In the west of Jingzhou, on the Mingtuo River, which flows east from Shuzhou, a seemingly inconspicuous merchant ship is flowing downstream.

On a small boat hidden in the reeds by the river, a young water thief took back his poked head, and said to the old water thief who was napping in the cabin with some excitement: "Finally, we have met a merchant ship that is only lone and does not have a dart flag, and we can finally open meat in Jiulong Village today." Get out there and keep up with the fireworks. It's just that I don't know how much the above things are worth, and if we can have a thousand taels of silver, it will not be in vain, and we have been here for five days. Lao Tzu also saw a beautiful girl sitting in the stern of the boat, Lao Tzu is going to fight hard this time!"

"Really, you kid don't look away. There weren't many merchant ships coming down at this time. The old thief yawned, and lazily leaned out to take a look, but at first glance he shrank back as if he had been bitten by a snake, and his eyes were wide open, and he was very frightened.

"What's wrong? Have you been stung by a water bee?" said the young water thief, with a strange look on his face, and as he took his oars and prepared to row out. Before he could reach for the oar, the old pirate jumped up and snatched the oar, slapped him on the head.

"What's wrong?" the young water thief screamed as he was filmed in pain.

"What's the matter? Don't you see what kind of ship it is?"

"What kind of ship? It's unmarked and unflagged, how do I know what kind of ship it is?"

"That's the Tang family's ship! You still dare to go out, don't take me with you if you want to die." ”

"The Tang family's ship?" Hearing the name, the young water thief was also stunned. Thinking that I almost had to chase it out just now. Thinking of the beautiful girl in the stern of the boat, and thinking of all the rumors about this family in the rivers and lakes, my whole body was as cold as falling into an ice cave. But it was hot between the legs, and I was so scared that I peed.

On the merchant ship that was gradually moving away in the distance, Tang, who was sitting in the stern of the boat, chuckled and glanced at the slightly turbulent reeds, even in the sound of the rushing water, the slightest movement over there could not hide from his ears, and he felt it very clearly with the peeping eyes just now, but he didn't care. In the waters of the Mingda River, even if they borrowed 10,000 guts from those thieves, they didn't dare to move the Tang family's boat.

"There is one more day to arrive, and then get off the boat and walk another day to Hongjing County. ”

The chubby Second Master Tang was dressed as a businessman. With his almost ever-smiling face, he really looks like a trader. He staggered over and sat down next to Don chuckling, took a sip of the gaiwan tea on the coffee table.

"Second Uncle's injury hasn't healed yet, right, why do you want to accompany us out this time?" Tang chuckled and glanced at Second Master Tang. The injuries he had suffered on several Heavenly Craft-level Organ Beasts last time were far from healing, and it seemed that even his actions were a little hindered.

Second Master Tang shook his head and smiled and said, "Where is the responsibility." This time it is related to the shadow guard and the Nangong family. Your second uncle and I are in charge of this part. Of course, it is a responsibility. ”

"You're afraid you can't do it with people, right?"

"Of course not, but that's okay, we're just going to see it this time. The old man said, let's just go and see. Second Master Tang said very easily, paused, and added. "It's the same as your brother's last mission, just to see. ”

"What does the second uncle mean is that I want to remember that I can't act rashly and recklessly?" Tang chuckled and looked unmoved. It's just that his hand unconsciously put it on the wooden box next to him. Even through the wooden box, he could feel the resonance of the blood.

"Little Si'er. Don't overthink it. Second Master Tang said with a pun, and then sighed rarely.

Tang chuckled and was silent for a moment, and asked, "Then why did you bring me with you?"

"Because maybe you might need to do it. It's unlikely, but it is. Second Master Tang shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "When the time comes, the second uncle will rely on you to protect him. ”

"Then why take her with you?" Don chuckled and glanced at the bow of the boat, waving his head slightly. Although there was no one there.

"There is news that Nangong Wuji rushed there in a hurry, and his behavior was a little erratic. Take your daughter-in-law with you, maybe you can have a relationship when the time comes. ”

"It's a bargaining chip when necessary, isn't it?" Tang said with a chuckle.

"I said, can't you take your daughter-in-law who hasn't been through the door out to enjoy the scenery and see the excitement?"

"Because that's not the case. Tang chuckled and replied so lightly.

Neither of them spoke, and for a moment only the sound of the rushing water was heard, and occasionally two screams of waterfowl sounded from far and near, and the bow of the ship was silent.

