Longevity from Liao Zhai

Chapter 12 Sex is a razor, but I have a hard bone
While the men in the brothel were intoxicated by Miss Mingyue's dancing, Zhou Ping was wondering if this girl could also feel the spiritual energy?
"Ms. Mingyue is already a Confucian rank 10th, but I still can't feel her spiritual energy."

The scholar next to him sighed.

Zhou Ping's eyes widened? Tenth rank? Confucianism?
There was a change in Zhou Ping's eyes when he looked at Mingyue. He couldn't break through to the tenth level no matter what, but the woman in front of him was already at the tenth level?
After a dance, Miss Mingyue slowly landed on the ground.

"My lords, Mingyue is here to show you your courtesy."

"Tonight we will meet friends through poetry."

"The winner can exchange poetry and songs with me."

Miss Mingyue said softly.

As Miss Mingyue finished her words, there was a commotion in the brothel.

The ones who are naughty are a group of scholars, they are just waiting to get something for free.

Those who took action were rough guys like Scar and Chen Erdan.

Scar only recognized his own name, and Chen Erdan could recognize hundreds of characters, but he could never write poetry.

"Gone, gone. What's so good about a bunch of scholars who can't even tie a chicken writing poems?"

Scar was a little depressed and hated himself.

"That's right, writing a poem is a big deal."

Chen Erdan looked at this group of high-spirited scholars with envy in his eyes.

"Sex is a knife that scrapes bones. Let's go."

Zhou Ping also echoed.

Zhou Ping was not good at writing poetry, but he had thought about copying poems.

It’s just that after leaving school in his previous life, he returned everything he learned to his teachers.

"Tonight's theme is based on my name, Mingyue."

"Time limit: one stick of incense."

After Miss Mingyue finished speaking, the scholars began to rack their brains.

It takes one incense stick of time to write a poem about the bright moon.

"Wait, shall we take a look?"

Zhou Ping suddenly said.

Scar and Chen Erdan were almost out of the brothel, but after hearing Zhou Ping's words, they looked at him suspiciously.

"What's up Zhou Ping? Can you write poetry?"

"Yes, we have been brothers for many years, how come I didn't know you had this talent?"

Chen Erdan and Daoba teased Zhou Ping. The three of them knew each other very well, so who didn't know who?

"I have a friend, well, a friend who is a scholar, who taught me how to write poetry."

Zhou Ping turned a blind eye.

"Friends? You have friends besides us two?"

Chen Erdan and Daoba's eyes were filled with even more doubt.

"Hey, let's just join in the fun here."

Zhou Ping stopped explaining and pulled the two people to sit down.

The time of a stick of incense goes by very quickly.

The students began to hand in their homework.

In a short while, there were hundreds of poems in the brothel.

Zhou Ping also asked for a piece of paper and wrote a poem.

".Bright moonlight."

Seeing that Chen Erdan was about to recite a poem, Zhou Ping quickly covered his mouth.

"Don't read it! I'm just here for fun. I don't think I'll be selected. I'll be embarrassed then."

Zhou Ping explained.

Chen Erdan understood and gave him a look that said "I understand". As for Scar, he had no idea what Zhou Ping had written.

Hundreds of poems were placed on the stage and then commented on by everyone.

"A bright moon hangs in the sky, and I sit alone in the pavilion, feeling sad and depressed."

"This is acceptable."

"The bright moon hangs in the sky, and I miss the girl."

"Hey, what the hell is this? It's so bad it's not even worthy of a limerick."

"This is fine, take a look at this."

Hundreds of poems were displayed there, and not only the courtesan Mingyue, but also a group of scholars were commenting on them.

When a good poem comes across one, someone will naturally come forward to claim it.

If the poem was poorly written, the scholar who wrote it would not come forward to claim it.

The courtesan Mingyue read one poem after another and shook her head.

There may be two good ones among them, but they are really just picking the best from the worst.

This person's poetry writing level is not as good as mine.

Mingyue sighed. There are three or four scholars in Qinghe County who can sense spiritual energy, but none of them are Confucian Tenth Rank like me. It seems that I will have to deal with it casually tonight.

Miss Mingyue makes friends through poetry, hoping to find a book friend with whom she can exchange inspiration, but there are really not many talented people in this remote little place like Qinghe County.

"Who wrote this? Let's not talk about how the poem is written. Just the wording is really terrible."

Several scholars were pointing at a poem and commenting on it.

Zhou Ping touched the tip of his nose. This poem was written by him. Whether in his previous life or in his previous incarnation, his handwriting was not very good, not to mention that he was writing with a brush here.

"The moonlight shines in front of the bed!"

"Bah, where did this filthy scoundrel come from? How dare he blaspheme Miss Mingyue like this."

"Whoever wrote the poem, please stand up."

A dozen or so scholars were so excited that they felt like they were going to beat someone up.

Miss Mingyue in front of the bed is not wearing any clothes. Isn’t this a pornographic poem?
Chen Erdan glanced at Zhou Ping and motioned for Zhou Ping to leave.

