Chapter 124: Return to the Heart Like an Arrow
Zhou Yuanzhi knelt under an osmanthus tree, holding the head of the Yellow Nest, looked at it carefully for a long time, and cried for a while, before stretching out his hands and digging a pit hard.
Xu Zhi saw that Zhou Yuanzhi's hands were grinding out blood from her ten fingers due to the excessive force, and he also leaned down and stretched out his hands to help her dig the soil. He Mengjiao, Li Cunxiao, Xue Atan, Anger, and Idiot saw it and came over to help.
Xu Zhi knew that Zhou Yuanzhi and Huang Chao's father and daughter had a deep relationship, but he didn't want to look at his beloved heartbroken, so he persuaded softly: "Yuan Zhi, please mourn! Huang Wang was unfortunately killed, we are very heartbroken, but people can't be resurrected after death, only by taking care of their bodies can they kill the enemy and avenge the Yellow King!"
Zhou Yuanzhi cried: "Daddy's kindness to Yuanzhi is higher than the sky and deeper than the sea, and my daughter wanted to repay his old man, but there is no such opportunity again!"
Xu Zhi persuaded again, "Yuan Zhi, do you remember what your parents expected of us?"
Zhou Yuanzhi suddenly stopped crying and asked rhetorically, "Big brother, did my father have any last words before he died?"
Xu Zhi was afraid that Zhou Yuanzhi would be disappointed, so he deliberately lied: "Of course there is, I just hope that his Zhi'er can be happy forever!"
Zhou Yuanzhi sobbed again: "What else?"
Xu Zhi replied: "I also hope that we can bury his remains on the spot!"
Zhou Yuanzhi looked at Xu Zhi suspiciously, and then turned her gaze to Li Cunxiao and others, hoping to get their approval. When Xu Zhi saw it, he hurriedly nodded slightly to the others.
Li Cunxiao understood Xu Zhi's thoughts, raised his hand and swore: "Sister Zhou, what the eldest brother said is the truth, and we just learned from Ge Congzhou. The Yellow King has a spirit underground, and he doesn't want to see his sister sad!"
He Mengjiao saw that Zhou Yuanzhi's complexion was better, took Zhou Yuanzhi's hands, and persuaded: "Although the Yellow King suffered misfortune, but the deceased is the greatest, his last words sister still can't be violated, otherwise it will be a great unfilial piety! Let's discuss and let the Yellow King be buried as soon as possible!"
Zhou Yuanzhi looked towards the head of Huang Chao and muttered: "My daughter is not filial, I wanted to take my father's remains back to Caizhou for burial." Since Daddy had his last words first, and it was the height of summer, I had to bury Daddy's bones in Bianzhou, the center of the world!
Xu Zhi put the head of Huang Chao back into the brocade box, and he and Zhou Yuanzhi buried it in the deep pit under the osmanthus tree.
The idiot said: "Amitabha, Brother Xu, Sister Zhou, slow down!
All the people turned their eyes to the fool, and they saw him say, "The hair of man is the mother of the mother, and this is an exhortation to the world to cherish their bodies." Our Buddhists also say that only people who are physically sound can escape into the hell of Abi after death, and they will be reincarnated from generation to generation! People with incomplete limbs can only turn into evil spirits and cannot live forever!"
He also echoed the words: "This truth said by the foolish junior brother was often said by the sincere abbot before his death, and the disciples also knew it! It is a pity that the disciples are stupid and cannot draw inferences from each other and apply them flexibly! Although I started earlier than the idiot junior brother, I am far less thorough than the foolish junior brother in terms of Dharma understanding! Amitabha Buddha, I am really ashamed!"
Xue Atan said: "Now there is only the head of the Yellow King here, but the limbs are unknown?
He Mengjiao listened, shook her head and said, "It's not buried, it's not buried, how is this good?"
Xu Zhi was afraid that Zhou Yuanzhi would be worried, so he suggested, "What's so difficult about this? Why don't we cut down some osmanthus trees, make them into the body of the Yellow King, and then bury them according to the head of the Yellow King, isn't it unreasonable?" After speaking, seeing that Zhou Yuanzhi was a little embarrassed, he persuaded again: "The cinnamon tree is hard and fragrant, and it is used as a metaphor for the merits of the Yellow King's life, which is very appropriate!"
Zhou Yuanzhi listened, nodded with difficulty, and agreed. The crowd cut down a few tall laurel trees, cut off the branches and leaves, carefully carved a human shape, put on clothes and trousers, and carefully placed the head of the Yellow King before slowly burying it. The crowd also erected a wordless tombstone in front of the tomb of the Yellow King.
