Although Tian Xiuyan is only twenty years old, he looks much older than his peers such as Wen Zhang and Zhang Quanyi. If he were dressed in black, he would have a similar look to the old man in black I saw in front of the Young Emperor's Mausoleum.
, maybe this is the so-called practitioner.
Tian Xiuyan was quite excited to meet the saint mentioned by the great wizard Jiang Yang. Although he did not know where the saint Tian Jing mentioned was, he believed that his father would never lie to him.
Yes, after Tian Xiuyan entered the house, he gave me a Miao courtesy and said, "I have met Mr. Huyan."
"You are Tian Xiuyan,"
"Hui Gongzi, that's right."
"Tian Xiuyan, your father said that you are willing to follow me,"
"Sir, my father said that you are the saint that the great wizard said, so you are naturally willing to repair your appearance."
I looked at Tian Xiuyan and said seriously: "Whether I am a saint or not, it doesn't actually matter to you. The foundation of spiritual practice lies in cultivating the mind. In my opinion, the saint mentioned by the great wizard Jiang Yang is in your own heart.
"
Tian Xiuyan was stunned: "In my heart,"
"The way to practice lies in enlightenment, from understanding to understanding, and finally to great enlightenment. Tian Xiuyan, you know Chinese, so you naturally know how to write the word "wu". The left side of the word "wu" is heart, and the right side is "I". Isn't it interesting that the ancient people made the character "wu"?
Haha, you should slowly experience it," I smiled and said, "Okay, it's almost time and we should set off. Tian Xiuyan, do you have any luggage that you need to pack?"
"Sir, all you need to fix your appearance is a few changes of clothes,"
"Okay, meet you at the gate of Jieyi Building in a quarter of an hour,"
Along the way, Tian Xiuyan spoke very little, which seemed very inconsistent with his age. Perhaps it was because he had followed the great wizard Jiang Yang since he was a child. Until noon on the third day, when we came to the fork in the official road,
Tian Xiuyan took the initiative and said, "Sir, it's a long way from here to Shanchanfu via Guangnan West Road. Why not go directly west from the original Puning Prefecture (today's Anshun, Guizhou)?"
Wen Zhang said: "Brother Tian, the Puli tribe in Puning Prefecture has been assigned to Mongolia ten years ago. We can't go that way."
"Yes, the Puli tribe belongs to Mongolia, but I know another way. We can pass through the Miao territory in the south of Puning Prefecture. In this way, we can directly reach the original Dali border, and there are also gathering places for our Miao people along the Dali border.
,"
Wen Zhang asked: "Is it safe?"
"Mr. Wen, the road I mentioned is basically the residence of our Miao people. If there are not many people there, it should be safe."
I was interested and said: "Repairing your face can save you a few days of travel."
"Go back to me, sir, at least three or four days."
"What if we have a team of two or three hundred people?"
Tian Xiuyan looked around subconsciously and said: "Sir, two or three hundred people are too many. The target is too big and will easily attract the attention of the Mongols or Puli. If there are less than a hundred people, everyone will change
I think Miao people’s clothing should be feasible,”
I thought for a while and said, "Okay, that's it."
Yuan Ji advised: "Sir, let's think about this matter again."
"It doesn't matter, wouldn't it be more dangerous for us to go to Shanchan? With Xiuyan here, I think the Miao brothers will help,"
"All right,"
I told Yuan Ji separately that Tian Xiuyan was the successor chosen by the guardian. Yuan Ji also has great trust in the people who can be chosen by the guardian. As the successor of the Valley of the Kings, Yuan Ji certainly knows the meaning of the guardian.
Although he is only a member of the outer hall, he still has an almost pious respect for the guardian.
