When the young man came out of the rural school to go to Lingguan in the north of the town, he passed by the Wufangting intersection. Inexplicably, he walked around to the east-facing entrance of the pavilion and looked at the doorposts on both sides of the pavilion. It turned out that this was There should be a couplet, but now it's empty.
There was no one in the pavilion today. I don’t know if it was an illusion. The boy had been lying on his kang for three days. When he woke up, he found that the town was much deserted. Not only because the foreign monks who once held cultivation positions had already They left each other, and even the familiar faces among the people in the town who always liked to wander around when they had nothing to do seemed to be less likely to be encountered. It was like everyone suddenly began to find that there were a lot of things to be busy with at home, and there was not much to do. Lots of time to hang out.
The young man looked around the Wufang Pavilion, and then looked back at the bookstore in the northeast corner. The door of the bookstore was closed. At this time in the past, the bookmaker should be lying on the rocking chair under the steps outside the door. Holding a small purple clay pot in his hand, or covering his face with a book, he closes his eyes and rests his mind, wandering to the sky, waiting for book buyers to come...
The young man recalled some old memories that had only passed a few days but seemed to have passed away for a long time. Then he pursed his lips and turned around, and happened to see the five-square pavilion across from the bookstore. The door of the pastry shop opened, and shopkeeper Liu who walked out seemed to have regained his former kind appearance with a warm smile. He opened the door to do business, dealt with people, and was considerate and smiling, no more. , without any loss, just right.
After the dark-skinned middle-aged man helped his mother-in-law open the shop door, he squatted on the steps outside the shop door, took off a pair of brand-new cloth shoes, then neatly stacked them in one place, and then stepped on them with bare feet. He went up, holding a blue-rimmed porcelain bowl with more than half a bowl of sunflower seeds in it, and began to crack the seeds while looking at the people in the town coming and going from the intersection.
For many years he has remained the same out-and-out country boy. Even the habits he formed every day have not changed much. He behaves in the same style. It seems that even the place he chooses to squat has not changed, absolutely.
Shopkeeper Liu stood at the door with a smile and said hello to passers-by. He was about to go back to the shop and start flipping through the books. He was also waiting for diners to come to buy pastries. However, as soon as he turned around, he saw his man squatting there again. She seemed to have gotten used to it, and after a few words of laughter and curses, she went straight in.
The young man looked at the couple from a distance, and suddenly remembered the words that Mr. Fan, the shopkeeper in Yunhaijian, had brought to him through the watchman. He was silent for a moment, as if the couple had indeed forgotten the discord between them. I forgot that there is still an account between the two parties.
While the young man was thinking, he happened to see the dark man squatting on a pair of shoes smiling at him. He also raised the porcelain bowl in his hand and raised it towards the young man, as if to invite him to eat melon seeds together.
Chu Yuanxiao was slightly startled when he saw this, then nodded to the man with a smile and shook his head, then turned around and headed towards South Street.
The swarthy man looked at the young man's back and smiled without saying anything. He continued to lower his head and began to compete with the sunflower seeds in the porcelain bowl in his hand.
Many times, there are always some favors between people that cannot be settled clearly, and then they are all left over, like the jars of peach blossom wine buried under the peach trees in a certain courtyard of the Li family in the small town. The longer it takes, the darker the aroma of the wine becomes.
…
Zhennan North Lingguan.
This old Taoist temple, which seemed to have always had only one old Taoist priest, suddenly had a little Taoist priest today. He looked young, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a childish face, clear eyes, and diligent and diligent people. Carrying a broom to sweep the wide yard in front of the Taoist temple, he was chatting with the old Taoist priest who was sitting on a bench at the entrance of the temple with his eyes closed. The two of them kept talking about the small town. The townspeople chatted endlessly about the various furnishings and objects in the Taoist temple, the big front yard and the small back yard.
The young man had a good memory. When he entered the Taoist temple and saw this little Taoist sweeping the floor, he knew at a glance that this was a strange face. He had never appeared in the small town before, but now he seemed to have appeared in the Taoist temple out of thin air.
But it can be seen that the little Taoist priest is a lively and enthusiastic person who knows how to run things. As soon as he saw someone coming in, he quickly placed the broom in his hand properly, then jogged a few steps and arrived not far from the young man. He slapped the Taoist priest and smiled. Asked: "The donor is polite, I wonder if I came here today to offer incense and make wishes, or to tell fortunes and draw fortunes? Do you need help from Xiaodao?"
