The days went round and round, and soon the first month came out, and this day happened to be the second day of February.

This day is not one of the 24 solar terms often said in the calendar, but the people of Liangzhou have a very auspicious name for this day, called the dragon raising its head or the dragon's head festival.

Regarding this festival, there are also some different and widely spread customs in various places, such as eating dragon food, calling noodles dragon whisker noodles, dumplings called dragon horns, all kinds of food will have different names, but basically linked to the dragon character, asking for an auspicious color.

Another example is knocking on the beams of the house, also called knocking on the dragon's head, that is, while beating the beams of your own house with branches and sticks, while chanting some folk proverbs, such as "February 2nd, knock on the dragon's head, the dragon does not raise its head, I look up, the big tun is full, the small tun flows, and the beginning of the good spring every year" and so on, are also the same good hope as eating dragon food.

Liangzhou Yanguan Town because there is a small river called "Pengying" through the town, so there is a custom that has been passed down from generation to generation is to put the dragon lantern, with origami or wheat straw into a boat, put a dough kneaded into the noodle lamp, and then put the boat into the small river, and then let it float down the river to the distance, the longer the dragon lantern is on, the more lively and prosperous the people who can bless the lantern, the home is sufficient, rich and safe, so many people will try to make the lamp as big as possible, both to ensure that it does not sink to the bottom of the river, It can be lit up for a little longer.

In the past few years, although the poor boy at the east entrance of the town has lived a poor life, every year after dark, he will squeeze down the few bites of food to save a dragon lantern and put it into the small river, hoping that God will favor him so that he can have some good luck in the following year.

This habit has been done every year since the old drunkard was still or when he was still there, when the old man himself took him there, and then after the old drunkard passed away, he went alone, looking for a secluded place where a small river bends, and then carefully put the little lamp that looked a little shabby, and put it on a small boat made of weeds and firewood that he picked up in the red maple forest, and put his hands together, watching it gradually drift away in the river, and there were words in his mouth, and the old dragon king asked for good fortune.

Since the previous fight between Hou Junchen and Jiang Yan, in the past few days, the young man has indeed said when the sloppy man came back from the east of the town that day, and he got up early in the morning every day to go into the mountains, hunt a few hares, or catch a few pheasants, or go to the small river to touch two fish and come back, specifically to reward the small town watchman who hangs his son every day as a sunbather.

On the day when the dragon raised his head, at noon, the young man took two bowls of fish soup to the door of the thatched hut opposite, one bowl for Hou Junchen, who was lying on the bamboo chair to warm up, and one bowl for himself, and then the two of them leaned side by side on the façade wall outside the thatched hut door, blowing hot air and drinking soup The snoring sound was the same, one after another.

Both of them seem to be accustomed to winter and summer, as long as they eat with a bowl, they will definitely squat against the wall or under the old locust tree, as if only this posture of squatting to eat can taste the fragrance of the bowl of rice.

Holding the rice bowl and sending half a bowl of steaming fish soup to his stomach in one go, the sloppy man raised his head and breathed a long sigh of relief, then turned his head sideways and glanced at the young man next to him, and asked with a smile: "How have you been reading in the past two days?" How did you read the "Thousand Character Text" that Mr. Cui gave you, and how many words did you memorize? ”

The young man, who was still working hard to cook, was slightly stunned when he heard this, and then began to scratch his ears and grin, with a sad expression, as if the fish soup that was delicious and fragrant a moment ago was not fragrant in an instant.

