In the early days, there were three scholars in a certain township, named Wang Sheng, Zhuang Sheng, and Zeng Sheng. Among them, Zhuang Sheng's family was relatively poor, while Wang Sheng and Zeng Sheng were wealthy families. Wang Sheng was generous and often helped Zhuang Sheng secretly. The three of them studied at the same window and had the same interests, and they became best friends.

This autumn, coinciding with the coming of of the competition year, children from all over the world were preparing to go to Jinling to take the exam. Wang Sheng discussed with the two classmates about going to the exam together. Unexpectedly, Zhuang Sheng suddenly proposed to give up this exam because his family was poor and could not take out the entanglement of the exam. Wang Sheng immediately took out ten taels of silver and handed it to Zhuang Sheng: "Brother, it's such a small matter, what's the matter. These silver stripes are for the cost of settling down, and the expenses along the way are all covered by me. Now there should be no worries!"

Who knew that Zhuang Sheng held the silver tattoos in his hands or hesitated and remained silent. After asking again and again, Zhuang Sheng sighed and told the truth. It turned out that two days ago, a fortune teller came to the countryside, and the villagers praised him for being very effective. Zhuang Sheng also asked him to count his life. Who knew that the blind man pinched his fingers and sighed again and again, saying that his life had come to an end, and that he would die at the White Dew Festival? Now it has been two days since the beginning of autumn, which means that Zhuang Sheng's death is very close, so Zhuang Sheng was worried and had to wait for death to come.

Wang Sheng laughed and comforted Zhuang Sheng, "The blind fortune-teller is lying, don't listen to his nonsense. Brother Xian still calms down and eliminates distractions. It is also an honor for the three of them to go to the examination room together and get a part-time job!"

Under the persuasion of Wang Sheng and Zeng Sheng, Zhuang Sheng finally dispelled his concerns, packed his bags, and set off together.

After arriving at Jinling, there were still a few days before the exam period. In order to relax the fatigue of the journey, Wang Sheng and the three of them went out to play together. When they came to Chengen Temple in the suburbs that day, they saw people coming in and out of it, which was very crowded. Zhuang Sheng went forward to inquire why it was so lively. Someone told them that a sackcloth minister had recently come to the temple.

When Zhuang Sheng listened to it, he couldn't help but be moved. The fortune teller in his hometown sentenced me to death. I met this "living fairy" today, why don't I try again to verify how this life is?

Mr. Xiangmian is nearly old, his male eyebrows are all white, and he has the charm of immortal wind and bones. He first met Zeng Sheng, handed him over again and again, and praised him: "Mr. is very lucky, this school must be on the imperial high school list, Jieyuan must be you!"

When Zeng Sheng heard the words, he suddenly smiled, immediately opened the purse generously, and rewarded Mr. Xiangmian with ten taels of silver.

Then, Mr. Xiangmian also gave Wang Sheng a face, still smiling, clasping his fists at Wang Sheng: "Mr. is equally gratifying, Jinke is definitely on the list, but his ranking is slightly inferior to the gentleman in front!"

Wang Sheng smiled and said, "In this way, our brothers have occupied the ranking in this subject. I am afraid that it is the first day of the new year to pay New Year's greetings - just say good things, the eldest son will make the dwarf happy, and what about my brother?"

Mr. Xiangmian immediately said solemnly: "Sir's words are bad! The old man is making judgments based on his appearance, how dare he speak nonsense and ruin his reputation?" After saying that, he stared at Zhuang Sheng who was standing next to him, and sighed: "It seems that this gentleman's face is bad, bad!"

Zeng Sheng snatched the conversation and asked, "Why did you see it? Please tell me in detail!"

Mr. Xiangmian stared at Zhuang Sheng's face, and without blinking a glance, he said jokingly: "Everyone, I forgive the old man for speaking bluntly. You see, this gentleman has a withered face, a vain expression, and dark lines on the heavens. According to the law, he will die within five days, and he should rush home as soon as possible. But according to Xiangmian, he must die in a foreign land, and even if he leaves immediately, I am afraid it will be too late!"

Mr. Xiangmian's words were so firm that not only Zhuang Sheng was so shocked, but even Wang Sheng and Zeng Sheng were also very shocked. Wang Sheng hurriedly asked, "Could you please examine it carefully, sir, and see if there is a way to save you?"

Mr. Xiangmian let out a long sigh: "The number of life and death, if there is no great yin virtue, it is difficult to have the power to return to heaven. What's more, the time of death has come, what can be done? If from now on, six days later, this gentleman is still alive, the old man should clean up the stall and never look at him here!"

