On the cliff outside the shed, Li Ye stood under the shadow of the cedar. Although it could block some of the cold wind, it could not block the ubiquitous blizzard.
Ignoring the wind and snow, he waved the bamboo sword in his hand and struck at the snowflakes floating irregularly in the air again and again.
The old ape said that he had maintained this posture for fifteen days, and Li Ye said that he had long forgotten how many days he had stood there and killed Feng Xue with hundreds of thousands of swords.
During the days when Bu Xiaobai was away, apart from eating, sleeping, and chanting sutras, he stood under this cedar and chopped snow as always.
He no longer cares about whether each sword swing cuts through the snowflakes in the wind, and he no longer lowers his head to look at the snow particles sticking to the bamboo sword.
As long as there is wind and snow, he will stand under the tree and stand in the wind and snow.
The old ape would come over to drink several courses of tea with him every day, and occasionally the two of them would drink a jar of wine.
Every time the old ape walked away, he would shake his head and say as he walked: "I met a kid who was crazier than the monk, either in the shed or in the snow."
Li Ye smiled and said to him every time: "If I can't chop off a few snowflakes now, I will inevitably die by my opponent's sword one day in the future. If I don't shed tears today, I will bleed in the future."
He felt a sudden sharp pain in his right wrist holding the bamboo sword. The pain was a burning pain that almost made it impossible for him to accurately control the trajectory of each stroke of the bamboo sword.
I have pushed myself too hard these days. After all, my body is not steel. Even if it is steel, there will be moments of fatigue.
After all, he was still injured. He lowered his head and looked at his red and swollen wrist. He sighed softly, put away his bamboo sword, shook off the snow on his body, circulated his true energy to evaporate the moisture on his body, and returned to the house.
I added a few pieces of charcoal made from pine branches to the furnace and heated up the fire. After a while, there was a warm atmosphere in the shed.
The water in the pot was also slowly heating up. Li Ye gently wiped the bamboo sword in his hand with the animal skin, feeling that it was useless for him to practice like this all the time.
After much thought, he decided to stop practicing swordsmanship for a few days. In the following days, he would calm down and reconnect with the energy of heaven and earth in Tianshan Mountain, hone his spiritual consciousness, and temper his true energy.
The water in the pot was whining. Li Ye poured out last night's cruel tea, picked up the kettle, poured some boiling water and washed the purple sand carefully.
I brewed myself a new pot of tea, and in an instant the strong aroma of tea in the shed dissipated into the cold air.
...
Noon has passed and noon is approaching.
The old ape stepped on the thick snow, emerged from the woods, and walked towards the cliff step by step.
The afternoons were always difficult, so he liked to come to the shed and drink a cup of hot tea with Li Ye to lighten up the lonely time in the mountains.
Before he reached the bottom of the cliff, he saw two shadows, one gray and one white, approaching him. He stopped and stayed on the edge of the cliff, watching the two figures getting closer and closer.
Xiaobai, who had been missing for more than ten days, finally followed Lao Lang and came back here again.
The old ape lowered his body, reached out and picked up Xiaobai in the snow, touched its head and said, "You ran away quietly without telling me, making us worry about you."
The old wolf said hello to the old ape, shook off the snow on his body, and walked hard towards the cliff.
The old ape hugged Xiaobai and followed behind, muttering: "You old thing, I haven't seen you for many days, and you didn't bring anything good to eat."
Xiaobai in his arms whined twice to express his affectionate response.
...
Li Ye was pouring hot tea for himself, putting it to his mouth and blowing the hot air, ready to take a sip.
Listening to the noise outside the shed, the door was pushed open, and Xiaobai, who had not been seen for many days, walked into the arms of Lao Lang and Lao Yi.
He boiled three cups, poured hot tea, and served them to the old wolf and the old ape. Li Ye pointed at Xiao Bai who was lying on the table, and laughed and scolded: "You foodie, idiot, you didn't even say a word to me when you left, which made me look for you all over the world!"
The old ape covered his mouth and laughed, wondering when did you find it all over the world? Didn't you just ask me casually?
The old wolf looked at the angry Li Ye and said with a smile: "While the wind and snow were just starting, I took it for a walk in the mountains, taught it some survival skills, and brought you a little surprise."
With a shake of his hand, a small animal skin package appeared on the tea table. The old wolf handed it to Li Ye and picked up the teacup in front of him.
The old ape stared at the package in Li Ye's hand with his eyes widened.
Li Ye took the package and opened it carefully. There was still a layer of animal skin inside. Before I opened it, there was a faint aroma spreading outside. It was more fragrant than the wild flowers on Tianshan Mountain, and more charming than the aroma of tea brewed by Li Ye.
Then open the second layer of animal skin, and you will see five light yellow flowers quietly wrapped inside. The moment the animal skin is opened, the wrapped petals will also expand. Each flower is as big as the old ape's fist. .
Li Ye trembled all over when he saw the opened petals, and couldn't help blurting out: "Tianshan Snow Lotus, this is the legendary snow lotus!"
The old ape and the old wolf looked at Li Ye in disbelief and said in unison: "How did you know this was Snow Lotus? Who told you?"
