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It's past noon, and the daily lunch break at noon in the small town's rural school has just passed. The students have returned to the thatched cottage in twos and threes, each sitting behind his own desk, with his back straight and upright, Waiting for Mr. to come and give lectures.

Except for the down-and-out young man who has no spare money to afford his own education, almost all the teenagers in the town who are about the same age are already sitting in this thatched cottage, such as sitting in the middle of the first row. The nerd named Chen Ji, the legitimate son of the head of the Chen family who is closest to him, and Liu Qingqiu, the eldest daughter of the head of the Liu family sitting at the table next to him, and Han Yuanfu, the only son of the Han family sitting in the second row behind them, Zhu Zhen, the legitimate son of the Zhu family, and Liu Qinghui, the legitimate son of the Liu family, obviously belong to the category that does not like reading. Birds of a feather flock together, and there are similar smells. There are more than 30 boys and girls in the whole thatched cottage, and the two of them are in the last row. , because it was the furthest away from the Mr. Qingshan who was in charge of teaching, so it was naturally the best place for them to take a nap or entertain themselves.

Zhao Jicheng, the only son of Zhao Yu, a wealthy man who was lame with one leg, seemed like an outlier. He neither sat with the people in the front row nor with the two legitimate sons with the surnamed family in the back row. He chose a side. I sat down in a well-ventilated position near the window, blending in with the crowd, not standing out, not eye-catching, ordinary and unknown.

Today, Mr. Cui, a private school teacher in a small town, went against the norm and entered the thatched cottage on time. However, he did not start classes as usual. Instead, he asked the students to review their books and learn new things by reviewing the past. , as long as you read carefully, there will always be a few sunflowers blooming among the words you have read.

The sound of reading comes out of the thatched cottage, and the trickling poetry moistens the heartstrings.

The teacher, who had nothing to do, walked slowly among the students' desks. After walking around for a few times, he stopped beside Han Yuanfu's desk intentionally or unintentionally. He raised his hand and tapped the table to signal. This clever student went out on his own.

Someone noticed the movement here, such as the only son of the Zhao family who was looking out the window boredly, but he only glanced at it and then looked away, with no intention of studying it in detail. As for Han Yuanfu who was named, he closed the book seriously and then He stretched out his hand to straighten the cover of the book, smoothed it, and put it neatly. Then he stood up and followed the middle-aged private school teacher out of the thatched cottage. He then followed the teacher through the bamboo forest, and finally stopped at the four-legged building in the inner courtyard of the rural private school gate. Near Fangding.

Mr. Cui stretched out his hand and gently wiped it on the outer wall of the square tripod. A cool breath came along the palm of his hand. The Confucian scholar just smiled slightly, then turned around and looked at the young man behind him, smiled warmly and said: "This afternoon I’ll give you half a day off, now you can go home and have a look.”

Han Yuanfu has had a sharp mind since he was a child, which he probably inherited from his mother. Hearing his husband simply say this, he immediately guessed a certain possibility, but his expression was a little hesitant, and he looked at his husband but hesitated to speak.

The Confucian scholar in green shirt knew what he was thinking. He smiled and looked up at the rays of sunlight penetrating from the top of the bamboo forest. He said in a gentle voice, "Go and have a look. It's not necessarily all bad. Although Sir, I have taught you how to read and write. Be benevolent and observant of etiquette, cultivate your character with intention, but never think that all the students in this thatched cottage should only follow the path of "reading thousands of books". The world is huge and there are thousands of roads. Traveling thousands of miles may not be certain. It’s better to read thousands of books.”

When the young man Han Yuanfu heard this, he looked at his husband, then turned his head and glanced at the thatched cottage behind the bamboo forest where books could be heard. Then he took a deep breath, bowed to the Confucian scholar in blue, and then turned around and walked out of the thatched cottage. Go.

Mr. Cui, the teacher of the school, smiled and accepted the student's greeting calmly, and then watched him walk out quietly. At the door of the rural school, the young man paused for a moment, then stepped out resolutely and never looked back.

The world is burning with fire, and flowers are blooming with brocade. Every smart and motivated young man should have his own beautiful world and golden story.

……

Yanguan Town has existed for a long time and has a mysterious origin. The people living here have lived and worked in peace and contentment for generations, and there have been occasional minor romances and minor disasters, but there have never been major disasters.

In the eyes of the world outside the small town, those who don’t understand only know that there are unparalleled spiritual seeds here and are extremely talented, while those who understand mostly know that this place called a small town is actually a great formation. , the hundreds of schools of thought involved, especially the Three Religions, are not mentioned at all and remain silent.

