Luo Chuan and his party were not in a hurry, so they didn't get to the Han River that he had been famous for for a long time before dark.
After passing a relatively prosperous town, I did not choose to stay in an inn, but replenished some food and water and continued on the road while the sun was setting.
Until the bright moon was in the sky, the carriage drove off the official road and onto a rugged and winding country road. It climbed gently to the top of a small hill with the help of weak starlight, and stopped in front of a dilapidated Taoist temple gate.
One door of the Taoist temple is missing, and the original red paint on the other door has been mottled.
The courtyard is overgrown with weeds, dusty, and the eaves and corners are covered with cobwebs. It looks like it has been abandoned for a long time.
The carriage stopped, and the heroic woman jumped out of the carriage first. She was dressed in red and wearing red armor. She had a short sword at her waist like a dagger, and a big sword behind her like a heavy hammer. She didn't feel heavy at all when she carried it on her back. She jumped in with two light steps. In the courtyard, Luo Chuan, who was behind her, had just gotten off the carriage and stood still. She had already returned from the courtyard. "There is no trace of anyone coming."
Luochuan nodded, glanced at the beautiful woman and the little beggar who got off the carriage, and then looked at the old coachman, "We were the ones who arrived first."
The old coachman nodded slowly, looked up at the night sky, and then looked around again. He parked the carriage next to a crooked tree outside the Taoist temple. Without any intention of letting the horse rest, he directly tied the reins to the tree trunk. Then he packed up the items on the carriage.
"Far away from the town, hanging alone in the wild, not facing the sun above, not close to the river below." The beautiful woman looked around with a smile and walked into the courtyard first. "If you choose a place like this, no wonder it is ruined."
The little beggar raised his head and glanced at the plaque on the door. He could vaguely see the three ancient characters "Jiang Yin Guan", and then trotted behind the beautiful woman, as if she was her little follower.
Luochuan looked into the distance from the other side.
Since leaving the valley outside Sanguan, he has rarely seen hills all the way south. Although this hill is not high, because there are no other obstacles around it, standing here does feel like looking into the distance. Through the moonlight, he can vaguely see To the south is a dark river, opposite to the Milky Way in the sky.
"Sir, let's go into the courtyard too," the heroic woman held her right hand on the hilt of the dagger at her waist and followed Luo Chuan half a meter behind, closer than his shadow.
Luochuan nodded silently and turned around to walk into the Taoist temple.
After entering the Taoist temple, I discovered that the area of the outer courtyard of the Taoist temple is actually not small, but strangely, it is more than wide but not deep enough. Therefore, the outer courtyard is more like a corridor than a courtyard, but it is different from the general door with a screen wall in front. The gate of the Taoist temple is facing the gate of the inner courtyard, so what people saw from outside the Taoist temple was actually the inner courtyard.
The inner courtyard is square and without any unnecessary decoration. It is spacious and empty like a square. There are two rows of dilapidated wing rooms on the left and right sides, and the main hall is directly opposite.
The front door is very wide and open. From outside the courtyard, you can see a tall statue in the darkness inside the Taoist temple. You can't see the details clearly and sit upright.
"What are you looking at?" Luo Chuan walked towards the center of the inner courtyard, where the beautiful woman and the little beggar were looking down at something.
The beautiful woman didn't speak, and paced around. The little beggar beside her pointed at the ground and turned back to Luo Chuan, "There is a row of strange footprints on the ground."
"Oh?" Luo Chuan suddenly became interested. He walked a few steps to the little beggar and saw a row of strangely arranged footprints on the ground. He raised his foot and stomped it hard with a dull voice, " It's a large piece of thick and hard bluestone. It seems that the person who left the footprints..." He paused suddenly, squatted down and looked at one of the footprints carefully. He waved his sleeves, and a small gust of wind blew away the dust. The little beggar next to him coughed repeatedly.
"Did you notice?" The beautiful woman looked at Luochuan with a smile, "It is not difficult to set a footprint on such a bluestone. When entering the three realms, even a warrior with better qualifications can barely do it, just with pressure. , But such footprints are blunt and rough, and bluestone made of this material can easily crack under such strong pressure." Behind her hands, a pair of wonderful eyes looked sideways at Luo Chuan's expression, "If you want to step down so many depths in one go, The footprints are different and there are no cracks at all. It must be at least a character in the Five Realms Concentration Stage."
However, Luo Chuan shook his head and raised his head to meet the eyes of the beautiful woman who seemed to be smiling but not smiling. "There are shoe sole textures on the bluestone footprints..."
The beautiful woman chuckled and nodded, "Either the person who left the footprints has used energy to transform and deliberately left the sole texture, or... that person didn't use any energy... ..”
Luochuan was shocked.
The beautiful woman's meaning was obvious. How could the former type of person be so boring in her context?
But if it's the latter, it's a bit appalling...
In this world, those who practice Taoism practice true energy, those who practice martial arts practice vitality, and even demons must gather demon energy. In the final analysis, they are all utilizing the mysterious energy between heaven and earth, and it is precisely because they have mastered it to varying degrees. Only with his "qi" can he possess power and all kinds of incredible magical powers that are completely unmatched by ordinary life.
If someone can leave footprints on such a thick bluestone without using anger, and can control his physical power so exquisitely...can he still be considered a human being? Even if it's a big demon...
"Did Sister Fairy realize any secrets from the footprints left by this senior?" Luo Chuan asked.
The beautiful woman shook her head, "If there is really any mystery, even this wilderness would have been different from what it is now. At the worst, these big stone slabs would have to be cut off and moved away." She looked at the desolate scenes around her. He said calmly, "There are many mysterious caves and blessed places in this world, which are either natural and undiscovered, or left by senior masters. They are all rare things that ordinary people will never encounter in ten lifetimes. One, if it really stays on a conspicuous solitary mountain on the side of the official road like this ruined view, it will not be a bad street, how can it be called an opportunity?"
Luochuan nodded. Although this Gushan Taoist temple has obviously been in ruins for many years, since it is in such a location, those who follow this official road south and fail to cross the Han River will most likely spend the night here, year after year. I don’t know how many people have studied this footprint. If there was any mystery, this stone slab would not be preserved until now.
"Come and warm up by the fire," on the other side, the old coachman had already lit a bonfire in the corner of the inner courtyard while everyone was chatting. The late autumn night was really cold.
Everyone gathered around the fire, and against the light of the fire, everyone's body glowed red.
"Ding ding ding!"
The sound of gold and iron clashing suddenly came from somewhere outside the Taoist temple, but the sound was still a bit vague, probably somewhere far away.
The old coachman and the beautiful woman looked in opposite directions.
There, on the roof of the wing on one side of the Taoist temple.
I don't know when a dark and blurry figure stood.
The figure's shadow is imprinted under the moonlight, as motionless as a mountain, and his carefree scarf is fluttering in the wind, just like the figure in the painting.
Silent, breathless.