Zhou Ping sighed. He didn't expect it still wouldn't work.

The land and water nurture the people, and the taste of different places is different.

This poem, "Quiet Night Thoughts", is a rare poem that Zhou Ping can recite in its entirety.

Zhou Ping waved his hand and prepared to take Chen Erdan and Scar away.

Being laughed at would be fine, but being surrounded and beaten up by this group of scholars would be quite embarrassing, although Zhou Ping was not afraid of this group of weak scholars.

"The moonlight shines in front of the bed."

The scholars' anger attracted the courtesan Mingyue.

Mingyue looked at the poem with a frown on her face. The wording in the poem was poor, but the first sentence was a bit disrespectful.

Although Mingyue was of low birth, she had remained a virgin because of her cultivation of the tenth rank of Confucianism. She was only responsible for singing to the wind and moon, and was not responsible for accompanying men.

"It's probably frost on the ground."

Mingyue felt a little better when she saw the second line of the poem. The first line said that she was not wearing any clothes, and the second line praised her fair skin, which was quite novel.

"Raise your head to look at the bright moon, lower your head to miss your hometown."

Mingyue looked at the poem and was confused for a moment, then her eyes lit up.

"What a good poem! What a good poem! I misunderstood it. I thought it was about me at the beginning. There was something wrong with my sentence division. He was writing about the moonlight at the beginning."

The moon suddenly understood. This poem is not a "yellow poem". It has always described the moonlight and the homesickness, but it was misunderstood from the beginning.

"I wonder which gentleman wrote this poem, Quiet Night Thoughts?"

"This poem is the best tonight."

Mingyue pointed at the poem and said.

Mingyue's words immediately caused an uproar.

"How can this poem be ranked first? It is clearly blaspheming the girl."

"That's right. Even if my poem can't be number one, this poem can't be number one either."

The scholars were very excited.

"If your heart is dirty, everything you see will be dirty."

Mingyue smiled faintly and spoke again.

"I also ask the friend who wrote Quiet Night Thoughts to show up. This poem will be the first tonight."

Mingyue spoke loudly again.

Although the scholars were angry, they could do nothing about it. However, there were still a few scholars who were still reading the poem.

"No, this is indeed a good poem."

"Yes, just as Miss Mingyue said, our hearts were dirty from the beginning."

"This poem is concise and to the point, not at all exaggerated, but it is full of homesickness."

These scholars are all people who can feel the spiritual energy of Taoism, and are also recognized as talented people in Qinghe County.

As these scholars spoke, the other scholars stopped being angry and began to read the poem "Quiet Night Thoughts" seriously.

If only Miss Mingyue thought the poem was good, she might be wrong, but the few scholars in Qinghe County who could sense spiritual energy also thought the poem was well written.

The three of them were just walking out the door when they heard Miss Mingyue's words.

Chen Erdan's eyes were full of disbelief. Scar understood Chen Erdan's look.

"Did you write that poem?"

Scar's eyes were as big as copper bells, with bloodshot eyes, and his expression looked as if he wanted to eat Zhou Ping.

"Well, it's not me, but it's kind of me. I have a friend."

Zhou Ping played it safe. He rubbed his hands and prepared to go to the brothel to discuss Taoism.

"No, no, no."

Chen Erdan and Scar pulled Zhou Ping.

"Zhou Ping, are you really going to abandon us?"

"Yeah, weren't you just saying that sex is a razor?"

Scar and Chen Erdan's back teeth were almost broken. Why not me? Why not me?

Zhou Ping used both hands to push the two people away.

"It's true that sex is like a knife that scrapes your bones, but my bones are harder than yours."

It was Zhou Ping's first time to enter the backyard of a brothel and also his first time to enter a woman's boudoir.

The whole room smells delicious.

There are many books on the desk.

A book of "Poems of Fan Shiyi" was placed on the desk.

"So he's a little escort."

Mingyue was a little disappointed. She thought it was some scholar who could sense spiritual energy.

"I guess this poem was inspired by something."

Mingyue said in her heart.

Poets need inspiration. Even if you have learned all the scriptures and poetry collections, you cannot write poetry without inspiration and talent.

There is another type of people who don’t have much knowledge, but when they encounter some opportunity or are inspired by the scene they see, they can write excellent poems.

Mingyue thought Zhou Ping was just that kind of person, a rough man who was lucky enough to write this poem.

"My brother is a rough man, I hope my sister can forgive me."

Zhou Ping grinned.

"Quite self-aware."

Mingyue covered her mouth and laughed, but the next moment she felt something was wrong.

"Hey, you haven't even grown all your hair yet, and you still dare to tease me. I'm not feeling well today. You can listen to me playing the piano and singing, but you can't do anything else."

Mingyue understood what Zhou Ping meant and also stated her bottom line.

"It's not impossible to fight bloody battles."

Zhou Ping said again.

Mingyue was stunned at first, then she burst into laughter. At this moment, she became interested in Zhou Ping.

"Let me play a song for you first."

