After a night of heavy rain, young and strong men from the village gathered by the Jishui River, hoping to salvage some rare things from the river.
However, at this moment, beside the rolling Jishui River, there were screams and shouts one after another.
The crowd surged and surrounded a place by the river.
The news that the young boy Ji Xukong had salvaged a "corpse" quickly spread throughout the small fishing village.
In fact, similar things have not happened before.
After heavy rains and flash floods, there will inevitably be some dead beasts drifting in Jishui River, and villagers will sometimes see some victims.
Natural disasters are ruthless, but manpower will eventually be exhausted. It is not unexpected that something like this happens.
The folk customs here have always been simple and honest. Usually when something like this happens, the villagers will not covet the property of the deceased. They will just fish the body out and simply dig a pit and bury it.
Occasionally when encountering some unlucky situation, everyone would invite the most virtuous and respected people in the village to offer sacrifices and then throw the things back into the river, pretending that they had not been fished out.
This has been the case for more than a hundred years.
Fortunately, the fishing village did not encounter any strange disasters after all, and it was quite peaceful and peaceful.
Therefore, when the villagers who stayed in the village to clean up the mess heard about this incident, they were not too panicked and even warned the children not to see any "water ghosts".
But the situation this time seems to be different from before.
On the banks of the Jishui River, in the center of the crowd, everyone's eyes were extremely solemn. Looking at the "corpse" in front of them, they were even more embarrassed and did not dare to show one.
As for the person involved, Ji Xukong, although his face was pale, there was a hint of excitement in his eyes.
"Do you think this old man is really dead?"
It took a long time before a young man, who was not afraid of tigers even after he was born, asked. There were no taboos.
If it were normal, he would have been scolded by uncles in the neighborhood.
They were fished out of the river and soaked for most of the night. They are all swollen. Is there anyone left alive?
But this time, even the most experienced and well-informed person in the village could not make up his mind, and hesitated and did not dare to speak out.
I saw that the old man who was salvaged by Ji Vukong had white beard and hair, a ruddy complexion, and a calm expression. He was wearing a Taoist robe that did not look gorgeous, but was more natural and simple.
Not only that, the old man's body also had a faint brilliance. Although it was not obvious in broad daylight, it also made the onlookers feel dazzled.
At the same time, the old man's clothes were all dry, and he didn't look like he had just been fished out of the water.
What I saw in front of me was that the "old god" who looked like an immortal was clearly like an immortal. How could he be the unlucky "water ghost"?
The young man Ji Vukong looked around and saw that most of the people had doubtful expressions on their faces and no one spoke, so he felt heartbroken and took the initiative to step forward.
"Boy!" "Void!"
At the neighbor's uncle's sincere concern, Xiao Xukong smiled brightly, and then cautiously approached the old man, feeling his breath and heartbeat. He soon breathed a sigh of relief and raised his head:
"He's alive!"
"Xu...Xu Kong, come back quickly!"
Not far away, the expressions on everyone's faces not only did not relax at all, but became more anxious and kept shouting.
Ji Xukong followed everyone's gaze and noticed that at some point, a faint purple mist was steaming out from where the old man was lying.
The villagers were afraid of avoiding the fog, but Ji Xukong felt comfortable all over and his exhaustion was gone.
However, in order not to worry his parents, relatives and friends, he reluctantly left the old man and returned to the villagers.
As time went by, the purple air not only did not dissipate, but became more intense and surging, reflecting the nine-color divine cloud, making this place look like a fairyland on earth.
At the same time, there was a faintly refreshing fragrance that filled the air, making everyone present feel like they had been reborn.
Just when everyone was in ecstasy, a slightly noisy voice came from the periphery of the crowd.
Not long after, an old man with white hair, but relatively energetic appeared, and slowly approached surrounded by villagers.
】
Seeing this old man, the villagers seemed to have a backbone immediately and came forward to welcome him.
Xiao Xukong took the initiative to run over, carefully helped the other person approach the Jishui River, and walked to the old Taoist man fished out of the water.
Seeing that the old man next to him had a solemn expression and looked at the old Taoist carefully without blinking, Ji Xukong couldn't help but ask:
"Grandpa, do you think he is a god?"
After his words fell, the place fell silent for an instant, and everyone present changed their expressions. Immediately, they all looked at the old man expectantly.
In fact, the boy's question is also a common doubt in the hearts of the villagers.
Hearing this, the gray-haired old man's eyes shone brightly. He did not answer directly, but only sighed sincerely:
"This man is countless times scarier than monsters and monsters."
Really divine!
In an instant, Ji Xukong was so elated that his soul almost flew out of the sky.
Just when he was thinking about how he would greet the old god when he woke up, Grandpa Zu ordered everyone to throw the old god back into the Jishui River.
"Grandpa!?"
Ji Xukong's eyes were full of doubts and confusion.
Among the villagers present, some had the same expression as Xiao Xukong, while others nodded with relief on their faces.
Hearing this, the white-haired old man touched Ji Xukong's head and said earnestly:
"He and we are not from the same world after all. If we leave him behind, it is very likely to bring disaster to our village. Do you understand, Kong Kong?"
