In the early spring of the second year of Mingde, we visited Yinyang Mountain in Lingquan County.
The old Taoist sat by the window, and the letter sent two days ago was placed on the table. In the past two days, she had read it over and over again.
Just how to reply to the letter, but I hesitated in my heart.
After thinking for a long time, I found paper and pen.
He lowered his head and started writing.
"...
"I know you are from another world.
"I don't know what kind of world it is. I guess in your heart, it must be much more exciting than this world. Or maybe in that world, there are things that you can't let go of, and you have peace of mind, so you are so reluctant to let go. .
"...
"You think the world is boring, you think the world is suffering, you think the world is ignorant, and there are many dark and ignorant things in this world. But by the time you receive this letter, it must have been a few years later, and the mountains and rivers are all over the place. It’s not easy to leave. You will have seen a lot of unique scenery by then, right?
"Maybe you already know that this dark world is actually no less colorful than where you came from. It may be true that the world is suffering, it may be true that the people are ignorant, and it may be true that the world is gloomy, but if only Because of this, I feel that they are not happy at all and that this world is not worth it. It is really a kind of arrogance.
"Maybe people in the world are really stupid, but the hearts in their bodies are no different from yours or mine.
"...
"Even if you are a passer-by in the human world, after seeing all the scenery, you will always choose a place to settle in the transcendent world. It is better to dissolve into the world. You must have had some insights at that time."
Suddenly there was a sound of wind behind him.
"Puff puff..."
A pure black myna flew over.
The old Taoist's hand holding the pen paused for a moment and asked without looking back: "Did the guest see off?"
"Sent away."
"Have everything been explained?"
"I told them that your health is getting worse and worse, and I'm afraid your end is approaching. I told them not to come next year. Wait until the kid comes back in twenty years, and then come again."
"You can still talk."
"Do you want me to send the letter to him?"
"Wait until I die before sending it away."
"you……"
"What's the matter?"
The old man held the pen and looked at the letter in front of him.
If she was really afraid of death, how could death have any chance to touch her?
Just sitting here at this moment, holding a pen and reading the letter I wrote, I couldn't help but feel in a trance. I couldn't help but think of my disciple. After thinking about it, I thought of my master.
When I was young, when I was playing around in this temple, I was just a little girl. When I traveled down the mountain, I was just a young female Taoist. At that time, I never thought that I would also sit there when my hair was gray. It was a day like this when I wrote a letter in front of the window for my disciple who was going down the mountain.
The old Taoist suddenly felt the mood of his master back then.
"..."
Shaking his head and smiling, the old Taoist said to Bago behind him: "When I die, remember to bury me next to my master. I miss him very much."
An understatement, like a joke.
Myna didn't answer.
The old Taoist didn't care, just put down the pen and continued writing.
"I have never been able to control you, and I don't care about you anymore. I just hope that you can go to a place where you feel at ease. No matter where that is, there will be practice and freedom."
Blow on it and the letter will dry on its own.
Then fold it and put it in the box, allowing it to slowly turn yellow over time.
…
In the north of Yuezhou, the Taoist suddenly opened his eyes.
It turned out to be just a dream...
"..."
The Taoist shook his head and felt even more amused when he saw that he was still sitting cross-legged on the ground.
Looking up into the distance, the night sky is still clear, without any trace of the sacred bird. The entire forest is completely silent, except for the crackling sound of the fire next to it.
The Taoist stretched out his hand and added some firewood.
The cat huddled in front of his calf, covered with a wool blanket, and kept each other warm with him. It didn't know whether he was asleep or not. It noticed his movements, opened its eyes, and stuck its head out to look at him.
"fine……"
Song You's voice was calm, and he pulled the woolen blanket to cover her again: "It was just a dream."
"What did you dream about?"
The calico cat's voice was so quiet, and it became even quieter when it came from under the wool blanket.
"Hard to say."
"Is the divine bird here?"
"not yet."
"Did you sneak away?"
"probably not."
"The Taoist priest will sleep for a while, and Sanhua Empress will come and guard it."
As the calico cat said this, he pupated under the wool blanket and tried to crawl out.
"fine."
The Taoist also whispered to her, as if he was afraid of disturbing the silence of the night: "If there is a divine bird flying by, I will feel it."
"You're all asleep."
"yes."
"It's all a dream."
"yes."
"Then how do you know?"
"I am powerful."
"..."
The cat only got out one head and turned back to look at him suspiciously. It had round eyes and a delicate and beautiful little face. It glanced at him for a few times and then retracted its head suspiciously.
The world immediately became quiet.
It's really cold in the north in winter.
Even though Song You was cushioned with a wool felt and covered with a wool blanket, it was still very cold. If there was a basin of water next to him, it would have frozen into ice.
There are only two warmest places. First, the fire burning beside her made a slight crackling sound from time to time. Second, there was the calico cat sleeping next to her calves. The cat's body temperature is higher than that of humans, and the cold starts from the feet. The Taoist can not only feel the coldness coming from her body. The temperature makes me warm, and I can also feel the ups and downs of her body caused by her breathing, which can calm my mind.