Everyone on the side was stunned when they heard it, and they said it so decisively. It seemed that the nickname of this prime minister "Living Immortal" really lived up to his reputation.

After returning to the apartment, Wang Sheng and Zeng Sheng couldn't stop comforting Zhuang Sheng. It was difficult for immortals to cut off life and death, and words of the prime minister might not be effective.

Zhuang Sheng wept and said, "The words of the lovekeeper today are exactly the same as those of the fortune teller, and they will definitely come true. No one has died since ancient times. I am not afraid of death, and I am worried that dying here will implicate my two brothers. So it is better to rush back to my hometown immediately and strive to die at home."

At this point, Wang Sheng and Zeng Sheng could not be held back. Wang Sheng immediately took out another ten taels of silver and handed them over to Zhuang Sheng. He said tearfully, "This little meaning is just a sign of my heart!"

At the moment, Zhuang Sheng looked up and sighed: "People have different lives!" Then he said goodbye to Wang Sheng and Zeng Sheng in tears.

Zhuang Sheng was disillusioned, and in a gloomy mood, he hired a small boat to go back to his hometown. Who knew that the boat had only been retrograde in the river for half a day, but because of the strong wind, it had to dock on the shore. The owner said that he had to wait until the wind was lighter before moving forward. Who knew that this wait was four days, and the wind had not subsided. Soon the fifth day was up, and the boat still could not be opened. Zhuang Sheng became impatient, and the prophecy of the photographer "The way is dead" echoed in his ears. Is it really about to be fulfilled? At this moment, he could only wait for death with all his heart, and all his worries were empty. But suffering from loneliness and boredom, he could not be relieved, so he said hello to the boatman and left the boat alone. After walking out of the scenery for more than a mile, there was no one around. Zhuang Sheng was very puzzled and was about to turn around when he suddenly heard a few cries from a distance, so he looked for it. A middle-aged pregnant woman with a big belly suddenly appeared in front of him, with three young children with her. She was holding one in her left hand, one in her right hand, and another behind her. The child just walked and cried, and the pregnant woman's face was full of tears and was very sad.

When Zhuang Sheng saw this, he couldn't help but feel very strange: "This river bank is empty and there are no residents around, so where is this woman going with these three crying children?" The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it became, and the more terrifying it became, so he couldn't help but take the initiative to ask. Who knew that the woman didn't seem to hear anything and just went her own way. Zhuang Sheng became more and more suspicious, so he simply took a few steps to block her way, bowed and asked, "May I ask sister-in-law, looking at your sad expression, what difficulties did you encounter? If you can tell me, maybe Xiaosheng can solve the problem on your behalf."

The pregnant woman looked at Zhuang Sheng's honest and serious look, and finally cried out "wow" and poured out bitter water. It turned out that the woman had unfortunately married a butcher. The butcher was violent and often abused his wife. Beating and scolding became commonplace, and the woman was often beaten to pieces. Yesterday, her husband handed over ten taels of silver from selling pork to her for safekeeping, preparing to go out to sell pigs in a few days. Who knew that today the woman found that the ten taels of silver had disappeared, and that it was probably stolen by thieves. This time the woman was scared to death, and her husband would definitely not forgive her easily. Instead of being beaten to death by this evil man, it is better to commit suicide by herself! On second thought, if she died, it would be pitiful to leave these three young children behind, and she would also be abused by their evil father. Therefore, she simply crossed her heart and took advantage of her husband to sell meat in the market, taking all three children with her to prepare to throw themselves into the river and die, so as to save the troubles of ordinary people.

The woman's cries made Zhuang Sheng feel pity. He thought to himself, "Sister-in-law, since you have encountered such a big difficulty, I will take five lives. This is simply too miserable! On second thought, am I not the one who is about to see the King of Hell? In this case, why not give the ten taels of silver that Wang Sheng gave me to this woman, and save the five lives of their mother and son, which is also considered an accumulation of yin virtue. After considering it, he made up his mind, and immediately took out the ten taels of silver from his body and handed it to the woman, saying earnestly," Sister-in-law, since you have encountered such a big difficulty, I will help you. These ten taels of silver are my little intention to help you tide over the difficulties! "

The woman hurriedly pushed back and said, "Sir, you and I met by chance and never met, how can I accept your heavy gift?"

