Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 97 Zhao Ponu, the Golden Deputy! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Upon hearing the name Yuan Danqiu, Li Bai was stunned. He hadn't expected to meet his lifelong friend here.

Many people know Yuan Danqiu from the poem "Bring in the Wine" which mentions "Master Cen, Master Danqiu, let's drink, don't stop the cup." Don't think that this was just Li Bai casually mentioning the name of a random passerby; in fact, the two were lifelong friends.

Yuan Danqiu was involved in many important events in Li Bai's life.

When Li Bai was eighteen, Yuan Danqiu accompanied him in his three-year seclusion at Da Kuang Mountain; when Li Bai left the country with his sword and bid farewell to his family at the age of twenty-five, Yuan Danqiu was still by his side when he traveled down the river to Sichuan; when Li Bai went to visit the Master Ziyang, Yuan Danqiu acted as the middleman; when Li Bai went to Chang'an to seek an official position, Yuan Danqiu not only used Princess Yuzhen's connections, but also recommended Li Bai to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

However, unlike Li Bai, Yuan Danqiu had no interest in an official career. He was indifferent to worldly affairs and spent his life seeking immortality.

Normally, such a person would not leave a name in history, but he made a friend who loved writing poetry, and then, unintentionally, he became famous in history because of his poems and writings.

Some people try their best to leave their mark on history, racking their brains, but ultimately leave no trace.

But Yuan Danqiu is different. He only needs to take out a jar of wine, and he will instantly appear in Li Bai's latest poems... What does it mean that choice is more important than effort? This is it!
In more than twenty of Li Bai's surviving poems, Yuan Danqiu is mentioned, making him the friend whose name is mentioned most often among his close friends.

Although none of these things have happened yet, or rather, they will never happen again, Li Bai was still very happy to suddenly see his destined best friend, and even the Shu Road no longer seemed difficult to traverse.

He chuckled and pulled out a small packet of Sachima (a type of Chinese pastry) and handed it to Yuan Danqiu:
"Master Yuan, please try this."

This sudden enthusiasm puzzled Yuan Danqiu.
"I am merely living in seclusion in Qingcheng Mountain, occasionally seeking guidance from Mr. Zhao, a strategist. I am utterly unworthy of the title of Daoist Master."

After exchanging pleasantries, he took the sachima from his hands and humbly asked how to eat it.

Li Bai enjoyed associating with Yuan Danqiu, mainly because, besides the fact that they both practiced Taoism, Yuan Danqiu was also a straightforward and honest person.

Just like now, Yuan Danqiu frankly said that he had never eaten it before and humbly asked for the specific way to eat it.

If it were someone with low self-esteem, sensitivity, and suspicion, they might have already begun to wonder if this Li Bai, whom they had never met, was trying to humiliate them with something they had never seen before.

Li Bai smiled and helped him tear open the packaging of the Sachima (a type of Chinese pastry), then chatted about his seclusion in Qingcheng Mountain, and said that he would visit the strategist Zhao Rui in Qingcheng Mountain when he had time.

The two chatted as they walked, adding a touch of fun to the treacherous Shu Road.

Inside the Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi carefully observed the hexagrams on the Bagua abacus:

"Gen above Xun below, Gu hexagram... Could it be that the Stone Fairy cast a curse on me at home and suffered a backlash?"

The appearance of the Gu hexagram indicates that someone is secretly casting a curse or using witchcraft to harm you. Combined with the inexplicable disorientation when going up the mountain and the sudden fire at Shi Xiangu's house, Zhou Yi suspects that this is Shi Xiangu casting a curse on herself and suffering a backlash.

I never expected that after refusing the curse from the i-person team, I would be targeted by someone using the same method.

Fortunately, she had recited the "Precious Proclamation of the Spirit Official" at the time, and the spirit official Wang protected her from all evil. The curse cast by the stone fairy was allfallen upon her.

Thinking about it this way, everything makes sense.

Wu Zetian still couldn't swallow this insult:
"Immortal Master, should we continue with the revenge?"

Zhou Yi tucked the Bagua abacus into the cabinet under the altar and said with a smile:

"How can you take revenge on someone who's already dead? You can't just desecrate their corpse to vent your anger, can you? You should be more magnanimous and not hold grudges against the dead."

After leaving the Sanqing Hall, Zhou Yi brought over a watermelon, cut it in half, and shared it with Wu Meiniang. While eating, they looked online at the news about the fire at Shi Xiangu's house.

After finishing the watermelon, the two returned to their respective rooms. One diligently studied Taoist scriptures, while the other immersed himself in learning modern knowledge.

The next day, the spear that Zhou Yi had ordered for Huo Qubing online arrived.

It has three sections with stainless steel joints. The outer layer of the shaft is made of rubber, which ensures both a good feel and flexibility. The spearhead is over half a meter long and is made of high manganese steel. It feels very solid to the touch, but it is not sharp enough.

Although the note requested that the blade be sharpened, the shop didn't go too far and included two whetstones and a sharpening tutorial so that I could try it myself.

After Zhou Yi finished preparing, he wanted to show off in front of Wu Meiniang, but after raising it, he realized that he didn't know the proper techniques for using the horse spear.

Wu Zetian said with a smile:
"This item doesn't match the immortal's attire at all; let's give it to the military officers."

Zhou Yi nodded, took the spear sheath given to him by the shopkeeper, put the spearhead on it, and laid it flat on the floor of Li Bai's room, waiting for Huo Qubing to come so he could try it out.

If possible, buy a few more to add some powerful weapons for the generals.

If it doesn't work, then forget it. I'll give it to my second apprentice as a souvenir. Later, I'll buy some rebar, cut it up, and take it back to ancient society. This stuff can not only be used directly as a weapon, but it can also be heated red-hot and forged into various types of weapons. It has a wide range of uses.