Coupled with the sound of the fire burning, it is really lulling people to sleep.
The swallows on the branches not far away shrank their necks and half-squinted their eyes, always paying attention to the sky in the distance.
Unconsciously, the Taoist closed his eyes again.
It seemed like I was dreaming again.
The content of the dream this time was short and messy.
Suddenly I saw myna holding the letter in his mouth, traveling through the starry night, flying thousands of miles away. Suddenly I saw the war in the north more than ten years ago. The iron hooves of the Northern Saipei marched across Yuezhou, burning, killing and looting. The rain soaked the bones and stained the grass with blood. The ghosts guarded the corpses in the cold yellow sand of the moon. Then the bones were exposed in the wild and there was no rooster crow for thousands of miles. , I don’t know how many innocent souls are stranded here.
Today's northern Yanzhou is probably not much different.
When I woke up again, the moon had disappeared, leaving only the sky full of stars, dense and bright, and the fire beside me was only a scarlet pile of firewood, without the flame.
"It's already the fifth update..."
It's getting colder and colder now.
Song You looked up at the sky and then at the fire next to him. The firewood had been burned out. He probably couldn't sleep anymore, so he simply took off the blanket and got up.
"Puff puff..."
A swallow flew in front of me and landed on a branch.
"Want me to pick up more firewood?"
"No need."
"Then let's..."
"Pack up and go."
Not long after, one person, one cat and one horse set off again.
Swallows fly behind, sometimes high and sometimes low.
Not far ahead, we entered the green tung forest.
From a distance, this green tung forest seems very dense. In fact, after entering, I found that every tree is very far away from each other. It's just that the ancient trees are too huge, which gives people the illusion of being dense. There are almost only ground cover plants growing between the trees, and at most some small shrubs. There are no other trees, and they are not much different from the plains.
People walking in the middle look extremely small.
The Taoist followed Yanzi's guidance and walked step by step towards the big tree in the middle. There seemed to be something in his mind, but it also seemed empty.
In addition to the regret in my heart, I also felt a lot of loss.
Memories came back bit by bit.
Step by step like this, I don’t know how far I have gone.
Suddenly, the swallow behind him shouted——
"Look!"
The calico cat heard the sound and quickly turned its head.
A flash of blue light reflected in her eyes.
The Taoist also stopped and turned to look——
The night sky is still clear and full of stars, but under the stars, there is a green-like blue light, which seems to be an illusory divine bird flying from south to north.
The divine bird has a slender neck, and its head is dotted with crest feathers. It has a cold and noble expression, and an elegant posture. It seems to be made of pure aurora, and this light covers the stars and the Milky Way. I saw it spreading its wings, dragging long tail feathers behind it, flying from a distance, it was extremely huge. When it flew above the heads of the group of people, it almost occupied half of the sky. In a daze, it was as shocking as a scene in a dream.
Song You raised his head and stared at it blankly.
This is the aura of heaven and earth, the creation of nature, a visual shock, and an inner shock. It not only takes away the resentment of the resentful souls in this land, but also brings auspiciousness to this world.
Song You seemed to hear its voice.
Clear and ethereal, echoing far away.
I also saw it scattering little bits of light and dust, falling on the night, like a dream.
The calico cat was already stunned.
The swallow was even more stunned, forgetting to flap its wings, so that it fell to the ground, raised its head high, and could only see the magical bird in the night sky.
The divine bird gradually faded away.
Just like in the legend, it stopped on the tallest tung tree in the middle, and the huge tree nest just accommodated it.
And it landed on the tree, like an ordinary bird, combing its feathers lazily, and then lowered its head, its eyes seemed to be able to pass through the obstruction of the green paulownia trees, and look at the Taoist in the distance.
The Taoist stood still, only looking up and looking at him from a distance, without any intention of going forward to pursue him.
The cat and the swallow did not move either.
After an unknown amount of time, the divine bird had rested enough and flapped its wings again, disappearing into the northern sky, leaving behind a sky full of blue light, like wisps of gauze in the night sky.
"Meow……"
Mao'er and Yanzi finally withdrew their gaze, but there was still shock in their eyes, and they turned to look at the Taoist.
The Taoist was still staring at that side, not knowing what he was thinking.
After a long time, he showed a smile, took a long breath, and continued walking.
"Let's go."
"Are we still looking for that tree?"
"not going."
"Well?"
Mao'er tilted his head and stared at the Taoist in confusion.
The swallow also quietly looked at the Taoist.
Although he didn't know what the relationship between the husband and the myna was, and what was written in the letter sent by the myna, he could tell that after the myna sent the letter and left, the husband's mood was obviously depressed. Naturally, he didn't know what he saw or felt in that magical bird, but he could also see that since the sacred bird left, his heart had become much more open-minded.
Horse hooves clattered and bells jingled.
The group continued to walk among the towering green tung trees, still as small as ants. It was almost dawn, and the encounter with the divine bird was truly a rare fate, and as beautiful as a dream.
Walking in the world and meeting people, this is not the case.
…
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(End of chapter)
