Chapter 1 Li Yuan

Dayun 1452, Zhelongfu, Gaoliu County.

Squeak~

Glancing at the messy bunk bed behind him, Li Yuan pushed the door open and walked out, not waiting for the last person to leave the room.

The fog in the early morning of late autumn had not yet completely dissipated, and wisps of smoke were already rising in Gaoliu County, and some voices could be heard faintly.

What came into view was a small courtyard, where six or seven teenagers of the same age as him, wearing linen clothes, and about fifteen or sixteen years old were busy.

Washing, chopping wood, fetching water, making fire, cooking...

"Huh!"

Tightening his thin gray linen clothes, Li Yuan took a deep breath and joined in the shouts of several apprentices.

As an apprentice in the "Forging Shop", a day starts with chopping wood and fetching water.

"Only one month and three days, how can I survive twelve years? This is too difficult... It was not easy to learn something in my last life, and it is even more difficult in this life!"

Li Yuan couldn't help sighing in his heart as he worked swiftly.

In his previous life, he only spent two or three years learning from his wild Taoist master how to build mountains and tombs, perform rituals to pray for the dead, and assist in childbirth.

It actually takes twelve years to become an apprentice in this "forging shop"!

Three years of doing odd jobs, two years of helping, and seven years of working!

Li Yuan complained in his heart, but he didn't dare to slow down at all. He could only sigh that he "awakened" too late. When he woke up, he had "sold himself" to the "forging shop".

He was not assigned to the front yard because he was too thin...

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a muffled sound came from the kitchen.

The fat man holding a big spoon kicked a gray-clothed apprentice to the ground with one foot, and the flesh on his face swayed:

"You son of a bitch, I have suffered so much to learn this skill of flipping the spoon to cook, and you dare to learn it secretly?!"

"Master Sun, I was wrong, I will never dare to do it again, I will never dare to do it again..."

The apprentice held his head and wailed, but he didn't dare to dodge, and endured a beating.

The apprentices in the courtyard were silent, Li Yuan lowered his head, his face was wooden.

If the apprentices made mistakes, the masters could beat and scold them at will, this was written in the "sale contract".

"Apprentice, apprentice, three years of slavery", this is not just talk.

The fat man Sun who was shaking the spoon was also half a master, managing more than a dozen apprentices and the food and drink of hundreds of people in the forging shop. He had a bad temper and it was natural for him to beat and scold the apprentices.

When he first came a month ago, Li Yuan was almost hit on the head by the rice spoon...

"Hurry up, the masters in the front yard are getting up soon. If you delay their meal, it will not be a matter of a few kicks!"

The fat man Sun weighed the spoon and cursed.

The apprentices did not dare to raise their heads, but their hands and feet became faster.

It was not until the fat man went back to the kitchen that the beaten apprentice got up without a word. Even though he was in great pain, he did not dare to delay his work.

Li Yuan looked wooden.

The Weapon Forge Shop was one of the largest blacksmith shops in Gaoliu County, employing more than 180 guards, masters, helpers, and apprentices.

Apprentices were naturally of the lowest status. Not only were they paid little and ate poorly, but they were also often beaten and scolded. If they wanted to be treated better, they had to at least become helpers or even masters.

"Twelve years..."

When the four suns rose in the sea of ​​clouds, the food was finally ready, and the busy apprentices smiled.

Except for meal time, the apprentices really had no free time all day long.

Chopping wood, fetching water, preparing charcoal, carrying various iron ingots, wiping weapons, cleaning...

But even so, the Weapon Forge Shop always recruited apprentices.

The reason is simple. The treatment of the forging shop is the best among all the families that recruit apprentices in Gaoliu County.

Not only is there a monthly salary of 30 copper coins, but the food is also much better than that of a herbal medicine shop, a carpenter shop, etc.

Blacksmithing is a very hard job. You can't do it if you don't have enough food.

Of course, apprentices don't have this treatment. They can only see some oil and water every seven days. Even so, the apprentices are very satisfied.

Several families nearby can only see a little meat on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month. Some even don't see any oil and water all year round...

