There is no other sound in this mountain, only the sound of the bell echoing deep in the white clouds, clear and ethereal.
A group of three people and a donkey.
A thin middle-aged man, wearing a wide robe, a bamboo hat, and a beard, is riding on the back of a donkey. The wide robe covers his legs. The man is also weak, and the donkey is also weak.
It actually gives me a sense of harmony where negatives are balanced by positives.
What an image of a frail scholar.
There were two servants beside him, one was eighteen or nineteen years old, with a round face, carrying a bag and leading a donkey. The other was in his twenties, with a resolute face, carrying a bow and arrow on his back and carrying a long knife.
"Officer, there is someone in front of you."
"He seems to be a Taoist gentleman."
"Go over and have a look!"
The man on the donkey's back tried hard to look over. He had been studying for many years and his eyes were dim and could not see clearly, but he still showed excitement.
Only when he got closer did he see it clearly.
He is indeed a Taoist gentleman.
The man's eyes immediately lit up——
Could it be that there are immortals on this Yunding Mountain?
However, when he glanced at the horse grazing next to him and the quilt on the ground, he couldn't help but feel disappointed, but he didn't show it. Instead, he approached on a donkey, got off the donkey's back, and offered his hand to Song You:
"Meet sir."
Song You had no choice but to stand up and return the gift:
"Be polite."
"My surname is Cui, my name is Shang, and my nickname is Nanxi Jushi. I am originally from Xuzhou. It is really destined that I met you here."
"My surname is Song, my name is You, my courtesy name is Menglai, and I am from a mountain in Lingquan County, Yizhou."
"Don't you have a nickname, sir?"
"No code yet."
"this……"
"Don't misunderstand me, I just came down the mountain not long ago and haven't decided what to call it yet," Song You said calmly.
"I see."
Cui Nanxi smiled and then asked: "Mr. Menglai, are you going to the mountain?"
"Exactly."
"Do you want to go to the top of the mountain?"
"Going to go."
"The road to Yunding Mountain is difficult to walk, and it is difficult to reach the sky. The rumors are getting more and more mysterious, but fewer and fewer people dare to say that they have gone to the top of the mountain." Cui Nanxi cupped his hands, "I only saw Mr. along the way. I wonder if I am lucky.
Are you going to go to the top of the clouds with your husband?"
He paused for a moment and glanced at Song You's horse and cat: "If we meet a jackal, tiger or leopard, we'd better take care of each other."
"If you have similar foot strength, it's better to go together."
Unlike Cui Nanxi who focused on Song You, the guard behind him observed more carefully. He quickly turned his attention to the bay-red horse next to him and noticed that the horse had no reins.
But he didn't say anything.
This can only show that people did not get here by luck, and it may be a good thing to be accompanied by it.
"Sir, please stop standing and talk. Sit down."
"good."
They both sat down on the lawn, a distance apart, facing the sea of clouds in front of them, taking the openness into their chests.
Cui Nanxi looked left and right, looking for something to say: "Is this Mr.'s cat?"
"That's right."
"This cat followed Mr. up the mountain?"
"Yeah, I'm very tired."
When the calico cat lying on the ground heard this, he immediately raised his head and stared at Song You. If no one else was present, he would have retorted long ago.
"Won't it run away?"
"Won't."
"I've heard people say that it's difficult to raise a cat to maturity. I wonder how Sir did it?"
"Treat it with your heart."
"What a treat!"
Cui Nanxi couldn't help but clapped his hands, feeling that although this gentleman was young, he still had some wonderful qualities, and then said: "Sir, you must have come to Yunding Mountain to look for immortals, right?"
"It seems that the same is true for you."
"Aren't all the people who come here?" Cui Nanxi looked up at the sky with a look of fascination, "I heard that Mr. Cheng'an met the gods on this mountain twenty years ago, and they talked over wine, how happy it is! Let's go further.
Countless people have met immortals in this mountain before, but I don’t know if I will be lucky enough to find one, and I don’t know what the immortal is like..."
