Five

Li Ruoxuan shook the purple bamboo fan, strolling alone in the crisp bamboo sea, occasionally stopping to drink a few sips of wine, which was extremely comfortable.

The huge bamboo forest, except for the crisp birdsong, there is no noise and noise. The breeze blows, and the bamboo sea gently ripples and rustles with the wind.

It's not that you can't fly against the wind, it's just that the two old friends have been lost for many years, and their state of mind shrouded in haze for days and days needs to be comforted by tranquility.

A vigilant gaze hidden in the depths of the bamboo sea followed Ruoxuan all the way since he left Ruoxuan and stepped into the bamboo forest. In fact, he had already noticed it, but he didn't feel the malice in his eyes, so he didn't say anything to interfere, and glanced at it out of the corner of his eye, so he withdrew his gaze and continued to walk forward.

"Here we are." There was a faint sound of flowing water in front of him, and Li Ruoxuan smiled lightly, so he ignored it and quickened his pace.

Not far away, a small pond hidden behind a bamboo forest is the destination of this trip. He came to take the water from the pond here as a material for brewing, and also to try his luck to see if he could find the clues left by the two old friends near the small pool.

Aside from the heavy bamboo leaves, not far ahead, there is a half-human-high bluestone, a few silk bamboos leaning on the bluestone to grow luxuriantly, there is a small Tan glance, hidden in the grass at the foot of the bluestone.

The water in the pool is not as clear as ordinary flowing water, but it is a thick inky black, in which there are faint stars and dots. It's not that the pool water is muddy, but when you look closely, you can see this small side of the pool, in this warm and warm weather, it actually reflects a quiet night.

Tan Zhongyuan is reflected, the bright moon is in the sky, the galaxy is bright, the pool water is slightly rippling, and the starlight and moonlight float in it, deep and gentle.

"Morning and twilight pond", the reflection of the quiet night during the day, the reflection of the refreshing and clear sky in the night, the severe winter is not covered with frost and snow, and the midsummer does not dry up, it is very mysterious, and its name also comes from this.

Under the bluestone, the living water does not know its source, but there is a trickle of water that continues to flow into Tanzhong, year after year, morning and twilight, and has never been cut off.

Liruoxuan's selection of wine-making materials has always been extremely picky and harsh, and the water of this "morning twilight pool" is unique and wonderful, which is favored by Ruoxuan. The dew made from this water is cool during the day and warm at night, and it has a different flavor when you enjoy it at different times, which is very wonderful.

Walking to the edge of the pool and sitting down, Ruoxuan turned his hand to conjure up a porcelain vase, leaned over and rolled up his sleeves to press the porcelain vase shallowly into the water, absorbing the water in the pool, looking at the stars reflected in the pool, his thoughts touched the memory......

Two gentle men with similar temperaments sat on both sides of the chessboard, with white skin and soft wattles sandwiching black and white chess pieces and falling staggered, "pop", "pop", and the sound of falling pieces was endless. Between the two men, there was a woman in red, who was holding her pink cheeks and looking back and forth with a distressed look on the chessboard, boringly playing with the slender green silk with her thin fingers, really not understanding what the fun of these small pebbles was.

In the past thousand years, Ruoxuan and his two old friends often meet here when they have nothing to do, writing poems, playing on the piano, and enjoying endless leisure.

"Click", there was a slight movement of branches and leaves breaking in the bamboo forest.

"You can come and sit down with a drink of saliva to rest, and follow all the way through the bamboo forest, I'm afraid it's not comfortable." Ruo Xuan didn't raise his head and joked with a chuckle, still pouring water from the pool by himself.

The hider in the bamboo forest, cowering out of the shadows, was a little girl dressed in green clothes and unkempt face, although there was a faint demonic aura escaping from time to time, but there was no evil aura.

"Little girl, looking at your appearance of six or seven years old, why are you wandering alone in this bamboo wilderness?"

"I ...... My mother asked me to wait for someone here, a man dressed in a purple shirt on a white background, with a rich smell of wine. My mother asked me to serve that man as the master, but I can save my life, may I ask, are you the one my mother asked me to wait? The girl leaned on the green bamboo and asked timidly, her voice soft and glutinous.

"Your mother?" Ruoxuan's watering hand paused slightly and turned his head. "If your mother's name is Hua Yao, then the person you have to wait for should be me."

"Mother, it's Hua Yao."

Ruoxuan stood up, took out the cork and fastened the bottle seal, and carefully looked at the little girl behind him.

Although she was covered with dirt, she couldn't hide the delicate beauty on her cheeks, but she was seven or eight points similar to her mother.

Ruoxuan thought about it like this, and a faint sense of loss flashed in his eyes.

"What about your father?"

"Father......" The little girl's bright eyes suddenly flashed with mist, and she looked like she wanted to cry, tightened the corners of her mouth, and forcibly held back her tears from falling. Her father once warned her not to cry in front of others, it is a loss of Sven.

The little girl carefully held out a bead with a light green glow from her bosom......

"......" Ruoxuan couldn't help but feel sad when he saw this green bead. That old friend did not escape this catastrophe in the end.

The things in the hands of the little girl are a lotus seed, which is the foundation of the life of that old friend.

"Then you, follow me from now on." The orphan of the old friend, Ruoxuan cannot be abandoned.

"Yes, host......"

"Your father and I are close friends, and you must not serve me as Lord, nor call me Master......

"What my mother tells you must not obey."

Ruoxuan shook his head helplessly, took the little girl's hand, and led her to look beyond the bamboo forest and slowly leave.

