The first day of the Lunar New Year is the time when Hansu worships the gods.
It turns out that Hezhou produces grain and has a prosperous population. Hansu is also considered a large county, and it is adjacent to Heyuan. There are at least 200,000 people there.
I heard that there are 20,000 to 30,000 people in the city alone.
But then there were military disasters and demons again, and many people died. However, just like this, people knew that demons were scary, so after the Snow Temple was built, every first day of the Lunar New Year and the sixth day of June, almost all Hansu people who could still walk around would come to the temple on the edge of the snowfield to worship. Many people even carried baskets on their backs and carried loads filled with incense, and worshiped next to each other, not missing any temple.
At that time, the temple was really full of smoke, and pilgrims gathered together on the edge of the snowfield. Sometimes there would be a long queue at the entrance of the snow temple.
County towns have become empty cities, and rural areas have become empty villages.
The newly appointed county magistrates were all shocked when they met him.
The drought in Hezhou in the past two years has not stopped people from coming here to offer incense. However, after the great epidemic, it must not be possible. Many people died, and Hansu City still sealed the city and strictly controlled entry and exit.
It's just that the city was sealed off, but the countryside was not.
There are still sparse black spots between the sky and the earth, wrapped in thick clothes, covering their mouths and noses, and coming in the wind and snow.
The nearest inhabited village to the border of the snowfield and the temple where the Taoist stayed overnight was about twenty miles away. The woman set out at dawn, taking the children with her and carrying the scent of grass on her back, and walked for more than an hour to reach the snow temple.
The snow was too thick and the wind was too strong.
The woman carries a basket on her back against the wind, and the child is weak since he was a child. One foot is deep and the other is shallow. Occasionally, the wind has to blow him a little to the side of the road.
I don’t know if it’s because of the gods, but when she got closer, the wind and snow here became weaker.
"mother."
"talk less."
"Why are there so few people this year?"
"There is a plague this year."
"Are they all dead?"
"..."
The woman did not answer this, but said: "It is better if there are fewer people, so as not to get sick."
"Muramasa said that after eating the sacred water sent by the land mother-in-law, we will no longer get sick."
"Still be careful."
"The snow is so deep here!"
"talk less."
"Why do we come here to worship God? Why not worship the land mother-in-law?"
"Tell you to stop talking."
"Why?"
"Because there are monsters here, who want to eat people and spread diseases. It is precisely because there are gods in the sky and a temple for the gods has been built here that the monsters dare not come out. We come here to burn incense so that the gods can protect us. Being eaten by the monster inside will help you get better from this disease quickly." The woman gasped and said, "When we go back, we can worship the land mother-in-law."
"Monster? Where is it?"
"Behind these temples, in the snow, inside."
"What does the immortal look like?"
"Just like in Chang's Temple."
"Mom, have you ever seen a fairy?"
"I don't know if I've seen it before, but sometimes gods will turn into humans, and you can't recognize them when you see them."
"What if someone goes into the snow?"
"Will be eaten by monsters..."
The woman replied patiently while panting, not forgetting her vigilant warning: "You must not go in there..."
But she didn't notice that the child next to her stared ahead with a pair of dark eyes.
In the direction he was looking, there was a Taoist priest, holding a bamboo stick and walking alone into the snowy sky. The footprints extend from the entrance of the temple to the snowfield behind the temple.
Until the child reaches out and points in that direction:
"Is that a fairy?"
The woman then looked in the direction he pointed.
The wind and snow were so heavy that I could hardly see clearly.
The woman couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
"Is that a fairy?"
The child asked again with his eyes wide open.
"have no idea……"
"Is that a monster?"
"I don't know! Leave it alone! Stop talking!"
"oh……"
The child still couldn't help but stare in that direction.
The figure walked further and further away, gradually blurred by the wind and snow. Perhaps adults could no longer see clearly, but children often have brighter eyes and can still see clearly and are reluctant to blink.
I don’t know if he is a god or not.
I don’t know if it’s a monster.
I'm afraid he will remember it for many years.
Hearing his mother's tug on his hand, the child silently quickened his pace and followed his mother into the small temple in front.
This is Hansu’s tradition of worshiping gods.
The plague is also unstoppable.
How long is this tradition?
It has only been more than ten years since Heyuan was occupied by the big demon.
But don’t underestimate the past ten years. Even for people who are in their prime, these past ten years have been most of their lives since they can remember it. For young people, this has been true since childhood.
There is not much difference between how it has been since childhood and how it has been since ancient times.
Maybe one day when the demons in Heyuan are eliminated, there will still be people who follow the tradition and come here to worship the gods. Every year on the first day of the Lunar New Year and the sixth day of June, this continuous line of snow temples will still be full of incense. If you are lucky, it may continue to be passed down to thousands of years later.
I just don’t know what future generations thought.
…
A swallow shuttles through the clouds at high speed. Sometimes it rushes into the clouds and fights against the rain and fog. Sometimes it penetrates through the clouds and soars between the windy and snowy sky and earth, free and strong.
The land is covered with snow, flat and vast.
There shouldn't be any swallows at this time of year.
This world seems to have a pair of eyes, watching the swallow, and the swallow is also watching this world with its own eyes.
Flap your wings and fly into the clouds.
He turned around and shot straight down like an arrow.
The cold wind, ice and snow are all around me.
Until flying to the edge of the snowfield.
There was a Taoist priest sitting cross-legged on the snow, covered with snow from the wind.
"brush!"
The swallow crashed into the Taoist and disappeared.
The cold wind doesn't stop and the sobbing doesn't stop.
The snow is really heavier than goose feathers.
