The top of Quelong Mountain.
In an ordinary farmyard, a hunched old man walked in holding the hand of a little boy. From the perspective of those who don't know, it should be the elderly grandfather who brought his grandson home.
But looking up, there is only this dilapidated and lonely farmyard that has existed for who knows how many years among the green mountains and green cypresses.
"Master, where is this?"
The boy's still very immature voice broke the silence that had always been here. His dark eyes kept looking around, looking at the dilapidated earth walls, crooked fences and rusty farm tools, he almost wondered if he was in the wrong place.
"Master's home will also be your home from now on."
The old man stood in the courtyard, not paying attention to the suspicious look in the boy's eyes. He stretched out his hands that were calloused from years of farming and patted them hard a few times:
"Second, second and third, come out and meet your junior brother."
Hearing the sound, the side door opened a small crack, revealing two pairs of black eyes, looking at the boy almost without blinking.
"Master, you are back."
Following the sound, a boy of seventeen or eighteen years old came over carrying a large bundle of firewood. He still looks very handsome, but his skin is a little dark from living in the mountains and forests for many years. If he were paler, he would definitely be a handsome man that everyone would love.
"Oh, boss..."
The old man reached out and patted the little boy next to him on the head. Regardless of the boy's attempts to struggle away from his hand, he said with a smile:
"This is the youngest, your junior brother."
"Junior brother?" The young man threw the firewood behind him into the corner, then took off the rusty hatchet from behind his waist and put it aside safely. Then he quickly walked up to the boy, squatted down, looked at the boy's eyes and said:
"Hello, junior brother, I am Chun Bu Mian. You can call me senior brother or boss."
"Hello, senior brother."
"Hey." The young man agreed with a smile, and then shouted to the two junior brothers inside the door who had been watching just now:
"Second and third brother, come and meet my junior brother."
The young man's words were actually more effective than the old man's.
The door opened with a creak, and two boys in civilian clothes ran out. The one in front is shorter and darker. The person walking behind was a fair and pretty girl.
"I've met Third Senior Brother and Second Senior Brother."
"What! You call him Second Senior Brother, and you call me Third Senior Brother? Look, I won't beat your brains out for you! My surname is not Dong..."
When the dark and short boy heard this, he immediately rushed over with his fists raised in anger. The handsome boy behind him was just stunned for a moment, then just shook his head and chuckled.
What, what did I say wrong?
The boy subconsciously thought that the taller and more handsome boy was his second senior brother, and the shorter black boy was his third senior brother. But he didn't know that he had just reversed the identities of the two people.
"Okay, okay..." The senior brother still looked like a senior brother. He grabbed the second brother who rushed over. No matter how the latter struggled, he would not let go. He also said:
"Junior brother just came, I just admitted my mistake for a moment. Okay, okay, don't get so angry."
"That's right, who told you to grow short? Why don't we let people talk about the short winter melon..."
The handsome boy also came over. With a smile on his face, he glanced contemptuously at the black boy who was trapped between the elder brother's hands and could not escape. He looks elegant, but his words are like little knives, piercing people's hearts.
"Ahhh! Third brother, let's see if I don't beat you to death!"
The third brother's eyes are about to burst into flames. He has long forgotten the boy who called him by the wrong name. He is now determined to open a big hole in the head of the third brother who does not know how to live or die. It is best if he can The kind where you can see the soles of your feet from the top of your head!
"Come on, I'm afraid you won't make it, come on, come on, short winter melon."
The handsome boy also deliberately made a face. He didn't care about the arrogant third senior brother. Instead, he smiled at the younger junior brother:
"Younger brother, you must be hungry. When I finish packing that short winter melon, I will prepare something delicious for you."
"Uh...thank you, senior brother."
At this time, the third senior brother finally broke away from the eldest brother's hand. Rather than saying that he broke away, it was better to say that the eldest brother let him go deliberately. As soon as he landed, he rushed straight to where the second child was standing at lightning speed.
But the second senior brother was not a fool. He rushed out of the yard almost at the same time and disappeared into the woods beside the mountain path.
"Don't run! If I catch you, I won't break your legs and hands, but I'll peel off your skin and eat your flesh... I, I'll chew your bones!"
"Hahaha, eat me? You will get diarrhea."
