Chapter 3： situation

Chapter 3 Situation

In the alley, Zhang Rongfang looked at the direction in which Xiao Qingying and the two left, and turned to leave until they could no longer see their backs.

Along the way, he occasionally encountered practitioners who were wearing light blue Taoist robes and white shirts.

Every time he kept stopping, standing aside and bowing his head to make way for it.

In the Qinghe Palace, the disciples are divided into practice disciples and handyman disciples.

Strictly speaking, handyman disciples are temporary workers and can be dismissed at any time.

But the disciples are different, so the rules of etiquette are very strict.

If there is any rudeness, the light ones will face the wall and think about being the hardest laborer, and the heavy ones will be beaten by dozens of sticks, or even thrown down the mountain.

Zhang Rongfang quickly arrived at the washing room and began to clean up the dirty clothes brought in by buckets with the other dozen or so handymen.

Clothes, crowns, flat shoes, high boots, belts, etc., everything that needs to be cleaned will be thrown here.

After a hard day's work, it was not until almost half past ten in the evening that the rest was finally over.

As soon as    was over, Zhang Rong did not stop at convenience, and went straight to the Taoist management room with the money in his chest.

Not long after, he came out of the management room, the silver wallet on his body was completely dry, and there was only a little bit of the two taels of silver that he had accumulated for a long time.

breathed a sigh of relief, and he looked ahead.

The Qinghe Palace at night is full of lit oil lamps and candles.

In the direction of the three halls and the dojo, there are still subtle chanting sounds, which are not the voices of Taoist priests, but some devout pilgrims staying in the palace chanting sutras.

is the Infinite Heart Sutra.

Zhang Rongfang walked along the cobblestone path to the backmost disciple's bungalow area.

The sound of twilight drums floated from a distance, and the sound of the wind was sometimes stronger and weaker.

Accompanied by the sound of the wind, there is also the smell of some kind of barbecue.

Zhang Rongfang swallowed his saliva involuntarily. The black-faced steamed buns he ate in the cafeteria in the afternoon were not enough for him to stuff his teeth.

The food for the handyman disciples consisted of two steamed buns with black noodles, a dish of kimchi, and a bowl of egg drop soup that could be seen at a glance at the bottom of the bowl.

A steamed bun is only half a fist, which is barely enough for someone who doesn’t move, but it’s not enough for a handyman disciple who needs to work as a coolie.

Passing by a cliff cloud platform, Zhang Rongfang paused and looked down from the cloud platform.

A dark cloud filled the bottom of the mountain, the crescent moon above was shining brightly, and the mountains in the distance were silent, only the wind whistled through them.

Two noble men in sables also stood in the right corner of the cloud platform, talking in a low voice, not knowing whether it was watching the moon or talking.

Zhang Rongfang glanced at the light of the Taoist palace, the brown fur of the sable fur was slightly reflective under the light, and it was shiny and smooth.

He had always thought that sable fur was purple, but now it seems that there is no purple at all.

"What are you doing here? Don't affect the layman!" A group of patrolling priests walking behind him scolded in a low voice.

The man who took the lead was tall and strong, with a black beard, holding a lantern in one hand and a long stick in the other.

Looking at it from a distance, it looks like a tiger crossing the mountain, with burning eyes and a lot of power.

Zhang Rongfang sighed in his heart. Handy disciples have no human rights

On the surface, he hurriedly bowed his head and bowed his head in a salute.

"Yes. I'll be right back." He replied.

That tall and sturdy Daoist Daoist named Qishan was the disciple who led the team during this period of patrolling.

Zhang Rongfang had seen him several times and was quite impressed by him.

This person is a little over two meters tall, with a thick waist and broad shoulders, and strong limbs.

Daoist Qishan nodded and watched Zhang Rongfang hurriedly daring to go to the bungalow area of ​​the handyman disciple, then he looked away and continued to patrol.

