Tracing back to the source, the ancestors of the Daomen have a history of raising troops, when the Quanzhen Dao ancestor led the troops to resist the Golden Horde army, not to mention the Taiping Dao, which once occupied half of the country, even if it seemed to be the most regular, it was also self-reliant back then, but it was finally recruited.

Therefore, the words of the Tiger Zen Master cannot be wrong, in troubled times, Taoism naturally has advantages, and in prosperous times, Confucianism has advantages. When the Great Wei Dynasty was at its peak, all the talents in the world entered the Confucian sect. Just a Qingluan Weidu Governor's Mansion can be pressed to the rivers and lakes can't raise their heads, but since the death of the sage of Xinxue, the Great Wei country has declined, there are too many old people in Confucianism, it is difficult for newcomers to get ahead, and there is no step to enter the body, so a large number of talents poured into the Daomen, making the Daomen dormant for many years, although it is still fragmented, but the power is becoming more and more huge, and the five sects in the northwest have inherited the tradition of the ancestors of the Daomen, and they are self-reliant. Several other sects are also ready to move.

Hearing Li Xuandu's question, Master Hu replied, "The seven hermits, including the poor monks, are already very old, and we were chosen by the saints. ”

Li Xuandu was stunned and asked, "Saint?" is that sage of the mind?"

"Exactly. The Tiger Zen Master nodded and said with emotion: "The saint left in the early years of Ming Yong, and the time of Yijiazi passed in a hurry, and those young people also became drooping and decrepit, but the saint's voice and smile are still in front of him." ”

Li Xuandu asked, "I don't understand why the seven hermits hide behind the scenes instead of standing in front of the stage. ”

The Tiger Zen Master asked rhetorically, "Doesn't Venerable Master Li Daoxu also like to hide behind the scenes?"

Li Xuandu was silent for a moment, and then changed his words, "When the Emperor Jing changed, and when Emperor Muzong died, why didn't the seven hermits come forward?"

Hu Zen Master said: "Since the hermit, the key lies in the word 'hidden', if we have to do everything with the seven of us, then why do we want to be hermits?

Li Xuandu was silent for a moment before asking, "Then what are the conditions for the seven hermits to come forward?"

Hu Zen Master knew everything and said: "Confucianism is Confucianism, and the imperial court is the imperial court. ”

Li Xuandu became more and more puzzled, "The imperial court is the imperial court, and the Confucian sect is the Confucian sect, but why is the emperor's fall into the water and the fire in the dormitory related to the seven hermits?"

The Tiger Zen Master said indifferently: "Because some emperors really regard themselves as the Son of Heaven." ”

Li Xuandu let out a long sigh, "I understand." ”

The Tiger Zen Master smiled and asked, "Does Mr. Qingping really understand?"

Li Xuandu said: "Whoever endangers the Confucian Sect is the enemy of the seven hermits." ”

Hu Zen Master smiled, "It can also be said that the seven of us are the gatekeepers of the Confucian Sect, and we have been ordered by the sage to watch over this home." However, people's hearts have changed over time, after all, the saint has been gone for many years, and not everyone thinks about Confucianism. ”

The Tiger Zen Master cleared himself, but Li Xuandu didn't dare to believe it completely. He knew in his heart that the reason why the Tiger Zen Master was so happy today was not because of himself, but because of the great heavenly master Zhang Jingxiu sitting next to him, after all, he was one of the few immortal immortals in the world, and he came to visit in person, no matter what, the Tiger Zen Master also

To give a few points of thin noodles.

Li Xuandu thought for a while, and then asked: "Zen Master Fangcai mentioned the names of several people, namely: Qinghe Jushi, Red Sheep Weng, Jin Toad, plus Tiger Zen Master, there are four people in total, and there are three other people, I don't know how to call them?"

"Since Mr. Qingping has opened his mouth to ask, it doesn't hurt to tell Mr. Qingping. The Tiger Zen Master said: "The other three are: Mr. Bailu, Ziyan Mountain, and Old Man Long. ”

Li Xuandu gently recited the titles of the seven people, "Tiger Zen Master, Qinghe Layman, Red Sheep Weng, Jin Toad, Mr. Bailu, Ziyan Mountain People, and Old Man Long." Then Li Xuandu discovered a very interesting thing, the names of these seven people are all related to animals, and in addition to the Tiger Zen Master and the Dragon Old Man, the other five people are all related to color.

Li Xuandu calmed down slightly, "I also want to ask the Zen master, what is the meaning of the tiger, green crane, red sheep, golden toad, white deer, purple swallow, and dragon in the names of your hermits?"

Tiger Zen Master put down his right leg, straightened his sitting posture, neither has the demeanor of a famous man, but also does not look like a Buddhist monk, said: "The self-name of the seven of us has not always changed, when we were young, we called ourselves a certain old man, it is really weird, the poor monk at that time did not become a monk, and it is not easy to call it a Zen master, and the poor monk at that time was called 'Mr. Hu', Gu Yue Hu. ”

Li Xuandu frowned, fell into deep thought, and after a while, said slowly: "The word 'Hu' is homophonic to the word 'tiger', and the Tiger Zen Master is Hu Zen Master, can I understand that the Zen master's common surname is Hu?"

