Ten minutes later, Tao You came out of the Buddhist hall and stood under the eaves covered with wet footprints, looking up at the increasingly gloomy sky. Continuous raindrops gathered on the roof and fell vertically along the sloping eaves, forming a raindrop in front of the stone steps. With the natural rain curtain, transparent bubbles appeared on the ground. The gray slate floor outside the eaves became wet, and the color became one degree darker.
Against the background of the rain, Jingling Temple has a hazy gauze filter, coupled with the constant sound of wooden fish from the temple, it is ethereal and distant. Even the rain, which is annoying most of the time, seems to be the finishing touch to this beautiful atmosphere at this moment.
There is an endless stream of pilgrims holding umbrellas or wearing raincoats. They seem to be infected by the whole environment. Their steps are much clearer. They enter the Buddhist hall quietly and orderly, burn incense, worship Buddha and make wishes.
As if sensing something, Tao You turned his head and looked under the tree. At a glance, he saw among the people standing a strange old man sitting on the ground in the same posture. He was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, meditating with one hand on the other. Slowly stroking the black prayer beads, no matter how many noises the people around him made, he seemed to be unable to hear them and isolated from the world. The word "profound" was written all over his body.
Perhaps it was because the evergreen tree grew so well that it was still lush and leafy in winter. The shade of the tree did not get wet at all, except for the occasional few raindrops blown in by the wind. There were many people standing there to take shelter from the rain, but no one paid much attention to the strange old man standing beside them.
——The old man is still there.
Tao You waved two brand-new Ping'an blessings in his hands and walked back without thinking too much.
Just after taking a few steps, he was stopped by the strange old man. He pointed at the two peace blessings on Tao You's hand and said in a high-pitched voice, "Girl! If you want this free peace blessing, why don't you ask me for help?" It’s reliable, safe and free, so my level is much higher.”
Tao You stopped, rolled his eyes silently, and stuffed Ping An Fu into his backpack. In the Buddhist hall just now, she saw many people after praying, they went to the master sitting in the corner wearing monk's clothes to ask for this blessing of peace. She heard that it was free, so she went to get two. Anyway, they were both from Jingling Temple. What is the difference between free and paid content?
——What does it have to do with you? Just mind your own business.
Tao You didn't like this strange old man at all, so he subconsciously squatted with him on the bridge every day, holding up a flag, telling fortunes to deceive people, wearing sunglasses and pretending to be blind, and making up a lot of good news just by touching the lines on his hands. Liars of bad things fall into one category. This strange old man said it was free, and he might ask her to buy this or that in a while, saying something to solve the problem.
Tao You has seen a lot of tricks like this. If she were a few years younger, she might have easily believed what he said, but unfortunately she had been deceived before, so she couldn't be in the same trap again. Fall twice.
Tao You didn't reply, just pretended not to hear, and continued walking forward. The strange old man became anxious and circled a long string of Buddhist beads around his hand several times. He got up and ran under the eaves quickly, grabbing her a few steps in front of Tao You. When he stopped, his pace was too nimble for his age.
Tao You grimaced and looked at this strange old man up and down angrily, becoming even more convinced that he was a liar.
The strange old man brushed off the raindrops on his clothes, and his face was dark and stained with a lot of dust. A pair of black and white, clear eyes looked at Tao You's face for a long time, and he briefly touched his thin beard. He lowered his lips and shook his head.
Tao You was stunned by his overly probing eyes and took a few steps back involuntarily, "What are you doing?"
"Hey, little girl, I see your face," the strange old man continued stroking his beard, "it might not go well for a while."
——It’s strange that the old man said something unlucky! Whether things go smoothly or not doesn't depend on how I understand it. As long as I have a good attitude, I can make things go smoothly no matter how unfavorable they are.
"Well, I have..." the strange old man said and felt in his pocket.
Tao You quickly waved his hand and said, "Hey, I told you, I don't want to buy anything."
The strange old man took out another string of agate-red beads from his pocket. There was an oval-shaped bead in the middle that was particularly large, and something seemed to be stuffed inside. The other beads were much smaller than the one in his hand. He handed it to Tao You, "If you take this, it will definitely keep you safer than that free peace blessing." He pointed to Tao You's backpack.
Tao You looked at the beads on the strange old man's wrinkled hands warily, and put his hands behind his back. This bead wouldn't be cheap at first glance. If she took it, the old man would start asking her for money.
The strange old man grinned when he saw Tao You's defensive look. The wrinkles on his face were all piled together. Looking at it this way, it matched his weathered voice. "Don't worry, I said it's free, I won't take your money, just take it."
