Chapter 66: Doctrine of Worship
Chapter 66: Doctrine of Worship
In the afternoon, Li Yuan left work early.
In the inner courtyard, there were only a few apprentices who were building up their strength. Most of them were the ones who came into the inner courtyard with him, and most of them were at the level of mastering Qi and blood.
Du Yun and Lu Zhong in the front yard, and several female apprentices in the back yard.
At this moment, seeing Li Yuan, Lu Zhong had a complicated expression and subconsciously made way for him. But when he came to his senses, he couldn't help but lower his head with a flushed face.
Last fall, he also taught Li Yuan Zhuang Gong and Hammer Technique.
And now, he is still stuck at the stage of mastery and unable to make further progress, while the previous apprentice in the middle courtyard has become a rising star in the weapon forging shop, a figure that the head manager knows.
"Senior Brother Lu."
Li Yuan greeted them. He didn't recognize many of the inner courtyard apprentices, and among them, he only recognized Lu Zhong and Du Yun.
Lu Zhong responded, put down the stone mill, and said in a flustered manner: "Ah, Li, Junior Brother Li, are you going to the private school again?"
Since entering the inner courtyard, his progress has been very slow. With Niu Gui around, Qin Xiong has not given him any guidance for a long time. With Tang Tong's departure and Yu Zhen taking over, their situation has become even more difficult.
Even now, he hasn't learned all the fighting techniques...
"Yes, I asked Master Wang to find some books for me a few days ago."
"oh oh."
After talking for a few words, Li Yuan left amid the envious eyes of several apprentices. He walked through the inner courtyard and saw Master Wang from the private school from afar.
Master Wang, whose real name is Wang Wenyuan, is nearly 70 years old. He is an old student who has been studying for many years. After failing the imperial examinations many times, he accepted Cao Yan's invitation and came to the Forging Shop to teach the inner court disciples and to live out his retirement at the same time.
Few of the inner court disciples were interested in reading. Most of them just learned some common characters and then stopped coming. So he had some free time.
"Li Yuan, I borrowed the books you found from some of my classmates."
Master Wang was in good health. He was in his sixties, but his hair was not completely white. He was already quite familiar with Li Yuan. He smiled and handed over a few books:
"I borrowed it from many talented people. You must take good care of it."
"You said so. I washed my hands before I came here."
Li Yuan took it with both hands, replied with a smile, and then lay down on the rocking chair under a tree nearby.
It rained heavily last night, and today there is still some smell of rain soil mixed with grass and trees in the air.
Li Yuan was half lying down, relaxing from the day's fatigue.
The poor are good at literature and the rich are good at martial arts. This is actually a relative term. Nowadays, those who can read and write are not considered ordinary people. There are very few families in the outer city who have book collections.
After thanking Master Wang in his heart, Li Yuan turned the page of the book.
"God worship!"
There are only three big words on the first page of the book.
Li Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and continued to flip through the pages. It was only from the second page that he mentioned the sect that he had been inquiring about for a long time without any results.
“Not a cult?”
Li Yuan was a little surprised.
The book does not mention much about the origin of the Church of God, except to say that it is a very old sect that can be traced back thousands of years.
It was called the God Worshipping Religion, but it was very different from what he had imagined.
"This sect!"
Li Yuan straightened up unconsciously, his expression changing.
"People in the world will not understand why they call the people, objects, scenes, or imaginations they fear gods, and make idols of gods out of clay and kowtow devoutly, thinking that they can be protected, have good luck, be safe, and be given high positions and generous salaries..."
"How ridiculous!"
"There is only one God in this world! Everyone in the world, from emperors and generals to peddlers and porters, worships this God!"
"I rush around day and night just to offer sacrifices to fill my stomach. I work hard just to satisfy the god's desires. I spend my whole life trying to make the god's temple bigger and more beautiful, and the statue of the god cleaner and more beautiful..."
"God is me, and I am God. This is the meaning of my God-worshiping religion. Anything else is a false doctrine, false scriptures, false gods, and false believers..."
