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

Chapter 55 Gongsun Da Niang's Inscription at Tongguan! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yi felt that Xu, the richest man's eldest son, was beyond saving.

Although his family is wealthy, once the incident of smashing the Guan Gong statue occurs, not a single metaphysical practitioner in the entire land of China would take on this job.

Moreover, judging from the video, Mr. Xu's symptoms only resemble possession by evil spirits. If treated as possession by evil spirits, it might backfire and make the condition worse.

After all, this was personally handled by Guan Yu, the God of War. If some nobody could solve it, then Guan Yu might as well just descend to the mortal realm and become a human.

In the evening, Zhou Yi picked two eggplants, intending to fry them into eggplant fritters to satisfy his craving, when Uncle Ming suddenly sent him a message:

"Master Yi, there's a service I offer called 'Possession by Evil,' are you interested?"

This time, Zhou Yi didn't beat around the bush; instead, he went straight to the point and asked:

"Is this business of Xu, the richest man in Lushan County? If so, I advise you not to get involved."

Uncle Ming posted a meme that read, "As expected, you can hide anything from me."
"What do you mean? Is there some unspeakable secret involved?"

Zhou Yi replied:
"Xu, the richest man in China, had his son smash a statue of Guan Yu and suffered retribution. If you get involved, be careful you don't have enough to handle it."

These words instantly brought Uncle Ming to his senses:
"I'm refunding your deposit right now. I won't accept any more business from them, and I'll also let my acquaintances in the industry know... I've transferred 2,000 yuan to your Alipay account. Thank you for letting me know. [clasped hands]"

He knew very well that Zhou Yi could have chosen not to remind him, since it was all his peers who were being tricked anyway. But since Zhou Yi had spoken up, he had to do something in return; he couldn't just let such important information slip through his fingers.

After ending the chat, Zhou Yi took the money and continued making eggplant boxes.

After dinner, he received 3,600 yuan from Zhao Wei, who informed him that the excavator replacement would begin the day after tomorrow, and asked Zhou Yi to prepare a plaque with no taboos in advance.

Zhou Yi went to the ritual artifact room, took out a large peace plaque, and placed it in front of the statue of the Ziwei Emperor in the Zhongtian Hall.

The next day, after breakfast, he began moving bricks, continuing to repair Hunyuan Palace like an ant carrying grains of rice.

On the other side, in the Kaiyuan world of the Tang Dynasty.

Under the escort of a troop of cavalry, Gongsun Da Niang left Luoyang, passed through Hangu Pass, and arrived at Tong Pass, the strategic pass that is the gateway to the Guanzhong Plain.

Tongguan is nestled against the mountains on one side and borders the Yellow River on the other, making it a typical strategic location.

Dressed in a straight robe, holding a whisk, and wearing a red lotus crown, Gongsun Da Niang, led by the Tongguan garrison commander, came to the pass wall and earnestly appreciated the beauty of the mountains and rivers.

The garrison commander of Tongguan had long heard that Lady Gongsun was a deity incarnate, and knew that His Majesty valued this auspicious omen highly, so he flattered her, saying:
"Your presence, sir, has brought great honor to Tongguan. May I ask if you may inscribe a few words so that our soldiers may admire you day and night?"

This is exactly what Granny Gongsun was waiting for:
"In that case, bring paper and pen. On behalf of the immortal, I will inscribe a few words for your Tongguan Pass."

Soon, the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were delivered. After inspecting the Xuan paper, Gongsun Da Niang took out the token from her bosom to use as a paperweight, secretly showing off.

There was no shiny 304 stainless steel in ancient times, let alone laser etching.

The words on the token made the surrounding military officers gasp, and they became even more respectful to Lady Gongsun.

This was exactly the effect the young girl wanted, so she picked up her pen and wrote down a series of lines of varying lengths, which were not yet popular during the Tang Dynasty:

The peaks stand like a gathering of people, the waves surge like a raging storm, and the Tongguan Pass lies between mountains and rivers.

Looking westward towards the capital, I hesitated.

Heartbreaking are the places where the Qin and Han dynasties once stood; countless palaces have all turned to dust.

Prosperity, people suffer; death, people suffer.

I carried this recipe for dumplings for days on the road, all for this dish of vinegar, and now I've finally finished writing it down... Granny Gongsun put down her brush, put the token in her bosom, and sighed softly:

"All you high-ranking officials care about is the world and power, but my immortal master cares most about the people... If you have the opportunity to become local officials in the future, remember to treat the people well, and you will be blessed."

Not content with just using the Book of Changes as a shield, this girl planned to give the soldiers at Tongguan a little shock as well:

"I need to go to the Immortal Master's Hunyuan Palace. I will return early tomorrow morning. Please make yourselves at home."

After saying that, she took a step in place under the watchful eyes of the generals, and instantly disappeared into thin air.

