This is what an immortal should be like

Chapter 241 Strange, so very strange!

Even after Zhuang Lin had been gone for quite some time, Xiong Xuguang was still somewhat at a loss. When he came to his senses, he found that the Taoists from Taiji Temple were looking at him with strange expressions, especially Qingping Taoist, who looked a little angry.

Xiong Xuguang felt a chill run down his spine. The Confucian immortal might not care, but his sect... His expression became awkward.

"Master, Advisor, Senior Uncle, Senior Brother, it's me."

Xiong Xuguang didn't know what to say. Should he say it wasn't intentional? But he had intentionally approached her. He had already said everything he needed to say. Now, he didn't know how to express himself except to apologize.

"I had no malicious intent, the Investigation Bureau had no malicious intent, and I believe the national level had no malicious intent either."

"You brat, you should have told me sooner that the Xuanwu shell had already been salvaged! You made me wander aimlessly along the Yangtze River!"

Qingping Daoist's angry words left Xiong Xuguang speechless. Was his master angry about this?

"Master, is this all it's for?"

"What, what else could it be for? Because you're a high-ranking official? Didn't we know from the beginning that you were an official?"

Xiong Xuguang looked somewhat surprised and glanced at his advisor and senior master beside him. One of the Taoist priests stroked his beard and smiled, while the other shook his head and sighed.

"Master, Senior Uncle?"

"You're just worrying unnecessarily!"

Master Xu Ming turned and left with a quiet sigh. These were his true thoughts. In his opinion, he was no different from the gentleman he had just spoken to. Whether they were officials or commoners, they were all human beings, and there was no difference between them.

Qingyun Daoist, standing to the side, shook his head with a smile.

"Xuguang, are people in the imperial court not human? Throughout history, there has never been a shortage of interference from the imperial court, and there have even been instances of armies attacking immortal sects. They are merely hiding away from the world. To us, who you were in the past is not important, as long as your heart is righteous!"

After saying that, Qingyun Daoist also left, carrying a hoe to work in the fields.

After finishing his tirade, Qingping Daoist grinned and smiled.

"You're lucky, kid. You just happened to catch the Master's arrival. Do you know how fortunate it is to be able to go to Hidden Immortal Valley with that brat Jingwen? Normally, with your cultivation reaching that stage, it would take more than just time; it would also depend on fate!"

After the elders left, the young Taoist priest Jingwen looked Xiong Xuguang up and down, who still had a bewildered expression. But by then, the latter knew that the other party was not blaming him at all.

"Senior brother."

"Tsk tsk tsk, sigh, I knew you'd have a smooth career in government, but I didn't expect your rank to be so high. What would you be called in ancient times? Would you be considered an imperial envoy? By the way, how high is that rank?"

This joking and teasing tone made Xiong Xuguang, who was already not so nervous, relax a lot, at least for the time being.

"This level must be quite high."

"Tell me honestly, was the approval of the renovation costs for our Taiji Temple a normal procedure by the Cultural Bureau, or was it due to your influence?"

"Well, I guess the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations did play some role."

Xiao Daozhang was delighted.

"Hahaha, I knew you were our Tai Chi Temple's lucky star. Sigh, just don't get caught abusing your power and get punished. Come on, let's get to work before we start cultivating. Go fetch some water and change out of your old Taoist robe!"

Young Taoist Master Jingwen pulled Xiong Xuguang away, the latter still unable to resist asking a few questions.

"Senior brother, where is Hidden Immortal Valley? How do we get there?"

"It's too early to ask now; you'll find out when the time comes."
-
This time, Xiong Xuguang revealed his identity and made it clear that he could stay at Taiji Temple for a relatively long time without having to worry about working on weekdays. So he has not left since Saturday.

For a while at first, Xiong Xuguang was actually a little uneasy, but as time went by, his worries gradually turned into a strange sense of drama.

Taiji Temple never restricts Xiong Xuguang's freedom; he can go up and down the mountain at any time, only being warned not to miss his morning and evening prayers and practice time.

Xiong Xuguang even went to ask his mentor and advisors in person if he could call the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations, but the response he received was either a glare or that they couldn't be bothered to answer.

In the words of Master Qingping Daoren: "You didn't do anything immoral or immoral. It's just your own personal business at work. We cultivators don't understand officialdom. Do you expect us to guide you?"

Thus, Xiong Xuguang was in a dreamlike, magical state.

He didn't miss his daily practice, and his regular reports to the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations didn't seem to be a big deal. However, there was nowhere to charge his phone at Taiji Temple, so Xiong Xuguang often had to run down the mountain to the convenience store to ask the owner to charge it. Sometimes, his colleagues from the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations would even bring him phone batteries.

To be honest, this situation was unexpected not only for Xiong Xuguang, but also for everyone in the Bureau of Investigation who was qualified to know this level of information, and even for the upper echelons of the Great Yan. They were all slightly bewildered and astonished.