……
"Put yourself before God and seek it in yourself!"
After closing the first book, Li Yuan was quite surprised. This was not at all the evil sect he had imagined.
It is more like a martial arts outline that focuses on self-discipline and the cultivation of the physical body.
"Could it be the 'Worship Method' mentioned on the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva statue and the incense burner?"
Li Yuan was quite interested.
He always thought of himself as a Taoist priest. Even though he had not been naturalized and had not learned many scriptures, he knew that Taoists also did not worship gods, but only ancestors.
The pursuit of those true moral practitioners in the legends of the previous life, to ascend to heaven, is somewhat similar to the so-called religious scriptures.
If I don’t worship God, I will be God.
I don’t want to worship the immortals. I want to ascend to heaven.
"However, this kind of teaching is destined to not be widely spread."
Li Yuan continued to read.
Among the three books, there are only a few sentences mentioning the teachings of the God-worshipping religion, and then it becomes a bit disjointed. I wonder which failed scholar’s travelogue this is.
There was some gain, but not much.
In the end, he saw a very interesting sentence, very vague, but the meaning was very clear...
"If you regard yourself as a god, you will live a long life without any diseases, have many children and grandchildren, and therefore you will be admired by high-ranking officials, generals, ministers and officials. Your Majesty, I am also happy..."
"Grandpa, Grandpa of Dayun, Pang Wenlong?"
Touching the prickly stubble on his chin, Li Yuan seemed to be thinking about something.
Thinking back to the temples and gods he had seen, he guessed that this cult might be the imperial court?
"Well, small gangs occupy a street or a road, and sects rule a region. Then, the imperial court that encompasses the four seas is not the largest sect in the world, right?"
Perhaps, it’s a sect alliance?
Li Yuan's imagination ran wild, and the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
Then the Great Fortune Ancestor and the sects ruled the world. Perhaps because the sects had made contributions to the founding of the country, they might have been passed down for a thousand years, which would be quite interesting...
"Master Wang, the book is in the room!"
As the sky gradually darkened, Li Yuan stood up to say goodbye. Master Wang responded and asked, "Do you need any more books? There will be a big market tomorrow, and I will go to borrow them from my classmates!"
"Thank you, Master. I am not picky, as long as I have books to read!"
Li Yuan expressed his gratitude and stuffed a silver coin into the book. Then he said goodbye and went to the forge to retrieve the inner armor before leaving amid the sound of clanging.
It was not yet completely dark, and he was going to go to the Four Seasons Pharmacy to buy some medicinal pills, even if it was a blood-nourishing pill to be used in conjunction with a medicinal bath.
The elixir is extremely expensive, but it has to be used. Otherwise, the speed will be several times slower. Seeing the internal energy in front of him, how could Li Yuan bear it?
Before leaving, he glanced behind him.
In the forging room, the lights were on, and more than a dozen strong men were still forging iron, but the sounds were much sparser. "Yu Zhen, fuck your mother!"
"You bastard, you bastard!"
"Your father is so tired..."
Li Yuan could faintly hear the scolding.
Yu Zhen's ancestors must have been torn to pieces long ago...
……
……
Inner city, Lu Mansion.
Lu Mansion is located on the south side of the yamen. There is a small garden outside the three-courtyard building.
In the evening, smoke rose from the Lu family's kitchen, and the servants and maids were quite busy.
The backyard was brightly lit and it was as bright as day inside the house.
County Magistrate Lu Yunqing rubbed his palms lightly. On the large table, which could seat eight people, more than twenty dishes were neatly arranged. There was also a maidservant beside, holding a wine jug, ready to pour wine at any time.
Fang Yunxiu frowned slightly.
This table of food and wine would not be considered extravagant in Zhelong Mansion, but it is indeed too luxurious in Gaoliu County.
"Xiao Xiu, when will Elder Han come?"
Lu Yunqing glanced at the sky.
"I don't know."
