There is an ancient Taoist temple in the mountains of northeastern China. Why is it said to be ancient? Because this Taoist temple looks really... too dilapidated. The old door panels no longer have the color of the original paint. The walls of the Taoist temple are also covered with various weeds. Even the main hall of the Taoist temple seems to have faded. It has not been repaired for a long time, and it looks old and dilapidated.
At this time, an old Taoist in the temple was reasoning with the little Taoist: "Apprentice, you are too young to eat chicken legs. Things like chicken thighs are reserved for the master. How do you say that, children should eat chicken legs?" You know how to let pears go. Come on, apprentice! I'll give you the chicken butt. You'll become smarter after eating it." As he said this, the master tore off the chicken legs, looked at the apprentice with a smile, and then ate it with big mouthfuls. That eating sign really makes you have an impulse, that is, you have the urge to slap him unconsciously.
The apprentice sitting opposite had his hands tightly grasped at this time. The apprentice looked at the master's arrogant look, his eyes brightened and then dimmed. This kind of scene is very common in this Taoist temple. Every time the apprentice couldn't stand the master's mean look, but the apprentice couldn't beat him. Master, you can only endure it again and again. But his master secretly laughed in his heart. He just liked to see his apprentice look down on him and unable to defeat him. If he had the ability to practice! Boy! Knock me down! Haha~~~~
The little Taoist priest looked at the chicken thigh with only bones left, and felt hatred in his heart. He sat and thought, if he could snatch the remaining chicken leg, he said loudly to the old Taoist priest, From now on, the chicken legs are mine, and you eat the chicken butt! That would definitely make Old Man Zhang angry to death! Old man Zhang’s face will definitely make him look angry...
The old Taoist priest looked at the apprentice who was maintaining a posture and giggling foolishly, and listened to him letting out small bursts of laughter from time to time. Suddenly he slapped him hard on the head and said loudly: "What are you laughing at? You have become stupid."
The little Taoist priest looked at the master as if he had just woken up from a dream, smiled bitterly and said, "Master, you have become more handsome today." But what he was thinking in his heart was, how could I tell you that I care about torturing you!
The old Taoist took the chicken bone open to his mouth, glanced at the path, and smiled as if he had seen through the little Taoist priest's mind.
"You must not be thinking this way! But it doesn't matter, the time is coming, you will go down the mountain soon, and then you will be free. Aren't you very happy?"
The little Taoist priest was silent and did not answer the master. He just looked at the master in front of him quietly. The little Taoist priest was very reluctant to give up, but he didn't know what to say. Suddenly, the atmosphere became heavy. The old Taoist priest put down the chicken bones in his hand, took a serious look at his apprentice, then stood up and went to the window to look at the scenery of the mountains in the distance.
After a few seconds, he said: "Your opportunity has not come yet, so you cannot understand the way of this world. You need to enter the world of mortals to experience your state of mind before you can continue to make progress. This is your opportunity and your disaster!"
The little Taoist priest glanced at the master suspiciously and saw a big chicken leg in his left hand. He said suddenly: "Old man Zhang, I can't bear to let you go, but I almost believe that you are sad too? You are obviously too embarrassed to treat me as such." I’m just eating that chicken drumstick, am I really your apprentice?”
The old Taoist priest blushed and coughed softly: "These are not the important points. You have to take good care of yourself when you are out there. I will also go out for a walk after you come down from the mountain. I have to deal with some mortal past events and then travel around."
The little Taoist priest felt a little sad when he saw the master in front of him. It was the master who brought him up little by little. He still remembered how handsome he was when he was young. As he grew up, the wrinkles on his face gradually became more and more. stand up. The little Taoist priest was not a sentimental person, so he excused himself and walked out. He came to a big stone in front of the Taoist temple and sat cross-legged on it. This was his daily practice place, but he did not practice today. , but sat there quietly, the past drifting past him like a breeze.
