Chapter 2 Taoist Academy Announcement "Young lady!" "This is the government's budget and roster!" "The proceeds from the sale of the Beiyuan Spiritual Vein, Hedong Fields, and Binhai Fleet, in addition to those that were put into the inner treasury, were also recorded one by one." Realizing the change in the master of the mansion, the steward and the old servants suddenly changed their minds and handed over all the affairs of the mansion to the hands of Madam Xiyuan. This lady had no qualifications to be in charge of the affairs of the mansion. Her husband was just a bastard, and he died young just after getting married! The old servants had agreed that they should wait a few years until the second young lady grew up and let her take charge of the mansion. But since the second master had spoken, no one dared to object. Xu Miaoxi glanced at the servant standing below, flipping through the library books with her hands. "There are so many precious materials in the treasury?" This was just the treasury, and many of the things in it were things she had never even heard of. Even when she was studying at Shouchun Taoist Temple, the temple's general affairs hall would not be bigger than this treasury! "Why are all the expenditures before last year wiped out? And nearly half of the income and expenditure are attributed to the income from three months ago!"
How could these rosters be so perfunctory? All the past payments were gone, and there was no specific source for such a large amount of payments? "This" The servants beside them hesitated and dared not speak. Then a maid suddenly knelt down and cried: "Madam, in the past, the expenses were... settled by the Second Master himself!" "Half of the servants in the mansion were beaten to death and hanged outside the manor by the Second Master. The income and expenditure before three months is their private property." Oh? That makes sense! I heard that the man from Dongyuan replaced all the servants in the mansion. But the extermination of the whole family and the confiscation of their property was indeed a tragic event!! "The consequences of not following the rules are tragic. You have worked for the Wu family for generations, so you should understand this principle. Don't think about things you shouldn't think about, and don't take things you shouldn't take." "Alright! Let's all go down." "Chief Steward Jin, lead the way and inspect the treasury! Your Second Master has personally ordered that a thorough inventory be made." Xu Miaoxi waved her hand and dismissed the servants. This was her first time handling chores since she joined the family. The Wu family had a mature team, but judging by the outcome, corruption had already become a common practice. While the mansion was taking inventory, Wu Yong had already led his men to the Taoist temple. There are 128 counties in Jiuzhou, each with a county Taoist temple, and each state has a state Taoist palace, which jointly guard the Taoist court in Baiyujing! The results of the Taoist examination in Dongjun were officially announced today. "how come?" "This time, the first and second place winners in the total scores of horsemanship, chess, sutras, and deduction were eliminated at the same time?" "To put it bluntly, the first step on the path to enlightenment still depends on fate, no matter if you are the direct descendant of an aristocratic family, the heir of a prominent family, or a commoner. This step determines your future path!" Under the Taoist Qigong list, there are those who smile happily, those who lament and feel sorry for themselves, and those who are cold and numb. Some of the onlookers felt sympathy, some despised, and some sneered. The warmth and coldness of human nature, joy, anger, sorrow, and fear were all fully displayed at this moment. despair! despair! A cavalry team came galloping from a distance, and nearly a dozen Qigong practitioners riding green-scaled dragon horses broke into the Taoist temple. "Who dares to ride a horse in the Taoist temple?" Several young students embraced each other and walked out of the hall of the Taoist temple slowly and vigorously. "It's Zhou Jin!"
"There are also Zhao Ren and Ma Wencai." The Taoist students in the crowd recognized at a glance that these people were the prospective Qigong practitioners on the list, the lucky ones who were qualified to embark on the path to immortality. The soldiers and horses in the front row dispersed one by one, and Wu Yong rode his horse slowly out from among them. "My fellow students, there is no need to panic!" "I'm Wu Yong!" "My Wu family responded to the call of the Dao Court and wanted to establish the first battalion of Dao soldiers in East County. Even if we are not on the list, we may be able to switch to the path of Dharma protection, which will make the seven years of study in this Taoist academy worthwhile!" "I will stay in the Taoist Academy for the time being. After all, our disciples, even if they lack spiritual roots and sea of energy, will be the best when they transform into Taoist soldiers!!" Wu Yong held the reins of the dragon horse with one hand, glanced down at the Qi training list from above, and tried to recruit everyone below the list. Then he waved the whip in his right hand and led his followers straight into the back camp of the Taoist temple, ignoring the few high-spirited students who were about to practice Qigong. "Wu family? Is he the senior Wu Yong who has been away from the academy for a year?" "That's right. I heard that this senior also has a lack of spiritual roots, so it's difficult for him to become a magician!" "Your information is outdated. The Wu family has withdrawn from the ranks of immortal families, and this senior Wu has also turned to the path of a Taoist soldier." The crowd gradually changed from whispering to talking loudly. "It's really pitiful. The family has fallen into decline. A noble son like this can only go down the path of a Taoist soldier. How sad! How lamentable!" "Huh? What kind of joke are you talking about?" "A family with this background can only become a Taoist soldier. With all the resources, you