Sword from the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 36: Leaving Qing'an Temple Late at Night to Send Off Master Zhou
The old monk looked at the night sky in the distance with a hint of a smile:
"Golden Cicada, it looks like you win this time."

Zhou Yi leaned against the horse chestnut tree beside the temple and continued with a smile, "Master, how did you know I would win?"

"The Yingyang Army camp was engulfed in flames, and I saw it too."

"Why is the Master so concerned about worldly matters?"

The old monk said, "Qing'an Temple is just a small temple. There is no big Buddha. I have to protect the incense of the temple, but I can't compare to the freedom of the Heavenly Master."

Zhou Yi had a hunch that this monk was not that simple.

After hearing what he said, I didn't refute him.

But I had a question in my mind: "I thought I saw a dark shadow flash through the temple the night before. Master, is there really anyone who has visited the Sutra Library at Qing'an Temple?"

When Master Sanchi heard this question, his eyes narrowed suddenly and he stared at him intently.

Zhou Yi was alert and secretly gathered his true energy.

The old monk clasped his hands together and suddenly said, "Master, please don't mention this matter again."

As if trying to change the subject, he offered a Zen motto: "Let go of appearances and dwell on nothing, and break the obsession with winning or losing."

"The Heavenly Master triumphed over Yuwen Chengdu this time, but he did not dwell on his victory. Instead, he emerged from the self-image and the human image."

The old monk's reason is too far-fetched.

Zhou Yi made no secret of it:

"Master, you are too kind. I really care about winning or losing. If I don't make Yuwen Chengdu suffer a little, I won't be able to sleep well tonight."

Unexpectedly, the old monk praised him again: "Well done! You always have a straight heart and correct mindfulness of the true nature, without flattery or deception. You have a connection with the Heavenly Master and the Buddha."

Zhou Yi was amused by him: "Master, just give up. You can't convince me to join Buddhism."

The great monk Sanchi shook his head and said, "In my heart, the golden cicada has already entered the temple."

Zhou Yi didn't understand why he was so persistent.

But the big monk reached into his arms and took out a book that looked like a Buddhist scripture.

Seeing that it was for him, Zhou Yi took it with doubt.

Looking at the lights outside the temple, I saw the words "The Zen of the Mind is Eternal" written on it.

"Is this Buddhist martial arts?"

"You could say yes, but you could also say no," the old monk said. "This is just a little insight I've gained from years of studying Buddhist scriptures. It can't really be considered Buddhist learning, but simply a technique that teaches people to calm their minds."

"The Heavenly Master is a Taoist, but he doesn't have to worry about being contaminated by the karma of Buddhism. After all, this is just my opinion as a monk."

Zhou Yi became interested and put the book away.

"Thank you very much, but I wonder why the master gave me the scriptures?"

Sanchi said, "I have long wanted to find an opportunity to give this sutra away, but I haven't met the right person."

"Just treat it as"

"This is my little redemption."

When he said this, the monk Sanchi's face became gloomy.

He put his hands together, counted the Buddhist beads, and soon regained his composure.

"Master Zhou, you should stay away from Fule now."

"Yuwen Chengdu has been defeated, and Fule will temporarily fall into Li Mi's hands. They know the truth about Qing'an Temple and are unlikely to give me face unless you become a member of Li Mi's army."

"in addition."

The great monk Sanchi added, "Even the Taikang righteous army cannot defend this city. Once Yuwen Chengdu is defeated, Zhang Xutuo will come."

"Yuwen Chengdu was more selfish than public-spirited, and Zhang Xutuo was a loyal minister and a good general, but his actions were the opposite. My face is also useless."

"After you leave, the monk register of this temple will naturally include Jin Chan and three other Kucha laypeople who came to the Eastern Land of the Sui Dynasty to seek Buddhist affinity. They will serve as a foundation. The Heavenly Master will not blame us, right?"

Zhou Yi could feel the old monk's kindness.

This almost left him a way out. Of course, it was not ruled out that the old monk wanted to earn his way into the temple.

Zhou Yi smiled slightly, "I won't join the Buddhist sect. As for the Golden Cicada, I'll just follow Master's wishes."

Master Sanchi smiled compassionately and looked towards the east.

"There was an old Zen master in Qing'an Temple who did countless good deeds throughout his life. I'm sure the Heavenly Master has heard of him."

Zhou Yi recalled the day when the monks went out of the city to pay homage, and nodded in reply:
"I heard that this master lived a peaceful life in his later years and passed away in meditation on a rock wall at the southern end of Cangyan Mountain."

Master Sanchi shook his head slightly:
"No, he didn't die in meditation, but he failed to save people and instead brought about a calamity of death."

Having said that, he did not want to talk about it anymore. He put his hands together and said, "Good, good."

