After walking forward for a while, I saw a blacksmith shop. He was an old blacksmith with gray hair. He was bare-chested when he was forging iron. He was so thin that his ribs were clearly defined. He said he could repair horseshoes.
The old blacksmith checked the horse's hoof and said to him: "Your horse's hoof is almost finished."
"yes."
"Do you usually pull more or ride more?"
"I misunderstood. I'm not going to replace the horseshoes. I just ask you to take off the horseshoes that are almost finished."
"Can't you trust my craftsmanship?"
"Absolutely not!" Song You quickly handed over his hand, "It's just that we don't need horseshoes anymore..."
"No need? Do you need a horse?"
"almost."
"Hey..."
The old blacksmith uttered a series of incomprehensible modalities, as if he still felt that he could not trust his craftsmanship and was expressing dissatisfaction.
Song You was also helpless.
The horseshoes on the maroon horse's feet were still shod on the road from Nanhua County to Jingdao Lake Yunding Mountain. It has been nearly a year and a half now. On Yunding Mountain, he and Empress Sanhua spent a year in one night, and the bay horse actually stayed there for a whole year. As a result, its hoofs did not grow long, and it has not needed to be repaired until now.
This is undoubtedly very magical.
Being able to stop a horse's hoof from growing longer is definitely more than just stopping it from growing. You can stop it from growing, and you can make it grow faster.
Song You knew that this bay-red horse was already extraordinary and probably didn't need horseshoes - at least in terms of wearing out the horseshoes, it didn't need the help of horseshoes.
However, in addition to preventing wear and tear, horseshoes also have many functions such as protecting the horseshoes from cracking and slipping when carrying heavy objects. The horseshoes used by horses pulling carts and horses carrying people are different, so Song You did not immediately use them. of horseshoes. Along the way, I often walked on dirt paths in the mountains, and the bay-red horse was not heavily loaded. It was only now that the horseshoes were almost worn.
Don’t worry about shoeing and give it a try first, and save some money.
The old blacksmith moved very fluently. He removed the shoe from a horse's hoof in two or three strokes and helped to trim it along the way.
The horse's hooves were much harder than he thought, which made what should have been a pleasing process seem a bit laborious.
"It's so hard!"
"Thank you, husband."
"Where did you buy this horse?"
"A gift from a friend."
"Aren't you afraid of running away if you don't tie the rope?"
"Not afraid..."
This is also an old question, and everyone I meet has to ask it.
"Where did it come from?"
"Come from Yizhou."
"Where is Yizhou?"
"Going south from here is Pingzhou, then go down to Xuzhou, and west of Xuzhou is Yizhou."
"That's far enough."
"walk slowly."
"Where are you going?"
"I want to see the real mountains."
When Song You came here, he asked for directions: "I wonder how to get to Zhenshan from here?"
"Which real mountain? The one with many Taoist temples?"
"Exactly."
"Are you looking for the Taoist temple on Zhenshan Mountain?"
"yes."
"Which one should I seek refuge with?"
"No, I just heard that Zhenshan is also one of the famous Taoist mountains. There are clouds of Taoist temples on it, and there are many real Taoists who pass by here, so I want to visit it and see if it is true or not."
"Then you'd better not go..."
"How to say?"
Song You showed some interest.
The old blacksmith put down a horse's hoof, stood up and took a breath. It seemed that he was very tired. Then he straightened up and said to him: "There are only a lot of Taoist temples on Zhenshan Mountain. There are not many Taoist priests with real ability. And I heard that I have entered the mountain before." Heavy rains washed away the mountain in autumn, and it seems that it hasn't been repaired yet, making it very difficult to walk on the mountain."
Song You looked around at the road.
This is also an official road. Although it is a village, there are also blacksmith shops and thatch shops. They all point to this road for food, and they should be very well informed.
At this time, I heard the old blacksmith say: "We locals all know that the truly capable Taoist temple is not on Zhenshan Mountain. It is on the other side, called Fuyun Temple. When I was young, I also liked these. I have seen Fuyun Temple with my own eyes before. If the old temple owner has the ability to stir up clouds and spread rain, then he is like a god."
