Chapter 356 Leopard King and Queen Mother of the East The scholar felt strange, but still bowed to him. Lin Jue also nodded and returned the greeting. The two sides passed each other by. I don’t know whether these two people can get a response from “Empress Yaohua”, but the nod from “Empress Yaohua” and the nod from the man in red are completely different. The red-robed man is a spirit that roams around the examination room and likes poetry and prose. When he nods, he has already seen the examinee's answer sheet, and the examinee has already finished writing the answer sheet. But if "Yaohua Niangniang" nods, or other people who make divinations give results, it may affect the examinee's answer sheet in advance, making the examinee depressed, confident, or relaxed. There were too many unexpected changes in the process. Therefore, whether you can pass the exam depends on yourself. Just like Lin Jue is the same—— If this "Empress Yaohua" tells me that there is no danger this time, I must not relax my mind. If I relax my mind, danger may come to me. If "Empress Yaohua" tells me that this time is very dangerous, I must not be too nervous, which will lead to me being restricted and not being able to perform at my best. It must be adopted with due consideration.

Therefore, such a vague reminder might be better, and perhaps this is also the consideration of "Empress Yaohua". Lin Jue returned to the lake and fellow Taoist Bai Lu was still waiting. The fox kept her word and did not become smaller, allowing Taoist Egret to continue carrying her. Instead, she became a little bigger so that she could carry the small bag and walk in the wind. Lin Jue flew alone to the capital on a egret. The huge and prosperous city appeared below. Every street and alley, the buildings, shops and people on the streets were clearly visible and it was very bustling. Compared with the quiet, deserted and beautiful Yishan, it was like two completely different worlds in the same sky and earth. Only then did I feel that the first half of the mountain in front was like a dream. Lin Jue shook his head and threw away the distracting thoughts in his mind. With a quick glance, I saw the Taoist temple outside the city. At this afternoon, there was not a trace of smoke rising. The egret turned and flew towards the Zhenjian Palace. After a while—— A young Taoist priest was sweeping the floor in Zhenjian Palace. The friction between the broom and the ground made a clear rustling sound that was calming. Suddenly, he looked up and saw a white egret flying slowly in the blue sky. The egret flapped its wings and landed lightly on the courtyard wall. A figure jumped off its back and turned into a Taoist priest when it landed. "Who?" The young Taoist priest was startled, then reacted, put down his broom, and bowed quickly: "Oh! But Brother Lin from Fuqiu Temple?" "That's right!" Lin Jue returned the greeting. Seeing that he was unfamiliar, he thought that he had just come from Xuantian Temple in Qiyun Mountain, so he asked, "Where is Brother Jiang?" "Senior Brother Jiang has left, and the other brothers have also gone to the northwest. They just left at noon today, and now I am the only one left in the Taoist temple." The young Taoist said to him, "Before Senior Brother Jiang left, he said that Brother Lin might come to the temple today, and asked me to tell him..." The young Taoist priest must have been practicing Taoism for a short time. Just like Junior Brother Ma at the beginning, he still felt a little afraid of these monsters. Even when he talked about them, he felt like he was discussing the affairs of gods and immortals, so he was very nervous. Halfway through his speech, he felt dry in the mouth and had to swallow before he could continue: “Two things happened in Qinzhou recently: "One is that in the northwest, the Leopard King, who had been dormant for a year, came out to cause trouble again and abducted many villagers. He must be trying to use these villagers as blood food to restore his vitality or raise another general. "Second, in the northeast, the usually low-key Queen Mother of the East suddenly became more public, and preached extensively in Yunmeng County, and even sent the 'Eternal Life Document' to the capital, saying that if you hold the document and believe in the Queen Mother of the East, you can be immortal. Some ministers have secretly collected it. In the northeast of Qinzhou, officials and people no longer worship the court, but only the Queen Mother of the East.

