After Wang Gu'an carried the basket on his back and went ashore, he walked towards the back of the green ox. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but the boy felt that the water level of the stream seemed to have dropped a little.
When he approached the green stone cliff, he suddenly stopped because he clearly saw many people standing there, and each of their faces was almost visible. The reason for this was not because of the bright stars, but because there was a snow-white elk standing on the back of the green ox. The whole body was crystal clear, and it glowed with strands of white light, like the water grass swaying with the water in the stream.
The white deer lowered its head, and a little girl in a red cotton jacket stood on her heels and reached out to touch its antlers.
Outside were two young men and women in Taoist robes. I don't know if it was because of the light from the white deer, but the skin of the man and woman was whiter than snow and crystal clear. For example, if the people in the town were natives made of mud, then these two foreign Taoists were exquisite porcelains made by firing. There was really a world of difference.
The style of the Taoist robes of the man and woman was somewhat similar to that of Taoist Master Lu who was setting up a fortune-telling stall, but there were many differences in details. The Taoist hat was the most different. Taoist Master Lu wore a lotus crown, while the Taoist hats on the heads of these two people were shaped like fish tails.
The boy in straw sandals looked at them in a daze, and felt that the man and woman standing next to the white deer were like characters walking out of the immortal portrait, as if they would float up and fly away in the next moment, picking stars and moons at their fingertips.
The other two stood a little further away. One of them was recognized by Wang Gu'an. She was the daughter of the swordsmith Master Ruan. The girl in green did not bring a package full of food this time. She held a small embroidered handkerchief in one hand, with only a few exquisite and lovely cakes. The girl lowered her head and looked very hesitant, not knowing which food to start with. The person next to her was about thirty years old, carrying a long sword on his back and a strange ornament hanging from his waist.
When Wang Gu'an saw them, almost everyone noticed the sudden appearance of the young man in straw sandals. The young Taoist nun was a little surprised, so she bent down and rubbed the head of the little girl in the red cotton jacket, pointing in the direction of Wang Gu'an and whispering. The little girl pricked up her ears to listen to the fairy sister's questions, opened her eyes wide, looked at him, and after vaguely recognizing Wang Gu'an's appearance, she began to pour out beans, probably explaining Wang Gu'an's identity to the fairy sister, the owner of the white deer.
At this moment, Wang Gu'an also recognized the eight or nine-year-old girl. The first time they met was before he went to Longyao to burn porcelain. He once met a little girl with pigtails in Nipingxiang. She was very young, but she ran very fast, holding a kite in her hand. Her two slender legs like thin bamboo poles ran like the wind, which made Wang Gu'an particularly memorable. Later, he saw her several times. One time, the little girl was lying on the well mouth and secretly threw stones into it. Wang Gu'an accidentally saw her naughty behavior. The little girl was scared and ran away. After running a dozen steps, she remembered that the candied haws fell on the well mouth. She couldn't bear the craving, so she ran back to the well. This time, she was too hasty, and she fell to the ground with a thud. After standing up, she grabbed the candied haws, then suddenly stopped, opened her mouth, reached out to pull out the shaky tooth, and put it in her pocket. She didn't cry or make a fuss, and continued to run without saying a word.
Wang Gu'an was sweating coldly when he saw that scene. The last time I saw her was in the ruined place with overgrown grass and statues. It was an evening last autumn. Wang Gu'an left Longyao and returned to the town. He wandered around and saw her busy catching crickets. She rolled, jumped, and flew around in the grass. When she saw Wang Gu'an, she obviously recognized Wang Gu'an and fled away in another breeze.
Later, Wang Gu'an heard Gu Can say that this little sister who was dirty all day long, although she looked like a wild girl without anyone to supervise her, was actually from the Li family of Fulu Street, and she was not a servant. But for some reason, she just liked to wander around alone, and her family didn't care. When Gu Can talked about her at last, he was full of pride and contempt, saying that although she ran fast, she was stupid. Once they happened to catch fish in the stream together, and the idiot was busy all afternoon, but only caught a crab, and didn't catch a slab fish. And the reason why she was able to catch that big crab was because the crab's claws clamped her fingers hard. Gu Can said this in Wang Gu'an's room, and rolled on the small wooden bed with his hands on his stomach, saying that she was really stupid, and even deliberately raised her hands to show off to him, as if catching a crab was so great, but the key point was that she was obviously almost crying because of the crab's claws.
