Chu Xiu had gray hair, a hunched back, and a cane. He was so old that he could no longer walk.
Many of the servants who followed him have died of old age.
Those who did not die of old age were rewarded with money and sent back to their hometowns to provide for their old age.
He was guarding the hospital alone.
Work at sunrise and rest at sunset, one person with a solitary lamp, a cup of tea and a bamboo chair.
The annual Lantern Festival is here.
He sat in front of the door, and the blood-red sunset stretched to the west, stretching his rickety figure to a very long figure.
He held the bamboo strips, squinted his eyes, and carefully weaved the lantern.
Soon, the skeleton of the lantern was finished.
Take out the white paper, paste the lanterns well, then pick up the brush, dip it in a little ink, and draw flowers, birds, fish and bamboos.
After the ink dried, he lit the lantern and hung it in front of the door.
Looking at the lanterns, a heartfelt smile appeared on the old face, and a wisp of divine brilliance flowed in a pair of cloudy old eyes.
: "This is life, this is the Tao."
He shook his head, closed the door and went to rest.
The next day, early morning.
A luxury motorcade was slowly approaching.
Stop in front of the hospital.
The most luxurious carriage in the middle of the motorcade has its curtains drawn open.
An old woman with gray hair and gorgeous clothes was helped out of the car.
Turning her head to look at the familiar houses, wooden bridges, creeks, and bamboo forests around her, the old woman had tears in her eyes.
She walked towards the hospital tremblingly.
Knock gently on the door.
Dong dong dong——
After a while, the door opened, and an old, wrinkled face with age spots came into view.
Vaguely, she could see familiar outlines on this face.
Two lines of tears fell from her cheeks, and the old woman trembled: "Teacher, I'm back!"
Chu Xiu showed a kind smile on his face, just like before, "I'm back, come in!"
The old woman nodded and followed Chu Xiu into the house.
Looking at the familiar furnishings in the room, the old woman felt complicated.
"Teacher, not long after I got married, I followed my husband's family to Xianyang, the capital of the country. I have never been able to come back to see you. I feel really uneasy!"
Chu Xiu waved his hand and led her to sit down in front of the wooden table.
After getting a glass of water for him, he said: "What's so good about my old bones? As long as you live a good life, that's all."
The old woman was holding a steaming cup of water and looking at the old man in front of her with tears in her eyes.
: "Teacher, have you been alone all these years?"
Chu Xiu nodded and smiled, "I'm used to being alone. How about you, how are you doing?"
"Well -" the old woman nodded, "I will live a life of glory and wealth, and a family full of children and grandchildren."
The two of them chatted and talked about their parents' personal differences without any barriers, just like before.
The sun is tilted westward.
Dusk time.
The old woman was about to leave. Before leaving, she invited Chu Xiu to go to the county town for retirement.
Chu Xiu declined.
Watch the convoy go away.
He resumed his life alone again.
Spring passed and autumn came, one morning three years later.
A speeding carriage broke the tranquility.
: "Old man, is the old man here?"
The driver jumped out of the carriage and ran into the hospital.
:"What's wrong?"
An old voice came from the side.
The young man turned his head and saw an old man walking from the river carrying a basket of medicine, a stooped back and a ravaged face.
He hurriedly stepped forward and said anxiously with a tearful tone: "Old man, I am the third generation grandson of Qin Miao. My grandma is dying and wants to see you one last time before she dies."
Chu Xiu's cloudy old eyes were filled with waves.
He nodded and said nothing more. The medical clinic, which had not been closed for decades, closed its doors for the first time today.
The young man helped him get into the carriage.
He shouted in a low voice, "Drive——"
The carriage sped away.
Dusk time.
The carriage arrived at the county town, a luxurious manor.
Knowing that Chu Xiu was coming, the owner of the manor came out to greet him personally.
He was a middle-aged man in his forties, elegant and noble.
His name was Yang Chong, the eldest son of Qin Miao, and he held an important position in Xianyang, the capital of the country.
Even if decades have passed, Chu Xiu, the Prime Minister Zuo, is still famous in Xianyang and is well-known to every household. His mother was his student, so his family can have a smooth official career.
: "Old man..."
Yang Chong bowed down respectfully and personally helped Chu Xiu into the inner hall of the manor.
Pass through the cloister, rockery, and gurgling water.
Arrive at Qin Miao's small courtyard.
Chu Xiu met Qin Miao again.
She was lying on the bed, her breath was dying, her brows were full of deathly aura, and she was not going to die soon.
Chu Xiu sat next to her, held her withered hand, and remained silent.
Qin Miao opened her eyes, looked at him, and forced a smile on her face, "I wanted to support my teacher until the end of my life, but in the end I have to trouble you."
The direct descendants of the Yang family gathered around, and many of them secretly wiped away tears when they saw this scene.