Li Ye stretched out his little hand and gently touched the yellow petals, and murmured: "My Xiaoqing lent me a medicinal book, which has descriptions and drawings of snow lotus. The snow lotus that my husband didn't pick was actually allowed to grow." Senior and Xiaobai picked it back. It’s really amazing.”
Xiaobai was drinking tea with his head down. When he heard Li Ye talking about himself, he screamed a few times. That means you can't underestimate me now, and don't call me a foodie anymore.
Li Ye rewrapped the package, pushed it in front of Lao Langyou, and said softly: "Senior, this is too valuable. I can't accept it. Please keep it for yourself."
Old Lang stretched out his hand to touch Xiao Bai's head, looked at Li Ye and said with a smile: "We can't gain much skill by eating this flower that grows on Tianshan Mountain. Xiao Bai has already secretly eaten two flowers on the mountain. Eating it again will have no effect.”
"I heard from Xiaobai a few days ago that your mother is going to give you a sister. Let the blue bird take these snow lotus down the mountain and give your mother one. Then she will tear the petals of the snow lotus into pieces and feed them slowly. Giving it to a little girl after birth will be of great benefit to her throughout her future life.”
The old ape nodded in agreement. He drank all the tea in the cup and placed it in front of Li Ye.
He raised his head and said: "Tianshan Snow Lotus is a legendary creature. We have been on this mountain for thousands of years and have never encountered it a few times. There are five of them here. Let Xiaoqing take two down the mountain, and you can eat one yourself. , keep the other two flowers well, they may be used to save lives one day in the future.”
"I don't know how much Lao Lang and I have eaten, otherwise we wouldn't be as strong as we are today, so don't be polite and accept it well. Besides, in the days to come, Xiaobai will follow you to practice and enter the world, which will cost you a lot of money. Less energy.”
Li Ye sighed softly, looked at the old wolf and the old ape and said, "Xiao Bai and I have two seniors. We have the fate of cultivating in the previous life. I just opened my mouth and recited the Buddhist scriptures for you for several months." , but you have given me too many opportunities and surprises.”
The old wolf laughed loudly, glanced at the old ape and then at Li Ye.
He said seriously: "If we hadn't met the young gentleman, how would this old guy and I have the chance to hear the Dharma? There would be no chance to hear the Dharma and enter the Tao. Either we would die of old age here in the Tianshan Mountains, or we would not know how to do it and be struck to death by lightning on the top of the mountain. You It’s well said, everything is destined to be fate.”
Li Ye was in an emotional state and could not express his gratitude to Lao Lang in words.
I could only say softly: "In this case, I will take my mother and my little sister down the mountain to express my gratitude to the two seniors for their kindness. I hope God will give me a chance to repay you two. Xiaobai is my brother for life. As long as he If it doesn’t leave me, I will never leave it.”
The old ape added two pieces of charcoal to the stove, clapped his hands and said, "Hurry up and boil the water and pour the tea. It's extremely cold today, so I need a sip of hot tea to feel comfortable."
Seeing the old ape's appearance, Old Lang and Li Ye couldn't help laughing, and even Xiaobai, who was sitting blankly, howled a few times.
Li Ye filled the kettle with water and found that Xiaobai's white hair sitting next to him had a glimmer of crystal light. He couldn't help but reach out and touch its head.
Looking at Lao Lang, he said: "Senior, I feel that Xiaobai has grown up a little. His appearance has changed after not seeing him for more than ten days."
Old Wolf smiled, looked at Li Ye and Xiao Bai and said, "This little guy ate two snow lotus flowers behind my back. If he doesn't make progress, I want to kick him off Tianshan Mountain."
"I have been practicing with it on the mountain these days. It has made great progress. It is estimated that it will be able to change its shape in a short time. After all, it is the divine seed that came from the sky."
The water in the pot made a whining sound as it heated up. Li Ye picked up the teapot, filled it with boiling water, and filled the cups in front of him with hot tea.
"Two seniors, I don't understand something. You are already going through the Nine Tribulations. Why can't you transform? It seems that I have asked you this question before. Looking at Xiaobai's appearance today, I want to ask you two again. Come back."
Li Ye was a little confused, thinking that Mu Mu's master had already turned into a human form.
The old ape looked at the old wolf and smiled, then picked up the teacup in front of him and held it in his hands. "It's not that we can't transform, it's that we don't want to transform. I'm used to this appearance, and it always feels weird to change into a human form. Besides, my descendants are all apes. How do you ask me to face them in human form?" ?”
Old Wolf touched Xiaobai's head and said softly: "Old Ape and I are both used to this. We won't think about transforming until we go to another world. But Xiaobai is different. He wants to follow you. Entering the world and taking human form will eventually save you a lot of unnecessary trouble."
Li Ye pointed at Xiaobai and said with a smile: "Xiaobai, Xiaobai, hurry up and transform. Even if you can speak first, I still expect you to help me wash the pots, wash dishes, fetch water and sweep the floor after transforming. Can you?" You can’t live up to all my hard work.”
When Xiaobai heard this, he yelled at him twice, turned around, jumped off the stool, pushed the door open with his head, and went into the cave without looking back.