The handsome young Taoist glanced at the white deer and smiled at the young nun: "Senior Sister He, I told you to be careful and not to spoil it too much. It's only less than ten days, and it's just a trick, and it doesn't hinder its freedom. You just didn't listen. Now you are caught by ordinary people, what should you do?"
After listening to the little girl's introduction, the Taoist nun with a stunning appearance smiled and said: "Let it be."
The young Taoist frowned and looked up again. After a glance, he looked at him carefully for a moment. He really couldn't see what was so good about the straw sandal boy carrying the basket. Although their sect's ability to read faces and find dragon points was not the best in the whole continent, they were quite good at it. Since this Taoist could come here on behalf of the sect to retrieve the lucky charm, he was also responsible for bringing the treasure of the mountain back safely and presenting it to the sect in the future. Of course, he was not an ordinary person. So when he didn't see that the boy had too many strange things, he didn't want to recruit him into the mountain gate. The young Taoist was good at reading faces and didn't think he would make a mistake.
The sect they belonged to was one of the three Taoist sects in Dongbaopingzhou, and it was the first sect of the Taoist tradition in the whole continent, which was extremely noble. He and Senior Sister He went out together this time. As a reward, each of them had a precious quota to recruit a true disciple for the sect, and this disciple would be accepted as an apprentice by each of them at the same time. So he didn't want to squander it casually, and had to treat it with caution.
Everyone in the sect knew that Senior Sister He had re-cultivated her mind, so the casual words of "let it be" were most likely the idea of accepting a disciple.
He and He Xiaoliang were known as the golden boy and jade girl of Dongbaopingzhou, the proud daughters of the Taoists of the continent. They were the kings of the world. When they met them, they had to treat them with courtesy, and the etiquette was not inferior to that of the great kings.
Because they were the most promising cultivation geniuses in the continent who were most likely to enter the upper five realms.
When the young Taoist nun took the little girl's hand and walked down the green ox together, the spiritual white deer followed behind. Not only was the young Taoist who was a fellow disciple felt incredible, but the military giant who wore a tiger talisman on his waist and carried a long sword also showed surprise.
When he saw the young Taoist nun slowly approaching, Wang Gu'an was a little overwhelmed. The young man really didn't want to deal with these gods from other places.
Because Wang Gu'an knew that their simple likes and dislikes would determine his life and death, honor and disgrace.
And Wang Gu'an knew that his luck had never been very good, so he was even more afraid of provoking them.
But Wang Gu'an would not flee because of this. On the contrary, he symbolically walked forward for a distance, so that he would be decent in the eyes of others.
The white deer slightly quickened its pace, trotted over, walked around the straw sandal boy, and finally lowered its head and took the initiative to rub against the poor boy.
The white deer returned to its owner, and she gently touched its back, and the next moment it turned into a horse.
Calling a deer a horse.
The young Taoist nun looked at Wang Gu'an, sighed slightly, smiled and said something, then looked down at the little girl in a red cotton jacket.
The little girl interpreted it in the dialect of the small town, and said timidly: "Sister He said, 'You are a person who cherishes blessings, but it's a pity that we are not destined to be Taoist friends.'"
The boy was speechless because he didn't know what to say without being rude.
Carrying a basket on his back, wearing straw sandals, and rolling up his trouser legs, the boy looked particularly funny.
The Taoist nun smiled and asked: "Do you also know the wonderful uses of these stones? Wang Gu'an, don't worry, I just asked casually."
The little girl copied the explanation, speaking quickly and crisply.
Wang Gu'an hesitated for a moment, nodded and said: "A Taoist priest reminded me that I can often come to the creek to pick up stones and catch fish."
Even though Wang Gu'an had a good impression of this young female crown, he was cautious and didn't even reveal the surname of Taoist priest Lu. And the person who really leaked the secret and pointed out that the snake gallstone was valuable was Ning He.
The nun smiled and said, "You also know our Junior Master Lu?"
Wang Gu'an was stunned.
The nun smiled knowingly and explained roughly, "Junior Master Lu, strictly speaking, is not from the same clan as us, but Taoist Master Lu visited our sect many years ago and became friends with one of our uncles. They stayed together for many years, and we, the younger generation, are familiar with him, so we are naturally used to calling him 'Junior Master'."
Wang Gu'an grinned and completely lost his guard.
The straw sandal boy was grateful to Taoist Master Lu and would never forget it in his life.
He remembered something, bent down and put down the basket, picked up one of the stones that he had fallen in love with at first sight, as big as an egg, green and clear as ice, very different from other snake gallstones, handed it to the elegant young nun, and asked: "Master, if you see Master Lu in the future, can you help me give this stone to him?"
