As spring turns to summer, the annoying chirping of cicadas begins.
Pedestrians were passing by on the official road, and in the eastern suburbs of Chang'an, the noisy sounds of carts and people's voices were heard in the roadside teahouses. The voices were bustling and noisy. The wandering knights with weapons on their backs smashed their tea bowls. There were also travelers and merchants from the mountains and five peaks who came to rest and cool off. They heard the sound of breaking, and hurriedly looked over to see the fragments on the ground, and over there, the knight-errant and the fat monk arguing and continuing their conversation.
"… You guys just came to Chang'an now. If you had come two days earlier, you would have had a great show to watch."
"What's wrong? What big thing happened in the city?"
"Hey, you don't know, the current emperor has appointed a national teacher."
…
The two people talking attracted the curiosity of the people at the nearby tables. The ranger who was arguing over there took a sip of tea and drove the monk away. The fat monk glanced at the fragments on the ground, took out a few copper coins from his arms and put them in the waiter's hand, then smiled, stamped the greeting, and walked out of the teahouse.
The official road extended past the city wall. Outside the wide-open city gate, a long line of people stood in the shape of humans, extending to the ancient city tower in front. Men, women, old and young, carrying baskets or wearing simple clothes and holding children were also in the line to be checked by the soldiers.
As the news about the appointment of the national teacher and the offering of sacrifices to heaven two days ago spread, many people rushed to Chang'an to watch the excitement, including the merchants who usually went in and out of the city gate. The level of strict inspection was much higher than usual.
The teahouses and restaurants in the city, where news gathered, exaggerated the story of the magic sacrifice to the sky in the Lotus Pond that day into an even more mysterious story, and told it over and over again to the tea and wine drinkers. The seats were full for two consecutive days.
"Your Majesty is a wise and enlightened ruler. He took over the country from the previous incompetent ruler. He swept across the land and was invincible. He also loved the people like his own children and ensured that even the poor could have enough food to eat..."
It is always a good habit for storytellers to open their speech by praising the current emperor.
"… Later, I heard that there was a great sage in the world, named Lu Liangsheng, so I went to ask him to come out of seclusion to help, just like Liu Xuande in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, who was respectful to the wise and humble, and visited the thatched cottage three times despite the wind and rain, and finally invited this great sage. Do you know who this Lu Guoshi is? That's a story. It is said that he was a tribute scholar in the Southern Dynasty. The incompetent emperor of the Chen Dynasty didn't recognize him and asked him to perform magic in the palace examination. Lu Lang was extremely disappointed and smashed the emperor's palace in anger. You should know that this is not something that ordinary people can do. Lu Lang was taught by a master to master the magic skills. He can call the wind and rain, move mountains and seas, and he is also well-read in the books of saints. He learned from the great Confucian scholar Shu Huagong of the Southern Chen Dynasty. He can move the sun, moon and stars with a wave of his hand and write thousands of brilliant chapters with a pen..."
When the story is told by the storyteller, it will definitely whet the listeners' interest and make them unable to help but urge them to continue.
"And then? Tell me more quickly! Come here, buddy, give me a reward!"
Hearing the generous words, the storyteller slammed the gavel.
"Speaking of Lu Lang, he is from Mount Qixia, he is over 20 years old, and he is handsome. He is a rare talent in the Southern Chen Dynasty in a hundred years. Unfortunately, the emperor did not recognize him and took him lightly. Therefore, he came to our Great Sui Dynasty and met the current emperor. Therefore, he was appointed as the state teacher of the dynasty... Speaking of the grand sacrifice two days ago, some of you are not aware of it, but I was not far away that day. I saw the state teacher wave his arm, the sky changed color, thunder and lightning struck, and the waves in the lotus pond rolled one after another, as if there was a dragon stirring it... "
On the street across the street, pedestrians were shouting and children were chasing and playing. An adult with a basket on his shoulder scolded them and turned around to continue gathering with familiar neighbors and friends. Most of them talked about the strange phenomenon that occurred in the sky that day. After all, they had never heard of the matter of appointing a national master.
"… Oh, I was at the house of Li's cousin Lao Wang next door at the time. He was sitting in Quchifang, very close to the river. The thunder made my ears buzz. I was so scared that I sat down on the ground and could hardly get up."
"There was thunder and lightning that day. I also saw it. Fortunately, I was far away. I heard that it was the imperial master appointed by His Majesty who was performing a ritual?"
"That's right... It's on the platform next to the Hibiscus Pond. It's quite high up."
Opposite the woman who was speaking, another woman in flowered clothes frowned slightly.
"Oh, by the way, I just remembered, what were you doing at Mrs. Li's cousin's house next door? You two don't know each other."
"I... I..."
Not far away, the children who were chasing and fighting each other cried out "Ouch!". The woman turned around and saw two children sitting on the ground, rubbing their heads. Next to them was a fat monk wearing a khaki robe.
He quickly ran over to help the child up and slapped him on the butt: "I told you not to run away, why don't you apologize to the chef!"
"I... Buddha is merciful and compassionate."
The fat monk looked at the child with tears in his eyes and bowed to the woman.