The Taoist opened his eyes, stood up, and then, holding his bamboo stick, without saying a word, he headed north to the center of the snowfield.
After walking ten miles, the snow reached to my knees.
Twenty miles out, the snow reached my thighs.
After walking for thirty miles, there is no trace left in the snow.
The world gradually turned white, and I couldn't tell the boundary between sky and earth, and I didn't know whether I was walking on snow or clouds.
Still walking and watching.
I heard that the demons here are the spirits of the swamps with a radius of hundreds of miles. They became demons due to the blood, bones and resentful souls. Later, they turned the plains into snowfields. I thought this place should be a dead place, but I didn't expect that even though this place lasts for a year The snow falls like winter all year round, but there are still creatures surviving in this snow.
Like tiny footprints on the ground.
Like birds passing by in the sky.
Suddenly the Taoist stopped and looked forward.
I saw heavy snow falling in front of me. The original rows of poplar trees had long since died, leaving only the dry branches guiding the direction of the original official road. In front of this row of dead trees, there were several white cranes resting.
Either stand on one foot and stretch out, or turn back to comb the feathers, or raise your head high and flutter your wings, no matter what you do, it feels like dancing.
The whole world is white in the heavy snow, and most of the feathers of the playful and dancing cranes are also white, but the row of dry tree trunks are dark, reflected by the snow, like ink stains. The legs and necks of those white cranes are also black. When they stretch their wings, the feathers on the tips of the wings are also black. These are the only ink colors in the sky and earth, and they are all as if they are smudged with ink, casual and smart. .
The landscape painting that was freehand for a while became realistic at this moment.
"Isn't it beautiful?"
A familiar voice came from behind.
Gently and thinly, with a milky sound.
Song You looked back -
Maybe it was because the wind and snow were so loud that I didn't notice that at some point, there were a series of tiny footprints behind me, like small holes poked in the snow.
At the end of the footprints is a calico cat, which also stretches its head and looks at the group of white cranes next to the poplar tree.
Song You looked at it calmly.
"Meow? What's wrong?"
The calico cat tilted its head and looked at him.
"..."
Song You looked at it silently, and then looked away for a long time, and continued to walk forward, saying calmly: "Although I came here to suppress you, I came here in an upright and upright manner. I don't know if you are treating me like this with too much contempt." I'm still too arrogant and rude."
"call……"
It seemed that it knew that it was not pretending to be anything like it. As soon as a cold wind blew by, the calico cat behind it turned into snow.
The string of small footprints also disappeared.
The Taoist continued to walk forward.
When passing by the row of poplar trees and the group of white cranes, I saw one of the white cranes lifting one foot and stretching its wings. However, it turned its head to look at him and spoke human words with an erratic voice, as if there was an echo:
"According to human etiquette, you should register your own number, right?"
"Puff puff……"
The other white cranes around him were suddenly frightened. They all ran forward, spread their wings, and flew up as they ran. They flew into the distance in a row and gradually disappeared into the wind and snow.
"My surname is Song and my name is You, from Lingquan County, Yizhou."
"From Fulong Temple?"
"Exactly."
Although Song You answered, he still walked forward.
The steps don’t stop and the direction doesn’t change.
Even if I walk past the white crane.
But Bai He still stood where he was, turning his head as he walked, staring at him, and said to him: "Who are you, Taoist Taoist?"
"..."
Song You stopped and turned to look at it:
"Have you met the tutor?"
"It's your master!"
"Exactly."
"That's fate!"
As he spoke, the white crane also spread its wings, with a wingspan of at least a few feet. He took a few steps forward, took off gracefully, and flew in the direction where the previous white cranes had flown away.
The figure is really graceful.
Song You withdrew his gaze and continued to move forward.
About ten miles further.
"..."
Song You stopped again.
There was an abyss in the snow.
It was like a crack in the snow.
In the vast white sky and earth, this crack leads from the far left side of the sight to the far right side of the sight, with no end visible on both sides. If you lower your head downward, the vertical depth is bottomless. If you raise your head and move forward, the other shore is at least a hundred feet away from here, blocking the way forward.
"..."
Song You smiled and stepped forward.
Walking to the edge, I accidentally stepped on the snow and ice. They all fell down and no echo was heard.
However, the Taoist's footsteps did not stop at all.
Look straight ahead, face unchanged.
Walking in the air is like walking on flat ground.
It's a hundred feet away, and I'm afraid it will take half a cup of tea to walk.
Sometimes there was a strong wind and snow, sometimes there was wind under my feet, and sometimes ice and snow fell from the other side. After a while, there was an echo from below, which was really shocking.
Halfway through the tea room, the Taoist's steps remained consistent.
After walking through the ravine, I looked back.
Are there any bottomless ravines?
It's just the same snowfield as always.
But don't think that this is just a simple illusion. If it is an illusion, it is also an extremely clever illusion. If you can see through the illusion, know it is false, and be firm in your heart without any wavering, then it is false. But if your heart wavers a little bit and you have a little doubt during this process, you will fall straight into the depths of the ground.
Song You withdrew his gaze and continued to move forward.
An elk walked out of the wind and snow. It had a strong body and the antlers on its head were like dry tree branches. Both its horns and shoulders were covered with snow. It gradually walked parallel to Song You.
"What method do you practice?"
The elk turned to ask him, his voice leisurely and ethereal.
"You will know soon."
"Bang!"
There was a chaotic sound of hooves. Frightened, the elk suddenly turned and ran to the side. The deer's hooves kicked up a lot of broken snow.
It quickly ran away and became a small black spot in the snow.
Song You glanced at it and walked deeper and deeper.
(End of chapter)