"Both events have shocked the capital. Senior Brother Jiang said that Senior Brother Lin should decide for himself where to go." After the young Taoist priest finished speaking, he stood still. "Two things..." Lin Jue muttered to himself, but did not make a decision at this time, nor did he tell the little Taoist priest. He just bowed and said "goodbye", then got on the egret again and flew into the sky. In the small courtyard, Mr. Luo was reading a letter with his head down. As if he had noticed something, he raised his head and saw a egret flying back from the blue sky and landing on the crabapple tree. Another white fox with a bag on its back climbed back over the wall. "Did Lord Luo also burn the Chen Niu Talisman to call me back?" After landing, Lin Jue took a closer look and was surprised, "What is Lord Luo looking at?" "Letter home." Mr. Luo put away the letter in his hand, stood up and said: "I didn't burn it, because I knew that Taoist Master Jiang in Zhenjian Palace outside the city had burned it. She first asked the Taoist priest in the temple to look for you in the courtyard. After confirming that you were not there, she informed me that you also asked her to help keep an eye on the monster in the northwest, so that we didn't have to burn a Chenniu Talisman each." "I see." "Recently, two monsters in Qinzhou have been causing chaos at the same time, as if they had discussed it beforehand. One of them has been plundering and eating the people, and the other has been preaching and causing trouble for the government. The court has issued an order to invite the extraordinary people in Juxian Mansion to deal with them, and is even preparing to send troops to Yunmeng County." Lord Luo turned his head and looked at him and said, "At noon today, Wu Lingshi from the Ministry of Rites and the eunuchs in the palace came to you and said that if 'Master Lin' can get rid of one of them, he will give you a thousand taels of gold, ten hu of pearls, as well as carriages, horses, jades, and beautiful servants. In the future, you can be treated as a national teacher." He sneered as he said this: "Now the court is corrupt and precarious, the palace is finally getting anxious." In Lin Jue's ears, the four words "a thousand taels of gold" sound the most beautiful. This is the missing ingredient in the golden elixir. "I stopped by Zhenjian Palace on the way here and heard about it." Lin Jue frowned, "Where do you think Luo Gong should go?" "This is a matter of demons and ghosts, and the Taoist priest should make the decision." Lord Luo shook his head and looked at the letter in his hand. "I have been wandering in the capital for the past few years. Since the beginning of this year, my family has sent me eight letters urging me to go home. Now my dream of the capital when I was young is over. I have followed the Taoist priest to get rid of the demon this time, and my dream of chivalry is over. It is time for me to go home." "Mr. Luo is leaving too..." "All good things must come to an end," said Mr. Luo. "Don't worry, we will see each other again in the future." "Too." Lin Jue was prepared for this. Mr. Luo was an ambitious man. He came to the capital in the first place with the intention of serving the country and gaining a reputation with his martial arts. However, he eventually discovered that the imperial court had long been corrupt and could no longer be saved. But for a man like him, where would he not be able to use his talents if he left the court? Perhaps leaving the capital was just the beginning for him. How many such men of the hour, heroes of the world, are there in the world? The world is vast, but heroes are few. They are like stars in the night. Even if they are scattered in all directions, how can they not meet each other? Lin Jue thought for a moment, left the courtyard and went to Master Fan's courtyard. There is a smell of incense. When Lin Jue walked into Master Fan's courtyard, he found that he was worshipping a statue in a room. This is a clay statue. The color has faded and the surface is mottled. It is impossible to tell who it belongs to, but he has placed it in the middle of the altar. There is an incense burner in front of it filled with burnt incense sticks, and a wide variety of offerings below. It seems that this statue has been sincerely worshipped. "Whose idol is this?"

"Brother Daoist, are you back?" Tianshi Fan turned around, then smiled bitterly and shook his head, "To be honest, I don't know either." "Then why do you offer it?" "It's a long story." Fan Tianshi said, "When I was wandering in the northwest, I accidentally encountered a big monster that was searching the mountains and eating people. I took refuge in a dilapidated temple. The statues in the temple were all broken and tattered, but this one statue barely maintained its appearance, without its hands or head cut off. I burned incense and prayed to it..." Master Fan squatted down and took a look, his eyes shining: "It was that night that the great demon arrived in front of the temple. He was the first general under the Leopard King. But there was a flash of lightning, like the light of a sword, and the demon general and many of his demon soldiers were all turned into ashes." "I see." Lin Jue thought of the story about Master Fan inviting divine soldiers and generals to eliminate the big monster. So that’s where it started. Being able to kill a demon general and many demon soldiers with just one sword is something that an ordinary god should not be able to do. He must be a true god in heaven. But when Lin Jue looked carefully, he couldn't tell who this person was, even though he had seen so many statues of gods. However, a mud pillar can be seen on the left side of the mottled and peeling statue. It should have been a long sword. It can be confirmed that it is probably a real war god. Lin Jue didn't think too much about it and just asked Master Fan Tian about the matter of the "Queen Mother of the East". "The Queen Mother of the East is quite mysterious and has always kept a low profile. Although I came from the north, I don't know much about her. I only know that although she has a doctrine of "following me will lead to longevity, disobeying me will lead to disaster", she has always only preached and not harmed people. Even the strange people who went to the northeast to eliminate monsters mostly returned empty-handed and intact." As soon as Master Fan heard it, he knew that he came to eliminate monsters, so he explained in detail, "However, there are rumors in the world that the Queen Mother of the East is much more powerful than the Leopard King. The Leopard King only dared to go west, south and north, but he didn't dare to go east." Lin Jue nodded after hearing this. Indeed, we rarely hear of the "Queen Mother of the East" harming people. Even in the northeast of Qinzhou, most people don't know that there is such a monster called the Queen Mother of the East. They only know that there is such a deity. Pan Gong also said that the Queen Mother of the East might have already achieved enlightenment, and the Leopard King and the Crocodile King were wary of her. But when he heard the word "eternal life", Lin Jue couldn't help but ask: "Can you really achieve immortality?" "The Queen Mother of the East will issue a document called the 'Longevity Order' to her followers. Anyone who wears it and never loses it will gain longevity." Tianshi Fan said, "In the northeast of Qinzhou, there are several 'immortals' who have lived from the previous dynasty to the present, and they have all become the elders of the Longevity Cult." "I see." I don’t know what kind of magic of immortality this is. If the document is obtained, I wonder if the ancient books will react? "A few days ago, the Queen Mother of the East sent three documents to the capital, asking the princes of the capital to believe in her. It is said that they have all been destroyed as sorcery. However, as far as I know, none of them have been truly destroyed. It's just that those people have hidden them, and I don't know where they are." Fan Tianshi said, "The Queen Mother of the East also set up a square platform in Yunmeng County and recruited many disciples. It is said that as long as you go there, anyone who has a high position or great magical power in the world will be granted the 'Eternal Life Order'." "Recruiting talents..." "You can also say it's recruiting soldiers and buying horses." "Um……" Lin Jue couldn't help but look thoughtful. I recalled the words of "Empress Yaohua" in my heart - The mind determines blessing and misfortune; the choice determines safety and danger. (End of this chapter)