Outside Hongyin Temple, under the shadow of old trees.
The middle-aged man looked at his sister and nephew with pity, took back his hand to lift the swaddling clothes, and continued to narrate:
"I was born in Li Mansion, Anmi County. My name is Li Chengwu. My father runs a business association and my family is fairly well off. My sister is Li Jingshu. She married the eldest son of Mr. Zhang, the county magistrate, a year ago."
"Originally, the two families were harmonious, but the moment my poor nephew, Xiuwen, had a third eye mark between his eyebrows, everything changed."
"Under pressure from all sides, Master Zhang chose to give up the child, but my sister's useless husband didn't dare to say a word, so he just acquiesced."
"I couldn't bear that my nephew was so young and had his eyes gouged out by a beholder before he could appreciate the beauty of the world. So at my sister's plea, I took her and my nephew to escape from Anmi County overnight and went to Hongyin Temple. It is said that there are Eminent monk, I think the eye monster would not dare to come here."
"That's what happened. Taoist Master Wanwang took pity on my nephew and saved his life!"
The middle-aged man Li Chengwu knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily, while the woman Li Jingshu also knelt down with her child in her arms. She supported the ground with one hand and held the child in the other, kowtowing her head constantly, with tears streaming down her face.
"You guys get up first." Wang Changsheng frowned. He was not used to being kowtowed like this. He felt very uncomfortable all over: "Drought, eye monster, Dragon King's envoy, tribute..."
He rubbed his chin, thinking about the connections hidden in the information, trying to find clues to the eye demon's identity. After a moment, he looked at Li Chengwu who was still kowtowing: "Get up quickly, otherwise I will not pay attention to this matter. "
Li Chengwu and Li Jingshu trembled when they heard this, and then quickly stood up.
Seeing this, Wang Changsheng nodded with satisfaction and asked: "Before the Eye Demon appeared, had anything unusual happened in Anmi County?"
Judging from the current intelligence, we can only know that the existence of the eye monster is related to rainfall, but only knowing this, it is difficult to locate its identity.
"Some time ago, I went to other counties to purchase rice grains, but I really didn't know about it." Li Chengwu looked bitter.
"I know a little bit about this." At this moment, a gentle and kind voice came from not far away.
Several people looked around and saw a middle-aged monk wearing a large gray robe and a big belly standing at the gate of Hongyin Temple with a faint smile on his face.
"Uncle Master." When the novice monk sweeping the floor saw the pot-bellied monk, he quickly put his hands together and saluted, his eyes full of reverence.
"Mingxin, you go back to the temple first, and these donors will be received by Lao Na." The big-bellied monk said with a smile.
"Yes." After the little novice monk finished his salute, he left quickly.
"Amitabha, please be polite to all the donors. The name of the old monk is 'Deyuan'. Please forgive me for not being able to welcome the distinguished guests from afar." The pot-bellied monk stepped forward, his gentle eyes swept over Li Chengwu and the four of them, and finally settled on He bowed solemnly to Wang Changsheng:
"Dare I ask where my friend learned from me?"
"It turns out to be Master Deyuan. I guess you are the eminent monk they call you. I am Wang Changsheng, who studied at Longhu Mountain." Wang Changsheng bowed his head.
The monk in front of him gave him a slight sense of pressure. He thought his realm should be higher than his, but he didn't know whether he was in the middle or late stage of inedia.
"All eminent monks and great virtues are just praised by the locals." Master Deyuan sighed slightly: "On the contrary, my fellow Taoist is a high-level master of Longhu Mountain, and his future is limitless. He is not comparable to me, an old monk with half of his body buried in the ground."
"Master is joking." Wang Changsheng shook his head and ended the business exchange: "You seem to have a different opinion on the 'eye demon'?"
"I can't speak of insights, I just know some other information." Master Deyuan sighed: "I have also paid a lot of attention to the eye monster in Anmi County. This is not the place for conversation. Fellow Taoist Zhang and several donors, please Let’s talk with Lao Na after entering the temple.”
"Thank you, Master." Brother and sister Li Chengwu were overjoyed.
They did not expect that the "virtuous eminent monk" of Hongyin Temple would take the initiative to appear in front of them, and it seemed that he was willing to provide them with shelter. This made the two of them ecstatic.
Of course, they also knew very well that all this was due to the "young Taoist priest" beside them.
Otherwise, how could they, mere mortals, condescend Master Deyuan to show up?
…
Under the leadership of Master Deyuan, the group walked into the temple.
Hongyin Temple is not brilliant, and some of the lacquer columns have faded, but this does not hinder its longevity and weight.
Shrouded in the hazy morning mist, Hongyuan Temple looks like a silhouette floating on the floating clouds, looking exceptionally quiet and solemn.
Entering the ancient temple early in the morning, the first sunlight shines on the high forest.
The bamboo path leads to a secluded place, and the Zen room is surrounded by flowers and trees.
When Master Deyuan led a few people to a quiet Zen room, Wang Changsheng could not help but think of this poem.
Sitting at the round wooden table in the Zen room, Master Deyuan poured a cup of tea for each of Wang Changsheng, Li Chengwu and Li Jingshu. As for the two guards, they were standing outside waiting.
"The mountain temple is poor and only has a cup of crude tea. Please don't blame me, fellow Taoist monks." Master Deyuan said with a smile.
"Where." Wang Changsheng shook his head, but he did not go for the hot tea before leaving. Instead, he looked directly at the pot-bellied monk: "Master, I am a straight-tempered person, so I won't beat around the bush."
"Please tell me clearly what other information you know about the eye demon."
"Fellow Taoist, your quick talk is really cool, so I won't be sloppy." Master Deyuan put down the teacup in his hand: "The two donors have already fully explained the appearance of the eye demon and what happened after that, and I don't need to add anything. of."
"On the other hand, I can tell my Taoist friends about the strange things that happened in Anmi County before the Eye Demon started causing trouble."
"All ears." Wang Changsheng made a gesture of listening carefully, and Li Chengwu and Li Jingshu on the side also pricked up their ears.
Without being too pretentious, Master Deyuan said in a calm tone:
"There is a down-and-out scholar in Anmi County named Zhu Zixian who makes a living by selling paintings. He has a daughter named Qiaomei."
"As for the scholar's wife, she passed away after giving birth to a beautiful sister for the scholar."
"A father and a daughter depend on each other for life. Fortunately, the scholar's painting skills are exquisite and he is somewhat famous in Anmi County. Therefore, the life of the father and daughter is not tight."
"Although Zhu Zixian failed many times, he was determined and never let down by setbacks. He put more energy into his paintings, which also made his painting skills more sophisticated. At that time, Mr. Li Xiuwen and Mr. Li passed by. After seeing Zhu Zixian’s paintings, I highly praised them.”
"Li Xiuwen, Mr. Li?" Wang Changsheng repeated the name in a tone of voice.
He had heard the name.
From the mouth of the Yamen servant Zhao Li.
The reason why Zhang Caili was known as the "Pear Fairy Girl" in the past was precisely because of Mr. Li Xiuwen Li.
