Li Hui was not going to give up. Early in the morning on the third day, Li Hui and Dachun Dazhuang set off in a mule cart. At about six o'clock, they left Beilimen and arrived at the foot of the northwest slope of Fuzhou Mountain.
Fuzhou Mountain is located in the southeast of Xuanwu Lake and is shaped like a boat, hence its name. The mountain is not very tall, but in the southern area, because it enters the city, there are a large number of temples and mountain villas of nobles, and the scenery is very beautiful.
However, after leaving the city and arriving at the hillside on the northeast side of Fuzhoushan Mountain, it was a different scene.
The slopes on the northeast side of Zhoushan Mountain are covered with trees, rugged rocks, and ravines. There is only one official road leading out of the North Gate and going around the foot of the mountain to the north. There are only animal trails in the mountains, and there are so many weeds and thorns that it is impossible to distinguish them.
.
According to the direction given by the Taoist priest at Huilongguan, there were wild Taoist priests living on the northeast side of Fuzhou Mountain to make alchemy, so Li Hui and Dachun Dazhuang had to search around along the hillside. After searching for more than an hour, the three of them were panting from exhaustion.
When I was almost about to give up, Dachun suddenly noticed that there seemed to be smoke rising from the mountain col not far away, as if someone was living there.
The three of them hurried to the front to check. When they reached the top of the mountain col and looked down, Li Hui and the others were stunned by the beautiful scenery in front of them. In the col below, they saw a large sea of pink flowers as brilliant as clouds. The clouds were steaming and the clouds were glowing.
It's like a fairyland.
Surrounded by a large number of dense trees, it was already mid-March, the leaves had already grown, and everything was green. Among the trees, you could faintly see a hut in an open space. The smoke came out of the hut and filled the canopy of the tree.
above.
Li Hui and the other three hurriedly stumbled down the hillside, and when they arrived at the mountain col, they discovered that the sea of pink flowers were all peach blossoms in the mountains. They all looked like wild peach trees, but they were equally beautiful when the flowers bloomed.
The small courtyard in front of the thatched cottage in the forest is surrounded by a two-foot-high bamboo fence. The courtyard gate is just a decoration. You can have a clear view from outside the courtyard, and you can step in with your feet. But obviously you can't break in at will, so Li Hui knocked
The firewood door rang.
However, no one answered for a long time. The doors of the three huts in the yard were tightly closed and they seemed empty.
Li Hui shouted several times, but still no one answered. As a last resort, Li Hui pushed open the courtyard door and walked in. The courtyard was overgrown with grass, and there was only a path in the middle, paved with gravel. The stone under the porch was placed on the
There was a dustpan with some bamboo shoots and other things drying on it. It looked like there were people living here.
Everyone walked around in the yard, and Li Hui couldn't help but go up to the porch steps. When he was about to reach out and push open the wooden door of the hut, suddenly, a hoarse voice came from the side of his head.
"Who are you? How can you break into the forbidden land of Lao Dao Qingxiu privately? Are you thieves?"
The three of them followed the sound and were startled. They saw an old man standing outside the fence. His hair was piled on his head like weeds, and the gray hair was scattered like a bird's nest. He was dressed in tatters and could no longer be seen.
The robes with patterns and colors look like Taoist robes or tattered bedsheets.
What's even more frightening is that his face is full of wrinkles, criss-crossed grooves, and dirt. One eye is blind, and one side of his face has a large scar left by a burn.
This face looks extremely scary even at noon when the sun is shining directly. If you see it at night, you will definitely think of him as a vicious god.
"Oh, may I ask if this is the immortal's residence?" Li Hui hurriedly stepped forward and bowed his hands in salute.
"If it's not mine, could it be yours? Who are you?" the old man shouted hoarsely.
"I am Li Hui, who lives in the capital. We heard that there is an immortal who makes alchemy in Fuzhou Mountain, so we came to visit and ask for advice." Li Hui said respectfully.
The old man sneered twice, stepped over the fence and entered the yard. Only then did Li Hui and others notice that he was wearing a pair of rotten straw sandals. Behind the old man was a broken bamboo basket with some herbs and other things in it.
.It seems that he went out to collect medicine before.
"Who did you listen to? There is no immortal here, I'm just a wild Taoist priest. You guys are here to ask for the elixir of life, right? There is one. Take it and leave, and don't bother me anymore."
The old man put down his backpack and while talking, he reached out and dug into his feet a few times. He pulled out a ball of smelly mud, stuck it to his fingers and stretched it out in front of Li Hui.
"Old man, are you looking for death? How dare you be so rude?" Da Zhuang cursed angrily and stepped forward to hit him.
"Stop!" Li Hui shouted sternly. He stepped forward and cupped his hands to the old man and said, "Immortal, don't get me wrong, we are not intentionally intruding to disturb you, nor are we here to ask for some elixir of immortality. We are here to look for something.
I searched all over the capital but couldn't find it. A Taoist priest from Guiyuan Temple said that maybe there is one at the Immortal Chief of Fuzhou Mountain. So we came here. Please forgive me for intruding."
The old Taoist smiled with yellow teeth, shook off the smelly mud ball on his hand and said: "The old Taoist thought you were here to ask for the elixir of immortality. Everyone in the world is crazy, how can there be an elixir of life in the world? Listen to those fools' lies
People, take those harmful medicines, practice any immortality elixirs, and still live forever without knowing how you died? Return to the West as soon as possible."
Li Hui felt a little strange when he heard this. An alchemist actually said such a thing. Wouldn't that mean he was ruining his job?
