One Hundred and Twenty Six        Drawing Cat

In Tianshunzhong, Ming Dynasty, Ji Bo, a villager from Jijiachong, Jizhou, Hubei Province, was poor and lived on several acres of thin land. Nearly ten years after marriage, his wife gave birth to three babies, all of whom were baby girls.

There was a temple several miles away from Ji's family, and the incense was very popular. Ji Bo was eager for his son, so he took his wife to the temple to burn incense, begging the Bodhisattva for blessing, and saw his son as soon as possible. He did not let his wishes down. The next year, his wife was pregnant and gave birth ten months later, and she was born, so she got a baby boy, which was named Ji Yixian, meaning that he could get it by relying on Buddha and immortals. He finally got a son and loved Yixian very much.

Ji Yixian was favored by her parents and was spoiled when she was young. All the work in the family was carried out by her parents and sisters. She did not hold the grass on her back and forth. Although her family was poor, she was not working hard and was very comfortable.

Ji Yixian was born with intelligence, and his neighbors praised him for being a great talent. Ji Bo heard of it and felt proud. He sent Yixian to study in a private school, hoping that his son would succeed in his career and glorify his ancestors. When he was studying in a private school, the teacher saw Yixian and heard it, and he would not forget it through his eyes. The teacher loved it more quickly. Over time, the teacher noticed Yixian had a strange habit of being affinity, and he liked to paint cats. Yixian had an incredible level of painting cats. The cats were painted inside and outside the desk, and the empty door of the book was also full. When he was a little rest during the break, he painted it on the walls with branches or chalk. Big cats, kittens, black cats, white cats, and walls were all filled with surprise.

Time flies, and when the fairy is weak, the cat has reached a skillful state. He lifts the pen and dips it ink and finishes it in one go. He draws the cat with flowers, plants and trees together. There are cats under the flowers, cats under the trees and cats in the grass, and there are many.

Ji Bo saw that he had such a painting technique and decided to sell paintings to supplement his family's benefits. Yixian went to the market to set up a stall and sold paintings, and according to the wishes of the buyers, he painted on the spot to sell them. Therefore, many people bought them, and his family became richer. One afternoon in the middle of summer, Yixian improvised paintings, and the picture was blooming. A cat was lying under the chrysanthemum bush. After the painting was laid, he was admiring himself. Suddenly, a Taoist priest came to the stall and bowed to Yixian and said, "I dare to ask when the chrysanthemums in this painting are blooming?" Yixian raised his eyes and looked at the Taoist priest carefully. He saw that his hair was tied high, wearing a hemp-clothed Taoist robe, with bright eyes, straight nose and square mouth, clear bones, and a fairy-like Taoist priest. So he returned to the ceremony and said, "This is chrysanthemums at dusk."

He shook his head and said, "It's not, this is not the chrysanthemum at dusk, but the chrysanthemum at noon. How can it be clear? The flowers are covered with trembling and dry color, which is the flowers at midday; cat's eyes are black like lines, which is the cat's eyes at noon. If there are flowers with dew, the room will be narrow and colored. Cat's eyes are round in the morning and evening, and the day is narrow and long, and noon is like a line. How can chrysanthemum at noon?" According to the immortal, the cat's eyes in the painting are black like lines, which is correct. He knows that there is something wrong in the painting. He also knows that there is a master of painting today. He bows his hands and bows, saying, "I am a master of silence, thank you for the master's axe, and dare to ask the master's name for Taoism." The Taoist priest also bowed and said, "I am the master of Wuliang Tianzun, I am the name of Qingcheng."

After a few greetings, they met each other. I asked Taoist Master to sit down and asked Qingcheng to paint it to teach him. I respectfully spread paper and prepare ink. Qingcheng said that the voice was ugly, so I wrote a painting and painted a black cat lying on the steps outside the house. The cat's eyes were angrily open, the black eyes were round, the ears were upright, the hair suddenly rose, and the teeth were grinning, as if it was about to jump up and pounce, and it was about to come out. I saw it and was surprised. I clapped my hands and praised it. It was a hundred times better than me, saying that this cat's painting was awesome!

