"Lu Zigan taught a good student, this dog's temper is exactly the same as his." Ma Lun took a deep breath, miraculously slowly calmed down, sat back in his seat, hooked his fingers, Yuan Shu hurriedly walked over, and said with a huff: "Uncle? ”

"Take my name and invite Lu Zigan's wife to come to the house as a guest, and ask this Liu Xiu to accompany you." Ma Len narrowed his eyes: "I want to see what kind of person this famous man who should not be opened by the public government, doesn't he just want to save face, I will give him enough face." ”

Yuan Shu was very surprised, he thought that Ma Lun would ask him to find someone to abolish Liu Xiu immediately, but he didn't expect Ma Lun to personally come forward to invite the Zhang family to be a guest, but he must let Liu Xiu come to visit.

This...... That's a bit too much.

Ma Lun glanced at Yuan Shu, and reprimanded him with pity and disappointment: "Highway, you are also a big person, and you are also a captain of the folding." Fold and fold, you have been beaten by others, and you don't know how to use your brain. Just like you, how will you fight with Ben Chu in the future? ”

As soon as he heard Yuan Shao's name, Yuan Shu's face suddenly collapsed.

"You have to think about what you would do when you first encountered this kind of thing." Mullen continued to point. Yuan Shu thought about it and felt that it made sense. Nowadays, the scholars of the Han Dynasty have a heavy name festival, and the more they should not be established by the government, the greater their fame, and some people should not even recruit the Son of Heaven for the sake of fame. A few years ago, Hanzhong Jin Wenjing and Liang Guo Huang Ziai played this trick, which made all the high-ranking officials in Luoyang City riveted to support them, and sent people to stand at their doors all day long. Uncle Yuan Kui is also one of them, he even moved the idea of marrying his sister Yuan Hui to him, if it weren't for Huang Ziai being exposed by his original wife Xiahou, he might have become his brother-in-law.

The more famous the person, the bigger the shelf, the bigger the shelf, the more famous it is, but if it is exposed in the end that there is no real morality, the worse it falls, the morality is very empty, how many are really perfect people? Not to mention anything else, no matter how good Liu Xiu is, if he doesn't listen to his uncle, then he will be blamed for his loyalty and filial piety to his master. Lu Zhi is a student of Ma Rong, so he must give three points to Ma Lun, Liu Xiu, as Lu Zhi's disciple, is a generation lower than Ma Lun, and he can't ignore Ma Lun's opinion. Mullen gave him face one after another, and if he didn't give in, then everyone would say that he didn't know how to lift.

Confucianism values filial piety, and the Han Dynasty establishes the country with filial piety, and the so-called filial piety family produces loyal ministers, and if anyone is accused of unfilial piety, he will basically be ruined by half. At that time, if the Yuan family makes another attack on him, no one will make any irresponsible remarks.

As for Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu estimated that he would do the same, and he suspected that Yuan Shao was watching secretly now, one was to see his performance, the other was to see Liu Xiu's reaction, and when he and Liu Xiu were fighting, Yuan Shao would definitely come forward to mediate, once Liu Xiu accepted Yuan Shao's mediation, then he Yuan Shu would lose for a while. At that time, everyone would say that Liu Xiu was not unrefuted, but he didn't look down on him Yuan Shu at all, and he only had Yuan Shao in his eyes.

This situation is resolutely unacceptable to Yuan Shu, so he must completely destroy Liu Xiu, and be above board, so that others can't find out what he is wrong with, and don't leave any chance for Yuan Shao - if Liu Xiu is given a notoriety of disrespecting elders, even Yuan Shao must consider thinking about making another move.

In order to show his sincerity, he also brought a gift to the Zhang family, and the posture was as low as he wanted, which scared the Zhang family, including Lu Shen and Liu Bei and others. Only Liu Xiu still had that smiling expression, as if he had seen through their tricks. After receiving the famous thorn written by Ma Lun himself, Liu Xiu politely gave a salute and replied clearly, he must listen to his wife's teachings at that time.

Yuan Shu smiled slightly, he must be waiting for the master when the time comes, and then listen to your high opinions.

Liu Xiu smiled, what's the matter, you still want to compete with me?

Yuan Shu shook his head, I admit that I am not your opponent, but the Yuan family may be able to find a few masters who can compete with you. He said meaningfully: "There are many masters in Luoyang, you won't be lonely." ”

Liu Xiu smiled disappreciatively, I am not afraid of thousands of enemies like Zhang Fei, I still don't believe that you can find any ridiculously tall masters, there may be those who can defeat me, but it is really not easy to find a master who can beat me all over the ground to find teeth.

