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

Chapter 404 Kissing Aunt Gongsun! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Early in the morning, Zhou Yi was cooking porridge at the makeshift stove behind the Sanqing Hall when Granny Gongsun rushed in like a gust of wind, then dashed out again, leaving Zhou Yi somewhat bewildered.
"What's going on? Are you practicing long-distance running?"

In front of the Sanqing Hall, Granny Gongsun gathered all the members of her sect—including the chubby little girl Zhao Rui—and whispered to each other:

“I originally wanted to talk to the Taoist priest about the small stronghold of the Western sect that was recently eliminated, but as soon as I saw him, I was reminded of the kissing incident… Please help your master think of a way so that I can be as close to the Taoist priest as I used to be.”

Zhao Rui, with her hands behind her back, playfully kicked a pebble:
"I suddenly realized that it doesn't matter whether I learn the full set of skills or not. Maybe I should just learn the 'sounding clogs dance' from Sister Xi Shi instead."

The master's questions were too difficult, so the chubby girl decided to switch sects. Then, Granny Gongsun picked her up and spanked her... After the spanking, Zhao Rui, feeling wronged, racked her brains and came up with a rather dubious idea:

"Just pretend to hug the immortal or fall down in front of him. As long as he touches you, make him take responsibility. That's how people stage accidents online."

Gongsun Da Niang felt it was unreliable and thought it was better to rely on herself than to ask others for help, so she decided to face it herself.

She went to the makeshift stove at the back, lowered her head, and fiddled with the hem of her clothes, her voice filled with shyness and bashfulness:
“These past few days, I led ten thousand cavalrymen to wipe out six strongholds of Western religious sects that were secretly holding prayer meetings, sent several hundred laborers to the quarry, and had the width of the Wei River measured in preparation for building a bridge in the winter.”

As the girl was speaking, Zhou Yi raised his hand and touched her forehead:
"You were acting crazy just now, why are you suddenly so weak? Did you catch a cold?"

After touching Gongsun Da Niang's forehead, Zhou Yi touched his own and realized that his hands were quite warm from being in front of the stove. So he put his arms around Gongsun Da Niang's neck and bumped heads with her.

I touched my forehead to it, but didn't feel any difference in temperature, so I was relieved.

“There are a lot of people with the flu lately. If you have symptoms, tell me. Don’t try to tough it out. I can use my healing techniques to eliminate your cold symptoms and make you feel less uncomfortable.”

Gongsun Da Niang stood there dumbfounded, completely unexpected that she had gotten intimate with Zhou Yi like this.

Of course, strictly speaking, it was head-to-head, but the girl's face was still as red as if she had drunk half a jin of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), and even her voice was trembling:
What are the symptoms of the flu?

Zhou Yi continued cooking the porridge:

"Headache, stuffy nose, cough, sore throat, general weakness, foggy head... basically, all sorts of discomfort."

After saying that, he started kneading the dough, preparing to make a few layered pancakes, with Aunt Gongsun helping him.

When Li Bai arrived, Zhou Yi had already prepared breakfast. They ate breakfast together, and Li Bai sent the video he had taken yesterday to Gongsun Da Niang, asking her to bring Wang Zhongsi and his mother to Daozhengfang after she returned. The future great general could not be neglected.

The Book of Changes mentions Qujiang Military Academy:
“Once things are almost settled there, start recruiting students. Don’t just focus on generals who have made their mark in history; we should also train some good families. You are creating new history over there. We can’t always rely on history books to find talent. We can be more at ease using those we train ourselves.”

Grandma Gongsun wrote it down, planning to have a serious talk with her eldest grandson when she got back.

Wu Meiniang looked at Zhou Yi and asked:

"Should we develop Cloud Mist Mountain into a school for both of our worlds?"

Zhou Yi shook his head:

"There's no rush. Let's see what changes happen after Confucius builds the school. If it really affects Hunyuan Palace, then it's not too late to develop it later."

Both Tang Dynasty worlds have plenty of talent and resources. Even if they are not enough, they can randomly select a lucky family to slaughter a pig for the New Year to supplement their supplies, so there is no need to rush.

Granny Gongsun counted on her fingers and suddenly realized a problem:
"Once Li Mingda arrives, the Tang Dynasty world, the Northern Song Dynasty world, and the Western Han Dynasty Emperor Yuan world will all have two pilgrims, a double configuration. Will other worlds also have two pilgrims in the future?"

Zhou Yi felt that this was indeed a problem. Currently, the Spring and Autumn Period world, the Western Han Dynasty Emperor Wu world, the Eastern Han Dynasty Emperor Zhang world, the Later Zhou Dynasty world, and the Southern Song Dynasty world each have one pilgrim. If each world had two pilgrims in the future, then it would be possible to transfer large quantities of resources over long distances.

After all, the cost of a person traveling a long distance is vastly different from that of transporting a massive amount of supplies over a long distance.

Wu Zetian said:
"If pilgrims were to come to the Spring and Autumn period world, I can't think of anyone else besides the old master and Li Dan; as for the Wu Emperor world, it's very likely that Emperor Wu of Han himself would come, so that no matter where Huo Qubing fights, he can transport supplies through the Hunyuan Palace. I don't know about other worlds."

After reading his grandfather's letter last time, Zhou Yi no longer dared to arrange the worshippers haphazardly. He couldn't say who could come and who couldn't, so he could only leave it to fate.

However, Zhou Yi really hoped that Zhao Kuangyin would come. It would be quite comical if he and Guo Rong, the emperor and his minister, watched "The Chenqiao Mutiny" together.

