Not long after the handyman entered, a middle-aged man wearing silk and brocade clothes walked out.
Wang Dahe, the eldest son of Taoyuan Pavilion and the person with the highest official rank in Taoyuan Town, was dressed in luxurious clothes, but not greasy at all. The man in his forties wore brocade and satin clothes like a scholar's shirt.
"I've met Mr. Shi." Wang Dahe bowed and saluted.
Shi Yu had no choice but to return the gift and said with shame: "The pavilion master is too polite."
"Sir, please come in." Wang Dahe bowed slightly and stretched out a hand.
This made Shi Yu a little confused. If Wang Dahe was sincere, he would probably come from a scholarly family. How could he have such a dandy as Wang Xiaoyan?
Shi Yu was not polite. He had a lot to explain clearly, so he took the lead in crossing the threshold.
After that, Wang Dahe took Shi Yu all the way to the hall.
Brothers Wang Jixi and Wang Xiaoyan stood on both sides early. When they saw Shi Yu coming in, they bowed slightly and saluted almost at the same time: "I have met Mr. Shi."
This battle suppressed Shi Yu.
Shi Yu didn't say anything, but just turned around and glanced at Wang Dahe. Seeing that he didn't feel anything was wrong at all, he walked into the hall full of questions and sat on the chair that had been prepared long ago.
Wang Dahe and Shi Yu sat side by side and poured a bowl of tea for Shi Yu himself.
Wang Jixi stood behind Wang Dahe with a smile on his face.
Wang Xiaoyan stood in front of the three people with his hands folded, looking like he had done something wrong, and he did not dare to express his anger.
Shi Yu couldn't stand Wang Xiaoyan's behavior, so he turned to look at Wang Dahe and asked: "Chief Wang Pavilion, what is this?"
Wang Dahe thought about his words for a moment, then stood up and bowed to Shi Yu again.
Shi Yu had no choice but to stand up and return the greeting.
This move made both Wang Dahe and Wang Jixi relieved. Fortunately, Mr. Wang is not that difficult to talk to.
"Sir, let me get straight to the point. My incompetent son has offended my husband before. As a father, I have failed to discipline him well. I am very tormented in my heart. I only hope that I can take my son to apologize to my husband in person. But really
I don’t know where Mr. lives, so I gave up.”
Wang Dahe looked sincere, which made Shi Yu feel very embarrassed. He even had the illusion that he had done something wrong?
"Mr. Wang Ting is too polite. It's such a trivial matter. Why do you need to be like this?" Shi Yu smiled bitterly. This family was too cautious, which made him feel unnatural.
I originally thought that saying this would make the pavilion chief feel at ease, but instead, the pavilion chief's face became more solemn. He probably thought too much and felt that he was deliberately staged.
Seeing Wang Dahe's dilemma, Shi Yu knew that he was right.
Shi Yu said seriously: "Mr. Wang Ting, Shi is not the kind of person who cares about small things. If Wang Tingzhang feels that your son has done something wrong, education is the most important thing and the apology is just to let him know where he went wrong.
There is no need to put on such a big show, making Shi feel that it is not an apology, but more like showing Shi that if Shi were an ordinary person, would the pavilion chief still go to such trouble?"
After what they said, Wang Dahe and his son were silent. Even Wang Jixi, who had always been the most calm and composed, frowned slightly.
Shi Yu continued: "Actually, it's not a big deal at all. Shi is not an unreasonable person, and he won't be bothered by such worldly worries. Even if the son doesn't apologize, Shi won't say anything.
With Chief Wang Ting's actions, could it be that he thinks Shi is an unreasonable person?"
Wang Dahe broke into a cold sweat.
After telling Shi Yu this, it seemed that what he did was indeed wrong.
Wang Jixi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and came to the rescue for his father.
"Sir, what I'm trying to teach you is that it was indeed the three of me and my son who were rude about this matter. It's really inappropriate to judge a gentleman with a villain's heart. However, Wang Xiaoyan did something wrong, so he still has to apologize to you. I heard that I'm sorry, sir."
Wine, my father happens to have several jars of good wine in his possession, so why don’t we talk at the wine table, as a way of apologizing to your husband for our actions." Wang Jixi said respectfully.
Wang Dahe cast admiring glances at his eldest son. These words not only fulfilled Shi Yu's words, but it would be a great favor if he could stay with his husband to drink and dine.
Shi Yu had no choice but to refuse, fearing that the Wang family would lose face, so he had no choice but to nod and agree.
With Shi Yu's approval, Wang Xiaoyan's matter was over, so Wang Dahe ordered Wang Xiaoyan to prepare food and drinks.
Wang Dahe and Wang Jixi chatted with Shi Yu.
Shi Yu felt that Wang Jixi was closer to him.
Firstly, he is relatively close to him in age, and secondly, he speaks more tactfully than his father.
Soon after, the food and wine arrived.
Shi Yu had a delicious meal at Wang's house, which was better than any meal he had had before.
During this period, Wang Dahe asked Shi Yu a question.
"Sir, are you from the mountains?"
The question was very cryptic, and Shi Yu could immediately hear the deeper meaning. It was nothing more than another name for gods in the world, as the saying goes: gods on the mountain.
In response, Shi Yu just shook his head and denied it.
Wang Dahe and Wang Jixi looked at each other and saw the meaning in each other's eyes. On the contrary, they became more and more certain that this young man who looked only fifteen or sixteen was really a mountain god who had returned to youth.
If Shi Yu agreed straight away, they would have doubts. Coupled with his previous indifference to the world, the doubts would be completely eliminated.
This meal of wine and food lasted for two hours, and it was not until the red sun set over the Western Mountains in Xushi that I walked out of the Wang family's courtyard.