"Master Zhou, go straight south and don't look back for now."

Zhou Yi glanced at the old monk and bowed, "Take care, Master."

The old monk bowed to the Buddha with both hands and watched the young man's back until he disappeared into the dark night.

It's a pity that Master Sanchi had no poetic talent, otherwise, in this situation, he would definitely recite the line "After all, it is the middle of March in Fule" or write a poem like "Leaving Qing'an Temple in the Evening to See Off Master Zhou Tianshi" or something like that.

That night, Zhou Yi did not leave the city.

Return to the previous secret nest, which is the dilapidated temple.

I first sat in meditation to regulate my Qi. After half an hour, my Qi became smooth and I began to read the book "The Eternal Zen of the Mind" given to me by the great monk Sanchi.

After a little research, I found that it talks about "one should not dwell on anything and give rise to the mind".

"Not dwelling on anything" means not being attached to external circumstances or thoughts, and "giving rise to the mind" means naturally giving rise to compassion and wisdom in a pure mind.

Read carefully,

"This is truly a method of calming the mind, subtly enabling one to let go of distracting thoughts."

Zhou Yi was cautious.

He couldn't figure out what Master Sanchi was up to.

What if this scripture contains some traps like forgetting love, forgetting worries, and forgetting the world? It would be terrible if I really turned into a golden cicada after practicing it.

The great monk Sanchi would probably die of laughter.

He really made a profit.

Li Mi wants to win me over, and the great monk Sanchi also wants to win me over. It seems that I am quite popular.

Zhou Yi felt a bit amused when he thought about it.

I put the scriptures and the letter from home wrapped in oil paper away and had a good sleep.

Perhaps it was because the Yingyangfu Army suffered a major setback that he had a clear idea.

Zhou Yi slept very soundly that night and had a rare dream.

I dreamed of two little Taoist boys, Xia Shu and Yan Qiu, and Master Jiao Wuzi.

I dreamed that I was riding a white horse, Shan Xiongxin was carrying a shoulder pole, and a short and fat Taoist was carrying a rake.

Finally, they arrived at the Kingdom of Women, where the delicate queen appeared, but she suddenly drew her sword and attacked.

Judging from her appearance, she is the little phoenix of the Dugu family.
Zhou Yi was awakened by Dugu Feng's sword. When he looked outside, it was already dawn.

This messy dream made Zhou Yi laugh and cry.

What a ridiculous thing about a wooden Taoist priest carrying a rake.

Ok?
Suddenly hearing a noise, Zhou Yi turned his head and looked towards the temple gate. The footsteps grew louder. A short, fat Taoist priest pushed the door open and walked forward with a careless manner. He was carrying something on his shoulder. It turned out to be a nine-toothed rake!
Zhou Yi looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"Why, are you surprised to see Dao Ye?"

He smiled smugly, "So what if Yuwen Chengdu is so powerful? He still has to drink Daoist Master's foot washing water."

After saying this, he threw the rake to the ground with a clang.

"Where did this come from?"

Zhou Yi pointed at the rake.

Taoist Mu sighed, "I just encountered an enemy who was chasing me. I easily defeated him. This is the unique weapon he used."

"You're not suddenly finding this rake useful, are you?"

Seeing his fuss, the short and fat Taoist tilted his head deliberately, "What's the matter?"

Zhou Yi suppressed his smile:

"If you really want to use this rake, I'll give you a new Buddhist name, Bajie. Do you think it sounds nice?"

Taoist Mu felt that this was not a good thing to say, but he was too lazy to delve into it.

"I, the Taoist priest, can conquer the martial arts world with my bare hands. I'll sell this rake to a blacksmith shop later for money."

"correct!"

"When will you pay me the gold you owe me?"

"What do you mean by 'I owe you gold'?" Zhou Yi frowned, looking puzzled. "That's the gold Li Mi owes us. I'll talk to you after I get the money."

"If you can't wait, you can ask him for it first. After all, you can roam the world with your bare hands, so you don't have to worry about Li Mi not giving it to you."

Taoist Mu wanted to say something but stopped himself. He had just boasted so much and couldn't show his weakness.

But I complained in my heart:

"Damn it! This guy is a hundred times more cunning than me!"

'Don't be too conceited!'

Taoist Mu sat down on the ground, took something from his waist and threw it aside.

Zhou Yi reached out to take it. It was a brand new wine gourd. He shook it and it made a dull sound. It was full of wine.

Taoist Mu took out another worn-out wine gourd.

He had not drunk anything, but suddenly he chanted, "To take advantage of things to relax the mind, and to rely on necessity to nourish the heart, is the ultimate."

Zhou Yi was waiting to think about it.

