But Mrs. Ruan couldn't help but feel sad when facing Ling Yun's sincere face; at this moment, she suddenly wanted to tell the shocking secret from twenty years ago. However, when the words reached her lips, she swallowed them back.
She thought to herself: No, I can't say it! So, she sighed and said: "It's nothing, you...go back and rest. You can go look for that snow lotus tomorrow."
Ling Yun felt confused when he saw his mother's words flickering and her temper becoming erratic and impetuous, but he did not dare to say anything. He was afraid of arousing his mother's moody and nameless karma again.
The next day, before daybreak, Ling Yun finished his breakfast, put on a tight-fitting white hero's cloak with sleeves and a scarf, a silver cape, and went out with a long sword on his shoulder.
He had already asked the store owner in advance to find out the way to Qingyun Temple, so although this trip was not a familiar one, it was still very relaxed and carefree.
Along the way, we can see the long veins of dragons, vast terrain, tall peaks, gurgling water, rugged roadsides covered with grass, exotic flowers and brocade, and green pines blocking out the sun.
There is a fork in the road ahead. As the store owner said, this road forks into seven paths. Looking down from here, it looks like a "meter".
On the grassy ground beside the fork in the road, there was a young man wearing a green robe, sitting cross-legged and meditating, with his eyes slightly closed. Until Ling Yun walked up to him, he acted as if he hadn't heard anything and was indifferent, with the attitude of "not surprised before the collapse of Mount Tai".
This aroused Ling Yun's interest. He stopped in front of the young Taoist priest and said, "Master, please excuse me."
The young Taoist priest didn't even raise his eyelids.
Ling Yun didn't mind and asked again: "Master, how can I get to Qingyun Temple?"
The young Taoist priest still ignored him.
Ling Yun said: "Let me tell you, it seems that this person is either deaf or mute."
Before he finished speaking, the young Taoist priest had already opened his eyes and said, "You are the one!"
Ling Yun smiled, "Why are you talking now?"
The young Taoist priest closed his eyes again and said, "When I am practicing, I don't want anyone to disturb me."
"Practice? It doesn't seem appropriate to practice at this busy intersection. It's more like waiting for people."
The eyelashes on the young Taoist priest's eyes seemed to flutter, and he turned around.
When Ling Yun saw this, he stopped disturbing him and followed the store owner's instructions, walking towards the road leading to Qingyun Temple.
The road was long enough. When he looked at Guanmen, it was already past Chen hour and close to Si hour.
Looking from a distance, the blue bricks make up the colorful cloud wall, and the green tiles make up the glazed hall. Green pines stand in front of the gate, and fragrant mist and purple mist float out from the atrium from time to time.
Ling Yun stepped up the white jade steps and knocked on the door knocker. After a while, a Taoist priest in green clothes came out. His attire was the same as that of the young Taoist priest he met at the fork in the road. This made Ling Yun's heart move.
The little Taoist priest said: "Immeasurable Heavenly Lord, why is the donor here?"
Ling Yun returned the courtesy and said, "May I ask what your name is, Master?"
The young Taoist priest said: "I am a poor Taoist with a clear mind."
"Then the young master who was meditating at the fork in the road just now is the junior brother of Master Xintong, right?"
Heart channel: "The donor is talking about the soul, hey! He's not practicing. He's never been there before. I don't know why he suddenly had a whim today..."
He suddenly realized that he had lost his words, so he stopped and asked, "Why did the donor come here?"
Ling Yun secretly smiled: This little master is quite clever. He said, "I am here to visit Taoist Priest Yuan Zhen this time."
Heart channel: "What a coincidence. Master went to the Immortal Bathing Pond yesterday and has not returned yet."
Ling Yun was disappointed for a while. He was originally worried that Taoist Priest Yuan Zhen would not return, but in fact that was the case. He had to ask: "Then when will he come back?"
Heart channel: "Master told me before I left. If there are no other changes, I will probably be able to return at dinner time today."
Ling Yun thanked the little Taoist priest, left Qingyun Temple, and walked back listlessly.
Looking up at the sky, it was already close to noon. He was thinking in his mind: If he returned to the inn, it would be past noon. And according to what Xintong said, if Taoist Priest Yuan Zhen came back at dinner time, he would go back and catch up again. Come on, aren't you wasting all your time on the road? And he was exhausted. It's better to find a place to wait for a while, and then go to Qingyun Temple to explore.