After listening to the little girl's explanation, she thought for a while, took the stone, and said slowly: "Before coming here, I happened to meet my junior uncle who left. He is going to Nanjian Country to participate in an important ceremony of a Taoist sect. It's hard to say when we will meet next time, but as long as I see Junior Uncle Lu, I will definitely help you pass it to him."
Wang Gu'an listened to the little girl's words, smiled brightly, and bowed to thank the young nun who had a very good impression.
For the good or bad of strangers, the boy always believes in his intuition.
Like Fu Nanhua Cai Jinjian, and like Master Lu and Miss Ning.
Wang Gu'an took out another snake gallstone and handed it to her again.
This Taoist nun, who is known as the "first in opportunity" among the younger generation of Dongbaopingzhou, did not refuse. She accepted it with a smile and did not forget to thank him.
The little girl in the red cotton jacket twisted the corner of her clothes with both hands and whispered, "I want one too."
Wang Gu'an smiled and turned around to pick stones from the basket for the little girl.
The little girl ran to him and said carefully, "I want a bigger one, okay?"
Wang Gu'an smiled and said, "As long as you can move it, I will give you the biggest one. But it's not close from here to the town and then to my home. And I think the big ones in the basket are not as good as the small ones."
She thought about it and put her hands on the edge of the basket, "Okay, then I'll pick a small, beautiful one."
Wang Gu'an picked a small lotus pink stone for her, which was moist and cute. The little girl held it in her palm and was very satisfied.
She suddenly tilted her head, grinned, pointed to her teeth, and then smiled at Wang Gu'an with a proud face.
I guess she was showing off that her teeth had grown again.
Wang Gu'an said happily: "Next time, let's go catch crickets together."
The little girl's eyes lit up, but soon dimmed, and she nodded with a forced smile.
Wang Gu'an carried the basket on his back, said goodbye to the young nun and left, waved to the little girl, and trotted back to the town alone.
Although she was also a fairy, the gold content of this young nun was far beyond the reach of Cai Jinjian from Yunxia Mountain. It was almost the equivalent of the fairy's gold to the secular gold.
She brought the little girl and the white deer back to Qingniubei. The young Taoist took his eyes off the back of the straw sandal boy and made a final judgment: "If the fate is shallow, the blessing is thin, and it is naturally not worth using."
There are countless Taoist sects in Dongbaopingzhou. Every thirty years, a pair of "golden boy and jade girl" will be selected. He and his senior sister He Xiaoliang are the natural Taoist partners of this session, but a surprising thing happened. The qualification of the golden boy is not inferior to the past, but the opportunity of the jade girl is so good that it is outrageous. When she was born, a white deer, one of the auspicious signs, took the initiative to walk out of the mountains and swamps and came to her side to recognize her master. After that, she set foot on the road of cultivation. It seems that there has been no setbacks and it has been smooth sailing all the way. Some people even claim that she will only encounter the first bottleneck after she enters the fifth realm.
She did not comment on the contempt of her junior brother for the straw sandal boy and just laughed it off.
At this time, a short boy came from the deep pool under the covered bridge to the puddle under the back of the blue ox, holding only a piece of snake gallstone in his hand. He was shining brightly in the night like the white deer before.
The dull boy held the stone and stood on a stone exposed above the water, like an immortal standing upright, holding a pocket-sized full moon.
The two big green and red fish raised by the young Taoist did not enter the water, but swam slowly on the stream.
If Wang Gu'an saw this boy, he would know that he was the grandson of Granny Ma in Xinghua Lane.
The boy was mentally retarded since childhood and was disliked by his parents at a very young age. Granny Ma took care of her grandson by herself. The boy was not sociable and often climbed to the roof alone to look at the clouds.
From childhood to adulthood, the boy with the surname Ma who followed Granny Ma was bullied to the end. She felt that stepping on him was disgusting and dirtying her shoes. This poor child seemed to have only smiled at Shi Hui, the maid in Niping Lane.
That's why Granny Ma hated the maid so much, thinking that she was a shameless vixen who must have seduced her precious grandson.
The young nun walked to the man with a long sword and asked, "Is there really no room for maneuver regarding Ma Kuxuan?"
The man said in a cold tone, "If your junior master really wants to take this child as a founding disciple, why doesn't he come himself? No matter how famous he is, what's the point of giving him the child? He hasn't fought with me before, so why should I give him the child? If he's not convinced, come to Zhenwu Mountain to find me. If he wins, let him take the child away."