Liu Xiu just sent Yuan Shu out of the door, and a young man came outside the door, as soon as he entered the door, he looked at Liu Xiu arrogantly: "Are you Liu Xiu Liu Deran from Zhuo County?" ”

Liu Xiuxin said, it's really strange, how did you encounter strange things in the past two days? What kind of eyes are you, I robbed your daughter-in-law?

"My surname is Tang, my name is Tang Zhou, and I am a disciple of Taiping Dao." Tang Zhou introduced himself in a big way, and then said without refusing: "My master wants to see you." ”

As soon as he heard the three words Taiping Dao, Liu Xiu was overjoyed, his father was not around, how to practice Ba Jue next, he didn't know the bottom of his heart, and he was trying to ask Zhang Ming for advice. He was happy in his heart, and even the arrogant attitude of this person named Tang Zhou was not so annoying.

"Envoy Zhang came to Luoyang?"

"Zhang Envoy?" Tang Zhou pursed his lips, turned around and left: "My master is not an envoy, my master is a divine envoy." Come on, you'll find out when you see him. ”

Liu Xiu was a little unhappy, but he still followed, this kid is so bullish, he doesn't even pay attention to Zhang Ming, what kind of god does he make the master seem to have a higher status in the Taiping Dao than Zhang Ming. It's just that Zhang Ming said that he would come to Luoyang soon, why hasn't he arrived in Jing yet, could it be that he didn't meet it?

Liu Xiu was going to ask Tang Zhou where Zhang Ming was, but after thinking about it, he still didn't ask, looking at Tang Zhou's attitude, he knew that he didn't have a good impression of Zhang Ming, maybe there was also a struggle for power and profit in this Taiping Dao, and there was no need for an outsider to get involved.

Liu Xiu followed Tang Zhou out of the door, walked along the alley in the middle, until he came to the end, and entered a courtyard. Outside the door, he smelled a smell of burning wood, and when he entered the yard, he saw the traces of water on the ground that had not yet dried up and the burned half of the house.

"This is the master here, Shi Zizhujun, this is my master, the divine envoy of the head of the eight disciples of the Taiping Dao Great Sage and Good Master, surnamed Ma Yanqiang, the word Yuanyi." Tang Zhou pointed to the two people sitting opposite the hall with some arrogance. Liu Xiu glanced at it, and the thin old man Shi Zi helped him get to know him, and he had met him once or twice in the middle of the room, and said hello a few times.

"Unexpectedly, Shi Gong is a cultivator, and he is disrespectful and disrespectful." Liu Xiu hurriedly stepped forward and saluted, and saluted Ma Yuanyi, but he was muttering in his heart, this name seems to be a little familiar, but I don't know where I have heard of it, maybe I heard Zhang Ming's master and apprentice mention it.

Shi Zizhu smiled, gave a salute, turned around and walked out. Ma Yuanyi stroked the short beard under his chin, looked Liu Xiu up and down with a clear and attentive gaze, and after a while, he motioned for Liu Xiu to sit on the seat where Shi Zizhu was sitting just now, and said with a smile: "I am Yuansheng's senior brother, I often hear Yuansheng mention you, I came to Brother Shi Dao today, and I just heard that you also live here, so I asked you to come over and talk about it." Hopefully it didn't inconvenience you. ”

Liu Xiu Daqi, Master Xindao is so polite, why is the disciple so arrogant? He hurriedly returned the salute and said a few polite words.

Ma Qiang asked about Liu Xiu's recent situation with a pleasant face, and finally asked about the green bull horn. He asked Liu Xiu where the green bull horn came from, and Liu Xiu roughly explained the situation at that time, but he didn't say anything about Zhang Ming's master and apprentice being beaten by the fire fox witch and vomiting blood. Although Ma Qiang's attitude was good, he could vaguely feel that the eight disciples were not so harmonious.

"Is that green horn yours, or is it Yuansheng's?"

Liu Xiu thought of the answer when he mentioned the green bull horn: "The thing I took the last thing is mine, but if I can defeat the fire fox, Zhang Envoy is the first credit, so I will use it for him now." ”

"When are you going to get it back?" The corners of Ma Qiang's eyes jumped, and then he regained his composure. However, this change in expression did not escape Liu Xiu's eyes, he smiled, and said that his Dao cultivation was insufficient, and he could not use the green bull horn for the time being. Ma Qiang pondered for a moment and offered to give Liu Xiu a pulse. Liu Xiu couldn't ask for it, so he stretched out his hand.