Having made up his mind, he pointed his toes to the ground, flew up the high slope, and looked up. By coincidence, he saw a corner of the roof of the small house exposed among the vegetation.
He secretly rejoiced: God is really helping me! Then he jumped down and walked towards the hut.
After walking through the dense woods, when we got close to the cabin, we discovered that the cabin was a long-abandoned hunter's residence.
The steps on the terrace are green and furry, and the house is overgrown with weeds, gray spider silk, and in a mess. A rusty waste bow and a broken iron pot were abandoned in the weeds.
Most of the original joy disappeared. He originally hoped that there would be a warm and kind family to greet him here. But now that things have come to this, we can only accept the situation as it comes.
He straightened the old things, took off his gown, spread it on the ground, put the fish-green sword on the ground, and sat on it.
After resting for a while, he felt hungry. He had no intention of spending the day in this poor place, so he brought nothing with him except a sword.
Of course, Ling Yun didn't intend to fast here for a day, so he got up and touched his body. Fortunately, he had two sleeve arrows. This alone can easily catch two game animals.
He left his sword and gown in the room, closed the broken door that could no longer be called a door, and came out.
After walking a few steps, my feet suddenly moved, and a hare jumped out and ran away. Ling Yun chuckled, shook his hand and shot an arrow, hitting the rabbit's throat.
After hunting a hare, he wanted to pick some flowers and fruits to use as water to quench his thirst. So, he wandered among the woods and came to the eight-way intersection again, only to see the young Taoist priest still sitting there.
He clearly remembered the name of this young Taoist priest that Xintong told him: soul.
The spiritual Taoist priest heard the movement, opened his eyes and glanced at him, then closed his eyes again.
Ling Yun said: "I know you don't want anyone to disturb you when you are practicing, and I don't want to bring trouble to myself."
Soul said coldly: "Then why are you so nagging?"
Ling Yun said: "If I find that you are in extreme danger - for example, when a snake is grinning at you above your head, do you think I should bother you again?"
When the soul was startled, Ling Yun had already shaken his hand, and a sleeve arrow flew out like a white drill. With a "Crack!", the four-eyed snake on the tree trunk above the soul was nailed to the trunk!
He stood up in his mind and turned around, only to see the sleeve arrow nailing the poisonous snake's open mouth impartially. He couldn't help but be surprised: what a good technique.
His pale face gradually recovered, and he sighed and said, "Thank you."
Ling Yun smiled lightly and said: "No need!"
"May I ask what your name is?"
Ling Yun said: "It's time for me to ask Master for his Taoist title first."
The indifferent face of the soul became even more gloomy, and he said coldly: "I'm sorry to tell you."
Ling Yun said: "Actually, even if you didn't tell me, I already know the master's Taoist name - do you think so, spiritual master?"
The soul was surprised: "How...how did you know? Who are you?"
Ling Yun said: "I'm sorry to tell you." But he was secretly laughing in his heart: His test just now really worked. This little Taoist priest is indeed called the soul.
Feeling even more angry, he turned around and sat on the ground again, closing his eyes and ignoring Ling Yun.
Seeing this, Ling Yun knew that it would be useless to talk any more, so he turned around and walked back with the prey in hand. But in his heart, he was thinking about the life experience of this young Taoist priest.
This young man looks to be only twenty-four or five years old. It is the time when "young people don't know the feeling of sorrow". Why is he so cold and inhumane? Come to think of it, there must be an unknown and sad story in it.
Ling Yun picked some peaches and plums from the fruit trees and returned home with a full load. When he returned to the hut, he felt something strange. He pushed the door, but it was probably holding on from the inside and couldn't be pushed open.
Could it be that someone came here again when he left?
He thought that he was out for such a short time, how could it be such a coincidence that someone would take advantage of every opportunity to come here? So I put the sword and clothes inside.
So he shouted inside: "Hey, which friend is inside? Can you please open the door?"
No one responded inside.
He shouted a few more times, but still no movement.
He felt strange, and the young man's temper made him impatient, "Hey, there's something inside me! If you don't open the door, I'm going to break in!"
Still no response.
Ling Yun then thought about it: Could it be that there was no one inside at all and I was scaring myself? Just why is the door pushed up from the inside?
He couldn't hold it in any longer, so he raised his leg and kicked the door open.
There was a cry from inside. Then there was a flash of cold light in front of him, and a sword struck him in the face!
Ling Yun was so skillful. With quick eyes and quick hands, he ducked out of the way and snatched away the sword that was attacking him.