Wang Dahe and his son personally sent him to the door.
Shi Yu left calmly, waving his hand to indicate that there was no need to send him off.
Wang Dahe and the three of them bent down at the same time and bowed towards the back.
Not long after Shi Yu walked out, a white light suddenly flashed across the sky.
He knew that he was wearing a Confucian shirt and carrying a black robe while traveling far away with a sword.
Shi Yu waved his hand subconsciously, regardless of whether Li Xiao and Yiyun could see it or not.
When the three people at the door saw this scene, they bowed even lower.
Wang Dahe and Wang Jixi had doubts about ghosts and gods before, but now they completely believed them.
The three of them watched the green shirt disappear around the corner, speechless for a long time.
...
After leaving the Wang family's house, Shi Yu left the town directly and went to the peach forest.
The peach grove is on the mountain, very deep, and the Taoist temple is in the center of the peach grove, on a peak.
Just a few steps into Shi Yu's peach grove, a large amount of snowflakes suddenly fell from his eyes.
Looking up, the sky is gloomy, and the red sun has not completely submerged behind the mountains, and only an outline can be seen.
It’s March day and it’s snowing.
Very rare.
Shi Yu stretched out his hand to catch a snowflake. When he left the Nine Swords Gate, there had just been a heavy snowfall. It was the day his master passed away.
After that, we encountered the second heavy snowfall on the mountain in Kunshi Town, where we also met the female ghost in red.
Auspicious snow heralds a good year.
This year's snow is particularly hurtful.
The snow was likely to fall heavily, so Shi Yu quickened his pace and walked deeper into the peach forest.
It wasn't until night fell that I walked to the Taoist temple.
To be honest, this Taoist temple is larger than any Taoist temple Shi Yu has seen before, with three floors of stairs and stone railings surrounding the three-room Taoist temple.
Climb up the stairs.
At the end of the steps, you can see that there is still a large open space around the Taoist temple.
Shi Yu took a deep breath and walked towards the gate.
The door has been closed.
Shi Yu reached out and knocked on the door.
I vaguely heard an old voice in the Taoist temple say: "Tai Er, go and have a look. Your senior brother is packing the incense burner."
Not long after, the door was opened, and a familiar little head poked out.
Shi Yu smiled and greeted: "Tai Er, we meet again."
The little Taoist named Taier was surprised and happy. He quickly opened the door and shouted into the room: "Master, it's Mr. Shi!"
Then he took Shi Yu's hand and dragged him into the Taoist temple. He stuck his head out and looked around before closing the door of the Taoist temple.
The little Taoist walked in front of Shi Yu, walked backwards, and asked Shi Yu: "Sir, how did you know that my name is Taier?"
Shi Yu smiled and said, "Shopkeeper Liu said that."
Tai Er muttered: "Old Liu Tou is so talkative. I originally wanted to tell the husband myself."
But he didn't want to accidentally bump into the old man's arms. The little Taoist turned around immediately, without even looking, he saluted respectfully and shouted: "Master."
Shi Yu looked at the twilight old man, smiled, cupped his hands, and bowed, "Shi has met the Taoist priest."
The old Taoist smiled and returned the greeting and said: "Sir, you are here at the small Taoist temple. The flowers are shining brightly. Please come in quickly."
The old Taoist's excessive enthusiasm made Shi Yu very uncomfortable, so he had to stretch out his hand and said: "Taoist Master, please."
After entering the central room, Ah Xuan brought a brazier and lit it with Taier. It worked well on this snowy day and the room was immediately warm.
Shi Yu and the old Taoist sat cross-legged on the futon face to face.
The old Taoist kept smiling and seemed to be in a good mood.
In fact, the old Taoist never thought that this "immortal man" would come to the temple as a guest.
Shi Yu didn't know how to talk, so he could only start with the disciples of the old Taoist.
"Tai Er and his senior brother are both very good." Shi Yu said softly.
The old Taoist's eyes lit up and he asked: "Not bad?"
Apparently he misunderstood Shi Yu's meaning.
Shi Yu could only explain with a wry smile: "He is a good person and conducts himself well."
The old Taoist nodded and did not ask any further questions.
Shi Yu changed the topic, "The Taoist temple has been around for a long time, right? Why doesn't it have a name?"
The Taoist temple has no name, he knew it when he entered.
"It's been a long time since I've been here. It's already been...twelve generations. When Pindao passes away and is passed down to Ah Xuan or Taishou, it will be the thirteenth generation. As for why there is no name, Pindao
In fact, I don’t know much. I only know that it had a name at the beginning, but after a few renovations, the plaque was gone and it was never taken back. Since then, it has been an anonymous temple." The old Taoist explained absentmindedly.
Shi Yu nodded and said, "As for the name, it's just a title. Whether you have it or not is actually not that important."
The old Taoist stroked his beard and smiled, obviously agreeing with Shi Yu's statement.
"In the blink of an eye, I have been guarding this nameless temple for seventy years." The old Taoist sighed melancholy.
Shi Yu asked: "The Taoist priest has been in the Taoist temple since he was a child?"
The old Taoist said with a smile: "Yes, I grew up in the Taoist temple since I was a child, and before I knew it, my whole life passed, and when I got old..."
Shi Yu didn't know how to answer.
As a teenager, he was not deeply touched by the lamentation about the right and wrong of things and human beings.
Probably: old friends are dying one after another, like leaves falling in the wind.
Shi Yu said something out of nowhere: "Everyone will age."
Hearing what Shi Yu said, the old Taoist turned to look at Shi Yu and asked a question that he had expected but didn't know how to answer.
"Sir, is the road to eternal life really the road to death?"