Chapter 21 Returning Home

Chapter 21 Returning Home

Chapter 21 Returning Home
Taoist Master Zhenwei has been the abbot of Yulin Temple for more than 40 years. Some say that he is over 80 years old, some say he is over 90 years old, and some say he is over 100 years old.

The old abbot has white hair and beard, long eyebrows and white hair, and he looks like an immortal.

Everyone knows that the old master is approachable and has profound knowledge. However, no one knows that the old master actually came from the Three Pure Ones Mountain.

Eighty years ago, when the old abbot was in his teens, he passed the entrance test of the Sanqing Immortal Sect, successfully practiced breathing, and practiced in Xiaowan Mountain.

However, the old abbot was stuck in Pi Mansion all his life.

At that time, the old abbot registered at Toujian Mountain, determined to become a sword immortal and to open the Golden Palace, but he could never obtain the key to fine gold in his entire life.

At the age of 40, the old abbot finally accepted his fate and took the initiative to bid farewell to Sanqing Mountain, returning to the secular world with only a sword that he carried with him day and night, and chose to stay in Yulin Temple to worship Sanqing. After the previous abbot passed away, he stood out and succeeded as the new abbot.

On this day, the old abbot was standing alone in front of the Gexian Temple again. He looked at the statue of the immortal devoutly. His gaze seemed to pass through Gexian, through the temple wall, across the heavy clouds, and landed on the Sanqing Immortal Mountain.

"Boom!"

The sound of a heavy object falling to the ground caught the old master's attention, and it seemed to be mixed with people's cries of pain. At that moment, the old master's eyes were sharper than an eagle's, and seemed to reveal some of the old master's sharpness when he was young.

But in just a moment, the old master's face regained a amiable look, and even a hint of joy. Who dared to come to Sanqing Mountain to cause trouble? It must be someone coming out of the mountain gate again, and it was the first time. He must have fallen out of the water mirror. He didn't know that this kind of teleportation array had a height difference, and he didn't know that this array landed in a big tripod.

The old abbot walked into the Gexian Hall with a smile, and turned into the Danding side hall where few people usually came. At the back of the side hall, in a huge cauldron, he indeed saw a young Taoist priest.

The young man was sitting sprawled in the cauldron, wearing a lake blue outer robe with a mountain pattern on his chest and a Bagua pattern on his back. He was wearing a light peach inner garment, a purple scarf on his forehead, a red crown with a danzhu and a fire cloud hairpin on his head, a pair of white cloth shoes with cloud patterns on his feet, and a large bulging bag slung across his shoulder.

The old temple master narrowed his eyes and smiled. As expected, the Taoist robe looked better on young people.

After squinting his eyes and taking a closer look, the old abbot was delighted. He knew this young man very well. He was from Zhangxiang Town at the foot of the mountain, a well-known child prodigy. It was from here that he entered Mount Sanqing last year.

The old master stepped forward, helped the young man up, and said with a smile, "The cloud has returned."

When Yunqi saw that it was the old abbot, he naturally knew where he was. Seeing the abbot so calm, he thought that there must be many people who took this shortcut on weekdays.

He climbed out of the cauldron, straightened his robes, clasped his fists and bowed, smiling, "Greetings, Master."

The temple master pointed at the bag on Yunqi's body and asked, "Where are you going if you don't want to stay in the mountains?"

"I was planning to go out and travel, and before I leave, I wanted to come back and take a look."

The temple master said yes repeatedly and walked out with the cloud.

"You entered the mountains during the Grain Rain last year, and today is the Summer Solstice, so it has been more than a year."

Yunqi nodded, "Yes, more than a year."

"Which district of Xiaowanshan do you live in now, and which hill are you registered on?"

Yunqi was startled when he heard this, and looked at the old master in surprise. Then he understood. He heard Feng Jihu say that people who could not build a house in the mountain gate for a long time would either do an idle job in the mountain, such as sweeping and helping in the kitchen, or return to the secular world. With the skills learned in the mountains, it is not difficult to become a rich man. Some people became swordsmen, and some registered to worship the Three Pure Ones in the Taoist temple.

I think the master of the temple is the latter.

"I live in Qiansan District and am registered at Meiji Mountain."

The old abbot stroked his beard with his hand and said, "Meiji Mountain is incredible. It is the sect with the fewest disciples. They look very hard on one's aptitude and affinity when accepting disciples. It is a great opportunity for you to be able to enter Meiji Mountain."

Yunqi also nodded, "It really benefited a lot."

"I was registered at Toujian Mountain at that time."

Lao Guan took the initiative to speak.

Yunqi continued to speak along with the old master's words, "I have a good friend named Deng Wanchun, who is also registered at Toujian Mountain."

