The sun has risen at this moment, but the sun is not very strong. As you breathe, you can still feel a little moist breath in the air. Chen Guhong took a deep breath with longing in his heart, and climbed up the lonely mountain.
This mountain is called Gushan, but it is not lonely.
The road on the mountain is narrow, rugged and winding, with old trees on both sides, big vines like dragons, and vast greenery rushing towards you. Nearby there were apes climbing trees and playing, the little monkey was not afraid of life when it saw Chen Guhong, it was very curious and barked. The old monkey showed vigilance when it saw Chen Guhong, and occasionally let out a long howl, as if it was threatening Chen Guhong not to mess with us.
Chen Guhong laughed, then raised his head to the sky, there was a group of birds chirping, flapping their wings and flying towards the sky.
There are apes, monkeys, birds, dragons and snakes, how can they be alone
"Huh!" Chen Guhong let out a foul breath, and he continued to go up the mountain. Although the road was rough, it could not stop him. A few ups and downs are ten feet, and I climbed the mountain in the blink of an eye.
The apes nearby all stared wide-eyed, some old monkeys even rubbed their eyes comically, as if they couldn't believe it, and after rubbing their eyes, Chen Guhong disappeared.
Halfway up the mountain, Chen Guhong heard singing.
"Ah, yo, ah, yo. The old woodcutter cuts down old trees, sells salaries and sells wine. Ah, yo, ah, yo, drink a sip of old wine, and it will be a year old again. Ooh, ooh."
The singing is loud and full of emotion. There is a woodcutter in the world, and the sense of time flies by. Chen Guhong turned his eyes and saw an old woodcutter walking down the mountain with wood on his back and a hatchet in his waist.
This old woodcutter has silver-white hair and is in his sixtieth year, but he has a childlike face, with compact and shiny skin, and white teeth in his mouth that do not appear to fall out. The body is as vigorous as an ape, and it goes down the mountain like flying.
I don't know if it's an illusion, but Chen Guhong only felt a fragrance of grass and trees blowing towards his face.
"This old woodcutter has such a good temperament." Chen Guhong was surprised, and he stepped forward to salute and said, "I don't know who has such a free and easy singing voice?"
"Scholar's husband?" The old woodcutter also saw Chen Guhong from a distance, and said in surprise. Seeing Chen Guhong salute again, he said with a smile: "One step is an honorary title, I, an old woodcutter, can't bear this title." Then he pointed to the Taoist temple behind him, and said with a smile: "In this temple, the Taoist priest of Kaiyang is my senior brother .”
Upon hearing this, Chen Guhong smiled and said, "Coincidentally, I'm about to go to the Seven Stars Temple and meet that Taoist Master Kaiyang."
This lonely mountain is full of poisonous insects and beasts, and there are few people. I seldom see pedestrians, let alone a scholar. And still see his senior brother.
A little surprise flashed in the eyes of the old woodcutter, but he did not lose his etiquette, bowed and said: "So it is a guest." After finishing speaking, he said to Chen Guhong: "I will lead the way, and the guests come by themselves."
As he spoke, the old woodcutter walked like flying and went up the mountain.
The old woodcutter didn't realize that when he went down the mountain, he went faster than he went down the mountain. Chen Guhong was surprised when he saw Geng, but he was also delighted.
As the saying goes, you can see the leopard in the tube.
Seeing the old woodcutter's temperament and ability, he knew that Taoist Master Kaiyang was really capable. The joy in Chen Guhong's heart became stronger and stronger, so he jumped to follow.
The two moved very fast one after the other, and they arrived in front of the Seven Stars Temple.
This is an old temple with a dilapidated plaque hanging on it. "Seven Stars Temple", the gate has been eroded by wind, rain and years, and it is very mottled. The old woodcutter came to the door and opened the gate, leading Chen Guhong in.
The inside of the temple is very narrow, with two rows of houses on the left and right. In the north is a temple. From a distance, you can see a god enshrined in the temple. The god is not like ordinary gods, but is majestic with a sword and armor. Standing beside him are two generals, neither of whom is ordinary. One has a tortoise armor on his chest, and the other a snake.