Fang Yunxiu just shook her head, ate a few bites, then got up and left.
Lu Bailing tried to follow, but was glared back.
"Have a meal."
Lu Yunqing looked normal. He finished his meal slowly, wiped his hands and face, and then returned to the study.
Outside the study, Yu Zhen bowed slightly:
"I hope Yu's sudden arrival did not disturb you, sir?"
"What are you talking about, Mr. Yu? It was I who neglected you. I was blind and didn't even invite you to go in and rest!"
Lu Yunqing scolded the housekeeper beside him.
"Where, where."
After entering the study, Yu Zhen's expression became more serious. He said, "Brother Cao sent me here to ask you a question. What should we do next?"
"Fajiu Mountain is huge, and the Bishui Lake is wide. It will take a long time to search for the Viper Gang. There is no rush."
Lu Yunqing sat behind the desk and responded calmly:
"As long as we don't miss the opening ceremony of the Divine Weapon Valley! I heard that the Lord of Gongyang Valley attaches great importance to etiquette. On the day of the opening ceremony, the inner disciples and outer elders must return to the mountain..."
"In that case?"
Yu Zhen's expression changed slightly: "Gao Liu went to the Divine Weapon Valley. It might take 20 to 30 days for him to travel alone on horseback. Now it is already June 28th..."
Lu Yunqing picked up the file and said calmly, "It's a harsh winter with severe snow and wind. Twenty days won't be enough."
"So, Yu understands!"
Yu Zhen understood, bowed and said goodbye. Before leaving, he remembered something:
"By the way, County Magistrate, I would like to borrow a group of yamen runners from you."
"Oh? Just tell Hero Yu and Steward Zhong."
After closing the study door, Lu Yunqing's eyes dimmed slightly: "Ghost-faced Prajna Han Chuijun..."
"grown ups!"
Suddenly, there was a scream and chaotic footsteps outside the door.
"Why are you panicking?"
Lu Yunqing frowned, and saw a servant rushing in in a panic:
"The brothers finally managed to stop the man named Qiu, but unexpectedly someone secretly rescued him!"
"what?!"
……
……
Outer city, Chaiyufang.
In a small courtyard, Qiu Da groaned and woke up slowly. In his dreams, he was being chased by people with a very ferocious expression.
"who!"
As soon as he opened his eyes, Qiu Da subconsciously wanted to escape, but he forgot about the injuries on his body. He fell to the ground with a groan, and black blood flowed from his unhealed wounds again.
During the more than two months of being hunted, his injuries had not been treated at all and had already festered, looking horrifying.
"If you make more trouble, you won't have to save me from saving you. It's easy to dig a hole!"
Qiu Da struggled to look back, only to see an old man lying in a rocking chair under the tree, enjoying the cool air.
"You saved me? Who are you and why..."
Qiu Da was alert and was about to be assassinated by his colleague. He was extremely nervous at this time. When he was about to ask who the old man was, he felt a slight pain in the back of his head and passed out.
"He's so badly injured, aren't you afraid of killing him with a stone?"
Han Chuijun gently waved a palm-leaf fan, and the ghost mask became even more terrifying and hideous as it darkened.
"Master Han, I have been waiting for you for two months and nine days!"
Fang Yunxiu walked in expressionlessly.
"I'll go back in early March next year. It's too early. I don't know where I'll be sent next. I might as well take this opportunity to take a break..."
Han Chuijun didn't take it seriously.
"You are always looking for an envoy..."
"You are the deputy envoy!"
Faced with this old idiot's recklessness, Fang Yunxiu felt helpless, but she had no choice but to hand over a booklet:
"This is what my niece compiled. It includes young men under the age of 25 from Gaoliu and the six nearby counties who have decent physique talents, including three with superior physique talents..."
"I found someone who's pretty good. As for you..."
Han Chuijun didn't even raise his eyelids, still fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan:
"I still have to remind you that it is better to have nothing than to have something of inferior quality. You need to have a good physique and good talent as well."
(End of this chapter)