When the young Taoist priest greeted him, his voice was full of enthusiasm and a sense of novelty. At first glance, he was a newly minted Taoist priest who had just written his name on the newly recorded genealogy of the Taoist sect. As the incense went up the stairs, he didn't seem to notice the clean but shabby clothes of the young man. He also didn't seem to realize that this guest who came in might not be able to afford the few copper coins for the sesame oil...
Before Chu Yuanxiao, the young man standing at the door, could reply, the smiling voice of the old Taoist sitting at the door of the hall came over, "Bai Sheng, this little brother is not here to offer incense, so don't force it. "
The little Taoist priest's Taoist name is "Bai Sheng".
Bai Sheng faced the young man standing at the door of the Taoist temple, with his back to the old Taoist priest. After hearing the old Taoist priest's words, his face turned bitter. He first winked at the young man, then Shi Shiran turned around and looked at the old Taoist priest and said : "Master, what we are saying is that our Taoist temple is open to welcome pilgrims. Can there be one more? In case the donor originally thought that the three pillars of incense should be burned or not, I asked one more question and it became clear that they can be burned. , when you say that, it means you don’t need to burn it. Do you think it’s better to burn it or not to burn it?”
Chu Yuanxiao, a young man standing behind the young Taoist priest, smiled after listening to what he said. In the past, it was rare for people to call the old Taoist priest the master of the temple. This was the first time today. The man in front of him looked about the same age as him. The little Taoist priest seems to be quite interesting in what he says and does. After saying these two sentences in front of him, he seemed too embarrassed not to burn incense.
The old Taoist priest seemed a little helpless. Hearing this, he could only smile and shake his head, but said nothing more.
Seeing that the old Taoist priest was silent, Bai Sheng took him as his acquiescence. Then he turned to look at the young man with a smile and said with a smile: "Donor, do you want to burn incense? Three copper plates and three pillars of incense, the price is fair, and you can be honest!"
The young man Chu Yuanxiao was a little embarrassed when he heard this. He raised his hand and scratched his face and said, "But I don't have any money."
The little Taoist priest blinked again when he heard this. After thinking about it for a while, he suddenly smiled and said, "Then what did you do for a living in the past? How can you eat without money?"
The young man became even more embarrassed when he heard this, "Go up the mountain to dig wild vegetables and catch game, or go to the river to catch fish. As long as you can eat enough, it doesn't have to be bought with money."
This explanation probably made the little Taoist priest somewhat unable to recover. After being stunned for a long time, his eyes suddenly lit up as if he had thought of something, and he winked and said: "But didn't you save a lot of money over there in Zhenxi Yunhaijian? How about taking three out of it?"
These words made the young man stunned for a moment, "You also know?"
The young Taoist priest shrugged and laughed, "Don't you know there is an old Taoist priest with great powers behind me?"
Hearing this, the young man glanced at the old Taoist priest who was sitting at the door of the hall with his eyes closed, and felt relieved. Then he looked at the little Taoist priest in front of him with an expectant expression, so after thinking about it, he looked at him and nodded, saying : "That's okay, I'm going to the sea of clouds now to ask if you can give me three cents."
The little Taoist priest seemed to be very happy when he heard the young man's agreement. He grinned and waved his hands: "It's okay, it's okay. There's no rush. Just promise to give me three coins. There's no rush." I have to pay it off today. After that, I will go to Yunhaijian by myself and ask them to transfer the money from your account to mine. You don’t have to go there in person."
After saying that, he turned around and ran into the main hall, invited three sticks of incense from inside, then handed it to the young man respectfully, and said with a smile: "Well, here are your three sticks of incense. Light it and worship." Then just insert it into the big incense burner in the courtyard!"
As the young Taoist priest Bai Sheng spoke, he pointed to the huge incense burner placed in the middle of the yard opposite the main hall. Then he nodded to the young man again, and said auspicious words with a smile on his face: " Dao Ancestor bless you, Infinite Heavenly Lord!"
When the young man started to offer incense as he said, the little Taoist priest turned his head and winked at the old Taoist priest who was sitting quietly at the door of the hall, as if to say: "Look, isn't this just another piece of incense?"
The old Taoist priest was a little amused, but also shook his head helplessly, and said nothing more.