As for Xin Qiji's side, if another person were to come, it would have to be someone who could stay and oversee the base, so that Xin Qiji could keep track of the base's movements whenever he went out to explore.

Everyone was discussing it animatedly, and Xi Shi said:
"The old master will arrive at Cloud Mist Mountain today. Some building materials are needed on the mountain, so I will not be coming back for the time being. I will work with everyone to build our new home."

The Book of Changes instructed:
"Bring plenty of food and supplies, and also bring all the tools."

Building something out of thin air on a barren mountain was fraught with difficulties, but fortunately, Confucius had his scholar's pen, which allowed him to conjure up some supplies out of thin air. After breakfast, Xi Shi left Hunyuan Palace with a pile of supplies. This time, she didn't take the leaves from Emperor Gouchen, intending to stay for five days before returning.

Before leaving, Xi Shi pulled Gongsun Da Niang aside and gave her some pointers:

"Hugging and cuddling like it's a joke, the Immortal Master has been waiting for you to take the initiative. Go, Gongsun sister! Zhao'er sister has already caught up. You won't be overtaken by Wang Qiang sister, will you?"

Gongsun Da Niang blushed and agreed, completely losing her air of relying on the power of a deity.

Soon, Li Bai took some pickled vegetables and left. The supplies from last time could last for a while, but at the latest, new food supplies would need to be added in half a month.

Gongsun Da Niang planned to go back and talk to Li Longji, and then go directly to Luoyang to transfer grain supplies.

Transporting grain directly from Chang'an is not only laborious, but also easily causes food shortages in Guanzhong... Although many aristocratic families have voluntarily donated grain this year, the shortage still exists, so it is still safer to try to transport it from Luoyang.

The Grand Canal transported grain from the Jianghuai region to Luoyang, and Luoyang then tried to transfer it to Chang'an. This process resulted in more than 70% of the grain being lost on the way.

Zhou Yi believed that if the Tang Dynasty could gather the strength of the entire nation, along with assistance from this region, and build a steam train track specifically for transporting grain, the grain shortage problem in Guanzhong could be completely solved.

But building railways is not so easy, and steam locomotives are not easy to work with either. We need to plan carefully and not put our hopes on this.

Meanwhile, in the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius and his companions, after a long journey, finally arrived at the foot of Yunwu Mountain.

The Yunwu Mountain here has no concrete mountain roads, no stainless steel guardrails, and no flat ground at the top of the mountain, nor the Hunyuan Palace that covers dozens of acres.

Looking up from the foot of the mountain, it's just a lush little hill.

Xi Shi compared the photos Huo Qubing took in the Wudi world with those here, and asked in confusion:
"Our mountain is covered in greenery, so why is the Martial Emperor World a barren, desolate mountain?"

After saying that, she took out a drone, controlled it to take off, and prepared to first survey the entire mountain from above to confirm that it was safe before going up... The word "cautious" was already engraved in the bones of this beautiful woman.

From above, the mountain appears rounded, with a gently sloping, curved area to the east that gradually descends, facilitating the creation of mountain roads.

To the west, the mountain rises gently, connecting with the surrounding mountain range... In terms of location, this is the back mountain of Hunyuan Palace, a place where horses are usually transferred.

The mountain, with its two gentle slopes facing opposite directions, creates a unique sense of symmetry.

After checking everything, Zixia and the other young disciples, armed with axes, sickles and other tools, began to clear a path up the mountain from the foot of the hill. Others pitched tents, gathered firewood, and boiled water.

I wanted to use a Confucian scholar's pen to open a mountain path, but Confucius refused.

"This is our final test. Don't try to take shortcuts. Only by taking one step at a time can we truly establish ourselves here."

The old master had spent most of his life trying to understand his teachings, which he thought were worthless junk. But then, things took a turn for the better when he met Xi Shi and learned about the future of Confucianism. He immediately devoted himself to doing something for China to make up for the harm done to Confucianism.

Hundreds of people worked all day and only managed to clear one-third of the mountain road. However, the felled trees could be transported up the mountain to build houses, so nothing was wasted.

The repaired mountain road was barely passable. After settling down on the mountain, Confucius would lead his disciples to repair the road and replicate it one-to-one with the concrete mountain road of Hunyuan Palace. Then, a stone staircase would be built from the foot of the mountain to the top, symbolizing that there is a path to knowledge and allowing the disciples to exercise daily.

When they finished work here, everyone in Hunyuan Palace had already finished dinner. Gongsun Da Niang slung her backpack over her shoulder, bowed her head and came to Zhou Yi's side. Just as she was about to say goodbye and leave, she suddenly twisted her ankle and fell into Zhou Yi's arms.

The two embraced in the courtyard of Xiaopenglai. Gentle breezes blew from all the temples, swirling above Xiaopenglai, as if the gods had all come to watch the spectacle... Gongsun Da Niang, who usually swindled people by pretending to be a god, had finally met her nemesis.

Zhou Yi, with his arm around Gongsun Da Niang's curvaceous body, asked with a smile:

"How could someone who practices dance sprain their ankle? Was it an accident or did you do it on purpose?"

His smile gave Gongsun Da Niang a sense of desperation, and she immediately gritted her teeth, cupped Zhou Yi's face, and kissed him hard.
"Everyone else kissed, but I didn't get to. Do you hate me?"

Zhou Yi shook his head:
"How could that be? We're great partners for slaying evil spirits and destroying dragons. I'll take you with me next time we fight."

Gongsun Da Niang was overjoyed:

"You said it! Hurry up and make the arrangements, my precious sword is already itching for a fight!"

(End of this chapter)