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

Chapter 402 Confucius Wants to Build the One-Yuan Academy! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Zhou Yi, holding his phone, entered the courtyard of Hunyuan Palace and asked curiously:
"Old Han, where did you find the clue? Is there really a candlestick belonging to Zhang Tianshi in this world?"

The blind man's voice trembled, clearly indicating his excitement:
“I always thought that Zhang Tianshi’s candlestick was a lie your grandfather made up to lure evil cultivators, but just now in a cave in Tiangui Mountain, I really found the remaining marks of a magic artifact. Through deduction, it seems to be left by a candlestick... If Zhang Tianshi’s candlestick really exists, it should be this one.”

Goodness, bait for fishing actually exists! That's really surprising.

I wonder what this magical artifact is used for; I'm really looking forward to it!

The blind man said:

“I have preserved the remaining marks with talismans. I will set off back to Yiyang tonight and go to Hunyuan Palace tomorrow morning to use the Bagua abacus to deduce the clues about the candlestick. As long as I have the abacus, I can find the clues about the candlestick.”

Zhou Yi had already prepared to drive to deliver the abacus, but he didn't expect the blind man to be so cautious, not letting the abacus leave the Hunyuan Palace at all.

Come to think of it, if this were a trap set by someone, then driving to deliver the abacus would be like walking into a snare.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yi said to Wu Meiniang:
"Tomorrow the blind man will come to Hunyuan Palace to interpret Zhang Tianshi's candlestick, and we may need another magic artifact."

Wu Zetian linked arms with Zhou Yi, her voice sweet and cloying:

"Immortal, you are in accordance with the way of Heaven. I believe you will encounter more and better magical artifacts in the future."

Zhou Yi held her hand tightly, and he uttered a rare sweet word:

"No matter how many magical artifacts you have, they can't compare to you."

With just a few simple words, the Empress blushed as if she had been drinking, and even her ears felt hot... In that instant, Wu Meiniang had already thought of a name for her child.

The next morning, the blind man arrived at Hunyuan Palace in Uncle Ming's car, travel-worn and exhausted.

After getting out of the car, Uncle Ming opened the trunk and took out seven or eight boxes of high-end fruit, two boxes of tea, a whole roast goose, and a roast suckling pig, which made Zhou Yi feel a little uncomfortable.

"Are you two here to visit relatives?"

The blind man chuckled softly:
“You have a child here, so you can’t go empty-handed. You need to bring some food… Let’s go, let’s go to the Sanqing Hall to take care of some business first.”

Zhou Yi nodded and led the blind man quickly to the Sanqing Hall. He took out the Bagua abacus and the blind man took out a blank golden talisman from his satchel.

He first shook the talisman, then picked up the Bagua abacus and used it to perform calculations according to the deduction method passed down by the Han family.

He had done this kind of thing no less than a thousand times in his life, and was already very familiar with it, but today, the more the blind man deduced, the deeper his brow furrowed. When the deduction was finished, he had a feeling that he had made a mistake:

"That's strange, why does the divination result show it's overseas? Chinese ritual implements are believed to have spirits and don't usually leave the country. Could this candlestick have been defiled?"

Just as he was wondering, the blind man suddenly remembered that he had predicted a while ago that Zhou Yi would meet Song Jingang abroad... Could it be that the candlestick was going abroad to wait for this kid Zhou Yi?

Thinking of this, the blind man couldn't help but turn his head and repeatedly "examine" Zhou Yi with his empty eyes, feeling that there were more and more mysteries surrounding this child.

The Book of Changes asks:

"Can you deduce the exact location of the candlestick?"

The world is so big, we can't possibly search one country at a time, can we?
The blind man put away his abacus and said with a wry smile:

“All magical artifacts possess a spirit. Using one artifact to deduce another, knowing that it is abroad is already an extra gain. If the candlestick doesn’t want to be discovered, the abacus can’t deduce its location at all… It depends on fate. When your time comes, you will naturally encounter the candlestick.”

Zhou Yi was surprised that the blind man had also learned the tricks of fortune tellers, so he didn't ask any more questions, but instead asked about what he had gained from his trip to Hebei.

The blind man yawned:
"I've only made a few small arrangements, and the effects aren't visible yet... By the way, when I was doing the simulation just now, I discovered that the hunting trip to the provincial capital was brought forward, and that shaman arrived earlier than in the last simulation. What's going on?"

Zhou Yi recounted his experiences in Zhengzhou. The blind man, holding the talisman that sealed the child's soul, used his abacus to perform some calculations and nodded, saying:

"Keep this talisman for now. I'll perform a ritual to help this poor child pass on to the afterlife once I find his body."

The blind man didn't linger at Hunyuan Palace for long. He quickly got into Uncle Ming's car and went down the mountain back to the city... At his age, after working non-stop for several days, he needed to go back and rest properly.

As soon as the two left, Zhao Rui, who was studying, put down her textbook, put her hands behind her back, and wandered around the boxes of high-end fruit. She would poke at the boxes, then read the labels, making Xi Shi (a famous beauty in ancient China) laugh.
"Just open it if you want to eat it, it's like I'm abusing you."

Zhao Rui was instantly moved, but still somewhat hesitant:

"Will the immortal master be angry?"

"How could I be angry with you when you're so cute? Remember to offer sacrifices to the Three Pure Ones before you eat. Don't be impolite."

Upon hearing this, the chubby girl quickly unpacked the cardboard box, intending to enjoy these unfamiliar fruits with the Three Pure Ones... cough, just to help the immortals taste the saltiness, not because she's greedy!

