Taoist Myth: I am the last true immortal in the world

Chapter 487 Right and wrong, success and failure are all in vain, so many things in the past and present are just a joke

The capital of all dynasties was Luoyang, with four rivers flowing around nine mountains.

How many emperors built this city, it is impossible to describe them all throughout history.

This Luoyang city was the capital of the Later Tang Dynasty. It had thirty-six flower-and-willow lanes and seventy-two orchestral towers, which were particularly majestic and spectacular.

However, the death of Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang plunged prosperous Luoyang into an inexplicable mood of sadness.

The people did not dare to seek pleasure, and instead a contradictory scene emerged.

There were two men outside the city who failed to pass the imperial examination and engaged in other industries to make a living, but they did not forget their roots.

A hunter named Yuan Cheng.

A boatman named Zhou Quan.

They were both young and energetic and had a dispute in the academy, but they never spoke to each other again.

One day, Yuan Cheng hunted a spotted leopard and brought it into the city to sell.

After exchanging the copper coins, he went to an open-air tavern for lunch.

Yuan Cheng was a little tipsy at the time and couldn't help but write a poem called "Dielianhua".

The woodcutters and fishermen nearby were illiterate and of course could not understand the mystery.

Yuan Cheng felt sorry at the time that no one could understand the article.

Unexpectedly, a boatman who was pulling people across the river suddenly came in from outside. Seeing the poem written on the mud, he couldn't help clapping his hands and exclaiming: "Great! What a wonderful poem! The spring is warm and the red is thin and the green is lush, and suddenly the summer solstice has arrived!"

Yuan Cheng had his back to the person at the time and didn't know who the person was.

Hearing that someone appreciated his poems, he felt like he had found a close friend.

Yuan Cheng turned around and said, "Brother, you can appreciate the beauty of my poem. Please come and have a drink with me..."

Before he could finish his words, his eyes widened, "It's you, little brat!"

It turned out that the boatman was Zhou Quan, Yuan Cheng's childhood enemy.

Zhou Quan didn't seem to expect Yuan Cheng to appear here.

The joy that originally came from appreciating the mysterious meaning of the poem suddenly froze.

He snorted coldly and said, "So it's you, a wild man, who has entered the city. I was wondering who wrote the poem."

He was not saying that Yuan Cheng was a real savage, but was calling him a "country bumpkin".

Yuan Cheng had never gotten along with Zhou Quan before. When he heard him scolding him, he was furious. He sneered and said, "You boatman, if you don't know better, you might think you are a top-class scholar. You are so self-righteous. In my opinion, you should be more careful when you walk by the river. Don't let the wind and the weather change suddenly and you may run into danger. Otherwise, there will be few old friends on the street tomorrow!"

Zhou Quan was furious when he heard this, "You are not a human being! We have some problems, but you are a scholar and you want to be a hunter, but you also curse me to death? If I capsize and fall into the water, you will definitely be killed by tigers and bears!"

Yuan Cheng laughed and said, "I will never suffer this disaster in my lifetime."

Zhou Quan sneered, "Wild beasts in the mountains are unpredictable. Can you really guarantee that you won't be taken away for the rest of your life?"

Yuan Cheng said confidently: "You live on the water, which is extremely dangerous. It is possible that you will fall into the water and get into trouble. Although there are many wild beasts in my mountain, I have the guidance of the immortals, so I will never encounter large beasts. How could you be taken away?"

Zhou Quan was surprised. "The immortal pointed the way? Are you serious?"

Yuan Cheng said jokingly, "You don't know, there's a fortune teller on the East Gate Street in Luoyang City these past two days. I only need to release a rabbit every day, and he will tell me a fortune. According to the direction, I've never encountered a tiger or a bear. I can't explain it to you, a brat. Now that I've had enough to eat and drink, I'll leave!"

After saying that, Yuan Cheng threw the coin on the table and left with a burp.

……

As the saying goes, what you talk on the street falls into the ears of others.

There was a guard who accompanied Li Congke to Beijing to attend the funeral. He happened to have nothing to do, so he went out to play for half a day. He was so thirsty that he came to an open-air tavern to have a drink. Who would have thought that he would hear the voices of Yuan Cheng and Zhou Quan arguing with each other.

The guard was particularly surprised and talked about it with many of his brothers after returning, and Li Congke happened to hear it.

Li Congke called the guard aside and asked, "Are you serious about what you just said?"

The guard said respectfully, "Reporting to Prince Lu, I also heard it from others, and I don't know whether it is true or not."

Li Congke nodded slightly, waved his sleeves to disperse the guards, and said nothing more.

Since the death of Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang, he had been summoned to the important capital to attend the funeral, and had often been harassed by the new emperor.

This made Li Congke uneasy, fearing that the new emperor would be wary of his sworn brother's power and would eliminate him.

Now I heard the guards talking about a fortune teller in Dongmen Street.

Li Congke wondered whether he should go over and ask the gentleman to tell his fortune to see what his future fate would be.

This thought kept circulating and rising in Li Congke's mind.

Even when he was sleeping that night, he dreamed of asking a fortune teller to tell his fortune.

So, early the next morning, Li Congke, who was really obsessed, disguised himself and walked towards Dongmen Street.

……

On Dongmen Street.

Li Congke, who was wearing a jade-colored Luolan robe and a Xiaoyao scarf on his head, came over and saw a large group of people gathered outside the gate of Laojun Temple.

Crowded and noisy.

A man's voice came from inside, "Xiang says: If you have something on your mind, it's hard to do anything. It's just like two people fighting for the road. When it rains, both want to take the lead. Whoever is willing to give way to the other will move forward. This hexagram is a combination of different hexagrams. It is the opposite of the Xu hexagram, and they are the 'Zong hexagram' of each other. Qian represents strength and firmness, and Kan represents danger and entrapment. Strength and danger, strength and danger, oppose each other, and will definitely lead to disputes. Disputes are not good things, so you must be cautious and vigilant."