Yixian knelt down and kowtowed, wanting to worship Qingcheng as his teacher, asking, "Now that the master has taught him here, I will suddenly understand. I think that with the spirit of hard work and self-study, there is no teacher to learn by himself, but it is not. No teacher is like a headless fly rushing around, and it is difficult to reach the peak. I want to take the master as his teacher, so I ask the master to teach him." Qingcheng hurriedly leaned over and helped Yixian up, and refused him politely, "Please get up, I am a Taoist priest who travels around the world, and I am used to being idle, and I am afraid that I will mislead my children, so I dare not speak out, but I have a close friend,

He is known as Mr. Dongyuan, who is good at painting landscapes, birds and beasts. He lives in Wu County, Jiangsu Province. If you don’t dislike him, you can be your teacher.” Yixian asked the Taoist priest to write a letter of recommendation. Qingcheng smiled and said, “You have held this painting and come to the door to be your disciple. When Dongyuan saw this painting, he will definitely accept you as his disciple. Then it can be achieved. However, the road to becoming a disciple is difficult. Can you hold on to me?" Yixian said, “I persevere and be indestructible.” Qingcheng said, “I am the master of heaven, I will say goodbye, I will leave.” After saying that, he stood up and said goodbye, and drifted away.

After hearing the words of Taoist priest Qingcheng, Yixian kept it in mind and wanted to go to Wuxian County, Jiangsu to find Mr. Dongyuan to become a disciple. His father heard this and stopped him and said, "You are not smart. Wuxian is more than two thousand miles away. You need to travel through mountains and rivers. The road is difficult and there are no horses and vehicles at home. How can you arrive?" Yixian insisted and firmly said, "My intention has been decided. Even if it is difficult and dangerous, it is difficult to stop my determination to become a disciple. I swear to leave."

He packed his clothes with the Taoist priests and wrapped them in oil cloth to prevent moisture from getting wet, and prepared all daily necessities. He spent only scattered silver at home. He bid farewell to his parents and resolutely embarked on the road to becoming a disciple. He carried his bags and alone, and walked eastward, traveling more than a hundred miles to Jingmen.

On the street outside Jingmen City, people came and saw an old man with white hair and silver beard holding a hexagram banner. When he was telling the fortune teller, he came to him. He saw Yixian and stood there and stared at him, exclaiming: "Wow! Where are you going?" Yixian was puzzled and asked in confusion, "Why did you see me scream?" The old man said, "I want to send you a hexagram, but I don't take any documents. I saw that your seal hall was dark. I am afraid that a great disaster will come soon. I should stay at home to avoid it. This is not suitable to travel far away." Yixian asked how long it took to avoid it. The old man replied that it would take a hundred days to rest. According to the fairy, he said, "I have important things to go far away, so I cannot avoid it. Mr. Xie's advice. I am not afraid of the disaster." After saying that, he did not look back and moved forward.

I slept in the open, slept in the wind and rain, and traveled through mountains and rivers for more than 200 miles. One afternoon, I vanished to Taizi Mountain in Mianyang, and walked to the mountains and hills. I saw green mountains, green green, pine and fir towering like clouds, fruit trees and branches, the fishing lake sparkled, and the stream flowed with gold. I was eager to become a disciple, and I had no intention of enjoying the scenery, so I walked quickly. I was afraid that the wild beasts in the mountains would attack, so I looked for a big wooden stick to hold it. When I was walking quickly, the sky suddenly changed, and dark clouds suddenly came. After the strong wind, the heavy rain came quickly. Although he was carrying rain gear, it was difficult to avoid the storm and rain. He patrolled everywhere, there was no village in front and no shop behind, so where could he avoid it? In the lightning and thunder, he saw a cave nearby. He rushed into it quickly and drilled into the cave. He saw that the entrance of the cave was small, but the cave was spacious. There was a large bluestone slab flat. He placed the wooden stick against the side of the stone, sat on the stone for a while, and waited for the rain to stop before moving on.

The rain was drizzling outside the cave, and Yixian felt tired and tired, so he untied his body and lie on the stone slab and slept on the stone slab for a while. In the hazy, Yixian suddenly heard a sharp howl. Yixian was startled and saw a beast jumping out from behind the cave. He looked at it carefully. The beast was as big as a wolf, his ears stood up, his kiss was protruding, and his tail was as thin as a whip. He was also a huge rat. The giant rat grinned and rushed towards Yixian. Yixian was afraid and wanted to escape. However, at this time the rat was approaching and had no way to escape. He quickly held the stick and fought to the death. The rat pounced on the people, and Yixian swung the stick and slammed it. The rat avoided it. Yixian used too much force and hit the stone slab, and it broke into two pieces! At this critical moment, he suddenly saw the red light in the bag, and a big black cat jumped out of it, which looked like a cheetah. With a roar, he rushed towards the giant rat. The cat and rat fought, and the roar was like thunder. A sudden scene came, Yixian was stunned and at a loss.