After Chu Yuanxiao lit the incense and bowed, and then respectfully inserted the three pillars of incense into the incense burner, when he looked back, he found that the little Taoist priest named Bai Sheng was no longer in his original position. He looked around When I circled around, I found that the guy was carrying the broom that was taller than others, swaggering around the main hall and heading to the backyard, probably to sweep the courtyard floor of the Taoist temple's backyard.
The young man did not ask any more questions, but walked around the incense burner and walked to the old Taoist priest who was sitting still.
Before the young man could speak, the old Taoist priest smiled and said, "Coming?"
"Junior has met the Taoist priest."
The young man bent down and bowed to the old Taoist priest, then raised his head and looked at the direction where the young Taoist priest disappeared, and asked doubtfully: "Taoist priest, who was that Taoist priest just now?"
The old Taoist priest smiled when he heard this, "Your Mr. Cui must have told you, right? The four of us will probably go to the seaside city after that. Bai Sheng is here to take over my duties. From now on, this Taoist temple will be It’s up to him.”
Chu Yuanxiao nodded silently. He suddenly remembered that when he went to the rural school, he didn't seem to see a new teacher arriving. Since the old Taoist priest was leaving, someone would take over the Taoist temple. What about the rural school? Aren’t you going to teach young people in small towns to read in the future?
In addition, although his husband had explained certain things to him, he was still a little sad and aggrieved, but not just for his own husband.
The old Taoist master knew what the young man was thinking, so he explained with a smile: "This Beiling Temple belongs to the Taoist lineage, so after the old Taoist leaves, someone has to take over. Although he no longer needs to be a guard, there must always be someone to entertain the pilgrims. , is responsible for sweeping the courtyard, adding incense and candles, but it is different at the rural school. It was actually the courtyard jointly purchased by Scholar Chen and the Yanguan Office. Therefore, after Mr. Cui of your family left, Mrs. Chen Naturally, we will find a new gentleman to teach the young people in the town, and there will be no delay."
"As for the guilt," the old Taoist priest paused slightly and said with a smile: "The Yanguan Formation that has been passed down for thousands of years has been demolished like this. Naturally, someone has to give an explanation to Jiuzhou in the world. The four of us are the best." The person directly involved, so this result is the most logical and appropriate, and you cannot blame others."
Listening to the words "being torn down" by the old Taoist priest, the young man suddenly remembered the scene when the four spirits charged into the formation that night. In fact, strictly speaking, he was the one who tore down the formation. So he should also be punished.
But before the young man could say these words, the old Taoist priest smiled and waved his hand, "That's not how the matter was calculated. It was the most hopeless solution for the two groups to collide and die together in that night. Otherwise, there would be over a thousand people in Yanguan Town." Innocent people, as well as those of us who are practitioners here, will all die in Luofeng Mountain. You saved people's lives, and you have done a great job, and it is not your fault."
"But…"
The young man looked unhappy and wanted to speak again, but was interrupted by the old Taoist priest who smiled and waved his hand, "Although sometimes it seems that, like your Mr. Cui, Old Man Qin and Master Shi, and As a seasoned person like me, we all seem to be powerful in your eyes, but in fact we are not as important as you think."
The old Taoist priest raised his head, as if looking at the blue sky outside the Taoist temple, and said softly: "The future of Jiuzhou will ultimately fall on the shoulders of young people like you, so we old immortals can take advantage of the opportunity now. When there is still some use, and there are some burdens that need to be carried, it is natural that we should carry them first. Until the day we can no longer carry them, there will naturally be a time when they will be handed over to your hands and shoulders. So don’t be anxious, just work hard first, there will always be times when you are absolutely needed.”
Chu Yuanxiao listened to the old Taoist Priest's slow and thoughtful words, his heart was heavy and he was speechless. There were some things he understood and some things he didn't quite understand, but it didn't stop him from feeling sad from the bottom of his heart.
The old Taoist priest didn't say anything more about this matter. He could feel the sadness surrounding the young man, so he changed the subject with a smile, "Since you came from your husband's place, you should already know some things about me. Do you know why you came here?"
The young man calmed down after hearing this, then nodded respectfully and said: "Well, sir, you may have a way to repair the body here, and there are also some tasks for me."
The old Taoist priest nodded, with an inexplicable sense of reminiscence in his tone, "The repair of the physical body of a martial arts monk involves the fundamentals of the Tao, and is not a simple matter, so not everyone can do it. The opportunity is rare. When the old Taoist was young, he had some problems. I once went to Shijizhou and met an expert there. It was customary in the Jiuzhou rivers and lakes to call him Qingdi. He should have some ideas there, but of course he must first be willing. .”