"Do you know why we are like this?" Second Master Tang said suddenly.

"What?" Tang chuckled and didn't understand what Second Master Tang meant for a while.

"I mean, do you know why we have to work so hard, to calculate so hard, to make every Tang Sect disciple train so hard since childhood, to act unscrupulously, to make every Jianghu person tremble when they hear our name?" Second Master Tang's face was still smiling, but there was no trace of joy in his words. "Do you really think that we are just for the prestige of our Tang family? How old are you?

Don chuckled and didn't speak. After being silent for a moment, he still said, "The second uncle said why." ”

"It's just to survive. Second Master Tang said lightly.

"Live?" Don chuckled, looking a little surprised at the answer.

"Yes, live, live longer, it's as simple as that. ”

"There are no thousand-year-old dynasties in the world, only thousand-year-old families. Do you know why? Because hearts are gathered together and dispersed. No matter which dynasty or generation, whether it is the Demon Sect, the Five Elements Sect, or the Confucian Sect of the previous dynasty, no matter how great it is when it is prosperous, it is only a matter of time for it to fall. The human heart is united by what it believes, but sooner or later it will decay, because it is impossible to see or touch. When people no longer believe in that, whether it is a dynasty or a sect or a Taoism, it will disperse. ”

"But this one is different. Second Master Tang stretched out his hand and nodded Tang Xiaoxiao's wrist. "The blood that remains in your body will not change. Believe it or not. You were born to your parents, and you have relatives who are connected to you by blood. Therefore, the dynasty will be dispersed, and the sect will be destroyed. The family has been passed down. People always have to be in a group to survive. Look at the Zhang family in Longhu Mountain, the Nangong family in Yuzhou, and our Tang family. How long have the three largest families in the world been inherited? How strong are they? There are so many families in the world, even if there are ups and downs, but they will always be the most fundamental part of the world's society. Because only the connection of blood is the strongest and most fundamental. ”

"The Zhang family has a sect leader ancestor who inherited incense in the name of Shinto. The Nangong family has been holding the thigh of the imperial court for generations, and this dynasty is directly sharing prosperity and disgrace with the royal family. But what about our Tang family? What do we have in the Tang family? We don't have anything. When the ancestors were based in Shuzhou, it was still the most barbaric place in the world's Kyushu. To the west is the strongest lion department of Xidi, and to the south is the Yunzhou Zhudong of the shemale **, we can only survive on our own. So we have to be strong. We must be calculated in everything. We have to be ruthless. When you can kill your opponent, you will never let him live, you can let him die as badly as you can, and if you can make people talk about how scared they are when they talk about our Tang family, you can do it and let them listen to how scared they are. Just like the bright patterns on the poisonous spider, the real reason why others are afraid. In fact, it's just because he wants to live. ”

Don chuckled and sat silently. The river wind blew his hair and clothes loose, as if he wanted to fly away with it.

"I know you can't see your brother's death. But I just want to say that it's not just you who are sad. But we still have to live, so what we have to do or what we have to do, you know?"

After a while, Tang chuckled and nodded slowly: "I understand." ”

"It's good to understand. Every Tang family member should understand this. Second Master Tang nodded, and then gestured to the position of the bow of the boat with his eyes. "You should still have more snacks for the little daughter-in-law who hasn't passed through the door, after all, you still have to live together for the rest of your life. Don't be like a stranger. Speaking of which, the He family girl is not bad, even if she is not very clever. The nature is not bad, it is rare to be so beautiful, do you know how many people among the young people envy you? More importantly, it is the daughter of Nangong Wuyan and He Jinzhi, no matter where and where it is placed, it will be a very important bargaining chip at any time. Do you say so?"

"Yes. Tang chuckled and finally smiled, and the smile was as cold and sharp as a knife.

###

The Pure Land Monastery is the first Buddhist sect in the world and the first dojo in the world.

Since the founding of the Great Qian, because many people in the royal Zhao family believe in Buddhism, the Pure Land Monastery has also been taken care of, and there are constantly various rewards such as land, and for more than 100 years, not only the branch temples are all over the world, the temple is expanded to be vast and magnificent, and the whole temple stretches for ten miles. Among them, the main hall is extremely majestic and vast, the statue of the Bodhisattva is exquisite, and the monks' houses are innumerable, and there have been believers who have visited it for several months without being able to see the whole picture.