Of course, Little Xukong didn't fully understand Grandpa Zu's words, but he intuitively felt that Grandpa Zu was doing it for everyone's good, so he stopped making noise and looked at the old god not far away with reluctance.
Seeing this, Grandpa Zu comforted him and said:
"Don't worry, nothing in the river can hurt that man."
"boom!"
And just when several young men stepped forward to lift the old god up, the latter suddenly opened his eyes.
The two golden dragon-like eyes were blazing, as if they had sunk into the depths of the sky, making the bright sun seem to dim in an instant. Only the fairy light was eternal in the world.
Even so, the old god's whole body did not have any fluctuations in divine power. The people watching only had expressions of wonder on their faces and were not affected.
After a long time, the immortal light gradually died down, and the old immortal "came alive" in the astonished eyes of everyone, stood up, and started walking around like a normal person.
After this day, there was such an old god in the small village by the Jishui River.
He eats the wind, drinks the dew, and meditates.
Although I didn't see him eating anything, he was walking so fast that even the young men in the village couldn't match him.
In the early morning, old Taoists will stand quietly by the Jishui River and look at the sunrise in the east.
But every time he turned around and left, there were still schools of fish gathering by the Jishui River, unwilling to disperse.
If you get off the net at this time, you can often come back with a full load.
Not only that, since the old Taoist stayed here, the village has been filled with happy events and has become peaceful and peaceful.
Therefore, everyone in the village respects him even more.
"I've met the Taoist priest."
People in the village, no matter men, women, old or young, are extremely respectful to each other, and take the initiative to say hello to anyone they meet.
The old Taoist did not rely on his status and nodded his head.
It's just that the person never spoke.
After meeting the old immortal, the uncles and aunts in the village looked at the "followers" behind the old immortal with smiles on their faces and joked:
"Xiao Xukong, why don't you catch fish all day long? You're not ashamed to follow the Taoist priest all day long!"
Every time he was teased like this by the villagers, Xiaoxukong would just give him a simple smile in return.
In fact, since the old immortal moved into the village, countless people have followed him, and many of them even knelt down and knelt to worship him as their teacher.
However, the old god never paid attention to these behaviors.
As time passed, everyone naturally lost their minds and let nature take its course. Only one Ji Xukong persevered and still persisted, following the old god closely.
Fortunately, these days, fishing in the village has been extremely convenient, and the harvest is often quite bountiful. There is no shortage of labor force like him who has not yet grown up.
After exchanging greetings with the enthusiastic uncle and aunt for a while, Ji Xukong immediately raised his eyes and looked at the slightly ethereal figure of the immortal spirit in front of him, and couldn't help but feel confused.
Today is already the fiftieth day that he has followed the old god.
After these many days of indifference, Kong Kong's heart toward the Tao not only remained undiminished, but became even firmer, and he even felt like he had been reborn.
He wants to practice and ask questions!
Such a firm idea had never appeared in Ji Xukong's heart.
He knew from the bottom of his heart that if he missed this opportunity, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
Thinking like this, Ji Vukong didn't hesitate at all, and immediately started running, catching up with the old god in front of him again.
The latter spent most of the day sitting cross-legged on a hill not far from the village, with his eyes slightly closed, practicing enlightenment.
But today, it's different.
Just when Ji Xukong was sitting cross-legged far behind the old immortal, preparing to imitate him as usual, he suddenly noticed that the old immortal did not close his eyes to practice, but was looking straight at him.
.
While Ji Xukong was overjoyed, he heard the old god's calm and indifferent words in his ears:
"May I have your name?"
However, before the overjoyed Ji Xukong could speak, the old god had already said to himself:
"Well, Ji Xukong is a good name."
Hearing this, the young man in front of him couldn't help but be stunned, and then whispered in confusion:
"Taoist Master, I haven't answered yet... Or have you heard about it from everyone?"
Thinking of this possibility, Little Void couldn't help but feel complacent.
Unexpectedly, in response to this, the old god smiled slightly and asked:
"Did you really not answer just now?"
Hearing this, Xiaoxukong said firmly without hesitation: "Of course!"
Seeing this, the old god seemed to want to break the casserole and ask the end, and continued to ask:
"are you sure?"
The old god's tone did not fluctuate at all, and he still had the same calm look.
But this time, Ji Vukong's heart was at a loss.
Did he answer it at all? Or was he happy for the moment, answered too quickly, and really forgot?
The young mind naturally has no taboos, so he calmly expressed his feelings.
In response to this, the old god finally showed a smile on his face and couldn't help but smile:
"Yes or no, what does it matter?"
"The presence and absence of void is the foundation of the great road. It is indeed a good name."
Listening to the old immortal's emotion, Ji Xukong seemed to understand but he also heard that the old immortal seemed to be very satisfied with him, so he plucked up the courage to ask:
"Then what should I call you, Taoist Priest?"
After the words fell, I felt the silence of the world. The breeze was gentle, all things were growing, and everything in front of me was so natural and simple, it almost made the clear little void of Tao Heart fall into it.
After a long time, a calm voice seemed to ring in his ears: