Sometimes when you come into contact with someone, you don't need to discuss with the other person any profound philosophical questions about where you come from or where you are going. Just by having a pleasant chat, Ji Yuan and the old beggar can feel each other's character and attitude towards life.
Dazhen is not Ji Yuan's, and he never wants to be the only one who has the final say, let alone someone with a very positive state of mind and Taoism. Since he feels that the old beggar doesn't want to talk too much about his own background, he won't ask. Didn't the other party ask about Ji Yuan in detail
'That's fine.'
With this thought in mind, Ji Yuan and the old beggar chatted more casually. Anyway, neither of them wanted anything from the other, and it was quite rare to meet someone they could talk to.
They drank tea slowly, and the tea never got cold. By the time all the tea in a large teapot was poured out, the old storyteller in the teahouse had just finished telling the story of "The Biography of General Huang".
The wake-up stick was slapped with a "crack", and the loyal and brave Huang family finally ended with the birds flying away and the good bows being put away, which made the tea drinkers and audience sigh.
As it was approaching noon and the weather was getting hotter, storytelling was a technical job that required both physical and mental effort, so the old storyteller's face was inevitably covered in sweat. He wiped his face with a wet towel, listened to the cheers from those around him, and collected some copper coins on the table as tips.
"Well, the timing is perfect."
After listening to the book, Ji Yuan drank the last bit of tea in the cup and stood up.
The old beggar didn't move, but the young beggar stood up consciously. He felt that the stool must be returned, and as for the plate on it, it must be empty.
One stool was left for the old beggar and the young beggar to sit on, and Ji Yuan carried the other stool, the plate and teapot on it, back to the teahouse, and also took back the change from the silver he had just crushed. Then he went out, nodded to the old beggar, and turned away.
The two beggars, one old and one young, were both quite interesting. But Youyuan saw that the young beggar was obviously very reserved, and they had talked about everything they needed to talk about, so he had no intention of getting entangled with him.
After Ji Yuan left, Dr. Tea walked to the counter of the teahouse, hesitated for a moment and said to the shopkeeper.
"Boss, do you want me to get that stool back?"
The shop owner reached out and patted him lightly on the head.
"Are you stupid?"
Outside the teahouse, there were two beggars sitting together on the bench, and the number of people turning their heads to look at them dropped drastically.
The young beggar looked in the direction of the teahouse and then at the direction where Ji Yuan left, and used his elbow to tickle the thoughtful old beggar as if he was offering a treasure.
"Grandpa Lu, look!"
The old beggar turned around and saw a big pocket on the side of the young beggar's clothes, which was filled with snacks, dried fruits and melon seeds.
"Ouch, I guess you didn't eat it all."
"How can I not leave some for Grandpa Lu? Most of it is hidden!"
That was half of what I had eaten. The portions of the snacks on the plates were not small.
"Then why were you in such a hurry to clean it up just now? Why didn't you leave some for Mr. Ji?"
The little beggar muttered a little guiltily, "I don't think he wants to eat, and he's not short of money..."
The old beggar smiled and said nothing.
After sitting on the stool for not long, the two beggars, the old one and the young one, felt that it was a bit strange for a beggar to sit on a stool and watch people passing by, so they both sat back on the ground and put the broken bowl on the stool.
About a quarter of an hour later, the aroma of food from the surrounding restaurants became stronger and stronger. Even though the little beggar's stomach was already full of cakes, he still drooled at the smell. The old beggar lay in the corner with his eyes closed.
"You'er, good stuff is coming!"
The old beggar said this inexplicably, and the young beggar was confused for a while before he finally understood what he meant, because the tea doctor from Qingye Tower was walking towards them with a tray.
On the tray were two large celadon bowls that were bigger than the little beggar's head. The bowls were filled with fragrant noodles, drizzled with sauce and meat, and there were two pairs of chopsticks stuck in them.
"Uh, hello, this is the braised pork noodles with soy sauce soup that our Qingyelou's shopkeeper specially asked me to order from the shop next door. He said it's a lunch treat for you two. Please enjoy!"
The Tea Master placed two large celadon bowls on the bench, then bowed and went back into the teahouse. The old beggar looked over there and saw that the teahouse owner was also bowing to him.
Don't hit someone who smiles at you, so the old beggar also bowed in return.
"Grandpa Lu...this...shall we eat it?"
"Eat! Anyone who doesn't eat is a fool! Why do you look so sad?"
