In the afternoon of the next day, the three of them changed to a big ship to Ezhou, which was much taller than the previous small boat, with a hull nine zhang long, four or five zhang wide, and several zhang high, and could accommodate dozens of people on board and under the cabin. There are three pairs of masts on both sides of the ship, and the sails are hung up and the wind is carried as if it were on the ground.

After changing boats, Hui Feng's mood was very happy, looking at the blue sky and the vast river in the distance, from time to time there were river birds hovering and playing overhead, sighing: "If you live on the boat for the rest of your life, follow the wind, go wherever you want, how good it would be!"

Xu Zhi and Ling Kongzi laughed behind them: "Why don't you become a monk and become a boatman?"

Ling Kongzi said: "I often walk this waterway, the weather is sunny and rainy, unpredictable", and then said meaningfully: "Just like this boat, sometimes you can sail with the wind, and sometimes you have to sail against the current." ”

Hui Feng said: "What if it goes with the water and against the water? As long as there is good weather every day and a good mood every day, it will be fine." ”

Xu Zhi said with emotion: "Yes, we have come this way, and we don't know whether it is evil or auspicious, but as long as we face it bravely, instead of blindly avoiding it." ”

Ling Kongzi praised: "The children can be taught, but you young people can't waste your time, and in the future, you can do something for the people with a body that can do great things!"

"You learn some internal strength and mental methods from me during the day, mainly the method of spitting and naming, and the technique of ordering the door to point points, I will hand over the mantra to you, and you yourself will have to participate in more enlightenment, and you will not attract the attention of other people on the ship. ”

"In the dead of night, avoid everyone, and I will teach you the same fist and foot kung fu, mainly Wudang's Tai Chi and Tai Chi Sword. ”

Xu Zhi said suddenly: "We were calling you brother and brother on the road, it was too rude, we still call you Master!", Huifeng also felt that the previous thing was too frivolous, and quickly said yes.

How do you know that Ling Kongzi smiled bitterly: "The two virtuous brothers don't know, it is very cumbersome for the Wudang faction to accept apprentices, alas, in short, there are a lot of unnecessary troubles." What's more, formal disciples are still subject to various door rules, and I'm used to being as free as you, and I can't stand so many restrictions and constraints. ”

Hui Feng said: "We are not afraid of this, we still think it is better to call you Master." As he spoke, he was about to bow to the teacher.

Ling Kong hurriedly stopped: "Now in the troubled times, everything can't be done according to common sense, now time is like gold, do you want to go to Wudang Mountain with me, do you have to do the gift of master and apprentice, and then start learning?

"If you insist, the eldest brother will be angry. ”

Xu Zhi and Huifeng were very moved, called big brother, and agreed.

When the boat passed Hezhou, the river was calm, and the speed of the boat was obviously slowed down, and everyone on the boat began to be dissatisfied, especially those traders began to worry about their own schedules.

Besides, Xu Zhi and Huifeng began to practice martial arts, and the first thing they learned was the method of spitting out the old and absorbing the new, the way of true qi in the meridians, and the technique of solving acupoints and acupoints. However, the internal strength of this Wudang focuses on the heart without distractions and the integration of knowledge, so as to achieve the highest state of "Mount Tai collapses in front and the color remains unchanged; However, everyone in the world has troubles, and it is easy to forget oneself, so Xu Hui and the others began to practice, and the progress was rapid, and later, they felt that the true qi in the body was stagnant and the progress was slow.

However, since Xu Zhi practiced martial arts, his body has improved significantly, his hands and feet have begun to have strength, and he often feels a stream of heat, pouring from the dantian to the top of his head, reaching his limbs, Xu Zhi can gradually move around on his own, and can even lift some slightly heavier things.

Lingkong Daoist felt that it was time for Xu Hui and the two to start learning Wudang's Taijiquan and Taiji Sword, he asked the two of them to put together the index finger and middle finger of the right hand as the blade of the sword, and the wrist as the hilt of the sword, starting from simple moves such as the mane of the wild horse and the wings of the white crane, so that the two of them practiced hard at the bow of the boat night and night, rain or shine, and the two of them also had a slight success, but the fist and sword of the two were just false moves, and they were far from enough in terms of strength.

In order to increase his strength, Xu Zhi thought of a way, he ran to the owner of the ship to ask for the heavy work on the ship, they took care of it, and let them be responsible for going to the shore to carry water and chop wood, buy rice and carry goods, and did not need any remuneration, the boatmen laughed at him as a fool, so they readily agreed to him.