There are many Miao tribes, but they rarely interact with each other. However, the Miao people from all over the country have one thing in common, that is, respect for wizards. In addition to hosting ritual activities, wizards among the Miao people generally work part-time as doctors. Knowledgeable wizards also serve as teachers in the tribe, teaching children to learn. If they are great wizards, they will be even more respected by the Miao people. Wizards of the Miao nationality generally do not have an ancestral altar, do not become apprentices, and are not hereditary. Before they officially become wizards , a god-establishing ceremony must be held. This ceremony needs to be presided over by a great wizard to be effective. The higher the great wizard's cultivation level, the higher the level of the god-establishing ceremony. As for the guardians, only the leaders and great wizards of some large tribes know about it. , Therefore, for ordinary Miao people, the guardian is not respected by the entire Miao people like the great wizard.
Among the few great wizards, Great Wizard Jiang Yang is the most famous. When he was young, Jiang Yang visited all the Miao settlements. After becoming a great wizard, he presided over many god-making ceremonies. , therefore in the hearts of the Miao people, Great Wizard Jiang Yang is the chief wizard of the entire Miao people.
Since Tian Xiuyan was ten years old, Jiang Yang has taken his only descendant around for training. In the past ten years, Tian Xiuyan has been to almost every Miao village, large and small, in various places.
The Miao people have a very long history and occupy a very important position in the history of the Chinese nation. However, they have also gone through many hardships. The birthplace of the Miao people is roughly located in the upper and middle reaches of the Yapan River, Minjiang River, Bajiang River, and Jialing River in Sichuan today. The basin area has undergone five great migrations over thousands of years, from ancient times to the Yan and Huang dynasties, then to the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, and finally to the Song Dynasty, before it gradually settled down and most of the Miao people settled in fixed living areas. settled, and this pattern continued into later generations.
I arranged: "Sir, you are responsible for selecting the candidates who will accompany us through the Miao area. The remaining people will wait through Guangnan to Wuhezhai, the Miao gathering place on the border of Dali. At the same time, a letter will be sent to Yao Chaohui and Ye Dongsheng, asking them to go directly to Tianlong Waiting outside the temple,"
"Yes, sir,"
"Fix your face, you are responsible for your clothes,"
"Young Master, Xiuyan understands that there is a medium-sized Miao tribe twenty miles to the west. The tribe is called Ma Jinsheng. The ritual of establishing a god in Bombay, the tribe's wizard, was presided over by the great wizard Jiang Yang, so the Bombay wizard and I He is also quite familiar with the leaders of the village,"
"The name of the Ma Jinsheng Tribe is quite interesting. Okay, let's go there. Sir, ask Zhang Zijian, Yun Zhongfei and the others to gather outside the Ma Jinsheng Tribe."
The Ma Jinsheng tribe mentioned by Tian Xiuyan is located on the slope of the valley on the northeast side of the Baishui River. The origin of the Baishui River is because the river bed is composed of sedimentary limestone fragments, which is gray-white in color. The clear spring flows through it, making it look like a white river. .
Twenty miles of land is just a piece of cake for our royal horse.
Turning around a mountain peak, looking from a distance, one can see hundreds of unique stilted buildings that follow the ups and downs of the terrain. The mountains are stacked on top of each other, which is a spectacular sight. There are patches of maple forest planted on the slopes of the village. Planting maple trees is called a village-protecting tree by the Miao people, and it is also one of the customs of most Miao villages.
"Sir, there is a legend behind the name of Ma Jinsheng,"
Fang Ling on the side said hurriedly: "Master Tian, let's talk about it."
