They grabbed the coat of the floating corpse from both sides, looked at each other, and worked together to turn the floating corpse over.
"It's really the master." One person said softly.
The corpse's face was pale, swollen from water, and its skin was wrinkled, as if it was about to peel off at any time.
The onlookers stepped back to make room for the two men to lift their master up.
As soon as the dead body was pulled up, the water in which it had been soaked came pouring down. There were also some water bugs, mud and rocks mixed in the water.
Not only that, a piece of nose also fell off.
The two of them hurriedly picked up the nose and wrapped it in a piece of cloth.
"The water has been soaked for too long..." Someone started whispering again.
"I probably won't survive this time..."
Yunkong listened and was surprised.
I saw the two people supporting the dead body. One of them actually bent down, boldly carried the body on his back, and hurriedly walked towards the way he came.
As he walked, the body on his back bumped along the way, causing him to nod his head repeatedly.
When he passed by Yun Kong, the corpse opened its eyes.
Moreover, his eyes turned to the sky and glanced at him.
Yun Kong looked at him with wide eyes in surprise.
Those eyes are alive!
※※※
The body was carried away and everyone dispersed.
Yun Kong followed the people out of the bamboo forest and walked towards the village, not forgetting to pay attention to the conversations around him.
"Mr. Huang Cong is really surprised, why do you always want to die?"
"Living impatiently is not the best way to die."
"Didn't you fall to pieces at Jiu Ruifeng last time?"
The speaker gradually moved away, finally out of Yunkong's hearing range, but he already knew the general situation.
He walked slowly into the village and could still hear the villagers discussing. It must have been the two people just carrying the dead body along the way.
The village is not big. After wandering around for a while, Yun Kong found a thatched cottage.
There is an inconspicuous small wooden sign hanging outside the bamboo fence of the thatched cottage, with three small characters "Dagui Lu" neatly engraved on it.
There are also clusters of bamboo planted outside the thatched cottage, which makes it even more elegant.
This must be a secluded place for someone, either a Confucian scholar or a Taoist monk.
"The mountains and rivers here are beautiful, and there is indeed a hermit." Yun Kong was secretly glad that he was finally able to find a place to rest after a long journey. Generally, it should not be difficult for people of the same kind to stay overnight.
Yun Kong knocked on the door hopefully, and a maid immediately answered the door.
The maid only opened the door a crack, with a wary look in her eyes: "What's the matter?"
"I am passing by your place in the clouds and want to stay overnight..."
"Sorry, we don't accept outsiders at home." After the maid finished speaking, the door hurriedly closed.
Yun Kong frowned and looked around, unable to see what was happening behind the door.
The maid just now looked restless, and she didn't know why.
Yun Kong had no choice but to shake the bamboo pole tied with a white cloth to let the two copper bells on it ring. As he walked, he shouted: "Divination - fortune telling - strange and difficult diseases -"
Yun Kong walked slowly around the village, shouting until his throat became a little hoarse.
He stroked his neck and shook his head uncomfortably, looking for a drink of water.
Hearing someone chuckle, Yun Kong turned around and saw an old man sitting under the shade of a tree, smiling at him.
"Are you thirsty, Taoist Master?" the old man asked.
Yun Kong smiled and nodded.
There was a big bowl and several bowls placed beside the old man: "Come on, I see you shouting all day long, so bring me a bowl of water to moisten your throat." It turned out to be a small tea pavilion for pedestrians to drink.
"Thank you, old man." Yun Kong poured a bowl of water by himself, drank it in two or three gulps, and then poured another bowl.
"It's getting late, and the Taoist priest is still wandering around. Didn't he find a place to stay?" the old man chatted.
"I couldn't find it." Yun Kong drank the water in one gulp, rinsed the bowl with water, and then put it back on the lid of the pot. "Is there a ruined temple here? It's a good place for a poor man to stay overnight."
"That's not necessary. Just go find Mr. Huang Cong."
"Mr. Huang Cong?" Yun Kong stroked his beard, "I just passed by the bamboo forest, and someone was watching a floating corpse. I heard it was Mr. Huang Cong..."
"Oh?" The old man raised his eyebrows and glanced at Yun Kong, "He is seeking death again?"
"There is a funeral in his family, I'm afraid it's inconvenient to disturb him."
"It's okay, it's okay," the old man stood up and took Yunkong's hand, "I'll take you to his house."