Upon hearing this, Li Congke knew that it was a place for fortune-telling.

He walked forward, parted the crowd, and looked inside.

I saw a handsome and energetic young Taoist priest sitting at the desk, telling fortunes for a middle-aged gentleman.

Seeing that he looked so young, Li Congke couldn't help but wonder whether this young Taoist could really predict things accurately.

But now that he's here, he definitely can't just leave.

Wait until the middle-aged gentleman leaves.

Li Congke immediately pushed aside the young man who was trying to grab a seat, and sat down directly in front of the Taoist priest. "May I ask what your name is, sir?" The young Taoist priest gave him a calm look and introduced himself, "Chen Pu."

Chen Pu?

I seem to have heard this name somewhere before.

Li Congke couldn't remember it for a moment, so he didn't think much about it and said directly: "I would like to ask you to tell my fortune for me."

Chen Pu said: "What do you want to calculate?"

Li Congke said: "Future fortune."

Chen Pu immediately took out the King Wen Gua and said, "Xiang says: A man with a full belly of knowledge will enter the examination hall, and will return home with pride after passing the imperial examination. From now on, all worries and depression will be gone, and joy will come like thunder out of the blue."

Li Congke asked, "Why?"

Chen Pu said: "This hexagram is composed of two different hexagrams stacked on top of each other. Qian represents heaven and is yang; Kun represents earth and is yin. Yin and yang interact with each other, and the upper and lower parts are connected. Heaven and earth intersect, and all things are in chaos. The opposite is bad. All things are in opposition and transformation. When prosperity reaches its peak, it will decline, and when it declines, it will turn to prosperity. Therefore, those who adapt to the times and change will be prosperous."

Li Congke didn't quite understand and frowned, "Sir, could you explain it in more detail?"

Chen Pu looked at him with a half-smile and said, "There are many people here who talk too much. I am a Taoist priest in the mountains and I dare not criticize the world."

Li Congke was shocked and immediately realized that the young Taoist in front of him possessed mysterious powers and figured out his identity.

Suddenly, Li Congke stood up and bowed deeply, saying, "Please save me, sir."

Chen Pu shook his head and said, "Please forgive me for not being able to do it."

Li Congke pleaded bitterly: "Sir, please be merciful. I beg you sincerely. I will definitely repay you with a generous gift in the future."

Chen Pu said slowly: "Do you really want me to save your life?"

Li Congke said: "Yes."

Chen Pu said: "Well, I will show you a way, but I don't know if you have the courage."

Li Congke said: "Please tell me clearly, sir. I will obey."

Chen Pu pointed at Li Congke and asked, "How did you sit in front of me just now?"

Li Congke was stunned when he heard this.

How did he sit in front of Mr. Chen Pu just now?
Isn't it just squeezing out another...

When he thought of this, Li Congke shuddered all over.

He never expected that the fortune teller in front of him was so bold as to instigate him to take his place!

He himself was on the new emperor's list of suspicion.

If other people heard these words, wouldn't the entire family be slaughtered?
This time, Li Congke no longer had any polite tone.

He angrily overturned the fortune-telling stall, "You are talking nonsense, I thought you were so smart that you came to visit me."

Chen Pu, whose things were overturned, was not annoyed. He just sighed and shook his head, "You will not live long!"

Li Congke's hair and beard stood up, and he said angrily: "You still dare to talk nonsense, don't blame me for beating you up."

As he said this, he was about to hit someone.

Who would have thought that Chen Pu would laugh loudly, "I gave you a kind gift, but you didn't appreciate it. Well, just treat me as meddling, I'm leaving now."

As soon as he finished speaking, golden stars scattered before his eyes, and the Taoist had disappeared.

Li Congke was shocked when he saw this and realized what he had missed.

Suddenly, he felt extremely regretful.

But it’s too late to regret now, the god has already left.

……

On the other side, the envoy.

Chen Yun just returned to the room.

He saw Nihe and Xihe waiting.

Ni He stepped forward and asked, "Master Chen, what's going on?"

Hehe also looked concerned.

Chen Yun smiled and said, "I have been fishing for more than ten days, and finally the fish has taken the bait."

Yes, he had been setting up a stall to tell fortunes outside the Laojun Temple not today, but for more than ten days.

The reason for doing this is that Chen Yun knew that Li Congke was the key factor in the demise of the Later Tang Dynasty, so he wanted to leave a mark on the other party in advance, and then when the other party saw him again during the condolence ceremony, he would definitely take the initiative to come to his house to ask for it.

At that time, no matter what you say, the other party will definitely listen to you.

To put it simply, it is laying the groundwork.

Otherwise, if Chen Yun casually approached Li Congke, even if he showed off his abilities, the other party would always be suspicious and might not do his best to carry out his plan, thus bringing Later Tang to an end.

Hehe asked: "What should we do next?"

Chen Yun said: "There is no need to do anything else. When the mourning team arrives in Luoyang tomorrow and goes to the palace to pay their respects the day after tomorrow, I will use some magic to make everything fall into place naturally."

Nie He clapped his hands and said, "Excellent, excellent, excellent. If this can be accomplished, it will all be thanks to the work of Master Chen."

Chen Yun smiled and didn't respond.

For the time being, his goal is the same as that of the Khitan.

They all hoped that the Later Tang would soon perish, so that the world would once again be divided among warlords.

In this way, Zhao Kuangyin would have hope of taking advantage of the opportunity to conquer the world step by step.

Now it all depends on what we do the day after tomorrow to shock Li Congke.

(End of this chapter)