"Mr. Cheng'an really met a god?"
"Who knows..."
When Song You heard what he said, he knew it.
No matter whether people in the past really met gods here, or pretended to meet gods here, whether they didn't meet gods at all, or they only met mountain elves and Qingxiu hermits who seemed to be gods, Cui Nanxi hopes to meet them here.
The fairy in your own heart.
Looking at him like this, I'm afraid this is the moment of frustration.
Since ancient times, poets and literati have always loved looking for immortals when they were in poverty.
But Song You almost thought the same thing in his heart——
Judging from those rumors, he felt that there were probably no gods in Yunding Mountain, but he still hoped to find them here.
But what is a fairy?
In other words, what does the god he wants to meet and see look like?
When the two words "神仙" are separated, their meanings are actually similar and complementary, but there are differences upon closer inspection. Most people confuse them with the same meaning, and there is not much difference between gods and immortals.
Upon closer inspection, comparing the two, words such as god and belief, responsibility, and power are closer, while immortality is more like a state and a kind of cultivation.
If the god he is looking for is of course not the kind from the Heavenly Palace. But even if he is not an omnipotent god in a broad sense, he should still have unimaginable power and meritorious deeds that he admires endlessly.
If the immortal he is looking for should be someone who is far away from the world, has profound Taoism, unique insights into worldly affairs, and an extraordinary state of mind. If the level of cultivation is really high, even if the Taoism is lower or even
No, he would also like to call him an immortal.
It’s just that it’s so easy to find.
Just as I was thinking about it, Cui Nanxi's voice came from beside me: "It's a little chilly sitting here. Sir, why don't we continue our journey and try to climb to the top today."
"That's fine."
Song You also got up.
When he heard them talking, the calico cat got up, stretched out, and walked ahead.
In order to prove that she was not tired, she flew her four little feet upside down very fast. When she encountered some weeds blocking her path, she would not even drill through them, but deliberately jumped over them.
When Cui Nanxi saw that Song You was not riding a horse, he stopped riding a donkey and walked with him, looking at the cat and laughing as he walked:
"Mr.'s cat is really understanding of human nature."
"She's very smart."
"She actually looked back!"
"She heard it."
"Hey! My eyes are so dim that I just realized now that my husband's horse doesn't need a leash!"
"The horses are also obedient."
"Do you also treat it with your heart?"
"almost."
"Sir is also a master."
Not far from the front, I suddenly saw a red leaf.
I don’t know what kind of tree it is, but its leaves are already red in this mountain, making it very eye-catching from a distance.
The cat arrived first and stopped to look at them.
A group of people walked slowly, the bell jingled.
The red leaves not only dyed half of the mountain red, but also covered the ground. They were mottled with yellow and red. They were soft and crunchy when stepped on. It was really beautiful.
There were two voices talking deep in the mountains.
"What a beautiful autumn scene in the mountains! It's summer at the bottom of the mountain, and as you go up, flowers bloom, just like spring. I thought it would become colder and bleak as you go up, and it's autumn, but I didn't expect this autumn scene! I've long heard that there are four seasons in Yunding Mountain.
I haven’t experienced it personally yet, but I don’t know how magical it is!”
"Is it cold under your feet?"
"Fortunately, I wear thicker clothes than sir."
"That's good."
"Sir, are you also from Changsheng County?"
"Exactly."
"Then I must have taken a boat from the opposite side yesterday morning, right? Did you go to the center of the lake for a night mooring the night before? Maybe our boat is not far away."
"We arrived at the ferry on the other side two days early, and stopped in the middle of the lake overnight. However, we returned the same way in the morning and then went around the lakeside." Song Youyou said, "We started climbing the mountain yesterday morning."
"How far will it take to go around?" Cui Nanxi was surprised.
"Two hundred miles."
"Why not just come over by boat?"
"I think the lakeside scenery is so nice, it doesn't hurt to take a walk."
"Mr. Elegant!"
"There's just nothing to do."
"I heard that sir is from Yizhou, so why are you here?"