The cat and mouse fought, bit and rolled, and fought for a long time, but the mouse was defeated. The black cat jumped and stumbled. The rat was killed. The red light flashed again, and the black cat returned to his bag. Yixian was surprised, and quickly untied his bag, peeled off the oil cloth, opened the cat's painting to see it. Seeing that the black cat in the painting was still lying on the steps of the house in the evening, but blood was added to the corners of his mouth and sharp claws. It was very strange that he knew that the Taoist priest Qingcheng was a god!

When Yixian was surprised, he heard footsteps outside the cave. Suddenly, a middle-aged man entered the cave with a sharp axe in his hand. Yixian quickly collected his bag and asked in surprise: "Who are you?" The man said: "I am a woodcutter. I heard the sound of fighting in the cave, so I went into the cave to look at it."

When the woodcutter saw a rat in the cave, he was shocked to ask why. Yixian explained his experience in detail. After hearing this, the woodcutter asked Yixian who came from, where to make a living. Yixian answered it. The woodcutter advised him, "Don't take the scenery here as a painting, but in fact, there are dangers everywhere, and there are robbers in it. How can you pass by safely as a weak scholar? It is a perfect strategy to persuade you to give up and return to your hometown." Yixian said, "My intention has been decided, how can you give up halfway? Thank you for your advice, I will continue to do it."

Yixian packed his bags, bid farewell to the woodcutter, and continued to go east without hesitation. In the evening, he walked to a valley where the grass was lush. As he was walking, he heard a gong and several burly men rushed out of the bushes, holding sharp blades. The leader shouted, "I want to pass from now on, leave money for passing by!" Yixian was frightened and knew that he had encountered a robber. He bowed and asked, "I am a poor scholar and have no resources to respect the king. I hope the king will raise his hands and let me go." The leader asked where he went, and the leader told him in the truth. The leader laughed and said, "Haha! I saw that you are poor and spared you from death. Let me go back quickly and don't want to pass by now!" Yixian knelt down and begged, "I am eager to become a disciple. I ask the king to open my net and let me go. The young student will be grateful. If you have any resources in the future, I will repay you."

Yixian asked for a while, suddenly heard a whistle, and the robbers dispersed. A man stood in front of him. Yixian was surprised and looked at him carefully. He saw that this man was tied with a bun, wearing a mahjong, with bright eyes, straight nose, square bones, and a fairy-like manner. He was surprised to realize that this was not someone else, but a Taoist priest of Qingcheng! Qingcheng laughed and said, "Haha! I am not Qingcheng, I am the east side of you who are looking for. On that day, I saw that he had a connection with the painting, and pretended to be Qingcheng, to test whether you are sincere in your apprenticeship, and pretended to be a teacher thousands of miles away, and to tell fortunes, the woodcutter and the robbers tried to test whether your intention was firm or not. Now I saw that you were firm and unmovable, haha! Please follow me." According to Xianxian, I saw that everything I met before was tested.

Yixian followed the east edge to a cave. When he entered the cave, he realized that this was not an ordinary cave. The cave suddenly became clear, the land was wide, the houses were like a street, and there were flowers, trees, mulberry and bamboo. Yixian was stunned, and there was another world in the cave!

The two walked to a courtyard. The gate tower of the house was towering, the gate was pitch black and extraordinary. When they walked into the gate, they saw the courtyard deep. The main hall of the courtyard was carved beams and painted columns, painted and painted. They left the corridor in front and came out of the building, and the corridors of the houses were adjacent to each other. Entering the main hall, the square tables, chairs, tables, and various furniture decorations were all ancient. The disciples in the hall stood on both sides and saw the master entering the hall, shouting that the master was safe. They sat in the east edge, and knelt down on their heads, and bowed their heads to the emperor.

Since then, I live in the cave by immortals. Every morning, I go out to the cave to work hard with my senior brothers and learn painting in the afternoon. Under the instructions of my master, my painting skills have greatly increased, unique and very unique.

Half a year later, the Spring Festival is approaching, and I miss my relatives more than I do. The master saw that he thought and allowed him to return home to visit his relatives.

After returning home from the immortal, he saw his parents and explained his encounter in detail. When Ji Bo heard it, he happily said, "It is better to learn the magic of immortality than to learn painting with my teacher, which is better."

After the Spring Festival, I bid farewell to my parents and returned to Prince Mountain. I wanted to learn immortal arts, but after searching in the mountains for several days, there was no trace of the original cave. I had no choice but to return to it with regret.

Relying on the magic of immortals, the painting skills of cats has been vivid and vivid since then. Its reputation is far-reaching, and those who seek paintings come in a crowd of people, and they spend a lot of money to come to the door to seek it. Relying on the immortals and wealth.
Chapter completed!