Since the beginning of autumn, twilight has shifted to one side, and dark is getting earlier and earlier.
Jiang Wen, master and apprentice, carried the purchased goods and headed back to Dawang Peak together. As we walked, the sun on the horizon couldn't stop sinking. Finally, only the sunset was left hanging alone on the top of the mountain, peeking at it.
When we turned around the ford of Jiuqu River, the path was covered with dark trees on both sides. The bamboo shadows were swaying, accompanied by the rustling of the autumn wind. The empty mountain air spread into the valley and the road in front of us became increasingly blurry. .
Finally reaching the bottom of the mountain, Jiang Wen raised his head and took a look, but stopped at the foot of the majestic peak standing at the bottom of the sapphire sky.
"It's too late to go back to the mountain before dark. Let's go to Huixianguan to place orders today."
Jiang Wen snapped his fingers and walked out from the nearby Dawangfeng Rock Stairs, turning to another path at the foot of the mountain shaded by bamboo trees.
Fu Ningdie hurriedly drove away until she was out of breath. Suddenly she learned that she couldn't go home, so she looked at the mountain road and refused to go any further.
"Master, why don't you go back? Just climb another mountain and you'll be there. If you don't go up, I'll go up myself!"
Looking at Hong Wending again at this time, the child straightened his back in silence and slowly stopped: "Ningdie, don't be willful. When my father took me into Wuyi Mountain, I also heard the advice from Xingshang not to travel at night, let alone climb the mountain at night. .”
Jiang Wen nodded slightly and said to Wen Ding: "Hongshang may not have told you that even if you enter the county, you should not travel at night. When you were staying at Ma Dashan's house, did you find that the person who was doing the watch was not the watchman but singing Ksitigarbha? A Buddhist monk?"
In the secluded mountain road, no one left before and no one came after, as if the heaven and earth were locked heavily at the foot of the mountain. But every sentence spoken by the three people began to echo in the deep gorge, just like a voice calling in the depths of the forest...
Fu Ningdie shuddered. She was born in Gaodi and had never encountered such a scene.
Jiang Wen stopped and looked at Fu Ningdie with a particularly serious expression.
"Remember, never look back when walking on a mountain road at night."
"Because slowly, you will hear the tapping of the soles of your shoes. The sound is always half a beat behind you, as if something is following behind you."
"The faster you walk, the faster the sound follows you. When you start running, it will chase after you. When you stop out of breath and look back in fear, the sound suddenly disappears. "
"At this time, you look back and don't dare to blink, because you are worried that if you look away, the sound will quietly follow you. So you want to find a mountain road with a stone wall to lean against, waiting for pedestrians to pass by to take courage."
"But when you turned your twisted head, you realized that the thing following you was not behind you."
"It's already close to your face..."
When Fu Ningdie heard the last word, she suddenly screamed and threw herself at Jiang Wen. She was trembling with fear as she looked at the uninhabited mountain road, and then bit her master's leg.
"Ahhh! Why are you still biting!"
Jiang Wen picked up his apprentice with one hand and put it on his shoulder, grinning and touching his thigh, "If you were born in the year of dog, I would have to get rabies vaccine and tetanus shots!"
The mountain road was walked slowly, and the towering gate of Huixian Temple appeared at the end of the road.
Jiang Wen opened the side door of the Taoist temple with familiarity. Jiang Wen said hello to the little Taoist boy in the main hall, settled the two disciples, and went around to the alchemy room in the backyard.
…………
Pushing open the wooden door of the alchemy room, there was only one oil lamp burning in the room. I don't know if there was any debris in the oil or the wick was dirty. Silk stayed away for a long time.
The old Taoist priest sat cross-legged on the futon, his eyes seemed to be open and closed, his breathing was as light as a gossamer, and he was facing the huge Wuyi True Shape Picture in a state of deep tranquility.
"Ma'am, are you still looking at the map? Can you take a rest?"