Among the town-like buildings, the most eye-catching is the Shifang Glazed Pure World Relic Pagoda located in the very center. This tower has one hundred and eight floors, one hundred and eight zhang high, and it took more than 100 years to build. The whole body is inlaid with glass crystal, the seal is engraved with scriptures, there are monks in the tower who chant mantras day and night, or meditate to understand the Dharma, and each layer is also dedicated to the relics of the monks of the past dynasties. The tower is surrounded by Buddha light, the light is several miles away, every day and every night I don't know how many pious people come to worship, from the temple gate will bow down step by step to worship under the tower.

At the beginning, the three sects of Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, and the Pure Land were united into the Pure Land Zen Temple, which was an opportunity to achieve the Ten Directions Glazed Pure World Relic Pagoda, and the entire Pure Land Zen Temple can be said to be made of this glazed pagoda. This glazed pagoda is not only a symbolic pagoda, but also the treasure of today's Buddhism. For hundreds of years, countless monks have participated in the Dharma and cultivated supernatural powers, and all the monsters and ghosts sent in after being captured have also been suppressed and refined.

And the real fame of this Buddhist treasure is that when Sidi entered the Central Plains seven years ago. At that time, the three states of the Central Plains were eroded, and only a corner of the Pure Land Monastery was a pure land, which sheltered millions of refugees and people, and it was by virtue of this pure glazed pagoda. At that time, the presiding abbot Rongguang took the three old monks with the highest cultivation into the tower together, burned his own soul and body with the golden lotus pure fire, and urged the Buddha light of the Pure World Pagoda to shroud a radius of fifty miles. Easily killed. That is, after this battle, the status of Buddhism, which has always been gentle and not very involved in the disputes between the rivers and lakes, began to faintly overwhelm the momentum of the Daomen headed by Zhengyi.

At three o'clock, the square under the stupa was still clearly visible by the faint light of the Buddha. But it was an empty silence.

This is not the case in normal times, and there are believers who worship and pray under the pagoda day and night, but today the monks of the Pure Land Monastery invite all the believers in the square out after dark, and no one is allowed to approach. At this moment, only an old monk stood in the square, looking up at the huge building that was already a symbol of Buddhism.

The old monk had white hair, wrinkled face, and was dressed in a well-fence robe. He is the abbot of the Pure Land Monastery, Master Huiguang, who can be said to be the first person in Buddhism today. But at this moment, there was no one by his side, just standing here alone. Without blinking, he looked up at the stupa.

The light of the Buddha in the stupa is hazy, faintly but as if there is substance and life, illuminating the Pure Land Monastery in this night as if it is a paradise of Buddha far away from the world.

Suddenly, the Buddha's light seemed to disappear. For a moment. This piece of heaven and earth, shrouded in pure white Buddha light, seemed to have suddenly disappeared. But it was immediately restored, and the interval between them was shorter than the blink of an eye, and even those who were present could only think that they were dazzled for a moment.

However, this change fell into the eyes of eminent monks such as Master Obscure, and it was completely different. He could feel that the Buddha light that had re-lit after this extremely brief disappearance was essentially different from before, if it was a vast and continuous ocean before, then now it was just a pool of still water that deliberately set off waves, and it was already a rootless tree without roots.

Master Obscurelight was not surprised by this change, but seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Walk briskly through the silent and uninhabited square to the entrance under the tower.

Just as they came to the entrance and exited the station. The door of the tower had just been opened, and an old monk with his eyes closed walked out with the support of two middle-aged monks.

"Senior Brother Huiguang. You, you've worked hard," Master Obscure couldn't help but sigh when he looked at the old monk's closed eyes. The old monk's closed eyelids were slowly recessing, and it seemed that the eyeballs below were shrinking at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"Self-inflicted sin, how can we say that it is hard work? Being exposed to cause and effect but vainly peeping at the opportunity of cause and effect is exactly the unpleasant retribution. My cultivation is shallow, and this pair of eyes that have leaked out of the ten directions has become a sin, and it is long overdue to send it back to my Buddha Rulai seat. The blind old monk did not appear to be in the slightest frustration. "Senior Brother Obscure, you don't have to be a child, there is no possibility of turning back when this road begins. Today, the 38.8 billion times of the Tripitaka have finally been completed, and the glorious Buddhism and the revitalization of humanity that the ancestors of the past generations have sought has begun. ”

"Senior Brother Huiguang is going to leave now, I have ordered to destroy the calamity, the tribulation, the extinction, and the extinction of color for a long time, and I can accompany Senior Brother to go immediately."

