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

Chapter 343 The Blind Man's Bold Conjecture! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

In the evening, dinner began at Hunyuan Palace.

It rained all day today, and it was damp and chilly. Zhou Yi made sour spinach noodles and wild vegetable pancakes so that everyone could eat them to sweat it out and avoid catching a cold.

Zhao Rui took a bite of the pie, her face beaming with happiness:

"There's breakfast in the morning, snacks in the morning, meat for lunch, roasted sweet potatoes in the afternoon, soup noodles for dinner, and some fruit at night... Six meals a day, each different. The immortal realm is truly extraordinary."

Zhao Yan picked up some green noodles with her chopsticks and asked Zhou Yi:
"Master, how was this made?"

Li Qingzhao explained to her like an expert:

"Just mash the spinach into vegetable juice, mix it with flour, and then roll it into noodles. It's very simple and common in our Great Song Dynasty. There are also jade dumplings, jade pastries, and so on."

The diet in the late Northern Song Dynasty was not much different from that in modern society.

There are stir-fried dishes and braised dishes. Those who are particular eat rice, while ordinary families eat noodles. Soup noodles and the like are very common. Whether rich or poor, everyone knows how to make and eat them.

Zhao Rui asked:

Do you also eat six meals a day?

Li Qingzhao shook her head:
"That's too expensive. We'd be lucky to afford three meals a day plus a snack."

Zhao Rui took a bite of the pie and said:
"Then it's still better here, Master. There are six different meals a day. Even the Emperor of the Han Dynasty doesn't eat as well here as Master."

Zhou Yi pinched the little girl's cheek and said:

"Stop flattering me. Hurry up and eat. After you finish eating, you can watch an episode of 'Boonie Bears,' and then continue studying."

While we were having dinner, at the exit of Yiyang City High-Speed ​​Railway Station, a blind man, leaning on his cane and wearing sunglasses, waited quietly. A short while later, an elderly man with completely white hair, dressed in a sharp Zhongshan suit, arrived at the exit with a suitcase. Before even passing through the turnstiles, he waved to the blind man.

"Brother Han, I'm here!"

He passed through the turnstile, approached the blind man, and asked in a Shanxi accent:

"What do you mean by saying on the phone that Lao Zhou isn't dead? And you told me to come to Yiyang right away. Is Lao Zhou dead or not? What do you mean by saying he's being resuscitated?"

The visitor was none other than Old Qiao, the immortal man who gave vinegar to everyone he met, who had been dragged from Taiyuan by the blind man with a single phone call.

The blind man held his hand and said:
"This is a long story. Let's go back first and discuss it during dinner."

Old Joe raised his wrist, glanced at his watch, and said:

“Let’s wait a little longer. I also informed Grandma Ji. She really wanted to see Old Zhou one last time, so she took a special trip from Chengdu. She’ll be here in half an hour.”

The blind man said speechlessly:
"Luckily, we didn't invite you to the banquet, otherwise you would have brought a whole reinforced company! Why didn't she take a plane? It would have taken her most of the day to get here by high-speed rail from Chengdu."

"She used the method of fortune telling taught by Lao Zhou to calculate that she was incompatible with airplanes recently, so she changed her plans to take the high-speed rail."

The blind man mocked:
"So superstitious and feudal, no wonder he's only ever made small ritual objects his whole life... There's a coffee shop up ahead, let's go in and sit for a while, my old arms and legs can't stand for too long."

The two went to a coffee shop, each ordered a lemonade, and the blind man used voice dialing to call Uncle Ming:
"Xiao Jiang, we're going to Tian Shang Ke for dinner in an hour. I'll introduce you to some seniors."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Ming immediately agreed:
"Okay, I'll go half an hour early."

Seeing that the blind man could use voice dialing so skillfully, Old Joe asked curiously:
"Are you really that trendy?"

The blind man gave an awkward smile:
"You lost face in front of a brat, and that's how you learned to control your phone with your voice... How have you been these past few years? I heard you've taken on a few talented apprentices?"

Old Joe nodded:

"The young people of Shanxi may not have much else, but their hard work and perseverance are unparalleled. It's just a pity that some of their peers haven't found a successor and will have to take their skills to their graves."

The two chatted casually for half an hour before finally meeting Grandma Ji, who was also dragging a suitcase.

The old lady had a kind face and was dressed simply. She was dragging an old leather suitcase and looked unremarkable, but she was a well-known queen of ritual implements in the circle.

Upon seeing the blind man, she took the initiative to greet him:
"Greetings, Mr. Xia. What brings you here?"

Old Joe looked at Grandma Ji, then at the blind man, and asked curiously:

"You two know each other?"

When informing Grandma Ji, Old Joe didn't say much, nor did he mention the blind man's name, fearing that saying too much would alert the blind man.

Unexpectedly, when Grandma Ji saw the blind man, she called him "Mr. Xia".

The blind man said:

"Ten years ago, I lived in Chengdu for a few years under the alias Xia Chunfeng. I often went to the Wuhou Temple and met Grandma Ji by chance... Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Han Chujiu, and I am known in the martial arts world as the Golden Eagle."

Upon hearing this, Grandma Ji immediately recalled that two months ago, Zhou Yi had asked her if she knew the Golden Eagle Guest Han Chu Jiu. She never expected that it would turn out to be Mr. Xia, with whom she had played mahjong.

With everyone present, the blind man didn't linger. He led the two away from the high-speed rail station and took a car straight to the Sky Restaurant.