Jiang Wen opened his mouth to interrupt without understanding the current affairs. Yuanhuazi's white beard trembled and his body moved violently. He opened his eyes and looked at Jiang Wen's eyes full of bloodshot eyes. There was nothing in his eyes, as if his soul had floated out of his body.
Just at this moment, a strange wind blew in outside the window, turning the pages of "The Book of Changes" on the table. The writing on the pages was twisted and twisted, as if many invisible things were flying out...
But in the blink of an eye, Jiang Wen found that he seemed to be hallucinating.
The old Taoist priest Yuan Huazi in front of him was looking at him with bright eyes. He had just woken up from the silence, and the manuscript on the table was still upside down.
"Jiang Wen, what are you doing here?"
"Today I divined a hexagram on a whim. I got six and three, and water and fire are both in harmony. That is to say, the deer is not in danger, but it only enters the forest. A gentleman would hardly leave it."
"Speak humanly!" the old Taoist priest said angrily.
"It's too late to go up the mountain. I'll place the order." Jiang Wen answered honestly.
Yuan Huazi said in a deep voice: "Without knowledge and skills, only those who are monks will hang out. Can you report to the Dharma sect, seniority, teacher, or can you recite sutras and recite mantras?"
Jiang Wen, who was ridiculed for a while, was not angry. He sniffed the air slightly and talked about another thing without thinking.
"Ma'am, there's such a strong fragrance in this room."
The alchemy room used to have a strong medicinal smell, and the alchemy was cooked day and night, but since the Wuyi True Shape Picture appeared in the room, the place suddenly became empty, like an empty study.
Today is even more strange. There is not only the sweet smell of osmanthus in the room, but also an unknown and strange aroma that lingers for a long time, permeating every crevice of the alchemy room.
"You can live wherever you want."
Yuan Huazi ignored Jiang Wen's escaping train of thought.
Jiang Wen nodded and said, "Thank you so much, Master. I am a man of the world, and I know the principle of not entering the jungle and leaving it alone. There are too many strange things in this mountain. It is better to have less than to do more."
Yuanhuazi held his strength high, sat cross-legged in an extremely upright position, and spoke slowly.
"Jiang Wen, do you know something in "Yiyuan"? Xu Xianzhi of the East China Sea was walking through the Wuyi Mountains when he saw a black dragon that was more than ten feet long. It had horns on its head, two front legs and no hind legs, and it was walking by dragging its tail. .”
Jiang Wen was stunned for a moment when he heard this topic.
"A real person is actually interested in talking?"
Yuan Huazi said calmly: "The people of Jin are elegant and fond of clear words, meanings and principles. They are very good at rhyme, sound and words, and they are often poor at breaking them. Gradually, they realize that empty talk is just flowery and beautiful, so they begin to look for bright principles. Yi Xi Things that happened, and I slowly memorized a lot of things that were quite shocking, and I couldn’t understand them at all.”
"It's not a good habit to talk about mysteries. I don't know what Xu Xianzhi saw in the mountains, but there must be something weird about it."
Jiang Wen kept silent and said, "Not only that, there are weird people who encounter this thing, weird people who talk about it, and even more weird people who talk about it!"
Yuan Huazi still didn't get up, and the oil lamp also crackled slightly. The old and the young just stared at each other until Jiang Wen shook his head and walked out.
As the uninvited guests exited the alchemy room, the hut fell into emptiness again. The paintings remained the same, the fragrance remained the same, and the people remained the same.
"Immortal Master Bai Yuchan once said that the secret of immortality lies among the Wuyi peaks and the nine winding circles, where good fortune and misfortune lie..."
Hearing the muttering behind him, Jiang Wen sighed. Monks seek enlightenment, Taoists seek immortality, but what can knights pursue? Is it peerless martial arts? To make a name for yourself? Or is it a happy world?
For me, it is probably the slim chance of returning home.
