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

Chapter 171 Children, Li Bai did it too! [Seeking monthly votes]

In Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, at the Shili Pavilion east of the city, Xue Chongjian's wife, children, maids, and concubines stood in two rows around him, staring straight ahead at the Polaroid camera in Gongsun Da Niang's hand.

Seeing everyone's expressions through the viewfinder, Granny Gongsun said speechlessly:

"Smile, don't look so sad. Say it with me, cheese~~~"

It was the first time Xue Chongjian's family had their picture taken. They didn't know how to pose or what an eggplant was, but they still followed along and recited the name.

Gongsun Da Niang took the opportunity to snap three photos. After the photos were taken, Li Bai, who was standing nearby, took them, skillfully put them on a laminating film, and put them into a portable laminating machine. In this way, the photos could be preserved for many years.

Three photos were taken. One was given to Xue Chongjian so that he could carry it with him at all times. This would be his motivation to make meritorious contributions, and at the same time, it would comfort his homesickness in a foreign land.

The other photo was given to Xue Chongjian's wife, Madam Wu. From then on, the family lived in a three-courtyard house in Daozhengfang. Li Chengyi had already prepared the living supplies. At this moment, the second cousin was leading the horse, intending to see his cousin off.

As for the last photo, Gongsun Da Niang will take it back and give it to Princess Taiping, so that the first princess of the Tang Dynasty can take a good look at her only remaining blood relative.

After Li Bai finished laminating the photo, he quietly handed Xue Chongjian an outdoor backpack and specifically instructed him:
"There are some things for you in the waterproof interlayer inside. You should keep them close to your body."

This is a photo of Princess Taiping, taken this morning at Yiyuan Temple. In the photo, Princess Taiping is wearing a Taoist robe, and her expression shows less of the power-hungry nature of a ruler and more of the kindness of a mother.

Besides the photos, there was also some food and medicine, as well as a set of flashlights and solar charging panels, but it was unclear how long they would last. The only hope was that they could help Xue Chongjian gain a foothold in Japan.

Li Chengyi leaned closer to look at the photo and asked in a low voice:

"Master Qinglian, could you please give me one too? In case I pass away someday, it will be something for my family to remember me by."

Gongsun Da Niang said:

"Could you lose some weight first? You don't look handsome at all in these photos. Look at Xue Waisun's physique, he's a standard handsome man in period dramas, the kind who looks like he comes from a prestigious family."

To motivate her grandson to lose weight, Granny Gongsun made up a story:
"The immortal said that if you can lose weight, you might be able to have a son. You must try your best."

Li Chengyi is in his early thirties and has never had a son. Recently, he was planning to adopt his elder brother's son to take care of him in his old age and see him off in his final days. But when he heard that there was still hope, he immediately decided to walk back instead of taking the carriage.

While they were chatting, Xue Chongjian put away the photos and said a reluctant goodbye to his family.

Gao Lishi, representing Li Longji, presented Xue Chongjian with a very luxurious Tang-style sword, two sets of clothes, and some gold and silver items, as a token of the affection between cousins.

Gao Lishi noticed that Madam Wu's eyes were red and swollen, so he went over and reminded her:

"It's about time to set off. The journey to Japan is long. I will come to Yiyuan Temple to offer incense and pray for you on the first and fifteenth of each month. Don't worry about this place."

Ostensibly, he was offering incense and praying for blessings, but in reality, he was visiting Xue Chongjian's family on his behalf.

Xue Chongjian was very grateful for this guarantee:

"Thank you very much. I will set off immediately."

He raised his glass in a toast and said goodbye to everyone one by one.

Gongsun Da Niang originally wanted to write the line, "I urge you to drink another cup of wine, for once you leave Tongguan to the east, you will find no old friends," but she was worried that Xue Wai Sun would misunderstand, so she gave up the idea of ​​copying the poem.

With everything prepared, Xue Chongjian mounted his horse and led a hundred followers eastward.

At Shili Pavilion, several eunuchs tidied up the food and wine inside, intending to follow Gao Lishi back to the palace to report.

Just then, a commotion suddenly arose ahead:
"who?"

"What do you men in black want to do in broad daylight?"

"I am the Japanese Inspector personally appointed by His Majesty. Anyone who dares to step forward again will be killed without mercy!"

"..."

Upon hearing the commotion, Li Chengyi, Gongsun Da Niang, and Li Bai all turned to look at Gao Lishi, while Xue Chongjian's children glared at him angrily.

Gao Lishi was somewhat bewildered:
"I didn't arrange anything for anyone! Don't look at me like that, I really didn't know anything about it!"

Li Chengyi mounted his horse, about to spur it forward to see what was happening, when Li Bai leaped onto the saddle, sat in front of Li Chengyi, and pulled out a stainless steel token from his pocket:
"No matter who it is, he won't survive today!"

With two mortals from Hunyuan Palace present, how could such a thing still happen? It just goes to show that some people deserve to die!

Upon seeing the token, Li Chengyi immediately perked up, lashed his horse's rump with his whip, and the steed shot forward like an arrow.

When they arrived at Shili Pavilion, the two saw Xue Chongjian leading his troops in a fight against a group of men in black. The leader of the men in black had his mask torn off, and he was none other than Wang Maozhong, the former commander of the 10,000 cavalry.

Upon seeing this guy, Li Bai shouted:
"Wang Maozhong, do you wish to die?"

This time, Li Chengyi didn't show off. He calmly acted as the driver, controlling his mount to rush forward, waiting for the spectacular scene of divine thunder descending from the sky.