Ling Kongzi saw that Xu Zhi was kind-hearted, brave and wise, and liked him very much in his heart, and besides, Xu Zhi's body had been tempered and almost completely recovered, except for some discomfort on rainy days, there was no major problem, and his body was getting stronger and stronger.

The boat has been on the river for a month, everyone has been exhausted from the bumps, although the boat has also docked several times along the way on the river bank of the town, but everyone still hopes to be able to go to such a big place as Jiangzhou as soon as possible, so that they can go ashore to eat, take a bath, and rest for a few days.

This Jiangzhou is the ancient Xunyang City, north of the Yangtze River, south of the beautiful Lushan Mountain, northeast is the endless ancient Poyang Lake. Jiangzhou belongs to the place under the jurisdiction of Jiangxi Observation Envoy, but it is the junction of Jiangxi, Eyue, Huainan and Xuanshu four towns, there is a way that "the mountain is high and the emperor is far away", so there are civil uprisings in various places, and this place is too peaceful, the people are simple and simple, live and work in peace and contentment, and the four towns do not want to provoke their respective neighbors, so Jiangzhou is such a special paradise, military buffer zone.

When the ship docked on the ground in Jiangzhou, all the people on the ship cheered and rushed to land, and the crew also followed everyone off the ship, everyone joked with the owner, and the owner agreed with a smile after ten days and half a month.

Besides, Ling Kongzi took Xu and Hui to the famous Xunyang Building on the riverside of Jiangzhou, this Xunyang Building is a famous scenic spot in Jiangzhou City, four floors inside, three layers outside, Qingyong Daiwa, cornices and corners, corridors on all sides, simple and solemn, it is also a hotel where literati business travelers from all over the world come to Jiangzhou, the three of them boarded Xunyang Tower, the wine maid and the vegetable guard hurriedly came to greet them, the three of them found a window seat and sat down, the store first put on a pot of Lushan cloud tea, the tea water is green and clear, and the fragrance is abnormal. The three of them praised it together: "Good tea." Then the store served a few Jiangzhou specialties, Lushan Jinji, Yangtze River white fish, white peony shrimp, etc., and a jar of bamboo leaf wine, the three of them looked at the white river outside the window, a line of egrets rushed to the sky, the breeze was blowing, there were bursts of silk and bamboo, accompanied by the sound of Chu singing and dancing.

After three rounds of drinking, all three of them were a little drunk.

"I respect Brother Ling's cup, without Brother Ling, I wouldn't have recovered so quickly, and I learned a good skill, otherwise I wouldn't be able to support the wall like a lump of mud. Xu Zhi said, holding up the wine glass.

Hui Feng also hurriedly picked up the wine glass and echoed: "Yes, Brother Xu is right, Brother Ling, you must do this glass of wine, along the way, you have taught us fist and foot kung fu that will be used for life." ”

Ling Kong said: "Your eldest brother and I are a wine and meat Taoist, and I have not been able to learn the essence of Wudang in my life, these days can be regarded as teaching each other, you two have to practice hard, and your future achievements will depend on your own." ”

"Two brothers, the day after tomorrow, alas, the day after tomorrow, you accompany your eldest brother to Lushan outside Jiangzhou City, how about it? ", Ling Kong muttered repeatedly.

Xu and Hui readily agreed.

On the third day, the three of them bypassed Jiangzhou City, traveled all the way south, walked for half a day, and saw the mountains in the distance, clouds and mist, strange rocks, green pines and green water. Although Xu Zhi's body had just recovered, he had walked the mountain road for half a day, and his physical strength was a little exhausted, but he still gritted his teeth and persevered, and suddenly saw such a beautiful scenery in the world, he felt refreshed and relaxed, and he forgot about fatigue.

Only Hui Feng secretly complained, and kept complaining all the way: "If I knew that it was so far away, I wouldn't be guilty of this crime, why don't you rest in Xunyang Tower and listen to the song?"

"Brother Ling, what's there to see in this broken mountain, alas, why are you walking so fast?"

"Brother Hui, don't worry about the beautiful scenery and delicacies anymore, you say that we are all hungry, and if you insist on it, we will reach the top of the mountain. Ling Kong then asked Xu Zhi again: "Brother Xu, are you tired, do you want to rest for a while." ”

Xu Zhi shook his head, gritted his teeth and continued to insist on climbing upward.