"How can we get to Fuyun Temple?"
"Are you from this way?"
"That's right."
"Where are you going to end up?"
"Angzhou."
"Follow forward. Forty miles away, there is a fork in the road. If you go to the right, you will get to Zhenshan Mountain. If you go to the left, you will get to Fuyun Temple. You don't have to go back either way. You can keep going forward."
"Thank you..."
Song You hesitated.
On one side is a famous Taoist mountain, on the other side is a small mountain view. On the one hand, it is famous far and wide, and on the other hand, it is famous locally. While it has a great reputation, some old people say they have seen the magic with their own eyes.
It doesn't seem difficult to choose.
After paying for the horse's hoof repair and thanking the old blacksmith, Song You led the horse forward.
I found a few people to ask for directions along the way, and at least I heard from both of them that although Zhenshan Mountain is famous and is known as one of the four famous Taoist mountains, there are also powerful Taoist priests who practice on it, but to say that the truly powerful ones are Counting among the floating cloud temples in the mountains and fields, the Taoist priests inside are like living gods, both capable and willing to help others.
Walk from morning to afternoon and cross the fork to the left.
In the middle of the afternoon, we stopped to rest on the side of the road.
We haven't seen the shadow of Fuyun Temple yet, but the weather is crisp and clear in autumn, and the sun is shining brightly, so Song You can't help but stretch.
There is a hillside next to it.
Song You looked around and walked up the hillside.
After taking a few steps, he stopped and turned around, and sure enough he saw the calico cat following him with small steps. Seeing him stop, the calico cat took a few steps, then stopped and looked up at him. One person and one cat looked at each other in confusion.
"Why don't you leave?"
"Miss Sanhua, don't follow me."
"where you go?"
"Just don't follow me."
"what are you going to do?"
"Miss Sanhua should go back and watch the horses."
"!"
As soon as he heard about the horse, the calico cat turned around and saw the horse standing alone on the roadside, feeling very lonely. He hesitated before walking back.
Song You went up the hill alone.
Looking back, I saw that the cat below was staying beside the horse and did not follow him. However, it stood upright and stretched its neck to stare at him.
"..."
Song You had to walk a little further, to a position where she couldn't see him, otherwise she would definitely have to follow him.
The stream flew straight down three thousand feet.
Just as the sound of water stopped, a voice shouted from behind:
"Where did the cat demon come from?"
Song You walked up to the top of the slope again and saw a middle-aged Taoist who came from nowhere on the road below, frowning and staring at Empress Sanhua.
The calico cat was walking up the hillside, tiptoeing. She planned to take a peek at what the Taoist priest was doing quietly, but suddenly another Taoist priest came, a stranger again. She had no intention of fighting with him, nor did she explain to him. Without even thinking about it, he immediately accelerated his speed and wanted to run up the hillside.
"Don't go!"
The Taoist saw that she was sneaky and guilty of being a thief, and was about to run away without answering. He was not willing to let her go so easily, so he waved his sleeves and robe, and a gentle breeze blew out, stirring up dust.
However, before the wind and sand hit the ground, I heard a sound:
"Wait a minute, sir!"
Song You was neither fast nor slow, blowing out in one breath, the wind and sand stopped.
Then he walked down the hillside.
The calico cat was not affected in any way and continued to run towards him, but it only ran halfway before it stopped again and looked back at the middle-aged Taoist, with curiosity and vigilance in its eyes.
It seems that he doesn't know what this person is doing.
The middle-aged Taoist also turned to look at Song You, and then at the cat, squinting his eyes with confusion.
Doubtful and a little embarrassed.
Song You walked towards him and cupped his hands: "Why are you making things difficult for my cat, fellow Taoist?"
"Did fellow Taoist bring this cat demon?"
"Exactly."
"I see, that's a misunderstanding." The Taoist also handed over to Song You, "I mean, this horse is parked on the roadside, why is there no one there, only a little goblin, sneaking around, asking questions but not answering , I thought I was doing something sneaky and harmful..."