Wang Maozhong was equally furious when he saw Li Bai. Last time, he almost succeeded in his attack at the entrance of Yiyuan Temple, but this greenhorn blocked his way. He never expected to see this kid again today, so he immediately brandished his knife and charged at Li Bai.

Before he could even reach Li Bai, a bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, hitting Wang Maozhong squarely. This once-favored minister, who had established his own government in history, vanished into thin air and died prematurely.

Even after Wang Maozhong died, the men in black still didn't stop. Li Bai then unleashed several more bolts of divine lightning, which terrified both sides. Both the men in black and Xue Chongjian's followers collapsed to the ground and kowtowed repeatedly.

Watching this scene, Li Chengyi felt incredibly satisfied, and at the same time, he became even more respectful towards Li Bai and Gongsun Da Niang.

Other monks and Taoist priests are just swindlers, but these two have real skills.

He gave instructions to Xue Chongjian's men:

"These men in black intend to assassinate me. Tie them all up, and I will interrogate them myself!"

This prince was very good at judging the situation; he knew when to sit back and watch the show and when to step in and clean up the mess.

For example, if the Taoist priest of Yiyuan Temple were to interrogate Wang Maozhong now, it would be somewhat irregular in terms of legal principles. However, if the emperor's own brother were to stand up as a victim, then no one in the entire Tang Dynasty would be able to protect Wang Maozhong's family.

Sure enough, after Li Chengyi gave the order, Xue Chongjian's entourage rushed forward and tied up the group of men in black tightly.

A young eunuch picked up his bow and shot a signal arrow into the sky. Soon, ten thousand cavalrymen patrolling the east of the city rushed over.

Upon seeing Gao Lishi, the leader quickly dismounted and bowed.

"This humble general is Chen Xuanli. May I ask what brings you to my service?"

Gao Lishi pointed to Li Chengyi, who was sitting on his horse in the distance, and said:

“Someone attempted to assassinate King Shen. Take the assassin back and interrogate him thoroughly. You must give King Shen an explanation.”

"I will obey your orders!"

Upon hearing the name Chen Xuanli, Gongsun Da Niang looked over in surprise.

Isn't this the mastermind behind the Mawei Slope Mutiny? My apologies!
The 10,000 riders took all the men in black back. Xue Chongjian rode back, bid farewell to his family a second time, and then led his entourage to continue on their journey.

With this divine lightning protection, it is believed that officials within the Tang Dynasty will no longer dare to harbor any malicious intentions towards Xue Chongjian.

Upon returning to the palace, Gao Lishi notified the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review to jointly investigate the assassination of Prince Shen.

Upon hearing of this, Li Longji immediately dismissed the court session and left the palace to visit his elder brother at the Prince Shen's residence in Daozhengfang. Of course, this was only in name. In reality, as soon as the emperor arrived in Daozhengfang, he went into the Yiyuan Temple and swore an oath in front of Princess Taiping, stating that he knew nothing about the matter.

Aunt Gongsun plugged in the Polaroid camera, put her hands behind her back, and said:
"Sister Meiniang has high hopes for Xue's grandson, always hoping that he can restore the Xue family's glory. Immortal Master also plans to pray for Xue's grandson together at our next gathering, to reduce the obstacles on his path and help the Tang Dynasty expand its territory..."

Li Longji immediately understood:
"Everything will be dealt with severely. Although Wang Maozhong is dead, his accomplices are definitely still around. I will definitely investigate them thoroughly!"

In front of Gongsun Da Niang, he didn't even dare to refer to himself as "I" anymore, but kept trying to get closer to her, calling her "Auntie" repeatedly.

Inside the Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi was flipping through a black notebook when he discovered that several coins of his merit had been deducted.

Yesterday, Huo Qubing struck Zhao Xin with lightning, gaining four coins of merit. Subtracting the one coin of merit for attracting the lightning, the net gain was three coins, totaling eleven taels and seven coins.

But now, it has actually dropped to eleven taels and three mace, a loss of four mace.

Zhou Yi looked puzzled:
"Is this some kind of human being imitating Franklin in his research on lightning?"

He continued reading, and only when the notes appeared did he understand what was going on:

[Li Bai summons divine lightning to strike and kill the Goguryeo king Mao Zhong, gaining +2 merit (including double merit for non-god races)]

Adding two coins of merit while losing four coins of merit means that Li Bai summoned a total of six divine thunderbolts.

Goodness gracious! Not only do you have the ultimate skill "Azure Lotus Sword Song" in the King of Glory rank, but it took you so much effort to kill Wang Maozhong. Did you create your own Azure Lotus Thunder Array?
Everyone else gained merit by summoning divine thunder, but the eldest disciple lost money... The Poet Immortal is indeed only suited to drinking and writing poetry!
Next time he comes, I'll have to assign him more talisman-drawing homework to make up for the four coins of merit he lost.

Just as he was complaining, Wu Zetian, wearing a pair of red-soled high heels, walked into Zhou Yi's room:

"Immortal Master, are these shoes suitable for me?"

Zhou Yi looked him over and nodded, saying:

"Not bad, it makes your legs look even longer, it's perfect. But it's best not to wear it in the Hunyuan Palace, the clattering sound of high heels will disturb the immortals."

Wu Zetian quickly made a statement:
"I'm just trying this on so you can see it; I don't usually wear this."

She turned around and went back to her room, took off her high heels, carefully put them in a shoe box, and muttered to herself:
"These shoes are so beautiful, I wouldn't normally wear them. I'll wear them when I go abroad with you... I read online that this kind of travel together is called a honeymoon, I really hope that day comes soon!"

(End of this chapter)