The three of them walked up for several miles, and saw a small pavilion halfway up the mountain, and the three of them rested in the pavilion for a while, drank some water, and prepared to continue walking. Who knew that Huifeng shouted, saying that he couldn't walk anymore, and complained to the two: "There is nothing special about this mountain, why do we have to climb to the top?", and then said: "If the two eldest brothers insist on going to the top of the mountain, the younger brother will not go anyway, and will wait for you to come back in the pavilion." ”

Ling Kong shook his head in disappointment and sighed: "Brother Hui is not righteous enough, or Brother Xu is righteous!"

The two said goodbye to Huifeng and continued to climb the mountain, "The higher Lushan Mountain, the more beautiful the scenery and the wider the vision." Xu Zhi couldn't help but sigh, and turned back to the volley and smiled.

At this time, Ling Kong told Xu Zhi the reason for coming to Lushan this time, it turned out that Ling Kong's ancestor Ziyang Zhenren was the former host of Wudang Mountain, on the way to a tour of Jiangzhou Lushan Xuyun Temple, unfortunately died of illness in Jiangzhou, of course, the accompanying disciples could not transport the body of the real person back to Wudang, so it had to be buried on the golden top of Lushan on the spot, so every time Ling Kong passed by Jiangzhou, he had to pay tribute to the ancestor, Xu Zhi said: "It should be so, I also want to worship this ancestor and grandfather." ”

The two of them passed through the famous Sandiquan Waterfall in Lushan, the waterfall fell from the sky, unstoppable, roaring forward, as evidenced by the poems of Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty:

Purple smoke from the sunshine incense burner,

Looking at the waterfall Kakemae River from afar,

Flying down three thousand feet,

It is suspected that the Milky Way fell for nine days.

The two had no intention of cherishing the beautiful scenery in the mountain, and it took a lot of effort to climb the golden top of Lushan Mountain and worship the patriarch. The sky is getting late, a bright moon rises from the mountains, illuminating the surroundings like day, the two decided to stay on the golden top of Lushan for one night, and go down the mountain early tomorrow morning. Although it was mid-autumn, the top of the mountain was steep and cold, so the two of them found some dry branches and thatch nearby, lit a fire to keep warm, and then began to chat:

"Ziyang Zhenren is so old, and he still comes to Lushan to travel?" asked Xu Zhi.

Ling Kong did not answer directly, but said: "Ziyang Zhenren is fond of martial arts, and he has spent his whole life practicing martial arts, and his kung fu has already reached the realm of perfection and unparalleled in the world. ”

"Then he is already the highest level of martial arts, what is he still pursuing?", Xu Zhi asked puzzled.

Ling Kong said: "Ziyang Zhenren has always believed in the unity of man and sword all his life. ”

"What is the unity of man and sword?", Xu Zhi asked curiously.

"No matter what kind of sword weapon, it is a dead object, they themselves have no consciousness, only when the swordsman uses it, it is given the move to fight the enemy, so it is alive, its activity comes from the martial arts cultivation of people; on the contrary, a good sword is also conducive to the swordsman's moves, so a swordsman has a sword in his heart, and the sword also has the master's spirituality, and there is a sword energy. ”

"Therefore, the sword qi that Ziyang Zhenren thinks is a manifestation of the unity of swordsman and sword, human sword. Xu Zhi suddenly had a feeling.

Ling Kongzi nodded: "That's right." ”

"Besides, you and Huifeng, I treat the two of you equally, and teach each other what you have learned in life, but your future achievements still depend on your respective cultivation, Huifeng has been smooth, and when you encounter small setbacks, it is easy to waver, and you have been difficult, so when you encounter setbacks, you can also overcome and persevere, so your achievements should be above him. But if Huifeng can inspire your heart and work hard, your two achievements depend on your own chances. ”

"What is chance?", Xu Zhi asked puzzled.

"A person who practices martial arts must be enlightened, and sometimes it is useless to work hard, but will lead to a dead end; only after experiencing certain things will he suddenly become enlightened, and he will be able to understand everything, and this is also true of martial arts. ”

Xu Zhi seemed to understand whether he understood or not, and looked at the volley.

"Don't talk about it, you always like to get to the bottom of it, it's better to rest early, it's been a tired day. Lingkong comforted Xu Zhidao.

The two of them fell asleep, the golden top of Lushan was already full of sunshine, a round of red sun was about to come out, the two went down the mountain together, to the half-mountain pavilion, it was already morning, seeing that Huifeng was still asleep, the two hurriedly woke him up, went down the mountain together, and returned to Jiangzhou.