Chapter six hundred and sixty first: Entrusted by others
When it gets dark, Ruyi will go back to his yard.
He's not a child anymore. It's getting dark now, so it's a bit inappropriate to stay here.
"I haven't finished talking yet. I'll come back to Uncle Chen tomorrow if I wish."
"good."
Ruyi also nodded and walked out of the small courtyard, then closed the door, thinking that he would have to find a craftsman to repair the door tomorrow.
Thinking about today, I feel so ashamed.
Chen Changsheng saw that it was getting late that day and the yard was getting dark.
"Oh, I forgot to buy candles."
"Candle?" the civet cat asked, "can't you see clearly?"
Chen Changsheng smiled and said: "Chen is a human being, unlike the civet flower who can see clearly at night."
Lihua blinked after hearing this and said, "Then you're not great."
"Huh?" Chen Changsheng immediately laughed and said, "Indeed."
"I'll go to the street and buy some candles tomorrow."
Chen Changsheng thought for a while and said: "Chen is going out tonight to take a look at the mountains outside the city. However, the courtyard door was accidentally kicked in by Ruyi today, so I have to bother Lihua to look at the courtyard in case there is something wrong.
A thief comes to your door, what do you think of Li Hua?"
The civet cat raised its head and said, "It's a trivial matter!"
"Then thank you Lihua."
"Go ahead, Cihua will definitely keep an eye on the yard."
"Um."
The civet cat sent Chen Changsheng out of the door.
After Chen Changsheng went out, it climbed onto the wall and found a comfortable place to nest.
Cats all like high places, and civet cat is no exception. Although there is often a cold wind blowing in the alley, civet cat's hair is thick enough and it cannot be frozen.
It fell asleep lying on its stomach, but it did not die of sleep. If there was any disturbance, it would wake up.
Although Cihua likes to play around, she is still very conscientious in what she has agreed to do.
Walking out of Chuanfeng Alley, Chen Changsheng took one step forward. The scene in front of him changed in the blink of an eye. The moment his footsteps fell, the surroundings calmed down.
When I looked up again, I was already under the green mountains.
Looking through the steps going up the mountain, I saw a plaque with the words "Qingxian Temple" printed on it.
Since all the temples gathered here, the Yuanchuan Taoist Sect had a Taoist tradition. Later, it was canonized and corrected by the current saint. Today, this place has become a Taoist holy land, and its incense has never been cut off.
Countless people seeking immortality and the way to immortality visit this place, longing for the way to immortality.
In the past few decades, Qingxian Temple has built two more main halls, and the remaining side halls are many large and small, spanning three mountains, and are huge in scale.
"It's changed a lot."
Thinking back to the beginning, it was just this mountain.
"I don't know what happened to Zhixuan Zhenren."
Chen Changsheng immediately stepped towards the mountain gate.
The steps of the mountain gate are very clean, presumably they are cleaned by disciples all year round.
We walked all the way up the mountain to the entrance of the Taoist temple.
After night falls, there is no one to guard the gate.
Chen Changsheng walked up to the side door, knocked on the door, and then waited for someone to come.
But after a while, a disciple in Taoist uniform came to open the door. He was not old, only fifteen or sixteen years old. He must have been young when he went up the mountain.
"Little Taoist Priest." Chen Changsheng called out.
The disciple quickly said: "I dare not praise the Taoist priest. I wonder why the layman is going up so late at night?"
Chen Changsheng said: "Chen is here to visit Master Zhixuan this time. Could you please inform me?"
The disciple was stunned for a moment, but after glancing at Chen Changsheng, he said: "Father, please wait outside the door for a while. Please forgive me for not serving you well."
"The Taoist priest is very polite."
The disciple closed the door and went to report it.
After Chen Changsheng waited at the door for about half a quarter of an hour, the Taoist priest came back and invited Chen Changsheng to come in.
The Taoist temple was quite quiet at this time, firstly because it was getting late and the disciples were meditating and cultivating their minds.
"Lord, please come with me."
The little Taoist leader led Chen Changsheng all the way to a side hall.
"The master of the temple is in the hall, layman, please invite me."
Chen Changsheng nodded and said, "Thank you so much, Taoist Master."
Chen Changsheng stepped inside.
After entering the door, I saw a middle-aged man in plain clothes and a Taoist bun sitting cross-legged in the hall, holding a Taoist scripture in his hand and reading.
This person is not Zhixuan Zhenren.
Chen Changsheng immediately understood that the person in front of him was probably Zhixuan's disciple.
After seeing the outsiders in the temple, the master of the temple put down the Taoist scriptures in his hands, stood up and said, "I am a poor Taoist, Mr. Xuan Chengzi. I have met a layman."
"Chen came from outside the mountain and met the temple owner."
"Lord, please take a seat."
There are tufts of futons placed in the hall, and a small table is very simple.
Chen Changsheng stepped forward and sat down cross-legged. After taking a look at Xuanchengzi in front of him, he realized that he was not an ordinary person.
This place was chosen as the mountain for Taoist preaching, and people who wanted to come to the mountain also had some opportunities.
Xuan Chengzi poured him tea.
Chen Changsheng came to his senses and asked, "May I ask if Master Zhixuan is still alive?"
Xuanchengzi said: "Master passed away in Hexi a few years ago. Thank you very much, layman, for caring about my master till now."
"Is this so..."
"House, please have some tea."
"Thank you."
Chen Changsheng stretched out his hand to scoop up the tea and took a sip.
Xuanchengzi said: "I wonder when the layman met the Master?"
Chen Changsheng said: "It was probably the 11th or 12th year of Xinglong or the 15th or 16th year of Xinglong. Chen can't remember it clearly. It can be said that we don't know each other until we fight."
"We don't know each other without fighting?" Xuan Chengzi paused.
Chen Changsheng said: "Has the real person ever mentioned the matter of the Immortal Cave Clothes to you?"
Xuan Chengzi recalled it and then understood.
"Pindao remembered."
Xuan Chengzi smiled and said: "Speaking of which, Pindao met the layman once before, but it was a pity that it took so long that he didn't recognize him for a while. Don't blame the layman."
As he said this, Xuan Chengzi paused.
"Is a layman also a practitioner?"
"That's right, monk outside the mountain."
"The poor way is clear."
Xuanchengzi couldn't tell what kind of virtuous person this person was, but he was definitely extraordinary.
It has been prosperous for more than ten years, and nearly twenty years have passed now, but the person in front of me looks particularly young, and he should not be an ordinary person.
Could it be that he is an immortal descending from heaven?
But it doesn't look like it.
Xuanchengzi couldn't figure it out for a while, but then he said, "I wonder where my friend is practicing?"
Chen Changsheng thought for a moment and said, "I have no fixed place to live."
Xuan Chengzi nodded slightly and thought to himself.
Chen Changsheng interrupted him and asked: "Chen heard that Buddhism reappeared and competed with Taoism. I wonder what the temple master thought of it?"
Xuanchengzi came back to his senses and said: "My Taoist sect has a profound foundation and is favored by a saint. It should be like a towering ancient tree, but Buddhism is like a young weed, so there is nothing to be afraid of."
Chen Changsheng said: "But the weeds are burning inexhaustibly, and they gain momentum again when the spring breeze blows. How can we solve it?"
Xuan Chengzi smiled and said, "Do you think the Buddhist sect can surpass our Taoist sect?"
"There's nothing certain about it."
Chen Changsheng said: "But if you look down upon it, you might be able to take advantage of it."