"Yes, I was in a hurry and bumped into someone..."
"I hope you didn't fall. If you didn't fall, apologize to the chef."
Without waiting for him to finish his stammering words, the woman brushed the dust off the child, apologized to the fat monk, and without going to her neighbors on the street, she just took the child and left.
The monk shook his head, swung the big copper ring on his ear, and walked through the bustling street with his Dharma seal upright. Occasionally, he asked passers-by for directions, and followed the directions they asked to come to a place called Furong Pond, where an ancient camphor tree had been newly planted.
Laborers pulled carts in and out, and the dirt road was paved with neat stone bricks. Extending ahead, a terrace for viewing the lake and stone fences were built along the lake surface. Flocks of wild ducks filled the wide water surface, and long shadows could be seen sliding underwater among the waves, creating waves.
The monk turned his eyes and saw the city wall stretching in the distance. There was a small hill that did not belong here. The forest was verdant and shrouded in a little cloud and mist. He could see the towering mountain gate. On the newly carved stone tablet next to it, there were three red characters engraved - Wanshou Temple.
…
Know, know, know…
Know—
The midday sun shines through the temples in the woods. Summer cicadas have shed their heavy shells and are climbing on the trees, chirping in bursts.
Around noon, Taoist Toad returned the little yellow duck to the duck flock by the lake. He came back with his two webbed feet on his back and sat on the small recliner. He listened to the cicadas chirping, yawned listlessly, crossed his short legs, his webbed feet dangling, hummed a little tune, and picked up the newly written recipe to look through it.
In the square near the pond, eight big men were practicing formations with "Hoo!" and "Ha!", their bare arms reflecting a greasy sheen. When they saw the Taoist coming back from outside, they shouted at him to show them how to fight.
Old Sun, who was passing by, waved his hand and indicated the things in his hand. Thinking of the greedy Toad, and the great scholar Lu who had been locked up in the room and buried in books for the past two days, he decided to get some game to nourish him.
"Little Taoist priest, what food did you bring back?"
Sitting on the small recliner at the door, the Toad Taoist pressed the menu, revealing his bean-sized eyes. He walked up to the Taoist priest under the eaves, picked up the game with mottled black marks in his hand and shook it.
"I got it on the way back. You wasted two of my thunder talismans. I'll make you a pot of pickled cabbage and duck soup tonight..."
Toad Taoist: “…”
Staring at the two wild ducks tied together and already dead, the veins on the Toad's head bulged. He dropped the food and jumped up, hitting the Taoist's knee with his webbed feet.
"I just sent the duckling back this morning, and you caught its parents this afternoon?"
Old Sun hurriedly picked up the two old ducks and took a step back to avoid them.
"Hey, hey, old Toad, you are being unreasonable!"
Over there, the Toad Taoist held up his flippers, looked serious, and said, "That's a motherfucker!"
"Hey, you're still scolding me?" The Taoist also spat at him: "Don't think that just because your disciple has become the national master, I dare not talk back."
The toad nodded slightly and repeated, "That's his mother!"
"You!!! You think I dare not, right?" The Taoist threw down the two wild ducks, rolled up his wide sleeves, put his hands on his waist, and cursed back at the toad under the eaves opposite.
"I call you mother!!"
"That's his mother!"
"My dear mother, I was kind enough to catch two wild ducks and make pickled cabbage and duck soup for you. But you took my kindness for granted!!"
Nearby, an old donkey lying on the grass beside a lamp shook its ears, and raised its head by dragging its reins. The Taoist waved his sleeves from the side.
"What are you looking at? Eat your grass!"
As soon as the words fell, a loud voice came from afar... and stuttered.
"Haha, ha... Sun Dao, you are competing with the donkey."
On the stone steps at the mountain gate, the fat and big-eared monk Fajing, wearing a monk's robe and a string of Buddhist beads hanging on his chest, walked towards them from afar with his hands clasped together and bowed to Sun Yingxian, the old donkey, and the Toad Taoist.
Looking at the towering buildings, the sound is loud.
"Lu Dao, my friend, I, the poor monk Fa Jing, would like to see you!"
The voice reached the upper part of the attic. Behind the slightly opened window, there was a desk piled with classics and bamboo slips. In the room, smoke was curling from the incense burner. A young man in a robe with stars, sun and moon on it put down the book, waved his sleeves, pushed open the window, and looked at the huge figure standing below.
Lu Liangsheng curled his lips, turned around and walked down the attic.
On the square paved with white rocks, the shadows of the trees were swaying on the ground as the wind blew. The monk standing in front of the attic saw the figure coming out and bowed again.
"Friend Lu, Fa Jing can't catch up with your national master. I can see your elegance."
"Master Fa Jing, no need to be so polite."
The sunlight shone through the eaves and fell on the figure who was walking out. Lu Liangsheng supported him with a smile. He looked past the monk and up to the sky. There was a red light that only he could see, as if it was hovering in the clear blue summer sky.
Now that I have become the national teacher, I should do something for the safety of the world...
In the wind, the first cicadas of summer are chirping annoyingly.