they did not cause any shock. In fact, not only the two of them, but also other real people often went there incognito.

Since we were revisiting our old place, the first stop was naturally the weapons shop where we first met back then.

Regardless of the turbulent experiences that Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu have experienced in the past few years, especially Qi Xuansu, who has traveled almost half of the world, but for the Taoist priests in Yujing City, it is actually only a few years, and the wind and rain outside cannot hit Yu. Jing, it’s still the same here.

The two of them entered the shop, and the shopkeeper actually remembered them.

This also surprised Qi Xuansu: "After so many years, I didn't expect the shopkeeper to still remember us."

The shopkeeper smiled and said: "You two have extraordinary bearings. You look like a dragon or a phoenix among people at first glance, so you will naturally remember them."

Qi Xuansu waved his hand and said, "I don't dare to take it seriously."

The shopkeeper took a look at the clothes on the two of them - these were prepared by the Zhang family, and both the materials and craftsmanship were extraordinary.

It can be seen that the two of them are no longer what they used to be, and they probably look down on the weapons of his small shop.

Qi Xuansu did not hide it: "To be honest, the two of us met for the first time in your store. We finally became a Taoist couple yesterday, so we revisited our old place today."

The shopkeeper was startled, then clasped his fists and said, "Congratulations."

Qi Xuansu returned the gift with his hands raised: "Thank you very much."

The shopkeeper asked tentatively: "I haven't asked my two Taoist friends for their names yet."

Qi Xuansu said: "My surname is Wei, Wei Wugui. Her surname is Tantai, Tantaichu."

"It turns out to be Fellow Daoist Wei and Fellow Taoist Tantai." The shopkeeper sighed, "Yesterday was really a good day. I heard that Master Qi and Master Zhang also got married yesterday. It was said that there was such a big ceremony that half of the big shots in Jinque went there. ”

Qi Xuansu remained calm and smiled as usual: "We have also heard that this day was specially chosen to enjoy the joy of these two real people."

Zhang Yuelu remained silent, carefully selected a gun, and asked: "How much peace money?"

The shopkeeper took a look and said with a smile: "Four hundred and eighty peace coins, I'll give you two a discount, four hundred and six, you can consider it as my congratulatory gift."

Zhang Yuelu paid the money happily without rejecting the offer: "Thank you, shopkeeper, for your kindness."

Qi Xuansu said a few more polite words to the shopkeeper before going out.

Zhang Yuelu gently stroked the gun, then handed it to Qi Xuansu: "This is for you."

Qi Xuansu took the gun and said, "This is good. Although it won't be used, it can be placed in my study."

Then, Qi Xuansu raised his eyes and looked around: "Since you gave me a gift, I have to return the gift."

There was a jade jewelry store not far away. Qi Xuansu pulled Zhang Yuelu directly towards the jade jewelry store.

Zhang Yuelu let Qi Xuansu pull him, expressing doubt: "Do you have money? I won't lend it to you. That would be using my money to give me gifts."

Qi Xuansu was full of confidence: "Don't worry, I just borrowed a thousand Taiping money from Xiao Yin. This girl has a lot of savings. She also asked Qiniang to open an account for her at Taiping Bank."

Zhang Yuelu didn't believe it even more: "Can Xiao Yin be so kind?"

Qi Xuansu explained: "There is interest."

While talking, the two of them had already entered the jade jewelry store.

The store is not small and there are many people.

There are all kinds of sentient beings inside.

There are young Taoist priests and their wives coming here to buy jade, and most of them are men and women who are preparing to get married or are already married.

The male Taoist priests and female Taoist priests here also compete with each other in acting.

Needless to say, the female Taoist priests tried their best to make the male Taoist priests bleed more.

The male Taoist priests are not stupid either. They keep pulling, even to the extreme.

A male Taoist priest was constantly looking at the prices of the jade articles. His face became more solemn as he looked at it, and there were thin beads of sweat on his forehead.

In the end, the male Taoist set his sights on a pendant with a price in the middle to lower range, while his partner focused on a pendant that was 30% more expensive.

The male Taoist priest thought about it for a long time, trying to persuade the female Taoist priest, but as soon as he started, the female Taoist priest's face turned from sunny to cloudy, and the male Taoist priest did not dare to say any more. He sighed, gritted his teeth, and pointed to the pendant that was 30% more expensive. The female Taoist priest smiled like a flower again.

Another male Taoist priest came with his Taoist partner. His Taoist partner had taken the jade ornament and compared it to his body. Although the male Taoist priest looked painful, he still suppressed his helplessness and anger when facing his Taoist partner's question about whether it looked good or not. He forced a crying smile and said against his will that it looked good.