When Han Yuanfu was playing chess with his husband in the Five-Fang Pavilion, he once mentioned that the couplet at the entrance of the Five-Fang Pavilion has various meanings, but they are not from the same family. Each has its own origin and allusion. It’s different, and few people know that the real inscriber of that couplet with a strange combination of words is a famous scholar who has been famous for thousands of years and is a scholar of Confucianism and Taoism. In his early years, he was an official to a general. He is a military attaché, but what really makes him famous is his calligraphy, which is perfect in cursive, running and regular script. It is sonorous and ethereal, flying white is clear, the breeze comes out of his sleeves, and the bright moon enters his arms. He has become a recognized "saint" among the nine continents. "The word is passed down from generation to generation and shines brightly.

This pair of couplets with great origins, coupled with the saying of a certain lineage of scholars that there are five poles in the nine palaces, is placed in the center of this square town. In the eyes of knowledgeable people, it will be easy to see. Thousands of golden threads spread out, covering this small town. The four thickest golden threads extended to the four directions of the southeast, northwest and east of the town. Zhelongbei, Xuannv Lake in the north of the town, Jinzhu Cliff in the west of the town and red maple forest in the south of the town are connected, like four river-holding iron bulls cast on the river bank to pull the bridge ropes, weaving the golden threads into the The bowl was tilted upside down above the town.

Not only are the five elements derived from hundreds of things, but also the four images come together, and they are the door to all mysteries, both mysterious and mysterious.

……

Han Yuanfu, who left the gate of the rural school, didn't know why. After arriving on Taoli Street outside the gate, he lowered his head and thought for a moment, but did not go directly to his pastry shop near the center of the town. Instead, he first Turning left and heading east, I went to the east entrance of the town. I looked at the old bronze bell hanging on the old locust tree at the entrance of the town from a distance, and then looked at the slovenly old bells, one big and one small, sitting under the tree. A pair of desolate neighbors were facing each other head-to-head, as if they were plotting something big. He did not step forward out of curiosity, but chose to remain silent for a long time, then turned around and took a step along the east street of the town. Walk to the Wufangting intersection.

The swarthy man squatting at the door of the pastry shop didn't know that his son had changed his route home today. He was still staring at the intersection of North Street, so he didn't notice the young man coming from East Street. When he noticed it, Han Yuanfu had already arrived at the door of the shop. , I happened to hear the wealthy Xian family boy from Shijizhou in the shop smiling broadly and talking about the win-win situation of business going to the next level.

Liu Yuqing finished her sentence and noticed that her son had returned home early for the first time today. The smile on her face and eyes became a little brighter, but she did not speak any more.

Han Yuanfu raised his feet and crossed the threshold of the shop, looked at the parents and nodded, then turned to look at Zhang Jinhuai, and said straight to the point: "You and I both know the intention of both parties, so I won't say any more nonsense. Just tell me where that person is." Who are the first-class talents, and who else has gotten those few opportunities to come from behind?"

Zhang Jinhuai, a boy from the Xian family who was sitting on his chair without getting up, looked at this young man from a small town who suddenly walked in and lifted the table when he saw him. He raised his eyebrows and answered the question with great interest: "I have to say, you seem to be better than I thought. Be smarter, and if a good brain can be considered a talent, you should be able to stand firmly in the first line."

Listening to this seemingly complimentary words, Han Yuanfu was neither surprised nor happy. His face was expressionless and he simply replied: "Does it make sense?"

Zhang Jinhuai smiled and said: "Even if there are some, there are not many. There are very few practitioners who are really not smart. If you are not smart enough, you will not even be able to find the threshold for entry into practice. There is no need to say more. I have said it, but after all, spiritual practice is not a reading test. Spiritual roots, luck, and closeness to the great road are the foundation. It can even be said that one is indispensable. To be honest, just relying on smart words may be able to get a good ranking in the dynasty imperial examination. , but it’s not enough to face the spiritual path.”

Han Yuanfu was not surprised by this. Some things were obvious. These foreigners traveled thousands of miles and took the trouble to come to Yanguan Town, not because of how smart the people here were. On the contrary, in his opinion, , some people here are actually not very smart, such as the head of the Zhu family.

"You haven't answered my question yet." Han Yuanfu seemed to be in a bad mood at the moment and didn't want to talk too much, so he reminded Zhang Jinhuai again.

