We said we would experience life, fairy, how did you become real?

Xiaoqing frowned: "Then what should we do according to the Taoist priest's advice?"

"Please forgive me for meddling in other people's business, Miss Xiaoqing."

With a wave of his whisk, eight array flags flew out in an instant, then stuck at the cave entrance like shooting stars before disappearing into the soil.

"This is the Heaven-Covering Banner, which can conceal demonic energy, prevent others from calculating, and also has a certain effect of gathering spiritual energy, allowing your sister to transform more smoothly."

Immediately afterwards, with a flick of his finger, a huge rock flew down from the mountaintop and crashed into the cave entrance, completely blocking it: "From today onwards, your sister will be sleeping inside. Before your sister wakes up, remember not to move this huge rock, otherwise the magic array will fail."

"Why is the Taoist priest helping my sister so much?" Xiaoqing asked.

In Xiaoqing's view, her sister had no connection with her at all; all her sister said was that she had given her a bowl of water.

As for whether she had some ulterior motive to harm herself and her sister, that's even more impossible.

Because the difference in their cultivation levels was too great, it would be as easy for her to harm him and his sister as to crush an ant.

Fuchen raised his head, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his eyes: "Because I also want to know, after her, whether there are any other snakes who can transform into dragons."

Xiaoqing: "."

"I'm leaving now. Miss Xiaoqing, please take good care of yourself. Also, if Xiao Mo returns, you don't need to hide from him or deceive him. Xiao Mo already knows that you and Miss Bai are both demons."

As Fuchen finished speaking, Xiaoqing's eyes trembled, filled with disbelief.

So Brother Xiao already knew all along?

"Master Fuchen!" Just as Fuchen was about to fly away from Sheshan, Xiaoqing called out, "In this life, will my sister and Brother Xiao truly never meet again?"

The whisk paused briefly in the air, but without uttering a word, it vanished into the horizon.

Using her whisk to shrink the distance to an inch, she traveled countless miles in half an hour before arriving at a mountain peak.

"Master, you're back." A female disciple walked up happily when she saw her master return.

"Hmm." Fuchen nodded and went into the room.

On the floor of the woman's room, there was a diagram of the Eight Trigrams.

The Eight Trigrams Formation contains tortoise shells, phoenix feathers, and other materials used for calculations.

Previously, when he had nothing to do, he deduced Bai Ruxue's calamity and immediately went to Shiqiao Village without putting it away.

Just as she was about to put these things away, she noticed that the copper coins and phoenix feathers in the array had changed positions.

"Disciple," Fuchen called out to the outside of the room.

"Master!" The little girl ran in.

"Have you tampered with this magic array?" Fuchen asked.

"No, Master." The little girl shook her head.

"I understand," Fuchen nodded. "You may leave now."

"Ooh." The little girl left the room.

Fuchen sat beside the array, watching the changed array.

So-called destiny is not immutable.

So-called calculation is nothing more than deducing a possibility from the people and events of the present.

And now, this formation is used to deduce Bai Ruxue's fate.

changed.

Fuchen knelt on the ground, re-deducing Bai Ruxue's fate.

However, this time, Xiao Mo's birth date and time were also added to the whisk.

Half an hour later, the tortoise shell shattered, and Fuchen suddenly opened her eyes, a trickle of blood flowing from the corner of her mouth.

Looking at the divination symbols on the ground, Fuchen sighed softly:

"Alas, why bother with this? It would be better not to meet at all."

Looking up, I saw that it was snowing heavily outside the window.

It's fate. It's destiny.

On Sheshan Mountain, Xiaoqing sat on a huge rock at the entrance of the cave, quietly watching over her sister inside.

Just as Xiaoqing was hugging her knees and dozing off, she felt a cold sensation on her neck.

Xiaoqing looked up at the snowflakes dancing in the air.

The girl reached out her hand, and the snow gradually melted in her palm.

"Sister, Brother Xiao, the first snow of the year has fallen."

After a month of travel.

Xiao Mo arrived in the capital of Qi Kingdom in early February.

The constables who escorted Xiao Mo to the capital completed their mission and did not linger, returning directly to Qingshan County to report back.

Xiao Mo found an inn to stay in.

Thanks to his status as a scholar who passed the imperial examination, Xiao Mo was able to stay at the inn at a very low price.

There were other scholars in the inn, who had also arrived in the capital right after the New Year, supposedly to familiarize themselves with the environment in advance.

After resting for a while, Xiao Mo carried two jars of honey to Mr. Zhang's residence.

"I am Xiao Mo from Qingshan County, Xiyue Prefecture, Jiangnan Province. I have come to pay my respects at the invitation of Lord Zhang. This is my invitation. Please take a look."

Xiao Mo bowed and handed over the visiting card.

The gatekeepers exchanged glances, then one of them stepped forward and took the visiting card: "Please wait a moment, young master, I will go and inform the master."

"Good work."

About fifteen minutes later, a woman dressed in a ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) came out and bowed to Xiao Mo.

"My daughter's name is Zhang Shuiqing. Young Master Xiao has come from afar. I apologize for not greeting you properly. My father is waiting for you in the study. Please come with me."

"excuse me."

"You're too kind, young master."

Miss Zhang led Xiao Mo into the courtyard.

Mr. Zhang's yard is not very big, and there are no expensive flowers or plants inside; everything looks very simple.

At least on the surface, the other party seems to be a breath of fresh air.

The butler led Xiao Mo to the door of the study and then withdrew.

Xiao Mo knocked on the door and entered the study, where he saw a refreshed old man walking towards him with a smile: "Hahaha, I have long admired Young Master Xiao's talent and learning. I did not expect to meet you today, Young Master Xiao is even more dignified!"

