The courtyard is surrounded by four corners, cutting the gray and chaotic sky into a square piece. The high sun of late autumn is standing in it, hanging listlessly. The light from the sky, which is not dazzling, falls, and the outer eaves of the veranda are projected on the ground, and the outline is not very clear.
In the verandah, the thin and handsome young Taoist priest who came with Yuchi Yuan was standing in front of the Zhike female Taoist priest, saying something enthusiastically.
The female Taoist priest who knew the guest said slightly coldly: "Zhuan Zongzi! If you still treat yourself as a guest, I will respect you! If you continue to speak frivolously, I will... ask you to go out and wait!" The young Taoist priest, however,
It was Fang Qidou, the disciple of Hongdao Temple. He was holding a wooden hairpin in his hand and looking at the slightly stunned expression of the female Taoist priest with burning eyes, as if he was intoxicated.
"Even anger is so touching..." Fang Qidou muttered.
"What did you say?!" The Zhike female Taoist priest seemed to have heard clearly and said angrily.
"No...it's nothing. I came here specifically to return the hairpin, and by the way, I want to know the name of Junior Sister Kagakiko. If you don't want to tell me, I just don't ask. I'm just curious. Someone like Junior Sister is like an immortal,
I wonder if we have ever been married?" Fang Qidou did not panic, and answered calmly with a smile on his face.
"You——!" This female Taoist priest, who happened to be on duty today, was Jing Xizi Tang Juan. She was snatched away by Fang Qidou, who refused to retreat but advanced, and her face turned livid. She suddenly rushed forward and snatched the piece with her hands.
The wooden hairpin was broken in two and fell to the ground, then he turned his head and walked away angrily.
"Senior Brother Fang! I haven't seen you for a long time, and you have grown so thick-skinned!" At this time, a thin Taoist boy stood in the courtyard, smiling and looking at Fang Qidou, who was squatting in front of two wooden hairpins with a distressed look on his face.
"Junior Brother Yang, didn't you go back to the mountain? Why are you staying here! Could it be that you were detained by that Junior Sister Hua Xiko and had to slowly skin and remove the bones?" When Fang Qidou saw it was him, his expression quickly turned from gloomy to clear.
Smiling and joking with him.
"Alas! I feel ashamed to say that I was rescued by you that day, but there are still some hidden diseases in my body. The temple master asked me to stay and take advantage of the rich wealth in Luoyang City to buy some better herbs to support me.
"Yang Chaoxi said calmly.
"Since you saw me here, senior brother, why didn't you come out earlier and say a few nice words to me?" Fang Qidou was filled with resentment and scolded with a stern look on his face.
"Now that I am sick and living under someone else's roof, I naturally have to watch people's behavior and speak when the opportunity arises." Yang Chaoxi shook his head and said, "But is Senior Brother Fang really just here to return the hairpin?"
"Junior brother Yang lives here, but he doesn't know that the wind direction in the city has changed. In the past few days, there are three Taoist temple owners who are colluding with each other. They are going to Taiwei Palace to file a complaint and encourage the officials to cause trouble for your Shangqing Temple. I will follow my family Yuchi
Master, I have been working on this for the past two days, hoping to persuade more Taoist friends to break their conspiracy." Fang Qidou looked solemn, and no longer felt the embarrassment he had just been entangled with Jing Xizi.
Yang Chaoxi raised her eyebrows, feeling anxious: "There is still this matter! Then wouldn't my Shangqing Temple become a lamb to be slaughtered? No, I have to go back to the mountain as soon as possible and report this matter to my temple master!"
Fang Qidou hurriedly walked over and held down his jumping shoulders: "Junior Brother Yang, don't be anxious. Temple Master Yuchi arranged for Junior Brother Lian to go to Cuiyun Peak yesterday. Temple Master Gongsun must have known by this time how old you are.
I'm still young, and no matter whether these things are good or bad, they can't be of much help. It's better to take it as it comes, take good care of your body, practice martial arts diligently at all times, and just wait and see what happens."
Yang Chaoxi struggled for a while again, unwilling to accept it, but she also understood that what Fang Qidou said was correct: "Then we have to rely on senior Yuchi to take action on this matter."
Fang Qidou arched his hands, looking like "It's easy to talk, easy to talk". But suddenly he raised his face again and said in a low voice: "Junior Brother Yang, what is the name of Junior Sister Jing Xizi? Are you married? Can you tell me?
Senior brother, can I tell you something?"
"..." Yang Zhaoxi was speechless for a moment. He had never seen such an anxious person. But looking at his increasingly ferocious expression, he had no choice but to say softly, "Sister Jing Xiko, whose common name is Tang Juan, was the one who performed martial arts at the Zhaitan that day.
Taoist priests like you who have obtained the fish talisman, the sisters and brothers in Linji Temple are naturally unmarried. If they are married, how can they come to the temple to live permanently..."
