"Is it hopeless?" Although Polu asked himself, he also believed in his heart that it was hopeless.
There were also sounds of commotion at the bottom of the mountain.
The master and apprentice looked from a distance and saw that the village had sunk into the sea of flames, and the screams of the villagers echoed in the mountains and forests in the quiet night.
Polu and Yankong were completely helpless and could only watch helplessly as the fire destroyed houses and lives at will. Almost all houses in the village are made of grass and trees, with at most a layer of mud as walls. They are all excellent combustion-supporting materials, so the fire can easily and quickly turn them into carbon powder.
The fire was extinguished before the sky turned white, and the air was filled with a pungent stench that made it difficult to breathe and make people cough.
The Immortal Village disappeared in the fire. Not a single tile remained, leaving only a piece of scorched earth. It seemed as if no village had ever existed.
The master and apprentice walked towards the remains of the Chen family, shaking their heads and sighing.
"God's will," Polu said sadly, "God's will is like this, who can do anything?"
They could only wait for the rising sun to show its face, allowing them to see clearly, and at least to find the remains of their family for burial.
With the faint light, the two stepped into the ruins of the hut. Some of the ground was still hot, and if they stepped on it, sparks would bounce up. The master and apprentice searched around, hoping to find something.
They still remembered the location of the stove, the location of the water tank, the table where Mr. and Mrs. Chen originally entertained them to eat, and the wall where rain hats and axes were hung. Now there was only a scorched blackness, which made them sigh.
They found two corpses in the dormitory. At first glance, they knew they were Mr. and Mrs. Chen. Their bodies were curled up because their muscles had been roasted, a lot of skin and flesh had been burned away, and the bones were exposed in some parts.
"Master," Yankong frowned: "Do you think there is anything wrong?"
Polu nodded, and he also noticed that the two charred corpses were facing the stove, and even stuffed their bodies into the hole of the stove, as if they wanted to protect something.
They pushed aside the two charred corpses and saw the stove.
There was a big hole under the stove, and Chen Han was inside, looking out in fear.
Polu didn't know whether to be happy or sad for a moment, the expression on his face was very complicated.
"Come on, come on, don't be afraid." He coaxed and pulled Chen Han out.
Chen Han's eyes filled with tears. He knew exactly what happened. He watched his parents being burned to death in front of him!
He watched his mother desperately squeeze her body in, her shoulders stuck on the stove. When the flames were burning her body, she still tried her best to hold back the pain, gently told him not to be afraid, and kept comforting him until the flames stopped. Squirts came out of her mouth until her eyes burst.
Yankong hugged Chen Han and felt that his little body began to tremble, and the trembling became more and more severe. He was shaking like epilepsy, and his jaw rattled. Iwakora picked him up, put his head on his chest, covered his eyes with his wide sleeves, and surrounded him in a safe world.
The three of them walked to the hillside and looked at the charred land under the morning light. There was still a trace of smoke rising upwards. Some of the living people in the village stood there blankly, and some were crying. I don't know if they were crying for their lost home or their lost relatives.
The three of them watched for a while, then Polu lowered his head and said to Chen Han, "From now on, just follow us."
Chen Han just nodded.
"From now on, you have to forget yourself," Po Lu said, "and you will become a Taoist priest."
Chen Han looked at him blankly, seeming to understand.
"From now on, you will no longer be called Chen Han," Yankong also said, "Master will give you a Taoist name."
Polu raised his head and thought for a while: "Okay, your name is 'Yunkong', everything is like passing smoke, and it will drift like clouds in the future."
Now there were three masters and apprentices. They turned around and left, not letting the little boy look back again.
Dragon figure
The sky is already covered with dark clouds, and Master Ziyun is ready to board the Ziyi Pavilion.
The Ziyi Pavilion is the newest building in the Taoist temple. It was built above the main hall last year. It has windows on all sides and towers into the sky. Only Master Ziyun is allowed to enter.
Holding the key in his hand, he climbed up the spiral staircase next to the main hall, opened the special iron lock he brought back from the capital, and turned around to tell the two Taoist boys who were following him with the lantern: "No matter what strange noises you hear later, you are not allowed to come in. ,remember?"
The two Taoist boys nodded in fear: "Yes, Abbot."
"Do you have to come in unless I say something?"
"Unless the abbot calls us by our lay names."
