Daoist Abandoned Wisdom

"Oh, hahahahaha, you said it earlier, I almost tied you up and dragged you to an official tomorrow... Don't worry, there are only two of us, grandparents and grandchildren, in this mountain, I won't tell others, hahahahahahahaha..."

Old man Zheng with grizzled hair, still in good spirits and good stamina couldn't stand up straight with laughter. Tao Xinian lowered his head in embarrassment and washed his hands with soap root powder carefully over and over again. He also washed the gold ingot and put it in the bottom of the box. Put it in the purse.

Xiao Huang didn't like him and kept barking at him.Tao Xinian didn't bother to look at it, and when he saw it, he remembered the time when he sucked his finger...

Forget it, I don't want to.

"Xiao Huang! Don't bark!" The young man shouted, and Xiao Huang was sure enough, lying down by the fire pit, waiting for his meal.

"Hahaha... It's a good thing you know how to do Taoism and get the gold out, otherwise Xiao Huang would have died after swallowing the gold." The old man patted Xiao Huang's dog's head, "Xiao Huang, from this point of view , you have to thank this Daoist well."

Tao Xinian thought that the journey should be low-key, so that no one would notice him. He was wearing a rough blue-gray gown without a Taoist crown, and looked like an ordinary traveler.It was the old man who saw that he was wearing a talisman and a mahogany sword, so he believed that he was practicing Taoism.

"Master Dao, there is no good food at home, please don't dislike it." The young man scooped out a bowl of porridge from the pot and served it to the guests first, looking at him with big eyes.Tao Xinian felt that this young man seemed very interested in cultivating Taoism.

But the voices of the grandparents and grandchildren were simply his nightmare, making him blush and turn pale.Therefore, as long as the young man can't stop talking, he won't talk about himself.

"Thank you, I almost thought that the poor Taoist would take the heavens as a prisoner, and it is really a blessing to be taken in by the two of you."

This is a bowl of white porridge, with several kinds of vegetable leaves floating in it, which look like wild vegetables, dotted with a little bit of minced meat.

The walls of this thatched hut are almost bare, and the few animal skins hanging on them indicate that the family relies on hunting for a living, but the old and the young, I am afraid life will not be too easy.

"Old man, where are the young people in your family?" He took a sip of the porridge, and unexpectedly, it tasted delicious.

When this matter was mentioned, Lao Zheng had a gloomy look on his face.Putting down the bowl, sighed, and said, "Didn't you get called to work by the emperor? I don't know if I can come back alive..."

Tao Xinian thought of something, and asked, "Is it the Fushan Weir?"

"Well, my father was conscripted to work last year. When he came back during the Chinese New Year, he told us that many people died there." The young man spoke from the side, his eyes a little wet.

"The imperial court should pay good wages for manpower requisitioned."

"Half of the salary was stolen by the soldiers. My father worked for half a year and only got 200 yuan. He only had one meal a day. When he was hungry, he had to pay for it by himself. When he came back, there were only more than [-] yuan left. Fortunately, our backer I’m eating mountains, and I’m gradually able to hunt again, and the family can get by.” He scooped out a small bowl of the remaining porridge and brought it to Xiao Huang, who barked a few times, wagged his tail happily, and lowered his head to lick the food. .

"Daozhang, are you planning to go north?"

Tao Xinian nodded and said, "Go to the north to watch the Taoism Conference."

"Taoism Conference?" Xiao Zheng's eyes widened, "Will there be many Taoists competing there?"

Tao Xinian nodded, and said, "It should be. I've been in the south all the time, and I want to go to the north to see the difference between Bei Tianshi, Nan Tianshi and Nanmao Mountain."

"Will you still pass by here when you come back? If you pass by, stay at my house and tell me what's going on there?"

Tao Xinian smiled and nodded.

"Master Daoist, I'm afraid it's not easy to go to the north recently." Old Zheng said.

"I know, I plan to go upstream, pass the martial law zone, and then go north. I know it's not peaceful recently, but the battle between the south and the north has almost never stopped, and the battle is big and small. If you want to wait for peace After that, I don’t know what year and month it will be.”

Old Zheng nodded, and said: "What the Taoist said is true, but the Taoist does not need to spend time to go up. After passing this mountain is Sihong Town, and the Fushan Weir is built on the edge of Sihong Town. The old man knows There is a mountain pass where you can go to the north without going through the checkpoint, and you don’t need to pass through the pass. After passing it, you will be in Shouyang.”

Tao Xinian's eyes lit up, and he said: "That's very kind, and please tell me this shortcut, I'm really grateful."

"Master Dao, you are welcome. Xiao Zheng and I are going down the mountain tomorrow, so I can send you to the top of the mountain."

"Thank you both for that."

"Master Dao, can you catch ghosts?" Xiao Zheng looked at him expectantly.