Yunqi couldn't help but smile knowingly when he thought of Deng Wanchun. This elder brother was really honest and sincere. Most of his sword skills were taught by him. Before leaving the sect, he heard that he had taken a fancy to the snails he had found and insisted on giving them to him. Yunqi had forced him to exchange them for talismans, which made him blush.

As expected, the old temple master wanted to talk about mountain dialect with others. He immediately asked, "Then which Taoist priest is this young friend Deng registered under?"

"It's Daoist Master Jianheng."

Yunqi glanced at the temple master's expression and added, "The Taoist priest Jianheng's secular name is Zeng Wenshan."

Yunqi was in the mountains, and he went to Toujian Mountain more often than to Meiji Mountain. On the lecture days in early every month, he always spent most of his time there, and he was very familiar with the people of Toujian Mountain.

“It’s Wenshan!”

The old master's eyes suddenly sparkled, "I know he can do it! He has accepted a disciple, so he must have opened up the Crimson Palace and entered the second realm."

Yunqi didn't say anything else.

The old master was sentimental for a moment, then looked at Yunqi again, "Have you ever practiced swordsmanship?"

Yunqi nodded, "I have tried it before, and I also like swordsmanship, but practicing swordsmanship is too energy-consuming and expensive. I haven't been eating Qi for long, and I'm short of money, so I usually focus on breathing and concentrating my mind."

The old abbot suddenly stopped and stared at the clouds.

Yunqi stopped and looked at the master of the temple who was staring at him. He was a little confused and wondered if he had said something wrong.

The master was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses, his old voice trembling slightly,
"Yes, yes! The art of swordsmanship is vast. I was obsessed with swordsmanship back then. I practiced swordsmanship day and night, but I forgot about the basics of breathing. At that time, I always thought about practicing swordsmanship today and refining qi tomorrow. But as time went by, I saw my fellow disciples opening up their own palaces one by one, but I was still obsessed with swordsmanship and never tired of it.

I remember one day, my fellow disciple used Qi to control the sword, which was fast and powerful, and hit far and wide, easily breaking my sword moves. I suddenly woke up and devoted myself to Qi training again, but at that time I was extremely anxious. The more anxious I was to train Qi, the less I could grasp the essence. One wrong step led to all the wrong steps. It's good that you understand this principle. You are really a good child."

Yunqi was silent, not knowing what to say. This is how Sanqing Mountain is. Before the establishment of the government, it is basically left alone. The general direction is pointed out to you, and the great principles are written in books. If you don't make progress or indulge in external things, no one can help you.

"Ha ha!"

The old master suddenly laughed again, "You said that practicing swordsmanship is expensive, which is true. At that time, I hung medicine for others, helped in the kitchen, carried water, and quarried stones. I don't know how many jobs I did. The money I earned was all exchanged for gold sharpening stones, which were all used to feed the sword."

Yunqi also laughed, "Sword cultivators are all poor, everyone knows that."

The master of the temple laughed loudly towards the sky.

Fortunately, it rained heavily today and there were not many pilgrims and tourists in the temple, otherwise they would be shocked to see the highly respected Taoist Master Zhenwei laughing like this.

But even so, some Taoist children who were passing by were curious about what happened to the temple master today, and when did the young Taoist with elegant temperament and luxurious clothes come?
"You have been smart and talented since you were young. I still remember that when you were a child, your father always brought you along when he came to play chess with me. At first, you just watched, but after watching a few games, you learned how to play chess. In less than a year, your chess skills were better than mine.

"I don't know how many times your father has told me that when you grow up, you should find someone to teach you. He is a Hanlin scholar and the co-governor of a prefecture. He has profound knowledge, but you let him teach you nothing. Now that you have reached this point, he should be the happiest. The six thousand years of Sanqing Mountain should be enough for you to teach me."

Yunqi nodded gently. Yes, if his father were here, he would be the happiest.

"Are you in a hurry to travel far this time?" asked the old abbot.

Yunqi shook his head. He was not in a hurry and thought it would be okay to stay in the town for a few more days.

"Then you can also take some time to come to the temple and sit there these days."

The master of the temple said very kindly.

Yunqi agreed. He thought that the master of the temple probably wanted to find someone to talk about what happened to him in the mountains that year. His own traveling was not that urgent, so it would be better for him to stay at home for a while.

The temple master was very happy and asked Yunqi if he wanted to stay in the temple for a while until the rain stopped.

Yunqi shook his head this time. In this rainy season, the rain could not be stopped once it started.

He borrowed an umbrella from the temple master. After all, he was back in the mortal world, and it would be too ostentatious to perform water-repelling magic in front of others.

----

After bidding farewell to the abbot, Yunqi walked out of Yulin Temple with an umbrella, set foot on the familiar south slope mountain road, walked across the stone bridge over Jinsha Creek, and soon returned to Zhangxiang Town.