The figures of the two chasing each other were no longer visible, and only the sounds of their bickering could be heard. However, the divine voice is getting further and further away, and gradually it can no longer be heard clearly. I don't know how far they ran.
"Ignore them. Boss, take the youngest to clean up, prepare a bed for him, and familiarize him with the environment."
The old man looked at his two stupid apprentices who didn't let him worry at all. He could only helplessly touch his white beard, and then ordered his senior brother:
"Tomorrow at nine o'clock, take him to the backyard."
The senior brother was stunned and almost couldn't believe his ears. He lowered his head and looked at the junior brother beside him carefully. After a while, he asked in a surprised voice:
"Master, wouldn't it be a good idea if you let your junior brother go to the backyard just after he arrived?"
Um? The old man said nothing, but twirled his beard and glanced sideways at his eldest disciple. That seems to mean: Don’t you believe in me, your master?
"Okay, I understand. Junior brother, come with me."
The eldest brother took the boy's hand and led him into the room where the second and third children ran out just now.
The old man lay down on a bamboo deck chair in the courtyard, as if he had shed all his fatigue, and rested lazily with his eyes slightly closed.
In my ears, I can still hear the conversation between the senior brother and the junior brother.
"Elder brother, what's in the backyard?"
"Nothing, just more than three thousand tattered books."
"Book?"
"Well, you'll find out tomorrow."
…
"Here are three thousand classics borrowed by our ancestors from the Buddhist and Taoist families. My younger brother, your task is to read them all."
The elder brother led the little boy to the backyard of the farmyard with a smile. The backyard is not big, there is only a pavilion with ventilation on all sides, and there are many bamboo slips and books piled crookedly inside.
"Ah! Three thousand! How long will it take to finish watching it..."
The boy's face turned bitter in an instant. He reluctantly sat on the only seat in the pavilion. Holding the last glimmer of hope, he asked his senior brother:
"Senior brother, if I'm not careful..."
"Let me tell you, these things are all borrowed and must be returned. Don't have any evil thoughts..." Seeing the boy's lost look, the senior brother could only smile and shake his head. He also passed through this level, and his mood at that time was similar to that of his current junior brother:
"Okay, okay, it won't be long."
With this sentence, the flowers bloom and fall as spring passes and autumn comes. A full ten years have passed.
ten years.
Do you know how I have spent these ten years?
"Ah! Ah! Ah! I won't watch it. I won't watch it. Whoever wants to watch it can watch it."
The grown-up Xia Zhichan huddled up like a snail in the "house" where bamboo slips were piled up, clutching her head with both hands and shouting incessantly.
"Youngest, this is already your eighteenth time this month..."
When the old man heard the shouting, he walked slowly to the backyard. He looked at Xia Zhichan, who was rolling around in the pile of books and no longer reading, and couldn't help but smile:
"If you don't want to read, what do you want to do?"
"Get off the mountain!"
Xia Zhichan emerged from the pile of books, walked quickly to the old man, and said with almost tears in his eyes:
"Master. I worshiped you when you said you would teach me how to conquer demons. But look, I haven't done anything in the past ten years. I just read and read. What's the use of just reading? "
"Read books and learn knowledge. Only when you have laid the foundation can you build a tall building, right?"
The old man has almost no change compared to ten years ago, except that he has more gray hair on his temples and his beard has changed from gray to completely white. He hunched over and picked up the books that Xia Zhichan had thrown outside the pavilion one after another and put them back to the desk.
"I haven't finished watching it for ten years..."
Xia Zhichan's momentary irritability gradually dissipated, and he also helped his master clean up the mess he had made. He kept asking himself about his master:
"Master, how long did it take for the senior brothers to finish reading it?"
"Well, let me think about it..." The old man sat sideways. He looked up at Xia Zhichan, who was already completely impatient, and sighed secretly:
"It took the boss a year."
"It's only been a year! No wonder senior brother said he would finish it soon..."
Before Xia Zhichan's surprise could dissipate, she heard her master continue to say:
"The second child took it for a month, and the third child... he seemed to have only watched it for a day."
"One month! One day!" Xia Zhichan's legs went weak and she sat down in front of her master. He lowered his head and remained silent for a long time. Finally, he held it in for a long time before continuing:
"Master, am I... very stupid? I have no talent at all."