"Very good, remember." He took an incense stick, lit the fire from the oil lamp in the Taoist boy's hand, then entered the attic, turned around and closed the door.
The two Taoist boys waited in the dark and damp stairwell, feeling very scared.
There is no ventilation between the stairs, the air is stuffy, the wind and rain outside are getting stronger, the wind is howling outside, pouring into the gaps, blowing a sharp whistling sound, and the attic is rattling, as if it is about to collapse at any time, so it is not afraid of people.
"What is the abbot doing here?" a Taoist boy asked tremblingly.
"I don't know, it's my first time here too." Another Taoist boy replied.
"Hey, I thought you were here last time."
"No, I heard that the abbot never asks the same person to accompany him up again."
"Why?"
While the two were chatting, a strange cry suddenly came from behind the attic door, which frightened them both.
The sound sounded like a horse neighing or a rooster crowing, but it sounded like a huge horse and a big rooster crowing at the same time, not like an ordinary sound in the world.
"What is that?" The Taoist boy didn't dare to say anything and only asked the other party with his mouth.
They saw the bright light coming from behind the door. Apparently there was lamp oil inside, and the abbot led the fire inside to light the lamp, but the light flickered on and off, as if something was shaking, blocking the light.
While the two were panicking, the door to the attic suddenly opened. As soon as Master Ziyun stepped out, he quickly turned back and locked the door, and then quickly walked down the spiral staircase. Seeing this, the two Taoist boys also hurriedly followed.
When they mentioned the matter again afterwards, they agreed that they saw the abbot's face looking frighteningly pale.
It was so pale that it even looked white under the yellow light.
※※※
It was windy and rainy for days, and it was not easy to walk with two apprentices in broken shoes.
The eldest apprentice is quite old and knows how to take care of himself, but the younger one is a child just adopted the year before last. He is only six years old. If he gets sick, it will be difficult to take care of him.
"My junior brother Po Zhu is in Shaozhou, go and look for him." In fact, Po Lu had been going to find this junior brother for a long time, but the trip was delayed due to the adoption of his young apprentice in Xianren Village.
A fire in Xianren Village killed the young apprentice's parents, and the village was almost completely destroyed. The county magistrate also sent subordinate officials to the jurisdiction to understand the situation, so Po Lu applied to them to adopt Yun Kong. After their extensive investigation and questioning of the surviving villagers , change the household registration and other procedures before confirming that Yun Kong can follow him legally.
After all this trouble, a year has passed.
Although the winter in Lingnan was not as cold as in the north, they still waited until spring warmed up before setting off.
Unexpectedly, it was windy and rainy for days as soon as they set off. They stopped and walked to avoid the rain, and walked for more than ten days before arriving in Guangzhou. This place is a huge port for trade with foreign countries, but they took the water route to Shaozhou in order to find cheap ships. There are many cargo ships here to transport goods to the north and inland.
After asking for a few more days in Guangzhou, a cargo ship owner was willing to take them upstream at a lower price than the going price. The condition was that he would provide services such as stopping the wind, raising the wind, and praying for the cargo ship team when necessary.
Fortunately, the wind and rain subsided along the way and the boat went smoothly. The owner of the cargo ship was happy: "This trip was much safer and smoother than before." He thought that it must be the blessing brought by the three of them, so he not only decided not to charge travel expenses, but also gave some travel expenses. , and gave the younger Yun Kong a piece of thicker clothes: "I also have a young son. This boy's clothes are thin and not warm. I can't bear to see him."
Thank you very much.
"I will stop the ship in Shaozhou for ten days. If the Taoist priest wants to continue going north, just come and board the ship then."
Polu thanked him again: "We plan to visit our old friend at Shangqing Dongtian Palace, and maybe we can stay there."
"Everything in the world is unpredictable. Let's meet again if we are destined to meet you, Taoist priest." The owner of the cargo ship is also an open-minded person.
Shaozhou was the location of one of the "Yongtong Prisons" in the Northern Song Dynasty, where the state minted coins, providing copper coins for the southern trade network.
Song Qian at that time was a popular currency in international trade. It was not only used domestically, but was in great demand.
As he was talking, he accidentally went too far.
Besides, Polu and his entourage still asked people about the location of the Shangqing Cave Temple, and after walking for another long time, they finally arrived at the Taoist temple in the evening.
