Just as Li Xiuyuan read these four poetic verses, thousands of miles away, an old man in a closed cave on Tianshan Mountain opened his sleeping eyes.
He murmured to himself: "The great monk has been reading the words for hundreds of years and has not been able to understand them. Who on earth saw the mystery?"
Even so, the old man just sighed softly and immediately closed his eyes.
Outside the cave, sporadic wind and snow have slowly fallen from the top of the Tianshan Mountains. I am afraid that the first snow in the Tianshan Mountains will come before late autumn.
Shuzi murmured softly: "Everyone is kind and will reach the other side together... What is this, a Buddhist verse, brother?"
Li Xiuyuan felt something in his heart, smiled and said to himself: "I didn't expect that Xiaohu had been a king for a lifetime, but he had already seen the traces of the great road. It is really a gratifying and congratulatory thing."
The fat monk recited it three times before looking at Shuzi and replying: "This is a poem and a verse. It seems that Xiaohu has a deeper understanding of Buddhism than I do!"
Shuzi disagreed and said with a smile: "If he were a king in the desert and had committed countless killings, he would be like my husband. He assisted the king, but he was burdened with the karma."
Li Xiuyuan shook his head and said: "Buddha said that if you hear the Tao in the morning, you can enter the Tao. If Xiaohu is still there, he has spent hundreds of years practicing and repenting for his murderous karma. Doesn't it mean that he will not be able to enlighten to the Tao?"
The fat monk clasped his hands together and said with a smile: "?????????????????? If you find Xiaohu during your trip to Tianshan, senior brother, please come and get together. Maybe we can hear the truth and break the void together."
Li Xiuyuan thought for a while and replied: "If he was still in Tianshan, he would have come long ago if he wanted to see you. You should teach Huiming well and try to gain the opportunity to ascend as soon as possible."
Shuzi looked at it again and again, took Li Xiuyuan's hand and asked unwillingly: "Why can't the great monk and I see these few lines of small words, and why does my brother appear as soon as he comes?"
Li Xiuyuan chuckled: "If I'm not wrong, he wants to show off to me!"
Hearing this, the fat monk said with emotion: "Senior brother is just playing tricks on Master Xiaohu, and it is reasonable."
Li Xiuyuan sighed and said quietly: "Let's go chat with Huiming. In a few days, I will take Shuzi to Tianshan Mountain."
…
Just when Li Xiuyuan in the grotto was planning to take Shuzi to Tianshan Mountain, the wounds on Qingyu's body in Weiyang Palace gradually recovered a lot.
Xiaohei didn't dare to sneak out alone since Qingyu had an accident with him when he left the palace.
Because he discovered a secret that kept him calm. Just like his brother who was far away in the desert, after using his divine fire twice, it never appeared again no matter how hard he tried.
What was even more troublesome for him was that he could transform into a crow before, but after the assassination, he couldn't anymore.
Just when he was scared to death and at a loss, the old Taoist priest told him in his dream that he was imprisoned by the Heavenly Dao of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Because both he and Li Xiuyuan used the power of Fang Tiandao.
This time, Xiao Hei suddenly became more honest.
These days, I stay in the small courtyard behind Weiyang Palace and never go out. I spend all day reading, writing, or practicing with my bamboo sword for an hour.
Finally, before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Qingyu came and brought Xiaohei to the Queen's presence.
"Queen, what are your orders to Xiao Hei?"
After reading for a long time, Xiao Hei felt a little tired. Looking at the aloof Li, he still did not forget the etiquette he had learned from the eunuchs and maids in the palace these days.
"Sit down and talk. There are no outsiders here."
Qingyu took Xiaohei's hand and sat down. Until now, she still didn't understand how she could survive from the man in black.
So, the only thing she could do was to treat Xiao Hei better. The Queen Mother said that it was Xiao Hei who carried her back.
Li Shi glanced at Xiao Hei and said solemnly: "Xiao Hei, it's not safe for you to stay in the palace. Do you want to go out of the palace to have some fun?"
