Xuanzhen Temple is built halfway up the mountain, and the road is impassable. However, there are stone steps piled up for pilgrims to climb up. To show their sincerity, most of the pilgrims gave up their sedan chairs and climbed the stone steps themselves. The huge crowd was like a long queue.
Moving is very spectacular.
Cui Weizhen and her three children exercised every day. Needless to say, they have strong physical strength. They climbed thirty levels without blushing or out of breath. Ye Zhenzhen also exercised a lot every day. Yoga is indispensable. In the past six months, she has been in Mingzhou Prefecture.
Later, I rarely played horse racing or ball games, but my foundation was pretty good, at least I could keep up.
Aunt Cui neglected to exercise and began to feel tired after walking for a while.
"Mom, why don't we take the sedan chair?"
"No, just take a rest." Aunt Cui shook her head and refused: "You are not in a hurry, you can just enjoy the scenery along the way."
After Mrs. Cui mentioned this, everyone noticed that the scenery along the way was particularly beautiful.
The warm winter sun passes through the jungle mist and casts a white-gold light on the white steps. The sparrows in the jungle are awakened and chirp on the branches, which is clear and sweet, blending into a symphony with the noisy human voices.
There are all kinds of pilgrims crawling on the steps, including scholars in green shirts holding fans, ladies in splendid clothes, common people in coarse linen clothes, and hawkers carrying burdens... The equality of all living beings is slowly revealed on this ordinary pilgrimage road.
The group of people walked up and down, and everyone patiently accompanied Aunt Cui up the stairs. Although it took a little longer, it was not tiring at all, and it was a lot of fun.
Half an hour later, everyone finally climbed the steps and arrived at the main entrance of Xuanzhen Temple.
The door was crowded with vendors and pilgrims. Ye Zhenzhen was afraid that her child would get lost, so she held Cui Zhiming's hand nearby. Cui Auntie and Cui Weizhen also held the hands of Cui Zhiduan and Ning Kang respectively.
Cui Zhiming thought he had grown up and felt a little embarrassed to be held by his aunt again, so he blushed and said, "Aunt, I can go by myself."
"No, there are many people here and there are many kidnappers. If you are kidnapped by kidnappers, can you tell us what to do?" Ye Zhenzhen refused without thinking, with a very serious expression on her face.
The three children immediately remembered the unsolved turmoil a while ago, and everyone was still frightened, so they no longer resisted.
When the group stepped into the gate, they saw a Taoist priest wearing Taoist uniforms and a gray beard sitting under a pine tree. As soon as he saw them, he walked over and stood in front of Cui Weizhen. He swept the dust and walked.
He bowed and said: "Qing Xuzi, the host of Xuanzhen Temple, I have met with Mrs. Cui, the magistrate, and Mrs. Ning Guo. The nobles are here to visit me. I am sorry that I am not welcoming you from afar. Please forgive me."
"You're welcome, host. Today, I and my family are here to offer incense in your honor. I won't have to disturb you for a long time. The host just needs to treat us as ordinary people. There is no need to be formal."
Qingxuzi was a monk who practiced Taoism. He respected Cui Weizhen as the prefect but was not in awe, but he was not restrained. He also acted as a tour guide along the way, introducing them to the names of various temples and the gods enshrined there.
Aunt Cui paid her respects every time she came to the palace, so Cui Weizhen, Ye Zhenzhen and others naturally followed her. Fortunately, there were Taoist abbots accompanying her, so the journey was easy and did not take any time.
Burning incense and worshiping Buddha is all about sincerity, and adults have respect for the gods, but the children who were kowtowing all the way couldn't stand it anymore, and secretly muttered that they were bored.
