Li Ye did not go to Xuantian Temple with his husband, but returned to Prajna Temple by himself.
When I walked up the stone steps of the mountain gate and reached the square outside the main palace, I saw Xiao Wuyou sitting on the stone steps in a daze with his face in his hands.
Li Ye walked up and patted him on the shoulder and said, "Senior nephew Wuyou, what are you thinking about just sitting here?"
Wuyou, who was wandering in his mind, was snapped back to consciousness by Li Ye.
He murmured: "Uncle, you are finally back. Wuyou misses you so much."
After saying that, she stretched out her hand and pulled his sleeve, fearing that he would run away again.
Looking at Wuyou's appearance, Li Ye felt a warm feeling well up in his heart, as if Xiaobai from Tianshan Mountain had returned to him.
He reached out and pulled him up who was sitting on the stone steps, and said with a smile: "Let's go to my small courtyard. I'll cook mushroom and bamboo shoot porridge for you to eat."
Wuyou took his hand and smiled and said, "I happen to be a little hungry. It's better for me, Junior Uncle. I won't be hungry as soon as I come back."
Li Ye looked at him and smiled: "It's not like I haven't gone to the yard. When I'm hungry, I can go in and cook porridge. Everything in the house is ready."
Wuyou thought for a moment, looked at him and said, "I'll remember it. I'll give it a try next time when my junior uncle isn't here."
Shaking his head, Li Ye pulled him towards the small courtyard.
Li Ye had only been away for more than twenty days, but it felt like he had been away for a year.
After thinking for a moment, the only way to thank Wuyou for his hard work cleaning the gate for him these days is to have a meal together.
It was already past midnight. Wuyou touched his belly and looked at Li Ye sheepishly, laughing. The two of them walked side by side to the back of the hall.
...
"Did anything big happen in the temple these days when I was away? Are senior brother Minghui, senior abbot, and your master okay? Did Wuxin, who went down the mountain, send any message back to the temple?"
"The snow on the mountain road is almost finished melting. In a few days, pilgrims will come to the temple to offer incense..."
Li Ye, who returned to the small courtyard, was busy cooking while asking Wuyou who was in a daze beside him.
Wuyou sat on a small stool and helped wash the mushrooms, smiling stupidly and not replying to Li Ye's words.
Li Ye, who didn't hear the echo, turned his head, looked at Wuyou who was giggling, and glared at him gently.
He smiled and said, "What about asking you a question? You should answer me after all."
Wuyou chuckled and replied: "How can anything happen in the temple? Master and the others are very good. The mountain is blocked by heavy snow. How can there be any news about our senior brother? If there is, it will have to wait until spring."
"It's good news that everything is okay. As for Wu Xin, since he has gone down the mountain, he should walk on his own from now on."
Li Ye nodded, looking old-fashioned.
It wasn't until the water boiling in the pot started to steam that he remembered that the Wuyou in front of him was one year older than him. After the new year, he would be ten years old, and the Wuyou in front of him was already eleven.
The little brother who lived in Fengyun City back then had unknowingly grown into a unique young master in the five realms.
"In the days to come, I will go to Xuantian Guanhou Mountain in Beipo to learn sword-making with my new master. I will be away from the temple for ten days every month. If you are in a hurry, come and see me there. ."
Li Ye thought for a while, looked at Wuyou and said softly.
Wuyou nodded and replied, "I know, I'll come find you if I need anything."
"When you get to Xuantian Temple, go up the back mountain and climb the mountain road for two miles. When you see a small wooden house, you can see me."
Li Ye thought for a while and told Wuyou that he was going to learn sword making.
Wuyou, who was putting mushrooms in the pot, shook his hand and almost dropped the sink into the pot.
He turned to look at Li Ye and asked, "Uncle Junior, you have been away for more than twenty days. Why did you become the disciple of the master swordsmith when you came back?"
With a look of confusion on his face, he held the vegetable basin in his little hand and shook it a few times.
Li Ye patted him gently and said with a smile: "My husband and I originally asked Master Ouyang to help me cast an epee. Unexpectedly, by chance, he asked me to cast the sword myself. I have no choice but to be his apprentice."
"I learned sword-making techniques from him. Fortunately, I still have a long time in Prajna Temple, so I can slowly learn from him. When I leave the army, I can also forge a sword or other weapons for you."
Wuyou's eyes lit up and he put down the sink in his hand.
He came over and took Li Ye's hand and said, "I'm just learning Arhat Boxing from my master now. I haven't practiced weapons yet. When I decide what kind of weapon I want to choose, I'll ask my uncle to help me cast one."
Li Ye grinned and said, "No problem, as long as I learn the casting technology from the master, I will definitely help you make a weapon of your choice."
Seeing Wuyou's proud look, Li Ye thought for a while and continued: "I'm going to learn how to make swords. As long as you know about it, don't tell the brothers in the temple."
"When everyone asks me to give them a weapon, I will be annoyed to death. I still have to practice and go home to see my parents and sister..."
That means that I can't stay in the temple and be a swordsmith.
Wuyou nodded and said: "Don't worry, little junior uncle, only I know about this. I promise not to tell other senior brothers. But, do you want to tell junior uncle Minghui? After all, you will leave every month in the future. Some days in the temple.”
Li Ye thought for a while, while stirring the porridge in the pot, he said: "I will tell Brother Minghui about this. In my opinion, whether it is sweeping the floor in the temple or going to Xuantian Temple to learn sword making, it is It’s practice.”
"Is there a Taoist temple on the north slope of Fangcun Mountain? Why don't I know about it? I haven't heard the master talk about it."