The sloppy man was a little funny, "It's just a book, as for making you so sad?" When you go up the mountain and down the river every day to steal chickens and dogs and mix a bowl of rice to eat, I haven't seen you so sad? ”

The young man listened to the man's teasing, so he turned his head and glared at him, and said angrily: "You old bachelor said lightly, I used to think that reading was the best thing, but when I opened the book, I found that it was a thousand-character text!" None of the words in that book are the same, not only do I have to go to someone to ask word by word, but I also have to come back and memorize them myself, not to mention understanding what they all mean, just remembering and barely being able to write, I burned half of my brain... No wonder people can be respected, that's not easy! ”

Hou Junchen, who listened to the words, put the porcelain bowl in his hand to his mouth and poured a large mouthful of fish soup, then looked at the young man with a smile, and said strangely: "I'm afraid you think that scholars should be respected, right?" You go and ask the shopkeeper Liu on the other side of the Wufang Pavilion to see if she really respects the readers, when she didn't come to those outsiders before, she was really happy to send her precious son Han Yuanfu to the village school to study, but since she knew that there was a group of immortals in this world, do you guess she is still willing to let her son start from the "Thousand Character Text" and read word by word? ”

Most of the things in the world can't stand being chewed carefully, and the so-called rare confusion is never an empty word.

Chu Yuanxiao was a little silent by Hou Junchen's casual words, he was used to seeing all kinds of people's faces since he was a child, so many things can be understood, but sometimes there are some speechless, many people can't look at things, it becomes a matter of course to change to other people's hands, step by step to climb high without looking back, it is also a proper meaning, the difference between people can be seen at a glance, and it cannot be refuted.

Ordinary words, ordinary things, ordinary people, ordinary hearts, all kinds of ordinary places, the most difficult and unusual.

Just like the spring breeze travels in spring, the autumn wind changes clothes and falls yellow, and the same is a cup seat for guests, and the heart lake is normal.

The town watchman turned his head and saw that the young man was in a daze with a touch of anxiety, so he smiled slightly, did not bother, dried the fish soup in the bowl in three or two bites, and then gently put the porcelain bowl in his hand on the ground, and then looked up at a certain intersection on the west side of the long street, and then disappeared.

……

When the young man came back to his senses, he had quietly changed people beside him, no longer the sloppy man who hung his son, but changed into a green shirt, with his hands behind his back, standing alone, looking at the old locust tree across the street, and the bronze bell hanging on the tree, silent.

The young man hurriedly got up, and it was inconvenient to carry the soup bowl, but he still bent down and saluted the scholar, "Hello, sir." ”

The small town teacher turned his head and looked at the young man, smiled gently, and said in a soft and warm voice: "Don't be polite, finish the meal first." ”

After that, he saw that the young man's face was a little hesitant and unnatural, so he added with a smile: "Don't worry, just drink slowly." ”

Chu Yuanxiao was a little unsure of the intention of Mr. Cui's trip, but he could only guess that what the sloppy man needed to deliberately avoid before he could say it should not be just a matter of simply teaching and reading and reading.

The gentleman didn't speak, and he didn't want to ask, so he hurriedly drank the fish soup that only half a bowl was left in his hand, and then stacked his own bowl with the bowl that Hou Junchen put on the ground, and after thinking about it, he ran back to his own yard across the street with two pairs of empty dishes and chopsticks, washed them clean, drained, and placed them in an orderly manner, and then turned around and left the courtyard door again, walked across the street, and saluted the scholar seriously, "Sir, I'm done eating." ”

The scholar saw a series of movements of the teenager in his eyes, and the faint smile on his face has not been withdrawn, sometimes, some people, some things, naturally, without you to teach, he will himself.

"After receiving your apprenticeship that day, I sent a message to the Middle Earth Divine Continent and explained the recent things to the Confucian Temple Academy.

The green-shirted Confucian man spoke slowly, choosing to get straight to the point, explaining certain things to the young man face to face.

Chu Yuanxiao still held his hands folded in front of him at this time and did not take them back, and after hearing the words, he looked up at Mr. Cui, and his eyes did not change much, waiting for Mr. Cui's next words.

Cui Jue smiled, his tone was relaxed and not dignified, as if he had only had that calm and calm state of mind, and continued: "There are also people who propose that I step down from my position as the town guard and return to Middle-earth for questioning, and if I can't give a reasonable explanation, I will be expelled from the Confucian sect and the door will be cleared. ”

The latter sentence, not surprisingly, finally made the young man's face change, and he looked at the Confucian scholar with some concern, and stopped talking.