These days, do all the alchemists rely on this to gain money and respect from aristocratic families? Money and status are all tied to this, and the words of this veteran are indeed a bit unusual.
"May I ask the Immortal Chief Gao's name?" Li Hui cupped his hands and said.
The old Taoist waved his hands and said, "Don't bother me. I don't have time to talk nonsense with you people. I'm very busy. You go quickly. Don't bother me."
Dachun shouted: "Hey, you old man, why are you so unreasonable? Even if we are strangers, we meet in the mountains, rest for a while, and ask for a drink of water. Why do you want to drive us away?"
"
The old Taoist said angrily: "The old Taoist is unreasonable, isn't he? Don't talk about reason with the old Taoist. The old Taoist has jumped out of the Three Realms and is not in the Five Elements. Don't use your reasonableness to talk about things. Leave quickly, otherwise, the old Taoist will not be polite.
"
Da Zhuang burst into laughter, pointed at the old man's nose and said to Dachun: "This Niu Nose has a bad tone, and he wants to be rude to us. I really want to know why he is rude to us."
Dachun also laughed loudly and said: "Isn't it? It's so funny. Let's see what he can do. Niubi, we are not leaving. Where will you stay?"
The old Taoist looked ferocious and sneered: "It's too late to use the old Taoist's methods. I advise you not to make yourself uncomfortable. The old Taoist doesn't want to save anyone today."
Da Zhuang stepped forward with his belly puffed out, slapped his chest loudly, and shouted: "Come on, come on, kill me, kill me."
Li Hui was very speechless. These two guys, Dachun Dazhuang, never tolerated the soft rather than the tough, and they just liked to fight bravely. They even got into trouble with a seasoned man.
"Stand down, who wants you to talk too much? Aren't there any rules? Why don't you stand down yet?" Li Hui shouted in a deep voice.
Zhao Dachun and Guo Dazhuang rolled their eyes and backed away. The old Taoist's face was gloomy, and his withered hands had already reached into the dirty clothes, as if he was about to take out something. After hearing Li Hui scolding the two of them, they stepped back.
Then he slowly withdrew his hand.
"Immortal, please don't be offended. The servants don't know etiquette. I want to apologize to the Immortal for them." Li Hui cupped his hands and said.
The old Taoist said in a deep voice: "Master Li, the old Taoist has nothing to do with the world. He lives alone here and doesn't want anyone to disturb him. You three can do what you want."
Li Hui saw that this old Taoist was not easy to get along with, and he did not want to force others. After all, it was already rude to barge in, so why should he force others to welcome him? He may not be the only wild Taoist who overthrew Zhoushan, so he should go look for it again.
Good.
So Li Hui nodded and said: "I'm really sorry, I'm going to bother you so much, so I'll take my leave now."
Li Hui cupped his hands and asked Dachun Dazhuang to leave. The three of them walked to the gate of the courtyard, and the old Taoist suddenly said: "You said you came here specifically to visit and asked for advice. I don't know what you want to ask for?"
Li Hui stopped, turned around and said with a smile: "We are looking for something, a kind of ore. Yesterday I visited all the Taoist temples and alchemy places in the capital, but I couldn't find that thing. The Taoist priest of Guiyuan Temple said
, maybe you can find it here at the Immortal Chang in Fuzhou Mountain, so we came."
The old man frowned and said, "Looking for ore? What kind of ore?"
Li Hui thought for a moment and said: "I don't know how to describe it. It's a kind of... um... how should I put it? A less commonly used ore. It's hard for me to describe this thing at the moment."
The old Taoist was silent for a moment and asked: "What do you want this for? Do you also make elixirs?"
Li Hui smiled and said: "How can I have this ability? It is useful, but it is not alchemy. The specific use... I am not in a position to disclose."
The old Taoist sneered and said: "Are you still afraid that the old Taoist will steal your immortal recipe? The old Taoist asks you because he is afraid that you will kill yourself by making elixirs. At such a young age, you want to commit suicide."
Li Hui hurriedly said: "It's not about refining elixirs, but doing useful things. That's all, there may not be immortals here, so I'd better look elsewhere. Maybe the Taoist priest at Guiyuan Guan didn't mean that the immortals are here. The immortals are here.
, doesn’t seem like a place for alchemy.”
The old Taoist said angrily: "Old Taoist, of course, this is not a place to practice elixirs. The old Taoist has practiced the ultimate physics, the method of transforming metal and stone, discovered the wonders of the transformation of objects, and has an insight into the principles of the operation of the world. This is not the place to practice those who eat dead people.
The medicine. Do you think that the old Taoist is the same as those people from Jingchengli? They practice those harmful things every day?"
Li Hui was very surprised when he heard these words of the old Taoist. Hearing that the old Taoist had a very loud tone and was very contemptuous of his colleagues, his curiosity skyrocketed.
"What the immortal said is very mysterious. I wonder if I can know the details?" Li Hui said with a smile.
The old Taoist thought for a while, and as if to prove himself, he said in a deep voice: "I will teach you to open your eyes. You come with me, but you are not allowed to move around, don't listen to my words, and don't blame me if you hurt yourself."
The old Taoist opened the door of the thatched cottage and entered the house. Li Hui and Dachun Dazhuang hurriedly followed in. As soon as they entered the house, before their eyes could adapt to the darkness in the house, their noses were assaulted by a pungent smell. It was neither fragrant nor smelly.
, neither sour nor spicy, like various smells mixed together, making people feel like they have entered a flavor shop.
Before Li Hui could cover his mouth and nose, Da Zhuang had already started shouting: "It stinks, it stinks. No, it doesn't stink. What does it smell like?".