Song You thought about it and understood what was going on——
No cat in the world can restrain its desire to watch people go to the toilet. Even if people don't let them see it, they will still go there secretly. This misunderstanding is interesting from another perspective.
"When I was traveling in the Xia Song Dynasty, I met a Taoist priest from a mountain village in Lingquan County, Yizhou."
"Meow meow~"
"Taoist Beishan, I have met fellow Taoist." Taoist Beishan glanced at the cat next to Song You again, "Why didn't you mark the kitten demon raised by fellow Taoist? If something goes wrong, the misunderstanding will be huge!"
"She is my companion."
"..." Taoist Beishan narrowed his eyes again, "Dare I ask which Taoist temple my friend is practicing in?"
"Yin Yang Mountain, Fulong Temple."
"No wonder..."
"How does the Taoist priest know?"
"Although the 'Leu Bu Feng' is just a poor Taoist who throws it out casually, there are probably not many Taoists in the world who can blow it to pieces with just one breath. Including Lingquan County in Yizhou, it is not called a poor man. Taoist, it is easy to think of the famous Fulong Temple." Beishan Taoist said, "Is this generation of descendants coming out again?"
"Dare I ask if the abbot is practicing in Fuyun Temple?"
"How do you know?"
"On the way here, I heard an old man say that there is a real master in Fuyun Temple. He likes to conquer demons and solve problems for people. His Taoism is profound and his methods are like those of gods. I came here to visit him."
"That's really fate."
"Destined."
"Please please please..."
After walking a short distance, I realized that this place was actually very close to Fuyun Temple.
Fuyun Temple is an orthodox Taoist temple, and unlike Fulong Temple, their willingness to subjugate demons may be higher. Monsters should not easily come to the road of the world, let alone run to the door of someone's house and look like they are planning to do something evil. It is no wonder that the first thing they do when they meet is to question them and not let them leave easily.
It's just that Empress Sanhua was wronged and frightened.
The two of them, one cat and one horse, walked toward the Taoist temple.
Fuyun Temple is built on a hill with green trees. As soon as you reach the mountain gate, there is a long stone step leading directly to the Taoist temple gate. The entire Taoist temple also reaches a higher level as you enter a courtyard. When you look up like this, it feels a bit elegant, like looking at a mountain.
"Fellow Daoist Song, please!"
"I don't know where you plan to go when you go out?"
"I planned to go to Pingzhou."
"Going to Pingzhou?"
"yes."
"That's quite a distance."
Song You was a little surprised.
He came from Pingzhou and walked slowly for nearly two months, but this man was holding his empty hands like this, looking like he was just walking around, but he didn't expect to go to Pingzhou.
"Hahaha, our Taoist temple is different from Fulong Temple. From here to Pingzhou, I know all the Taoist temples on the way. Even if I'm not familiar with them, they should have heard of my name Fuyun Temple. I only need a daily Just rush to a Taoist temple to rest, and you will have food and shelter of course." Beishan Taoist raised his head and laughed, and then said, "I heard someone say that someone in Pingzhou met an immortal on Yunding Mountain a few days ago. This time I heard that It’s not the same as before, so I wanted to see if there are really immortals, or if they are monsters from somewhere, pretending to be gods and ghosts, and delaying people for a year.”
"..."
"Where do fellow Taoists come from?"
"Coming from Pingzhou."
"It's destiny."
The Beishan Taoist walked to the Taoist temple, waved his hand, and the gate opened with a bang.
Song You stopped and took a look——
There is a plaque above the head with no writing.
The door couplets are written on both sides:
The world in the pot is close to the blue sky;
The cave is filled with haze during the day.
Stepping into the threshold, the ground inside is paved with bluestones, fallen leaves are not swept away, Taoists walk slowly, and the breeze is elegant and quiet.
An ancient tree in the middle is the finishing touch, but its pavilion should have covered the entire outer courtyard, but now it has lost its vitality due to poor care, and only the withered yellow branches are left against the sky, which is somewhat regrettable.