At noon, Zhou Yi chopped the roast goose and roast suckling pig into large pieces, then served them with dipping sauces such as white sugar and plum sauce, allowing everyone to savor these two delicacies. After a satisfying meal, Xi Shi brought some flour to the Spring and Autumn Period world.

Confucius and his companions had just passed through Hulao Pass and arrived at the capital region of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. However, due to the small size of the territory and the decline of the Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty was now merely a name, and any feudal lord could threaten the Zhou emperor.

When Xi Shi appeared, everyone was preparing lunch. Zi Lu put on sunglasses and skillfully used a solar cooker to bake flatbread. Confucius wanted to send some white flour to the Zhou emperor to try, but as soon as he brought it up, the guard of Hulao Pass told them not to cause any trouble and to leave quickly.

Yan Hui asked, puzzled:
"What's wrong with offering something from the celestial realm to the emperor?"

The garrison commander said:

"If you present it to the emperor, the feudal lords will come to demand it, causing trouble for no reason. The best way is not to present it to the emperor, but to hurry to where you are going."

Confucius sighed and said nothing more.

The Zhou Dynasty was a feudal system, and now the feudal lords are thriving in their respective fiefdoms, making the Zhou emperor a mere figurehead.

Relatively speaking, a unified system is better. Centralized power will prevent the fragmentation of various regions into small states, which could ultimately lead to internal strife within the Chinese nation.

Xi Shi looked at the general guarding Hulao Pass and asked:
Is Li Dan in the capital now?

The garrison commander shook his head:

“Three years ago, he rode a blue ox back to his hometown and disappeared without a trace. Last year, someone went to his house to ask him to come out of the mountains, but found that his house was empty, the courtyard had been abandoned for a long time, and the neighbors had never seen him before…”

Has the Dao Ancestor run away?
Xi Shi felt that this place was different from what was recorded in historical books, so she casually noted it down in her phone's memo app and went back to report to Zhou Yi.

After lunch, the group continued their journey, first following the south bank of the Luo River, and then heading towards the mountains south of Luoyang in search of the location of Yunwu Mountain.

On the way, Confucius began to arrange many things for reaching Yunwu Mountain:
"Zigong and Zixia went to the states of Wu and Yue to inform Fan Li, Wen Zhong, Sun Wu, and Wu Zixu about our plan to build a school. They also brought over the parents and family of the Lotus Fairy. From then on, we will use Yunwu Mountain as our base to establish a school that covers all kinds of disciplines."

Zilu asked:

"The school should have a name. What would be a suitable name?"

When this was mentioned, everyone started discussing it, some calling it Yunwu Mountain School, some calling it Confucian Academy, and others calling it Great Power Cultivation Institute.

Confucius pondered for a moment and settled on a name:
"We owe our current knowledge entirely to Immortal Master Yiyuan. Let's name the new school Yiyuan Academy. We would like to ask Fairy Lotus to request the Immortal Master to bestow his calligraphy upon us so that we can carve it on stone for display."

Xi Shi agreed and quickly returned to Hunyuan Palace, where she relayed Confucius's request.

Zhou Yi looked puzzled:

"They, a group of great scholars, actually asked me to write calligraphy? Aren't they just making fun of me?"

Wu Zetian thought the name "Yiyuan Academy" was quite good:

“Every world has a celestial temple. The words ‘academy’ break free from the Confucian mold and are extremely fitting as a school name. When will the celestial master inscribe the words? I would be happy to grind the ink for you.”

Zhou Yi felt that there was no better time than the right day. Since Confucius wanted it, he decided to prepare it for him and let him see the solemn and majestic style of Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy.

Back in their room, Wu Meiniang and Xi Shi prepared writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. After they finished, Zhou Yi first recited a calming mantra several times to calm his mind. Then, he picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote the four large characters "Yi Yuan Xue Gong" (一元学宫) on the Xuan paper in standard Yan style calligraphy.

After writing it, he added his signature and seal, and muttered to himself:

“A single sheet of Xuan paper is easily torn. Why don’t we just send it to the county town to be framed before giving it to Confucius, so that it won’t be ruined before they can even make a rubbing on the stone?”

Wu Meiniang thought this was a good idea. Once the ink dried, she tidied herself up and accompanied Zhou Yi to the antique-style street in the county town. They found a calligraphy and painting framing shop and went inside.

Upon seeing a customer, the shop owner skillfully brought out a ruler to measure the area. However, when he saw the signature, he couldn't help but glance at Zhou Yi:
"Brother, you're just writing a signboard, why are you offering it to Confucius? Are you planning to burn it for him at the Confucian Temple?"

Zhou Yi said with a smile:

"I'm just writing for fun. Pack it up nicely for me. I'll come back to you next time I need calligraphy or paintings."

"Alright, I guarantee it will be fast and good."

After paying the money and agreeing on a time to pick it up, Zhou Yi drove with Wu Meiniang away from the antique street and went to a nearby wholesale market. They bought dozens of boxes of various flavored pickled vegetables, intending to have Xi Shi deliver them to Confucius.

Sending pickled vegetables as a housewarming gift would surely offend most people, but not Confucius. In modern society, the sweet and savory pickled vegetables would have been a delicacy for people in the Spring and Autumn period.

While supplies were being procured here, on the front lines of Taozhou in the Kaiyuan World of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang army finally clashed with the main force of the Tubo, and a major battle broke out between the two sides.

Outside the battle lines, Li Bai, mounted on his horse, gripped the Confucian scholar's carving knife and spoke with an air of superiority:
"They say that timing is not as important as location. Today, I will combine both timing and location, and let's see how long Tibet can hold out!"

(End of this chapter)