When the sun was high in the sky, the sound of blacksmithing could be vaguely heard in the front yard. The apprentices had breakfast and had a moment of rest.

"It takes three years to become a helper..."

The apprentices squatted in the corner in twos and threes. Li Yuan squatted in a corner with a bowl of rice. He held the steamed bread with sore arms, and his heart was inevitably a little sour.

In his previous life, although he was a wild Taoist priest who was not registered or included in the Taoist canon, he could make some money by following his master in the countryside. Even in the worst times, he was not so miserable.

At this moment, he couldn't help but miss his previous life.

Beer, drinks, barbecue, air conditioning, TV, sofa, mobile phone... even his master who was obsessed with being registered and included in the Taoist canon before he died.

"How did I travel through time?! Can I go back?!"

Swallowing the steamed bread with rice soup, Li Yuan looked up at the four red suns in the sky, one big and three small, and almost shed tears.

How did I travel through time?

In the past month, Li Yuan thought about this question more than once, and recalled his memories before crossing over again and again.

As a wild Taoist priest who was not enrolled, after his master left, he could hardly get married or married in the village. He had to change his career and opened a small supermarket in his hometown. Although he had no money, he was quiet.

"That day I was sitting on the sofa playing with my phone, and then... wait, the ceremony of receiving the talisman!"

It seemed that lightning broke through the fog, and Li Yuan trembled all over, almost spilling half a bowl of rice soup on the ground!

"Yes, the ceremony of receiving the talisman!"

Suppressing the throbbing in his heart, Li Yuan squatted back again, without attracting the attention of others, but his mind was uncontrollably scattered.

In his previous life, his master who was never enrolled until his death had left him half a volume of Taoist books.

He had read that Taoist book several times, but he was not very interested in it. He did not care about the "receiving the talisman and becoming an immortal" that his master had been thinking about during his lifetime.

Until the day before the time travel, he somehow remembered the ceremony recorded in the book.

And then...

"Is it because of that ceremony?"

After pouring half a steamed bread and half a bowl of rice soup into his stomach, Li Yuan was still muttering in his heart.

He didn't think that the ceremony of receiving the talisman could cause him to travel through time, but apart from this, he really couldn't think of any other possibilities.

"Receive the talisman, receive the talisman from the heaven..."

Li Yuan murmured in his heart.

He was naturally familiar with receiving the talisman.

Taoism believed that the talisman was formed naturally by heaven and earth, copied by gods and immortals, and passed on to the world.

Only after the Taoist priests received the talisman, their names were listed in the heavenly court, and they had the Taoist position and divine post, could they control the talisman, so as to have incredible Taoist magic powers such as summoning ghosts and gods, calming the five directions, subduing demons and demons, curing diseases and eliminating disasters.

"The old man has been thinking about 'receiving the talisman and becoming an immortal' all his life. Could it be true?"

Li Yuan murmured in his heart.

He didn't believe in the old man's obsession. He still believed in receiving the talisman and ascending to heaven in such a long time.

In his previous life, he knew several Taoists who had received the talisman, but he had never seen any Taoist magic.

In particular, the half volume of the Taoist book did not record the orthodox way of receiving the talisman.

You know, the orthodox ceremony of receiving the talisman not only requires the granting of the talisman, but also includes scriptures and precepts. In order to pass on the degree, there must be a talisman altar supervisor, a degree transmitter, a recommender, etc.

And the so-called "heaven granting the talisman" in the Taoist book is indeed simple, even crude...

But now...

"I have traveled through time, what else is impossible? Although... but... what if?"

Li Yuan's mind was scattered.

Reason told him that this was unlikely, but he still had a fluke in his heart.

What if?

"What if I, no, I, the Taoist priest, really have the chance to be ordained as an immortal?"

The more he thought about it, the more excited Li Yuan felt. If he hadn't known that the time was wrong, he would have wanted to hold the ceremony right away.

What the hell are apprentices, helpers, masters, and shopkeepers?

The Taoist priest wants to go home!

The Taoist priest wants to become an immortal!