After a sudden winter rain, the sun breaks through the clouds and shines on the earth, the clouds and mist slowly disappear, and the vast and rugged Taijin Mountain stands majestically and is as clear as washing.

In the depths of the dense forest on the mountainside, the Taoist temple with gray tiles and yellow walls looms, the Taoist temple walls surrounded by giant trees are mottled, the gate peeled off by vermilion paint is closed, and flocks of chickadees shuttle and cry among the treetops.

Outside the hut in the backyard, a young Taoist priest about 18 years old wearing a blue Taoist robe squatted in front of the charcoal stove, holding a book bound with this thread in his left hand and reading intently, while the long-handled bamboo shell fan in his right hand was leisurely inciting.

The charcoal fire burned vigorously, and the thin-spouted crockpot on the charcoal stove began to emit steam, and the rich smell of medicine wafted around.

A charcoal fire was also lit in the house, Wu Ming's high fever lying on the low couch had subsided, his swollen face had basically returned to its original state, his broken left arm had been fixed by three small pine planks, under the warm quilt, his bare waist and abdomen were wrapped with clean gauze, and his scarred legs and feet were covered with cyan ointment.

Wu Ming, who had been asleep for three days and three nights, woke up slowly, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't open his eyes, and in the long nightmares one after another, the bits and pieces of the afterlife and this life were repeated in his mind like images, making him groan in pain.

In the complicated dream, the terrifying image of Lao Song's head being broken and a blood mist rising appears repeatedly, followed by the smiling face of Mr. Zhang with black-rimmed glasses, and the extreme fear when he pushes away a headless corpse and crawls out of the pit.

Footsteps sounded outside the house, and the emaciated old Taoist priest in a dark gray Taoist robe came to the door, and the young Taoist priest hurriedly put down his books and fans, and stood up respectfully and solemnly.

The old Taoist priest glanced at Wu Ming lying on the low couch in the room, turned his eyes to the earthpot overflowing with the fragrance of medicine on the charcoal stove, and gently stroked the half-foot-long white beard and nodded slightly: "How are the symptoms of the patient today?" ”

"Uncle Hui, the patient has been able to swallow the medicinal porridge, the swelling on his head and body has subsided, the stool is smooth, the high fever has gradually subsided, and the wound has begun to heal, but he has not opened his eyes yet." The young Taoist priest had clear eyebrows and beautiful eyes, and his voice was calm and unhurried.

"Hmm."

The old Taoist priest with a clear appearance entered the room, bent down to check Wu Ming's injury, removed the yellowish gauze on Wu Ming's head, wiped the residual ointment on his right forehead, and nodded with satisfaction after a moment: "The wound on the head does not need to be wrapped, this person is in good health, and it is estimated that he can heal after a period of recuperation." Adjust the recipe tomorrow and help him walk around every day. ”

"Yes!"

After the old Taoist priest left, the young Taoist priest brought in the soup medicine in a porcelain bowl, leaving it for a moment to carefully feed Wu Ming with a spoon, carefully and meticulously from beginning to end.

"Xie Lu Xie ......"

The young Taoist priest who had just put down the bowl turned around when he heard this, and carefully looked at Wu Ming, who opened his eyes and was full of gratitude: "Finally woke up, it's good to wake up." ”

Wu Ming sat up with a grin with the help of the young Taoist priest, leaned against the head of the bed and took a deep breath: "You saved me, right?" I remember that when I climbed out of the pit, I was dazed, my eyes could not be opened, I could not see clearly who was carrying me, and then I did not know anything. ”

The young Taoist priest smiled slightly, moved a bamboo bench to sit in front of the collapse, and added a few sections of charcoal to the brazier: "That day, I went down the mountain to buy, and when I passed through the Taiping Mountain Pass, I saw you crawling out from under the roots of the big tree. You're welcome, my uncle often takes me down the mountain to treat the surrounding pilgrims and villagers, and it is our duty as a cultivator to help the suffering. ”

"Where is this? What is the name of the master? Wu Ming asked politely.