——Really free? Is this strange old man mentally okay? If this is really as good as he said, many people should be rushing to get it. Moreover, how does she know whether this bead can keep her safe? If something happens later, can she attribute the cause to this bead.
"I don't want it, just take it back." Tao You continued to shake his head in refusal.
"Hey, you girl..." The strange old man laughed angrily at Tao You's success.
"Little benefactor?" Behind him, the voice of little master Zhixin appeared, rescuing Tao You from the predicament.
He was holding a simple beige oil-paper umbrella, and held an extra one in his other hand. Seeing Tao You's empty hands, he turned to look at the rain outside, realized something, and said, "You didn't bring an umbrella, did you?" jj.br>
Without waiting for Tao You to answer, he closed the umbrella in his hand and handed the other unopened one to Tao You, "Here, take it and use it."
"No need." Tao You turned around and said, "I'll just wait until the rain stops before leaving."
Little Master Zhixin insisted, "Take it, I made it myself. I have plenty of baubles."
——This...oil-paper umbrella is an intangible cultural heritage. I didn't expect him to have such skills.
Tao You took the umbrella and looked carefully from the umbrella head to the handle. The umbrella supports and handles were made of bamboo and wood. The handles were polished very smooth and did not irritate your hands at all. Silk threads were used between the umbrella supports. Connected, there will be no lag when opening the umbrella. You can see the patience and craftsmanship of the maker, "Thank you, I will return it to you next time I have a chance to come over. This umbrella is very beautiful, you are awesome." She doesn't often say compliments casually.
When Tao You was traveling with Tao's father and Tao's mother when she was a child, she bought a similar oil-paper umbrella at a scenic spot, but it was not as fine and strong as this one. For a while, she couldn't put it down, but she still remembered the principle of borrowing and returning. of.
Little Master Zhixin was so embarrassed by the praise that he touched his head again and said humbly, "I don't have any hobbies in my spare time. I just do handicrafts. There are a lot of bamboos around. I even went to learn this before. As for the craftsmanship, it’s still very rough and can’t be compared to those masters.”
——This head is really smooth. It seems to be easy to touch. I don’t know how it feels.
Tao You stared at Master Zhixin's hand that was constantly stroking his scalp. His attention was successfully diverted, and he even felt a little itchy.
"Also, I can't learn how to draw, and it's still far from the ones sold outside with prints on them. If you don't mind, I'll give you this umbrella." It's usually used by the brothers in the temple. Most of the umbrellas were made by himself, but he rarely heard people praise the beautiful umbrellas he made in person. This was the first time he heard someone agree with his craftsmanship, and he immediately decided to give the umbrella to Tao You.
Tao You came back to her senses, "Really?! Thank you!" Her face was full of surprise, she put away the umbrella and carefully held it against her chest, "Then you are busy, I will leave now, see you later."
She turned around with a smile and saw the weird old man walking up to her half a meter away from her. Tao You's smile froze on his face, and his pupils were dilated due to fright. She silently stepped back and distanced herself.
"Hehe," the weird old man smiled again, but this time he took a step to the side without stopping Tao You, and finally said, "You and that boy will definitely get into trouble with each other, think about it carefully." After saying that, he smiled and waved, "Goodbye."
——Nonsense, why is this weird old man blocking fate? His spirit is fine, right?
The figure of Song Yimian suddenly appeared in Tao You's mind. She subconsciously didn't want to believe what this weird old man said, so she frowned angrily. She didn't even want to give him a fake smile, so she turned around and left in a hurry.
"Master Tongyuan?" After Tao You left, young master Zhixin looked at the strange old man carefully and shouted hesitantly.
The strange old man turned around and glanced at the little master Zhixin, and responded lightly, without the playful look just now.
Little Master Zhixin was speechless. He couldn't believe that the strange old man in front of him, who smelled strangely and was dressed in tatters, was his Uncle Tongyuan who traveled a few years ago and had no news about him so far. No wonder no one came forward to look for him. He struck up a conversation. In the past, one-third of the pilgrims who came to the mountain came to him to solve their doubts, the other one-third came to see their master, and the other third just came to the mountain to worship and seek peace.
"Uncle, why have you changed like this?" Little Master Zhixin cried with distress, and the corners of his mouth turned down, "You didn't even notify us when you came back."
The strange old man waved his hand at him in disgust, "Hey, come on, come on, why have you made no progress in the past few years? What do you look like crying! I'm not sick or disabled, I'm in good health! Smile!"