When Fang Qidou heard what he said, he jumped up for joy and beamed with joy: "Junior brother Yang is really a lucky star! Our Fang family's house is in Luoyang City. If you have time someday, you can come and sit in the house. If you are there someday,
If you encounter some minor troubles in Luoyang City, just tell me and I will help you sort it out!"
Yang Chaoxi smiled and agreed. He also vaguely heard about the identities of these Taoist cultivators in the city. For example, Fang Qidou in front of him, Cui Wan, Qin Qing and others from Linji Temple, all of whom were not rich.
Even if you are expensive, you can be regarded as one of the few wealthy businessmen in Luoyang City. If not, it would be difficult to explain the financial resources and heritage revealed in many details of Linji Temple. Only children of this kind of family can enter.
Only by concentrating on learning and art, and concentrating on the incense resources, can we have some guarantee.
While the two were still talking, Yuchiyuan and Tong Chunxi had already left the Xuanyuan Hall. Seeing that Yang Chaoxi's complexion improved, Yuchiyuan smiled and said a few simple greetings, then led Fang Qidou and left in a hurry.
In the afternoon at Taiwei Palace, the autumn sun was slightly tilted, and some light passed through the windows and fell into a huge building somewhere in the palace, giving people the illusion of a slight heat.
Near the Xuanyuan Temple of Taiwei Palace, in a side room of the main hall of the courtyard, the palace envoy Wang Jin was holding a jade Ruyi, gathering the charcoal fire in the copper basin in front of him, and said lazily: "It seems that he is getting old.
It's still early in winter, but the chill that just came down makes people's whole body feel uncomfortable. So they have to rely on the charcoal fire to get a little better."
Shi Xiaoren, the master of Jingyun Guan, Lin Yunbo, the master of Longxing Guan, and Zhan endless, the master of Daochong Guan, were kneeling in a row under the big red sandalwood couch, bursting into tears. The three of them listened to Wang Jin saying that it had nothing to do with it.
If it was urgent, I couldn't guess what his attitude would be, so I wouldn't dare to be the first to speak out.
On the other hand, Hong Taizhu, who had benefited from the three of them, carefully considered his words before speaking slowly: "Your Majesty, Gongsun Xuantong, did indeed go too far! Several fellow Taoists are usually the most understanding.
For those of you who have great righteousness and do what you are told, you will be humiliated this time and it will also bring harm to your face."
Wang Jin snorted coldly: "It's not that I don't want to stand up for you. It was you who volunteered to capture his young disciple, saying that you could use it as a bargaining chip to restrain him. How could I not know your little calculation? It's nothing but nonsense.
You want to steal my tiger skin and do that thing of forcing people to submit!"
Wang Jin scolded several times angrily, and his mood fluctuated again. He suddenly jumped up from the couch and kicked the three of them to the ground: "I caught you as soon as I caught you. I raised a few wine bags and rice bags! You can actually make Hongdao Temple."
A group of little Taoist priests solved the case and rescued the person. Gongsun Xuantong dared to resist the thieves and soldiers, how could he be a kind person? How good it is now! He stole the chicken but lost the rice, so he came to me
Crying here is all rubbish!"
Several people's Dao skills were exhausted and their bodies were already weak. After struggling for a long time, they slowly got up from the ground and continued to kneel on the big couch. However, they did not dare to pat down the footprints on their chests and shoulders. The Royal Palace
The envoy was about to come up and kick him again, but Hong Taizhu hurriedly stepped forward to persuade him: "Master envoy, please don't get so angry that your body is broken! You are the pillar of the court, and there are so many big things waiting to be dealt with. Don't worry about such small things."
Wang Jin's anger was still not subsided, so he walked around in front of the couch a few more times, sighed and said: "That's it! I remember that you and others have always done your duty, so I will leave this matter to Hong Taizhu to support you. It's just one thing, why bother me?
No matter what, you must not take any lives or tarnish the reputation of my Taiwei Palace! Get out of here!"
Shi Xiaoren, Lin Yunbo, and Zhan Buxiu received the agreement, and kowtowed in gratitude one after another, and helped each other out of the courtyard. Seeing the three people leaving, Hong Taizhu raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this matter really requires me, Taiwei Palace."
Are you going to come forward? Behind Gongsun Xuantong, there are also people from the court..."
Wang Jin waved his hands, but his expression was very calm: "Of course I don't really want to condone them. There are many sects in the Taoist sect, and they are inherently at odds with each other. I came here with the intention of 'sitting on a mountain and watching the tigers fight'. But also
We cannot sit idly by and watch which side becomes more powerful, or which side declines. I want you to mediate in the middle, in order to keep these Taoist temples capable of fighting, rather than supporting one side to overwhelm everyone."
After hearing this, Hong Taizhu cupped his hands and said, "I understand, I understand. Recently, many eminent monks from the Buddhist family have come to visit you in Luoyang City, saying that they want to understand the Dharma with you and understand the cause and effect, so that you can achieve bliss in the future and accumulate some karma."
Do you think you’ve met a few of them?”