Just as I put the lance back, Mao Cong suddenly called:
"Master Yi, have you heard? Fairy Shi and her eldest son were burned to death at home yesterday. It's said that their stomachs were burned open and their internal organs were scattered all over the house. My buddy works in the fire department. He was disgusted when he was collecting the bodies last night. To comfort him, I specially treated him to a bowl of mutton offal soup this morning."

Damn, you're really wicked.

Zhou Yi never expected that Shi Xiangu's son would also be burned to death:

"Doesn't her son know about the fire?"

"He knows nothing. All he does is cheat and swindle, and then tip female live streamers online. He was upstairs watching a live stream with headphones on when the fire broke out yesterday. If the fire hadn't burned through the power lines, he could have just sat in front of the computer until he died."

Is it that addictive?
May there be no female news anchors in heaven. The I Ching asks:

"Do you have any other information about Fairy Stone?"

Mao Cong pondered for a moment and said:

"I don't know much either. I heard that she joined the Yiyang City Feng Shui Folk Customs Association last year and apparently even became an apprentice. She held a grand banquet in the county town to entertain guests."

Huh? How did this get involved with Xie Yukun again?

Zhou Yi recalled that he had said more than once that fate would push the mastermind behind the scenes to the forefront, and now it seemed that this was indeed true.

Xie Yukun, the mastermind behind it all, is gradually coming to light.

What we need to do now is figure out a way to turn him into a live stake, to make use of this waste.

Mao Cong continued:

"With the death of Fairy Shi, no one is doing feng shui business in the county anymore. When I'm not busy, I'll help you promote it. These days, even the best wine needs advertising. Little Master Yi, you have real skills, so you should become more famous."

Zhou Yi chuckled:
"I'll just let things take their course. Whether I become famous or not is not what I'm after."

When I first graduated, my goal was to settle down in a big city. Later, I planned to come back and live a life of leisure. Now, my goal is to accumulate enough merit. No matter how my goals change, I have never thought about becoming famous.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yi and Wu Meiniang picked a whole woven bag of green beans. They then went to the storage room and rummaged through it to find a lot of vegetable seeds, including not only green bean seeds but also pumpkin seeds, winter melon seeds, honeydew melon seeds, sticky corn seeds, and so on.

Zhou Yi stuffed everything into a bag and had Wu Meiniang take it away to use as a guinea pig for Li Mingda, a small vegetable farmer.

It's a pity we haven't figured out how to get to the ancient world. Otherwise, once Li Mingda finishes growing the vegetables, we could steal them at night and relive the joy of playing QQ Farm.

As for whether Li Mingda will be angry about this... that's not important. At worst, I'll just give her a Mixue Ice Cream after I finish stealing the vegetables.

Wu Zetian put the seeds into her backpack, along with a few changes of clothes, and said:
"Immortal Master, next time I come back, if there's nothing else, I plan to stay a few more days. You won't find me bothersome, will you?"

Zhou Yi shook his head:

"How could that be? Every time you stay here, you bring more vitality to Hunyuan Palace. From now on, this will be your home. You can stay here as long as you want."

These words brought a smile to Wu Meiniang's face. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and, together with Zhou Yi, carried the bag of green beans to the Great Buddha Hall.

She placed the green beans in the box marked by the I Ching, said goodbye, and stepped over the threshold, disappearing without a trace, along with the green beans.

Zhou Yi rolled up his sleeves and continued moving bricks and tidying up the yard.

While he was busy here, in the world of Emperor Wu of Han, in Jinyang County, Taiyuan Prefecture, Huo Qubing led his cavalry to arrive.

Due to the constant warfare with the Xiongnu, semi-permanent military camps were built along the entire route from Chang'an to Dingxiang for the army to rest and recuperate.

As Huo Qubing's cavalry advanced, they became increasingly well-coordinated. The high-bridged saddles and double stirrups made each cavalryman a skilled horseman.

Everyone is getting more and more skilled at riding now, and some can even perform some basic formations.

However, the difficult penetrating formation is still a bit chaotic, and I need to keep practicing.

The cavalrymen entered the camp and began to remove their armor and rest, feeding and watering their horses. Some even brushed their horses' manes, which was believed to increase the bond between them and their warhorses.

Huo Qubing, along with his deputy captain Zhang Qian and several junior officers, taught them how to use walkie-talkies.

One of the junior officers learned very quickly and even gave Huo Qubing some advice based on the characteristics of the Xiongnu people.

Huo Qubing looked at the man and asked:

"What is your name?"

"Zhao Ponu!"

Upon hearing this name, Huo Qubing grinned:
"From this day forward, you will be the commander of the cavalry special forces."

Zhao Ponu was a famous general during the Western Han Dynasty. Some people say that his reputation as a famous general is somewhat exaggerated because he mostly served as Huo Qubing's deputy in battles.

As Huo Qubing's most trusted deputy general, Zhao Ponu was twice ennobled and had many glorious moments, including killing the Xiongnu king Suxi in battle, capturing the king of Jiqie alive, and destroying Loulan with seven hundred iron cavalry... His achievements were quite outstanding among the famous generals of the Western Han Dynasty.

Zhang Qian said:

"Before setting off from Chang'an, I met Li Gan, the son of Li Guang. He also aspires to join the army. I wonder if General Huo intends to recruit him."

Upon hearing this name, Huo Qubing shook his head:

"Forget about Li Gan, we're incompatible... Ziwen Gong, let me give you a piece of advice: if you don't want to end up in jail, stay away from Li Guang's family, lest you have to sell your property to atone for your sins one day!"

(End of this chapter)