"Are the two masters, Abbot Deng Xin and Deng Huo, passing away?"
The gatekeeper glanced at Yun Kong with disgust, wondering how this unknown Taoist could know.
"Please, little master, please send a message and tell the abbot that Yun Kong is here."
"Yunkong..." The monk hesitated for a while.
"Please inform me," Yun Kong said.
The gatekeeper had no choice but to tell him to wait a moment before walking in quickly.
Yun Kong was pacing back and forth at the mountain gate, waiting for the monk to report back. Suddenly he caught a glimpse of a figure from the corner of his eye, and he couldn't help but feel happy.
It was an old monk sweeping fallen leaves under the tree.
"Uncle Fanshu!" Yunkong waved his hand and shouted.
When the old monk heard the sound, he squinted and looked out of the mountain gate: "Who is it?"
"Yunkong!"
"Yunkong?" The old monk tilted his head and thought for a moment, "I don't recognize him."
"Where's the little Taoist boy who lived in the temple more than ten years ago!"
"Oh...?" The old monk named Fanshu slowly approached him, "Is there such a person?"
Just when Yunkong felt anxious and tried his best to make Fanshu remember him, Fanshu suddenly said in a deep voice: "Khan, it's not appropriate to talk here. At the beginning of the night, I will go to the Lion Rock by the bamboo forest to call you... "
Yun Kong felt a chill in his heart. He understood that the situation was different. Just as he was about to speak further, Fan Shu shouted loudly: "Ouch! Bad luck, bad luck! Where did this wild man come from, and he even used the guise of summoning spirits! Go! Go!"
Yun Kong was stunned when he saw the gatekeeper running back.
"Donor," the monk looked very happy, "Master said I don't know who Yun Kong is. It's inconvenient to stay in the temple, so please come back."
Yun Kong frowned and said, "It's getting late. Can you teach me how to get down the mountain?"
"I've offended you a lot, please forgive me." The gatekeeper put his hands together in a polite salute and waved his hand to ask him to leave.
Yunkong glanced at Fanshu, who then widened his eyes and said, "Why don't you go quickly?"
Yun Kong nodded and walked down the mountain.
After walking for a while, he got into the bamboo forest beside the road, then slowly walked back to Yinshan Temple from the bamboo forest, and waited patiently.
The bamboo forest is an excellent shelter area, and the clouds hide in it without anyone noticing.
The lion stone he made an appointment with Fanshu was a flat stone that looked like a lion crouching on the ground. It was just outside the side door leading to the bamboo forest. Although he was not allowed to leave the temple grounds when he was a child, he had stood inside the door and looked at this stone.
He listened to the evening chanting at Yinshan Temple behind the wall. Between the ethereal sound of wooden fish and the sound of bamboo leaves, the sky quickly drew down the black curtain, and the stars appeared one by one.
He bent his knees and sat quietly, regulating his breath and nourishing his mind, waiting for time to pass by.
I don’t know how long it took, but Chong’er’s call for mating has spread all over the mountains and forests. Even the strict rules and regulations in the temple cannot restrain Chong’er’s nature of passing on the family line.
There was an uncoordinated voice mixed in with the sound of insects, and Yun Kong almost didn't notice it: "Khan...sweat..."
Yunkong's common name is Chen Han. When he was a child and lived in Yinshan Temple, Fanshu called him "Khan Boy".
Fanshu must have come to find him now.
Yun Kong did not sit on the lion stone, and he whispered in the bamboo forest: "Here..."
"Is it Khan?"
"Here, Uncle Fanshu..."
Fan Shu entered the bamboo forest in the dark, followed the sound to find Yun Kong, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Uncle." Yun Kong called out thoughtfully.
"Shh, I'll take you to find the abbot."
"In the end..." Yun Kong pulled him, "What happened?"
"It's after the cremation."
"Cremated? Could it be the two masters..."
"Master hasn't passed away yet, and the monks are already arguing about what to do after cremation... It's hard to finish this, and I'll talk about it first before meeting the abbot." After saying this, Fanshu walked to the temple.
Yun Kong hung up the cloth bag, put down the straw hat, rolled up the white cloth strips on the bamboo poles, rolled the copper bell into the cloth, and then quietly slipped into the side door of the temple.
For a moment, he mistakenly thought that he was a child again.
The five years he lived in Yinshan Temple were the most comfortable days he lived.
The backyard of this temple was also the place where his dreams lingered, and it was where he often played when he was a child.
Fanshu quietly led him around the monk's room and straight to the abbot's room.
They opened the door directly and went in without informing or knocking on the door first. In the abbot's room, Deng Xin and Deng Huo were sitting on the futon.
After entering the door, Fanshu hurriedly turned around and closed the door.