This man obviously understood that he had to do this. He had to kneel down and smile to pay the Taiping money, because once he expressed his opposition, or even without opposition, but just a little hesitation or displeasure, the female Taoist priest would walk away. Afterwards, the two of them would have a big fight, and then buy a more expensive one to calm the situation.

There was another male Taoist priest who had a deeper skill in cultivating qi than the previous two men. He smiled throughout the whole process and looked very happy. However, Qi Xuansu still keenly noticed that when he asked about the specific price, this man's face would always twitch unnaturally, and then glanced away to hide his unwillingness.

Others kneel down to earn money, but he kneels down to spend money.

Of course he had to be unwilling.

Of course, the female Taoist priests could see the male Taoist priests' unwillingness, and they also knew that they didn't want to buy jade for themselves, but they would pretend not to know.

The female Taoist priests also said that no one forced these male Taoist priests to marry, and it was a matter of one willing to fight and the other willing to suffer.

Qi Xuansu was certainly not comparable to these three gentlemen, he volunteered.

The shopkeeper saw at a glance that Qi Xuansu and the other two were well-dressed and extraordinary, and must be potential big customers, so he took the initiative to greet them.

Qi Xuansu waved his hand generously: "Don't take out anything below 500."

Anyway, it was Xiao Yin's money that was spent, and it was for Zhang Yuelu to buy things, so he didn't feel bad at all.

As for paying back the money, I borrowed the money with my own ability, why should I pay it back?

If Xiao Yin is not convinced, she can use violence to collect the debt! Let her understand clearly what it means that reason is only within the range of the cannon, and force is the basis of power.

Of course, this is a joke. Qi Xuansu would not be so mean. He would definitely pay it back, because after he was promoted to the position of the Chanzhi Zhenren, his treatment was improved. In addition to the implicit treatment such as travel, housing, divine power, and creation, there was also direct income from Taiping money.

Zhenren Donghua probably couldn't stand it anymore, so he directly returned this part of the treatment to Qi Xuansu instead of handing it over to Qiniang. However, the previous part of the income will still be deposited into Qiniang's account as usual to pay off the debt.

In this way, Qi Xuansu can also have an income of 3,600 yuan in Taiping money a year. For a Taoist priest of Qi Xuansu's rank, it is just enough to maintain daily expenses, but it is enough to pay back the money.

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked someone to take out the fine products in the store, put them in boxes, and arrange them in order.

In fact, any piece of jewelry in the dowry prepared by the Zhang family for Zhang Yuelu is much better, and it has a history and a story. If Qi Xuansu wants to prepare a gift carefully, he can also find some top-quality materials from Nanyang and then find a top craftsman to customize it, but that would be meaningless. Because Taiqing City is where they met, and it was a revisit to an old place, so it was "meaningful".

When it comes to Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu's status, material things are secondary, and "meaning" is the key.

Qi Xuansu finally picked a deer-shaped jade pendant and personally took it in his hand to measure it on Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu also gave face and actively cooperated.

The shopkeeper reported a number: "Seven hundred Taiping money."

Qi Xuansu was in a good mood and did not bargain. He paid happily.

In this way, Qi Xuansu became a "role model". Several female Taoists talked about Qi Xuansu - look at others, they are so happy to buy things for their Taoist partners, and then look at you, you are so hesitant and stingy.

Several male Taoists hated Qi Xuansu and regarded him as a traitor and scum, but they did not dare to refute and obeyed.

Qi Xuansu suddenly had an epiphany. For a man like Li Minghuang, conquering those female Taoist priests who treated their Taoist partners arrogantly and made them devoted to him and even flatter him in various ways, forming a contrast, must be a twisted pleasure, right? This kind of pleasure will even surpass physical pleasure, so he never tires of it.

Moreover, Li Minghuang is double-standard. He is allowed to seduce other people's women, but his own women must be chaste. If anyone dares to touch them, he will fight with them, even if they are separated, they will still be unhappy.

This kind of person is afraid that he will not be able to do a good job in uniting female Taoist priests. Find an opportunity and continue to adjust. It would be best if he can retire early.

Although the official positions of the Taoist sect have many rules and restrictions, and they are often subject to moral judgments, which makes it easy for people to catch their little braids, it is also a great amulet. If this amulet is gone, what will happen to Zhou Mengyao? They can kill him.

Qi Xuansu didn't want to kill Li Minghuang, but he understood one thing: if he treated Li Minghuang like this, Li Minghuang would not accept it and would definitely look for a chance to retaliate. As long as Li Minghuang refused to admit defeat, the fight would end in a fight to the death sooner or later.