Mingyue wants Zhou Ping to play the piano and sing.

"Sister, I don't want to listen to the song. I want to know how you broke through to the tenth level."

Zhou Ping put away his smile and spoke seriously.

This is also Zhou Ping’s purpose.

The path of martial arts requires one to fight for one's life, which runs counter to Zhou Ping's path to immortality, so Zhou Ping had to find other ways.

Uncle Lame had to take another path because of his lame leg, which damaged his martial arts foundation. Zhou Ping also wanted to try a different track.

"do not know."

"I just like reading. I can feel the spiritual energy when I read."

"As I read, my spiritual energy becomes complete."

"Reader, reader, that's the tenth grade."

"It was not until I reached the tenth level that someone told me that this was the tenth level of Confucianism, and then I learned about cultivation."

No sleep for one night.

It was a rare opportunity for Zhou Ping to catch a Confucian scholar of the tenth rank to preach and answer his questions, so naturally he asked a lot of questions.

That night, Zhou Ping treated himself as a student and Mingyue as a teacher, and earnestly sought advice on the secrets of Confucian cultivation.

According to Mingyue, Confucian practice does not require any method, only reading.

Reading can help you achieve enlightenment.

Not only Mingyue, several scholars in Qinghe County felt the spiritual energy while they were studying, without the need for any method.

Before leaving, Mingyue also gave Zhou Ping a copy of "Poems of Fan Shiyi", which she said was her favorite collection of poems.

Zhou Ping walked to the door of the brothel with the book.

That night, Teacher Mingyue gave Zhou Ping a very important lesson.

This gave Zhou Ping a certain understanding of Confucianism.

"I'm a little tired."

Zhou Ping didn't sleep all night and had some heavy bags under his eyes.

At the entrance of the brothel, Scar and Chen Erdan were squatting there like two stone lions, one big and one small, sleeping.

"Why are you here?"

Zhou Ping woke up the two people.

"Zhou Ping, are you out? Tell me what you did last night."

"Just talk about books, poetry, and things like that."

"I mean, did you guys do that?"

"Which one?"

Yan Family Escort Agency.

Zhou Ping received his daily salary as usual.

"Zhou Ping, you have already sensed the spiritual energy. Do you want to go on a long journey? Long-distance missions can earn you more money, and perhaps they will give you some insights that will allow you to break through to the tenth rank."

Uncle Lame asked.

"Uncle Lame, I'd better take the short route. I don't think I'm suitable for martial arts. I hate risks, which seems to be the opposite of martial arts."

"I want to try Confucianism or Taoism, and then go on a long journey when my strength increases."

Zhou Ping explained.

"Well, I understand what you said."

“There are many talented people in this world, but only a few of them can reach a very high level. Many young people are impatient and irritable.”

"You are doing a good job of taking steady steps. I have a secret book for you."

Uncle Lame waved his hand, and a secret book "Xuanwu Sword Technique" appeared on the table.

"When I was young, I met an enemy who had a strong talent for martial arts and was as patient as you."

"Unfortunately, we are enemies. Before I killed him, this man did not beg for mercy, but he begged me to pass on this secret book."

"He doesn't want this secret manual to be lost."

Uncle Lame's eyes were full of memories and he touched his stump.

"Uncle Lame, how much is this secret book?"

Zhou Ping asked.

The escort agency will sell some secret books to the escort masters, which will help improve the overall strength of the escort agency.

"I would not sell the truth for a thousand ounces of gold, but I would send off an old friend at the crossroads."

"This book is free, just consider it as the fulfillment of my wish."

Uncle Lame waved his hand, looking a little bored.

Zhou Ping bowed his hands, bowed to Uncle Lame, then left with the secret book.

Uncle Lame has already said this, which means that he doesn't care about the few taels of silver that Zhou Ping has.

This secret book must be of great value.

Zhou Ping returned home and began to study the secret book.

Although Zhou Ping wanted to change his track to break through to the tenth level, he still had to practice the skills, and there was no conflict.

"Xuanwu Sword Technique" is said to be a sword technique created by a master who was inspired by seeing the Xuanwu with a weak start.

The characteristic of this sword technique is defense as the main method and attack as the auxiliary method.

The entire set of sword techniques consists of 108 moves, which clearly describe how to use the sword to defend against various weapons.

This set of sword techniques is like a turtle. No matter how others attack, the turtle will defend itself.

But if the enemy relaxes his guard, the swordsmanship will seize the opportunity and bite the enemy like a poisonous snake, killing him with one blow!
After Zhou Ping finished reading the secret book, he began to practice. This Xuanwu Sword Technique was much more advanced than the sword technique left to him by his predecessor, it was simply on a different level.

At the same time, Quiet Night Thoughts also spread from Qinghe County.

The original meaning of this poem is homesickness, but because the heroine of the story is also called Mingyue, it is easy for people to think of something wrong.

It is this point about "Huang Shi" that makes the poem spread faster.

Zhou Ping didn't know that this poem, which he had barely memorized, also set in motion the destiny of many people.

(End of this chapter)