The person who attacked was shocked and took a few steps back, almost falling down. Another woman hurriedly supported her and said in a trembling voice: "Xiangluo!..."
Ling Yun was stunned for a moment. Standing in front of them were two frail and pitiful beautiful women.
Judging by their attire, one is probably a young lady and the other is a girl.
Both were disheveled and had unkempt hair.
Especially that young lady, because she went to help the girl, her windbreaker slipped off, revealing the only red undershirt and lantern-leg pants she was wearing underneath; her arm was even scratched by a branch, revealing her snow-white skin.
Seeing that the other party was looking at her intently, the lady was ashamed and angry. She hurriedly grabbed the windbreaker, wrapped it tightly around her body, and said in a trembling voice: "You...you..."
It was Ling Yun who spoke first, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" He took a step forward.
This time, the master and servant became even more panicked.
The young lady panicked and said, "You... don't come here! If you come one step closer, I... I'll die right away!"
Ling Yun smiled and said, "Miss, the sword is in my hand, how can you die?" As he said that, he glanced at the fish-blue sword that he had just taken back from the girl named Xiang Luo.
When the young lady saw this, she became even more frightened. She took two steps back, grabbed the broken bow on the ground, and said in a trembling voice: "I...I can..." Before she could finish her words, she burst into tears.
Ling Yun saw that this joke should not be taken too far, so he said seriously: "Miss, don't get me wrong, I'm not a bad person. I just went into the mountains to look for medicine, and I'm looking for a place here temporarily. I just went out to catch some game and the lady happened to be here, so... ..." He bent down to get the clothes on the floor.
But the young lady's master and servant suddenly hid in the corner in panic and said: "What...are you going to do?"
Ling Yun said: "I'll take my clothes, okay!" As he said that, he picked up the gown.
The young lady said timidly: "Well, your things...are gone. Then you can leave, right?..."
"Let's go?" Ling Yun looked at the scorching sun outside, which was already at its zenith, and said, "Miss, this isn't fair! It's such a hot day for me to go out and dry fish! Besides, everything should be done as it should There’s a first-come-first-served basis, I was the one who came first, and if you want to leave, you should be the one to leave!”
"This..." The lady had no choice but to say to Xiang Luo: "Okay, Xiang Luo, let's go!"
"Miss—" Xiang Luo looked reluctant. It's midsummer, and the sun is high in the sky. Who would want to go out to eat and sleep in the wild mountains.
Seeing that the master and servant were on guard and frightened, Ling Yun could not say anything more.
He said: "Forget it, I think I'd better go!" After saying that, he turned around, put away his sword, and walked out carrying the hare, peaches and plums.
Xiangluo suddenly said: "Hey——"
Ling Yun was startled, "What's wrong?"
Xiang Luo said: "Your plum fell..."
Ling Yun lowered his head and saw that there were indeed a few red plums scattered on the ground.
"Oh, just these few, no more." Ling Yun glanced at the two of them and said, "It looks like you are hungry too, right?"
Xiang Luo said: "Yes...ah, no!..." The young lady pulled her, causing her to lose her mind.
Ling Yun smiled and said, "Then I'll leave these peaches, plums, etc. to you."
Xiang Luo said excitedly: "Thank you!...Ah no, no need..."
Seeing the alert look on the young lady's face, Ling Yun said, "Don't worry, I don't mean any harm. I've put the things here, you can take them or not."
After saying that, he put the peaches and plums on the ground, put on his long gown, took the hare and the long sword and went out.
It wasn't until they saw Ling Yun's figure disappearing into the vast jungle that the master and servant heaved a sigh of relief.
The lady complained: "Xiangluo, you are too casual. How can we ask for these things?"
Xiangluo said: "Miss, why can't we have more? We have been hungry all day and night from yesterday afternoon until now. If we don't eat something, I will faint from hunger! Besides, I'm looking at these peaches and plums. It’s so whole and fresh, there won’t be any tampering with it, just feel free to eat it!”
As she said this, she had already snatched a peach and ate it with relish. While eating, he said: "Even if it is really poisonous, I will eat it. I won't starve to death!"
Seeing the young lady staring at her blankly, she said, "Miss, hurry up and eat! Why are you still standing there?"
The young lady then picked up a peach and started eating it. She sighed faintly and said: "You are right, we have already died once anyway!"
It turns out that this young lady is the missing Ding Mengxuan who was being searched for by people from the Ding and He families; the other woman is her maid Xiangluo.