Eighteen years ago, a Taoist priest who traveled around the world wore a somewhat shabby but very clean Taoist robe. When he traveled to a small village in the mountains, he did not want to disturb the villagers, so he planned to borrow a room in a dilapidated Taoist temple on the mountainside. night. When he walked to the path next to the Taoist temple, he saw a baby in a small basket. The baby did not cry loudly, but just looked at the world quietly, as if saying goodbye to the world, as if he already knew his short life. Maybe that's the end.
In fact, being abandoned in this place is no different from death. Because this place is too remote, generally no one will pass by here. In addition, there were not so many adventurous people at that time, so this place is almost all year round. Not many people came.
But the strange thing is that when the Taoist priest walked to the baby, the baby didn't cry. He just blinked at the Taoist priest walking slowly with his little eyes, and smiled from time to time. When the Taoist priest saw the baby, He leaned over and gently picked up the baby. At that moment, the baby was saved.
The Taoist priest took the baby into this abandoned Taoist temple and taught him as his disciple, teaching him how to practice and how to calculate fortune telling. From then on, the Taoist priest never traveled around again and focused on accompanying him. He raised this little child and even sent him to study at the foot of the mountain. Of course, this Taoist temple has become more popular since then and is no longer so desolate, because there are two more Taoist priests here, but one of the little Taoist priests rarely wears Taoist clothes, but mostly clothes common to farmers down the mountain.
Yes, this child is the little Taoist priest who was meditating on the stone. The Taoist priest who picked him up was named Zhang, so he also adopted the surname Zhang. The master also gave him a very, very... easy-to-remember name. Zhang Xiaodao. Probably because he was found on the path next to the Taoist temple!
Zhang Xiaodao's master, Old Man Zhang, always looked like he was a fool. He didn't have the demeanor of a Taoist master at all, let alone put on any airs of a master. There were no taboos in food, but he was particularly concerned about clothes. Clean, he always said that the surrounding environment is not particularly important, but one's own cultivation is very important. Clothes are a symbol of one's own cultivation. Keeping them clean at all times expresses to oneself that one will not give up on cultivation because of the external environment. of.
What the hell kind of theory is this? Zhang Xiaodao will definitely not follow this rule! Fortunately, Old Man Zhang never asked Xiaodao like this. He always told Xiaodao that you have to walk step by step on your own path of cultivation. The master cannot help you choose anything, and the master cannot find a shortcut for you.
Zhang Xiaodao only knew a little bit about old man Zhang's past. He only knew that he was a disciple of a certain Taoist sect. After practicing to a certain level, he went down the mountain to travel around the world. Maybe due to some reasons, I don’t want to go back to the mountain gate because I have concerns about the world of mortals. Sometimes Xiaodao even wonders if the master has a private life with a girl from a certain family, so he doesn’t want to go back to his own Taoist gate. Once, Xiaodao He wanted to trick his master into talking when he drank too much, but was beaten up by him. Fortunately, Xiaodao had been practicing since he was a child so he could withstand the old guy's torture. However, Xiaodao never mentioned this issue again after that time.
As for the Taoist methods taught by the master, he naturally did not tell Xiaodao where they came from. The master was worried that Xiaodao would be bound by them if he knew about them. He hopes that the path can be lived according to one's heart and enjoy all the twists and turns and joys encountered, so that the practice can reach a higher level.
Maybe it's because of the cultivation method. Old Man Zhang is very open-minded to Xiaodao and never forces Xiaodao to do anything he doesn't like, except of course for practicing. He allowed Xiaodao to have his own opinions, and also supported some of his apprentice's decisions. As long as it was not a matter of principle, he would let his apprentice make his own decision.
Also because of his cultivation, Xiaodao's intelligence was higher than that of ordinary children, so Xiaodao decided to go to school in the hope of receiving an education like ordinary children. That night, Xiaodao worked hard to think of many excuses to convince the master, but the next morning he After finishing my homework, when I asked Old Man Zhang about this issue, he actually agreed directly.
Xiaodao can still remember the scene at that time. After old man Zhang heard his apprentice say that he was going to school, he straightened his back, put his hands behind his back, raised his head and formed a 45-degree angle with the horizontal plane, looked into the distance, and then slowly said : "Your path of spiritual practice has begun, and various opportunities and challenges are waiting for you."
