It was early spring, and most of the trees in the mountains had fallen leaves. Only pines and cypresses were evergreen, and the black shadow he saw appeared in a pine forest. Because it was far away and mostly covered, he couldn't see it clearly. You can roughly tell that the shadow is about the size of a dog, and its fur is black and gray.
But that thing was only about the same size as a dog, but it didn't look like a dog. The most important thing was that dogs couldn't climb trees, and that thing was on a tree. It looked like such a big animal that could climb trees. Maybe not.
Changsheng had doubts in his heart, so he left the pool and walked towards the pine forest in the distance. He was not sure whether the thing could bite people, so he picked up a wooden stick and held it in his hand while walking.
The animal on the tree seemed to be sleeping, lying motionless on the tree. Because it was curled up, he couldn't see the animal's appearance, but one thing he was sure of was that this thing was definitely not a lynx or a domestic cat. .
Just a dozen feet away from the pine forest, Changsheng accidentally stepped over a rock. The sound of the rock falling woke up the sleeping animal. Hearing the sound, the animal turned around and found Changsheng was approaching, and he hurriedly jumped into the depths of the pine forest. He jumped several times between the tree branches and disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.
Changsheng did not chase after him, but froze in confusion. He had already seen the appearance of the animal clearly before. It was indeed not a cat, but a monkey with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks. Monkeys are rare in the north, and in Dengzhou There were no monkeys at all, and he knew monkeys because he had seen monkey performers in the county town when he was a child.
The monkey that escaped seemed to have a collar tied around its neck. It must have an owner. It must have escaped from the monkey trickster.
Seeing that the monkey ran away, Changsheng turned around and returned to the waterhole. In fact, fishing with a coiled hook did not require supervision, but at this time, Taoist priest Lin and others were sitting cross-legged and meditating, and he did not dare to disturb everyone.
In the late afternoon, everyone set out on their way. Changsheng had a few yellow croakers strung with thatch in his hand. This is a scaleless fish that looks like a catfish. When caught, it will make a squeaking sound.
Taoist priest Lin spoke very little. Among the junior brothers, the third one, Chen Liqiu, was the most talkative, followed by the second one, Li Zhongyong. Batulu would occasionally interrupt and the fourth one, Mayumi Tian, would only speak when others were talking to her.
The arrival of Changsheng freed Chen Liqiu from the tedious chores of cooking. Chen Liqiu liked him, so as a thank you, he took the initiative to explain the key points of martial arts training to him. However, Chen Liqiu's so-called key words were only one sentence, 'More than 90% of the time. Everyone is right-handed, and they are accustomed to using one hand to attack when fighting. If your left hand can be as flexible as your right hand, you can defeat more than 90% of ordinary people. '
Seeing that although Changsheng nodded, the look on his face was not very convincing. Chen Liqiu picked up a stone and threw it out with his left hand. Then he picked up another piece and handed it to Changsheng, "Come on, Lao Wu, try it with your left hand too." .”
Changsheng took the stone and threw it with his left hand. Not only was the distance very close, but it was also completely inaccurate.
"Looking at the way you throw it, you look like an old woman." Chen Liqiu said with a smile.
Changsheng was speechless and laughed in embarrassment.
Seeing Chang Sheng's embarrassment, Li Zhongyong said, "What Lao San said makes sense. You must learn to use your left hand. If you can make moves with both hands in the future, you will have a great advantage."
Changsheng nodded in response. He had never noticed before that his left hand was very inflexible compared to his right hand. Only after being reminded by the two of them did he realize that his left hand was not only weak but also very clumsy.
Li Zhongyong and Chen Liqiu were nearby when Taoist Lin was talking to Changsheng. They heard their conversation and knew that Changsheng wanted to study the Hunyuan Divine Art. However, the Hunyuan Divine Art was an exquisite Taoist mental method and he wanted to practice it. Hunyuan Divine Art requires familiarity with Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, but Changsheng didn't even understand the basics of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, so the two could only start with the most basic Yin-Yang Yili.
Changsheng is very smart. He can remember complicated music after listening to it once. He can also remember what the two people said. At first, he just listened quietly to the two people talking. By the evening, not only did the five elements complement each other, With this in mind, I can even tell you all the Eight Trigrams and Nine Palaces.
In order to avoid troubles, people mostly choose wilderness trails, and the resting places are also casual. Tonight, I was lucky and came across an abandoned Yantai. The so-called Yantai is a beacon tower used to convey messages during the war. The beacon tower is an official According to legend, the villagers call it Yantai. Since it is a temporary setup, the soldiers stationed there will leave after the war.
This is the off-farming season, and ordinary people only eat two meals a day. The same is true for everyone. Not only is there an extra fish dish for dinner in the evening, but there is also fungus in the pickles. Although it is not the season for fungi to grow at this time, the dried fungus There are still some. If Changsheng sees them along the way, he will collect them.