"But……"
"I have known his family for many years and we are very familiar with him. It won't be a problem."
Yun Kong hesitated in his heart, but still ran with his feet.
The village is not big, but after a while, Yun Kong came to the thatched cottage again.
"This is Mr. Huang Cong's home?"
"Have you been here?"
"The poor man knocked on the door to stay overnight. He said he didn't accept outsiders...and there was another funeral today."
"That's because the family is ignorant. If it were Mr. Huang Cong, he would not refuse to take you in."
"Sir," Yun Kong said respectfully, "Who is this Mr. Huang Cong?"
The old man chuckled: "No wonder you are confused. Mr. Huang Cong is an immortal and will not reject people who are of the same mind."
"Immortal?"
"Isn't it a Taoist priest who doesn't understand the immortal who cultivates Taoism?"
"Uh, no...it's just that I thought the immortal was just a myth."
The old man's smiling face suddenly relaxed, with a little contempt in his eyes, and he chuckled twice: "So, as a Taoist priest, doesn't it mean that he wants to attain Taoism?"
"Whether you have the Tao or not is not something you think about."
“If you don’t have the heart to achieve enlightenment, how can you achieve enlightenment?”
"Tao exists in all things. I am in the Tao. There is Tao inside and outside my body. It does not increase or decrease, and it cannot be obtained by seeking it." Yunkong lowered his head and said, "I don't dare to dream of becoming an immortal, I just want to understand it." It’s just the Tao.”
The old man pouted, raised his eyebrows disdainfully, and muttered in his heart: "People who have no ability can only talk."
He didn't say any more, he stretched his neck and shouted: "Hey - open the door!"
Immediately, footsteps hurriedly sounded from behind the door: "Is this the old gentleman?"
The maid who opened the door was still the maid just now. When she saw Yun Kong standing behind the old man, she immediately frowned at the old man.
The old man ignored her expression: "Is your master here?"
"Old sir, I've gone there again..." the maid gestured, a little wary of the stranger Yun Kong.
"It doesn't matter, take us to see him."
The maid did not dare to object, so she agreed and led the two of them into the thatched cottage.
When passing through the bamboo fence gate, Yun Kong took another look at the wooden sign hanging next to it.
"Daguilu"
He seemed to understand his master's thoughts somewhat.
The old man didn't need anyone to guide him. He walked into a bedroom and shouted outside the door: "Mr. Huang Cong, are you still alive?"
"Oh! It's the old gentleman here!" A woman ran out with a worried look on her face.
Just when she was about to continue, she saw Yun Kong, an uninvited guest, and cast a questioning look at the old man.
"Sister-in-law, this Taoist priest wants to stay here." The old man explained.
"A friend of the master's?"
"No, he is a wandering Taoist."
"Oh," the woman wrinkled half of her face and looked Yunkong up and down, "But, sir, he is..."
"Take me to see Mr. Huang Cong."
"Okay." The woman responded, but made no move. She hinted to the old man how to deal with Yun Kong.
The old man glanced at Yunkong and said with a smile: "Send him to the guest room."
The woman then called her maid and ordered Yun Kong to be taken to the guest room. The old man pulled Yun Kong again: "Go and have a rest first. I will come to you later and let you see what an immortal is."
Yun Kong nodded silently and watched the old man leave.
Yes, he did want to learn what an immortal is like.
After arriving in the guest room, Yun Kong immediately sat down on the bed as soon as he put down his luggage, closed his eyes and concentrated, adjusting his breath.
He is particularly sensitive to "qi".
Mortals inevitably have a turbid air, and he wanted to see what kind of air the immortals had.
Especially an immortal who is said to have committed suicide more than once.
Yun Kong first let the breath circulate throughout his body, penetrating every meridian.
Then he opened the air vents all over his body, making his sensitivity to the air several times stronger.
Although it is rude to deliberately explore other people's anger, Yun Kong will not let go of his curiosity.
He has been learning meditation from his master since he was a child. After about thirty years of continuous practice, he has already mastered the control of Qi.
He was immersed in the pleasant feeling of Qi and completely forgot about time.
When I was happy, a figure suddenly appeared in my mind.
It's the old man.
Yun Kong suddenly opened his eyes, and sure enough, the old man was standing in front of him.
The old man crossed his hands behind his back and looked at him with a straight face.
Yun Kong quickly calmed down and walked out of bed: "I'm sorry, I didn't pay attention for a moment..."