Zhuang Sheng sighed: "A mere ten taels of silver, which can save the lives of your mother and son, Zhuang can be regarded as forming a good relationship with you in your previous life, fast, fast!"

The woman had no choice but to accept the silver tattoos, and was naturally very grateful. She led the three children and knelt in front of Zhuang Sheng, kowtowing several times in a row. Zhuang Sheng was so panicked that he was at a loss, and he shouted: "Can't do it! Can't do it!"

After the woman left happily with her three children, Zhuang Sheng turned around and prepared to return to the shore.

At this time, the sun had set and the twilight was dim. Zhuang Sheng was eager to get back to the boat, and he hurried all the way. He walked for less than a mile, but he lost his way, and he was a little flustered. There was no one around, and there was nowhere to ask. He was jumping his feet in a hurry, when God suddenly turned his face, a cloud drifted by, and a light rain began to fall. Zhuang Sheng did not dare to stay, and continued to walk forward, and suddenly he saw several houses looming not far away. He took a closer look, but it was a broken temple, with broken walls everywhere. Zhuang Sheng thought: Seeing that it was getting late and the rain kept falling, it seemed that he had to squat under the eaves of this broken temple for the night. He thought again: This open field, no one, it is estimated that there must be tigers and leopards and beasts haunting, maybe it should be my death! Who cares, if it really comes true, I might as well go to the grave and bury it, the road is buried, lying in the gutter is a coffin. What's there to be afraid of? With the determination to die, he was not afraid, so he leaned his body on the bottom of a porch and lay half-lying to rest.

In the middle of the room, there was a sudden noise of human voices. Zhuang Sheng probed his head and saw that the hall was suddenly brightly lit, with a red-faced and beautiful man sitting at the top, a black man with a big sword standing behind him, and a group of soldiers and warriors lined up on both sides. God, isn't this the Guan Shengdi and Zhou Cang in the hall of Guandi Temple? Zhuang Sheng was suddenly so frightened that his heart was chilled, and he broke into a cold sweat, and he didn't even dare to hum.

Suddenly, Emperor Guan asked, "I just heard that someone saved five lives by the river today. I wonder if you have found out the whereabouts of this person, and you should be rewarded!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a small official wearing purple clothes held a scroll in his hand and went out of class to play: "Report to the Holy Emperor, the small official just received the declaration from the scholar god. This person is a scholar who is rushing to take the exam, called Zhuang Sheng."

Emperor Guan stroked his beard and said in admiration, "In this case, we have to conduct a detailed investigation to see if he is on the list this autumn. I will make my own decision after checking it out."

At this time, another small official in embroidered clothes stood out from the side, also holding the book in his hand, and went out of class to play: "I report to the Holy Emperor, but I can sigh that this Zhuang Sheng is not only unknown in this field, but also has no hope of official status, and his life is over. He should be crushed to death by the wall under the corridor of this temple tonight."

When Emperor Guan heard this, his face suddenly changed, he frowned and shouted angrily: "If this is the case, then we are black and white, and good and evil are unknown! How can we persuade people to do good? He saved five lives and accumulated so much merit. Therefore, we should try to change his score and increase his lifespan. I was informed by Wenchang Palace yesterday that a candidate should have been admitted to Jiangnan Jieyuan in this autumn exam, but this person was removed from Wenchang Palace for raping a singing girl, so it seems that Zhuang Sheng can fill the vacancy."

The small embroidered official interjected again: "Now I have found out that the ten taels of silver that Zhuang Sheng saved were given by his friend Wang Sheng. Wang Sheng is a light fortune and righteousness, so that Zhuang Sheng can achieve positive results. Tracing the source, Wang Sheng should also be named Lu Ji!"

Emperor Guan nodded again and again and ordered his subordinates to check the books on the spot. The embroidered official reported, "Fifty-three in Wang Sheng scientific examination."

Zhuang Sheng was eavesdropping in the dark with relish, and suddenly someone seemed to be exclaiming in his ears: "Zhuang Sheng, go! Zhuang Sheng, go!"

He was still huddled under the eaves of the temple, his surroundings were pitch black, and he couldn't see his fingers. He could only hear the sand on the wall rustling down, so he hurriedly got up, rushed out in the dark, and only ran a few steps away, only to hear a loud "boom" behind him. The remnant wall collapsed, and the mud and stones were piled up just where he slept. How dangerous, Zhuang Sheng exclaimed and broke out in a cold sweat.

