Huang Mingrui took the manuscript suspiciously, unfolded it and read it word by word, sometimes recalling the "Tao Te Ching" in his memory. This reading did not matter, Huang Mingrui was so shocked that he suddenly stood up and said: "This... this... this... this book, you
Where did it come from?"
Fei Jingting said calmly: "It was passed down by the master."
"Do you still have a master?"
"Without Master's guidance, how would I know what cultivation is?"
"Who is your master? Whose name is he? Where is he now?"
Huang Mingrui asked three questions in a row, but Fei Jingting shook his head and said: "Master said that his sect is a branch of the Qingwei sect, named Daoxuan. When I was a child, I saw that I had a good understanding, so he taught me in the town for several years.
I left the letter and ran away without hearing anything from him."
Huang Mingrui looked at Fei Jingting and was speechless for a while, then said after a long time: "Does Jingting think I am a fool?"
Fei Jingting smiled and said nothing. Even if he made up a lie full of mistakes, it would be more reliable than telling the other party directly that the system had given him the lie.
Huang Mingrui took a deep breath and said: "This is a forgery!" He raised the manuscript in his right hand high as if to throw it down, but it stopped in mid-air and could not fall down. He seemed to be convincing himself, saying: "I have read all the Taoist canons, moral ethics
The sutra is no different from the folk version. I have never heard of a version like yours!"
Fei Jingting said leisurely: "The handed down version was tampered with by Han Confucians and was a forgery."
"Absurd! If it is a tampered and forged work, then why do the Taoist sects destroy the original version and instead hide the forged work?"
"The Tao is a Tao, but it is not a permanent Tao. Brother Mingrui, the Tao in the Han Dynasty has changed. Not only the Han Confucians, but also the Taoists at that time couldn't figure out how to practice Tao, so it became the Tao.
Tao, very Tao." After a pause, Fei Jingting added: "And don't you find it strange? I am obviously a Taoist, so why is the entire Tao Te Ching filled with Confucian teachings?"
The meaning of the first sentence of the Mawangdui version is very different from that of the handed down version. The Mawangdui version says that "the Tao can be Tao, but it is not the eternal Tao", which means: Tao can be explained clearly, but Tao is not eternal.
; The handed down version has changed, "Tao can be Tao, but it is not Tao", and the meaning has directly changed to "If Tao can be explained clearly, it is not the eternal Tao".
Not only that, compared to the Mawangdui version, the handed down version has an outrageous number of changes in words and sentences. "The great implements will be spared" was changed to "the great implements came late", and "the way of holding on to the present" became "the way of holding on to the ancients".
Youjing'bian'buzheng', one word difference, the meaning is vastly different. In addition, the context is intercepted and reversed, and all changes are in line with Confucian teachings... Isn't this a forgery?
Although I taught Confucius, I am really not the founder of Confucianism!
"You...I...your manuscript..." Huang Mingrui was so confused that he couldn't speak clearly. If the Tao Te Ching is a forgery, does he still practice Taoism?
Huang Mingrui frowned and said nothing. He just stood there and started reading the manuscript over and over again.
While Fei Jingting sat with him for a cup of tea, he saw that Huang Mingrui was possessed by a maniac. He knew that even if he opened his mouth, he could not persuade this old man, so he greeted Shi Shiran and left the Tianfei Palace.
Fei Jingting understood Huang Mingrui's confusion very well, and even he himself was also confused. The world was cut off, and he only had foundation-building cultivation, Taoism, and martial arts skills, but he couldn't sustain them, so he could only wander around in the market and waste time.
After walking for a while, I saw a lot of people gathered in front of a shop, and I heard noise coming from the store in the distance. When I walked closer, I saw a man in his thirties rushing out of the shop, stood there, turned around and shouted:
: "There is evil in your family, even if you give me a hundred yuan, I won't take care of you!"
After the man finished speaking, he ran away without looking back.
There was a lot of discussion among those watching the excitement:
"How many times is this this month? The third or the fourth?"
"If you are troubled by evil spirits, what's the point of just looking for a man with strong qi and blood? You have to ask a monk or Taoist priest to exorcise the evil spirits."
"Why weren't you invited? An old monk came here on the 28th of last month. What happened? He was carried out in the middle of the night!"
"If you ask me, that girl from the Guan family is the scapegoat! She first defeated her husband, then her father, and now she has attracted evil spirits. The elders should pay attention and remind their children and nephews to stay away from that woman. Whoever gets involved will be unlucky!"
"you do not say!"
"Stop talking, someone is coming out."
The discussion gradually died down, and a young waiter came out of the shop, holding a piece of red paper in his hand. The waiter pasted the red paper on the door, turned to look at the crowd and frowned: "Tsk! There's always something to do.
La? Why are you joining in the fun here? It’s time to leave, don’t delay our business!”
"They're all evil, and they're doing a shitty business!"
"That's right, sooner or later it has to close!"
Amid the noise, the crowd dispersed.
Fei Jingting looked at the red paper on the door with great interest, which read a recruitment notice. He wanted a watchman, with three meals and lodging included, and a daily income of two yuan.
Fei Jingting inquired about the next reason, but it turned out that things were not going well in this cloth shop recently. There was something wrong with the counter, the waiter was injured by the door panel, the tailor injured his hand, etc., etc., bad luck happened one after another. Even worse.