The old beggar looked at the young beggar unhappily, thinking that he might not be able to get such a meal in half a year.
"Oh... if I had known I wouldn't have eaten so many cakes..."
The old beggar was stunned and couldn't help laughing “Hahahahaha…”, attracting the attention of passers-by around him.
Afterwards, the two beggars grabbed their chopsticks, used the bench as a table, and began to wolf down the noodles from the large celadon bowls. Even though the little beggar was full, he would rather die than waste the noodles.
The two of them were eating with such relish that some passers-by could not help but change their original intentions and go to the next door noodle shop because they saw how delicious the meal was.
. . .
As the time gets closer to the Mid-Autumn Festival, more and more "experts" from all over the country are gathering in Jingji Prefecture. At the same time, those wealthy and idle people from all over the country are also rushing to the capital in large numbers.
Therefore, Gyeonggi Province, which was very lively in the past, is now as lively as the New Year every day, and all kinds of interesting things can be seen on the streets from time to time.
If you see someone on the street who is dressed oddly or looks odd, or just looks weird overall, don't doubt it, you have seen a "master".
The people of the capital and many curious people as a whole have a great curiosity about the Water and Land Dharma Assembly and regard it as a major festival.
However, the officials in the court who were in charge of this matter complained bitterly. As the altars were built and the sites were constructed one after another, and the work was rushed, the money flowed out like water.
Especially for those masters who gathered here, after reporting, the imperial court had to be responsible for their food and lodging and some miscellaneous matters. Not only was it annoying, but the expenses were also huge. It was said that there were even beggars. The clerks in the post station tried to drive them away several times but failed. Finally, for fear that things would get out of hand, they had to let the beggars stay in the post station.
On the sixth day of August, outside the Chu Mansion on Yongning Street.
Today, the master of the Chu family wants to invite a person who is said to be of great importance to visit his house, and the house has already started preparing for it one day in advance.
In the evening, the master of the Chu family and the two young masters of the Chu family rode on horses, led a group of servants, and carried a sedan chair carried by eight people all the way along Yongning Street to the Chu Mansion. It was quite a grand ceremony.
When they arrived outside the grand mansion, the steward Xu Laogong had already come forward to lead the horse for Master Chu.
"Uncle Xu, how are the banquet preparations going?"
Mr. Chu looked at the sedan chair and asked Mr. Xu again to be on the safe side.
"Don't worry, sir. Everything is ready."
"Um!"
Master Chu nodded, and walked towards the sedan chair with his two sons who had already dismounted, bowing and speaking.
"The two masters have arrived at my humble abode."
"Um!"
There was a calm "hmm" from inside the sedan chair, and then a man and a woman, two elderly people in their sixties or seventies, walked out. They were wearing long robes. The man was serious and the woman had kind eyes, and they had the demeanor of immortals.
Old Master Xu on the side squinted his eyes and looked at the two men carefully. The movements of their hands and feet did not seem like those of a martial artist at all. However, if they were liars, that might not be the case. It was just based on a martial artist's intuition and the rush of qi and blood. He inexplicably felt unhappy looking at them.
The two masters mentioned by Mr. Chu got out of the sedan chair and looked at the lintel of the Chu Mansion, and a smile appeared on their faces. Just by looking at the lintel, one could tell that the Chu Mansion was definitely wealthy and extraordinary.
Master Chu bowed again and then extended his hand.
"Master, please!"
"Well, Master Chu, please lead the way."
Mr. Xu standing by frowned immediately, and the strong internal energy in his body slightly surged. He actually dared to let his master lead the way. Did he treat him like a servant
Master Chu smiled and led the two of them into the mansion, and the other servants followed.
"Okay, Master, please come in!"
After the two masters went in, Mr. Xu couldn't help but ask the two young men who were walking slower.
"Sir, what abilities do those two masters have that allow them to order me around like this?"
The eldest son looked at the group of people going away, then approached the old waiter and whispered.
"Uncle Xu, those two are really masters. We saw with our own eyes that they could make the mud on the ground form little people to dance, they could catch a candle flame in their hands and swallow it into their stomachs, and they could even collect spilled water back into the basin."
"Yes, I saw it too. As the saying goes, spilled water can't be recovered, but they can do it. It's called water control. The master also said that this is the only way to demonstrate it in front of ordinary people like us. If they really use it, it will be overwhelming."
