An oil lamp on the table illuminates the Taoist guest room. The room is still very large, and all the bedding has just been taken out of the cabinet, stained with the fragrance of wood that has been emitted for many years.
Everything seems to be still the same.
The Taoist sat in the middle of the room, took out a thick oil paper package from the bottom of Sanhua Empress' brocade bag, and opened the oil paper layer by layer under the light of the oil lamp, making a clattering sound. In this quiet place, one could hear the words from far away.
In the night when the children were doing their homework and chanting sutras, the sound was very noticeable.
Until a stack of papers inside is revealed.
The paper has turned yellow, but the ink is still as good as new. As soon as I open it, a scent of ink hits my face.
This is the flavor of Ningxiang collected by Taoists.
Collected on these pieces of paper.
"Wow..."
The Taoist searched carefully and finally found one.
Then he took it in his hand and looked at it carefully.
"In early February of the second year of Mingde, I traveled to Anqing County, Xuzhou County, and happened to encounter a grand event in the world, the Liujiang Conference..."
Mingde lasted eleven years in total.
It is now early March in the fourth year of Da'an.
Thirteen years have passed.
What is written on the paper is my travel diary from that year, my experiences and thoughts thirteen years ago, and also my myself thirteen years ago.
The Taoist is now holding the paper and reading it carefully.
In fact, the wonderful thing is that when I read it again after so many years, although it was all about my own personal experience when I wrote it, not every word or sentence is familiar - most of them are familiar, and when I read it, I feel like I have memories and memories.
The feeling of savoring, once you stop, look up and think back to the beginning, it's like dreaming back at night. But there are also things that feel unfamiliar. Either you have forgotten everything, or you are surprised that you, who was unfamiliar with you at the beginning, can write like this.
, these words of emotion do not seem to have been written by myself. When I read them again at this time, I feel like I am face to face with myself back then and getting to know myself again.
Taoists look at it seriously and are often entranced.
Cats, such curious animals, couldn't help but jump up on the table, come in front of him, tilt their heads and stare at the paper.
The Taoist paid no attention to her.
"Miss Sanhua now understands that this is the meaning of writing travel notes. Write down your current affairs on paper so that your future self can savor and remember how you got here." The Taoist finished reading one page and then changed the page.
After reading a page, he whispered.
But Mao'er just stared at the paper seriously, his eyes flickering and his expression serious: "When did Empress Sanhua help you protect the law?"
"On Horseshoe Mountain, in Yanxian Pavilion."
"Forgot~"
"Then you're not smart."
"!"
The cat suddenly looked back and stared at him.
"At that time, Sanhua Empress didn't know how to read. Otherwise, she would have been like me, reading her own travel notes and appreciating her original self."
"You didn't teach me how to read and write earlier."
"Those words of Empress Sanhua are wrong. Not long after I left the city and before I got here, I said that I would teach Empress Sanhua how to read, but Empress Sanhua herself was unwilling."
"right……"
"If you are not diligent and studious, you blame me."
"!"
Mao'er's expression became concentrated again, and she shook her head again, staring at him. After thinking for a while, she said: "That's the former Sanhua Empress!"
It seems to have nothing to do with her now.
"Yeah?"
"Yes!"
After the cat finished answering, he quickly turned his head and looked out the window: "It's raining outside!"
"yes……"
There was indeed a sound of rain outside.
Rain in Anqing is not uncommon.
The spring rain hits the green tiles and makes a crisp sound, which is really clear and crisp, like someone is playing music.
The Taoist put down the paper and listened quietly to the rain.
It's raining again.
It's the past on paper, and it's the same in the rain.
…
"Taoist Master, please lend me a handful to support the flowers."
"Go get it now."
An earth-yellow oil-paper umbrella, a Taoist priest wearing an old Taoist robe, and a calico cat walked out of the Taoist temple and walked into the misty Anqing Mountains.
Anqing has a strange landform. It is full of hills, like bamboo shoots and forests, with strange shapes. Most of them are too steep to climb up, and most of them have no point in climbing up, because they are too small, and even one of them is used for farming.
There is no small amount of soil, but it is the favorite place for smoke to stay on rainy days.
The Taoist went to Horseshoe Mountain and Yanxiantai again.
The rain today seems to be heavier than that of last year. It rains heavily on the oil-paper umbrella, making a dull sound. It is not noisy at all and only makes people feel calm.
The Taoist raised his umbrella and looked up——
There is still a swallow flying in the misty mountains, sometimes left and sometimes right, up and down, light and vigorous, which is a bit of freedom and aura in this rainy and foggy landscape painting.
"..."
The Taoist walked into Yanxiantai.