The town was much the same as before, nothing had changed.

It was drizzling spring rain when I left, and it was drizzling summer rain when I came back.

It was raining so heavily that there was no one on the road.

The residents of this town make a living by making incense and renting and selling houses. Not many people farm. On rainy days, people stay at home. No one looks at the roads, and no one pays attention to the Taoist priest coming to the town. The last thing this town near Yulin Temple lacks is Taoist priests.

The clouds came to the Qingwa Lane, and the rain washed the green tiles clean, adding a touch of bright color to the gray rain curtain.

Standing at the entrance of the alley, he took a special look and saw that every house had a houseplate he left behind hanging on its door.

The sky was wet because of the rain. Yunqi's shoes could keep out dust but not water, so the soles of his shoes were also wet. He was not in a hurry to visit and planned to go back to his own yard first.

When he arrived at the door, the doorplate outside his house was also washed clean by the rain, but the words on it were still very clear.

It is:

The journey begins, and happiness and blessings come.

Yunqi smiled knowingly and pushed the door open.

The yard is very clean. After all four seasons, there are no fallen leaves or weeds on the ground. The few leaves that remain are still emerald green, and you can tell they were knocked down by the rain today. I guess it's because the neighbors come to clean it from time to time.

He pushed open the door again, and the furnishings inside were still the same as before, as if he had never left.

The young man walked into the hall, put down his package, and looked at the bedroom, kitchen, and incense room. His eyes fell on the ground, on the table and chairs, on the mirror, on the cabinet, and on the window.

The tables and chairs in the hall are all clean, but it is difficult for the neighbors to come and clean frequently. It is difficult for them to enter the rooms, so a lot of dust has accumulated in the rooms.

Probably to prevent dust, the windows were all closed and never opened. It was raining outside and the room was very dark.

Yunqi opened the window to let in light and wind, and then performed the Dust-Repelling Spell. This small spell consumed very little mana. Yunqi was also thinking of drawing a few Dust-Repelling Talismans and sticking them at home permanently.

Yunqi was about to make the bed when he heard shouting from outside the yard.
"Where did this thief come from! This is the yard of the Cheng family immortal, how dare you come and steal!"

"I'm going to stop you today and break your dog legs!"

"Catch the thief, come and do the thief!"

A dozen men and women rushed in with kitchen knives, laundry pestles, chisels, and carrying poles in their hands. Hearing the noise, Yunqi rushed out of the room and ran into the two groups at the door of the hall.

"Uncles and aunts, what are you doing?"

Yunqi had already guessed it and asked with a smile.

A dozen or so grinning men and women froze where they were when they saw the man, and didn't react when they heard Yunqi talking.

Looking at the well-dressed young Taoist priest, one of the women was the first to react. She dropped her kitchen knife and hugged Yunqi, "Yun'er is back!"

There was a loud bang and everyone dropped what they were holding.

Three or four women surrounded Yunqi, pinching her left and right, touching her up and down, muttering that she had become thinner.

Sanqing, Cheng Yunqi did not just swallow wind and drink dew in Sanqing Mountain, he also took all the necessary food and medicine, except for a few days of white cakes when he just entered the sect because he had no money, he never ate it again after that. The reason why he has not saved a few coppers until now is closely related to his greed for tonic. In addition, he practiced exercises every day, and sometimes practiced boxing and sword dance, so he has a body of lean muscles, how can he lose weight?

Several men stood there, rubbing their hands dryly and repeating, "It's good to be back!"

A man muttered and tugged at his wife, "Slow down, slow down, the young master is now a god."

As soon as these words were spoken, the originally lively scene suddenly became quiet. An aunt who was still touching Yunqi's face immediately stopped her hand and retracted it like lightning.

Yunqi laughed loudly, "Auntie, you only see that I have lost weight, but you don't see that I have grown taller. Uncle Wang, let's compare the two."

The man Yunqi called Uncle Wang was the one who had just spoken. Yunqi came up behind him, pressed his back against his, straightened his chest, and asked, "Uncles and aunts, who is taller, me or Uncle Wang?"

Aunt Wang glared at the cowering man and slapped him on the chest, "That's good!"

The man scratched his head, grinned, and quickly straightened his back.

The man was strong and sturdy, over six feet tall, while Yunqi was a little less than six feet tall, slightly shorter than the man.

The woman stood on tiptoe and pushed the man's hat down hard. She also counted the beads on the cloud hair crown, looked at it with satisfaction, and then announced her judgment loudly:

"The clouds are higher!"

Everyone around nodded in agreement, and the sturdy man also nodded with a smile, "The young master is taller."

But he never mentioned the words of the gods again.

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(End of this chapter)