The young Taoist smiled and said, "It's nothing more than making our junior master run an extra trip. Why bother?"
There was a needle hidden in a cotton ball.
The man with a sword and a talisman narrowed his eyes, "Oh?"
The young nun was a little depressed. She glanced at her fellow junior brother. The young Taoist laughed and didn't confront the man. He looked up and said, "The moonlight is so beautiful today."
She was a little helpless.
As long as it involves the junior uncle of her own sect, not to mention her and her junior brother, I am afraid that all the young Taoists in the continent will be proud of it.
On the other side of the corridor bridge, under the steps, stood a barefoot monk with a square face and a tough and resolute look.
The ascetic monk did not look up at the golden plaque, but looked at the ground where Ye Dan had placed the incense before, clasped his hands together, bowed his head and said compassionately: "Amitabha."
The short boy went ashore and came to the back of the green ox. He looked at the two young Taoists who were floating in the air, and then looked at the serious man with a sword on his back. Finally, he stared at the latter who was about to hang the tiger talisman, and gritted his teeth and said: "I don't want to learn the way of immortality. Can you teach me how to kill?!"
The man smiled proudly: "I am a military sword cultivator. Since ancient times, I have been the world's number one killer!"
The young Taoist returned the favor and smiled: "Oh?"
The young nun shook her head, knowing that the overall situation was decided, and felt guilty for failing the trust of her junior master.
For a while, on the back of the green ox by the stream, the atmosphere was tense and heavy.
The little girl in the red cotton-padded jacket of the Li family quickly hid behind the fairy sister.
The girl in green had just finished the last piece of cake and was in a bad mood. She said unhappily, "If you have the guts, go fight my father!"
The man who had a close relationship with the girl and her father no longer had a stern face and smiled, "How?"
The young Taoist joked, "Ruan Xiu, this is a bit bullying. Your father is the next saint who will succeed Mr. Liu, just like the master of this world."
The girl in green curled her lips and said nothing.
The monk walked slowly and climbed on the back of the green ox.
The young nun said, "Your Buddhist Leiyin Pagoda, our Taoist Tianshi Seal, plus a small sword tomb of the military, and of course the mountain jade plaque of the Confucianism. These four lucky charms left by the first four saints, not to mention the intrigues within the Confucianism, just say that the three of us, this time each took it back, although it is legitimate, but if we really don't say hello to Mr. Liu, isn't it inappropriate?"
The monk said nothing.
The young Taoist said worriedly, "It's a bit unkind, but it's hard to disobey the order from above, so you better not add unnecessary trouble, Senior Sister."
The military strategist sneered, "I'm not here to get close to anyone."
————
In the town, Wang Gu'an returned to the alley where Ji Chenru's house was, and saw Mr. Liu standing at the door.
The young man ran over quickly. Before he could ask, Liu Chunshui handed him two private seals and said with a smile: "Wang Gu'an, I'm not giving them to you for free. I have something to ask for. If Shanya Academy is in trouble in the future, I hope you can help as much as you can. Of course, you don't have to deliberately inquire about the news of the academy."
The young man only said one word, "Okay!"
Liu Chunshui nodded and said earnestly: "Remember what I told you before, 'A gentleman will not save', that is my sincere words, not to test people's hearts."
The young man grinned, "Sir, I can't guarantee this."
Liu Chunshui hesitated to say something, and finally said nothing and was about to leave.
He originally wanted to say that if Shanya Academy really had a big problem in the future, Wang Gu'an, you would feel regretful, and you don't need to feel guilty. Just think that you didn't see or hear anything, and don't do it deliberately.
But Liu Chunshui didn't know why, deep in his heart, he just had a little bit of luck in his heart, and even he himself couldn't figure it out.
After thinking about it, the owner of the Shanya Academy could only come up with one answer. It turned out that it was because of the young man in front of him, whose surname was Wang and whose name was Gu'an. He seemed to be different from everyone else.
It was extremely difficult for you to entrust him with a task, even if you knew that the young man could not do it in the end, but you could be sure of one thing, that as long as he agreed, he would definitely do it, and if he could not do it with 100% strength, he would be willing to grit his teeth and use 120% strength.
This was something that made people feel at ease.
This was something that Liu Chunshui had been seeking for many years but could not get. This scholar who took the initiative to ask to be exiled here originally felt that the world was a foreign land.
When Liu Chunshui was about to turn around, the young man, who was still carrying a basket, hurriedly bowed and saluted with great effort.
In the alley, the Confucian sage returned the young man's salute in a serious manner.