Wuyou looked at Li Ye and thought, I've been here longer than you, why do you know things I don't know?
Li Ye rolled his eyes at him and said, "I didn't know about this at all. My husband told me that before I came to Prajna Temple, I went to Xuantian Temple and stayed in the temple for a few days before coming."
"The masters in the temple don't tell you because they are afraid of affecting your state of mind. If you don't practice well and go somewhere to play, wouldn't it be a mess?"
"Uncle, haven't you been there? Why didn't you mess up?"
Wuyou blinked, his face full of disbelief.
Li Ye scratched his head and looked at this innocent and romantic nephew who was one year older than him. He didn't know what to say for a moment.
After staying for a long time, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: "I once practiced in the big Buddhist temple in our home. I can control my mind a little. The people who come to Prajna Temple to practice are also in my own state of mind. You can understand what I say. ?"
Seeing Li Ye's troubled and serious look, Wuyou nodded in realization.
He smiled and said, "No wonder my uncle didn't chant sutras or go to the temple to do morning prayers after he came to the temple. It turned out that he wanted to cultivate his own state of mind. It seems that I will have to learn more about how to practice from my uncle in the future... ..."
"Does practicing make sense?" Li Ye was stunned.
"Is there no reason to practice?" Wuyou was stunned.
"If you have to practice truth, then what should you practice for?"
Li Ye lowered his head, looked at the fire where the porridge was cooking, and muttered softly, not knowing whether he was talking to himself or asking Wuyou.
"Young uncle, you made me dizzy. Only my master and Uncle Minghui can understand what you said."
Wuyou shook his bald head.
Li Ye looked at him and smiled lightly.
He said: "It doesn't matter if you don't understand now. As long as you practice seriously, you will understand one day. In fact, practice is very simple. Didn't your master tell you: eat when you eat and sleep when you sleep?"
"You know, my master told me these principles when I was very young. He asked me to eat when I eat with my senior brother, chant when I chant sutras, and sleep when I sleep... So I rarely think about other principles. I am practicing the method my master taught me."
Wuyou nodded, indicating that he understood what Li Ye said.
As soon as Li Ye looked at him, he knew that he only understood half of it and didn't know how to teach him.
I had no choice but to continue: "Because of this, you will be very happy in the temple, unlike your senior brother who is careless and thinks too much and can't let it go, so he is depressed all day long."
"I have listened to the lectures given by the abbot. He once said: There is no difficulty in the ultimate path, only choice. Does this mean that I am unintentional, senior brother?"
Wuyou looked at Li Ye and asked thoughtfully.
Li Ye thought for a while, trying to find a word to answer his question. After thinking for a long time, he couldn't find a suitable word.
I was shocked and realized that I had always been discriminating. From Tianshan to Fangcun Mountain, it seemed that I had made many choices.
He lowered his head and pondered for a long time, then looked helplessly at Wuyou, frowned and said, "Wouyou, whether in the world or in a Buddhist temple, true happiness is the ability not to choose."
"Perhaps you can't understand what I'm saying now, but you will eventually grow up to be as big as your senior brother Wu Xin, and you will inevitably encounter unsatisfactory things. When the time comes, think about what I'm saying to you now. You You will understand that you are the happiest now..."
He recalled that he had made a choice since he met the young lady from the General's Mansion on the Liuhe River. ,
She chose her husband to be her master, she chose to bypass the General's Mansion to avoid the little sister's obstruction, she chose to go to Tianshan Mountain to practice, she chose Mumu to be her sister... she chose to take Xiaobai to practice with her.
He chose to stay in Poxu Monk's cave just to repay Lao Yuan's favor. Later, he was attacked in the Great Buddha Temple and chose to kill people... He chose to agree to Li Mingzhu and cancel Dongfang Yu'er's marriage.
Along the way, God seemed to have been forcing him to make a choice, until now, Ouyang Dongli chose him to be the disciple to inherit the mantle, and he chose Ouyang Dongli to be his sword-making master.
If he could have his life over again, he would rather be like Wuyou in front of him and live in the Prajna Temple since he was a child.
Carefree, no need to think about the method of practice, no need to be afraid that someone will suddenly attack you, no need to be inexplicably divorced, etc...
Unknowingly, he chanted softly: If life is just like the first time we met, why should I meet you? It would be better not to meet you.
Wuyou, who was sitting aside, didn't know what Li Ye was feeling, thinking that Li Ye was distressed because he didn't understand what he said.
He quickly said: "Young uncle, you don't have to worry about me. The master also said that I don't need to understand too many principles right now. I just need to practice Buddhism and the skills he taught me well. We can talk about the future."
Li Ye looked at Wuyou, took a deep breath, and said with a smile: "It's better for you, don't think about too many trivial matters. You're right, the days are long, don't be anxious."
"Master Minghui once told me that the road to spiritual practice is long, don't be anxious, let alone gain or lose in the short term."
I didn’t quite understand this truth before, but after chatting with my junior uncle today, I feel a little bit more enlightened.
"There is a sequence of hearing the Tao, and there is no fixed time for attaining the Tao. Master Wuyou, practice well and you will get what you want."
Li Ye looked up at the outside of the kitchen, not knowing when the sky was full of stars.
The mushroom and bamboo shoot porridge cooked in the pot also gave off an alluring fragrance, which made the two of them move their index fingers and hurriedly opened the cabinet and took out the bowls and chopsticks...
Life is actually very simple.
It's so simple that just a pot of mushroom porridge can make two teenagers happy.