Seeing the look on the Queen's face, Xiao Hei rolled his eyes and thought to himself, "You won't have any troublesome things left to me, right?"
"What does the empress want Xiao Hei to do? I'm not very familiar with Xiao Hei when I first came to the Imperial City."
Xiao Hei told the truth, thinking that he was afraid that he would no longer dare to let Qingyu accompany him out. Now it was difficult for him to protect himself, let alone bring a Qingyu with him.
"What is there to do in the Imperial City? How about changing places and visiting the Imperial City of Northern Qi?"
Seeing that Xiao Hei didn't refuse, Li finally revealed her painstaking arrangements.
"Where is Northern Qi?" Xiao Hei was confused when he heard it. He didn't understand the map of Da Qin. Now he came to Da Zhou, and he hadn't started to learn the land here again.
Just looking at Qingyu's dumbfounded look, he suddenly laughed sheepishly.
"Idiot." Qingyu smiled: "If you have seen the map of the Great Qin era, the current Northern Qi is the Qi State of that year."
"I haven't been there." Xiao Hei frowned. Teacher Xindao only took him to Da Chu. It seemed that only his brother had been to Qi State.
Li sighed in her heart, stopped procrastinating, and said seriously: "I'm not going to Beiqi just for you to have fun. Naturally, there are still things to do, and some things are more convenient for you."
In her opinion, at Xiaohei's age, he still has some ability to protect himself. Even if he walks on the streets of Beiqi, he will not attract the attention of others. ??meaning.
And she doesn't need Xiao Hei to go to Beiqi to find someone to fight for.
Maybe Xiao Hei would stay there for a year or two before returning to the imperial city. By then, the dust in the court had settled, and the new emperor had established a firm foothold, so naturally he wouldn't be afraid of anyone messing around.
In the final analysis, the foundation between her and the emperor was too weak.
"Sister Qingyu, do you want to go with me?" Xiaohei looked at Qingyu beside him and asked with a frown: "Xiaohei can't find the way and is afraid of the dark."
In fact, he still had something to say. At worst, he would sneak out and hide in No. 47, waiting for his brother to come back from the desert.
Li was stunned for a moment, then blurted out: "Aren't you very courageous? Even those dozen killers in black can't do anything to you. This time you are just going for a walk, there is no need to fight hard."
Qingyu took Xiao Hei's hand and sighed: "I can't accompany Xiao Hei this time. You go with the caravan this time, just for fun..."
"Just going to the Imperial City of Northern Qi to have fun?"
Xiao Hei laughed in disbelief: "As long as you don't work hard with others, it's okay to go and have fun."
In his opinion, he should go to Northern Qi for a year, and when his brother returns to the imperial city, he can almost come back.
The Master once taught him that it is better to walk thousands of miles than to read thousands of books, which vaguely echoed in his ears.
This time, even though he had no wife or brother, he was determined to go to Northern Qi with the imperial city's caravan.
Thinking of this, Xiao Hei couldn't help but look at Mrs. Li and asked: "Is there anything you need Xiao Hei to help you with? Apart from fighting with others, you can think about other things."
Qingyu couldn't help laughing when she heard this: "Of course something will happen, because you are young and won't attract other people's attention. When the time comes, someone will naturally tell you what to do..."
Li looked at the two men and sighed: "It's not been a year or two since Dazhou was angry with Northern Qi. Sooner or later we will have to fight a big war with them. Now you and the caravan are just standing in front to get some information." That’s all.”
"It turns out that we need to prepare for war..."
At this time, Xiao Hei suddenly remembered Watson and thought that Watson was a powerful guy. Under the guidance of the old monk's brother, he finally became a master of destruction.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel worried. If his divine fire was not imprisoned, he would be able to help the Queen.
But to put it another way, it was probably because he used divine fire during the fight with the man in black that day that he was restrained by God.
Could it be that he was afraid that his own Northern Qi would also fail to use magical fire?
"Mother, when will Xiao Hei leave the imperial city? Xiao Hei has no money and is a poor man!"
Even after picking up more than a dozen money bags, Xiao Hei started crying in front of the Queen.