The scene was like an old father talking to his child, so heartfelt. But when he continued to walk forward like this, he accidentally stepped on a stone and almost fell down the mountain. Xiaodao couldn't hold back his laughter. Old man Zhang couldn't pretend to be a master or a serious person, otherwise his success would be ruined immediately. The image of the original deep warning was shattered on the ground, and Xiaodao still remembers it.
Another special thing about Old Man Zhang is that he is very greedy and will eat everything. Therefore, Xiaodao has been trained since he was a child to be able to cook all kinds of dishes. It can be said that if one day he needs to work, he can be a chef, or at least a helper.
As an orphan, he should be considered a relatively unfortunate person, but after meeting Old Man Zhang, Xiaodao felt that he was a lucky person. He was able to receive school education like a normal child when he was a child. Except that he had to get up early every day to do the exercises before going to school, he had a happy childhood like ordinary children.
Under the cruel teachings of Old Man Zhang, Xiaodao's exercises had already entered the Qi training stage at the age of 7. At that time, Xiaodao was already able to have a photographic memory and could easily memorize the contents of the book after reading them once. This also made his grades always the best in the class. He was very famous in the village primary school at that time, and the teacher also liked Xiaodao's intelligence very much.
The teacher allowed Xiaodao to get a lot of information about the outside world, letting him know that the outside world was wonderful, which this small Taoist temple could not provide, so Xiaodao worked harder and spent almost all his time on practicing and studying. When he was in high school, Xiaodao met a female teacher who had just started working. At that time, she was in high spirits. With Xiaodao's intelligence, Xiaodao easily won the first place in her age group.
As his teacher, the female teacher who had just started working was praised by the principal in public! Xiaodao was also rewarded and got the first mobile phone in his life. You must know that in China at that time, mobile phones were not as popular as they are now! This gift made Xiaodao happy for a long time. The excitement that made him unable to sleep, and the feeling that he had to put his phone next to the pillow to feel at ease, were unmatched by any gift in the future. The reason why Xiaodao is so excited and likes it is because the mobile phone can access the Internet and can see a lot of information about the outside world.
Although Old Man Zhang rarely talks about his past events, he has never been stingy about some of his travel experiences. This has made Xiaodao know about the size of China and the scenery and people in various places since he was a child. Whenever he hears these, Xiaodao They are all yearning for it. So Xiaodao wanted to go to college to explore the outside world. After all, there were so many unknown challenges, beauties, and all kinds of wonderful things waiting for him!
Just when Xiaodao was thinking a lot, old man Zhang suddenly appeared next to him, patted my head and said: "Xiaodao, go to the village at the foot of the mountain and say goodbye to your uncles and aunts. When you were young, you were Everyone is pulling on you, especially your Aunt Wang, you have even sucked her milk! This time you go down the mountain is different from going to school before. You won’t come back many times in the future, and you will develop outside after you go to college. , let’s talk to everyone about it.”
Hearing what the master said, Xiaodao stood up and jumped down, came to the side of Old Man Zhang, looked at his clean Taoist robes and neat hair, and replied with a smile: "Okay old man! You can eat at home, I will come back when I go." , I will bring back some pig head meat later to satisfy your craving."
After saying this, Xiaodao walked towards the Taoist temple, because he didn't want to see the reluctance in Old Man Zhang's eyes. In fact, Xiaodao knew that the master also had many things that needed to be settled out of the mountain. In the past, it was because of his existence that the master could even go out. Have to come back soon too.
Xiaodao came to the room, picked up his schoolbag, put it on his back and ran down the mountain, because there was still half an hour to go to the bottom of the mountain. Old Man Zhang didn't want the villagers to know what he was practicing, so he trotted down the mountain along the path like a normal person. It was only 9 a.m. when he arrived at Aunt Wang's house, he could help with some farm work.