"Haha, don't be so anxious and discouraged."
The old man patted Xia Zhichan on the shoulder. He looked back at the pile of books again, then pondered for a moment, then twirled his beard and said:
"You really don't want to watch anymore?"
"I won't watch it, I won't watch it. Whoever wants to watch it can go. Anyway, I'm determined not to watch it." Xia Zhichan shook his head so much that he was about to fall off. Seeing the painful expression on his face, his teacher didn't either. Force him again.
"My dear, you have been reading books in the backyard for ten years. Have you ever wondered why there is a door on the wall in the backyard?"
The old man said, pointing with his hand. On the wall directly opposite the pavilion where Xia Zhichan studies all year round, there is a black and white wooden door.
"Master, I've seen it a long time ago. The door was painted, and I don't know which senior's wonderful painting it was. At first glance, it looks like the real thing, but the painting is just a painting, and the wall is still a wall. There is no door at all. .”
Xia Zhichan has been studying in this small courtyard for ten years. Not to mention a painted door, he knows every plant and tree, including the number of petals of the small wild flowers growing in the corner.
"Okay, then come with me."
The old man stood up and walked towards the false door painted with paintings. Xia Zhichan followed closely behind him. Although he looked puzzled, he still didn't ask any questions.
It was obviously a fake door, but the old man just pushed it gently with both hands.
The door actually opened, and a soft white light that was completely different from the sunlight in the sky emitted from the crack in the door. It seems that I can still hear some sound faintly in my ears, but when I listen carefully, the sound disappears again.
"Wow, Master, you are still amazing. What kind of magic is this? Please teach me."
"Stop talking and watch carefully."
The old man put away his laziness and scolded Xia Zhichan sternly for the first time. It was also the first time that the other party saw such a serious expression on his master's face. He did not dare to neglect and could only follow the instructions and look out the open door.
"What did you see?"
"Uh... Master, I saw a lot of things. But it's so far away that I can't see clearly. I want to get closer and have a look..."
Xia Zhichan stared intently, the world outside the door was so indescribably beautiful. He couldn't help but raise his legs and cross the threshold, wanting to walk towards the world outside the door.
But as soon as he leaned forward, he hit the courtyard wall hard. A large hole was suddenly made in the rotten earth wall, and a lot of yellow-gray earth fell down.
"Ouch." Xia Zhichan cried out in pain and hurriedly touched her forehead. Fortunately, a big bump didn't come out, otherwise her appearance would be disfigured.
"Okay, I get it."
The old man didn't know when he stopped the spell. He walked around the yard twice with his hands behind his back. Then he glanced at his young apprentice Xia Zhichan, who was still rubbing his forehead, and said helplessly:
"You...you can go down the mountain."
"What? Really, Master, can I really go down the mountain?"
"Yes, you can, but since you haven't started yet, it will be very dangerous if you go down the mountain. Come with me to get a few things and protect yourself."
The old man got up and walked to his room. Xia Zhichan couldn't help but talk back while following.
"Master, I have been studying for ten years. Have you not started yet?"
"That's not what I mean by 'getting started'." The old man opened his box that had been dusty for many years, took a few things from it, and continued:
"Lingguan lineage cultivation is divided into four realms, namely 'Entry', 'Entering the Hall', and 'Knowing the Heaven'. But I can't teach you the method of inner breath cultivation, so you are not even an 'Entry'. "
"Master, hey, you're bullying me for not knowing how to count. You just mentioned the names of three realms, but you didn't mention the last realm."
"You, let's talk about it after we get in."
…
Xia Zhichan was the first person to wake up on the rickety ferry boat. He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and looked around.
The river was filled with white mist, and the old fisherman who was standing at the stern of the boat disappeared without a trace. The people on the boat were lying around on the boat, mumbling incomprehensible nonsense.
There was a soft hum.
Then a pair of big hands stretched out from the side and hugged Xia Zhichan's right arm tightly. Xia Zhichan couldn't break free for a while.
Looking closer, it turned out to be the silly boy who was willing to pay ten people to cross the river. The silly boy had his eyes closed tightly, as if he was possessed. He couldn't tell whether he was crying or laughing, but he could only be heard shouting:
"father!"