This scene startled all the soldiers on the pass, who knelt down and cried out in worship of the immortal. The commander of Tongguan was the first to recover. He put away the calligraphy on the table and handed it to his deputy, saying:

"Hurry and deliver this matter and this poem to Chang'an. Anyone who obstructs the way shall be killed without mercy!"

Fu Jiang asked somewhat hesitantly:
"General, isn't the content here a bit too much...?"

"This is a warning from the gods to His Majesty, how dare you and I presume to comment? Set off quickly, lest we waste time!" Inside the Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi had just moved a few bricks and taken out a small crispy snack to replenish his strength when Granny Gongsun appeared:

"Haha, I can eat mini crispy cones again! Modern life is so wonderful!"

The Book of Changes asks:

Have you arrived in Chang'an?

"No, no, I arrived at Tongguan today and just wrote Zhang Yanghao's poem 'Remembering Tongguan' there. Then I came here in full view of everyone. I suppose they are still in shock and think I am a deity."

Wu Zetian had told her before that it was best to come back in front of everyone each time; the more high-profile she was, the safer she would be.

Zhou Yi took a bite of the small crispy cone and said:

"Your poem 'Remembering Tongguan' will likely appear on Li Longji's desk soon, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Have you figured out how to deal with him?"

"Just put everything on you. Anyway, I'm your servant in the mortal realm. If they dare to disrespect me, I'll complain to the gods."

Even gods might not be accommodating to your little moods… Zhou Yi stood up and said:
"I fried some eggplant fritters yesterday and they tasted pretty good. I'll fry some more later and braise them with sweet and sour sauce so you and Li Bai can both try them."

Sweet and sour eggplant fritters would probably suit the tastes of people in ancient times.

Gongsun Da Niang quickly expressed her gratitude:

"Thank you, Daoist Master. Please feel free to ask if there is anything I can help you with. I am also very good at cooking."

Zhou Yi didn't trust her cooking skills:
"Studying is the important thing, so you don't need to worry about cooking."

"This servant obeys!"

Not long after, Li Bai also arrived at Hunyuan Palace, bringing some changes of clothes with him.

Gongsun Da Niang poked her head out of the room and said:
“Brother Li Bai, it’s no use bringing so many clothes. The Taoist priest can turn them all into rags with just a touch. Just buy what you want to wear here. Don’t bring them around. You won’t be able to wear any of them in the end.”

"Thank you for letting me know, sister. I understand now."

At noon, Zhou Yi made sweet and sour eggplant fritters, dry-fried green beans, stir-fried pork with chili peppers, and loofah and egg drop soup. The simple three dishes and soup were a delight for Li Bai and Gongsun Da Niang.

After the meal, Granny Gongsun brought a bunch of treasured snacks to the Zhongtian Hall, placed them on the offering table, and worshipped the Ziwei Emperor, praying for a safe journey to Chang'an.

Then she went to worship the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak, the Supreme God of Heaven, and the God of War, asking them to take care of her and to ingrain the words "timid and cautious" into her very bones.

Zhou Yi explained the Chinese phonetic alphabet to Li Bai for a while, giving the poet a basic introduction to modern knowledge.

As for Granny Gongsun, after returning from worshipping the gods, she devoted herself to studying various Taoist terms.

Whether you understand it or not is another matter, but at least you have to make it sound convincing, since it's just a case of the fox borrowing the tiger's power. You have to be careful so as not to be exposed.

In the world of the Tang Dynasty's Zhenguan era, Li Mingda, the young prince, was overjoyed as he looked at the tender new shoots just emerging in the garden:
"The potatoes bestowed by the immortal have sprouted!"

She wanted to go to the Liangyi Hall to report to her father, but felt it was not appropriate, because Li Shimin was discussing strategic adjustments with several important ministers at that time.

After the marriage alliance, they behaved themselves, but instead they went back on their word and frequently rushed down from the plateau to plunder the people of the Tang Dynasty... The civil and military officials of the Tang Dynasty would not tolerate their bad habits.

Li Mingda arrived at the Yiyuan Palace and told Wu Meiniang the good news that the potatoes had sprouted:

"Sister Meiniang, in a few months, will I be able to eat the shredded potatoes and mashed potatoes you mentioned?"

Wu Zetian said with a smile:

"If you want some, I'll bring you some next time I come back. The fast food restaurants in town have mashed potatoes; you can dip fried chicken in them—it's really delicious."

Li Mingda pointed in the direction of Ganlu Hall and said:

"I still want to eat what I grow myself. If it grows well, I'll give some to the immortal so he can eat his fill and won't go hungry anymore."

Wu Meiniang: "..."

I'm worrying all day that the immortal is starving. Am I going too far in stirring things up?

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First update delivered, please vote with monthly tickets, brothers!

(End of this chapter)