Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

Lin Yuan closed his eyes and recalled the scene. The whip flashed, and he entered a state of trembling like a snake. He immediately practiced the Thirteen Forms of Snake Intent Fist three times. The trembling state quickly subsided, and he became exhausted. Even if he closed his eyes and recalled the scene, he could not enter the state again.

He came to his senses and saw that Instructor Hong was still staring at the peach tree, showing no intention of urging him to practice martial arts.

He thought to himself, "What is this support healer standing there for? Hurry up and refresh her buff status!"

So he racked his brains, searching for the right words, and stepped forward, saying, "Instructor, this old peach tree is perfectly fine! I told you, but you didn't believe me. You're just worrying unnecessarily!"

The Red Instructor glanced at him coldly, decisively abandoned the old peach tree, raised the long whip in his hand, and shook it.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!" He was whipped three times.

Lin Yuan got what he asked for. He lay on the ground trembling for a while before standing up. His body continued to tremble like a snake, and he continued to practice the Snake Intent Fist.

This time, Coach Hong stopped focusing on the old peach tree and instead kept a close eye on his fist techniques. Any slight mistake or deficiency would result in a violent lash.

One was willing to give, and the other was willing to receive; the two complemented each other perfectly.

The morning session has ended.

Coach Hong turned and left, disappearing in a few leaps.

Lin Yuan relaxed, finding joy amidst the hardship of the day. His flesh and bones had strengthened a little more, bringing him one step closer to the Bone Forging Realm. His Snake Intent Fist had also improved slightly, and his understanding of martial arts had deepened.

It's all worth it.

I got really badly beaten today!

He rested for a while, wiped his sweat, and seeing that no one was around, he walked to the old peach tree as usual and loosened his belt.

I've been holding it in all morning, I need to get this sorted out.

This is deep in Xiaotao Mountain, several miles away from the Martial Hall's outhouse. Xiaotao Mountain is originally a mountainous peach forest, so a little artificial fertilizer is actually nourishment.

Just as he opened the sluice gate to release the water, he suddenly noticed that many of the peach leaves at the top of the old peach tree had turned yellow.

Isn't this the old peach tree that Coach Hong has been keeping an eye on?

During this period, he practiced martial arts at a relatively fixed location, thus always having the advantage of being close to the source.

The old peach tree was tall and had lush foliage, creating blind spots in the view. So he thought of applying more artificial fertilizer to the old peach tree so that it would bear more spring peaches next year.

Could it be that too much fertilizer was applied, and the old peach tree couldn't digest it, causing the seedlings to burn?

Lin Yuan suddenly realized something was wrong and quickly stopped the floodgates. But stopping them was difficult, so he simply spread the fertilizer evenly and applied some artificial fertilizer to the peach trees next to him.

People in the area often fertilize peach trees.

After Lin Yuan finished applying the artificial fertilizer, he looked back at the old peach tree and saw that there were still quite a few yellow peach leaves on the top of the tree.

It's likely that the rainy season ended, the sky stopped raining, and the dog days of summer were hot, which caused him to over-fertilize.

"Old peach tree, old peach tree, I'm sorry, brother. I'll fertilize you less from now on. Actually, my intentions were good, right?"

He looked around and, seeing no one, muttered, "Thank goodness I didn't see Coach Hong! Otherwise, I'd be beaten to death."

Having said that, he ran off and made his escape.

Just then, a figure in cyan appeared from behind a large peach tree not far away, staring intently at Lin Yuan's disappearing back. Then, it raised its long whip, which exploded in mid-air.

"Snapped!"

Lin Yuan, who had run out of the peach grove, vaguely heard the sound of a whip cracking. He turned around and looked, but saw nothing. He wondered, "Did I hear wrong?"

Auditory hallucinations! Yeah, after being slapped so many times, my ears sometimes go numb.

Lin Yuan returned to the Hu family.

Zhou Dali waited for him in the courtyard.

"Cousin, how's your studies going lately? Did you come over for something?" Lin Yuan was a few years younger than him, and the two had grown up together since they were little. He usually addressed Lin Yuan very casually, calling him Dali when he was in a good mood and calling him cousin when he was in a bad mood.

"My teacher said I'm a bit slow," Zhou Dali scratched his head, doubting himself. "Erlv, do you think I'm not suited for studying?"

"There's no such thing as being suitable or unsuitable. Just learn first, it won't hurt. Learn as much as you can. No matter what you do in the future, the work you do will be different if you can read and not."

The literacy rate is very low in this world, so being literate is an advantage, giving you more opportunities.

"Oh." Zhou Dali lowered his head, then suddenly said, "The teacher asked me to come and call you over."

"What is it?" Lin Yuan hadn't been to school for a while.

"without."

Lin Yuan quickly took a shower and had Zhou Dali apply ointment to him. After the ointment dried, he changed into a light blue robe.