Little Master Zhixin obeyed and showed a smile that was uglier than crying. He followed the strange old man and walked to another Buddhist hall. "Uncle, I have always cleaned your room. It is very clean. My master also does it every day." He will be out of seclusion in two days because he is talking about you, and he will be very happy to see you back." He couldn't stop talking when he was so excited.
"Uncle Master, the bead you stuffed into the little donor's bag just now, if I read correctly, is the one you have been offering, right? Why did you give it to the little donor, and there was also... "
The strange old man suddenly stopped. Little Master Zhixin stopped in time a few centimeters behind the strange old man, and his chest almost hit the strange old man's head. He lowered his head and looked at the strange old man doubtfully.
The strange old man turned his head and looked towards the deserted hillside with complicated eyes. Behind his hands, his expression became a little sad, and he said in a low voice, "If you meet someone you're destined for, I'll give it to you."
The strange old man said this, and little master Zhixin no longer had any doubts. However, he was infected by the strange old man's expression and inexplicably became a little depressed.
"Hey," the strange old man changed his tone, "Do you have Nimue on your phone?" He asked very easily, as if the lost old man a second ago was not him.
Little Master Zhixin turned around in time, calmed down, nodded and said, "Yes."
"Go back and get your phone and play a few games for me." The strange old man stretched his body, turned his head and smelled his clothes, then lowered his lips and said in disgust, "It stinks, and my hair has been gone for almost half a month. After washing, you put some water for me, I want to take a bath and have a good rest."
Little Master Zhixin hurriedly followed and said reluctantly, "Uncle, can't you buy a mobile phone yourself? You always play games with my account, and every time it takes me a long time to get back to the original rank. I also got scolded for being a lousy player. Besides, this game is very difficult and requires a lot of brainpower."
"Tsk," the strange old man stroked his beard and felt a sore spot. He turned around and wanted to give Master Zhixin a shudder. He found that he had just reached his chest. He stood on tiptoes awkwardly and stretched out his hand. I found it was still a little bit worse.
When the little master Zhixin saw this, although his face still showed grievance, he still obediently bent down and took the initiative to extend his green scalp to the strange old man.
The strange old man was not polite and gave him a violent shudder. He put his hands on his hips and said unconvincedly, "Who can't use their brains?! Do you dislike your uncle so much?! In the past few years since I have been out, my game level has been very good." You're making progress! You'll see, give me two hours and I'll help you advance to forty levels!" He gestured with his hands, full of confidence.
"Let's practice and see, Xiaoxiaole? Or is there any other single-player option?" Little Master Zhixin muttered in a low voice, and was glared back by the strange old man.
Little Master Zhixin rubbed his head, not having high expectations for the strange old man's game level. He laughed a few times at the strange old man's bragging, "Uncle, I'll get it for you in a minute." Although he still didn't Reluctantly, he still took the mobile phone from his room to the strange old man, and sighed in his heart. He didn't know how many nights he would have to stay up secretly before he could get his level back.
————————————————————————————
Here, Tao You had just walked down the hillside with an umbrella back to the Buddhist hall at the front. He wanted to go in and wish Grandma Tang a safe blessing, when he met Xie Yu who was also holding an umbrella.
"Hey, you have an umbrella. I was looking for you. I thought you had left." Xie Yu gestured to the other umbrella in his hand, then looked in the direction Tao You came from, and said jokingly, "Went to Yue Lao's place again?" She had already guessed something.
Tao You lowered his head in shock and said, "Master Zhixin gave me the umbrella. I'm going to give it to my grandma to wish her peace."
"Okay, since you have an umbrella, I'll leave now. See you later." Xie Yu raised the corner of his mouth, ready to go back and share the latest information with Hong Xiqi, who was in the middle of the conversation.
Five minutes later, Tao You came out of the Buddhist hall and put down her schoolbag to put the Ping An Blessing in. Only then did she realize that there was a string of red beads in the mesh bag on the side of the schoolbag, which was exactly the one that the weird old man wanted to give to her just now. .
——You said you didn’t want it, so why did you give it to me?
Tao You frowned, hesitating whether to return it, but she didn't know if the strange old man was still there, or whether he could return it successfully.
——Forget it, it’s of no use anyway, just go back and stuff it in the drawer.
She made up her mind in a second, stuffed Ping An Fu into her schoolbag, turned back and took one last look at the Jing Ling Temple washed clean by the heavy rain, then turned and walked down the mountain.
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Chapter 161 The Strange Old Man is free to read.