Zhou Yuanzhi knelt down in front of the tombstone and choked up: "Daddy, forgive my daughter for burying you hastily, and when the world is calm, my daughter will definitely move your remains to her hometown Yanzhou!"
Xu Zhi led everyone to salute the tomb of the Yellow King, raised his condolences, and burned some paper money. Zhou Yuanzhi decided to keep filial piety in front of the tomb of King Huang for three months, and everyone agreed.
While guarding filial piety, everyone inquired about the news in Bianzhou City, and learned that everything was fine after Huifeng went back, and Zhu Wen did not deal with Ge Congzhou and others afterwards, as if the head of Huangchao was not lost. It turned out that Zhu Wen learned from Ge Congzhou's mouth that the person who snatched the head of Huangchao was most likely a subordinate of Li Keyong, the king of Jin, and said angrily: "Gain and lose, there is no pity to lose! It seems that there is really no difference between Lone and Li Keyong, and there will be a death! This is the will of heaven, and this matter is stopped!"
In the blink of an eye, summer went to autumn, and one day Zhou Yuanzhi said to everyone: "Thank you, brothers and sisters, for accompanying Yuanzhi for so many days to fulfill her filial piety! Now that my father is gone, this Bianzhou is full of Zhu Wen's eyeliner, and the matter of saving Li Keyong in Shangyuanyi will be exposed sooner or later, and we must leave this dangerous and sad Bianzhou City as soon as possible!"
Li Cunxiao also said: "What Sister Zhou said is very true, Zhu Wen is not even willing to let go of my father-in-law, let alone let us go easily!"
Seeing that everyone was preparing to leave Bianzhou, he asked, "Brother Xu, brothers and sisters, where are we going to go when we leave Bianzhou?"
He sneered and said: "Idiot, do you still need to ask? Of course, follow Yun Feiyang to Jiangnan? We not only have to take back the world's strange books from them, but after the big event is over, I am going to go to Putian, Fujian Province to find Master Zhixin and reconvert to my Buddha! Brother Xu, do you say okay?"
The idiot also echoed: "Senior brother, as soon as the big thing is over, I am also willing to return to Southern Shaolin with you!"
Xu Zhi nodded to the anger and stupidity, and praised: "The idea of anger is what I want to say, we must try to track Yun Feiyang back to Jiangnan, take back the strange book from their hands, and benefit the people in the world!"
He Mengjiao also said: "Brother Xu, brothers, now that Zhu Wen has ordered to block all passes of the canal and strictly inspect the ships going south along the waterway, our road back to the south of the river along the canal will not work!"
After listening to He Mengjiao's words, everyone looked at Xu Zhi anxiously, waiting for him to make an idea. Xu Zhi thought for a while and said: "Since the road to the south along the old Sui Canal is not passable, then Yun Feiyang and the others will not take this route, we will go south from Xu and Cai to Ezhou, and then return to the south along the Yangtze River! Maybe they will also take this route, and we will be able to find some clues of their southward journey!"
After listening to Xu Zhi's words, everyone nodded their heads and said yes, and Li Cunxiao even shouted: "Brother Xu, since we are going south by Xu and Cai, why don't we stay in Ruzhou for a while, the younger brother wants to go back to the Coniferous Valley of Daxian Mountain to meet his grandfather! I haven't seen him for so many years, I really miss his old man!"
Li Cunxiao's thoughts were also echoed by Xue Atan, and he was embarrassed to say: "Ah Niu has been away from his hometown for so long, and he hasn't added some paper money to his mother's grave, these days watching Sister Zhou's filial piety, I feel strange and uncomfortable, Ah Niu also wants to go back to Xuejiazhuang in Da Xian Mountain to worship his mother!"
He Mengjiao saw that Li Cunxiao and Xue Atan were commendable in their filial piety, and also said to Xu Zhi: "Brother Xu, since we are passing through Ruzhou Daxian Mountain, why don't we fulfill the wishes of the two brothers, and we can't delay our trip!"
Xu Zhi saw that everyone was willing to accompany Li and Xue to Ruzhou Da Xian Mountain, and he also nodded in agreement.
