Outside Fanyang City, there is a Buddhist temple, although it is built on the mountain, but in fact it is not far away, if you start from the north city gate, you can go directly to the foot of the mountain if you walk about two miles away, and then you want to go up the mountain, it is not more than half a pillar of incense at most, even if the old man with bad legs and feet will not feel too difficult, and this road is a flat and wide official road in the past, and the public security in Youzhou has been excellent over the years, so there are many pilgrims who come and go here on weekdays.

The sky in the distance is only cloudy, the night overhead has not faded, the bright moon is fading, the starlight is faint, there is a touch of black around, in the early morning in this winter, it is even colder, but at the foot of the mountain where the temple is located, there are already people.

It was the family of Lao Xin, a middle-aged man who was on an errand in the yamen of Fanyang City, and in the middle of Lao Xin and his wife, there was a little boy wearing a festive red thick cotton jacket and combing a peachy heart, and he looked very cute.

Next to this family, just two or three steps apart, there were three people, a middle-aged man like a farmer, with a small nose and small eyes, honest and honest, looking at the little boy, with a simple smile, and beside him, there was a tall and strong long-faced man, like a mud fetus wooden statue, all the time with a straight face, without saying a word, and finally a thin monkey-like man, with no serious face, was teasing the little boy with red lips and white teeth.

"Hehe, Xiao Qingchen, how about letting my uncle take you up first? Just let them wait here stupidly, let's go up and have a fast meal first, those monks don't say anything else, this fast rice is really a must, especially the small pickles that are pickled at home, crispy and fragrant, but delicious, how about it, there is a stove on the mountain, there is a fire, and it is warm, how cold it is down here." ”

When the little boy heard this, his eyes blinked twice, obviously a little moved, but he still hid among his parents, just shook his head towards the man, the thin monkey still didn't give up, and continued to persuade: "Oh, Xiao Qingchen, uncle has a lot of delicious food hidden here, I wanted to give it to you secretly, why don't you understand, besides, don't you want to burn the head pillar incense for your father, this head pillar incense is very exquisite, and I heard that it is the most effective." ”

The little boy saw that the thin monkey actually reached out to pull himself, and quickly hugged the mother next to him and hid behind her. ”

Seeing that the little boy was hiding and refusing to see him, the thin monkey scratched his head helplessly and stepped aside, but he still couldn't help muttering: "He, he is young, when he grows up in the future, I will take him to drink a few more flower wine, and he will be the closest to me." ”

When Lao Xin heard this, he turned his face and scolded: "Monkey! How can you say this in front of a child!"

These people are actually his colleagues in the yamen, and they are also close friends, who come and go a lot on weekdays, and today they made an appointment to go to the temple on the mountain to burn incense, in order to pray for a good omen in the coming year, and if something happens less, everyone can be safe.

The thin monkey naturally knew that he was speechless, so he quickly changed the topic, waved his hand and said: "Okay, okay, don't say it, don't say it, hey, by the way, Lao Xin, who are you waiting for today, is it my nephew's little daughter-in-law?"

Seeing that he couldn't even say half a sentence, and finally fell to other places, the others also shook their heads secretly, but they were just helpless, but there was not much rejection, after all, the thin monkey didn't look very good, but he was a friend who could trust his life, otherwise Lao Xin would not have called him along.

Lao Xin immediately replied: "No, I'm waiting for an old friend from Chang'an." ”

When the thin monkey heard this, he was immediately surprised: "Chang'an? Do you still have friends in Chang'an? When did you meet a man or a woman?"

Lao Xin showed a look of nostalgia on his face and explained: "It's a friend when I was young, but then he went to Chang'an, I came to Youzhou, I haven't seen him for many years, he is also like us, he is doing things in the yamen, this time he also came to Youzhou on official business, knowing that I was here, he asked someone to send a letter and make an appointment to meet here." ”

As soon as the words fell, before the thin monkey continued to ask "is it a man or a woman", he saw a person walking towards this side from the road in the distance, wearing a conspicuous black and white military uniform, with clumps of stains everywhere, looking sloppy, not much better than the beggar on the street, his eyelids drooped, he looked like he hadn't woken up at all, and the slag on his chin had obviously not been taken care of.

Seeing this, the thin monkey couldn't help but mutter.

"What, it's just a lazy man, and I think I'm Lao Xin's old friend. ”

After this person approached, Lao Xin said hello, and then enthusiastically introduced the two parties.

"My friend's surname is Wang, everyone can call him Lao Wang, come, Lao Wang, these are my friends in the yamen, this is a monkey, this is the sixth child, that is Ma Mian, those who do our job must not be called by their real names, you understand. ”

The lazy man smiled and nodded, "Yes, of course I do." ”

As he spoke, Lao Xin pointed to his side again, with a happy and satisfied smile on his face, and a hint of smugness to show off, and introduced to the visitor: "This is the insider, this is my son, with his mother's surname, called Li Qingchen, how is it, Lao Wang, how did you get this name?"