Wang Jin smiled slightly: "You can only visit Buddhism, but not the Buddha. Most of those who are willing to come have ordinary Buddhist studies, not as good as my half-hidden brother, so they just say that I am not in the palace. If you have free time someday, you can
Follow me to the spiritual realms of White Horse Temple and Longmen Buddhist Grottoes, burn some sticks of incense, and listen to how the truly enlightened monks explain the boundless Dharma."
Hong Taizhu responded humbly, then suddenly remembered something and said: "I have secretly asked a few people in Shimen in the city who are good at interpreting auspicious words about the 'sixty-four-character auspicious words' that I got from Fuji a few days ago.
We haven't reached a clear conclusion yet, we just say that what we are looking for should be hidden in the water. But there are dozens of swamps inside and outside Luoyang City, and there are several turbulent streams such as Luoshui, Gushui, and Yishui. The trace of the sword is faint.
, if you want to look for them, you may not be able to find them in a year and a half. Moreover, some of these ponds are located in the private residences of officials, and some are even in the forbidden gardens of the imperial city. If you want to go in and look for them, you need to create some opportunities to come out."
Wang Jin also frowned slightly: "Then let's search from convenient places in the periphery first. Any civilians with water nature in Luoyang City can be recruited as much as possible. To the outside world, they only say that they are searching for the treasures and treasures hidden by the thieves to make a living for the people.
.Don’t let the news get out!”
Hong Taizhu then agreed and withdrew. Wang Jin sat down in front of the big red sandalwood couch again, picked up the jade Ruyi, and continued to fiddle with it in the charcoal brazier, repeating the "auspicious words" in his mouth: "The monument is for
Sword Tomb, Sword Burial Stele..." It seems that all the unsolved things in the world are not as mysterious as these words.
The watch drum sounded, and it was already dusk on the balcony. In a quiet room somewhere in Jingyun Temple, Shi Xiaoren, as the host, was sitting in front of the tea table, turning the charcoal stove over and over. I saw that his hands were skillful, and he was frying the tea cakes.
After breaking it into pieces and passing it through a sieve, he took the pottery bowl, poured it into the well water, and slowly cooked it. After boiling for three times, he took out three bowls and drank them with the two people opposite him.
One of them drank the tea, but his heart became more and more irritable. He threw his hand and smashed the tea bowl to the ground: "This old dog Gongsun! If you don't crush him to ashes, I will write his name upside down if I can't stop!"
Lin Yunbo's triangular eyes turned dark, and he patted Zhan Cuixiu on the shoulder: "Brother Zhan, calm down! This time Liang Zi is not just your family's problem. Brother Shi and I also fell into the trap of Gongsun just like you.
Xuantong's Dao'er, aren't we discussing strategies together now? Even if you curse him in vain, a piece of flesh will not automatically fall off of him!"
"I just want him to lose a few more pieces of meat! Tomorrow I will write a letter and give it to my adoptive father who is far away in Chang'an. I will ask him to send a team of soldiers over and capture this old dog Gongsun first and send him to the imperial edict.
Let’s talk about it in prison!” Zhan Buxiu slapped his palm on the tea table, and the water in the tea bowls of the other two people was immediately shaken out.
Shi Xiaoren's eyes lit up, and he said calmly: "Today I invite two Taoist friends to my place as guests. I originally wanted to borrow this cup of thin tea to apologize to the two virtuous brothers. If I hadn't insisted on kidnapping his disciples, I would have
It won't make him jump over the wall in a panic and hurt two good brothers." After saying this, he suddenly stood up and knelt down to apologize to the two of them.
Lin Yunbo quickly went up to support him: "Brother Shi, why are you doing this! Our brothers have a life-long friendship. If it weren't for your guidance, I wouldn't be able to do anything big with my temperament. This mistake was the biggest fault of my foolish brother.
, did not keep an eye on the little Taoist boy, so that Gongsun Xuantong dared to take action unscrupulously."
Zhan Buxiu also said: "Brother Lin is right! We share the same enemy now, so we must not mess up our positions! Usually, the two brothers charge in front, and the stupid brother makes noises from behind. Today, you must listen to me first, before you want to do this
If you have bad words, you must be of one mind! In the morning, Brother Shi has brought me to visit the Duke of Qi, Wang Jin, and with the momentum of my foster father Zheng Guogong, I want to take a look. The two Dukes will take action. This Gongsun
The old dog can still run around for a few days!"
Lin Yunbo's cheekbones arched and his triangular eyes narrowed into thin slits: "That's so wonderful! I'm just a little timid for Gongsun Xuantong. He managed to anger the two pillars of the DPRK and China. I'm afraid he won't even know about it underground.
Who should I cry to?"
Shi Xiaoren and Zhan Buxiu all laughed heartily after hearing this. The three of them poured tea soup again, raised their bowls against each other, and drank in one gulp.
In the pottery bowl placed on the charcoal fire, the tea soup boiled again. It was like a flood of Luo River, starting to surge under the dark night.