Leader Liu asked me what was going on, and I told him that I was once arrested as a feudal element and then hid in a mountain village. If I return to the city in the future, this will be my only means of livelihood. I also hope that Leader Liu will take care of me today and explain it to me later, so that it can be convenient.
This has been the case in China since ancient times, no matter which dynasty it is or who is in charge of the country. After listening to what I said, Leader Liu laughed and said, there is no problem with this. If you encounter any trouble in the future, you can just report my name. As long as I am still local, I will definitely help you. However, the people arresting people outside are not soldiers, but some social elements, so you should keep a low profile in everything.
After thanking Leader Liu, I took Da Mao out. Under the escort of the guards, the two of us walked out of the military compound. In the past, Da Mao and I were afraid of such a place, but now it is quite strange that two magic sticks can walk out of it with such swagger.
I sent Damao back to his master, and we talked a lot on the way. Although his master still lived in the city for a while after I left, he didn't go back to live much since almost a year ago. Da Mao went to Master's house several times to find Master, but he always found the door locked and almost rusty. So Da Mao also asked me about my situation in the past two years, and I told him that everything was fine. After leaving the city, my life became less rigid.
Da Mao slowly followed me while listening to what I said about what happened in the countryside. I have only been back to this city once since I left, and I came back at night. Now when I look at those familiar streets during the day, I feel that they are not that familiar anymore. Almost every household along the street has used thick quilts to block the doors and windows. Da Mao said that since the shooting started in the city, many people were accidentally injured by stray bullets, so in areas with serious conflicts, everyone did this. Stray bullets won't be able to penetrate. I asked him if he still fights fiercely now? Damao told me that it was still very fierce. Sometimes people who were divided into factions would go to the neighborhoods to mobilize. This group would come in the morning, and another group would come in the afternoon. Everyone was loyal to the leader, and they didn’t know. Why must we fight?
I don't know, I don't even want to know. I just feel that for a child like me who was born during the Anti-Japanese War and grew up during the Civil War, this period has become the darkest time in my life.
I arrived at Da Mao's house while I was talking. Since I'm back, I still have to visit the old seniors from back then. Mr. Wang Chengqian is in pretty good health, but he seems to be a little thinner than in the past two years, and his energy is not as good as before. He must have not left the city and must work in a low-key manner, so he must have had a relatively difficult time in the past two years. He was very happy to see me coming back with Da Mao. He sat down and chatted for a while, talking about the situation in the city in the past two years and the situation of other seniors. When I learned that several seniors were bringing He hid in the countryside with his apprentice, thinking that he might be living a similar life to me there.
We chatted until late in the afternoon and then I got up to say goodbye. Then I asked them to come and play with me when they were free. Da Mao knew my address. By the way, I asked Mr. Wang Chengqian that if my master comes back, remember to remind him to come and see me more often. Then I returned to the military compound, and Leader Liu sent a car to take me back to the village as promised.
It was already dark when we arrived at the entrance of the village, and the village was quiet on the night of the first day of the new year. So I went back to Aunt Xu’s house in the dark. It was not too late and everyone was still awake. Aunt Xu asked me to ask questions, and Meng Dongxue kept saying that it would be nice to come back, so I briefly told everyone what happened that day. Knowing that I didn't sleep the first night, Aunt Xu quickly made me something to eat. , let me go to bed early.
They say the New Year brings new weather, but I prefer the tranquility of the village. The days went on as usual, and at the beginning of March, the master came back. Master and I have not seen each other for almost half a year, so naturally we are very happy. He happily told me about what he had seen and heard these days, all kinds of wonderful scenery and humanities, as well as those masters hiding in the countryside deep in the mountains who were far away from the hustle and bustle and untouched. I was very fascinated by all this.
After eating, Meng Dongxue came back. When I saw Master at home, I thought he was a visiting guest, so I greeted him warmly. I introduced Meng Dongxue that this was Lin Qishan, my mentor. Then she told the master that her name was Meng Dongxue. She was a female educated youth who came to the village last year and was now staying at Aunt Xu's house.
The master had a weird smile on his face, and then looked back and forth between Meng Dongxue's and mine. Of course I knew what Master was thinking, but Meng Dongxue smiled sheepishly and then lowered her head, like a child who had done something wrong. As if he was interrogating her family background, the master began to question Meng Dongxue about her situation. During this period, he even thought that my presence was an eyesore and kicked me out.
When he went to bed at night, Master seemed very happy and seemed particularly satisfied with Meng Dongxue. He said to me, Shan'er, I think this girl is very good. If both of you are willing, and the other family is willing to accept you, Master will make the decision for you as a father. Although I was very happy in my heart, when Master said this, I still had to pretend to be tactful. I said it was still early. Although she and I knew each other in our hearts, no one broke the relationship. It was considered acquiescence. . Then I started to change the subject and asked Master how long he planned to stay when he came back. He said that he would not be able to stay for a few days before he had to go back to the city and there were still some unfinished matters.
I asked him what was going on, and he told me that a doctor friend of his in the city hospital asked him for help, saying that the hospital was not clean and that he would have to deal with it in a few days. I sat up all of a sudden and said to the master, please take me with you. I have nowhere else to go in this village besides doing farm work. But the master said that the hospital had told us that this matter must be handled in a low-key manner. Because of the recent unrest and the hospital often accepting those faction members, it could only be done secretly. I said, just be careful. I'm not a novice anymore, so I won't cause any trouble. The master hesitated for a while and said, let’s talk about it then, and go to bed now.
In the next few days, I basically didn’t read any books and just walked around with Master. Master asked me, do you still remember when I sent you to the village, I said that our sect has a craft and I will teach you again if I have the opportunity? I said I remembered it. When I asked you, you didn't tell me very carefully. You just said that you would know it by then. Why do you think now is the time? Master said, I originally thought it was time, but now I am a little unsure. Because you and Meng Dongxue are in love, if you really get married and have children in the future, then this craft is not suitable for you to learn.
After hearing this, I became more and more curious, so I asked the master what kind of craft it was. The master said that this set of skills is passed down from generation to generation, but if you want to learn it, you must be missing one skill. Because this technique was passed down from the Book of Lu Ban, which is a strange book, those who study it must either become a monk like the master and cut off the world of mortals, or they may subdue their father and subjugate their children, and they will never succeed in the future. I was shocked and asked, why are you so vicious? Is this the "talisman-making" technique you mentioned?
Master nodded, and then said to me, Lu Ban, you know, right? I said yes, the originator of craftsmanship. Master said that Lu Ban's book is divided into two volumes. The first volume talks about craftsmanship, while the second volume talks about metaphysics and secret techniques. However, the real chapter has disappeared, and most of the ones circulated among the people are just fragments, and the same is true for the fragments left by our master. I asked Master, could it be said that part of the content in Lu Ban's book is a set of secret techniques of our master? The master said yes. As early as a hundred years ago, there was an expert in the school. By chance, he got some fragments of the scrolls. He was shocked that if he studied these fragments, he would greatly harm himself, so he selected some of them. The less harmful part is combined with the Taoism of the sect, and it becomes a craft based on the Luban method and the Taoism is improved. After that, he destroyed the fragments of Luban's book and only circulated the improved technique within his own sect.
The master said that for hundreds of years in this sect, very few people have been able to learn it, and usually they start from the most harmless talismans. However, this set of secret techniques actually contains a lot of content. Most of them use the tools invented by Lu Ban as spell-casting tools. Over the years, I have only learned this set of spell making. Even if I want to teach you, I can only teach you this. , the rest of the content, if you have the opportunity and understanding, learn it yourself.
I hesitated, not because I wasn’t interested in this set of spells, but because I thought the consequences would be too serious. If I start a family in the future, I will naturally put my family first. Learning this set of spells will hurt my family, so why should I do it? Learn from him. Master saw that I was silent, so he tried to lighten the atmosphere. He smiled and said, there is no need to rush this matter, the days are long. After saying that, he handed me a folded booklet from his bag. It was a handmade thread-bound book. He told me that this skill has a total of sixty-nine pages, and the content of the first ten pages is the content of getting started with talismans. The tool needed to make amulets is a "ruler".
I asked, is it the kind usually used to measure length? The master said no, it was Lu Ban Ruler. In addition to the normal measurement of length, it can also measure good and bad luck. However, the Lu Ban Ruler used in this school is actually just the head part of the ruler. The front side is Qian and the back side is Kun. Qian is Yang and Kun is Yin. Qian refers to male and Kun refers to female.
Master's words made me confused. Seeing that I was confused, Master took out a brown wooden block about the same size and thickness as my token from his arms and handed it to me. I looked at it and found that it was indeed in the shape of a ruler, but it had scales and some hexagrams of the heavenly stems and earthly branches. It was just that the two sides of the ruler were engraved with the cathode and anode of Tai Chi.
The master took out a blank piece of talisman paper from his arms, folded it several times and put it in the palm of his hand. Then he told me to use a Luban ruler to strike the talisman. According to the content of the talisman, whether the target man or woman is alive or dead, select a certain side of the ruler. Even if you are somewhere else, as long as you have the relevant information about the other party, a spell can determine your life or death.
