Longevity from Liao Zhai

Chapter 126 I Entered the Eighth Level

Zhou Ping deliberately slowed down his pace to make himself look like a hero.

He didn't say anything and his eyes were covered by the Ruyi cassock, for fear that Fan Shiyi and Xiaoqing would recognize him.

Although Zhou Ping's eyes were covered, he had the perception range of the Heavenly Spirit Method, so he would not bump into anyone.

"What is the Strip Knight going to do?"

"Nonsense, the hero wants to write a poem to get the storage jade."

The scholars were whispering to each other. At this moment, everyone understood what the cloth hero was going to do.

Although Xiaoqing wanted to get the storage jade, the hero Bu Tiao had saved her, so even if the hero Bu Tiao got the storage jade, Xiaoqing would feel that it was his due.

As for Fan Shiyi, she stared at the back of the cloth hero and felt vaguely familiar with him.

Everyone looked at each other and saw the confusion in their eyes.

"Can the hero write poetry?"

Fan Shiyi stared at Zhou Ping, thinking quickly about Zhou Ping's essay in his mind.

There were no more than a thousand Confucian practitioners above the third rank in the Wei Dynasty, and Fan Shiyi knew them all.

"This person can write poetry, could he be a Confucian? There are only a few Confucianists who can move mountains in an instant." Fan Shiyi guessed Zhou Ping's identity, "But those Confucian masters who can move mountains to save people are eager to show off their skills in front of others, so why would they hide their identities?"

Fan Shiyi felt that the cloth-strip hero was not a Confucian.

If the cloth-strip hero is not a Confucian, then he is some other type of cultivator.

Warrior? Taoist? Buddhist?
Fan Shiyi thought that even if the people from these three families were of the first rank, they could not write poems as well as himself.

I am a professional at writing poetry!

Zhou Ping wrote the two words "Minnong" on the paper.

Fan Shiyi and the others saw the words Zhou Ping wrote out of the corner of their eyes.

At this time, everyone was confused.

This word, this word, is too bad.

Zhou Ping's handwriting looks like a crawling earthworm or a dead branch.

"Fan Shiyi, do you think I still have a chance?" Xiaoqing said in a low voice.

Although Xiaoqing can't write poetry, she has been with Fan Shiyi for a long time. Have you ever seen a pig run even though you haven't eaten pork?
Zhou Ping has never practiced his calligraphy and is a complete novice.

Xiaoqing instinctively thought that if she was bad at handwriting, she would definitely not be able to write poetry either.

After seeing the two words written by Zhou Ping, Xiao Qing felt that her chance had come again. Perhaps the hero was just trying it out.

Fan Shiyi nodded slightly, acknowledging Xiaoqing's words. She felt that the cloth hero had no chance. The handwriting was too bad.

Chen Chao and several scholars looked at each other and understood what everyone meant: the hero just came to join in the fun.

"It is noon and I am hoeing the field." Fan Shiyi recited softly.

After the first sentence was said, Chen Chao and the scholars began to flatter him in various ways.

"The first sentence is well written, hero. It is, it is, so appropriate for the situation."

"I think the hero must have written a good poem."

Chen Chao and the scholars thought that the poems written by the Bu Tiao hero were definitely not good, but they praised him out loud.

Fan Shiyi looked at these people with a little contempt. The five words "hoeing the field when the sun is at its highest point" are really plain words, hoeing the field when the sun is at its highest point.

What's good about this?
Fan Shiyi unconsciously wanted to distance himself from these scholars.

"Sweat drips onto the soil below the wheat field." Fan Shiyi recited the second line of the poem.

Chen Chao and the scholars blindly praised Zhou Ping.

"What a good poem! What a good poem!"

"Yes, I didn't expect that the hero is not only good at martial arts, but also can write poetry."

The scholars were still praising Zhou Ping against their will.

Fan Shiyi frowned slightly. These two lines of poetry were really plain and easy to remember. She had a vague feeling in her heart, could this poem really work?
Fan Shiyi knew that Li Shen’s poems were simple and unpretentious.

The first two lines of the poem by the Cloth Hero are similar in style to Li Shen's.

"Who knows that every grain of rice on the plate is the result of hard work?" Fan Shiyi recited the last two sentences.

"Good poem, good poem, the hero is really amazing."

Chen Chao and the scholars praised Zhou Ping without thinking. Before Fan Shiyi even finished reading the last word, they started praising Zhou Ping.

Who makes the other person a hero? Even if the poem is not well written, you still have to praise him!

Fan Shiyi's eyelids jumped. "I am hoeing the field at noon, and my sweat drips down to the ground. Who knows that every grain of rice on the table is the result of hard work?"

These four lines of poetry are so ordinary, the words are so common and so plain, even illiterate people can understand the meaning of these four lines of poetry.

Is this a poem? This is a doggerel, Fan Shiyi couldn't help thinking.

"It seems like there's no hope, this poem is just average." Xiaoqing couldn't help but say. There was surprise in her eyes, she felt that she still had a chance.