"You flatter me, Lord Zhang. Please just call me by my name." Xiao Mo opened the package and handed over two jugs of honey. "This honey was made by my wife. It's just a small token of my appreciation. Please don't find it too cheap."

"Oh?" Zhang Qianzhi asked in surprise, "Xiao Mo, you're married?"

"No, not at all." Xiao Mo smiled and shook his head. "But after this exam, I will go back and marry her. She has been waiting for her student for a long time."

"Hahaha, very good! Loyal and righteous, talented and virtuous, just to my liking!" Zhang Qianzhi patted Xiao Mo's shoulder, his personality appearing very straightforward. "Come, sit down."

"That student was rude."

Xiao Mo sat down in front of Zhang Qianzhi, who poured him a cup of tea.

"Thank you, sir." Xiao Mo quickly raised the teacup with both hands.

“I’m not the kind of person who beats around the bush, so I’ll just tell you directly.” Zhang Qianzhi put down the teapot. “I’m very interested in the ‘Decree of Grace’ you wrote during the provincial examination. This decree had a great influence, but there are some parts that I don’t understand. Could you please enlighten me?”

"I will speak freely and without reservation," Xiao Mo said.

"Okay." Zhang Qianzhi nodded.

For the next full hour, Zhang Qianzhi inquired about the details of Xiao Mo's decree of grace and his views on the current state of the court.

Xiao Mo mainly elaborated on "breaking the whole into parts to eliminate future troubles", "being legitimate and occupying the moral high ground", "dividing and disintegrating to reduce resistance" and some tax issues.

As for opinions on the imperial court.

During this period, Xiao Mo had communicated with Magistrate Sun a lot and learned a lot about court affairs, so he could combine his knowledge with reality and not just talk nonsense.

The more Zhang Qianzhi listened, the more he felt that this young man was extraordinary and capable of great things.

Later, Zhang Qianzhi not only asked about the Edict of Grace, but also talked to him about some matters of the court. After he finished speaking, he deliberately asked questions.

This is already a form of assessment.

"With your talent, Xiao Mo, as long as you don't have a reckless temperament like me, you will surely achieve great things in the court in the future." Zhang Qianzhi stroked his chin with satisfaction. "In this palace examination, when you face His Majesty, just do as you do now. It has been a long time since a scholar in our Qi Kingdom has achieved the triple crown."

Xiao Mo was slightly surprised: "This student is not very knowledgeable, sir, you flatter me too much."

"With your talent, there's absolutely no problem." Zhang Qianzhi smiled, growing more and more fond of the young man, feeling that he had the same charm he had back then. "I've asked you so many questions, what do you want to ask me? As long as it's not something I can't tell you, anything is fine."

Xiao Mo thought for a moment and said, "There are indeed some questions I would like to ask you, sir."

"Speak." Zhang Qianzhi poured himself a cup of tea, then placed the teapot next to Xiao Mo, quite casually. "Pour yourself if you want some."

"This student wishes to inquire about the art of officialdom."

"Ok?"

Zhang Qianzhi was taken aback. He hadn't expected Xiao Mo to ask this, but he still answered in detail.

"The so-called official skills rely on the dynasty's fortune and destiny."

"The fortune of mountains and rivers?" Xiao Mo pressed.

"Yes."

Zhang Qianzhi nodded.

"The fortune of mountains and rivers has two aspects. One is that the higher your official position, the more fortune of mountains and rivers you will have."

The second is the love and respect of the people.

The more people love and respect you, and the more people who love and respect you there are, the more extraordinary the fortune and destiny of the land and the mountains you possess will be.

In the imperial court, there were cultivators as well as officials who were unable to cultivate.

How can those officials protect themselves and avoid a violent death?

It relies on the fortune of this land and its people.

However, if you are dismissed from your post, the fortune of the mountains and rivers around you will gradually dissipate within six months.

By relying on the fortune of mountains and rivers, one can use official techniques.

This so-called official art is actually just replacing the spiritual power of cultivators with the fortune of mountains and rivers, nothing more.

If you are a Confucian scholar, you can use the fortune of mountains and rivers to perform Confucian arts.

If you are a military strategist, you can use the fortune of mountains and rivers to perform military techniques.

The upper limit of the fortune of mountains and rivers is related to the strength of a dynasty and also to a person's talent.

It relates to strength and weakness, referring to the limited fortune and destiny of ordinary human dynasties. Even a prime minister might only be a cultivator at the Dragon Gate Realm.

It is related to talent, because although some people do not have spiritual roots, cannot use spiritual power, and cannot embark on the path of cultivation, this does not mean that their "talent for cultivation" is poor.

Therefore, the more talented a person is, the different they will be when using the same level of mountain and river energy.

Our Qi Kingdom is one of the three great dynasties of the human race. If one becomes the prime minister and is loved by the people of the world, one's strength can reach the realm of immortals, or even ascend to immortality!

However, this official technique also has certain limitations.

First, Your Majesty must not use official tactics, for they are ineffective against the common people. Official tactics are forbidden.

Lord Zhang spoke slowly and deliberately, and Xiao Mo listened attentively.

To be honest, after learning about officialdom, Xiao Mo felt something was strange.

Isn't it a bit too absurd that an emperor, as the ruler of a country, is unable to use official techniques?

"Is the art of officialdom a unique concept in the novel 'Hundred Generations'? Does it exist in reality?"

Xiao Mo thought to himself.

Because in the real world, Xiao Mo had never heard of the term "official skills".

The reason I learned about officialdom was through Lord Sun.