The two arrived at the school. It was noon, and classes had ended. Master Xu was waiting for him in the main hall, while Zhou Dali went back to the woodshed to practice calligraphy alone.

As soon as Lin Yuan entered the main hall, Master Xu suddenly stood up to greet him. Lin Yuan hurriedly stepped forward: "Master, I have been so engrossed in practicing martial arts these past few days that I haven't come to visit you. It has been my negligence!"

"I'm not some precious treasure, why would I need to come see you every day? I have something to discuss with you today!" The teacher stepped forward, took his hand, and pulled him to a seat. "My dear disciple, please sit down!"

Lin Yuan guessed, "Could it be that there's news from the Li family?"

"You guessed correctly." Master Xu nodded and sighed, "Third Master is far away in Jiangyou, and this time he specially sent a trusted confidant back. Third Master said that the explanations of the six difficult problems are well written, and he appreciates them very much."

"Oh, that's wonderful. Congratulations, Master, your wish has come true!" Lin Yuan quickly stood up and bowed, also feeling happy.

Master Xu sighed.

Seeing that he was unhappy, Lin Yuan was puzzled: "Master, has something gone wrong?"

"Third Master wants to buy the authorship of this book," Master Xu said with a wry smile.

Lin Yuan knew this book was the culmination of the Master's efforts, and asked in bewilderment, "Why would a high-ranking official of the third rank buy a copy of a mathematical classic? Aren't people supposed to respect Daoist scriptures when entering officialdom?"

Master Xu tugged at the hem of his long gown: "Although mathematical classics are inferior to Taoist classics, they are still commentaries and treatises, which can be used to decorate one's image. The Li family rose to prominence late and has a weak foundation, unlike other aristocratic families, so they buy some family-inherited knowledge to decorate their image."

Lin Yuan remained silent for a moment upon hearing this. In fact, he was not against buying and selling names, as long as the price was right. However, seeing that the teacher was somewhat sad, he was too embarrassed to speak up.

Master Xu originally intended to leave a family heirloom for the Xu family, as a legacy for future generations. Now that the ownership rights have been sold, that is no longer possible.

"You can't fight city hall, so don't overthink it or complain."

"What my teacher says is true." Lin Yuan didn't really think much about it or complain, but he was just afraid that his teacher would overthink it.

Knowing there was no room for negotiation, Master Xu could only try to negotiate the price: "Third Master also said that we can make a request. He will recruit us into his household as advisors later. What would you like to ask for, my worthy disciple?"

Lin Yuan finally got his chance and said sincerely, "Master, I don't care about the bad ones. I'm afraid of offending people if I ask for the good ones."

"It's alright, it's just the two of us here. Let's discuss this beforehand."

"What I want most is to enter the Lin Yuan Immortal Temple, even if it's just as a serving disciple," Lin Yuan said honestly.

Master Xu studied him for a moment, then smiled slightly: "Your worthy disciple has good judgment. All the good connections in the world are in the Immortal Temple; how many people in our town still can't see this?"

"I wonder if my request is too high or too low?"

"As for who's better, let's give it a try. One of us will play the good cop, and the other will play the bad cop."

Master Xu and he locked eyes, exchanged glances for a moment, and both understood.

Lin Yuan immediately declared, "Your student will follow your lead without question!"

"very good."

Lin Yuan asked curiously, "Is my mentor also going to the Immortal Temple?"

"Me? I'm too old! How could I possibly enter the Immortal Temple?" Master Xu laughed heartily. "Let my grandson go instead. He's quite clever, better than his father, Xu Shan. If Xu Shan had a disciple as intelligent as this, I would have him recommended for an official position. I can't count on my son, so I can only rely on my grandson. I'll just go to the Third Master's mansion as a staff member and advisor."

Lin Yuan suddenly discovered that the Xu family had three generations: one served as a staff advisor to a high-ranking official of the third rank, one worked as a water official in the county government, and one went to the Xian Temple to gain prestige.

They truly embodied the courage and determination of three generations, striving to transcend social classes.

The two discussed some details and strategies for dealing with various situations.

At noon, the Xu family, for the first time ever, cooked braised pork ribs and twice-cooked pork.

In the kitchen, Granny Li muttered to herself, "They're cooking meat even though it's not a holiday or festival. Is the Xu family trying to make a living?"

Lin Yuan had a hearty meal and was quite satisfied.

in the afternoon.

The two prepared to go to the Li family's ancestral home to pay their respects to the trusted confidant sent by the Third Master.

According to Master Xu, there were two trusted confidants. The person in charge was the eldest son of the Third Master, who was over thirty years old and a disciple of the Lin Yuan Immortal Temple. He had no hope of cultivating Taoism and was seeking to leave the temple to enter officialdom.