Zhang Jinhuai, who was still a little uninterested and bored at first, suddenly became interested. He found that this transaction did not seem to be a loss. This young man named Han was very interesting, so he changed his position again and half Leaning on the back of the chair behind him, he replied with a smile: "If you want to talk about the best talent, naturally the eldest daughter of the Liu family is the most talented. She deserves to be the first in talent. If I guessed correctly, she should not be the best. It’s so simple to find the door, but you have actually crossed the threshold and truly started.”

"Then what?" Han Yuanfu still spoke simply, and took advantage of the situation to find a chair to sit down. He happened to face Zhang Jinhuai across a coffee table, quite a bit of a rivalry.

Zhang Jinhuai didn't take it seriously and continued: "The next best thing is Chen Ji, the legitimate son of the Chen family, and Zhao Jicheng, the Zhao family..." He hesitated slightly as he spoke, but when he saw Han Yuanfu's calmness After looking at him, he still chose to tell the truth, "And you can barely be counted in the same column as them, but you can only be considered at the bottom... Of course, Zhu's little fat guy is also considered one, but it's a pity that his rich father is not very good." You are smart, but you lost a basket of watermelons for a sesame seed, and your business skills are terrible."

At the end of the sentence, the Xian family boy slowly shook his head, with a strange expression, which seemed to be pity and ridicule.

Han Yuanfu nodded slightly, which was pretty much the same as he estimated, so he looked at Zhang Jinhuai and asked, "Can I ask what that basket of watermelons refers to?"

"The Yuanjia Sword Sect belongs to the same rank as the Xihe Sword Sect behind the two women from the Li family. There are many sword immortals and a profound foundation. It can be said to be a group of immortal sects in Jiuzhou second only to Zhuzi Baijia. It’s the truly top-notch wealthy family in the world.”

When Zhang Jinhuai finished speaking, he had already vaguely realized that something was not right, but a thought flashed past him. When he tried to reach out and grab it again, he could no longer find it. This feeling was not good, so he made this habit The young man from the Xian family who sexually controlled the whole situation was very uncomfortable. Just when he was a little troubled by this and frowned slightly, he heard the young man from the small town opposite said lightly: "Zhu Zhen of the Zhu family could have done business with the Yuanjia Sword Sect. , Zhao Jicheng has even reached an agreement with the Prime Minister's Palace of Xinghe Continent, Chen Ji... I heard that their Chen family is actually a branch, and its main line is in Nanxi Continent. It is a top nobleman who holds half of the continent. I made a blind guess. The eldest daughter of the Liu family has also been arranged for a long time. Although I don’t know which family it is, I think that based on her talent, she will not be a small family, so I haven’t had time to ask and talk to me. Where do you come from when it comes to buying and selling? I wonder how good the mountain gate behind you is compared to the ones in front of you?"

Once the words are spoken, they are like thunder!
Although this sentence was not said very straightforwardly, it was almost a slap in the face to Hong Guoguo. Even the elder of the Yunlin Sect who had not said a word since entering the door was embarrassed. Come, with a gloomy face, squinting at Han Yuanfu who looks calm across the way.

The dark-skinned man squatting at the door was still squatting on the ground with his arms folded. His eyes scanned the faces of the people on both sides of the coffee table, as if he didn't understand what they said, while Liu Yuqing, the proprietress standing next to the man, I couldn't help but change my face slightly. I wanted to speak, but I didn't dare to interrupt. I clenched my hands tightly and sweat was already forming on my palms.

Zhang Jinhuai's face was the most ugly, and he couldn't help but twitch slightly at the corner of his eye. He finally understood what the bad thought that flashed before him was. It turned out that the country boy in front of him had been calm and composed since he entered the door, and kept talking about it. The topic leads in a certain direction, just for this moment!
"What an exquisite bargaining skill!" The young man from the Xian family who understood it smiled coldly, "After all, you are the last first-class talented cultivation seed in this town. Even if you are at the bottom, you are still one of them, and I, the Yunlin Sect, But it is indeed not as good as those top wealthy families, so you are the one who is favored by us?" "Don't dare." Han Yuanfu saw the two people opposite him getting angry and fighting, so he stopped and did not choose to go deeper. To stimulate the other party, he just said lightly: "I just think that since we are talking about business, we should naturally be open and honest, and pay attention to true sincerity. Your previous actions were too false and true, too deceiving, and a little unethical."

This young man from a small town who has been smart since he was a child and has gotten smarter as he grows up. It can even be said that he is so smart that he is almost like a demon. Just through the few words he heard before entering the door, he already understood what happened between the two parties before he arrived. Such a conversation.

