Qin Zizhou didn't quite understand the cryptic conversation between Ji Yuan and Lao Long, but he could tell from their words that these two bigwigs in the cultivation world had already arranged a way out for themselves.
After Lao Long finished joking, he turned and looked at Qin Zizhou.
"Fellow Daoist Qin must have some doubts. We will know once we go to Bingzhou together."
After saying this, the old dragon immediately used the art of flying, riding the cloud and pulling Ji Yuan and Qin Zizhou into the air.
. . .
Some time passed after the cockcrowed, and dawn arrived in Deyuan County.
As the sky brightened, the Qin family members got up one after another.
Qin Yan's dream lasted until dawn. In the dream, he was pounding and packing medicine in the big pharmacy, helping the shop assistants to sort the herbs or move them to the backyard to dry. However, after his father gave those instructions and told Qin Yan that he was leaving, he never appeared again.
In his dream, Qin Yan thought that his father was asked to go on a long journey to another place to see a doctor, or that he was preparing to go up the mountain to collect herbs.
"My husband, my husband!"
An old woman called Qin Yan a few times beside his bed, and Qin Yan woke up suddenly. He looked up and down and found that it was his room.
"Husband, it's time to get up. We need to clean up the funeral hall and open the shop."
"Oh...Okay, I'll get up right away!"
Qin Yan responded in a daze, sat up and put on his clothes, thinking about yesterday's dream. However, he didn't talk about it yet, because there is a saying in his hometown: "Don't talk about dreams without eating breakfast."
The weather was not that cold, so they got up very quickly. The Qin family came to the hall to clean up the food that had been prepared last night, and some dishes were taken to the kitchen to be made into porridge in the morning.
"Ah! This tofu... Could it be that Dad really came last night?"
As Qin Yan approached the lobby, he heard his sister screaming and hurried over to see what was going on.
"Brother, come and see."
My wife and sister were probably preparing to pack up, and my sister, who was in her sixties, was now pointing at a dish on the table, which was the bowl of steamed tofu with moldy amaranth.
The tofu was a whole piece cut into four pieces, with eight pieces of moldy amaranth placed on top. Now one of the pieces was missing, and the other three pieces of tofu were neatly placed on the table with two amaranth stems that had been sucked clean.
Qin Zizhou loves this dish, but usually only eats one piece of tofu and leaves the rest for his family. He also likes to use the soup to pour over rice after his family has finished eating the tofu.
"This...could it be that a thief broke in last night?"
Qin Yan's wife felt uneasy and said this subconsciously.
"No, if there was a thief, they wouldn't just eat this. Wouldn't the fish and meat nearby taste better than this? Besides, on a day like last night, if there was a thief, he would have climbed over the wall and left immediately after seeing this!"
In this era of widespread superstition, if a thief broke in and saw the funeral hall being set up and food being prepared in the middle of the night, he would definitely be frightened and would rather steal at a happy occasion than at a funeral.
As Qin Yan's children and grandchildren arrived one after another, the lobby was finally cleaned up.
While having breakfast, Qin Yan told everyone about his dream. Everyone in the Qin family thought that this was old man Qin's farewell before going to the underworld.
But in fact, Qin Zizhou had already arrived at Yunshan Mountain in Changchuan Prefecture, Bingzhou. Because of the time difference in light and time, he was enjoying the beautiful sunrise of Yunshan Mountain with Ji Yuan and Lao Long.
The three of them stand on the top of the clouds, blending into the sea of clouds in the mountains. Although they stand above the clouds, they feel like they are stepping on the waves. At this moment, they watch the morning sun rising above the clouds together.
"Is this the first time that Fellow Daoist Qin has seen the sun rising over the clouds?"
Lao Long asked with a smile.
Qin Zizhou is quite straightforward.
"Not really. Before I was eighty years old, I could still go up the mountain to collect herbs by myself. I also went to some high peaks and saw similar scenery several times. Of course, if what Lord Long is talking about is standing on the clouds to watch the sun rise, that is indeed the first time."
"That's right!"
After the sunrise, there was movement in Yunshan Temple. The three of them floated to Yanxia Peak. Standing on the top of the cloud, they could see Taoist Qingsong and his apprentice getting up and washing, they could also see them doing morning exercises and health-preserving boxing, and they could also see Qi Wen carrying an empty bucket down the mountain to fetch water.
What is particularly interesting is that two little martens were seen hiding in the Yunshan Temple in a sneaky manner. When Taoist Qingsong was practicing boxing in the open space in the temple courtyard, the two little martens were hiding in the corner of the temple and peeking.
"Hehe, Mr. Ji, these two little beasts seem to have gained intelligence!"
The old dragon made a joke and was also very happy to see this scene below. Just like young birds and young animals are impressed by the first thing they see, the same is true for the intelligent beasts. Although the two Taoists in Yunshan Temple are not true cultivators, the Taoist philosophy of tranquility is still very beneficial to the spiritual martens. After being influenced for a long time, it is not easy for them to go astray. The same is true for Buddhist temples.
"Oh, these two little martens. Mr. Ying may not have paid attention to them, but I do remember that when you and I were discussing fish in Yunshan Temple, two rather smart wild martens were eavesdropping in the bushes outside the temple. I think they got some benefits and became smarter."