It was because the cloth in the warehouse was always lost every three days. The shopkeeper hired a watchman, who still lost it. He also asked a monk to do the trick. There was a muffled sound in the middle of the night. When he opened the door, the monk fell to the ground and passed out. He was sent to the hospital and spent a whole day before he regained consciousness.
.
Gradually, rumors spread that something evil was going on in this store.
Fei Jingting was a little disappointed after hearing this. Is there any evil spirit that doesn't scare or harm people, but only steals things?
I took a look at the plaque on the store and it said: Guanji Cloth Shop.
He wanted to ignore it, but he was unwilling to do so. After pondering for a while, Fei Jingting decided to turn back and take a look... At least he had to change his clothes before going.
The return trip was not in a hurry. Fei Jingting walked leisurely for a while and bought pancakes, fruits and a roast chicken. Recently, he was short of money, and Fei Jingting had not tasted meat for several days.
After taking a tram for a while and walking into the courtyard, I saw my neighbor dressed in black walking out with square steps.
"Eh? Brother Fei, we haven't seen each other for a while. Are you free for a drink tonight?" The person who spoke was Fei Jingting's neighbor who rented the east wing of the middle courtyard. His name was Li Zhizhang, who had been a member of the Communist Party of China in the early years.
As a police officer, after a long period of seniority, I was finally promoted to inspector this year, and I have been active ever since.
Fei Jingting said kindly: "I do have time, but I'm afraid Inspector Li is too busy."
Li Zhizhang sighed awkwardly with a fleshy face: "Hey, I can't help it. I have a dozen or so people under my control. How can I stop being busy? If I had known there would be so many troubles, I wouldn't do it even if they beat me to death.
This is an errand." Li Zhizhang took out his pocket watch and took a look at it. He said: "Hey, let's not talk about it for now. There will be a meeting in the bureau this afternoon and I will be called upon to attend. Tell me about this..."
Fei Jingting said seriously: "This shows that the superiors value Inspector Li."
"Hey, let me lend you my brother's good advice. Let's talk later when we have time. I'll leave first."
Li Zhizhang walked away in a leisurely manner, showing no signs of being anxious at all.
Fei Jingting secretly suppressed a smile. This Li Zhizhang was face-loving, greedy for money, lustful, liked to take advantage, and behaved like a villain. Fei Jingting did not want to have a close relationship with him, he just wanted to find out from Li Zhizhang where there was something dirty.
A meal of wine and a lot of free flattery will ensure that Li Zhizhang has something to say, which is much better than Fei Jingting wearing out the soles of his shoes and asking around.
Entering the central courtyard, I saw a woman in her early twenties sitting by the sink, rubbing the clothes in the tub. A mean female voice came from the east wing: "Use less foreign soap, don't use that foreign soap."
Money? After all, you’re from the countryside, and you don’t even know how to use foreign soap!”
The woman didn't reply. When she heard the footsteps, she raised her head and revealed a charming little face. When she saw Fei Jingting, she immediately smiled and said, "Hey, Mr. Fei is back?"
"Well, you are busy doing laundry again? You are so diligent."
The woman glanced at the oil paper bag in Fei Jingting's hand and said, "I happen to have a lot of dirty clothes, so let's wash them. Mr. Fei has some dirty clothes, right? You are a grown man who doesn't know how to do this. Bring it to me later and I'll take care of it."
Just wash it."
"No, no, I'll wash it myself later. Then you're busy, I'll go back first."
Fei Jingting took two hurried steps and passed the woman. He didn't want to get too involved with her for fear of getting angry. The woman's surname was Ni and her first name was Qiufeng. She was a few years younger than Fei Jingting, but she was already
She is a widow with a six-year-old child.
Ni Qiufeng's experience is somewhat legendary. She had a cousin named Ni Caifeng, who married her husband Zhang Dongcheng and gave birth to a son within two years. Ni Caifeng suffered from a disease after childbirth and procrastinated until the child was four years old before passing away. Zhang Dongcheng was only two years old at the time.
At seventeen or eight years old, it is naturally impossible to be a widower for the rest of his life.
So under the instigation of his mother Zhang Hu, he married Ni Caifeng's cousin Ni Qiufeng. Unexpectedly, Zhang Dongcheng was hit by a dandy riding a horse in the city a few days after the marriage, and died after two days. Ni Qiufeng just fell into
Huo Pi not only has to support his unruly mother-in-law, the son left behind by her husband, but also makes money to support the family.
She didn't read much, and she didn't support women working in public these days, so she took some mending jobs and peddled rouge and gouache, and the money she earned could barely make ends meet.
There were many disputes in front of the widow's house, and Fei Jingting didn't want to provoke her because of Zhang Hu's virtue.
Fei Jingting entered the room, took off his suit and was about to hang it up when footsteps approached, and when he turned around, it was Ni Qiufeng who had arrived uninvited.
Mei Ming glanced at Fei Jingting, and then started to tidy up the messy room. While tidying up, she said, "This man can't live alone. Look at this mess."
"Huh? You don't have to, I can take care of it myself."
"What can it be? It's all in such a mess. Look, these clothes are wrinkled. They haven't been washed for a while, right? Don't worry about it. I'm idle anyway. I'm just passing by." He quickly grabbed a few dirty clothes.
, Ni Qiufeng walked away with a smile.
Fei Jingting frowned and said nothing. This was the reason why he didn't want to provoke Ni Qiufeng... This woman seemed to be relying on him!