He grew up in a shop, and every day he looked at his father, who only knew how to work with his head down, never saying a word, and was simple to the point of being honest, and his mother, who always cared about everything and was as meticulous as a philistine. But this does not mean that he will think there is anything wrong with his father and mother. He has learned certain things from both of them, and can even learn from one another to make things better. Everyone lives in this world and has a different position, so he lives in a different position. The laws are also different, that's all, it has nothing to do with right or wrong.

Therefore, when he guessed that Zhang Jinhuai must be using Qiao's identity and his words and actions were not very authentic, he did not hesitate to choose an eye for an eye. There was no need to worry that the other party would become angry and the two sides would break up, because Yunlin Zonggao It’s either a low-achieving job or a low-level job, and there aren’t many options.

Zhang Jinhuai took a deep breath, regained his gentle smile, and said with a smile: "It's true that I am not very authentic in what I do."

As he spoke, he turned to the pair of shopkeepers at the door, nodded in greeting, and said sorry.

Han Kui and his wife were a little flattered, mixed with a touch of worry and pride. As parents, most of the joys, sorrows and joys in most of their lives come from the child they worked hard to raise.

The boy from the Xian family smiled when he saw this, turned his head and looked at the boy from the small town opposite, and asked with a smile: "You are still satisfied, what should you say next?"

Han Yuanfu nodded, and said a vague thank you, and then he got really serious and said with a serious expression: "Tell me about the opportunity you mentioned before that can come from behind and be a win-win situation for you and me. I want to know what it is. ?”

"You really don't look like you were born and raised in this place at all. If it weren't for the presence of a saint in this place, I would even begin to wonder if you were a bureau arranged by some foreign celestial sect here to wait for us to be like this. Foreigners took the bait!" Zhang Jinhuai listened to the determined tone of the young man across from him, shook his head and sighed. The young man in front of him was frighteningly sharp, "I'm very curious, how do you know so many things? This is completely different. The vision that an ordinary town citizen should have.”

The young man from the small town who was asked the reason, one of the top students in the rural school, just smiled slightly when he heard this, turned his eyes and looked at the five-cornered pavilion opposite the shop facade outside the door, which was actually invisible from this direction. That couplet, but he still didn't come back to his senses for a long time. He just said two words lightly: "Guess."

-

Half a moment ago, under the old locust tree at the entrance of the town, when Han Yuanfu stood on the corner and looked over, the town watchman and the lonely poor boy were discussing the so-called "water charm".

The moment the smart Han boy left the corner and turned west, the two of them turned to look at the figure who was slowly leaving, with different expressions and thoughtful expressions.

"Who do you think he came to see?" The sloppy man didn't look back when he spoke, still staring at the back.

Chu Yuanxiao looked away, glanced sideways at Hou Junchen, rolled his eyes and said, "I'm not here to see you anyway."

After hearing this, Hou Junchen also looked back at the young man and sneered: "Who did you learn to be so shameless from?"

Chu Yuanxiao didn't answer this time, but looked at people with sincere eyes.

The sloppy man became angry for a moment, raised his hand and slapped the boy on the back of the head.

The young man staggered after being slapped. He stretched his neck and patted the old locust tree behind him, and cursed: "Can't I fucking say that he came to see this old locust tree? You understood it wrong?" You call me shameless, can you blame me?"

Hou Junchen snorted and sneered, "You are quite good at picking!"

The young man did not refute, but shrugged, looked at the sloppy man seriously and asked, "You haven't finished what you just said. What's going on with that Shui Yun you were talking about?"

"The fundamental reason why there are so many outsiders coming here to recruit disciples in Yanguan Town is because this place itself is a large formation that involves very deep avenues and contains the knowledge of many scholars and hundreds of schools of thought. You don’t need to know its true purpose for the time being. You only need to know that this formation has had a supporting function since it was first completed. That is, it will continuously absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around the formation for its own use. The purpose is to protect it. Its real purpose is due to the circulation of spiritual energy during its operation. You can say it is a loss or intentional. In short, these spiritual energy will continue to wash away everyone in it and infiltrate them. The small world of the human body is just like the embankment on the river bank. The soil will be soaked by the river water. In fact, it stands to reason that the pure spiritual energy of heaven and earth cannot be directly incorporated into the human body. The immortal monks spend a large part of their time meditating. It is all spent on refining this type of spiritual energy, but this is another magical thing about this formation, because it itself is a furnace for smelting spiritual energy, and the people who are washed and soaked in it are The villagers in the small town are full of spiritual energy without even realizing it.”