"I'm used to being alone. I'll just be buried wherever I go!" Chu Xiu chuckled lovingly, the wrinkles on his face trembling.
Qin Miao also had a smile on her face, and a line of tears ran down her cheeks, "Teacher, I have regrets in my heart."
"You said-" Chu Xiu patted her dry hand.
"Miaomiao also wants to eat the chicken drumstick rice made by the teacher herself." Qin Miao said with a weak breath.
A sad look appeared in Chu Xiu's cloudy old eyes, and he nodded, "Okay, teacher will do it for you."
: "Well, thank you, teacher!"
Qin Miao slowly closed her eyes with a smile on her face, her last trace of life gone.
:"mother--"
Yang Chong rushed to the bed and cried loudly.
For a while, there was a lot of crying in the room.
Chu Xiu stood up and gave up the space to the descendants of the Yang family.
I came to the yard alone and looked up at the stars.
After a long silence, he called the Yang family's servants, set up a boiler in the yard, and began to stew the chicken.
Sitting in front of the fire, adding firewood little by little, with the light of fire in his cloudy old eyes, he murmured to himself, "A mortal's life span can range from a hundred years to a few decades. Along the way, I have no worries.
The carefree childhood also has the passionate youth, from the busy middle age to the leisurely and quiet old age, and finally returns to a handful of loess."
Just at this moment.
Boom————
There was a loud noise over Hongfeng County.
Someone screamed.
: "The demon clan, the demon clan invades..."
Above the sky, a group of monsters with different appearances were covered in darkness. Under the leadership of a great sage tiger monster, they blocked out the sky and rushed into Hongfeng County. Their number was at least over a thousand, and their evil aura was soaring to the sky.
: "Kill, kill, kill——"
: "Brothers, sacrifice the whole city with blood and refine the blood pill——"
The monsters laughed wildly.
There were screams in the city.
In the Yang family manor, fear is spreading.
Yang Chong ran to Chu Xiu's side and said anxiously: "Master, don't stew the chicken for now. The demon clan is coming. Follow me to the underground safe house to take shelter."
Chu Xiu didn't seem to notice the overwhelming demon clan coming from the sky, so he added a piece of firewood to the fire without haste.
: "Don't worry, it will be stewed soon!"
: "Oh, what time has it been, and you are still stewing chicken~" Yang Chong sweated profusely, with anxiety written all over his face.
Chu Xiu opened the lid of the pot, picked up a pair of chopsticks, and poked at the soft, fragrant chicken stewed in the pot.
: "Well, okay-"
He raised the corner of his mouth, picked up the bowl, filled the rice with clear grains, unscrewed a chicken leg, placed it on the white rice, and poured some chicken soup into the rice.
He stood up and handed the bowl to Yang Chong, "Send it to your mother's soul."
Yang Chong took it, "Old man, we..."
He didn't finish speaking.
His mouth opened wide with shock on his face...
Other Yang family members also looked at Chu Xiu in shock.
I saw that his originally rickety back became straight at some point.
Turning his back to everyone, he rose into the air with his hands behind his back.
:"this--"
The Yang family was shocked.
: "Is this old man a great monk?"
Chu Xiu walked towards Gaotian step by step and came to the front of the group of monsters.
The leader of the Great Holy Tiger Demon looked at him fiercely, "Old guy, who are you!!"
Chu Xiu's pair of turbid old eyes became as deep as abyss at this time. He glanced around and spat out: "Broken——"ъìqυgΕtv.℃ǒM
The sound was like thunder, shaking the nine heavens and ten places. The bodies of the demon clan that invaded Hongfeng County all froze.
The next moment, each person turned into nothingness.
The leader of the tiger demon tiger opened his eyes wide, stared at Chu Xiu in horror, and said in a trembling voice: "Holy King, you are a holy king, how could it be possible..."
As soon as he finished speaking, his body turned into nothingness like other monsters.
When the mortals in Red Maple City saw this scene, they stared blankly at the sky, fell to the ground one after another, and called them immortals.
The Yang family members who knew Chu Xiu looked at the old man in the sky in disbelief as if they had been struck by lightning.
Yang Chong looked down at the steaming chicken leg rice in his hand, his lips trembling, "Mom, who do you want to be your teacher?"
After destroying all the demon clan, Chu Xiu stood in the nine heavens, bathed in starlight, and slowly closed his eyes.
A kind of enlightenment surged into my heart, and the last edge of the Taoist mind was erased, finally becoming rounded and natural.
"Monks in the world seek the Tao all their lives, but little do they know that the Tao is always at the feet of all sentient beings."
"Hey, after nearly a hundred years of seeking truth and understanding, I finally understand."
"When a monk enters Taoism, he first enters the world."
"If you refine your mind in this way, you can also become one."
"It's been a while since I've had a ball to generate electricity for love. My family members will be given one... for free. Don't give it up for free!"