As Zhou Ping's poems were written on paper, the man who had been working in the fields suddenly regained his spirit in his eyes and came to the stone table.

“When the sun is at its highest point in the sky, I am hoeing the field and my sweat drips to the ground. But who knows that every grain of rice on the table is the result of hard work?” The light in the man’s eyes grew brighter and brighter, and then he laughed out loud.

"When I hoe the field at noon, my sweat drips down to the ground. Who knows that every grain of rice on the table is the result of hard work?"

The man laughed loudly, his figure gradually became illusory, and the entire secret realm began to disappear.

Eventually, everyone emerged onto the ramp.

"Ouch."

There were a few screams and the scholars grabbed the stones to avoid rolling down the hillside.

Fan Shiyi was quick with his eyes and hands and drew a crane carrying himself.

The secret realm was located on a steep slope. As the secret realm disappeared, everyone was thrown onto the steep slope. Several scholars were caught off guard and fell onto the steep slope.

"Successful, he actually succeeded." Fan Shiyi's face was full of disbelief. She thought this poem was just a doggerel, but such a doggerel actually broke the secret realm.

The hero got the storage jade.

Fan Shiyi looked at the Cloth Strip Hero again, but the Cloth Strip Hero disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"What a fast speed!" Fan Shiyi didn't even see how Zhou Ping left.

Several scholars supported each other and climbed up the steep slope in a clumsy manner.

"What's going on? What's going on?" The scholars still didn't understand.

Chen Chao asked, "Did the Bu Tiao hero break into the secret realm and take away the storage jade?"

"how is this possible?"

"That's right, these lines are too straightforward, basically doggerel. Can they open the secret realm?"

"Yeah, that's impossible."

The scholars said one after another.

Fan Shiyi wanted to laugh. When the hero Bu Tiao was around, they kept praising his poetry, but now they say it's not good anymore.

"I have something else to do, so I'll leave first." After Fan Shiyi finished speaking, he rode away on the crane, not forgetting to take Mingyue with him.

On the Qinglong Mountain, Chen Chao and a group of scholars looked at each other. They didn't expect that Fan Shiyi would actually abandon them on the mountain.

On the crane, Fan Shiyi frowned. Although she knew that the poem written by the cloth hero was very similar to Li Shen's style, she didn't understand why this doggerel could win. "This poem of pity for farmers is really a good poem." Mingyue sighed at the side.

Fan Shiyi said, "What's good about it?"

Mingyue smiled gently: "Has Master Fan ever been hungry?"

Fan Shiyi thought about it and realized that sometimes she would get so engrossed in reading that she would forget to eat, and then she would feel hungry, so she nodded.

"Then, Mr. Fan, have you ever seen anyone die of starvation?" Mingyue said again.

Fan Shiyi thought about it and shook her head. She had seen beggars in Kyoto, but she had never seen anyone starving to death.

People are starving to death under the feet of the emperor, which is a disgrace to the Wei Dynasty.

Mingyue's eyes were calm: "I have seen it."

"When I was three years old, my parents starved to death in front of me, and my brother was sold to the Jiaofang Bureau."

"Master Fan, you have never seen anything like this. You don't know that a handful of rice can save a family. You must pick up and eat a grain of rice that falls on the ground. You don't know that when it rains, you are afraid that the seedlings will fall, and when it is dry, you are afraid that the grain will fail."

“You don’t know the weight of these two words: Every grain of rice on your plate is the product of hard work.”

There was a calm look in Mingyue's eyes, as if she was talking about someone else.

Although she worked in the Jiaofangsi, Mingyue never wasted food. Even if a grain of rice fell on the ground, she would pick it up because she knew the feeling of hunger.

If I hadn't been sold to the Jiaofangsi, I would probably have starved to death.

Fan Shiyi stopped talking and thought seriously about Mingyue's words. Mingyue's words made her understand why Minnong was recognized and why Bu Tiao Daxia got the storage jade.

"The rich have wine and meat, while the poor freeze to death on the streets." Fan Shiyi couldn't help but think of Zhou Ping's two lines of poetry.

Mingyue's eyes lit up, and she said, "Master Fan is very eloquent and sympathetic. He can sense my thoughts so quickly."

The rich have wine and meat that rots, but there are frozen corpses on the road.

Mingyue’s life story fits these two lines of poetry very well.

Fan Shiyi shook his head: "Isn't it me who wrote these two poems?"

"Oh?" Mingyue exclaimed, "Which poet in history wrote this poem? I have never heard of this poem."

Fan Shiyi sighed: "These two lines of poetry were written by Zhou Ping."

After saying this, neither of them spoke.

Everyone’s joys and sorrows are different, just like Fan Shiyi, who had never experienced the cruelty of the lower class, could not have written the poem "Song of Pity the Peasants".

Mingyue was still savoring Zhou Ping's two lines of poetry. These two lines of poetry seemed to be tailor-made for her.

Mingyue vaguely remembered that when she was young, her parents took her to beg for food, and the rich families would rather give the leftovers to dogs than to people.