Cui Jue didn't look back at the young man's expression, but as if he knew what he was going to say, he slowly raised his hand and waved it, and said with a smile: "It's okay, it doesn't seem to be a big problem at present, your husband has been criticized by others, and your husband's husband is carrying a cane to protect him, and this matter was finally temporarily suppressed by my husband's husband." ”

As he spoke, he flipped his wrist and took out a boxy green jade plaque from his sleeve robe, which was not particularly carved except for a neat regular script "Confucian" character, but the surface was smooth and smooth, and the polishing was extremely fine, which showed the rigorous rigidity of the jade maker.

The green-shirted Confucian who took out the jade plaque glanced at the brand, and then slowly handed it to the young man, and said with a smile: "This is the jade plaque used in the reply letter of the Zhongtu Confucian Temple, this 'Confucian' word is the handwriting of our Confucian Yasheng, and the origin is not shallow. ”

The young man first raised his eyes and looked at the jade plate, and then looked up at Mr. Cui, a little hesitant.

Mr. Cui smiled when he saw this, and said: "Don't worry, Yasheng is not so stingy, even if there is, someone will naturally explain to him, and he will not come to ask you and me because of a messenger jade plate, in addition, although this jade plate is a letter symbol, but it is also a Sumeru mustard seed that is not of particularly high quality, it can be called Sumeru thing, it can also be called mustard seed, it can help you make some storage, the storage space is about the size of six or seven rooms, and it is enough to simply put something." ”

As he spoke, the green-shirted Confucian put it into the hand of the young man who was still saluting, and gently let him hold it, and then said: "I have cast a spell to make it communicate with your heart, you only need to wear it on your body, and when you need to access something, you can move your mind." ”

Seeing that the young man was still a little worried, Cui Jue simply smiled and added: "Usually transmit letters, in fact, they will not use this kind of Sumeru, it will only be an ordinary jade card, since this trip has used this, it is the old man in the door who speaks up for you and my master and apprentice who intends to leave it with you, so you don't have to worry, the sage has a cloud 'the elder gives, and the young dare not resign', you have to understand this truth, you should take it generously, it is not rude." ”

Seeing that Mr. Cui had spoken so thoroughly, Chu Yuanxiao couldn't refuse, so he gently held it in his hand and took it.

The Confucian man in the green shirt smiled gently, and then turned his gaze to look at the old locust tree, and continued to talk about other things, "Regarding the matter of cultivation, I have told you a little before, the way of divine cultivation is within Jiuzhou, except for the Buddha of Buddhism, other divine cultivation is basically from the line of Confucianism, the reason why there is such a pattern, the main reason is that the Confucian disciples are in the book and the matter, slightly more than the other families, the world has a total of one stone, and Confucianism monopolizes eight buckets, this is the biggest general trend, Therefore, when it comes to studying, you still need to be more attentive, which is beneficial to your cultivation, and as for when you can comprehend and step into the threshold of spiritual cultivation, it depends on your talent and creation. ”

The young man pursed his lips when he heard this, and then looked at Mr. and nodded solemnly, "Got it, sir." ”

Cui Jue nodded in response, and added: "You are now a broken road, it is not easy to embark on the path of cultivation, the path of the three paths of initiation is not easy, to make a breakthrough, you must get together three paths, and then wait for a god-given opportunity, this matter is not something that I can lead you into the door as a cultivation master alone, the other two paths... Su Sanzai and his person I have already introduced to you before, the advantages and disadvantages are half, although there are some other things between me and him, but it does not have to be on you, so you don't have to worry too much about this, whether you want to use that money, it depends on your own needs. ”

The young man nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Sir, what path did that Mr. Su cultivate?" ”

When this question came out, the green-shirted Confucian who turned his back to the young man and faced the old locust tree was slightly silent, and then smiled: "He is a special person, and it doesn't matter to you which way he cultivates, it just depends on which way you want to learn from him, just like he told you before, he has great ability and can teach anything, even if you really want to learn a cooking skill from him, he can really teach you, that is not a joke, but a fact." ”

This......

The young man was a little confused by Mr. Cui's answer, what does it mean to "can teach anything", is it not a lie? Doesn't it mean that there are no three paths of initiation? So how many roads can he still have? What is this statement?