"This is my uncle's Taijin Mountain Prayer Truth, my surname is Sun, and my name is Chengzong. My uncle's Taoist name is Bingzhen, is the deacon of the ancestral court of Longhu Mountain, four years ago, after the family teacher soared, the uncle was ordered by the ancestral court master to repair the concept of praying for the truth, hanging the pot to help the world and promote morality. ”

The young Taoist priest replied slowly, and then asked kindly, "What is the name of the layman?" You sound like a local, right? ”

Wu Ming hesitated: "My name is Wu Ming, a native of Wujia Village, Huanggu Town, who was framed as a bandit and imprisoned in the county jail...... And then, that's it. ”

The young Taoist priest looked at Wu Ming's eyes kindly: "I see! Yesterday, when I went down the mountain and went into the city to buy, I saw a bunch of people's heads hanging on the row of pillars in front of the tax office at the entrance of the market, and a notice was still posted on the notice board, saying that the red bandits had rioted and robbed the prison, and many people had died. ”

Wu Ming had nothing to do about it, and the young Taoist priest of the Knowing Dao didn't fully believe his words, he thought for a moment and asked worriedly, "Will I affect you?" ”

"It doesn't matter, we are teaching the Tao far and wide, the entire Jiangxi and even the north and south of the river, up to the celebrities and dignitaries, down to the three religions and nine streams, will not embarrass us, many rich gentry and eunuchs in the surrounding counties and towns, are all registered disciples of our ancestral court of Longhu Mountain, and will not come to the Prayer Truth Temple to embarrass you, you can rest assured to stay and recuperate."

After speaking, the young Taoist priest stood up, said a few words of goodbye and left, came to the door of the middle hall of the scripture room and whispered, and after entering the door, he respectfully saluted the Taoist Bingzhen: "Uncle Shi, the layman in the backyard has woken up, he claims to be surnamed Wu, his name is Wu Ming, he is from Wujia Village, Huanggu Town, Dongmen, and said that he escaped from the city prison with a group of people. ”

Bingzhen Taoist stopped writing: "That's right, otherwise it would be impossible to explain the dozen or so headless corpses on the Taiping Mountain Pass, from this point of view, this person is quite honest." ”

"Uncle Shi, do you want to go to Wujia Village?" The young Taoist priest was very attentive.

Bingzhen Taoist looked at the sky outside the window: "The hour is not early, not in a hurry, although I haven't been to Wujia Village for a while, but I still have a little impression of this person, but I don't know why he has this experience, I remember that this person has a wooden temperament, taciturn, but he is very filial to his mother and the elders in the village, not an evil person." By the way, yesterday your junior brother said that before he subsided his fever, he said a lot of nonsense that he didn't understand, and it seemed that he was still speaking official language? ”

The young Taoist priest nodded: "Yes, he said it again last night, and he couldn't really hear it vaguely, but he could distinguish the official words mixed in the local dialect, and he really couldn't figure it out when he thought about it." ”

Bingzhen Dao Chang thought for a moment and shook his head slightly: "Let it be, don't deliberately explore, he has woken up, and he will figure it out sooner or later." After you change the medicine for him in the evening, take out the medicine for five days, and ask your junior brother to take care of him, early tomorrow morning, you go down the mountain with me, first go to Huanggu Town to see a few patients, and then go to Wujia Village by the way. ”

"Yes." The young Taoist priest asked hesitantly, "Uncle Shi, Wu Jushi can't be a communist, right?" ”

"I can't say, everything has to wait until it is cleared up, now it is a time of troubled times, the mountains and rivers are changing color, the treacherous and evil are rampant, and the people are not happy, and the world is becoming more and more unpeaceful......"

In the early morning of the next day, Wu Ming, who woke up early, struggled to get out of bed, and Taoist priest Chengzong led a little Taoist boy about twelve years old to come in with a bowl of hot medicinal porridge.

Chengzong put down the bowl and stepped forward to help Wu Ming, led him to a thatched house, and then washed it by the pool in the courtyard, went back to the room to serve Wu Ming and drank the medicinal porridge, patiently told Xiaodao Tong, and then apologized to Wu Ming and left.

It rained in the middle of the night last night, and at this moment the mountains and fields were shrouded in the mist, and the birds outside the Taoist temple sang the rooster crow, Wu Ming stayed in bed for a while, slowly sat up and looked at it for a while, put on a white-washed Taoist robe, put his foot into the cotton shoes, and stroked his aching arm and slowly walked out of the hut step by step.

"Give."

Xiao Daotong's crisp voice sounded, and a cane sharpened from a tree branch was sent to Wu Ming: "Senior brother instructed me to accompany the layman to walk around in the morning and evening, so that I can relax my muscles and channels." ”

Wu Ming smiled at the childish little Taoist boy and said, "Xie Lu Xie!" What is your name? ”

"My name is Seungwon."