"That's natural." Ghosts are generally not that bad, they are very gentle, and there is no need to go out of their way to trouble them.But occasionally there will be ghosts, especially ghosts that are close to demons, and they are more difficult to deal with than monsters. He has only seen them twice, and it was when the master was around.

"Then can you give me an amulet to avoid ghosts?" Xiao Zheng was a little shy.

"Xiao Zheng! That's the Daoist's business, how can you give it away?" Old Zheng interrupted him, "Don't bother with the Daoist, I'm ignorant, it's abrupt..."

Tao Xinian waved his hand and said: "It's too much to say, it's just a matter of avoiding ghosts, just raise your hand and draw a few. I don't make a living from this." After finishing speaking, he lowered his head and went to the box to find the brush and cinnabar. A few blank talismans were produced, and two were drawn on the spot.Fold it into a small triangle and hand it to the grandparents and grandchildren.

"This talisman is worn close to the body, which can prevent ordinary ghosts from approaching."

"Thank you Daoist, I only need one." Xiao Zheng solemnly accepted it, and handed the extra one to Old Zheng.

Old Zheng said: "You keep it, Grandpa doesn't need it."

"But there are ghosts in the mountains here?" Tao Xinian asked.

Xiao Zheng shook his head and said: "It's for my father. He said that many people died there, and there were ghosts a few times, and people were panicked. The soldier said nothing happened and told everyone not to make trouble, but he saw it with his own eyes. See you, he saw a dead worker get up in the middle of the night and jump into the water with a plop..."

Tao Xinian stroked his chin and thought for a while, and felt that this situation was not like a ghost, but more like a walking corpse.Walking corpses are controlled by spells, and the objects can be living or dead, and the dead are better controlled.What's more, there are people who practice sorcery cannibalize people's souls when they are about to die to improve their own energy, and then turn them into walking corpses to control them for their own use.

He had heard about this kind of sorcery from his master, but he had never seen it before.This sorcery can be called insidious, because the person whose soul is sucked will not be able to reincarnate.

Cough, in fact, he sucks monsters himself, which is a bit similar to this, but what he sucks is bad-natured monsters, and he only picks up the souls of unfinished inner alchemy that they have cultivated in this life, and does not suck their souls. Besides, If you don't inhale the essence, it will soon disappear without a trace, and no one can get it, so it's better to make him cheaper...

"Daoist?"

Tao Xinian was startled, came back to his senses, and said, "I'm sorry, I was thinking about something just now. I think that the Fushan Weir cost a lot of manpower, there were many casualties, and there was too much resentment, so something strange happened... "

Xiao Zheng clutched the amulet on his chest, closed his eyes and prayed a few words, saying: "I hope my father is well, next time he comes back, I will give him the amulet."

In the early morning, white clouds lingered in the mountains, and the mountains were full of fog, making it almost impossible to see the way forward.Xiao Zheng led the way nimbly, cutting off branches that got in the way with a sickle from time to time, and Xiao Huang followed behind him, occasionally barking a few times.Lao Zheng walked behind with a bow and arrow on his back, with a serious face, as if he was guarding against beasts that might appear in the forest at any time.

Tao Xinian pulled Huahua and followed closely behind his grandfather and grandson.Huahua was very excited today, stretching out her head to bite a branch and lowering her head to eat grass, Tao Xinian took a lot of effort to pull it down the mountain.

When he reached the foot of the mountain, Lao Zheng pointed him in the direction and said, "Master Daoist, if you ride this donkey and walk slowly, you should be able to reach Shouyang when it gets dark today. But now Shouyang needs to find a place to stay. It's really not easy..."

"It's okay, I brought dry food and thin quilts for emergencies. Thank you both, I will take my leave."

Xiao Zheng waved to him, Tao Xinian waved back to him, turned and left.After walking for a long time, making sure that the grandparent and grandson could no longer see them, Abo immediately got out of the box and took a big breath.Then he took out the mung bean crisps from the box and ate them with big mouthfuls.He took the kettle again and filled most of the pot with water.

"Ah, I'm going crazy! You were all here yesterday, and I didn't dare to speak loudly when I was eating. I'm so aggrieved!"

Huahua raised her head and let out a grunt, as if in response.Abo rewarded it with a chestnut, and said: "What a barking sound! Don't think I don't know that you ate grass outside all night, let alone how happy you are!"

Tao Xinian led Huahua to walk slowly, and felt a little tired after walking for a while, so he rode on.Abo leaned on his shoulders and said, "Why don't you use that illusion to transform me into a human form, and I can help you carry some luggage..."

Tao Xinian didn't even look at him, and said: "No, I don't want to waste my energy, the road is still long, and the luggage is full of flowers, so you don't feel comfortable with empty hands?"

"Humph! Stingy!"

Tao Xinian ignored him, the journey was boring, he dug out a bamboo flute from the box, and played a little southern tune slowly.The melodious sound of the flute echoed in the valley, peaceful and warm.Abo leaned against the side of the box, and when he felt sleepy, he got in, and slowly dreamed to the sound of the flute.