Ma Qiang checked the pulse, pondered silently, and only after a while did he know: "Yuan Sheng has always said that you have good talent, and your Dao cultivation is progressing very quickly, and I still don't believe it." Now that I have met you in person, I know that Yuansheng is not bad at all. Your body is naturally suitable for cultivation, if you are sincere to the Tao, and then have the guidance of a master, you can get twice the result with half the effort, and it is not without a chance to become an immortal in the future. ”

Liu Xiu didn't answer his words, and the great sage and good teacher in Zhang Jiao finally hung up, and I still feathered and ascended to the immortal? You're fooling me.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Ma Qiang smiled, and said: "Don't believe it, I can see from your veins that you are now angry in the dantian, but you don't know the method of refining, so there has been no progress." ”

Liu Xiu was taken aback, looked at Ma Qiang again for a moment, and bowed very sincerely: "Please also ask the envoy to dial." ”

"Hehehe...... Didn't Yuansheng point you out? ”

Liu Xiu told him that Zhang Ming wanted him to enter the Tao at that time, but he didn't believe it, so Zhang Ming only taught him the method of pranayama and qi gathering, but did not teach deeper Taoism. Ma Qiang listened, nodded again and again, and said that Zhang Ming knew the measure, but he was reluctant to tell Liu Xiu what to do next, but instead talked about what Lao Tzu said five thousand words. Liu Xiu heard what he meant, and he seemed to be interested in the green horn, probably wanting him to ask him to come over from Zhang Ming and then transfer it to him in exchange for it.

Liu Xiu is most disgusted with this kind of infighting, many things in China have been defeated in this kind of infighting, and he is invisibly a little unhappy with this Ma Qiang. His problem in the cultivation of hegemony is not a big problem, it is a big deal to wait for Zhang Ming to arrive in Luoyang, but if he falls to Ma Qiang because of this, then the friendship he had with Zhang Ming before will be over, and Ma Qiang will also think that he is a person who has no position, and it is okay to use him, but trust will definitely not be able to talk about it. The reason is very simple, he can betray Zhang Ming now, and of course he can betray Ma Qiang in the future.

Liu Xiu didn't say anything more, the two of them didn't talk speculatively, and it was not interesting to talk about it anymore. When Liu Xiu said goodbye and went out, he saw Shi Daoren squatting beside the embers looking at something, holding a black thing in his hand, which looked like a fragment of a vessel. He glanced at it, and suddenly stopped. There seemed to be a kettle underneath the burnt wood, but he quickly recognized that it was not an ordinary kettle, but a kettle with a lid, and a little pattern could be faintly seen on the wall of the kettle. He had seen such lines in his previous life, and they often appeared on Taoist magic vessels, and people in the Taoist sect called them talismans.

This is not a kettle, this is a tripod, the tripod of alchemy. Liu Xiu was shocked, it seems that today's fire incident is not as simple as dry things, this Shi Zizhu is alchemy, maybe it is to blow up the ding, and the explosion of the ding is a problem often encountered by early alchemists, and gunpowder, one of the four major inventions, is groped out in the explosion again and again.

"Dao Chief, walk the water today...... Is it because of this? Liu Xiu asked cautiously.

Shi Zizhu glanced at him with some surprise, didn't say anything, just nodded. Liu Xiu could see that he was not in a good mood. Of course, whoever has their house burned down is in a bad mood. Liu Xiu didn't know about gunpowder, he only knew that the most basic ratio was one sulfur, two carbons and three nitrates, but if he really wanted to match gunpowder, he might not be able to deserve it, but he knew that not looking at this ratio could not finally solve the problem, but Shi Zizhu wanted to find out this ratio, he still had to take a lot of detours, maybe he might not be able to do it in his lifetime, because he didn't work in that direction at all, what alchemists wanted to refine was the elixir of immortality, and gunpowder was just an unexpected harvest, and it was a harvest that most people didn't want.

But Liu Xiu wanted that even if it was black powder, it would be an epoch-making revolution.

In just a few seconds of standing in front of the ashes, Liu Xiu's mind turned several times, and in the end, he didn't say anything, politely saluted Shi Zizhu, turned around and left. Although Shi Zizhu felt that he was a little strange, his mind was all in the failed test in the morning, and he didn't think too much about it.

After returning home, Liu Xiu asked the Zhang family for peace as usual, and agreed to go to Yuan's mansion for a banquet tomorrow, and asked Lu Shen and them to go to the palace tomorrow to ask for a leave and go to Yuan's mansion together. Seeing that Liu Xiu agreed to go to Yuan's Mansion for a banquet, and arranged things properly, the unhappiness in his heart also lightened.

Liu Xiu returned to his room and called Mao Qing to inquire in detail about the Shi family's water walk in the morning, and it was basically certain that it was an explosion. What he doesn't understand is that the explosion can occur, which means that the proportion of the main ingredients should be more accurate, and the person in charge is more sure, otherwise he would not have put so much medicine, made such a loud noise, and caused such a big fire, since if it was, why did it fail in the end, seeing that Ma Qiang and Shi Zizhu don't look like reckless people, if they really want to be so reckless, I'm afraid they would have been blown up a long time ago.

