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

Chapter 109 Sima Qian: I Regret Joining Li Guang's Army! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Zhou Yi drove to the Lao Zhuang Martyrs' Cemetery and saw an old-model Tiguan L parked alone in the small square. Hu Lijun sat on the ground, looking somewhat dejected, his head resting against the car door, guarding his family inside.

Seeing the Wuling car approaching, Hu Lijun scrambled to his feet in one go:

"Master Zhou, it's so good to meet you."

Zhou Yi examined his face and found no signs of possession or entanglement with vengeful spirits. He must have simply encountered something unclean.

But now it's impossible to find out, because the entire area around the martyrs' cemetery is filled with a somber atmosphere.

It is clear that this was done by the martyrs who are buried here.

A middle-aged man, with his wife and children, rushed over like a headless fly seeking help. Given the temperament of the martyrs, they would not give up until they squeezed out the yolk of the filthy thing.

Zhou Yi arrived at the tombstone and recited a calming incantation, using this method to tell the martyrs:

"Leave the rest to me, you can rest assured and get some rest."

After the calming incantation was finished, a gentle breeze blew, and the poplar trees beside them rustled again, gradually dissipating the somber atmosphere.

Zhou Yi bowed to the tombstone, then turned to Hu Lijun and asked:
"Can you still drive?"

Hu Lijun gave a wry smile:
"Now I feel as weak as a noodle, and I don't dare to touch the steering wheel."

When a person is frightened, their adrenaline surges. Now that everything is alright, the adrenaline subsides, and feelings of fatigue and weakness wash over them.

Zhou Yi took out a golden talisman from his bag:

"Keep this in your pocket to strengthen your strength and stabilize your spirit. The price is that you'll have to sleep in for half a day tomorrow."

Hu Lijun accepted it with trepidation and put it into the pocket of his polo shirt.

Then, Zhou Yi took out three calming talismans and gave them to Hu Lijun's wife, Wang Fengzhi, and their two children. This would prevent them from having nightmares, insomnia, and fear after returning home.

Finally, he took out a talisman to ward off evil spirits and told Hu Lijun to put it in the car so that he wouldn't encounter this situation again for the next month.

Hu Lijun was deeply moved and transferred 1,000 yuan to Zhou Yi via WeChat.
"Master Zhou, thank you for your talisman. I'll get a few protective talismans tomorrow. This is just too terrifying."

"Don't rush the amulet thing. Tell me what you did today so I can figure out the reason."

This profession is very similar to treating illness. You have to find the underlying cause of the disease before you can treat it in a targeted way. If you only treat the symptoms and not the root cause, you may encounter the same problem again in the future.

Hu Lijun took out drinks and snacks from the trunk for his wife and children, then lit a cigarette and chatted with Zhou Yi about his experiences that day.

The four of them, along with Nan Nan's family, set off from the county town this morning to visit the zoo, go shopping, and watch a movie in the city. Everyone, adults and children alike, had a great time.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Nan Nan's family went to visit relatives in the city. Hu Lijun drove back to Xiuchuan County, and then they encountered a maze on the way, which kept going around in circles.

It sounds like there's something wrong with the roads near Huowangzhuang, but something's also strange.

These kinds of mazes, where you seem to be trapped in a maze, will return to their original state once you leave that section of road; they rarely stay with the car all the way to the entrance of Laozhuang Village… Zhou Yi said:
"You guys drive back, drive carefully, I'm going to take a look around Huowangzhuang."

Let's investigate based on the "ghost wall" theory for now. If that doesn't work, we'll look at other approaches.

Hu Lijun lit a cigarette, and with the help of the Golden Light Talisman, his listless expression relaxed considerably. He started the car and drove away from Laozhuang along the road Zhou Yi had taken, heading east until he reached the main road from Yunwu Town to the county seat, then heading south back to the county seat.

After watching the family leave, Zhou Yi got into his car and drove along the road Hu Lijun had taken into the village.

When he arrived at the dead-end bridge, he got out of the car and looked around. The road signs were very clear, and there were auxiliary turning mirrors at the intersection. In theory, Hu Lijun should have been able to see them clearly, but he said he saw nothing.

It's probably covered by something dirty.

The air still carried the solemn aura of the martyrs, and there was no trace of anything dirty, so Zhou Yi had no choice but to continue searching.

Finally, next to a pond, the compass needle showed a slight change.

Zhou Yi took out a spirit-binding talisman and placed it in the Xun position by the water. This kind of talisman can simulate the aura of a person with insufficient Yang energy, and has a fatal attraction to Yin spirits and evil spirits.

Not long after it was placed, the talisman began to float up strangely, even though there was no wind around... Xun represents wind, and once a spirit-binding talisman placed in this position is tainted by evil spirits, it will drift around aimlessly.

Zhou Yi gripped the spirit-binding talisman tightly in his hand, closed his eyes, and sensed a trace of yin spirit energy within the talisman. He immediately exclaimed in surprise:
"What's happening here?"

In Taoist texts, spirits are categorized into various types, including yin spirits, evil spirits, vengeful spirits, malevolent entities, and ghosts. Yin spirits are remnants of the soul after death, lacking independent consciousness and possessing very weak spiritual bodies. They can be easily dispersed, let alone by magical artifacts, or even by a normal person with sufficient yang energy. Their influence on people is also very limited, at most causing a few nightmares, and they don't even require special treatment.

Relatively speaking, evil spirits formed from human malice and vengeful spirits formed from obsessions before death are more powerful, especially vengeful spirits, which can grow into evil ghosts and harm the surrounding area when the opportunity arises.