When Lao Wang heard this, he leaned down, stretched out his hand and touched the little boy's head, and then turned his head and teased: "Yes, yes, Lao Xin, at least in this matter, even if you win, I haven't married a wife yet, I didn't expect your children to be so old, but they don't look like you, hahahaha." ”

Lao Xin was not angry, the old friends reunited, teasing each other, but narrowed the distance that had been unfamiliar with time over the years, but said proudly: "The child looks like his mother, good-looking, if it really follows me, it will be a bad thing." ”

Lao Wang smiled: "Well, when I return to Beijing in a few days, I will also find a girl, give birth to a daughter, and when I grow up, I will come to Youzhou to take this child away." ”

Lao Xin glanced at him and snorted lightly: "It is said that the son follows the mother, the daughter follows the father, and looks like you, but I can't leave my family, not to mention that he has already made a marriage." ”

Lao Wang was suddenly surprised, the two sides were gossiping and chatting about family life, then turned around, climbed the stairs together, and began to climb the mountain, the little boy who was held by his mother occasionally turned back, Lao Wang squeezed his eyebrows and grimaced with him, the little boy was happy to see it, just eating and laughing, Lao Xin saw this, and sighed: "This child has always been afraid of life, but it seems to be quite close to you." ”

Lao Wang suddenly laughed proudly: "That is, I am in the capital but children like it, there is a little girl from the Western Regions, her hair is all golden, very cute, others can't do it, just get close to me." ”

When the thin monkey on the side saw it, he muttered unconvinced: "Hmph, what's the big deal, Xiao Qingchen will definitely be the closest to me in the future." ”

Everyone chatted and walked, and when they reached the top of the mountain, the morning mist finally dissipated, and as far as the eye could see, in the distant sky, a bright but unscorching rainbow light like egg yolk had driven away the last trace of night.

As soon as he raised his eyes, he saw the temple that was quite famous in the local area, and at the main gate there was a monk who seemed to be waiting for a pilgrim, with a hot scar on his head, tall and strong, stronger than the long-faced man, with a string of prayer beads hanging from his wrist, his hands folded, standing still in place, looking at everyone from afar, and the most surprising thing was that there was an obvious scar on his throat, and he was obviously a man with a story.

As soon as the monk spoke, his voice was hoarse and incomprehensible, as if two pieces of leather were rubbing against each other, and it seemed a little harsh on this quiet winter morning.

"Good morning, donors. ”

When the little boy saw this, he turned around and ran behind his mother to hide, looking at the tall monk's eyes, there was a trace of obvious fear, and the old king who followed closely behind saw this, immediately leaned down and asked very softly: "Xiao Qingchen, what's wrong?"

The little boy lowered his head, his voice was as small as a mosquito's cry, and he said in a milky voice: "He is so fierce." ”

Lao Wang stretched out his hand, touched the child's head, and said with relief: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, with Uncle Wang by your side, he doesn't dare." ”

Looking at this side again, Lao Xin had already stepped forward and greeted the monk familiarly.

"Master Veda, we are here to offer incense today, come, child, come and meet Master Veda. ”

The little boy was led by his mother, and reluctantly, he stepped forward cautiously, and his whole body was completely covered by the shadow of the tall monk, and he had just taken a step forward, but he immediately stepped back, and then ran behind the long-faced man and hid.

Seeing this, Lao Xin immediately frowned and said, "You kid, what's the matter, come, come quickly, the master will never harm you if he practices Buddhism." ”

The child's mother also gently took his little hand on the side and whispered comfortingly: "There are so many uncles next to you, don't be afraid, your father and mother are by your side, no one dares to bully you, come, good, child." ”

To put it mildly, the little boy finally mustered up his courage and slowly moved in front of the tall monk with a hoarse voice, but he still hung his head, as if he did not dare to raise his eyes to look at him.

The monk stretched out his hand, held the prayer beads, gently stroked the child's forehead, then folded his hands, closed his eyes and said: "This child is deeply blessed, and he will be a pillar of talent in the future. ”

When Lao Xin and his wife heard this, they quickly learned to fold their hands and salute sincerely: "Thank you for the master's words." ”

The long-faced man snorted lightly on the side, but did not speak, and the man who looked honest just smiled on the side, but did not go to talk to the monk, as for the thin monkey looking at the tall monk, he seemed to be impatient, and kept urging: "Let's go, let's go, don't block the door, go in quickly and burn incense, and I will buy sugar gourds for Xiao Qingchen to eat when I go back." ”