"oh… "
Mr. Xu was a little bit skeptical when he heard it, but his master and his son were not the kind of people who could be fooled so easily.
Two quarters of an hour later, in a hall somewhere in the mansion, the two masters tried to suppress their emotions and remain calm, but they could not hide the joy on their faces. In addition to a lot of gold and silver ingots placed on the tables on the left and right sides of the hall, five cooked animals, five raw animals and five live animals were prepared according to their requirements, representing the cooked cattle, dogs, sheep, pigs and chickens, as well as those that were killed but not cooked and those that were alive.
Even with the lights on, the hall still seemed a little dim, making the two masters' faces look strange.
"Moo..." "Mea..."
"Hehe..."
All the animals seemed extremely uneasy.
"Hehehehe... We are very satisfied with the Chu Mansion's preparations. Master Chu, you all should step aside. We need to practice!"
Master Chu and the servants nodded and carefully left the hall.
Mr. Xu in the corridor outside had a frown on his face the whole time. These two masters were too weird.
"Master..."
Mr. Chu immediately raised his hand to stop him and pointed to the other end of the garden.
"Go ahead and talk."
The group temporarily left the hall and corridor and went to the garden.
"Uncle Xu, the current emperor is convening a water and land ceremony, so naturally he wants to meet people with real skills. These two masters are obviously one of them. They are very different from those idlers and martial arts masters pretending to be masters. As long as..."
Master Chu was only halfway through his words when suddenly...
Brush~~~
A beam of white light lit up from the backyard of the mansion, spreading rapidly in an arc-shaped ripple, and almost instantly swept across where they were standing.
“Ah…” “Ah…”
"Bang~" "Bang..."
The door of the hall was knocked open from the inside, and the two exquisitely carved wooden doors were directly knocked out of the door frame.
“Mercy! Mercy…” “We’re leaving now, leaving now!”
The two masters who had been so arrogant just now stumbled and crawled out, as if there was a vicious tiger chasing them from behind.
"Hey... Master..."
"Let's go now..." "Nothing, nothing!"
The two were obviously extremely frightened. They rushed around so fast that even the pearl hairpins on their heads fell off.
Master Chu only had time to wave and shout blankly before he saw that they had escaped from his sight, so he hurriedly took his men to chase after them.
Until they reached the gate of the Chu Mansion, the Chu family members were unable to catch up with the two masters. They only saw them trip over the threshold and tumble down the stairs. After getting up, they did not even try to rub themselves but just kept running away. One of the masters even forgot to stand up and run, but instead lay on the ground with his hands and legs kicking as he ran.
The Chu family members stood at the door in amazement for a long time, and only when Mr. Xu laughed did they come back to their senses.
"Tsk... Master!?"
Mr. Chu looked at him and suddenly remembered something.
"What is that white light?"
"Uh, I don't know. It seems to have appeared from the backyard of the mansion."
"Let's go and have a look!"
Seeing the looks of the two masters, no one wanted to chase them back now. They all returned to the mansion and rushed to the inner palace. They asked the servants along the way and learned from them that the white light came from the direction of the library.
The Chu family walked into the library. The halo inside seemed to have not completely dissipated yet. There was still a faint fluorescent light in the corner of one of the large bookshelves.
Mr. Xu strode forward without the help of a ladder. He jumped lightly and took down the set of books on top. The fluorescence came from here.
"A Hundred Prefectures Comprehensive Mirror?"
Master Chu looked around, then pulled out the books one by one. When he came to the second book, he took out a piece of rice paper the size of a book page. The fluorescence came from the words on it. When everyone saw the paper, the fluorescence on the words suddenly disappeared, as if it had become an ordinary copybook.
"Good word..."
Mr. Chu couldn't help but read out the contents on the paper.
"Stay in the library and observe the spirits of the hundred prefectures, and spend your free time sweeping away the evil dust in front of the courtyard."
The handwriting was clear and upright, and contained a unique aura. It was exactly the decree that Ji Yuan left before he left the library.
It turned out that the words left by Ji Yuan were not seen by the Chu family. Instead, when the servants were cleaning the library, they thought that someone in the mansion had forgotten to take the books away after reading them. This piece of paper was obviously related to "Bai Fu", so they were sandwiched between the book and put back on the bookshelf. It was not until today that it saw the light of day again.
At this moment, Ji Yuan, who was practicing in his sleep while renting a house, had a feeling in his dream and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, not knowing whether he was laughing at the Chu Mansion or the "expert".