The rain cleared and the clouds closed, the dark night finally passed, and the first gleam of light appeared in the sky, quietly spilling into the world.
On the Big Bamboo Peak of Qingyun Mountain, it was still peaceful. Although the disciples were diligent, they would not get up so early. Outside the Shoujing Hall, among the cornices and tiles, there was still dew left over from last night, which turned into water droplets and slid down intermittently. The bamboo forest in the distance is still as green as before. Looking from a distance, there is still mountain mist in the bamboo forest at this time, like a tulle, gently fluttering.
The gate of Shoujing Hall is still wide open as usual. Behind the threshold, above the blue bricks, yellow mantles are rolled up beside the pillars, enshrining the ever-burning lamps in front of the statues of the Sanqing gods, burning quietly in the morning light .
The slightly chilly morning wind blew over from afar, passed over the buildings and pavilions, swirled gently in the Shoujing Hall, and then blew further away. In the wind, there were a few crisp and sweet birdsong, which was the only sound in the morning.
This is a very peaceful picture, a Taoist fairyland, I don’t know how many mornings have been spent like this, without the slightest bit of worldliness. But on such a morning, it was different from the past, and there was a discordant anomaly.
A drenched figure knelt at the door of the Shoujing Hall, with his head deeply buried between his arms, touching the ground. The ground around him where he knelt down was already drenched by the drops of water dripping from his body, while drops of water were still seeping and slipping from the clothes on his body.
And six feet away in front of this person, on the blue brick and stone steps at the entrance of Shoujing Hall, Tian Buyi's body lay quietly at the door of Shoujing Hall. Although he was dead, Tian Buyi looked very peaceful, with his face There is no pain, it seems that death is not a very important thing to him.
Tian Buyi's hands were folded between his chest and abdomen, and the clothes on his body were also carefully arranged and put on neatly. In addition, there were traces of getting wet on his clothes, but the moisture was far better than that of the man kneeling under the steps, but there were traces of mud stains everywhere on his clothes, although it could be seen that people who had passed by It was rubbed and cleaned, but it was obviously impossible to wash it off in a hurry, so these traces are still everywhere.
However, if you think about it, he won't care about this!
The morning wind was still blowing, blowing lightly over the top of Dazhu Peak in Qingyun Mountain, over the cornices and blue tiles of Shoujing Hall, and in front of Shoujing Hall. As if feeling the chill in the wind, Gui Li's body trembled slightly, his body still looked weak, but he still knelt motionless, facing the gate of Shoujing Hall, buried his head deeply Down.
There are everything he is familiar with here, the pavilions and palaces, the stone statues, and even the soil on the ground where he knelt down, and the faint breath emanating from the soil, all are fragments that he cannot forget for a moment in the depths of his memory. I don't know how many times, he had dreamed of going back to the past and returning to this mountain land, but now, when he came back, his heart was ashamed.
Behind Gui Li's kneeling figure, he walks through a long open space, and as far as he can see, is Zhang Xiaofan's former paradise—the kitchen. Ten years have passed, and the kitchen door made of two wooden boards still seems to have not changed, but there are a few more scars, and a few pieces of wood have fallen off, making it look more vicissitudes.
The kitchen door was ajar, but it was quickly pushed open by a fluffy hand. With a few slight "squeaks", the monkey Xiaohui opened the door and jumped in lightly.
Even the furnishings in the kitchen didn't seem to have changed. The tables and chairs for eating, the stove and pots for cooking and cooking were still in their original places. Xiao Hui rolled his eyes, and skillfully jumped onto the table in the middle of the house, then looked to the right.
Sure enough, on the right side of the kitchen table, against the wall, there was a large pile of dry thatch. On it was a yellow figure, who was sleeping soundly, and his mouth and nose made a few "chi chi" sounds from time to time. The rhubarb that Xiao Hui played with since childhood.
Xiao Hui squatted on the table, curled up her tail, but didn't immediately jump forward to hug her long-lost friend. It just scratched its head, turned its head and glanced outside the kitchen door, and then looked at Rhubarb who was sleeping soundly, as if a little hesitant.