Xu Zhi led everyone along the ancient post road, bypassing Xuzhou, the capital of the Zhongwu Army, turning southwest, and heading to Ruzhou Daxian Mountain, at this time it was the autumn harvest and farming, the original densely populated Central Plains land, the fields were barren and inaccessible. Everyone saw that in order to snipe at Huangchao, the officials and soldiers wantonly drove away and killed the people of the prefectures and counties between Bian and Xu. The poor villages and villages were either killed by the officials and soldiers and pretended to be grass cowards to receive merit, or were plundered by the righteous army as human flesh and rice grain, and all kinds of flags, canes, and carrion corpses could be seen everywhere on the official roads, attracting countless eagles and eagles to come to forage for food, and let out bursts of terrible cries.
Because the road was impassable, everyone walked for nearly a month on the mountain road before returning to Xuejiazhuang at the foot of Daxian Mountain. When the villagers saw that Xue Aniu had come back safely, they all came forward to greet him.
An old man looked at Xue Atan carefully, saw that he was neatly dressed, and said enviously: "Xue Aniu, since you buried your mother and left Xuejiazhuang, the villagers think that you are an official outside!"
Before the old man's words were finished, an aunt beside him interjected: "This is still false, you see that when Xue Aniu left, he was black and thin, and now he is back, white and fat, not an official, can he have such a good situation?", the others listened, and quickly nodded yes.
Xue Atan hurriedly replied: "Uncle, aunt, you think too highly of Ah Niu, you don't know, I, Xue Ah Niu, don't know anything except brute strength, what is the material to be an official?"
The chief of the village interrupted: "Ah Niu, it's not a shame for you to be an official outside, why hide it from the villagers? No, these friends are all your subordinates, and these two good-looking girls are your two-room officials' wives, and you always come back in a sedan chair, right?"
Xue Atan hurriedly said: "Uncles, Ah Niu really didn't become an official, why don't you believe it?", after speaking, he smiled apologetically at Xu Zhi and the others.
The chief said with a smile: "Ah Niu, don't lie to the villagers, since you buried your mother and left Xuejiazhuang, those officials in Ruzhou have never come to us to collect grain, and the villagers know that they are looking at you." By the way, a few days ago, a general Yun from the imperial court came to us, saying that he knew you. The villagers all said: A general of the imperial court is your good friend, can you not be developed?"
Xue Atan was shocked when he heard the chief mention Yun Feiyang, and asked, "Where did this General Yun go later?"
The chief said with a smile: "When we saw that this General Yun was your friend, we left them to stay with us for a few days, and he asked us about the Coniferous Valley of Da Xian Mountain, and we told them truthfully that this place is in the back mountain, and it is very gloomy, and we can't go!
After Xue Atan greeted the villagers one by one, he led Xu Zhi, Zhou Yuanzhi, He Mengjiao and others to clean and worship on his mother's grave.
After everyone finished worshipping, Xue Atan said to Xu Zhi and Li Cunxiao: "Brother Xu, Brother Li, why does the younger brother feel that something is wrong! How could this Yun Feiyang know the secret of the Coniferous Valley, and how could he find it from thousands of miles away?"
Xu Zhi thought for a while and said: "This Yun Feiyang is very shrewd, maybe they checked the relevant information in the palace in order to find the "Tui Bei Tu", and only then did they know this clue?"
He Mengjiao retorted: "Big brother, I still don't think it's right, Grandpa Wang said back then, this matter of the taiga valley is a big secret, even the imperial court will not know about it, otherwise the imperial court would have sent someone here to clean it up!"
He also said: "Brother Xu, I think Sister He's words are reasonable, in addition to you, Sister He, Brother Li, and Brother Xue, even Sister Zhou and I just knew, how could Yun Feiyang know that there is a coniferous valley, this is too weird!"
Zhou Yuanzhi sighed: "Alas, if the Coniferous Valley is remembered by Yun Feiyang, then this paradise will not be peaceful!"
Everyone felt that they didn't understand, and suddenly heard Li Cunxiao pat his head hard and shouted, "Don't guess, everyone, I remember this matter, it was the day when the official army washed the Shaolin Temple in blood, I saw Jiang Chengfeng defeated under Brother Xu's sword, so I ridiculed him for being rare and strange, I didn't know how powerful the world's first sword in our taiga valley was, this thing is all blamed on Cunxiao's recklessness for a while, I don't know what happened to the grandfather and villagers in the taiba valley?"
Xu Zhi shouted: "Cun Xiao, now is not the time to blame ourselves, we have to enter the Coniferous Valley as soon as possible, I hope that grandpa and the villagers can be safe!", everyone listened to Xu Zhi's words, and they all shouted to enter the Coniferous Valley immediately.