In the blink of an eye, another half month passed.

In the past half month, Zhang Rongfang went to and from the washing room, the homework dojo, the cafeteria, and the disciple’s bungalow area every day.

The dry food he eats every day is completely devoid of oil and water, so he doesn't feel any sign of accumulating attribute points at all.

You must know that every time he accumulates attributes, he can feel a trace of heat gathering in his body.

But once the consumption is too large, this accumulated heat will be significantly weakened.

For more than ten days, Zhang Rongfang had to wash the clothes in large buckets every day, which was extremely physically exhausting.

He knew in his heart that he had to find a way to get out of this state.

But everything is not without good news. After sending the money, the handyman disciple was eliminated for the second time down the mountain, and his name was not in it.

This made Zhang Rongfang breathe a sigh of relief.

Taoism is highly valued in Daling. If you can go higher in the future, the treatment will be much better.

Time passed day by day, and in the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed.

Qinghe Palace sent away a group of distinguished guests who came to hold a tea party, and started a new round of screening and assessment of cultivation disciples every year.

Zhang Rongfang saw that there were not many attribute points on his attribute bar at all, and it was still 0. The more he realized in his heart, he couldn't waste time like this.

But for a while, he didn't have a good idea.

*

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*

April 1183.

Zhang Rongfang carried two buckets of clothes and walked along the mountain road towards the drying yard in the back mountain.

The sky is slightly bright, and the entire Qinghe Palace has a rectangular structure. The drying field at the back is next to the mountain forest stone wall, which is located outside the Taoist palace wall.

Except for the Taoists who came to dry clothes, basically no one would come here.

was surrounded by bare woods and pale rocks.

Zhang Rongfang took a few steps to take a break. On the one hand, the road here is not easy to walk, and on the other hand, the fog in the mountains was heavy at this time, and some could not see the front.

Every time like this, he heard the brothers and sisters in the washing room say that there may be monkeys in the mountains running out to steal clothes.

So be extra careful.

When drying clothes, someone must guard them. This time, Zhang Rongfang was lucky to get this relatively leisurely job.

Two buckets of clothing weighed sixty pounds, and he had to pick at least fifteen buckets back and forth, which was only part of the robes.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Rongfang wiped the sweat from his forehead and prepared to continue rushing forward.

At this moment, in the fog in front of the left, there were faint voices.

"I didn't come, what's the matter? Did she suspect you before?" a depressed young man said.

"I don't know. I shouldn't. She was talking to me last night," another female voice replied in panic.

"Anyway, I'm going to the town to buy this time, you are responsible for creating opportunities, this thing, put it in her gourd before I set off" The male voice lowered his voice as low as possible.

Zhang Rongfang's heart froze. It wasn't the first time he heard someone speak in private, but this time... there seemed to be some problems.

In the Taoist Palace, because the wind is strong, once the wind is down, the sound from a dozen meters away, even if it is suppressed, can still be heard to some extent.

And the parties are often not easy to detect.

Zhang Rongfang stood still for a moment and slowly stepped back.

There is usually no one here. Since the other party is secretly discussing this kind of thing, if he is discovered, the consequences may not be good.

Then he heard some explanations one after another.

He didn't want to take care of this kind of thing, and he didn't have the ability to take care of it, but just when he was about to turn around and wanted to leave, a name suddenly entered his ear.

Xiao Qingying!

Zhang Rongfang stood still, his eyes flickering uncertainly.

After a pause, he continued to step back for a while, and then he deliberately hummed the Taoist scriptures and walked ahead with his clothes on.

The    voice drifted far ahead, and soon after he reached the position just now, he really didn't hear a voice.

Obviously, the two who were secretly talking heard him approaching and left early.

Zhang Rongfang was thinking about it as he rushed forward.

He didn't know who    was speaking, but he remembered the voice. In addition, it was mentioned in the speech that she was going to buy medicine in the town. It seems that Xiao Qingying should be calculated on her way to the town to buy.