Yanxiantai is a large open space located at the foot of the mountain and the riverside. It is paved with bluestone slabs. The bluestone slabs have been washed clean by the rain. However, today it is empty, not to mention that it was once crowded with people.
The Jianghu people are not even a passerby.
There was only the Taoist holding an umbrella and the cat.
The Taoist turned his head and looked towards Horseshoe Mountain.
There is also a circle of mist and rain floating on the mountain.
"call……"
The misty rain suddenly dispersed, revealing a pavilion.
At some point, there was a path on the mountain, which connected down to the edge of Yanxiantai and up to the pavilions halfway up the mountain.
"Let's go."
The Taoist stepped forward.
Go straight up the path to the pavilion, then close your umbrella, stand upside down next to the pavilion pillar, and then sit in the pavilion.
Looking down, I saw drizzle, smoke on the water and ground, and the light was blocked from the rain clouds, so the mountains and water turned into a gray-black like ink, but the shades were different.
The willow branches on the riverside are as thin as silk, with thousands of them. They are blown in one direction by the wind and rain, causing countless ripples on the river. The whole world is blurred in the clouds, smoke and rain, and it is really like a painting.
Song You suddenly seemed to see Jianghu people on Yanxiantai, one by one, becoming small black dots in the mist and rain. Someone was fighting in Taichung, sweeping across with a gun, and the rainwater on the ground turned into a wall, slashed with a sword
The rain turned into beads, and the body movements flashed and moved, like fighting or dancing.
The Taoist fell into concentration for a moment and then fell into a trance.
When I first came here when I saw this scene, it was a rare experience in Yin Yang Mountain for meditative practice. Now that I have visited the same place again, I did not expect to have new feelings.
Even the calico cat sitting in front, sitting on the edge of the pavilion where raindrops were about to fall, looked up at this scene, looking at the swallow flying randomly in the sky, with a flash of light in his amber eyes, and the memory of that year was also
I came up, and when I looked back at this man, I seemed to have really heard him calling me to protect him, but the voice had come from many years ago.
I don't know how much time has passed.
The swallows in the sky were tired of flying and fell back to the pavilions in the mountains. They turned around and combed their wet feathers. Although they still kept a distance from the cat subconsciously, they were no longer as afraid as before.
The calico cat stared at him with twinkling eyes and felt strange.
"Snapped……"
A drop of rain fell in front of the Taoist, and the flowers bloomed. The water droplets splashed on the Taoist, bringing the coolness of late spring.
"..."
The Taoist trembled and looked up.
Yanxian has now been named a righteous god, so he no longer lives in Anqing. Moreover, he is very popular among the people, and his incense is becoming more and more popular. There are statues of him in temples everywhere. I don’t know how long it has been since he is so busy.
When I returned to Anqing, I hadn’t been to this pavilion for a long time. The pavilion was in disrepair and began to leak.
These raindrops seemed to urge the Taoist to leave.
"Let's go..."
The Taoist stood up, picked up the umbrella in one hand and the bamboo stick in the other, and walked down the mountain.
Someone finally came to Yanxiantai.
From a distance, they looked like two old men, wearing raincoats and bamboo hats, holding sickles in their hands and carrying baskets on their backs. From a closer look, they turned out to be just two half-year-old teenagers, both barefoot, who seemed to be crossing Yanxiantai to the riverside.
In the misty rain, I felt a sense of twilight from a distance, but when I looked closer, I realized that it was still the mood of a young man.
The Taoist heard their voices.
"The last Liujiang Conference was lively. It was even more lively than the last time. Shu Yifan, the thundering sword master, came. I heard from the adults that all the monsters causing trouble in the surrounding areas ran away just by hearing his name!"
"Sword Master..."
"That's what those people in the world call it. It's called entering Taoism with martial arts. It means practicing martial arts and becoming a god!" The slightly taller young man said matter-of-factly. "But I heard that he was not the only one who used martial arts to enter Taoism. There was another one.
The hero has also entered Taoism through martial arts and is here, but he did not show up!"
"It's so difficult to practice martial arts and become a god. It's better to go directly to a Taoist temple to learn magic and become a true god! The temple owner of the Jiao Temple outside the city knows magic!"
"Then you go and learn..."
"you go……"
"You go, you go..."
"Hey, where did this Taoist priest come from?"
"..."
Holding an umbrella, the Taoist passed by the young man and turned his head to stare at their faces, just as they stared at himself, showing respect for the fate of this encounter.
Slowly walked out of Yanxiantai.
…
The Taoist boy who opened the door for the Taoist back then was really smart, but now that he is in his thirties, it is difficult to describe him as smart. The cleverness in his character has also turned into calm wisdom. Now he has at least got what Qingyangzi did back then.