"Huh? There's even this!"
This gave Lao Long an interesting feeling of unintentional success, and his perception of the two little minks subconsciously improved. Qin Zizhou also looked at the little minks in amazement.
However, at this point, Ji Yuan bowed to Qin Zizhou again.
"After sending you a thousand miles, we must say goodbye. Taoist Qingsong Qi Xuan and his disciple Qi Wen are both good people. Yunshan Temple is also beautiful and has natural charm. Qin An should concentrate on practicing here. He also needs to think more. Once you have integrated the Taoist method of worshipping stars and carry one of them with you, you will surely be able to get started in the way of wandering gods."
Qin Zizhou did not say much to thank them. He nodded and bowed solemnly to Ji Yuan and Lao Long in the clouds, then floated towards the hillside outside Yunshan Temple like a fallen leaf in the wind.
At this moment, Taoist Qingsong had just finished a few rounds of health-preserving boxing and was in the breathing stage. In the past two or three years, he felt that he was becoming more and more energetic, and when he couldn't help but tell people's fortunes, he felt more confident.
“Dongdongdong~~”
"Excuse me, is there anyone in the temple?"
There was a knock on the Taoist temple door, and a slightly old but deep voice of inquiry was heard. Although the door was only half-closed, the person outside was obviously not going to push the door open himself.
"Yes, yes, yes! Someone is here!"
Taoist Qingsong hurriedly walked to the gate of the courtyard and opened it, and saw an old man in gray standing outside.
The old man had white hair and beard and a ruddy complexion. He had a pair of long eyebrows that extended an inch down the corners of his eyes. He looked to be definitely not young, but it was unclear whether he was seventy, eighty, or ninety. When he saw Taoist Qingsong coming out, he bowed and greeted him.
"Hello, Taoist priest. I want to become a Taoist priest in Yunshan Temple. I wonder if you can take me in?"
Faced with such a straightforward question from an old man who might very well be his grandfather, Taoist Qingsong was also confused.
"Uh... old man, you must be quite old. Why do you want to be a Taoist priest? You climbed up the mountain by yourself?"
Taoist Qingsong subconsciously looked behind the old man, but he didn't see any young man accompanying him.
"Why? As the saying goes, young people should not practice Taoism, and old people should not practice martial arts. It's just right for me to go up the mountain to practice Taoism! I've come up the mountain, and the Taoist priest won't let me go in for a cup of tea first?"
Qin Zizhou is old but experienced. After all, he is a man with a hundred years of experience. It is inevitable that he is reserved in front of Ji Yuan, the old dragon and ghosts and gods. But it does not mean that he can't speak. If he really wants to speak, he can speak fluently.
"Oh oh oh, please come in quickly, please come in quickly!"
Taoist Qingsong didn't dare to keep such an old man in the temple now. If he got hurt, there would be no time to seek medical treatment. But it was impossible for him not to even make way for the door, so he thought about taking care of him for a while before sending him down the mountain.
Please go to the kitchen and pour some tea, Taoist Qingsong asked indirectly.
"How old are you, old man? Where do you live?"
"Let me think about it. Maybe a hundred years, or one year, or a hundred years! As for family, since I am ready to become a monk, I won't talk about the secular world for now!"
Qin Zizhou was talking and drinking tea at the same time. This remark choked Taoist Qingsong again. He was about to persuade him but suddenly he had an idea. He sat down opposite the old man and looked at his face carefully.
The previous moment I only felt that his face was glowing and full of energy, but the more I looked afterwards, the more blurred it became. I even forgot what I saw before, and I was suddenly shocked.
"I'm afraid this person is not a mortal!"
Taoist Qingsong always felt that Yunshan Temple had become special since Mr. Ji came here, so he asked subconsciously.
"Old man, do you know Mr. Ji?"
Qin Zizhou smiled, put down his teacup and bowed to Qi Xuan.
"I am Qin Zizhou. I have come to Yunshan Temple to practice cultivation according to the advice of Mr. Ji and Lord Long. I wonder if you will accept me as your guest for a long time?"
Taoist Qingsong swallowed subconsciously.
“Collect…Collect!”
Qin Zizhou nodded and looked sideways at the upper corner of the kitchen door. Above Yunshan Temple, Ji Yuan and Lao Long smiled at each other, and the next moment they had already flown away on the clouds.
. . .
Ji Yuan and Lao Long separated halfway, one went east back to Jizhou and the other went west to Tongtian River.
With Ji Yuan's flying speed, it took half a day to return to Ju'an Pavilion. It happened to be a day off, so Yin Qing and Hu Yun took a nap on the stone table in the courtyard of the pavilion in the afternoon.
The breeze in the yard made the branches and leaves of the jujube tree rustle from time to time.
Ji Yuan made no sound when he landed on the ground. He walked to the table and looked over. The man and the fox were sleeping soundly.
There were two letters on the stone table. One was written "From my son Yin Qing" and had been opened. The other was written "From Mr. Ji" and was still unopened.
As soon as Ji Yuan saw the handwriting, he knew it must be a letter from his good friend Yin Zhaoxian. He couldn't help but smile at the sleeping Yin Qing and murmured something.
"You can escape the first day, but you can't escape the fifteenth day. We still have to go to Chunhui Mansion!"