"Wandering around the world, passing through Pingzhou."
"It's so comfortable! If I were younger, I should devote myself to this world like my husband!" Cui Nanxi shook his head, "Why am I bound by this political dispute..."
"Why is Shisama here again?"
"To be honest, I unintentionally offended the powerful people in the DPRK, and was implicated in the party struggle, so I was demoted to this point."
"I see."
"well……"
Cui Nanxi couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
"Please be cheerful when you step in. The ups and downs in life are normal." Song You also casually offered a few words of advice.
"I'm not afraid of being demoted. Even if I'm demoted to a desolate place, won't I still be able to appreciate the landscape in a different place? I was once a person who loved landscapes." Cui Nanxi sighed helplessly, "It's just that when I was young, I was determined to leave my name in history.
Haha, I’m not afraid that Mr. Cui will think he is arrogant. Over the past few decades, Cui has read thousands of books and traveled thousands of miles. He thinks he is knowledgeable about the past and the present. He knows everything about astronomy and geography. He has been an official in Changjing for a few years.
It is a pity that he has become quite famous among scholars and hermits, but cannot realize his ambition."
"Everything is unpredictable, and the future is still long."
"Sir, there is no need to be comforted. It is difficult for me to be praised all over the world for my poetry, and it is difficult for me to be recorded in the history books for my political career. This is nothing. How many people can leave a name in history? But if I had known this, I might as well spend more time.
Traveling all over the world, looking for immortals and asking questions! As the saying goes, you never have to travel a thousand miles to find immortals. Wouldn’t it be nice to travel to famous mountains all your life?”
This is the reason why scholars love to talk to monks and Taoists.
They believe that monks and Taoists are outsiders. Even monks and Taoists they meet by chance on the roadside are happy to confide their thoughts and find solutions to their sorrows. Even those they meet by chance on the roadside are more likely to talk to them.
Later in Song Dynasty, listening was the main focus.
Walking through this red leaf adds another layer to your clothes.
Cui Nanxi was out of breath after walking, and with the persuasion of his entourage and Song You, he got on the donkey again.
I saw a mountain spring blocking the road ahead.
The spring water is about as high as a person's knees, and it is a bit fast. The road is slippery, and it is on a slope, diagonally facing the abyss below.
To get there, you have to take risks and wade through the water.
Cui Nanxi sat on the back of the donkey, while the two servants took off their shoes, rolled up their trousers, and prepared to lead the donkey through the water. Looking at the way they stepped in the water, they knew that the mountain spring water was bone-chilling.
Song You wanted to take off his shoes, but before he could take them off, the maroon horse lay down next to him and stared at him with a pair of dark eyes. Looking ahead, Cui Nanxi also turned around and came.
Judging from how he planned to cross this section of water, it seemed that even though he couldn't ride a horse, he wanted to ask the guards to lead the donkey twice to carry him across.
Song You thought for a while, then thanked the horse and got on its back.
The person leading the donkey was changed from a follower to a guard. The guard held the donkey's reins tightly with one hand, and had to use one hand to hold the other follower to prevent him from slipping.
The horse is taller and should walk more steadily.
With a Taoist on your back, you will walk more steadily.
"Sir, this horse is truly magical."
"Thanks to it all the way."
"Speaking of which, we are very lucky. On the way before meeting Mr. Cui, we encountered wild beasts and mountain monsters. Thanks to Xu Le, we were able to pass safely. Along the way, we were getting farther and farther away from the world under the mountain, but we were completely
There are no poisonous insects or beasts to disturb us, and there are no mountain spirits or ghosts visiting us at all. We should be closer to the gods." Cui Nanxi was a little excited, "We will probably find the gods today."
"Maybe."
After passing this wading road, there is a cliff in front, and there is an iron cable leading to the other end of the cliff.
The fog here is particularly thick.
Until here, it has been a path of seeking immortality that countless people have walked. It is the iron rope in front of me that stops most of the immortal seekers who want to go to Yunding Immortal Mountain.