Mrs. Li couldn't help but laugh when she heard this: "I don't need you to spend money when I go out. Forget it, I'll give you some extra money when I leave."
Qingyu covered her mouth and smiled: "My queen, everything has been arranged. I will leave after the Mid-Autumn Festival."
Xiaohei chuckled, looked at Qingyu and laughed: "Fortunately, I can spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with sister Qingyu before leaving."
Qingyu took Xiao Hei's hand and smiled: "Xiao Hei, stay in Northern Qi for two years. When you are older, I will let the empress make you a high official."
…
The wind blows the fragrance of rice flowers.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xiao Hei followed a group of caravans from the Imperial City all the way to Northern Qi. In his memory, his brother and Xu Fu took this same route when they went to the East China Sea.
There are many merchants disguised as imperial guards in the caravan, so Xiao Hei doesn't need to worry about them along the way.
Different from traveling with the Master, when you go with the Master, you have to write your own thoughts, read and think. This time, Xiao Hei acted like an uncle, hiding in the car and eating.
Only when I was bored would I take out the book and read it for half an hour.
While walking and stopping on the road, I saw that I had passed the boundary of Dazhou and entered Northern Qi.
Going all the way, I saw that I could reach Liangzhou in less than two days. After arriving in Liangzhou, I could rest for two days and then go to Yecheng.
The team leader on this trip was a shopkeeper who was about fifty years old, and the youngest was Xiao Hei.
According to the wishes of the empress and the emperor, the purpose of the caravan was to open a shop in the imperial city of Northern Qi, under the banner of trade, to prepare for future wars.
Xiao Hei understood this. Just like when he and Watson wreaked havoc on the grassland three towns away, if the two hadn't burned the food and grass of the Nanhai army, the war would not have ended so easily.
Although most of us spent the night in inns along the way, we occasionally missed villages and pitched tents in the wild.
Fortunately, these are not problems for Xiao Hei. Back then, he and Watson stayed in the wasteland for who knows how long, let alone in a cave deep in the Yin Mountain.
After leaving the Zhou Dynasty and entering the Northern Qi Dynasty, the scenery of the northern country gave him some freshness, and he was willing to leave the carriage occasionally and go out for a walk.
That night, the caravan came down the official road and set up camp on a grassy slope next to a stream.
Now that they have entered Northern Qi, even the shopkeeper who led the team breathed a sigh of relief. In a few days, they will be able to reach the imperial city of Northern Qi.
When night fell, Xiao Hei did not live in the tent, but continued to stay in the carriage, telling the coachman that he was at home in the carriage.
Seeing that he was small, the coachman ignored him.
The caravan group of thirty-four people set up more than a dozen tents around the creek. After eating and drinking, they all got into the tents one after another.
We have to travel tomorrow and now is not the time to enjoy it.
Xiao Hei, who was leaning in the carriage, stared at the bright moon outside the window with round eyes. He slept for too long during the day and now he had insomnia.
Seeing that the first Mid-Autumn Festival in Dazhou has passed, I wonder if my brother and sister Shuzi have arrived in Tianshan? I don’t know if the Tianshan Mountain here is the same as the Tianshan Mountain in the Five Regions.
Stretching for tens of thousands of miles, the mountain tops are covered with snow all year round.
Think about it, if I return to the Imperial City next year and my brother doesn't come back, I will go to the depths of the desert to have a look at the Tianshan Mountains.
Thinking of this, a mind could not help but fly up into the air, quietly staring at the world.
The earth, mountains and rivers have all fallen asleep, and even the elder brothers and uncles in the camp are snoring. Only the two fires in the camp are burning quietly.
Going around again, Xiao Hei couldn't help but froze when he saw the scene under an old tree and stone wall.
"No, I have to go take a look!"
With a whoosh, Xiao Hei turned into a black smoke and slid towards the back mountain. Although Xiao Hei could not fly under the moonlight, his speed was not much slower.
In less than a quarter of an hour, they flew to the edge of a grass nest under a stone wall in the back mountain.
When he saw the scene in front of him, even Xiao Hei was dumbfounded.