"What's your name?"

"Back to the master, the little girl's surname is Lian, and the single-word name says: pity."

"Lotus Cherish...... It's a good name......"

......

Six

In the Sanqing Holy Realm, there is a magnificent temple, the name is "Sanqing Temple", to its left side to the west for more than dozens of steps, there is a side hall with a circle of less than 100 steps, there is a bluestone plaque on the door engraved with the words "Shengqing Palace", it is from Ruoxuan to cultivate for the great completion of the Tao, given by the three masters, it is the heavenly realm mansion that belongs to the Shengqing Venerable cultivator.

Under the shade of flowers and different grasses, the carved railings are built with jade, and the clouds and mist are shrouded; The ground brocade maple vines are full of hanging rooms, and the mural screens of sandalwood accord all reveal a faint and distant charm.

In the middle of the "Shengqing Temple", there is a small pond, and several irises are open in the pool.

On the rocks by the pool, Ruoxuan held a wooden scoop in his hand, gently scooped up the water in the pool, poured it on the thin straight green silk of Xiaolianxi, and the water flowed down the hair and dripped into the pool.

Ruoxuan brought Xiao Lianxi back to the Sanqing Holy Realm, took her to clean it, and changed into a clean monk robe, and was carefully combing her sideburns at the moment. Wash away the dirt of the lotus, more and more beautiful and moving, although the age is still young, you might as well foresee, out of the growth of the lotus, will be so shocking and vulgar, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a disaster for the country and the people, I am afraid is not an exaggeration.

This is exactly like her mother.

It's just that the monastic clothes on her body are a little wide and cumbersome, which is extremely incompatible with her slender figure. Ruoxuan was idle by nature and did not accept disciples, and naturally there were no children's clothes in the temple, and what was draped on Lianxi's body was the robe worn by Ruoxuan in the old days.

Xiaolian lay on Ruoxuan's lap, sniffing the pleasant aroma of wine on the latter's body, and after a while, she yawned and fell asleep. The two white and tender little hands still grabbed Ruoxuan's clothes tightly, as if they were afraid that when they woke up, they would disappear Ruoxuan.

Ruoxuan looked at Xiaolian's pink cheeks, and couldn't help but feel a burst of pity and distress in his heart......

Seven

From the bamboo forest to meet Xiao Lianxi, the two turned back to the heavenly realm on the way.

"Xi'er, how do you know that I am the one you are waiting for? Aren't you afraid that I'm a person with bad intentions? ”

Xi'er took Ruoxuan's hand, tilted her little head and thought carefully, and replied seriously: "Mmmm~ Xi'er followed the master all the way, for some reason, I feel that you are very similar to your father, but they are different. The father is idle and wandering, and the feeling that the owner gives Xi'er is indifferent and quiet. And the smell of wine on the owner's body, Xi'er smells very comfortable, not like a bad person. ”

Ruoxuan chuckled lightly and asked again, "How long have you been waiting for me alone in this bamboo forest?" ”

"When I returned to my master, I never came back to look for my son since my mother told me to cherish my son. Xi'er survives alone in this bamboo forest, it has been more than two years so far, when you are thirsty, you drink the strange pool water, when you are hungry, you eat some bamboo flowers and wild fruits, there are many charms in the bamboo forest at night, you can only hide in the earth cave and cave, you can't sleep well every night, you haven't had a good night's dream. ”

"Then why didn't Xi'er leave this place? It's good to go to the countryside to find a family to settle in. ”

"Hmm~ Xi'er wanders back and forth in the bamboo forest every day to look for it, for fear of missing the encounter with the master, so he has never dared to leave." Zhi'er shook her head stubbornly, as if glad she hadn't left.

"It's a pity, I should have come earlier. Would you like to go back to heaven with me? The Celestial Realm is a great place to go, and you can be sure that you don't have to worry about food and clothing. ”

"Mmmm~ Xi'er will follow the master in the future, serve the left and right wholeheartedly, where the master goes, Xi'er will go."

......

After combing clean, Ruoxuan bent down and carefully rubbed Zhi'er's hair with a dry cloth, absorbing the moisture in the hair little by little. After a while, the hair was dry and distinct, and the three thousand green silks danced in the wind, and he rolled up his long sleeves and carefully wiped off the water droplets splashed on the corners of Lianxi's forehead.

Maybe it was because her hair was rubbed very comfortably, Xiao Lianxi rubbed it into Ruoxuan's arms, hummed and chirped a few times, and fell asleep again, the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, and a trace of crystal saliva stuck to Ruoxuan's clothes, and her hands were still tightly gripping the corners of Ruoxuan's clothes.

When he was still young, he survived alone in the bamboo forest for two years, suffering from loneliness and displacement. Now that she has finally waited for a stable reliance, Xiaolian cherishes herself. After my father's death, for a long, long time, I didn't fall asleep sweetly with full peace of mind like now.

Ruoxuan smiled helplessly, pinched the placket and gently wiped away the salivation from the corners of Xiaolian's mouth. With a little girl, she is very sensible at such a young age, talks elegantly, and knows etiquette. It's just that this sleeping position is indeed out of order, but it also adds to the innocence and cuteness that it should have.

Unable to bear to disturb his sweet dream, Ruoxuan got up slowly, picked up Xiaolian, and looked forward to the bedroom specially prepared for him.

From now on, regardless of the vicissitudes of wind and rain, as long as I am alive and clear, I will ensure that you have something to rely on, and your life is safe, and you will never suffer from half of the displacement.

......