After dawn, Zhuang Sheng bowed several times to Emperor Guan in the main hall, then walked out of the temple gate, finally identified the direction, returned to the river bank, found the boat owner, and decided to return to Jinling to give Wang Sheng and the others a surprise.

The sudden appearance of Zhuang Sheng really surprised Wang Sheng and Zeng Sheng, and they looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Zhuang Sheng seemed to see what they were thinking, so he smiled and explained that because the wind was blowing and the boat was difficult to travel, the trip back to his hometown was delayed, and the deadline for his death had passed, and he was still alive. So he simply rushed back, one is to take the exam in this subject, and the other is to find this gentleman to ask for an explanation. Of course, he also lied, saying that he lost the ten taels of silver while wandering on the riverbank, and he didn't mention anything about saving the five lives of the pregnant woman and the family. Wang Sheng rejoiced: "Blessed are those who get rich!"

Of course, Wang Sheng and Zeng Sheng believed it, and the three of them immediately returned to Cheng'en Temple and found the prime minister, ready to mock him. Who knew that when the prime minister saw Zhuang Sheng, he opened his mouth in surprise, and after a long time, he came back to his senses. After a careful observation, he gave Zhuang Sheng a hand and shouted happily: "I haven't seen you for a few days, sir's bone appearance has changed a lot in the past, and his complexion has suddenly improved. It is a world of difference from his face five days ago. It seems that sir must have done something great, and he must have saved several lives, so he can restore the power of good fortune!

Zhuang Sheng smiled deliberately and said, "I am already poor, what can I use to help others?"

The prime minister shook his head again and again: "Sir, don't lie to me. When you asked me the way to resolve it that day, I said something like this. If you don't have great yin virtue, you will be powerless! Look at you today, you are full of yin stallion (yin virtue and blessing), not only have you increased your longevity, but also your position has risen. In the current exam, you must be on the top list.

Zeng Sheng sneered at the side: "You are really good at cursing people to death last time, and praising people today. It seems like it's all nonsense!"

The prime minister glanced at Zeng Sheng and sighed: "A person's life is actually changing, and it will naturally add happiness and longevity to the good, and the perpetrators will undoubtedly lose happiness and longevity. I remember that when the three of you came to see the Prime Minister together a few days ago, I found that the face under the foot was extraordinary, and it must be Jinke Jieyuan. Who knew that when I saw it today, I found that there was a pattern of hanging needles on the forehead of the foot (that is, broken lines), which lost its previous luster, and there must be a big hidden danger. To put it bluntly, it means that he has done a shameful evil. Not only will the book be cut off, but he will also lose his life!Then he pointed to Zhuang Sheng and asserted: "It is even more coincidental that Jinke Jieyuan replaced no one else, it was this gentleman!"

Hearing this, Zeng Sheng's face flushed with anger, and it was inconvenient for Wang Sheng and Zhuang Sheng to be by his side. He had no choice but to swallow this evil breath and pointed at Wang Sheng to send it to the prime minister: "I don't care about you for the time being, but how does this brother look?"

The Prime Minister looked at it for a moment, then nodded resolutely and asserted, "This gentleman also has yin stalwarts, and he must be in high school like Mr. Zhuang!"

Wang Sheng laughed. "How are my two brothers? I don't know. As for myself, I haven't done anything good!"

The Prime Minister explained: "It is doing nothing, doing good deeds without knowing it yourself, this is called a yin stallion. Raise your head three feet and there is a god!"

Wang Sheng, Zhuang Sheng, and Zeng Sheng looked at each other, unable to say another word.

****

In this year's scientific examination, Zhuang Sheng really won Jieyuan, and Wang Sheng also won the 53rd place in the exam. The next year, the two entered Hanlin at the same time. And Zeng Sheng really failed, so angry that he was lying in bed, the treatment was ineffective, and he died half a year later. It turned out that he was the scholar who raped and sold singers in the Guandi Temple, and he really lost his reputation and gave his life.

Afterwards, Zhuang Sheng finally told Wang Sheng the truth, revealing the scene of the encounter in Guandi Temple. Wang Sheng was dumbfounded when he heard it, and after a while, he mocked: "The good deeds done by the virtuous brother deserve to be rewarded, but the fool brother deserves it!"

Zhuang Sheng said sternly: "Brother Benevolent's words are bad, if not for the gold you gave, I can only watch helplessly as these five lives are buried in the belly of the fish! I am fortunate to be blessed by God today, but it is the favor of my brother!"

After this strange news spread, everyone sighed.