Chapter 5: Fixing the Soul
Chapter 5: Fixing the Soul
Li Gongyi thought for a while after hearing this, and then said, "The elder master is a third-class Jinshi, and it should be extremely difficult for him to be promoted. However, I see that the elder master has been paying close attention to the criminal justice affairs in the past month, and has visited the county school several times. He is indeed more concerned about the affairs of the government than before."
Xu Qing: "Uncle, do you mean that the master has found some way?"
Li Gongyu: "I don't know about that."
Xu Qing said again: "Uncle, I want to take part in the county examination, and I need a student I know well to guarantee me. Please pay attention to this matter, uncle."
Asking someone to act as a guarantor is not difficult for people in the government. As for ordinary people, as long as their background is clear, it is just a matter of spending a little more money.
After all, not every scholar came from a wealthy family, especially in Nanzhili, where there were quite a few poor scholars.
But it is different for scholars in their teens and twenties. Even if their family conditions are average, they can often participate in literary and poetry gatherings.
If Xu Qing can pass the examination for tongsheng this year, he will be a scholar at the age of fourteen.
Of course, even so, if no solution is found to the problem of life span, seventeen years old may be the year Xu Qing dies in this life.
"After you said it last time, I've been keeping an eye out for you."
After Li Gongyi and Xu Qing finished their conversation, they went out to take their turns.
Yamen runners don't really have many holidays, they work in shifts. Fortunately, Li Gongyu is in the inner shift of the yamen. He is not exposed to the wind or rain. If he is lucky, he can meet someone who is in court and often get a table of wine and meat.
You don't have to give it, but if you offend the master during the court session and get punished, who knows how hard the beating will be.
Xu Qing helped Zhou clean up the kitchen utensils.
Zhou grumbled, "Your uncle should have gone out to eat this morning, and he didn't even have to pay for it."
Xu Qing: "That's because my uncle is an upright person."
"He is just too concerned about his reputation. He didn't even dare to take money in the government office before, so I scolded him. If he doesn't take money as the squad leader, how can his brothers take money? This will offend people." Zhou complained about Li Gongwu for a while, then remembered his good points and said that she was willing to live with him because he was loyal.
Xu Qing echoed this, and after a while, seeing that Zhou was in a good mood, he found an opportunity to say, "Aunt, my uncle probably doesn't want me to be adopted. If your relative from your mother's side is a good person, it would be a good thing to adopt him. I don't want a job or a house in the future. But Aunt, you have to wait until I pass the Tongsheng exam before arranging this matter."
Zhou: "Qing'er, I was just angry before. This house and job really should be yours. And you are a good person. Even if you don't inherit my family, I know you are not an ungrateful person and will take care of us until the end of our lives."
After that day, when she got along with Xu Qing, she found that Qing had changed a lot. Just the fact that he caught earthworms and fed them with ordinary chicken food made Zhou feel the benefits of reading.
In the future, if you focus on raising chickens according to this method, you can improve the environment at home.
In the future, if Xu Qing fails to pass the examination to become a scholar, it would be a good thing for her to replace Li Gongyu's job. In this way, she and Li Gongyu can go to the countryside to concentrate on farming and raising chickens, and they will always have food and clothing.
If everything goes well, I can save some money by farming and raising chickens, and then I can buy a country woman and maybe have a child with her. Then my biggest worry will be gone.
For them, having no offspring is a terrible thing.
Because in the future no one will worship them.
The people of the Yu Dynasty believed in ghosts and gods, and believed that life on earth was but a fleeting moment, and that death was the eternal destination.
Xu Qing thought: "If I can't find a way to prolong my life within three years, you guys will have to hold my funeral."
He knew that this matter was not appropriate to talk about, so he did not continue the topic.
After helping Zhou with the housework, he went out to dig earthworms as usual, and then came back to read.
...
...
After reading an article on "The Great Learning", Xu Qing's eyes were quite clear and bright.
He tried it and found that among the Four Books and Five Classics, The Great Learning had the most obvious effect in concentrating the mind. Every time he finished reading it, his chaotic thoughts would be completely calmed down.
Only when you are calm can you be quiet, and only when you are quiet can you be at peace.
Before you know it, you'll feel relaxed and happy.
And for some reason, in recent days, after Xu Qing finished reciting, every time his mind was at peace, he always had the illusion that his body was floating.
It's as if I can fly.
But there was an invisible barrier that prevented him from breaking free from the earth. "My uncle has been practicing the Crane Posture for so long, but he is only good at agility, not even Qinggong. How can I fly?"
"so?"
"Could it be that it is my soul that is about to fly? For example, my soul is leaving the body?"
The feeling was very strong and it was not an illusion, so Xu Qing thought about it and felt that it was very likely the soul.
Even if you can really experience an out-of-body experience, you should not try it rashly.
Xu Qing warned himself.
He had finally regained his body, but he didn't want to become a wandering ghost because of his curiosity.
On the other hand, after finishing her housework, Zhou followed the grandmothers next door out. It was said that they were attending some kind of religious assembly.
The yard was empty, with only Xu Qing and his chickens and dogs left.
Xu Qing stepped into the yard and practiced the crane stance again.
He kept practicing the crane stance movements and concentrated on feeling the changes in his body.
The effect of "fixing the soul" is evident.
Xu Qing vaguely felt the legendary "inner vision" effect.
Although it is not that specific, I have a corresponding sense when I mobilize every muscle in my body.
This helped him to gain a deeper understanding of which muscles were mobilized by the Crane Posture during the practice.
"It turns out that my movements are not standard enough. For example, exerting force like this is not smooth enough." Xu Qing became more and more energetic as he practiced, as if he was looking for loopholes in a program.
After more than ten times of repetition, Xu Qing combined Li Gongyu's previous explanation and his Crane Posture became more and more fluent.
He seemed unaware of this, completely immersed in his own world, feeling indescribable joy.
After a long time, Xu Qing's movements became more and more like a crane stretching its body to take off.
Before I knew it, a heat started to grow in my lower abdomen.
His lower abdomen felt warm and he enjoyed it indescribably.
Soon, the heat dissipated at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Do not."
Xu Qing remembered that Li Gongyu had mentioned that the real magic of the Crane Shape Posture was to disperse this heat into the limbs and bones.
As soon as he had a thought, the heat actually listened to his command and began to spread into his limbs and bones during the process of dissipating.
It seemed as if an invisible force was guiding the heat.
After a long time, Xu Qing let out a breath.
He was feeling rather tired.
But the effect was not bad, at least half of the heat was dispersed into his limbs and bones. Although he was not in good spirits now, his limbs were a little stronger than before, and he was obviously strengthened a little.
"It turns out that I can control the direction of this heat without any corresponding breathing method."
Xu Qing knew that this was closely related to his level of Taoism, "Soul Settling".
"If my spirit is stronger, it doesn't matter if the crane-shaped pile is incomplete."
"Read more books. Reading can relax your mind!" Xu Qing had more expectations in his heart.
Reading, nourishing the mind and practicing martial arts have apparently become an endless positive cycle.
"Bronze Mirror, let's work hard together to make progress!"
(End of this chapter)