"Well, this is what the wizard from Mumbai told me. The reason why it is called Ma Jin Sheng is because the Miao Village here is the birthplace of the Miao Lusheng and Golden Pheasant Dance. The Lusheng is a Miao musical instrument and is popular among black Miao people. The reeds produced in Sheng Miao Village are the most famous, and the golden pheasant dance is an indispensable part of the Miao family's sacrifices and festivals. The golden pheasant is one of the totems of the Miao people. It is said that in ancient times, God sent a The divine bird came to the gathering place of the Miao people and taught the Miao ancestors how to weave. In order to worship this divine bird sent by heaven, the clever Miao girl used her skillful hands to weave strips of flowers as beautiful as golden pheasant feathers. They imitate the long tail of the golden pheasant and wrap the flower ribbons around their waists one by one. They also put silver ornaments on their heads and dance gracefully imitating the movements of the golden pheasant. In this way, year after year, generation after generation, the wonderful golden pheasant dance is performed. Miao Township gradually spread,"
I have also heard of the Golden Pheasant Dance. In later generations, when this dance was performed abroad, it was praised by foreigners as "the divine bird of the East, the most original ballet."
Fang Ling asked: "Ah, it turns out to be a magical bird. Can we see this kind of dance?"
"Miss Fang, this is unlikely. The Miao Village only performs at specific times,"
"Oh, then I have to forget it,"
"Xiu Yan, I never knew the difference between black seedlings and white seedlings,"
Tian Xiuyan said: "Hui Gongzi, generally speaking, there is not much difference between black and white Miao. Our Miao people have a total of seventy-two major tribes, which are divided into black Miao, white Miao, red Miao, green Miao, long-horned Miao, etc. , the customs and culture of these tribes are basically the same, but they are called different names because of the difference in clothing. Hei Miao is because the clothes and headscarf on the body are mainly black, so it is called Hei Miao. If you trace the origin , simply because the ancestors of the Black Miao, that is, the ancestors of the tribe who followed the great god Chi You, were dressed in black, and the descendants of the tribe wearing white clothes were the Bai Miao. The Black Miao and the Bai Miao were the subordinates of the great god Chi You at that time. The two most powerful tribes in terms of fighting ability. Until now, the Miao family is also dominated by the Black Miao and the White Miao. In addition, there is a small difference in the names between the two. The wizard who the young master is familiar with is called the Black Miao. A wizard is called a priest in Bai Miao, and there is not much difference in other aspects."
"I see,"
My understanding of black Miao and white Miao only comes from a game I played in later generations, "Legend of Sword and Fairy". Due to several major migrations of the Miao people, it caused flaws in its own writing system. Before liberation, the Miao and Han people had There have always been very few contacts, so in the eyes of the Han people, the Miao people are quite mysterious. In addition, the exchange of information was extremely inconvenient in the past. Over time, misunderstandings about the white Miao and black Miao people have become more and more widespread among the Han people.
In the Majinsheng Miao Village, a few of us were warmly entertained by the Bombay wizard and the leader of the village, Chifeng.
After drinking for three rounds, Tian Xiuyan, Bombay and others finished reminiscing about old times, and explained to Bombay the purpose of their visit: "The Bombay wizard, the leader of Chifeng, Xiuyan was entrusted by the great wizard Jiang Yang to escort the Huyan master to Wu in Dali. He Miao Village paid a visit to the Great Wizard of Fortune. Because he was hit by a strong wind after going out, all his clothes and luggage were blown off, so he came here specifically to ask the Bombay Wizard to help provide him with 100 sets of clothing."
Chifeng smiled and said: "This is simple. I will ask each household in this village to come up with one set. However, our Ma Jinsheng Village is not rich, so our clothes are simple. I don't know if there is any problem."
"Chifeng leader, you are very polite. I am waiting for those who are traveling far away, as long as they can be protected from the wind and rain,"
Bombay said: "That's good, Xiuyan, you sit down for a while and talk more with the Chifeng leader. I'll explain it to you and I'll be back soon."
"Excuse me, Bombay Wizards,"
Chifeng said: "Xiuyan, you go to Wuhe Village. The journey is long and the world is not peaceful. Please be careful."
"Don't worry, leader, this road is basically our Miao family's fortress, it should be safe,"
"Well, it's just that Wuhe Village is now the territory of the Mongols. I heard a while ago that the relics who started a riot have fled to Wuhe Village. You should be more careful."