Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

Xia Dong did not refuse when she received the invitation from the He family.

Lord He was a retired official from the capital. Although he was no longer in office, he still held a nominal official rank granted by the court, making him a very influential figure in Pingyang County. For Xia Dong, who was currently extremely lacking in information channels and connections, this was an excellent opportunity to make contact with the county's upper echelons.

...

...

He Mansion, East City, Pingyang County.

Guided by the butler, Xia Dong walked through the quiet and elegant courtyard and arrived at Master He's study.

The study was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood.

"This junior, Xia Dong, greets Lord He." Xia Dong bowed slightly, his expression composed and neither humble nor arrogant.

Lord He put down his teacup, looked the young scholar up and down, and a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes. Ordinary poor scholars would inevitably feel uneasy in the presence of a former "high-ranking official in the capital," but these petty traits were nowhere to be seen in Xia Dong.

What a beautiful jade tree!

"Young friend Xia, please excuse the formalities and have a seat." Lord He smiled and stroked his beard. After Xia Dong was seated, he slowly got to the point. "I invited you here today for no other reason than that I recently came across a strange book on the market called 'The Tale of Liu Yi,' and was amazed by the talent of the 'Hooking the Away' character. I sent someone to inquire at the bookstore and learned that the author of such a magnificent work is actually a rising young talent from my Pingyang County."

Xia Dong understood immediately upon hearing this.

"You flatter me, sir. I am merely penniless and am just scribbling on the shell of ancient tales of the strange and supernatural to make a living. It is hardly worthy of being called elegant."

"Haha, young friend Xia, you are too modest." Lord He greatly admired Xia Dong's humility and caution, then changed the subject, revealing his true purpose, "To be honest, I have been entrusted by the county government to lead the compilation of the *Pingyang County Gazetteer*. The other chapters are all nearing completion, but the *Tales of the Strange* section is particularly lacking in a suitable lead writer. I wonder if young friend Xia would be willing to deign to help me with this task?"

After a moment's thought, Xia Dong nodded in agreement. Repairing the county annals was subsidized by the government, and it would allow him to openly access the county's confidential archives and local chronicles, which would be entirely beneficial to his extraordinary abilities to understand the world.

...

...

In the days that followed, Xia Dong naturally joined the team compiling the county gazetteer.

Lord He spearheaded the compilation of the local gazetteer, gathering renowned scholars from Pingyang County. Xia Dong, after passing the imperial examination and becoming a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations), had secluded himself to practice martial arts and rarely participated in literary gatherings, making him a newcomer to this circle. However, his performance quickly and thoroughly impressed these haughty scholars.

Moreover, Lord He was extremely worldly-wise and never mentioned that Xia Dong was the "Gou Chen Ke" (a pseudonym). In today's world, although it is common for scholars to write vernacular novels, putting them out in the open is ultimately considered "unproductive" and "disgraceful to literature."

Lord He is intentionally trying to save face for Xia Dong.

Furthermore, this world is extremely isolated in terms of information; even seasoned scholars are mostly limited to the classics, histories, philosophical works, and the local area of ​​Lin Yuan Prefecture. But Xia Dong, with his past life experiences, is naturally different.

When discussing the legends of "sea monsters" or "drought demons" reported by various villages, Xia Dong could often provide extremely accurate and logically rigorous analyses from the perspectives of geography, hydrology, climate change, and even biological habits. He quoted extensively from classical texts, and his profound insights into various strange customs often left the elderly scholars around him speechless.

In today's perception, someone with such extensive knowledge at such a young age must either have an extremely deep family tradition of learning or have traveled extensively to famous mountains and rivers. Either way, it adds an aura of profound mystery to Xia Dong.

Xia Dong's reputation quickly rose among the scholars of Pingyang County.

However, what truly caused Lord He's attitude towards Xia Dong to subtly change was not merely his talent, but a top-secret household registration file from the county government.

As the chief compiler of the local gazetteer, Lord He had the authority to access the county's household registration records. While verifying the list of compilers, he happened to come across Xia Dong's household registration record.

On that document, in the section for Xia Dong's identity, there was a bright red mark that even many veteran clerks in the county government didn't understand—Taoist Register.

Upon seeing the mark, Lord He gasped, and his hand holding the teacup trembled slightly.

The household registration system in the Great You Dynasty was extremely strict. Ordinary people were registered as civilians, artisans, or merchants. However, once a scholar passed the imperial examination and obtained the title of Juren or above, his direct descendants could change their social status and become Confucian scholars who passed down the tradition of farming and studying.

But above all that, there is an extremely rare and even deliberately downplayed place of origin—Taoist origin.

The number of people with Daoist affiliations was more than a hundred times smaller than those with Confucian affiliations. In local counties, one might not appear for decades. Ordinary people and lower-level students had never even heard of them. Only officials like Lord He, who had once held the rank of seventh grade or above, had been to the capital, and participated in the central operations of the imperial court, vaguely knew the astonishing significance behind this.

In the imperial examination system of the Great You Dynasty, the examination papers of Daoist scholars were sealed and reviewed separately!

Furthermore, the written records and origin files of all those registered as Daoists were not left in local areas, but were directly sealed and stored in the Tongxuan Division in the capital. This means that those who possessed Daoist registration were often associated with some extraordinary, otherworldly forces.

"Just who are the parents of this young master of the Xia family?"

Lord He keenly realized that as long as Xia Dong didn't do anything reckless, even if his writing was a little mediocre, his future would be smooth sailing thanks to this special channel of "individual review," and his meteoric rise to prominence would be just around the corner!

...

...

Since that day, Xia Dong has clearly noticed the change in Lord He's attitude.

If before Lord He only appreciated him as a talented junior from his hometown, now this appreciation is mixed with a deliberate attempt to befriend and respect him.

For example, when the county government allocated subsidies for compiling local chronicles, Lord He would always give Xia Dong the most generous share under various pretexts; when introducing great scholars from the prefectural city, Lord He would also generously promote Xia Dong and praise him highly.

Xia Dong frowned slightly as he held the twenty taels of local government stipend he had just received.

"Why is this old man so enthusiastic towards me?"

He considered himself exceptionally talented, but he also knew that he was currently just a poor scholar with no connections, and that he was definitely not someone a retired official in the capital would stoop so low as to deliberately befriend.

But in any case, Lord He's kindness towards him is currently beneficial and harmless.

Moreover, Xia Dong now focuses his main energy on Heyingbu and the county annals.

He discovered something.

The county annals contain numerous records of longevity before the establishment of the Great You Dynasty, including stories of individuals consuming elixirs and miraculous herbs to extend their lives. There are also tales of people receiving favors from spirits or even repaying kindness…

However, after the establishment of the Great You Dynasty, even if there were similar records, they became vague and even suspected of being deliberately exaggerated or lied.

Moreover, among the materials, he also discovered information about martial arts in this world.