The road at the back of Xiaoyun Mountain is winding and secluded, with few tourists. In many places, there is no road at all, just a small path among the bushes and stone walls that can barely accommodate one person.
Yan Liqiang followed the instructions of the herbalist and groped his way towards the back mountain, searching as he walked. Finally, he saw the Taoist temple that the herbalist mentioned in a remote and quiet valley at the back of Xiaoyun Mountain.
To be honest, Yan Liqiang was not sure that the Taoist temple he was looking for was the Bailong Temple mentioned by the Taoist named Fang Beidou whom he met that day. However, there were only a few Taoist temples on Xiaoyun Mountain, and the other Taoist temples all had names. If this Taoist temple was not the Bailong Temple, then Yan Liqiang had no idea where the Bailong Temple could be.
Yan Liqiang had already made up his mind that if this Taoist temple was not the Bailong Temple, he would go back and give up the idea of looking for the Taoist priest, no longer caring whether the Taoist priest was playing tricks or not.
On the slope outside the Taoist temple, there are two vegetable gardens surrounded by bamboo fences. There are also a few plum trees beside the vegetable gardens. Not far away is a gurgling stream. A small ditch has been dug for the stream water, which flows directly into the vegetable gardens. Although the growth of the vegetables in the vegetable gardens is not very good, it is still okay. The scene in front of us has a bit of wildness, and it also indicates that this Taoist temple is inhabited.
The Taoist temple is next to the vegetable garden. Its dark red outer wall is already mottled. Originally there was a broken stone above the gate at the entrance of the temple. The front part of the stone is no longer visible, and only an incomplete word "Guan" can be barely seen on the back.
The entire Taoist temple is not big, and it looks like there are only four or five houses from the outside.
The gate of the Taoist temple was open, and the bluestone pavement underfoot was unusually clean, as if it had just been washed with water.
After looking at the Taoist temple in front of him, Yan Liqiang walked in without hesitation.
Less than ten steps after entering the door, a courtyard appeared in front of Yan Liqiang. In the courtyard there was a vigorous old pine tree with lush branches and leaves. Several birds were chirping on the pine tree. Under the pine tree, there was a stone table, two stone benches, and a small stove boiling water on the stone table. There were also two sets of tea sets next to it. The Taoist priest who had met Yan Liqiang that day was wearing a plain white Taoist robe. He was standing under the pine tree, looking at Yan Liqiang with a smile. His expression was not surprised at all, as if he had known that Yan Liqiang was coming.
"I am sorry for not welcoming you, my distinguished guest. I can only clean the house and entertain you with some tea I picked from the mountains..."
Yan Liqiang's eyes swept across the two sets of tea sets on the table, with a look of slight surprise on his face. He came here today on a whim, and he didn't notice that he was being followed after going up the mountain. So why did this Taoist priest already know that he was coming
It seems that this Taoist priest is the only one in this Taoist temple.
"How did you know I was coming?" Yan Liqiang said as he walked towards the pine tree.
"Early this morning, magpies were calling in the courtyard. I knew that a distinguished guest would come to visit, so I made some preparations!" The Taoist said. When he saw Yan Liqiang coming over and sitting down, he smiled and sat down himself. He used the boiled water to make a pot of tea for Yan Liqiang. "This wild tea goes well with the clear spring water in the mountains. It has a unique taste..."
This Taoist priest really has some skills, but this little bit of pretense is too childish in the eyes of Yan Liqiang, an "experienced person" who has stopped pretending for many years. Yan Liqiang took a look at the tea leaves tumbling in the cup, and of course did not drink it. Instead, he looked directly at the Taoist priest and slapped his hand on the table, and immediately took the initiative. "Okay, let's stop talking nonsense. I didn't come here to find you to experience farm life. I'll be frank. I don't understand what you meant by the bunch of messed up words you said to me that day. I didn't understand a single word. I came to Xiaoyun Mountain today just because I was curious and wanted to confirm whether you are a lunatic or a liar. I'll give you a quarter of an hour. During this time, first you can try to convince me of your nonsense, and then tell me why you approached me. If you can't finish within a quarter of an hour, I will leave immediately and will never come to you again!"
Fang Beidou seemed to be choked, and his smiling face suddenly stiffened. He glared at Yan Liqiang, and Yan Liqiang glared at him without showing any weakness. The two sides stared at each other in silence for almost two minutes. Then Fang Beidou sighed, put down the kettle in his hand, took out a brocade bag from his arms, put it on the table, pushed it in front of Yan Liqiang, and spoke calmly.
"This lucky bag was left to me by my master before he passed away. You can open it and take a look!"
Yan Liqiang glanced at Fang Beidou and did not hide his vigilance. He did not open the brocade bag immediately, but squeezed it first and found that there was no sharp object or poisonous insect inside, but only a piece of paper. Then he opened the brocade bag and took out a folded paper note from it. He opened the paper note and saw only two sentences written on it.
—A young man in green clothes holds a golden cup and enters Xihua at noon on the 28th. The will of heaven is unpredictable, but the right path in the world is vicissitudes.
These two sentences were exactly what Yan Liqiang heard that day.
"What does this mean?" Yan Liqiang asked Fang Beidou.