Hu Zen Master said with a smile: "It is said that Mr. Qingping is talented and quick-witted, and he can see it today, and it is really good, and the poor monks admire it." ”

Li Xuandu continued: "From this inference, the green crane corresponds to the blue or He, because the blue is better than the blue, the word 'crane' is homophonic to the word 'He'; the red sheep corresponds to Zhu or Yang, the red color is red, that is, the vermilion, the word 'sheep' is homophonic to the word 'Yang'; the white deer corresponds to the white or deer, the purple swallow corresponds to the swallow, and I have never heard of a person with the surname purple; the golden toad corresponds to the gold, and the dragon corresponds to the dragon." ”

Hu Zen Master couldn't help but clapped his hands and said: "Although it is not complete, but it is not far away, at the earliest, the seven of us were called Mr. Hu, Mr. Lan, Mr. Zhu, Mr. Bai, Mr. Yan, Mr. Jin and Mr. Long. However, when they got older, they each took a new self-name, which was nothing more than this mountain man, that old man, or Weng, Suo, and layman. ”

Li Xuandu nodded.

Master Tiger seems to say a lot, but in fact there is not much. Even if Li Xuan knew what the surnames of the seven hermits were, he could not guess the origin of the seven people through these surnames, and until now, Li Xuan still didn't know what the other six people looked like besides the Tiger Zen Master, not to mention the temperament and ability, and where they were now.

Hu Zen Master said: "Since the defeat of the Ming Yong period, the seven of us have been scattered all over the world, except for the triennial gathering, there is no other contact, of course, there will be a private meeting, but only two or three people, Tianbao six years, we just met once, it was in this great Bao'en Temple, I remember that Mr. Bailu also helped the government capture Qin Xiang. ”

Li Xuan was shocked, of course he remembered this. Qin Xiang planned to go to Liaodong, but was blocked by the two governors, and finally was captured at a Hongmen banquet, at that time it was said that Qin Xiang was in the "soul return incense" from the Miao Zhen Sect, and never thought that it was the handwriting of Mr. Bailu, one of the seven hermits. As for Li Xuandu at that time, he couldn't be said to be a nobody, but he was nothing

The big man who is not a big man will naturally not enter the eyes of the seven.

Li Xuandu asked, "What does the arrest of Qin Xiang have to do with Confucianism?"

As soon as these words came out, Li Xuandu knew that he was asking more, now that Liaodong has become a big problem for Confucianism, how could Confucianism allow Qin Xiang to go to Liaodong.

Sure enough, the Tiger Zen Master replied: "It's related, but it's not worth our special action, it's just that we met it, and we did it." ”

Li Xuandu laughed at himself: "Fortunately, Xuandu at that time was just a nobody, if it was also taken down by the seven hermits, there would be no Mr. Qingping today." ”

Hu Zen Master glanced at Li Xuandu and said: "There is a popular saying among the people, called: 'It is difficult to buy it for money, and you will know it early.'" "Wouldn't it be better if I had known earlier that we would have eliminated the Earth Master, the Great Heavenly Master, the Old Mr. Li, and the Taiyun?"

Li Xuandu was stunned, so he had to nod and admit: "What the Zen master said is reasonable, if there is no great heavenly master, only the juniors alone, they can't sit at the same table with the Zen master here." ”

Zen Master Hu smiled slightly, "Mr. Qingping is serious. ”

Li Xuandu asked, "Zen Master has said so much, aren't you afraid that the other six hermits will blame Zen Master?"

The Tiger Zen Master shook his head and smiled: "I just said seven names, the world is so big, even I don't know where the six of them are now, even if Mr. meets them, just by one name, they may not be able to recognize them." Taking a step back, even if I don't say it, Mr. will know from Zhang Tianshi's mouth that the seven of us exist. So is there a difference between saying it and not saying it?"

Li Xuandu nodded, admitting that the Tiger Zen Master was reasonable. And the meaning of the Tiger Zen Master is also very clear, he is all he says, and he will not say more about other things.

Li Xuandu didn't ask any more questions, so he had to say, "Thank you Zen Master for answering your questions." ”

Hu Zen Master picked up the teacup, drank all the residual tea in the cup, and said softly: "The tea is cold." ”

Li Xuandu was stunned for a moment, and then turned his head to look at Great Heavenly Master Zhang Jingxiu.

Zhang Jingxiu got up slowly and said, "Disturb the Zen master, farewell." ”

Li Xuandu also got up and saluted, "Farewell." ”

At this time, the Tiger Zen Master finally did not have the celebrity style, like a real monk, got up and folded his hands, "I will not send it far." ”

Li Xuandu and Zhang Jingxiu left this place and entered the stele forest again, and after walking far away, Li Xuandu asked, "Great Heavenly Master, do you already know these things?"

Zhang Jingxiu replied: "I know some, such as the incident of Emperor Wuzong falling into the water, and the incident of Emperor Sejong encountering a palace change. ”

Li Xuandu sighed softly, "I didn't expect that the Mind Sage had left seven people behind before he passed away, which is really tricky." ”

Zhang Jingxiu glanced at him, "These seven people must not be underestimated, Zifu must remember." ”

Li Xuandu nodded heavily, and said: "Hu Chan Master said that Wuzong's falling into the water was the handiwork of Jin Chansuo, and Shizong's encounter with the palace change was the handiwork of Chiyang Weng, and the capture of Pi Shuai was done by Mr. Bailu, and recently the Qinghe monk has just come to Dabao'en Temple, so the change in Jinling Mansion should be caused by him, so my senior brother Situ Xuance was attacked and killed, whose handiwork will it be?"

Zhang Jingxiu said: "There may be more than one person, or it may be the old man of the dragon and the people of Ziyan Mountain who have not been mentioned by the Tiger Zen Master. ”