can become a strongman or a guardian. It's still unclear whether you will ever become a Qigong practitioner in this lifetime. You should just have more pity on yourself!" The whispers in the crowd soon turned into mutual insults, and the latter were so choked that they couldn't say a word of rebuttal for a long time! The attentive students also figured out Wu Yong's intention, which was to recruit students who failed the Taoist Academy exam! Students who have been practicing in the Taoist temple since childhood, even if they cannot become Qigong practitioners in seven years, their will, physique, mentality, etc. are not the best among their peers. Even if they become Taoist soldiers, they are still the top of the same level. "However, the death rate of Dao soldiers is high! Some high-ranking immortals even use Dao soldiers as consumables!" In this kind of environment, not many students who failed the exam would want to be cannon fodder for the Taoist soldiers, even though the Taoist court has been vigorously promoting the popularization of Taoist soldier techniques in recent years! Wu Yong returned to the Taoist temple, where he had not been for more than a year, and immediately summoned his personal servant. "Qing Rai! Go tell me to recruit the top few students who failed the exam this year, and then place a few smart assistants to spread the word!" The students of the Taoist Academy are one of the best sources of students in the county. After seven years of cultivation in the Taoist path, how many people are willing to go back to the mortal world? Even if they are not talented enough, no one would be willing to do so. Every year, many students without spiritual roots and Qi Hai search for various methods, and eventually wander around. They either die on the road or join various families as soldiers and guards! In recent years, there are more and more prominent families like Wu Yong who actively recruit students who failed the imperial examination. After all, it would be a waste of the Taoist court's years of cultivation if the eliminated students returned to the mortal world! At this time, among the circle of students who failed the Taoist Academy entrance exam, there was also quite a stir because of Wu Yong's words! "Sister You Xue! What are your plans for the future?" "Why don't you marry into my Guan family? I have a cousin who is a platoon leader in the Zhou family. I can have someone to take care of me in the future!" In the women's garden at the back of the Taoist temple, several female practitioners gathered together. Fortunately, only two members of their circle were eliminated in this exam. But what’s even more fortunate is that their leader, the Taoist academy’s number one female cultivator—You Xue—is also one of them! This immediately caused the circle to fall apart. Once upon a time, everyone believed that You Xue was a favored girl who would lead the county and dominate the state.
Now this situation is really unspeakable. The female cultivators who were usually suppressed by You Xue all gave her suggestions, but it was hard to say how much of them were sincere. "Don't bother!" You Xue packed up her bag, turned around and walked away from them, flipping through the volumes of scriptures and talismans! "Tsk! Why are you still pretending at this time? Do you still think you are the proud daughter of heaven?" "hehe!" "Don't worry about her. She will suffer in the future." "Hey, hey, hey! After all, we are sisters living under the same roof for many years. Aren't you too cold-blooded?" You Xue seemed unaware of the teasing and whispering in the courtyard! She was completely focused on guessing a message that a classmate of hers had passed to her: Wu Jia Dao Bing! There are only two cultivation civilizations in the Kyushu world, the immortal path is the main path, and the Taoist soldiers are the side path. However, the Dao soldiers were one level lower than the Immortal Path in terms of both combat power and status. Even a fourth-level Dao general would be like a subordinate in front of a fourth-level Immortal Path Master. Low-level Taoist soldiers are even regarded as "consumables"! Listening to the increasingly undisguised ridicule in the courtyard, You Xue chuckled at herself. "What other options do we have at this point?" "At least Wu Yong! He also has a deficiency in his Qi Sea. At least, he shouldn't regard the Dao Soldiers as consumables, right?" After all, he himself took the same path! Perhaps, this is the only way she can take! If she were to return to her mortal life, or give up everything and become a concubine and plaything of an admirer? It would be better to end it all! The same situation also appeared in different places in the Taoist temple. At this moment, the desolate and lost people and the proud and successful people contrasted the difference in their fate vividly. "Boss Jiang! What do you say? Are you going to join the Wu family?" Jiang Yun was the second in academic performance this year, but he was also eliminated by the last level of Qi Sea. He had already tested his spiritual roots and found that they were fine, but he did not expect that the Qi Sea he opened up would be flawed. "My Jiang family is a prominent family in the county after all. If I want to be a Taoist soldier, I don't need to go to the Wu family, right?" "Besides, they have already been unable to protect themselves. If you go to join the Wu family, you might really become consumables one day!" "Humph! Instead of going to him, it's better to go to the East Camp of the County Magistrate's Office. At least I can still take care of you guys." Jiang Yun felt a difficult mood and tried hard to suppress his disappointment, but he still suggested that the students in the same courtyard should become soldiers, but he praised the County Magistrate's Office even more. After seven years of study, which lays the foundation for the path of Taoism, who would be willing to give up everything and return to the ordinary world? After seeing how big the world is, who would be willing to go back to the bottom of that well? (End of this chapter)