"What are so many people doing? Do you really regard this matter as a battle between the Jianghu sects? It's just to go and pick up a donor, and by the way, help Shifang settle a period of cause and effect. I'll do it all by myself. It's also easier to go and come back quickly. ”

"But brother, your eyes"

"If you have a treasure with you, what does it matter if you have all the six senses?" the blind old monk shook off the two monks who were supporting him and began to walk slowly alone. "But in the mountain gate, I want you to take care of it, if they ask, Senior Brother Xuguang, you will say that I am just acting alone, and there is no need to drag you in. As for those heavenly eagle dogs, they must also be stabilized, don't let them see the truth and the truth. If they ask, they will say that what we promised them will be done, and they don't need to pay attention to the intermediate process."

In the slow voice, the figure of the blind old monk was gone. His seemingly slow step was actually dozens of feet away, and in the middle of these few words, he had disappeared from the vision of the Master of Obscure.

###

In the rolling green hills of Jingbei, on a sheep intestine path stepped out by a hunter woodcutter, two old men were walking unhurriedly.

An old man was wearing a shabby Taoist robe, with a Taoist crown on his head that was no longer very visible, and his hair was messy, but he was an old Taoist priest who described Luotuo, and the other old man had a thin figure, wearing ordinary cloth clothes and shoes, which seemed to be no different from an ordinary old man in the countryside, but the left sleeve hanging on his side was empty, and his left arm had been broken off at the shoulder, in addition to a wooden stick pinned to his waist, some of which looked like a beggar's dog stick, and it seemed to be a branch drawn by driving sheep and cattle.

"I said that you are an old man, and you somehow remembered what you were doing in Jingzhou? You still want to call me along? There are too many bullnoses in Jingzhou, and the smell is too stinky, and I have never liked to go. The one-armed old man looked a little dissatisfied, and asked the old man beside him.

"Ha, anyway, you're wandering around with nothing to do, so why don't you come with me to see the excitement? Haven't you heard, Zhang Yuhong, the real person of the Heavenly Master Sect Demon Suppression, just killed a thousand-year-old demon snake not long ago, and it is being put on display in a county town over there. Anyway, how many years has there been no such big monster like this? Old Dao, I'm also going to see the excitement and have a long experience, and I can't think of a way to get two pieces of demon snake armor or something, and I can brag to others in the future. ”

The old Taoist priest said as he stroked the gray beard on his lips with his hand, looking a little proud. The one-armed old man was disdainful: "Hmph, I should be so lively." The Heavenly Master taught those miscellaneous hairs to confuse the public and bluff, and put out a snake demon corpse with such fanfare, maybe to cover up some ugly things behind it. However, Zhang Yuhong's kid is really good, he can be regarded as the only person who can handle Longhu Mountain in the past few decades, but he is too brainless. If he survives until now and hasn't been killed by those fellow disciples, he's lucky. ”

"Exactly. The old man laughed. "Wouldn't it be a pity if such an outstanding person didn't hurry up and see him before he was killed?"

"You're so old-fashioned, you're not serious. Also, you invited me to accompany you to see the excitement, but you didn't buy wine or meat, and you walked with you like this to grind time, if I wanted to go alone, I would have already arrived. ”

"Alas, that's what you said, I haven't eaten meat these days, and my beak is really fading out. Lao Dao looked left and right. "But all the birds and beasts I met along the way were good-natured birds and beasts, and it was not easy to kill them and take them to feed them. ”

"Huh? Lao Dao looked up and looked at a black shadow flying by with flapping wings in the sky, and his eyes lit up. "The big bird seemed to have a vicious aura, just in time to strike us to relieve our hunger. And let you, the old man, see the old way and the newly painted flame piercing sun charm, and directly roast this big bird, you just open your mouth and wait for the meat to fall. ”

The one-armed old man also looked up at this time and saw the black shadow flying high above his head, but he was stunned for a moment, and then said quickly: "Wait, this is not a bird"

But it was too late. Lao Dao had already pulled out a talisman from his sleeve and raised his hand to shoot it, and as soon as the talisman left his hand, it turned into a torrent of flames and rushed to the sky. (To be continued......)