At this moment, Rhubarb, who had been sleeping soundly with his ears drooped, kept his eyes closed, but the ears of the two dogs suddenly stood up, as if they heard something, then moved their heads and opened their eyes.
What came into view was a familiar figure lying on the table not far away. Da Huang was taken aback, but immediately regained his energy, lost all sleepiness, jumped up happily, and yelled "Wow" twice to Xiao Hui , jumped over in three steps and two steps, landed on his back feet, and lay on the edge of the table with his two front feet, his eyes were full of excitement, and his tail was wagging non-stop.
Xiao Hui grinned, seemed to be infected by Da Huang's emotions, hugged Da Huang's dog head in his arms, and stroked Da You's bright and shiny fur. Da Huang kept pressing his head against Xiao Hui, and then stuck out his tongue to lick Xiao Hui's face.
Xiao Hui "Zhi Zhi" laughed, turned over and jumped off the table, Da Huang also turned around, after a while, Xiao Hui seemed to remember something, frowned, stretched out his hand and patted Da Huang's head, Then he pointed to the outside of the kitchen.
Da Huang looked at Xiao Hui, not quite understanding what Xiao Hui meant. Xiao Hui yelled "Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi" a few more times, and jumped onto Da Huang's back. Da Huang ran out of the kitchen with all four legs and looked around. , and soon saw a kneeling figure in the Shoujing Hall.
And that figure was clearly familiar to it.
Rhubarb couldn't help getting excited, and called "Wow, woof, woof" to the figure several times, and ran over with a big stride, wagging his tail all the way. Soon, it ran across the open space, approaching Ghost Li, but at this moment, Da Huang's footsteps suddenly suffocated, but stopped.
It looked past the ghostly figure kneeling at the gate of the Shoujing Hall, and saw Tian Buyi's body lying peacefully on the stone steps outside the Shoujing Hall.
Xiao Hui slid down from Dahuang's back silently, ran to Ghost Li's side, touched his head, looked around, then squatted down on the ground, close to Ghost Li's body.
Da Huang walked over slowly, stepped up the stone steps, and came to Tian Buyi's side. It first stared at Tian Buyi's face for a long time, then gently sniffed Tian Buyi's body, and then sniffed other parts of Tian Buyi's body. Its tail, when it was doing this, kept wagging slightly at Tian Buyi. Finally, Da Huang turned his head, still seemed a little confused, walked to Tian Buyi's head, and gently rubbed his head against Tian Buyi. With a difficult face, a low "woo woo" sound came out of his mouth.
Tian Buyi didn't respond at all.
Rhubarb stayed for a long time, but it did not bark and howl as expected. It rubbed Tian Buyi's face feebly for the last time, but there was still no response. It seemed to give up. The yellow dog silently walked around Tian Buyi Lie down on the side. Its eyes were still staring at Tian Buyi, as if hoping that Tian Buyi would wake up suddenly, it put its head on its front feet, drooped its ears, and snuggled up to its master's lifeless and cold side.
The wind in the morning, with the cold air from last night, is still blowing quietly. Under the stone steps, Gui Li's body trembled slightly again, but he soon fell into a still state again, knelt down motionless.
In this chilly morning, time is still passing quietly.
※※※
"ah!"
With a soft cry, Suru woke up from the dream, covered in cold sweat.
With slightly disheveled hair and haggard face, she slowly got up from the table. Last night, she quietly fell asleep on this table.
The closed casement was parted a little, and through the gap a gleam of morning light penetrated into the middle of the room. Suru stared blankly at the light for a long time, and when her mood gradually calmed down, she smiled wryly, turned around, and pulled a small round mirror placed on the table over.
In the mirror, her beautiful face appeared. Even though she looked haggard due to longing and staying up all night, the demeanor radiating from her face was still touching.
The face is not old yet, but what about the heart
She looked at herself in the mirror for a long time, sighed, pressed the small round mirror on the table, then got up and walked to the window, stretched out her hand, and with a "squeak", opened the casement completely.