Zhou Yi scratched his head in confusion:

"Why would a spirit keep chasing and harassing a car? Could it be that they have their own night school and study classes to increase their intelligence?"

He rolled up the talisman and put it into a small bottle, then drove on until he reached the main road near Huowangzhuang.

The provincial highway is busy with traffic without any problems. The compass reading is normal, there are no evil spirits or similar unclean things, and there have been no car accidents.

Zhou Yi was still worried, so he drove more than 20 kilometers west, then turned around and followed Hu Lijun's route through the "ghost wall" again. He found no trace of evil spirits causing trouble, and the surrounding cars did not seem to have been affected or encountered any "ghost wall" situations.

That's strange... Could the cause lie with Hu Lijun's family?
Zhou Yi didn't rush to make a decision. Instead, he took out some copper coins and cast a divination for himself to see whether investigating this matter would bring good or bad fortune.

If the forecast indicates great misfortune, then it's best to hold off for now and wait until you've exchanged for the Taoist arts before going on a wild spree.

The divination result was very auspicious, and even more so for the growth of the I Ching... In that case, he decided to contact Hu Lijun tomorrow to see if he could find out the cause of the matter.

After making up his mind, he restarted the car and drove to Yunwu Mountain.

On the other side, in the world of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, at the Jiexiu County camp.

Wei Qing sat in front of the lamp, carefully reading the "General History of the Han Dynasty" that Huo Qubing had left in the central army camp last time. At the head of the tent, Sima Qian, who had rushed over from a long journey, was eating fried noodles that the cooks had brought him.

After leaving Chang'an, Sima Qian, relying on his youth, traveled north day and night and finally caught up with Wei Qing's army in Jiexiu County.

After he finished eating, Wei Qing put down the book in his hand:
"Zichang, you said His Majesty sent you here to serve as military supervisor?"

Sima Qian put down his wooden spoon and bowl and respectfully bowed.
"Reporting to the General, His Majesty has ordered me to oversee Li Guang's troops; there is an imperial edict..."

Wei Qing was born a horse slave and had a low social status. Although he is now a great general, many families look down on him. For example, the Li family of Longyou, where Li Guang lived, and the Sima family of Sima Qian, etc. They all think that he is just a slave and why should he be able to be with them?
Sima Qian had the same attitude in the past, but today he had actually met Wei Qing and found that this great general was humble, low-key, polite and respectful, never abusing his power, and basically just laughed off ridicule and slander, never holding grudges.

In contrast, Li Guang, who frequently used terms like "slave who has gained power," "traitorous slave," and "riding slave boy," was arrogant and disdainful of others. Even though Wei Qing led his troops to conquer Longcheng on his first campaign and demonstrated the might of the Han Dynasty, Li Guang still felt that Wei Qing was nothing more than a petty person who had gained power by relying on the emperor's favor. He believed that if it had been him, the victory would have been ten times greater.

After reading the imperial edict, Wei Qing casually picked up a bamboo slip and wrote down the military order for Li Guang's troops to act expediently. He then blew on the ink to dry it and handed it to Sima Qian.

"With this order, you may go ahead and meet Li Guang in Dingxiang."

Sima Qian never expected that he would receive the general's order right after enjoying the delicious food, without suffering any difficulties or obstacles.

This is no great general; he's practically a lowly clerk.

Sima Qian felt a pang of shame upon recalling his previous slander of Wei Qing:
"Thank you for your consideration, General. If Li Guang and I discover an opportunity to attack, what should we do?"

Wei Qing revealed a warm smile:

"When you arrive in Dingxiang, you will meet my nephew Huo Qubing. His cavalry special forces will enter the grasslands before you to carry out reconnaissance, decapitation, and ambush operations... Discuss with him how to contact him and act as you see fit."

Sima Qian bowed respectfully. Li Guang had repeatedly insulted the general in public, but Wei Qing had always forgiven him. Based on this alone, Sima Qian felt that Li Guang owed the general an apology.

Your ancestor, Li Xin, was a great general of the Qin Dynasty. That only shows that your ancestors were powerful. What does that have to do with you?
Your cousin Li Cai is now one of the Three Dukes. Even if he claims to be a descendant of Li Xin, he should be Li Cai, not you, a brute who has toiled half your life and accomplished nothing.

Before even meeting Li Guang, Sima Qian's attitude gradually began to change.

Besides Wei Qing's humility and kindness, the most important thing is that along the way, Sima Qian reviewed all the battles Li Guang fought and found that following this guy into the army, there was no possibility of gaining military merit... Without military merit, what's the point of joining the army!

Military merit in the Han Dynasty had many benefits, such as exemption from corvée labor and taxes. Emperor Wu of Han used this method to encourage people to join the army and fight bravely.

If you don't earn military merit, wouldn't all your efforts be in vain?
Sima Qian thanked the soldiers and was about to go to the tents arranged by them to rest when Wei Qing asked the junior officer in the central army:
How much fried noodles are left?

"Reporting to the General, we have been unable to produce any for the past two days. We only have a few hundred catties of fried noodles left, and we are almost out."

Wei Qing instructed:
"Take fifty catties of fried noodles and let Zichang eat them on the road."

Hearing this, Sima Qian felt a lump in his throat, and his guilt intensified... What a great general he was, yet so many people in Chang'an insulted and slandered him.

If I were the Grand Historian, I would write down the great general's achievements in their entirety to restore history to its original state!
(End of this chapter)