He is a true biography of Qingyangzi, and there is still at least forty years between him and Qingyangzi back then.
And he also likes to study Taoism. He finally met Song You, so he wanted to keep him for a few more days. He invited him to go out to the mountains, visit Anqing scenery, Shili Gallery, and ask him for advice on spiritual practice among the mountains, rivers and spring scenery.
Things like magic and sorcery are just a matter of Taoist people chatting in the mountains.
It's like a literati going out for a spring outing, touring the mountains and rivers. When he sees the vastness of the world and the amazing scenery, he recites poems and lyrics, drinks wine and composes poems. He is so happy.
The same is true among Taoists.
Both parties are very happy.
It’s just that it’s time to leave after all.
A few days later.
Anqing County.
There is an inn next to the North City Gate, and opposite the inn there is a brothel restaurant with pulp-covered elm tables and wide benches. The owner of the inn is still the same, but he is much older than the Taoist remembered.
"Two pounds of bones, one bowl of hat heads, no, let's have two bowls."
"okay!"
The two of them were still sitting opposite each other.
But sitting on one side was a Taoist priest, and on the other side was a restless girl.
The girl turned her head randomly and glanced everywhere.
The food came quickly.
The large tube bones and keel bones were stewed into soup together with the white radish cut into large pieces. The meat on the bones was stewed until soft, the white radish was stewed until translucent, and a layer of oily flowers floated on the soup.
It is also decorated with jade-like green onion. It is a very simple method, but it can easily arouse people's appetite.
"Miss Sanhua, please."
"Well!"
Only then did the girl calm down, and kept shaking her head and looking around, then turned to stare at the Taoist priest with a serious face, as if the girl sitting here just now was not her, and she learned to say:
"Taoist priest, please!"
The girl imitated the Taoist, reached up, grabbed the tube bone and put it in front of her face to gnaw.
Don't forget to tear off some meat and feed it to the swallows.
After chewing a piece of tube bone, my mouth was filled with the aroma of meat, and I still wanted to eat it. I imitated the Taoist, took a chopstick, inserted it into the radish, and skewered the radish to my mouth.
The radish had absorbed the aroma of meat, and was also slightly sweet. It was delicious, but it was definitely not as good as the big lump of meat. So Empress Sanhua raised her chopsticks and looked at Yanzi
, after looking at it for a few times, he looked away, looked outside, fed the carrot to the horse, and continued to eat meat.
"We seem to have eaten this before..."
Empress Sanhua raised her head and said to the Taoist.
"Yes……"
The Taoist just responded and continued eating.
After finishing the meal, the bill was less than 100 yuan.
It's still raining outside.
The spring rain is like silk, blown by the wind, and the smoke is hazy and moves with the wind. Through the city, you can see the mountains and rivers in the distance. It is still as beautiful as a stunning ink painting, but the old people are missing.
The horse's hooves stepped on the bluestone and rainwater, and there were flowers at every step. Along with the Taoist, they slowly left the city.
The road this time was completely different from last time.
However, we still rely on swallows to explore the way and find streams.
Pass through the northern part of Xuzhou and go straight to Jingzhou without passing through Pingzhou.
The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, the grass is thick and there are many thieves. The world is in chaos and demons appear frequently. Now the main force in subduing demons and exterminating demons has become Sanhua Empress and Swallow.
Before you know it, spring is over.
Summer is coming and the sunshine is getting brighter.
In the fifth month of the human world, the Taoist finally arrived in Jingzhou.
There is a famous mountain in Jingzhou, called Zhenshan.
It is one of the four famous Taoist mountains along with Qingcheng Mountain and Luming Mountain in Yizhou. There are countless palaces and temples on the mountain and there are many hermits. The Taoist wanted to visit it last time, but he went elsewhere on the way.
Now there are swallows to help find the way, so we come along the way.
There are many peach trees near Zhenshan, not only on the mountain, but also in front and behind the houses of local people. There are often peach trees growing on the roadside. In the middle of May, the peach trees are in their prime, with dense branches and leaves.
There are huge white peaches, the small ones are as big as fists, and the big ones are as big as the mouth of a common bowl.
All the way along, there was an alluring aroma.
Song You stopped and asked an old man who was working outside where he could buy peaches, but the old man scolded him for being stupid and told him that the peaches here were as cheap as weeds and he could pick them wherever he wanted.
As he spoke, he picked one himself and stuffed it into his arms.
The Taoist smiled when he saw this and imitated him in picking peaches.
The peaches near Zhenshan are as famous as the Taoist temples. Even in Dou's paintings, the local people still cherish them.
Song You has also admired it for a long time.
Now I picked it, washed the fluff, put it to my mouth and took a sip. It was really sweet and juicy, living up to its reputation.