"This is what my master gave me before he died last year!" Fang Beidou's face dimmed. "Before he died, he told me that the Han Empire would face a horrific catastrophe four years later. Countless people would turn to dust in that catastrophe. After the catastrophe, there would be endless wars and human disasters, which would be a hundred times more tragic than the catastrophe. In the next 50 years, the hundreds of millions of descendants of the entire Chinese race would be in danger of extinction. And the only one who can change all this is one person. That person is out of the five elements, not in the numbers, and can turn the heavens. He is the only one who can change all this. After saying this, my master gave me this brocade bag and asked me to open it in April this year. Then I can find that person according to what is written on the brocade bag..." Fang Beidou looked at Yan Liqiang with a firm gaze. "On the 28th, I arrived at the Xihua Gate of the Imperial Capital early and waited until the afternoon. Then I saw you walking into the city in a green dress with a bunch of marigolds in your hand. Then I caught up with you. You are that person..."
Damn it!
Yan Liqiang was stunned. He looked at Fang Beidou, then at the brocade bag in front of him, still unable to believe it. But if all this was a play, how could the director know about the natural disaster that would befall the Han Empire four years later? How could he have predicted that he would be wearing a green dress and holding a marigold to enter the city from Xihua Gate that day? If someone really had such ability, what in the world could he not do? Why would he tease a nobody like him
After a long while, Yan Liqiang swallowed his saliva and asked a question, "Who is your master?"
"My master is Su Baiya, the number one sorcerer in the Han Empire, the master of the Imperial Observatory, and the Grand Historian of the Han Empire. Two years ago, my master told me that he still had at least ten years to live. But one day, he observed the stars at night and found that they were abnormal. The entire Han Empire was in danger of being annihilated. For this reason, he was willing to spend ten years of his life to deduce the secret of the Han Empire..." Fang Beidou said, and two tears fell...
Yan Liqiang also sighed, "Your master may have made a mistake. Although I think I am not bad compared to my peers, and even a little bit better than them... But I am afraid I don't have that ability!"
"No, you have it, you must have it, my master will never be wrong!" Fang Beidou stared at Yan Liqiang with red eyes, more confident than Yan Liqiang, "My master said that you are beyond the five elements, not in numbers, and can do what ordinary people can't. You must have the ability to change the world..." As he spoke, Fang Beidou even stood up, straightened his clothes, and then knelt down in front of Yan Liqiang, "Fang Beidou greets the lord!"
"What are you doing?" Yan Liqiang was startled and jumped up from the stone chair.
"My master told me to worship you as my lord after I see you, and to assist you in changing the future catastrophe of the Han Empire..."
Yan Liqiang shouted at once, "Hey, hey, hey, let me make it clear first, the money I earn is only enough for me to spend. Don't think that just by following me like this, you can get me to pay you for something. Besides, your master is forcing me to do something. I say again, I don't have that ability..."
"My lord, can you bear to watch hundreds of millions of Chinese people's families being torn apart and countless lives and clans being destroyed without any reaction and without being willing to save them?" Fang Beidou stood up and looked at Yan Liqiang with excitement. Looking at his excited look, it was unknown how many days he had been holding these words in his heart.
"I'm leaving now. Just pretend that I haven't been here today and I haven't heard any of your nonsense. You can tell these things to the Emperor or the Prime Minister, but it's useless to tell them to me. I'm just a small Yingyang Captain..." Yan Liqiang said, and walked directly out of the Taoist temple, "Who knows whether what you said is true or false, and whether it's a trap set for me..."
Beidou flashed and blocked Yan Liqiang in front of him. He gritted his teeth and stared at Yan Liqiang with an excited expression, "How can you trust me?"
"Do you recognize me as your lord?" Yan Liqiang asked back.
"Yes!" Fang Beidou nodded heavily.
"Since I am your lord, do you have to do whatever I say?" Yan Liqiang asked again.
"Yes!" Fang Beidou nodded again, his face flashing with the glory of the Saint Rank. "In order to seek a way out for the future hundreds of millions of people in the Han Empire, I will do whatever you ask me to do, even if it means risking my life or being torn to pieces!"
"Okay, then I'll give you my first order!" Yan Liqiang smiled, "You must take off all your clothes right now. You are not allowed to wear anything and you are not allowed to cover your face. Today, run from here to the Imperial Capital City and run around the Imperial Capital City naked. As you run, you must shout, Cuihua, I love you, Cuihua, I love you..."
Fang Beidou was stunned for a moment...
Yan Liqiang's order was exactly the same as the one last week in "The God of Cookery" where Xingxing asked Tang Niu to defecate in front of the elevator door in public, and the difficulty was more than ten times higher.
Seeing Fang Beidou's dull eyes and trembling lips, Yan Liqiang shook his head and sighed, "So, let's just leave it at that... Let's not embarrass each other, you continue to be a Taoist priest here, drink your tea, and continue to live a carefree life. If you feel that living in the Imperial Capital is unsafe, you can run away to a place far away from the Imperial Capital and continue to live in seclusion in four years. I will continue to be my Eagle Captain, practice my martial arts, pick up my girls, and do what I can. From now on, we will keep our distance..."
After saying this, Yan Liqiang left the Taoist temple and went straight down the mountain.
Yan Liqiang came to the inn where he had deposited the Wuyun Gaixue, paid the money, took back the Wuyun Gaixue, and then rode the Wuyun Gaixue back.
Not long after leaving Xiaoyun Mountain, Yan Liqiang, who was walking on the official road, heard a commotion and screams from countless pedestrians and women behind him. Turning around, he saw a naked man with disheveled hair rushing on the official road, scaring the pedestrians in panic, especially the many young women who were out for a walk. Many of them were so frightened that they covered their eyes and screamed, and some even fainted.
"Cuihua, I love you, Cuihua, I love you..." The naked man yelled as he ran, and he passed by Yan Liqiang like a gust of wind, even using his Qinggong skills, and his speed was as fast as a galloping horse...
Damn, seriously...
Yan Liqiang was so shocked that he almost fell off his horse...
(End of this chapter)