Chu Yuanxiao heard from his teacher at the village school that the old Taoist priest had a unique thunder technique.
And on the night of the Spring Equinox, he temporarily served as the leader of the Yanguan Formation. Although strictly speaking he was just a bystander, he still witnessed the entire fighting process. The huge thunder pool that destroyed the world was especially fresh in his memory.
As a result, both his husband and the old Taoist priest now said that... Qing Emperor was very powerful. The young man suddenly became curious, how powerful is a powerful man with such a domineering name?
Hearing the young man's curious question, the old Taoist smiled and nodded, giving a rough explanation.
Since the war between heaven and earth ended and the human race monopolized the Nine Continents, among the twelve realms of human cultivation, those who can truly stand out among the others are at least in the upper three realms, that is, above the tenth realm.
However, this does not mean that they are all equally powerful after entering the same realm. Just like when Jiang Chang and Hou Junchen asked about boxing, they were both in the Martial Saint realm. In the end, nothing happened to one, and the other was in a pile of rocks. After lying down for many days and not getting up, the difference is obvious.
In all the nine continents in the world, except for the three founders of the three religions who exclusively occupy the three twelve realms, most of the remaining masters are in the ten and eleven realms, each with their own path. ,not exactly. Of course, there won't be too many such people, but after tens of thousands of years of accumulation, there will definitely not be too few.
As for the Qing Emperor mentioned earlier, there has always been a saying in the mountains and rivers that he, together with the other three people, is the candidate closest to the Twelve Realms besides the founders of the three religions, even better than the Confucian Sect and the Taoist Sect. The great leader and the second ancestor of Buddhism have to stand taller, so in recent thousands of years, there has been a saying of "three ancestors and four emperors" in the world. The Qing Emperor of Shijizhou is one of the four emperors. one.
"Dongfang Gua Zhen, the shock is thunder, the five elements belong to wood, and it is responsible for hair growth."
After the old Taoist priest explained who the Qing Emperor was, he suddenly recited a few words that the young man didn't quite understand. Then he smiled and said: "That man is good at thunder and is also the first person in the world to get the first copy of Mu Xing Qiyun." A monk, so whether your martial arts body can be repaired, he is the most suitable and safest person to go to. It just depends on whether you have the opportunity to win his favor and make him willing to help you?"
Listening to this somewhat overbearing explanation, the young man couldn't help but feel a little stunned and a little guilty. Would such a powerful person help him?
The old Taoist priest understood the young man's worry, but his face suddenly became a little weird, and he smiled and said: "It may not be as difficult as you think. That person... is also a wonderful person. You will understand when you see it."
Chu Yuanxiao didn't quite understand the reason why the old Taoist priest was so weird, but he didn't feel too embarrassed to ask. He just said: "Taoist priest, I wonder how this junior should find that senior?"
The old Taoist priest nodded when he heard this, then slowly raised his hand and handed the bamboo pole that had been used as a crutch to the young man's hand, and said: "This bamboo pole has been with the Taoist for many years, and now it is given to you as a parting gift. Mountain stick, when you arrive at Shijizhou, if you are destined to meet him, you will naturally meet him. When the time comes, you have to give him this bamboo stick. This is also the task that the old Taoist will give you on this trip."
Chu Yuanxiao heard the old Taoist priest suddenly mention the mission. He thought about it for a while and said hesitantly: "Taoist priest, this mission... what if I don't meet that senior?"
The old Taoist priest smiled and said, "Don't worry when you arrive at Shijizhou. Just take this bamboo stick and go east to the coast of the East China Sea. If he doesn't want to see you when you get to the beach, you don't have to wait any longer. Now, go back to China and give this bamboo stick to your master, Mr. Zhong, who is in the Confucian Temple. If the Qing Emperor is unwilling to help you, your master will help you find a way. "
As he spoke, the old Taoist priest's tone suddenly became a little weird again, and said: "The old Taoist heard a piece of gossip by chance before. Probably even your Mr. Cui didn't know about it. Someone once said that your master seemed to be related to that... Qingdi has been a drinking buddy for a long time, the kind who holds a drinking jar and talks nonsense together!"
"If he doesn't want to help you, let your master get him drunk!"
…