But everyone probably understood one thing as well.

That living Confucian immortal, and even many others in the Daoist cultivation world, didn't really care about the activities of the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations, or rather, the imperial court. Or rather, in their eyes, the way they distinguished people was significantly different from that of ordinary people, at least absolutely different from that of the secular classes who controlled power.

After so much preparation, so many plans, so much anxiety and so much agonizing, when it really came to this point, reality slapped me in the face.

This feeling is very strange, like punching empty air.

It was as if they were being ignored.

However, it must be said that as the initial tremors gradually subsided, everyone had a sense that this was perhaps only natural.

Even some high-ranking members of the Great Yan Supreme Council have privately lamented: "We are too arrogant and too greedy, so we are too prone to thinking from our own self-interest."
To be honest, being ignored feels strange, yet it also gives you a strange sense of relief.

The feeling was especially bizarre when Xiong Xuguang applied to have a network cable installed for Taiji Temple, but there was something even stranger.

Needless to say, the efficiency of the Bureau of Investigation was excellent. Less than half a day after Xiong Xuguang submitted his application, someone had already organized a trip up the mountain to connect the internet. Several utility poles were also erected along the way. They said it was just a temporary measure and that the overall plan would be made when Taiji Temple was restored.

Then, on the evening of the following day, Xiong Xuguang took a heavy laptop and started a video call with his family in Taiji Temple. Afterwards, he also had a video call with Duan Kang, the former dean of Taiji Temple, who was far away in Kyoto.

Inside the office of the Imperial Observatory, the video feed was projected onto a screen. On this side, besides the very serious Duan Kang, there was only one assistant beside him.

Of course, Duan Kang wasn't the only one watching the video; there were many other people connected to the signal, as well as a large group of people gathered around the projection screen on one side of the office.

At the same moment, in the courtyard of Taiji Temple, Xiong Xuguang set up his computer and clicked to connect.

"Hey! It's working now!"

"Oh, so this is the video and voice chat that Xuguang was talking about?"

"They've already reached Kyoto?" "That's just as amazing as telepathy!"

"Wow, the world outside has really changed dramatically!"

At the headquarters of the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations, and among everyone else who could receive the signal, the situation on the screen was a complex mix of emotions.

Xiong Xuguang sat in front of the computer, with four Taoist heads behind him. Even the old Taoist priest Xu Ming was watching the video with a sense of surprise, but it was more like watching a peculiar spectacle.

"Uh, Dean, these are my grandmaster, senior master, master, and senior brother. I was asking if we should try this technologically convenient long-distance communication; they're all very curious."

Xiong Xuguang spoke for a while, and the Taoist priest on the other side also kept talking, occasionally having to explain a few words.

Then, Master Xu Ming leaned close to the camera on one side of the screen, and his white-haired, youthful face was magnified in front of everyone's screens, which was quite absurd and comical.

"Oh, is that what it is? And who is this old gentleman?"

Duan Kang's spirits lifted, and he subconsciously stood up before answering.

"My name is Duan Kang, the current Director of the Imperial Observatory and concurrently the Director of the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations. Greetings, Daoist Xuanming!"

"Oh, so you're the Director of the Imperial Observatory in charge of the calendar!"

"Yes, yes, that is me!"

Afterwards, the Taoist priests from Taiji Temple chatted casually with the people from the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. It felt like they were just having a video chat to experience the latest gadgets, and that was about it.

When the video ended, the investigation team felt that things had gone surprisingly smoothly.

If listening to Xiong Xuguang's reports before was something I could only imagine from words and speech, this video call completely brought that imagination to life.

Spiritual practitioners are carefree and unrestrained, with a strange sense of relaxation. They don't really care about your status; what they care more about is your heart toward the Tao and your character. They are also not lacking in the tolerance to accept new things.

In the days that followed, the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations made another attempt. Thanks to Xiong Xuguang's previous report, they learned that there was also a Tianqing Palace in Tianqing Mountain in the Northwest with genuine cultivators.

The Bureau of Investigation sent someone directly to the door in a friendly manner to identify themselves.

At first, the Taoist priests of Tianqing Palace did not admit it, saying that they did not promote cults or feudal superstitions. It was hard to imagine that such words would come from the mouths of cultivators.

However, the people from the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations later said they knew about cultivation and even about Confucian immortals. So the Taoist priests of Tianqing Palace didn't care anymore. They could just look around, wander around, and chat with you if you wanted. Otherwise, they would continue their cultivation as usual, but they wouldn't demonstrate any magic.

Perhaps because they were unfamiliar with it, it wasn't as friendly as Tai Chi Temple, but there were no particularly bad reactions either.

They were just as lazy as ever, too lazy to care or say anything, ignoring the people from the Bureau of Investigation and Apprehension and treating them as ordinary worshippers.

(End of this chapter)