After the meal, everyone began to sit cross-legged and meditate. Changsheng didn't know how to practice qi, so he had to lie quietly aside.
Although everyone deliberately slowed down to take care of Changsheng during the journey, Changsheng was still very tired after walking for a long time, and he fell asleep quickly after lying down.
It is precisely because Changsheng cannot practice Qi that he cannot see at night, so everyone cannot travel at night. In order to accommodate him, everyone traveled at dawn and stayed overnight in the next few days, traveling sixty or seventy miles a day.
Although he was very tired from the journey, Changsheng never complained. Unlike the people in the village, Taoist priest Lin and others never looked at him strangely, nor did they curse and ridicule him like the villagers. Except for the thought of Lao Huang. Once dark, Chang Sheng is still in a good mood most of the time.
Since the martial arts practiced by everyone were not made by Taoist Lin, Taoist Lin had never given any personal instruction. In fact, he had never even seen the martial arts secret books that everyone had.
The secret book of Hunyuan Magic Technique has been destroyed, not because of man-made damage, but because the things in the ancient tomb were not exposed to light. The bamboo slips will soon decay after being unearthed. Fortunately, Li Zhongyong and Chen Liqiu have memorized the full text of Hunyuan Magic Technique. , the two of them dictated it, and Chang Sheng memorized it silently. In fact, the two of them did not want Chang Sheng to start understanding and studying now, but just wanted him to remember it earlier.
The two of them not only taught Hunyuan Divine Kung Fu to Changsheng, they also taught Qing Kung Fu, which is indispensable for traveling in the world. The Qing Kung Fu that Baturu studied was called Eight Steps to Catch Cicadas. This kind of movement technique is not considered superior. , just driven by spiritual energy, speeding up and running.
Li Zhongyong and Chen Liqiu practiced the same kind of Qinggong, called Chasing the Wind Ghost Step, which was obtained from an ancient tomb in the Jin Dynasty. According to Chen Liqiu, the biggest feature of this kind of Qinggong is that it does not follow a straight line. According to legend, When you practice to the extreme, you can not only move as fast as the wind, but also transform into a clone and follow you like a shadow.
The movement method of the old Sita Mayumi is the Five Elements Escape Technique. Although the Five Elements Escape Technique is not just Qinggong, it also includes Qinggong Movement.
Chang Sheng has a problem with his legs and feet, which makes it difficult for him to walk in a straight line. The movement technique called Chasing the Wind and Ghost Step is just right for him to learn.
With Li Zhongyong and Chen Liqiu as professors, Taoist Lin was happy and relaxed. Although Taoist Lin rarely showed worries, Chang Sheng could still tell that he had something serious on his mind. He didn't know what Taoist Lin was looking for, but One thing he was sure of was that after searching for so many years, Daoist Lin had not found what he was looking for.
As the saying goes, prosperous times bring out mediocre officials, and troubled times bring out heroes. It is unknown whether troubled times bring out heroes, but it is true that troubled times bring out bandits. During the past few days, everyone met more than one group of bandits, but although these bandits discovered But everyone just watched from a distance and did not step forward to intercept. The reason was also very simple. The master and disciples looked like Lian Jiazi, and with the addition of Batulu, who was like a black tower, the bandits thought that they could not defeat him. .
Although most of the time everyone walked on small roads, they occasionally met passers-by, and once they met several monks who were asking for alms.
In the early years, Changsheng had seen monks and Taoist priests fighting, so in his impression, the relationship between the monks and Taoist priests was not good. This was confirmed by Taoist Lin's indifference to those monks.
Whenever he has questions, Changsheng likes to ask Chen Liqiu. Chen Liqiu is kind and straightforward, and what he wants to say. After he talks to Changsheng, he realizes that the monks and Taoists are not in harmony with the ancient times. The reasons are very complicated, and he can't explain it for a while. However, the conflict between the two sides broke out forty years ago. The reigning emperor at that time was Wu Zong. Wu Zong believed in Taoism and believed that Buddhist disciples did not work hard, which was detrimental to the country and the country. So he wiped out Buddhism throughout the country, destroyed monasteries, and forced monks to return to secular life. That The situation of monks during this period can only be described as miserable.
It stands to reason that since Wuzong believed in Taoism, Taoism should rise. After all, there was support from the imperial court, but Taoism also had unsatisfactory disciples. A Taoist priest named Zhao Guizhen was ignorant and incompetent. He refined elixirs and dedicated them to Wuzong, but he simply couldn't He didn't know how to temper the elixir, and the elixir he produced was poisonous. As a result, Wuzong was poisoned to death.
As soon as Wu Zong died and Xuan Zong ascended the throne, Zhao Guizhen was immediately dealt with severely. At the same time, other Taoists were also affected, so the current situation of the Taoists was not good...