Mu Daoren explained to him directly:
"'Riding the world' means adapting to the changes in external things, while 'wandering the mind' means maintaining spiritual freedom. This is the survival wisdom of 'roundness on the outside, squareness on the inside' in 'The Human World,' and it is also about finding a balance between the tension between reality and fantasy."

"Although you have mastered my Heavenly Frost Condensing Cold Technique and grasped some of its essence, you are still far from grasping the secrets within this technique!"

Zhou Yi opened the wine gourd and gestured to Taoist Mu.

The two of them clinked their glasses and each took a sip.

"Master Mu, may I ask what the secret of secrets is?"

Taoist Mu took three gulps of wine, wet his collar, and said in a deep voice, "Have you opened up the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian?"

"That's right." Zhou Yi nodded.

Taoist Mu didn't keep the secret: "Last time, you used my method to combine water at the Chize acupoint and cultivated a different kind of true qi."

"Going down from Chize point, you can reach Jingqu point, which is where the Guan meridian is located. It is the main point of the lung meridian and belongs to the metal element."

"Further down is Taiyuan. Taiyuan has the appearance of a huge abyss, so it belongs to the earth."

"The Yuji point is shaped like a fish's belly, and it receives lung heat, making it the Ying Fire point."

"Then comes the Shaoshang acupoint. The lung corresponds to the Shang tone in the five musical notes, and wood represents growth and development, so Shaoshang is the acupoint for the well of wood."

Zhou Yi listened intently and murmured, "In other words, Chize is associated with water, Jingqu is associated with metal, Taiyuan is associated with earth, Yuji is associated with fire, and Shaoshang is associated with wood. These five acupoints correspond to the five elements."

"good."

"It's easy to say it's easy, but it's hard to say it's difficult."

Mu Dao took another sip of wine. "According to my method, after the frost in the sky condenses into cold, the cold energy is circulated in a circle through these five elements acupuncture points, thus completing the Five Elements Great Circulation. This requires understanding the outer circle and inner square in "The Human World" and responding to changes in external objects."

"Only in this way can the cold air adapt to the other four acupoints."

"Once you successfully form a great circulation, your training speed can be doubled."

Double!
Zhou Yi revealed a bewildered look: "It is indeed a secret within a secret."

Then he changed his mind and said seriously, "Master Mu, why did you suddenly tell me this wonderful method?"

The short and fat Taoist didn't look at him, but just raised his head and drank:
"Although I don't like your cunning character, I am still a good judge of people. You are a kind-hearted fellow, not a bad person."

"Last night, you fought with Yuwen Chengdu, and he broke your power with a single palm strike. I saw through your strengths and weaknesses. In fact, it was all just cunning and your internal energy was superficial. Your foundation was nowhere near as profound as mine."

"You're not too young, so I think you're a late bloomer. But it's better to start practicing martial arts sooner rather than later. If you don't change things up, it will become harder to achieve great things as time goes by. I, the Taoist priest, will be kind enough to help you."

Taoist Mu grinned widely and said, "How about it? Are you quite touched?"

Zhou Yi was indeed moved and said earnestly: "No need to say more, Daoye, my good brother!"

"Come on, do it!"

Zhou Yi drank the wine in one breath, spilling half of it on his chest, showing his heroic spirit.

Taoist Mu also raised his head and drank it all. He exhaled the smell of wine and shouted that it was refreshing. He shook the gourd and sighed that it was too small.

"The wine is finished, it's time for me to leave."

After saying this, Mu Taoist stood up.

Zhou Yi tried to persuade him, "I'm planning to go to Nanyang. How about coming with me?"

Taoist Mu shook his head: "The sky is vast and the earth is wide, I walk freely."

Zhou Yi thought about his experience at Fule and felt a little lost: "I don't know when we will meet again."

"Hahaha," Taoist Mu laughed loudly, "If you don't give me the gold, I will always look for you."

He laughed again:

"Don't think I don't know that you're being chased by a bunch of people and you want to tie me up as a thug. I'm not stupid, hahaha!"

Zhou Yi smiled at first, then immediately suppressed his smile and pretended to be heartbroken: "Brother Dao, how could you misunderstand me like this!"

"By the way, you are going to Gao Laozhuang."

Seeing his evil smile, Mu Dao Ren ignored him and jumped onto the courtyard wall.

Zhou Yi stopped joking, his eyes filled with sincerity as he bowed and said, "In these troubled times, Master Mu, please take care of yourself. We'll see you later!"

"See you later!"

The short and fat Taoist jumped down, and the sound came from behind the wall. He carried the rake and walked away without looking back.
……

('-'*ゞClose to 6,000, thanks to Li Ye~~
Please help me read this, thank you! Thank you!

Some book friends mentioned the problem of rhythm. I will pay attention to it and do my best to make the book friends feel comfortable reading!

I received a lot of monthly tickets yesterday, thank you very much~!

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(End of this chapter)