Then as long as she finds out when she is going to town, she can secretly remind her to report.

After reporting the letter, if something happened, on the one hand, he could repay Xiao Qingying's favor last time, and on the other hand, he might be able to.

Zhang Rong didn't change his expression, and went to the drying yard as usual, where he and another disciple put all the clothes on the drying pole, and pulled and patted them neatly in rows.

He didn't go to report the news right away, but still guarded the drying yard. He ate the black steamed buns he brought with him in the middle, and didn't pack up his clothes until the sun went down in the afternoon.

I have been busy all day until I finish my homework tonight, when the twilight drum is about to sound.

Zhang Rongfang quickly got up from the dojo and walked towards Xiao Rong who was about to leave.

Xiao Rong is the preacher who is in charge of the homework of all the miscellaneous disciples. His status is higher than that of ordinary practitioners, and he is equivalent to the deacon in the Qinghe Palace. Only under the Palace Master, the Prison Court, and the Palace Master.

He is also Xiao Qingying's biological father.

Xiao Rong has a beard on his face, and always carries a wine gourd on his body, but there is usually very little wine in it.

He is rumored to be a veritable alcoholic, but he is rarely seen drinking.

At this time, Xiao Rong saw that a handyman disciple got up and rushed towards him in the dojo. The pace was quicker, and he also paused for a while.

"Anything?"

Zhang Rongfang showed his fists in salute, and after he bowed his body, he said, "Disciple Zhang Rongfang, I have seen Master Mingguang."

"Come on, the drums are about to play again." Xiao Rong has a mild temper and doesn't have any bad thoughts on the handyman disciples.

His Dao name is also called Mingguang, and he has an officially certified mage title, so his honorary title is generally called his Mingguang mage.

"That's right, when the disciple went to the back mountain to dry his clothes in the daytime" Zhang Rongfang didn't hide the slightest bit, and truthfully told everything he heard.

As for how to judge, he believed that Xiao Rong had his own judgment.

As he explained little by little, Xiao Rong's sloppy expression at first gradually became dignified.

After Zhang Rongfang finished speaking, he thought for a while, glanced at the handyman disciples who had long since dispersed, and waved his hand.

"Are you sure you heard right?"

"Sure!" Zhang Rongfang nodded solemnly.

"If you can hear the sound of the morning again, can you tell?" Xiao Rong asked.

"It should be possible! I'm not sure." Zhang Rongfang nodded.

Xiao Rong showed a thoughtful look. Then he carefully looked at the messenger disciple in front of him.

"This matter is very important, you have thought about it, if you slander other disciples, but you will be punished with fifty canes, with your body and bones, there is basically no way to survive." He spoke again.

"The disciple does not dare to make a false statement." Zhang Rongfang said solemnly, "Actually, Senior Sister Xiao Qingying once helped the disciple once in the alley beside the Xuanxin Hall. The disciple has always kept it in mind. If it were someone else, the disciple should not dare to come out to report the letter, but when I heard that Senior Sister Xiao was involved, no matter what, the disciple did not dare to take the slightest concern."

Zhang Rong is sincere and frank. No matter in his previous life or now, he has the same character, and his grievances are clear. Gratitude will be rewarded.

So these words came from the bottom of my heart, and I said it decisively.

Hearing this, Xiao Rong's eyes moved slightly. The composition of the handyman disciples was not very good. Among them, it was extremely rare to have someone like this person, with clear articulation, clear thinking, kindness and righteousness.

Among the    handyman disciples, most of them were abandoned sons from nearby towns who were sent by various families to occupy Taoist status.

Many of them have been trained on how to serve others before coming. As for reading, literacy, articulation, and thinking, there are not many.

These days, not everyone is qualified to read and write. Even if the rich peasants and rich households have this spare money, they must have this time and energy.

Not to mention someone with such kindness

(end of this chapter)