In the deep end of the backyard of the Guocheng Temple, the tranquil meditation room was covered by the winter snow. There was a small clay stove in the room, and the yams were being cooked in the pot, giving off a faint aroma.
Sitting on the bed, Zen Master was reading a book by the light of the oil lamp.
He held two books in his hands: one was the collection of poems by the late emperor, and the other was the menu of the Half Garden.
It was unclear how he could read two books with different contents at the same time, and why he needed the light to illuminate the room.
Zen Master suddenly sensed something and lifted his head to look at the oil lamp.
In the next moment, the oil lamp, which had been perfectly cut and was neither too short nor too long, suddenly burst out with a faint spark.
Though the flower was faint, it was still beautiful and moving.
"A fairy scattering the flower?"
Zen Master had a slightly changed mood, wondering if a senior master had come out from the pagoda forest to explain the scripts to his disciples.
He had a very high status in the Zen sects. Only a few monks in the seventy-two ancient temples in Chaotian were qualified to be his senior master, to say nothing of the Guocheng Temple.
He suddenly thought of the letter written by Zhao Layue, and sensed that it should be in the direction of the vegetable garden. With a slight change of expression, he summoned Monk Duhai to the meditation room.
Besides him, Monk Duhai, the Principal Justice, was the only one in the Guocheng Temple who knew the background of Liu Shisui.
"You go to the vegetable garden and have a look yourself …"
Zen Master said after some thought, "Don't disturb that little guy."
…
…
As Liu Shisui walked out of the room, he saw Xiao He standing in the cold wind in a thin coat, staring blankly at the pile of cabbages in the corner. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Seeing him wake up, Xiao He said uneasily, "Yin Fu hasn't come to fetch the vegetables for three days."
Liu Shisui was startled slightly, asking, "How many days have I been in the trance?"
"Three days," Xiao He replied.
For the highly achieved monks of the Zen sects, it was normal for them to be in the trance for a long time or a short time.
Liu Shisui fell silent.
A few days ago, all his attention was on comprehending the scriptures, so he didn't pay attention to many things. Now that he thought about it, he naturally knew that something was wrong.
Even if this was the Guocheng Temple, it was impossible for the servants in the kitchen to have such profound knowledge of Buddhism.
Yin Fu naturally couldn't be a real odd-job worker, so who exactly was he?
"When I was young, I often listened to the stories of the Buddhist scriptures with my grandmother. In those stories, there were often eminent monks who turned into old women to enlighten the lost people."
Xiao He said with some uncertainty, "Could that person … be an eminent monk in the temple?"
Liu Shisui had also read many similar Buddhist stories. He thought that if this was really the case, then Zen Master treated him too well. He was very touched.
To prove this, he left the vegetable garden and went to the temple.
The front yard of the Guocheng Temple often interacted with the human world, so visitors were not forbidden. Moreover, the receptionist monk knew that he was a farmer in the vegetable garden, so he did not stop him.
Liu Shisui passed through many halls and came to the kitchen. He found that the usually bustling place was especially deserted today. He murmured, "What's going on?"
A fat monk who was sweeping the floor said, "Today is the New Year."
Liu Shisui was slightly startled and asked, "Big monks also celebrate the New Year?"
The fat monk said angrily, "Of course we don't, but those kitchen helpers are celebrating the New Year!"
The sound of firecrackers could be faintly heard in the distance outside the temple. Those tenant workers were probably drinking.
Liu Shisui thought that he and Xiao He had misunderstood. Yin Fu was only going back to celebrate the New Year, so he asked.
The fat monk was about to drive him away with a broom and said, "Go away! We don't have such a person here. Why are you playing with me? "
Liu Shisui thought that was true.
Thinking of the eminent monks of the Guocheng Temple who had secretly taken care of him, he naturally wouldn't be angry at the fat monk's rudeness. He said with a smile, "Master, don't be angry."
The fat monk said angrily, "Butcher Zhang is dead, and you still have pork to eat, but what about us? We can only eat the leftover steamed buns from last night! How can we not be sad? "
…
…
Returning to the vegetable garden, Liu Shisui was about to tell Xiao He that it was the New Year and that they should make something delicious, but he found that she had already prepared the dishes.
One was the lightest boiled vegetable leaves, without even a drop of soy sauce. There was only a small plate of fragrant and spicy fermented bean curd on the side.
There was a big bowl of the greasy braised pork trotters, which should have been mixed with the best soy sauce. The sugar was also cooked well, and the color was perfect. It must be even more delicious.
There was also a pot of pickled cabbage mutton and vermicelli soup, which was yellow and white.
The most beautiful dish was the shredded pork tripe in chili oil, sprinkled with dozens of chopped green onions, which looked very tempting.
Liu Shisui liked eating green onions very much, but his favorite was tofu mixed with shallots.
Cultivators preferred bland food.