As soon as Chen Guhong saw it, he knew that this was Xuantian God, the well-known ancestor of true martial arts. And these two generals are the close generals of the patriarch and the second general of Xuan Snake.
It is not known whether it is true or not, it is just a legend. This true martial arts patriarch is a metamorphosis of Xuanwu. He is the most upright and jealous of evil in his life. He lives in the Heavenly Palace of No Desires in the sky and is responsible for destroying demons in the world.
It was unreasonable to come to the Taoist temple without offering incense, so Chen Guhong invited an old woodcutter to fetch incense, and burned a stick of incense in front of the statue of God Xuantian. After Chen Guhong offered incense, the old woodcutter led Chen Guhong to sit in the living room. He said, "Hold on a moment, my lord, I'll go and ask my brother to come out."
Chen Guhong said sorry, then sat down and waited. Not long after, I heard footsteps. Then a person walked in. This person was in his thirties, with a strange face, slightly thin but not delicate, looking very healthy and gentle, wearing a Taoist uniform, and holding a fly whisk in his hand.
This person's footsteps are very gentle, like walking in a courtyard. The expression on his face is very gentle, and the corners of his mouth are slightly raised, which seems to be content. A breath of refinement rushed over.
Seeing Chen Guhong, the man swept his whisk in the air and said, "Listen to what my senior brother said, Mr. Xiang is looking for me?"
old follow? Chen Guhong was taken aback for a moment, and then realized that it was the old woodcutter's name. But this Taoist leader is Kaiyang, and that junior brother is an old follower, very strange.
And that old man is in his sixties, but this Taoist priest is in his thirties. But one is a junior and the other is a senior.
Chen Guhong was stunned for a moment, but he did not lose his courtesy on his face. Standing up and bowing to each other, he said, "I'm Chen Guhong from Chengyang, who indeed came to see the Taoist priest." Then he asked doubtfully, "How about getting old?"
"He went down the mountain to sell firewood in exchange for wine, and when he got drunk and went crazy, I don't know how much he will be when he comes back." Taoist Master Kaiyang laughed. Then Daoist Kaiyang asked Chen Guhong to sit down, and sat down himself. Asked: "Why is Xianggong looking for me?"
"Does the Taoist remember Mrs. Zheng's family?" Chen Guhong said, and took out Mrs. Zheng's letter from his sleeve.
"Madam of the Zheng family?" Daoist Kaiyang was taken aback for a moment, as if he couldn't remember who was here. Then he took the letter and opened the envelope to look at it, showing a look of surprise, and said with a smile: "It turned out to be Mrs. Zheng Qian. I did meet once ten years ago."
Then Daoist Kaiyang said: "I already understand the purpose of Xianggong's visit. I will investigate the monster that may have killed Xianggong Zheng. But before that, I have a question to ask Xianggong."
"Excuse me, Taoist priest." Chen Guhong bowed.
At this moment, Chen Guhong placed the Kunwu sword on his right hand, with the point of the sword facing backwards and the hilt facing forward. This is the etiquette of using a sword, and the point of the sword cannot be pointed at others when meeting people.
Daoist Kaiyang glanced at Kunwu Sword, and asked: "Is the Kunwu Sword next to Xianggong?"
"Exactly."
This person is very strange, Chen Guhong is not surprised that this person recognizes Kunwu Sword, so he nodded.
"Who is Shui Ping, Xianggong?" Taoist Priest Kaiyang asked again.
"Friend." Chen Guhong replied.
"Friends? Those who can entrust the Kunwu sword are definitely not ordinary friends. Xianggong Zhen is also a best friend in the water." Kaiyang Daochang smiled, and then showed nostalgia on his face, and said: "Thirty years ago, the poor Dao Nian was eighty-six years old, and he was invited by Shui Qing, the old man of Shui Ping, to visit Shui's house, and Shui Ping was just a two- or three-year-old doll wearing crotch pants."
Then Taoist Kaiyang asked Chen Guhong: "It's just that I haven't heard about the Shui family for a long time, is that little baby already a world-renowned swordsman?"