At the foot of Mount Qingcheng.
The houses are sparse and the fields are crisscrossed.
There were people working in the fields.
On the ridge of the field, a shepherd boy rides on a cow and plays the flute.
There was an old man driving a ox cart loaded with still green crops and children, singing loudly.
The song goes:
"Tomorrow and tomorrow, how many tomorrows there are. I have lived my whole life waiting for tomorrow, and all things have been wasted. If people are burdened by tomorrows, spring will go and autumn will come, and old age will approach. In the morning, I watch the water flow eastward, and in the evening, I watch the sun set in the west. How many tomorrows can there be in a hundred years? Please listen to my song of tomorrow..."
The children in the car also started singing along.
Luo Qingzhou lifted the car curtain and looked towards Mount Qingcheng not far away.
The mountains are steep and towering into the clouds.
The hillside is covered with dense forests, shrouded in clouds and mist, and it looks hazy like a fairyland.
On the top of the mountain, a Taoist temple was vaguely visible and could not be seen clearly.
"Uncle, can you sing?"
Bailing asked suddenly.
Luo Qingzhou retracted his gaze, turned around, lowered the curtains, looked at her and said, "No."
Bai Ling smiled and said, "Then, uncle, can you sing a song for us?"
Luo Qingzhou said: "I said no."
Bai Ling looked surprised and said, "Isn't my son-in-law proficient in poetry and songs? He is so talented and even got the first place in the imperial examination. How could he not be able to sing?"
Luo Qingzhou said directly: "I just don't want to sing for you."
Bai Ling immediately pouted and turned around and said, "Miss, my son-in-law bullied me."
Then he added: "Chanchan, my uncle bullied me."
Miss Qin didn't say anything.
Xia Chan suddenly turned cold and said, "Sing."
Bai Ling immediately clapped her hands and said proudly: "Son-in-law, Chanchan ordered you to sing!"
Luo Qingzhou glanced at Xia Chan, paused, and smiled: "Okay, listen to Chanchan. What song does Chanchan want to listen to?"
Xia Chan didn't know how to answer and looked at Bailing.
Bai Ling showed two shallow dimples on her face and smiled: "As long as it sounds good, it's fine."
Luo Qingzhou pondered for a moment and said, "Then let's sing a song called "Farewell."
When Miss Qin heard the name, she glanced at him.
Luo Qingzhou cleared his throat and sang: "Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, the grass is green and endless, the evening wind blows the willows and the sound of the flute is faint, the setting sun is beyond the mountains..."
The song is over.
Bai Ling immediately said excitedly, "Son-in-law, it sounds so good, so good! Can you teach me to sing? I want to sing too!"
Luo Qingzhou teased, "Call me brother."
Bai Ling: “???”
Luo Qingzhou saw that Miss Qin and Xia Chan were looking at him, and hurriedly said: "I'm just kidding, come, sing along with the son-in-law..."
Bailing gave him a strange look.
"Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road..."
A clear voice like that of a lark soon rang out in the carriage.
Luo Qingzhou discovered that this girl had a talent for singing. Her singing was much better than his own. Both her voice and musical sense were great.
When the carriage stopped at the foot of the mountain.
The clear and melodious voice of a lark could still be heard in the carriage: "At the end of the world, at the corner of the earth, half of my friends are gone. I will drink a pot of muddy wine to end my remaining joy. Tonight, I will not dream of the cold..."
"Chanchan, does it sound good?"
"Um."
Xia Chan's eyes were also sparkling, and she obviously liked this song very much.
"My uncle is so awesome."
Bailing flattered him again, and then begged, "Sir, can you teach me to sing in the future?"
Luo Qingzhou agreed: "Okay, I will teach you to sing and Chanchan to read in the future."
Miss Qin glanced at him and said nothing.
The curtains next to them were suddenly opened by someone from outside, and Nangong Xueyi's voice rang out from outside: "Who was singing just now? What song was it? It was so nice!"
Luo Qingzhou hurriedly whispered: "Bai Ling, don't mention me."
Who knew Nangong Xueyi had sharp ears? As soon as he finished speaking, he heard someone outside say, "Mr. Luo, I heard it. You told Bailing not to mention you. You wrote the song, right?"
Luo Qingzhou: “…”
Several people stood up and got out of the car.
Nangong Xueyi said flatteringly, "Bai Ling, can you sing the song for me again? It was so disjointed just now that I couldn't hear it clearly."
Bailing couldn't refuse and looked at her son-in-law.
Luo Qingzhou turned his head away, ignored her, and walked towards Miss Qin Er.
"My dear sister, please, please..."
Nangong Xueyi acted like a little child, hugging Bailing's arm and acting coquettishly.
Bai Ling had no choice but to say, "Okay."
"Let's go up the mountain."
Nangong Meijiao didn't know whether she had given up on her sister or felt too embarrassed to care about her anymore, so she walked straight towards the steps leading up the mountain.
Zhu'er supported Miss Qin Er and followed behind.
Mei'er supported Song Ruyue and followed beside them.
Miss Qin and Xia Chan also followed.
Bailing followed behind, with Nangong Xueyi lingering around her.
After walking up the steps, Bai Lingfang began to sing clearly and melodiously. The song and tone soon made the whole mountain road quiet.
There were not many people climbing the mountain at this time, but there were still groups of tourists traveling together.
Everyone was climbing the mountain and talking to each other, but when they heard the clear and pleasant singing, they immediately quieted down.
In the silent and empty forest, the singing was melodious and pleasant, accompanied by wonderful tunes, and to everyone it sounded like the sound of nature.
Qin Weimo and Song Ruyue, mother and daughter, were also mesmerized by what they heard.