Liu Xiu once again remembered the incident of inviting the gods in the Taishou Mansion in Fuyang last time, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this matter was a bit paradoxical, could it be that Taiping Dao had already obtained the recipe for gunpowder? But if there was gunpowder, why didn't it use it later during the Yellow Turban Uprising, or did they still not really understand the mystery of this thing, and they were still in the exploration stage?

To paraphrase the lines of Uncle Heitu and Aunt Baiyun, Liu Xiu now wants to see Master Zhang Jiaozhang very much. He played with the knife he snatched from Huai Zong's hand, and the more he thought about it, the more frightened he felt, he had been carrying this knife with him for more than half a year, and he still didn't understand what material it was made of, not to mention that it was extremely sharp, and there was no trace of rust at all, it was as new as it had just been created.

It's not that I don't understand, it's that the world is too weird. Thinking of the big guy who didn't know where to hide, Liu Xiu felt a little apprehensive in his heart.

Early the next morning, Liu Xiu and others accompanied Zhang to Luoyang City. Yuan's Mansion is just to the east of Nangong, between the Qinglong Gate of Nangong and the consumption gate of Luoyang City, which is a famous mansion area in Luoyang City. There is a majestic halberd honor guard in front of the house, and there is a drum on the corridor, which shows the unique majesty of the Yuan Mansion everywhere.

After receiving the report, Situ Peng Fayan quickly greeted them, led Liu Xiu and them into the side alley, and led them into the back house. When Liu Xiu passed through Nangong before coming, he specially inquired about Huo Yu, and then he knew that Fa Yan was not a simple character - he was from Fufeng Yi, and he was half a fellow of the Ma family. Grandfather Fa Xiong was the Taishou of Nanjun, Cai Yong's teacher Hu Guang used to be Fa Xiong's subordinate officials, and it was Fa Yan's father Fa Zhen who knew Hu Guang. Fa Zhen is not an official, he is a famous man, known as Mr. Xuande, and he is still alive and well at the age of nearly eighty. It can be seen that if people are really indifferent to fame and fortune, it is still good for health.

Fa Yan took his grandfather Ren Zi as his husband, and he stayed in the palace for more than ten years and failed to release the officials, and like Jia Xu, he also felt that there was no hope, so he went home. After Yuan Kui was appointed Situ, Ma Lun remembered this fellow countryman, so he asked Yuan Kui to make him Situ Peng, so he was grateful to Yuan Kui and his wife Ma Lun. In fact, if Liu Xiu knew that Fa Yan's infant son was called Fa Zheng, he might be no stranger to Fa Yan. Fa Zheng is a famous poisoner in the Three Kingdoms, and he has a fight with Jia Xu.

After entering the mansion, his own maid came up and led the Zhang family to the hall, Lu Shen is a son, to follow, Liu Xiu is a disciple, which is equivalent to a son, and today's host and guest, naturally followed, as for Liu Bei, Mao Zong and Zhang Fei, they didn't even have the qualifications to go to the hall, so they waited in the courtyard under the hall.

The nobility of the Yuan family is really extraordinary, not only the children of a poor family like Liu Bei are hot-eyed, but even Mao Zong and Zhang Fei are quite wealthy, and the slaves and maids who come and go next to them are all brocade clothes, dressed in oily and slippery clothes, and there is a kind of arrogance on their faces that seems to be innate. Liu Bei and the others, who are usually quite lively, held their voices at this moment, and they didn't even dare to come out of the atmosphere, plus the sun was gradually getting hotter, and they sweated after a short time.

Not only were they nervous, but Zhang was even more nervous, before she entered Luoyang City, she stopped talking, and as soon as she entered Situ Mansion, she couldn't even walk naturally. At this moment, when I went to the hall, I saw Mrs. Mullen sitting in the hall, and she couldn't help but bow down. It's a shame that I've seen the Queen Mother before, and I'm more proficient in etiquette, so I didn't make jokes.

Ma Lun is very gentle, there is no arrogance of the legendary famous disciples, Zhang just bowed down, she waved her hand, signaled a young woman standing behind her to step forward to help Zhang up, invited to the guest seat to sit down, and said with a smile: "Senior brother is loyal to the country, leaving your mother and son in Luoyang, I have not been able to find time to see you, it is really rude, and please forgive my sister." ”

Zhang didn't even dare to say it. Ma Lun took another test for Lu Shen's knowledge, asked about the old situation, and heard that he was a Lang official in Yongle Palace, so he encouraged him a few words. Although there was no disrespect for Yongle Palace in his words, he couldn't hear any respect, and it felt as natural and casual as talking about an ordinary official's family. In the end, Ma Lun's eyes fell on Liu Xiu's face, who had been silent, and the smile on his face was even greater, but his eyes were a little cold.

"You are the disciple of my son's senior brother, Liu Xiu Liu Deran?"

(To be continued)