Aunt Wang can be said to be Xiaodao's nanny. Xiaodao grew up drinking her milk. Old man Zhang had no experience in taking care of children at that time, so he went to the village to find someone for help. It happened that Aunt Wang had just given birth to a daughter and still had milk, so Aunt Wang They raised Xiaodao together like a son. When Xiaodao was hungry, Old Man Zhang brought him to drink milk. Aunt Wang felt that she was feeding him both one and two children, so she got used to feeding him milk, but later the milk was not enough for the two children. Xiaodao He was forced to wean slowly, but by then he was already very healthy.
In Xiaodao's heart, Aunt Wang is an amiable mother. Every time he goes down the mountain, he goes to Aunt Wang's house to help with some farm work. However, with his physique, he can really help Aunt Wang a lot. Take corn harvesting as an example, Xiaodao One person can transport all the corn from Aunt Wang's house back home in two days, and then neatly load it into the granary.
In addition to growing corn, Aunt Wang's house also has a large area of apple trees. In autumn, Xiaodao will also help unload apples. That is Xiaodao's favorite thing. When he encounters big red ones, he just picks them and eats them. The feeling of satisfaction is better than It’s okay to eat meat!
I jogged all the way to Aunt Wang's house and saw Aunt Wang picking vegetables in the garden. Xiaodao picked a tomato and took a bite and said, "Aunt Wang, what are you busy with today? I have the right time today. Take a look and see what kind of work there is." I need to do it.”
Aunt Wang smiled and said: "I don't know how to eat it after washing it, so I won't worry about getting upset." Aunt Wang smiled and got up and picked a big, red tomato for Xiaodao, and then went to wash it.
Looking at Aunt Wang's back, she suddenly didn't know how to tell her that she was going to school. Xiaodao knew that she would be away for a long time this time. In the past, even when she was in high school, Xiaodao would come several times a week. This time it may take him a year or more to come back. Although the village is now connected to kilometers, it is still very troublesome to come back once. Fortunately, there are telephones in the village now, so it is relatively convenient to contact him, but I won’t be able to help Aunt Wang with farm work or anything like that in the future.
Aunt Wang seemed to have noticed Xiaodao's thoughts. She walked slowly to Xiaodao, stretched out her hand and handed the tomatoes to Xiaodao and said, "Don't worry, I still have a daughter. You forgot. Besides, if you can be successful, I will I'm very happy. If you can stay in a big city, you will be blessed. Then you can take me and your uncle to see the world. Don't just stand around and come over to help pick vegetables. I'll cook you something delicious later. Yes, you won’t be able to taste the taste of home outside anymore! I knew you would come today, so I asked Xiaojiao to buy meat for you, and you should be back soon."
Xiaodao smiled happily and immediately went to pick vegetables, but there was always a kind of sadness in his heart. He didn't know how to get rid of it. Xiaodao is actually a relatively cheerful person who doesn't like sadness. I don't know what happened today. Maybe This is a common problem for everyone who wants to travel far away from home. Not long after, there were footsteps and singing outside the yard. You didn't need to listen carefully to know that it was Aunt Wang's daughter Xiaojiao who was back.
Aunt Wang's daughter is called Liu Xiaojiao. Like Xiaodao, she is 18 years old this year. She has long black hair blowing in the wind, and a face with oval seeds. Her height of 165cm and slender thighs make her not much shorter than Xiaodao. . Her skin is very white, although it is not modified by cosmetics, but it is not inferior to those so-called big stars at all. Coupled with her lively and lovely temperament, she can be regarded as the most beautiful girl in Xiaodao's heart, at least in this small village.
She came to me like a gust of wind, holding the meat in her hand and saying, "Brother, you have taken it orally. What delicious food did mom say you would make for you today?" Xiaodao tried his best to avoid looking directly at her figure. He said awkwardly: "Yes, you are not allowed to eat it for a while, that was specially made for me!"
Xiaodao has a very good relationship with her. They have been friends since childhood, so they often bicker when they meet, and Xiaodao wins every time. When she heard Xiaodao's words, she pursed her lips and said, "What a beautiful idea. Not only do I want to eat it, but I also want to eat it all." Then she snorted, gave Xiaodao a roll of her eyes and walked into the kitchen.