In the afternoon of the same day, Xu Zhi, Li Cunxiao, Xue Atan, and He Mengjiao took everyone to Daxian Mountain. Zhou Yuanzhi, Li, and Idiot came to Da Xian Mountain for the first time, and Xu Zhi was afraid that they would be harassed by the birds and beasts in the mountains, so he let them walk in the middle, followed by Xue Atan, He Mengjiao, and he and Li Cunxiao were behind.
Everyone carefully dodged the bite of snakes and insects, dodged the surprise attack of the tanuki, and finally came to the Colorful Butterfly Valley on the left side of Da Hyeon. Zhou Yuanzhi saw that although it was late autumn in the Colorful Butterfly Valley, there were flowers everywhere, the peach and plum were fragrant, and the colorful butterflies were flying, and there was no decline at all, and what was more pleasant was that there was a winding and rugged stream in the valley, and she exclaimed excitedly, "It's so beautiful here, it's like a fairyland on earth!"
He Mengjiao remembered that she and Xu Zhi and Xue Atan fell off the cliff, broke their hands and feet, and were almost eaten by the gray wolf, and sighed: "Sister Zhou, how do you know how dangerous it is behind this beauty!"
Zhou Yuanzhi just walked to the edge of the stream, took a pinch of water, washed her dusty face, heard He Mengjiao's sigh behind her, and said strangely: "Sister, is there any invisible danger hidden here?"
He Mengjiao had no choice but to briefly tell Zhou Yuanzhi what happened back then, and Zhou Yuanzhi sighed: "It turns out that this is how you met Grandpa Wang and Cunxiao!"
Li Cunxiao interjected with a smile: "Sister Zhou, don't you know yet? I used a stone to save Brother Xu and them from the mouth of the wild wolf, and I am still their savior!" , After speaking, he smiled proudly at Xu Zhi!
Xu Zhi saw that everyone was chatting about the past, and said with a smile: "Speaking of which, we not only want to thank grandpa and Cunxiao, but also thank the gray wolf?"
Puzzled, he asked, "Brother Xu, why is this?"
Xu Zhi said with a smile: "Without the appearance of that gray wolf, how could we meet Brother Cunxiao, and how could we get Grandpa Wang to teach martial arts!"
Xue Atan shouted: "Brother Xu, we can't just talk, we also have to cut some bamboo, wisteria back, make two big bamboo rafts, so that we can enter the coniferous valley to see Grandpa Wang!", after speaking, he took the lead in wading across the stream and entered the woods opposite.
The idiot shouted: "Brother Xue, wait for me, I'll go with you!", after speaking, he caught up with Xue Atan. Seeing that he was stupid, he also ran over. Xu Zhi, Zhou Yuanzhi, He Mengjiao, and Li Cunxiao also entered the bamboo forest.
Xu Zhi and others boarded the bamboo raft, and under the guidance of Li Cunxiao, they passed through the stone cave, passed through the winding river, and finally came to the coniferous valley before dark.
Li Cunxiao climbed the river bank and walked in front, he saw that the sun had not yet set, there was silence in the coniferous valley, every house had closed their doors, there was no smoke and children's frolicking in the village, and there was no moo of cattle and willow flutes in the woods, and he faintly felt that something was wrong in his heart.
Li Cunxiao led everyone straight to his home, saw that the door was closed, and shouted: "Grandpa, Jingsi is back!", even screamed a few times, no one in the house answered, Li Cunxiao was afraid that there would be an accident at home, so he hurriedly turned over and jumped on the bamboo building, pushed open the hidden window, and looked inside, only to see Grandpa Wang covered in blood, lying in a pool of blood, and no longer awake.
Li Cunxiao jumped into the inner room from the window, knelt beside his grandfather, and cried: "Grandpa, wake up and see, Jingsi is back!"
Li Cunxiao, Xu Zhi, and Xue Atan bandaged Wang Jin's wounds, but the blood still slowly seeped out, and everyone had to lie on his bed to rest, and after a while, Wang Jin slowly opened his confused eyes, and saw Li Cunxiao, Xu Zhi and others surrounding him, and smiled at them: "Jingsi, Xu Zhi, Ah Niu, when did you come back? By the way, why don't you see Miss He, who is she?"
He Mengjiao was cleaning the blood stains on the ground with Zhou Yuanzhi, and He Mengjiao heard Grandpa Wang call her and stepped forward.