However, for the young man's doubts, the Confucian in the green shirt seemed to just stop at the point, and did not want to give a detailed explanation, seeing that he was still sluggish and puzzled, he just smiled and did not say much.

When I got here, the Tsing Yi teacher who came from the township school to explain some things to the boy probably finished saying all the things he wanted to say, and then looked at the boy and said, "There is nothing else for the rest for the time being, if you have any problems while studying, you can go directly to the study in the backyard of the township school to find me, and I will be there when there is nothing special." ”

After the young man nodded in agreement, the middle-aged Confucian nodded, turned his head to look at the bronze bell hanging slowly on the treetops, and then slowly left and returned to the town and countryside.

The boy stood where he was, watching him leave, and waited until he had turned the corner and disappeared for a long time, and then he slowly walked to the hut, sat down lightly on the bamboo chair that belonged to the watchman, looked at the bronze bell across the street, and began to recite in his heart the sentences he had learned from the book.

Heaven and earth are yellow, and the universe is desolate. The sun and the moon are shining, and the sun and moon are shining. Dragon Master Fire Emperor, Bird Official Emperor. The phoenix is in the bamboo, and the white horse eats the ......

——

The north and south of the town are spiritually contemporary.

Today, the old man with a weak figure who had discussed the matter of sharpening the knife with the old Taoist chief earlier visited the Taoist temple again, and the two of them sat together under the pavilion in the backyard of the Taoist temple, facing the towering sword mountain in the east of the town, and sat side by side across the stone table.

The old man still had a smiling expression, looked at the old Taoist priest on the other side of the stone table who was holding the verdant bamboo pole with both hands all the year round, and said with a smile: "It is said that people are not as good as the sky, this year's solar term is so special, it just so happens that today's dragon head festival, tomorrow is the spring equinox, it just so happens that it is the end of the appointment of Jiazi, and seeing that your Yanguan Town is about to close the gate again, at this time you encounter such an interesting coincidence, you don't have anything to say?" ”

The old Taoist sat with his eyes closed, listening to the old man's question, and there was some helplessness between his eyebrows, "The rule of the sage, if it is inaction, there is no cure." ”

The old man smiled, "Don't say that the old man didn't remind you in advance, I have taken a closer look in Liangzhou City these days, but there are a lot of uncommon faces, one or two are there to cover up, and the result is that the smell is so bad that the old man can't eat, if it weren't for the fact that they and you will see each other, I can't help but find the Governor Li Dadu, who commanded the border army, to get people, I came here today to say this, you should take out your hands in advance, Don't let someone beat you half to death with a stick, I'm afraid you won't be able to explain to Middle-earth when the time comes. ”

Hearing this, the old man nodded slowly, and thanked him softly: "Old Daodai, thank you Xue Chenghuang." ”

The faint old man waved his hand and said with a smile: "Neighbors for many years, it's polite to say this, if you need help, just ask, I can't guarantee that I can bring that Governor Li over with you." ”

It was not strange for the old Taoist to listen to the old man's big bag, he just smiled and nodded, which was a response, the reason why the old man in front of him was always in a weak figure every time he appeared, was not because of the special path of cultivation, but because of his real identity, which was the city god sitting on the table in the Liangzhou City God Temple.

As early as 10,000 years ago, when the war of the five clans had not yet broken out, these people like this Xue Chenghuang were completely different from the path of the human monks to become immortals, and it can be said that the immortals of all walks of life who are truly ranked in the immortal class are not under the jurisdiction of the human race, nor can they appear in front of people at will like this Xue Chenghuang now, whether they become gods or not, and the level of their rank, are all decided by the strongest god clan among the five races, but later the last human emperor sealed the gate of heaven with a sword, and after the Jedi Tiantong, These golden bodies and gods who have suddenly lost their bosses are like having lost their mother's family, and they are lost and depressed one by one and have no future, and they are about to be scattered in the world as a future trouble, and the situation is helpless to be included in the jurisdiction of the Linyuan School Palace, which is the joint force of the co-governance of the rivers and lakes.