His Young Master didn't tell him this. He learned it secretly.
Before living with him, Xiao He was already a meal buddy, so she naturally knew his preferences. Seeing him sit directly in front of the tofu, she wasn't disappointed. She carefully rolled up her sleeves and was about to use her hand to pick up the whole pork trotter in the bowl and eat it to her heart's content.
Liu Shisui signaled her to wait for a while, and then he turned around and entered the kitchen.
Xiao He was a little surprised. She didn't know whether she should put down her hands or just wait.
A moment later, Liu Shisui walked out of the kitchen. He put two sets of bowls and chopsticks on the table, picked up the wine pot, and filled two small cups.
Xiao He understood what he meant. She hurriedly helped him put the chopsticks in order, and then asked if they wanted to scoop rice.
Liu Shisui said that they should drink a few cups before eating.
Xiao He agreed. She purposely made her voice sound more crisp and sweet, trying to make him feel better.
Then they started to eat and drink. Liu Shisui and Xiao He put food into the two bowls from time to time.
After a few times, Xiao He finally couldn't help but ask, "I know this must be Teacher Yan, but this one …"
Liu Shisui said, "He is Xiwang Sun."
The atmosphere suddenly became a little gloomy.
The two continued to eat with their heads lowered.
The room was quiet for a long time.
They didn't know whether Teacher Yan and Xiwang Sun had eaten these dishes or not.
Xiao He ate delicately. She didn't even use her hands to hold the pork trotters, but poked them slowly with the chopsticks.
The atmosphere was a little gloomy, not like the New Year at all.
She raised her head and looked at Liu Shisui, thinking about what to say to make him happy.
Every New Year, people would miss their loved ones.
In Xiao He's view, Liu Shisui should miss Jing Jiu a little, so she said deliberately, "I wonder how the Shenmo Peak is today."
"Hmm … Young Master doesn't celebrate the New Year."
Liu Shisui remembered clearly that when they celebrated the New Year in the village, Jing Jiu felt that everything was very novel.
Obviously, that was the first time he had experienced this kind of thing.
He seldom thought about Jing Jiu, because Jing Jiu must be living a good life. Similarly, he didn't worry about his parents, who had always been in good health and enjoyed a good meal.
The firecrackers in the distance rang out again, and the night fell.
Liu Shisui thought of the highly achieved swordsman named Yin Fu and suddenly missed him, not knowing when they would meet again.
…
…
In the most remote place of the Justice Hall of the Guocheng Temple, there was a meditation room called White Mountain.
Yin San and the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect were sitting on futons in monk robes, listening to the firecrackers outside the temple. They looked at each other, both feeling bored.
For some reason, they didn't leave the Guocheng Temple, but hid here disguised as monks of the temple.
"You were almost discovered teaching him the Scriptures. Immortal, why did you do this?"
The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect said while looking at him.
Yin San smiled but didn't explain anything.
He had been a good teacher all his life.
He was the most outstanding teacher in the Cultivation world. He had taught three people in the Heavenly Arrival State, but they had all betrayed him.
He hadn't taught anyone for many years, so he couldn't help but miss them. Once again, his reason was defeated by his sensibility, which led to the Scriptures he had been preaching these days.
Maybe this was the Lucky Chance between him and Liu Shisui.
It was a pity that the Scripture that Liu Shisui learned was about emptiness, while he wanted to learn about life and death.
There was a black bronze Buddha statue in the White Mountain room, holding various magic tools in its hands, exuding a solemn and formidable aura.
An ordinary person would naturally feel reverence when looking at this Buddha statue, but Yin San and the Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect didn't feel that way.
There were no offerings in front of the Buddha statue, only three bowls filled with clear water.
The bowls were made of some kind of skull inlaid with silver, exuding a mysterious smell.
As the night deepened, the firecrackers were heard again, followed by the distant tolling of a bell.
The Guocheng Temple didn't celebrate the New Year, but the monks rang the bell every day, announcing the arrival of the New Year.
Yin San opened his eyes, stood up, and walked to the Buddha statue.
The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect followed him.
The bell tolled without end.
It was the sound of time.
Yin San said sentimentally, "Time passes so quickly."
The Great Grandmaster of the Mysterious Dark Sect said sorrowfully, "That's why we don't give up day and night."
Yin San said, "We must enjoy ourselves to the fullest."
Having said that, he picked up the bowl of water and drank it all in one gulp.
The water splashed and wet his clothes.
Like wine.
…
…
(There were two sentences in the Book of Choosing Heaven, with similar meanings. They were said by Qiushan Jun and Chen Changsheng.
The words "Not giving up day and night" have been my QQ signature for the past few years.
I've been thinking about certain things for the past two years, even though I know that Sang Sang was laughing at the time.
Qiushan and Changsheng are both young, but Yin San is old.
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