The rich are feasting and drinking, while the poor are freezing to death on the road. I am one of the frozen corpses on the road.

"Thank you, Mr. Fan." Mingyue said suddenly.

Fan Shiyi was stunned for a moment: "Thank me for what?"

Mingyue: "I have entered the eighth rank."

Fan Shiyi: "Then you should thank Zhou Ping."

Zhou Ping returned to the house with ecstasy in his eyes!
Got the storage jade!

Zhou Ping left a drop of blood in the secret realm and made a mark, then flew back to write a poem.

He spent two Tianyazhichi just to prevent others from knowing that he was the one who got the storage jade.

"I just wanted to give it a try, but I didn't expect it to actually work." Zhou Ping originally wanted to give it a try with 300 Tang poems, but he didn't expect that he would actually break into the secret realm.

He didn't know what doggerel was, nor did he know what was straightforward or not straightforward. He only knew that the storage jade was his.

"Ghost baby, protect me." After Zhou Ping said this, the ghost bride and the ghost baby appeared in the room.

There was a sudden surge of anger in the room.

Creating fog is the Ghost Bride's innate magical power, but this fog is a spell of the Ghost King. It creates a formation in the room, so even if others enter the room, they cannot find Zhou Ping.

The ghost bride is at the seventh level of cultivation, and the ghost baby is at the tenth level of cultivation.

Zhou Ping passed the Ghost King Art to the Ghost Bride. Over the past few days, the Ghost Bride has made some progress in practicing the Ghost King Art.

In the past, the ghost brides only had cultivation but no martial arts, so their combat power was not strong. When they met masters, they would always be defeated first.

With the Ghost King's Secret, the Ghost Bride's strength increased greatly!

The Ghost Bride knew the value of the Ghost King's Secret and knew that this spell was of great value. Therefore, the Ghost Bride became even more devoted to Zhou Ping.

Zhou Ping was just about to open the storage jade to see what treasures were inside.

Suddenly, a magic circle appeared on the ground.

"Someone is ambushing me?" Zhou Ping was so scared that he almost ran away. However, after the light of the magic circle came on, his telepathic finger did not trigger it.

Then, there is a feeling of perfect harmony.

"Husband, this is the spiritual contract from the Ghost King's Secret. From now on, you are the master and I am the servant. If you die, I die. If I die, you live. Just be my cage." There was some excitement in the ghost bride's voice.

There was a contract between Zhou Ping and the ghost baby, and it was an unequal contract. So he completely trusted the ghost baby and thought he could feel the ghost baby's emotions.

After all, ghosts are evil creatures with unstable emotions. If one day they are suddenly provoked to devour their masters, Zhou Ping still has ways to restrain them.

But Zhou Ping has no restrictions on the ghost bride, and there is no connection between him and the ghost bride. The ghost bride wants to have some connection with Zhou Ping, and she also wants Zhou Ping to become her cage.

The ghost bride's desires and evil thoughts have always been suppressed by her good thoughts, but there are always times when the ghost bride feels that she cannot control herself.

She couldn't control her desires, she couldn't control her murderous intent, she wanted to kill, she wanted to destroy.

The ghost bride sometimes even wanted to forcibly occupy Zhou Ping. These evil thoughts became stronger and stronger as her cultivation level improved.

She was afraid that one day she would be provoked and do something bad, and she was even more afraid of hurting Zhou Ping.

There are many spells in the Ghost King's Secret Art. These spells can allow the ghost bride to control other ghosts or people. Only a few two spells are similar to the ghost baby's spiritual contract.

Once this contract is signed, the life and death of the ghost bride will be completely in the hands of Zhou Ping.

If Zhou Ping wants her to die, she cannot live.

Zhou Ping felt this perfect harmony. He could sense the ghost bride's thoughts, her desires, her evil thoughts and her good thoughts.

"Okay, from now on I will be your cage." Zhou Ping said solemnly. He was indeed afraid of the ghost bride, he was afraid that the ghost bride could not control herself.

But he didn't expect that the ghost bride would actually take the initiative to sign a contract with him, and even give up her own life and death, and hand over the power of her life and death to Zhou Ping.

"I live forever, and you are immortal." Zhou Ping said.

He had said this to the ghost baby, and now he was saying it to the ghost bride.

The ghost bride didn't understand what Zhou Ping meant by this. She just wanted Zhou Ping to know what she was thinking so that she could let down her guard and suppress herself when she was corroded by evil thoughts.

She didn't understand the meaning of the sentence, "I am immortal, but you are immortal."

The ghost bride nodded and disappeared into the mist.

Zhou Ping communicated with the ghost bride through the contract for a while. He found that the ghost bride's contract was more advanced than his own contract. He could vaguely hear what the ghost bride said.

The contract between Zhou Ping and the ghost baby is just to feel each other's emotions.

From this point alone, we can see how powerful the spells in the Ghost King Technique are.

"Forget it, let's study it later. Let's take a look at the treasures in the storage jade first."

(End of this chapter)