Xiao Daotong was very sensible, and gently helped Wu Ming into the courtyard.

"Why are your sleeves and trouser legs wet? Out of the blue? Wu Ming's observation was very careful.

Xiao Daotong looked down at his wet trouser legs, raised his head and replied with a smile: "I got up at the beginning of the year, practiced with my senior brother for half an hour, and then drove the sheep up the mountain, and then cut a basket of grass back, and my clothes and pants will inevitably stick to the dew." ”

Wu Ming pondered for a while, and then figured out that "Mao Chu" was just after five o'clock in the morning, and he admired it in his heart: "You are like this every day?" ”

Xiao Daotong rubbed his frozen red hands and replied: "No, if it rains, you don't need to herd sheep, and I will have to add incense and oil to the three truths in the front hall later, and after I finish my homework, I will decoct you when I am finished, and then cook." ”

Wu Ming nodded with gratitude, raised his eyes and asked as he walked, "Master Chengyuan, how many people live in your temple?" ”

Xiao Daotong heard Wu Ming call himself a master, and he giggled happily: "Just me, the master, the senior brother, and the two senior brothers, all of whom have traveled down the mountain at the age of eighteen. ”

"Are there many people who come to burn incense?" Wu Ming asked again.

Cheng Yuan put away his smile and shook his head in disappointment: "I heard that the senior brother said that there were a lot of pilgrims in the past few years, but there have been fewer in the past two years, and the senior brother said that the world is chaotic now, and many families in the villages and towns under the mountain are not full of food, and they usually come to pray for blessings and vows on festivals." ”

Wu Ming was quite sad: "Yes! This world is really chaotic, it's not easy! Master Chengyuan, where is your hometown? ”

Cheng Yuan was stunned for a moment, lowered his head with a gloomy expression, and the two buns on the top of his head were a little messy: "I don't know how to do it, I have followed my master since I was a child, I was originally in Longhu Mountain, and I only came here later." ”

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry! Wu Ming sincerely apologized.

Chengyuan raised his head, and his face was already showing a rare arrogance: "Senior Brother Chengzong is the same as me, and he also picked it up, my Senior Brother Chengzong is smart, he can memorize the "Tao Te Ching" at the age of five, and began to learn the "Baicao Sutra" at the age of six, and at the age of seven, he followed the immortal uncle to practice, and usually can copy scriptures for the master, write letters, in the past few years in the prayer truth, are the senior brother Chengzong taught me to read and practice, and also told me a lot of new things outside the mountain, Senior Brother Chengzong took a big steamer, and at the beginning of the year, I was fortunate to follow the master and uncles to Zhenjiang, Hangzhou Hongdao friends, the knowledge is great, the master said that when I grow up, I can also go out to travel. ”

Wu Ming couldn't help but stop when he heard this, looked at Xiao Chengyuan with a longing face, and encouraged in a low voice: "I believe you will be able to do it, Chengyuan, you are very smart, and you will definitely have a great future in the future." ”

"Really?" Cheng Yuan's black and white eyes looked at Wu Ming fixedly.

"Really, when I was your age, I wasn't as smart as you, I didn't study martial arts, I stammered, and I couldn't even cook." Wu Ming smiled for the first time, as if recalling his carefree childhood.

Cheng Yuan smiled happily, his red face was cute, he smirked for a while as if he realized something, and threw down the sentence "I'm going to be busy" and turned around and ran towards the nave, didn't run a few steps and suddenly stopped, turned around and said loudly to Wu Ming: "You, you are like a big brother!" ”

Wu Ming held his crutches and asked with a smile: "Really?" ”

Xiao Chengyuan turned his head and ran away, and disappeared into the back door of the middle hall with a cloud of smoke. Wu Ming held back a smile and stood for a long time before shaking his head and continuing to walk.

The warm sun broke through the fog and shone on the earth, and Wu Ming, who was sweating all over his head, came to the edge of the pool, put down his crutches and sat on the stone slab, looking up at the blue sky and wandering white clouds, and his heart suddenly swelled with melancholy.

After a long time, Wu Ming sighed, wiped the sweat stains on his face with his sleeve, and gently leaned down to wash his face.

This face is reflected...... How so......