"Master." Yun Kong bowed to the two masters respectfully.
Deng Xin showed no reaction, but Deng Huo narrowed his eyes and said, "What did your master say to you?"
"Master, Master gave me the five words "Spread ashes in the mountains"."
"Very good, very good..." Deng Huo closed his eyes again and did not move for a long time, as if he was dead.
"Khan." Fanshu held Yunkong's sleeve, pulled him away and spoke: "Let me explain to you on behalf of the master..."
"What changes have happened in the temple?" Yun Kong asked anxiously.
"This starts from last autumn..."
In the autumn of the previous year, when yellow leaves were everywhere, a Taoist came to Yinshan Temple to ask for an audience with the abbot.
At that time, Fanshu was also sweeping the floor.
"Is your abbot here?" The Taoist was very imposing and rude.
"May I ask the donor's name so that the young monk can report it." Fanshu saluted.
"Can't we report without a name?"
Fanshu said hurriedly: "I don't dare, it's just that it's more convenient to have a Taoist number."
"In that case, it is said that the five flavors are here."
Speaking of this, Yun Kong couldn't help but exclaimed: "Five-flavored people? Are they not the Four Great Strange People?"
"Exactly."
In the late Northern Song Dynasty, four strange people began to spread in the world.
Of course, there are more than just four strange people, but I don’t know who has collectively called them “Eastern Wusheng, West Five Flavors, South Iron Bridge, and North Shensou” as the Four Great Strange People.
The Five Flavors come from Huashan Mountain in Xiyue. He is extremely skilled in Taoism and has the ability to summon ghosts and gods. However, he likes to stir up disputes. He often uses his words to get others into trouble on a whim, so he is nicknamed "Five Flavors". ", from Chapter 12 of "Laozi": "The five flavors are refreshing."
This person is famous in the world for being able to harm countless people just because he has a good mouth.
So when Fanshu heard his name, he immediately felt uncomfortable and hurriedly said: "Abbott... is busy..."
"Monk," Wu Weiren said coldly, "don't make a mouth. If you lie, your tongue will be cut out by King Yama."
"The abbot is indeed not here. He has gone down the mountain to do some work." Cutting out the tongue is better than disturbing the monks in the temple! Fanshu made up his mind: If I don’t go to hell, who will?
"Monk," Wuweiwei said with a crooked smile, "don't you know that you are bullying me? These two bald men, Denghuo Dengxin, never do anything for others."
"Donor, please don't speak evil words." Fan Shu said sadly.
"Are you hiding and playing with women? Why don't you dare to see me!" Wu Weiren shouted loudly and started to act wild.
"Is it because the five flavors are long?" A kind voice suddenly sounded from behind Fan Shu.
The lighting master came behind him unknowingly.
Wuwei immediately smiled and said as if greeting an old friend: "Abbott, how are you doing?"
"I haven't worked hard, so I'm still healthy."
"I happened to pass by the foot of the mountain today, so I came up the mountain to catch up on old times."
Although the two seemed to be having a cordial conversation, Fan Shu felt a faint smell of gunpowder.
The Five Flavors said: "It's just chatting at the mountain gate. Isn't it a neglect of the guests?"
Deng Huo nodded and said, "Fanshu, please guide the Taoist to the abbot's room."
Wuweiren suddenly wanted to laugh.
Fanshu also found that people with five flavors wanted to laugh. I wonder what he wanted to do?
The Wuwei people suppressed their laughter and walked to a place where there were many monks before suddenly shouting: "Abbott, you will pass away in March next year, right?"
This move caused the monks present to raise their heads and stare.
Wu Weiren restrained his smile and said seriously: "I don't know the position of abbot, who do you want to pass it on to?"
The light didn't respond, just chuckled.
"I heard that one of the abbot's disciples is a Taoist priest... Does the abbot intend to pass on the throne?"
The atmosphere around him immediately became very solemn.
"The imperial court pays more and more attention to Taoism. If you change it to a Taoist temple, the imperial court will definitely praise you greatly!" Wu Weiwei said more and more smoothly.
The monks stopped what they were doing and stared at Wuwei's back.
The five-flavored people laughed secretly in their hearts.
After entering the abbot's room, Deng Huo didn't say anything. He just sat side by side with Deng Xin, quietly making tea on the small charcoal stove.
This is the way of drinking tea in temples in tea-producing areas in the south. The tea leaves are pressed into tea bricks, and a piece is broken into fine powder and brewed with hot water for drinking. This method was later spread to Japan and is the source of matcha.
Deng Huo was grinding tea slowly and calmly, making Wu Tao feel uncomfortable. He really hoped Deng Huo could say something.
A person who likes to talk and stir up trouble will lose his point of attack once the other person stops talking.