“At the end of the world, at the corner of the earth, half of my friends are gone… In life, reunions are rare, but separations are common…”
Bai Ling sang it several times, and seeing that everyone seemed to like it, she was very happy and proud, and continued to sing with all her might.
Climbing the mountain was tiring, but now they were all listening to the songs, feeling relaxed and happy, and temporarily forgetting their fatigue.
At some point, a flute sound suddenly rang out from the forest on the right.
The sound of the flute was clear and melodious, and it sounded like an accompaniment, following the tune sung by Bai Ling. The two of them sang in harmony, and their harmony became more and more harmonious, and the sound became more and more beautiful.
The lark was so absorbed in her own singing that she didn't even notice.
The others looked towards the woods on the right, but saw no human figures, only heard the sound of a flute.
The sound of the flute gradually merged with the singing, and everyone didn't think much of it and continued to listen happily.
When they reached the middle of the mountain, Bai Ling finally couldn't hold on any longer and stopped, panting and saying, "I can't do it anymore. I'm so tired..."
The others were also panting with fatigue, their faces flushed, and their temples covered with sweat.
Miss Qin Er was already sweating profusely, and her whole body was weak. Zhu Er took a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off her forehead, saying, "Miss, sit down and rest."
Everyone sat down on the steps nearby and took a rest.
Nangong Xueyi wiped the sweat off her face and praised, "Bai Ling has a nice voice. She was born to sing. No wonder she is called Bai Ling."
Bailing was very happy to hear the compliment. She didn't even say a word of modesty and looked at her son-in-law proudly.
Nangong Meijiao looked towards the forest on the right, a look of vigilance on her face.
The sound of the flute disappeared as the singing stopped, and the flute player never showed up from beginning to end.
When Bai Ling was talking to Nangong Xueyi, a bird suddenly flew out from the woods and landed on the steps next to her. It opened its two round little eyes, looked at her curiously, and chirped.
The lark looked at it and said, "Bird, bird, do you like to listen to my singing too?"
The bird tilted its head and continued to chirp.
The lark was very happy. She stretched out her hand and tried to touch it. She thought it would be frightened and fly away immediately, but the bird just stood there, tilting its head and looking at her curiously.
Bai Ling's fingers gently touched its head, and then stroked its soft feathers in surprise, and said happily: "Bird, aren't you afraid of me?"
The bird chirped, as if to say it was not afraid.
Bailing became happier.
"Sister Bailing, I want to touch it too."
When Zhu'er saw this scene, she immediately walked over happily.
Unexpectedly, before I got close, the bird suddenly flapped its wings and flew away.
Zhu Er froze in place, feeling aggrieved: "I haven't even come close yet, why is it afraid of me and not Sister Bai Ling?"
At this moment, a voice suddenly came from the forest on the right: "Is it just Ou Lu Wangji?"
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately turned around to look.
Nangong Meijiao stood up and put her hands on her waist.
Xia Chan also stood up and clenched the sword in her hand.
A middle-aged Taoist nun in a Taoist robe, holding a whisk and with a bamboo flute on her waist, walked out of the forest. She glanced at the few people with a calm expression, lowered her head slightly and said, "The female lay Buddhist just sang beautifully, but without accompaniment. I was in a good mood and played the flute to accompany her. I didn't mean to offend you, so please forgive me."
When everyone saw that she was wearing the Taoist robe of Qingyun Temple and had an extraordinary demeanor, they all stood up to greet her.
Bai Ling asked curiously, "Master, what is Ou Lu Wang Ji?"
The female Taoist priest smiled faintly and did not explain, looking at the group of people.
Luo Qingzhou glanced at her and said, "Forgetting one's mind is a Taoist term, which means to forget about calculations and cunning, to be content with being indifferent and not competing with the world. Ou Lu Wang Ji means that if a person has no cunning heart, even aliens are willing to get close to him."
The female Taoist priest looked at him, paused, and asked, "Sir, do you know the allusion of this word?"
Luo Qingzhou nodded and said directly: "A long time ago, there was a fisherman who loved water birds very much. Every time he went out to sea, he would play with the water birds. Often hundreds of water birds would fly over to play with him. One day, his father said to him: I heard that those water birds are willing to play with you, you can catch a few and bring them home for me to eat with wine. The fisherman agreed. The next day, the fisherman went out to sea. He was thinking about catching a few for his father, but the water birds just circled above his head and did not land."
After finishing his speech, he said: "If people can forget about their intentions, birds will not be suspicious; if people's intentions are activated, birds will fly away."
The female Taoist looked at him and nodded approvingly.
Bai Ling frowned, still puzzled: "Son-in-law, but just now Zhu'er hadn't approached, the bird flew away, and Zhu'er didn't mean to hurt it."
Luo Qingzhou glanced at her, then looked at Zhu'er and asked, "Zhu'er, when you saw that bird just now, did you subconsciously think that at such a close distance, once you threw your flying knife, this stupid bird would be dead, right?"
Zhuer looked at him with wide eyes, wanting to shake her head to deny it, but when she thought about it carefully, her first thought when she saw the bird fall to the ground seemed to be exactly like this...
She even subconsciously wanted to touch the throwing knife at her waist.
But how could my son-in-law know
She stared blankly at the elegant young man in Confucian robe in front of her. Thinking of his extraordinary demeanor at Jinchan Temple that day, she found him even more mysterious.
Luo Qingzhou added: "Humans and nature are connected in mind. The body can be deceived, but the spirit cannot be deceived. If my spirit moves slightly, the spirit will know. So the heart should not be evil, and the spirit will know if it is evil."
The female Taoist priest's eyes flashed with a strange light, holding the whisk in her arms, and bowed her head slightly: "May the blessings of the Lord be infinite, what you said is very consistent with the sentiments of our Taoism."