The cold wind was bleak, the dead leaves were flying, the bare trunks were wrapped with vines, and the only remaining branches and leaves were also withered and yellow, which were randomly placed on the door and hung on the wooden plaque.

Fan Yu carried a bamboo basket on his back and a jar of good wine in his hand, pushed the door in, and shouted when he entered the courtyard: "Master, I'm back." ”

"Yo, Senior Brother Fan is back, come on, come on, just give me the things, and I'll bring them in for you." ”

A young Taoist greeted him, this is the second apprentice of the Taoist people, and he has also received it in the past six months, he is not very old, his personality jumps out, he was a guy in a restaurant before, and he was kicked out by the shopkeeper because he offended the guests.

I didn't want to go back to the countryside, wandering around in Songzi County, almost starving to death on the street, and was seen by the Manifest Taoist, so I simply stayed as a fire foreman, laundry and cooking, and cleaning the fence.

Fan Yu slapped away his outstretched hand in disgust, and pointed to the wide and wrinkled Taoist robe he was wearing on his body: "Wear better clothes, what does this look like?"

Xiaodao was full of smiles, cleaned up casually, leaned over and looked into the bamboo basket: "Senior brother, what delicious food did you bring back this time?"

"Eat and eat, you know how to eat, take it and see it for yourself. ”

Fan Yu scolded with a smile, unloaded the bamboo building, threw it away, and asked, "Where is the old man, master?"

"I'm meditating in the temple. ”

Fan Yu nodded, went to the Divine Hall, and when he got close, he slowed down, and heard the voice of the Daoist inside: "It's Fan Yu, right? ”

"Yes, master. ”

Fan Yu walked in quickly, and the Taoist was sitting cross-legged on the futon, with his back to him, patted his sleeves, knelt down and kowtowed: "Disciple Fan Yu, I have seen the master." ”

"Hmm. ”

Xianming Daoist responded, slowly stood up, turned to look at him, and nodded with satisfaction: "Yes, people have a lot of spirit, and they have grown strong." ”

Immediately walked over, helped Fan Yu up, and said, "Tell me, do you feel about practicing medicine for half a year this time?"

Fan Yu groaned slightly, and then said: "The master asked the disciple to walk in the countryside and practice medicine to see a doctor, and along the way, the biggest feeling is that although the world is peaceful, the people are suffering, and the rich squires are happy day and night, singing songs every night, hundreds of acres of fields, and a group of slaves, so sooner or later. ”

Xianming Daoist laughed and patted Fan Yu's shoulder: "Come, sit down and talk." ”

Fan Yu immediately stepped forward, filled with tea, and stood aside respectfully, showing that the Taoist did not force it, but only stroked his beard and smiled: "Fan Yu, you only see the suffering of the common people and the diseases of the people, but you don't see through the things in this world." ”

"The disciple is stupid, and he asked the master for advice. ”

"Yes, this day is prosperous, and the people are living a peaceful life, but the life is just as hard, but the world is chaotic, and the people's life is even more miserable, displaced, precarious, and more worried about their lives. ”

The Manifest Daoist paused, raised his eyes and asked, "If it were you, would you like peace in the world or chaos in the world?"

Fan Yu blurted out: "The world is peaceful." ”

The Manifest Taoist nodded: "Very good, I let you walk in the township, just to let you understand this, although the people are bitter, but the world is peaceful, as long as you work hard, at least you will not starve to death, and there will be no swords." ”

Fan Yu's heart moved, and he said, "What the master meant, the disciple understands." ”

"Oh, tell me, what do you understand. ”

"What the master means is that although the people are suffering, they only need to fill their stomachs, serve the fields, learn some skills, or do business and study, and have expectations, then nothing is bitter. ”

The obvious Taoist laughed: "The son can be taught, Fan Yu, as a teacher, I didn't mistake you." ”

Fan Yu was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed, and immediately kowtowed: "Master, are you going to accept me for an official entry?"

This is the first time that a Manifest Taoist has called himself a teacher, and in the past he was only a registered disciple, and he could be repelled at any time, so he was never allowed to reveal the matter of apprenticeship in front of outsiders.

The Taoist waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, there is just something now, I need your assistant, and it is not too late to formally apprentice after this matter." ”

"Master, please say that as long as the disciple can do it, he will definitely be able to do it. ”

"It's not a big deal, Zhoujia Town's Zhou Jushi's house, a few days ago, there was an evil spirit, and I need to do three days of ritual in a row, this time you will accompany me, so I can help me. ”

Evil?