When Hou Junchen talked about these things, his eyes showed undisguised admiration and admiration. It must be said that the powerful people who set up this formation were really thorough in their methods and strategies, and they had fantastic ideas. Exquisite.

"This kind of ownerless and harmless spiritual energy flushing is of great benefit to the small world of the human body, especially babies born here in ten months. And because it runs a cycle every 60 years, every time it reaches the period of Jiazi, This group of young people at that time will most likely be the most talented and talented group of cultivation seeds."

"Originally, this formation was set up here by the three sects and one family, so it is logical that these cultivation seeds should be shared by these four families. This is reasonable and reasonable." When the sloppy man said this, the respect in his tone seemed to be more obvious. Some, "But those four families have just put aside their sectarian views. Every year, they will open the formation gate, allowing people from the Jiuzhou Jianghu to enter, select the cultivation seeds they like, and return to the mountain to cultivate them."

When the poor boy heard this, he also nodded. He didn't understand the general principle, but he knew one thing, that is, he had to share the meat in his bowl with others. Such a decision was not easy to make. If you are willing to give it, It's true that you don't want to give out love. With this thought in mind, I asked again, "Is it free? Are there any conditions?"

"There are not too harsh conditions. Before entering the town, each family must pay a deposit of [-]% of the sect's luck. If they successfully take away a seed, they must pay an additional [-]%, which adds up to a total of [-]%. Luck." This was Hou Junchen's answer.

After hearing this, the young man roughly understood. Although he didn't know what a sect's luck was, he thought it was similar to human luck. A cultivation seed exchanged for [-]% of a sect's luck. The price... wasn't cheap.

Hou Junchen knew what the young man was thinking without even looking. He was a little helpless, but he still explained: "If you take away one of the cultivation seeds here, it is equivalent to digging a corner of this formation. If you dig too much, you will not be able to make up for it by eating it." , there will always be times when everything is empty, and [-]% of the luck will be given back to make up for the corner, so that the formation can continue to operate, so that the entire mountain, down the mountain, and on the top of the rivers and lakes can eat this bowl of rice. In the long run, so that children and grandchildren can have food to eat without end, this is not what those four families want to make money!"

"Besides, when you come to do business, if you have good vision and good luck, you can pick out a talent seed that is one in a million. As long as you cultivate it properly, he may not be [-]% lucky when he gets ahead in the future. The problem is, it depends on how you calculate the account!"

When Chu Yuanxiao heard this, he naturally understood that he had thought wrong before, but after thinking about it, he still wondered: "Then what does this have to do with the Shui Yun you mentioned?"

After hearing this, Hou Junchen looked at the young man, sighed, and said: "Actually, the young people in the small town are not the biggest benefit of this formation, because every time it operates, the most majestic aura is actually The savings are all concentrated in the five points in the southeast, northwest, and middle, which coincides with the theory of the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Among them, the earth element aura belonging to the Wufang Pavilion in the town is the most abundant, but it is used in Under the entire formation, it is used to maintain the stability of the foundation of the formation. Although the other four Qi of metal, wood, water and fire have the same function, only half of it is actually used, and the remaining half settles down, just right. The green, black, red and white, which coincided with the four spirits of heaven, were eaten by the spirits of the four elephants that were born at the four formations, and transformed into the four auras of gold, wood, water and fire, which were different from the luck mentioned earlier. But for Taoist practice, the benefits are also limitless.”

"Is this of any use?"

This was the first time that Chu Yuanxiao Zheng'er Ba Jing heard such a mysterious statement. He had never read a book and didn't know what the five elements were or what the four spirits were. He just barely knew some names, such as the names of Huang Tian Hou Tu, and Every household in a small town has to rank their ancestors during the New Year and festivals, as well as the Kitchen God shrine, the heaven and earth gods, etc. They each offer a portion of incense to the gods, sending them first and then welcoming them. God says good things, and the lower world brings good luck." You should also burn some pine branches and other offerings in the center of the yard, and it is best to burn a stick of incense... When the old drunkard was still alive, he occasionally said something simple, such as the yard The place in the middle is called the Zhonggong, which belongs to the Houtu God. It is said that it has a very high status in the real immortal world in the sky, but there is no more.

Most of the customs and habits passed down from generation to generation in various places in the world are practiced by the previous generation and followed by the next generation. The predecessors may not explain it clearly, and the descendants just follow it and may not understand it. In short, it is called being particular. Where is it? Do you really know all these things?
When the sloppy man heard the young man's question, he looked him up and down. The rich aura on his body made him a little dizzy, so he sighed again and said feebly: "Gift to the destined person."

……