On the way, Grandma Ji and Old Qiao mentioned Zhou Banxian several times, but the blind man always brushed them off, and they didn't talk about it much. Upon arriving at the Heavenly Guest House, Uncle Ming came to greet them from afar, but when he saw Grandma Ji, he immediately became furious:
"I've already fled from Quanzhou to Yiyang, and you're still trying to steal my business, huh?"

Grandma Ji was very happy, especially when she noticed that Uncle Ming's good fortune had obviously increased, which made her extremely surprised and delighted:

“I’ve always worried that you have too little good fortune and that something bad might happen to you at any time. But now it’s all good. Your good fortune is almost on par with that of a normal person. Is this because of Mr. Han’s guidance?”

The blind man pointed upstairs:
"Let's go to the private room to talk. We can discuss an important matter."

Once inside the Heavenly Guesthouse, all mystical investigations are blocked, allowing for discussions of matters not open to the public.

The private room was ready. After entering, the waiter served a cup of tea and then left. Before leaving, he even put a talisman on the door to ensure privacy.

Inside the private room, the blind man sat on the sofa and first emphasized the issue of confidentiality:
"No one is allowed to reveal a single word of what we are discussing here today. Otherwise, if Old Zhou crawls out of his grave and strangles you, don't blame me for not warning you."

Uncle Ming shuddered, realizing that coming to join the fun so rashly was a bit impulsive.

Once everyone was seated, the blind man asked a question:
Have you ever seen people from other worlds?

Old Joe was somewhat puzzled:

"When you say 'this world,' are you referring to the relationships between countries, or the concept of the universe?"

The blind man put it another way:
"Have you ever had an experience where you met someone from the Song Dynasty who was younger than you in another time and space?"

Old Joe shook his head and said:

"In the past seventy years, I've only seen a few living dead with money rat tails. They tried to kill me, but were afflicted by the backlash of their merits and haven't shown their faces since... I've never even heard of the Song Dynasty. That can't be right, can it?"

After thinking for a moment, Old Mrs. Ji frowned and said:

"Forty years ago, at the Qingcheng Mountain Cultivator Conference, Zhou Banxian proposed the concept of time travel, but as soon as he got started, people jeered that it was too fantastical and told him to change his research direction."

Uncle Ming looked around and realized that among those present, he was the least skilled and his fate had been repeatedly altered. However, given his understanding of Zhou Banxian, it was not surprising that he could study such a subject.

Old Joe asked:

"Did you see it?"

The blind man nodded:

“A few days ago, I went to Hunyuan Palace to deliver a military overcoat and saw my Bagua abacus. The moment I picked it up, I felt that the people standing around me did not seem to live in our world. Just as I was about to use the abacus to make some calculations, I felt as if I was being watched by a god. This feeling was more terrifying than being chased by a dragon, and it almost broke my Dao heart.”

Uncle Ming opened his mouth, and asked in confusion:

"You mean, the people around Xiao Yi don't seem to be native to this area?"

The blind man sighed:

"I just have this feeling, but it's hard to say for now whether it is true or not. When you go to Hunyuan Palace, don't show it. There must be a reason why the gods don't allow investigation."

Old Joe found it unbelievable, and Grandma Ji couldn't accept it either:
"Can we go and take a look at Hunyuan Palace?"

The blind man said:

"The day after tomorrow morning, I will take you to Hunyuan Palace... Old Zhou's grandson will use the Bagua abacus to predict the location of the capital of the Song Dynasty. You will all participate. If you can share in the blessings and merits, it means that the grandfather and grandson are really planning something big."

At this point, he added a reminder:
"Whether it is or not, we should remain calm when we get to Hunyuan Palace. We should cooperate with whatever that kid wants to do, and even if we have any questions, we should not ask them... We may not be able to help much, but we must not hold him back."

After finishing their business, the group had dinner together and then left the guesthouse. Uncle Ming drove Old Qiao and Old Lady Ji to find a place to stay, while the blind man took a car back to the Feng Shui Association office.

As soon as he entered, his assistant rushed over. The blind man took off his glasses, and his eye sockets quickly turned as black as ink, silently creating an illusion in the office that blocked any mystical investigation.

Unaware of anything amiss, the assistant reported to the blind man:

"News from the capital says that several shamans have been frequently inquiring about Yunwu Mountain and have plans to come south to Henan... Should we make some preparations in advance?"

The blind man said:

"Just let things take their course. If we prepare in advance, those rats won't dare to show their faces."

The next day, at the blind man's request, Uncle Ming drove Old Qiao and Old Lady Ji to visit popular tourist attractions in Yiyang City, and also stopped by the statue manufacturing factory that was under construction.

After reading it, Grandma Ji gave Uncle Ming some suggestions, saying that the two sides could cooperate.

Meanwhile, inside the Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi was preparing flowers and fruits for offering to the Three Pure Ones when Zhao Yan suddenly rushed into the Three Pure Ones Hall, holding a red leaf.

"Master, master, I just found a very beautiful leaf on the altar in the temple..."

Upon seeing the red leaves, Zhou Yi assumed they were the ones from Wang Lingguan, but upon receiving them, he realized there was a difference. The leaves from Wang Lingguan were crimson, symbolizing firelight, while these were a deeper shade, blood red.

He couldn't figure it out, so he asked Zhao Yan:
"Which temple did you get it from? Take me to see it."

Upon hearing this, the little girl obediently led the way, guiding Zhou Yi all the way to the upper palace where the Gouchen Emperor was worshipped...

(End of this chapter)