Fan Yu was shocked in his heart and asked, "Master, in today's world, are there really demons and evil spirits?"

The Manifest Taoist smiled and said nothing, shaking his head and not explaining much.

......

Zhoujia Town is nearly 100 miles away from the county seat, the mountain road is rugged, all the way through the mountains and across the river, and it only arrives at noon on the second day.

The town is not big, there are hundreds of households, there is a street, the Zhou family is at the end of this street, the courtyard is tall, and there are two stone lions outside.

There were a few servants standing at the door, and when they saw Fan Yu and the Manifest Daoist, they immediately stepped forward and asked, "But the Manifest Daoist?"

"That's the old way. ”

When the servant heard this, he immediately asked the person next to him to go in to report, and after a while, the housekeeper came out: "Dao Chief, please come in, my master is waiting in the hall." ”

Fan Yu followed behind, looking at the Zhou Mansion all the way, the corridor pavilion is meandering, the dragon is carved and painted, and there are rockery stone pools, flowers and plants are everywhere, which can be described as rich and powerful.

I wondered in my heart, what kind of business did the family do this week, it was impossible for a squire and rich man to save such a family business.

Looking at the groups of slaves, the maidservants are like clouds, and they are not ordinary eunuchs, they are really a little confused.

When they arrived at a living room, the housekeeper retreated, and a servant standing outside and waiting greeted him: "The chief of the manifest Dao, please come in, and the master is waiting in the room." ”

It's such a big shelf, they all arrived in front of the court, and they didn't come out to greet them, is it lust and indulgence, or is it the mentality of the superior who has lived on people for a long time?

When I entered the room, I saw an old man in a fancy dress, eating tea with a teacup, and only after listening to the sound did he put down the teacup, stood up and said: "The old man is inconvenient and cannot greet him, so I ask the Taoist chief for forgiveness." ”

"Zhou Jushi doesn't have to be polite. ”

After a pleasant greeting, the Taoist said: "The old Taoist has entered the house, and he has also looked at it, but he has never seen anything unusual, and there is no trace of evil, but it is peaceful and pervasive, and the blessing is compelling, and the feng shui trend of the dragon and phoenix is auspicious, and I have never seen the evil that the layman said in the letter." ”

Master Zhou stroked his beard and laughed: "I have heard that the Taoist chief has great magical powers, and can subdue demons and eliminate demons. ”

After that, he looked at Fan Yu, who was standing behind the Manifest Daoist person: "This is?"

The Manifest Daoist chuckled: "This is Fan Yu, a famous disciple of the Old Dao." ”

"Fan Yu?"

Master Zhou was surprised: "But that Fan Yu who didn't win the lift eight times two years ago?"

Fan Yu was embarrassed, his old face turned red, and he said, "It was here that Fan Yu saw Master Zhou." ”

When Master Zhou heard this, he sat up straight, and was much more respectful to the Taoist of Xianming: "Don't hide it from the Taoist, a few months ago, there were often servants in my Zhou Mansion at night who saw the black shadow shaking, and sent people to squat to check, but they couldn't catch the clues, and after a long time, people were panicked, horses and animals were restless, and a few days ago, they were still ......."

"How was it a few days ago? There are no outsiders here, and the layman is fine. ”

"It's a shame to say that this matter should have been reported to the official, but the old man was afraid that something would happen, so he concealed it. ”

Master Zhou sighed and said: "Since half a month ago, a servant died for no reason while on patrol, and he was invited to work with Langzhong, and he could not find out the cause of death, and a few days ago another person died, and rumors spread among the people that my Zhou Mansion was punished by God, and you said that if this matter spreads, the reputation of my Zhou Mansion for a hundred years will be destroyed immediately." ”

After that, he stood up and made a deep joke: "Please also ask the Taoist to save my Zhou family from fire and water, and there will be heavy thanks afterwards." ”

"Don't be in a hurry, please get up quickly. ”

Xianming Daoist hurriedly helped up Master Zhou, stroked his beard and said: "This matter is strange, there must be a hidden secret, you might as well wait for Lao Dao to check it out at night and then make a decision." ”

"Then I'll leave everything to the Taoist. ”

Master Zhou called his subordinates: "Take the Taoist and they will go to rest first, let the kitchen prepare some wine and food to send, if you are lazy, you will be skinned." ”

......