According to the regulations set by the Linyuan School Palace, the sealing and supervision of these mountain and water gods are in the hands of the Taoist officials of various countries in the world, such as the Qintianjian and the Daolu Academy, and the rivers, lakes and seas of various countries and the various righteous gods of the mountains and rivers, as well as the city gods and their land lords, land women and other gods under their command, if they want to achieve the true Shinto golden body, they must first report to the Linyuan School Palace by the Ming Fa Mansion of the empire where they are located to report for permission, and then the Taoist officials under the Daomen and the first line of the Daomen will go to the place of Fengzheng to carry out an investigation. Finally, the Imperial Daolu Academy will ask His Majesty the Emperor of the Dynasty to seal the decree and seal it together with the Daoist officials of Middle Earth, so that they can be qualified to be regarded as righteous gods all the way!

This Xue Chenghuang of Liangzhou City God Temple is the City God of Yizhou, which has been jointly sealed by the Chengyun Empire and the Daomen lineage, and his status is extremely high.

Among the various righteous gods of the Chengyun Empire, the five mountain kings, the four desecration water gods, and the city god of the capital Chang'an, are all first-class gods, and the second-class ones are such as the mountain monarch of Wuyue Chushan, the second-class Jiangshen Hebo who is the next best in the four desecrations, and Shangzhou Chenghuang, the capital of the fifteen provinces under the jurisdiction of the empire, is the second grade, and the Liangzhou Xue Chenghuang is the first-class second-class god this time, and the land of the city god in all parts of the jurisdiction of Longyou Road is under his command.

At a glance, it can be seen that this Xue Chenghuang is a real feudal official in the Shinto.

Of course, in addition to the gods and goddesses who have been formally canonized, in some places where the government and gods can't see it, there are also a few half-way gods who have not been canonized, but because there are people who offer incense, they can also survive, because according to the rules of Shinto, the gods of all walks of life are vast, half of them come from the imperial court Qintianjian and Daolu Yuan's canonization, and the other half comes from the incense offerings of the common people.

Regarding this matter, the most important Confucian holy teacher Zeng Youyun: "If you sacrifice it instead of what you sacrifice, it is called obscenity." Obscenity is not blessed. ”

Therefore, there is no ability to get the approval of the Linyuan Academy, and then get a decree from the court to add a holy decree, that is, the obscenity of the crooked and evil way, and all those who are obscene, if they are unlucky to meet the righteous monk or a righteous god, there is no good fruit to eat, after all, if you can't seal it, it is not a righteous god of a country's landscapes, these halfway gods who are obscene from the background, although there is incense, they can't be sealed, and there are deficiencies in the congenital nature, if you are unlucky to meet a regular god to fight, it is equivalent to tying half of your hands and feet before the war. You can't take advantage of a tie-down fight.

It's not easy.

Xue Chenghuang of Liangzhou is a righteous god of the imperial court, and he is highly respected by the people in Liangzhou, although this city god never appears in front of the people, and in the eyes of ordinary people, he is just a mud fairy, but as long as the people who have lived in Liangzhou for a long time, they all know that the city god is very effective, not to mention that there is a request, but many things, as long as the people who are incense sincerely worship incense and are willing to reason, the things they ask for will basically be settled, because of this, so the incense of Liangzhou City God Temple is never bad, On weekdays, people who come to offer incense come and go, and there is an endless stream.

And in the eyes of those immortal monks who have reached a certain level of cultivation, this Xue Chenghuang is the appearance of this old man who is now sitting under the gazebo in the backyard of Beilingguan, he and Li Qinghe, the governor of Liangzhou, are old neighbors who have lived next to each other for many years, and they have a good relationship.

The old Taoist accepted Xue Chenghuang's affection, and then slowly turned his head, facing the sword blade east of the town, silent and silent.

All causes and effects always have a home, and today in Yanguan Town, Liangzhou, everything is ready, waiting for the guests to come.

Let's look at tomorrow's vernal equinox, wait for a dragon to raise its head!