The morning light suddenly flooded into the room, driving away all the gloom and refreshing the mood. A faint smile appeared on Suru's face, facing the window, she stretched slowly.
The feeling of the morning wind blowing on his face carried some faint chills.
She opened the door and walked out.
Seeing that it was still early, those disciples must have not woken up, so let them sleep for a while, and tell them to go down the mountain to search for difficulties later, and some of them are probably tired.
With this in mind, Suru walked towards the front hall of Shoujing Hall.
The curved corridor slowly extends under the feet. Outside the corridor, bamboos sway in the morning breeze, making a rustling sound. Somehow, in such an early morning, Suru discovered many things that she usually neglected.
The paint on the railings of the corridor has been mottled and peeled off over the years, and many places have fallen off. I remember that the last time I refreshed the Shoujing Hall was when I was newly married to Tian Buyi. Unknowingly, this corridor has been with me for countless years, and I passed by here every day without realizing it. When Tian Buyi comes back, he must find a time to repaint it.
There is also the thickest pruning bamboo in the bamboo forest outside the railing, and you can vaguely see the two small swords carved on the bamboo. It was carved on the green bamboo when I was happy about my wedding, hoping that the two swords can be combined , Fellow cultivator of immortality. I remember that at that time, Tian Buyi used to write ugly jokes, pretended to be angry, and immediately panicked him to death, coaxed him for a long time before he was spared.
The scene of that year is still vivid in my mind now, a smile appeared on the corner of Suru's mouth, and her mood improved. She took a deep breath of the slightly sweet morning air and continued walking. Then, she thought that Rhubarb was not easy to raise from a young age. He had been away for so many days, and he didn't know if his apprentices took good care of him. Bar!
Suru shook her head with a smile, and decided to go to the kitchen to look at the rhubarb while it was still early. She walked all the way thinking about it, and unconsciously, she came to the front hall of the Shoujing Hall.
"clang!"
The first sound of bells and tripods in the early morning came from far away. It was the signal of Qing Yunmen's morning rise, and it was also the sound of waking up this new day. The sound of the bell and cauldron was deep and heavy, echoing in the mountains and lingering for a long time.
Suru's heart also seemed to jump violently following the sound.
In front of Shoujing Hall, there was a figure kneeling or lying down, and Rhubarb, who always liked to sleep late, somehow got up so early today, and obediently lay on the stone steps at the entrance of Shoujing Hall, looking listless.
As if hearing something, Dahuang's drooping ears moved, his head turned around, and he glanced at the Shoujing Hall. In the shadow of the morning light that had not yet been fully illuminated, there was a woman standing at some point. Staring blankly at all this.
For some reason, Suru's heart beat faster and faster, even as if it was about to burst, making her feel out of breath. The figure lying quietly on the stone steps of the Shoujing Hall was familiar, like a shadow engraved in the deepest part of her soul, which could not be erased no matter what.
But at this moment, she was praying thousands of times in her heart, she was wrong, she was wrong...
Her face was as white as paper, and her feet seemed to be filled with lead. She walked slowly step by step, her lips trembling slightly.
Rhubarb, lying beside Tian Buyi, looked at Suru's slowly approaching figure, shook his tail slightly at her, but buried his head on the ground again, silently watching the master lying in front of him. .
As he got closer, he finally reached a place where he could no longer escape, Tian Buyi's familiar face came into Suru's eyes, he seemed to have fallen asleep, and fell asleep peacefully.
Suru just felt her head spinning, her feet staggered, and she almost fell to the ground, but fortunately she was able to stabilize her body due to her profound skills, even so, her eyes were still blackened, her legs were weak, and she walked Arriving next to Tian Buyi's body, he fell down and sat down.
With a trembling hand, she slowly caressed Tian Buyi's body and clothes. When it passed Tian Buyi's chest, Suru's hand paused for a moment, and the trembling became more severe. Then, two tears slowly flowed from the corners of her eyes. One drop fell on Tian Buyi's face.
She gently stroked her husband's face, the tentacles were icy cold, and the chill came from the palm of her hand, as if it had been chilled to the bottom of her heart. She stared, her lips trembling constantly, as if she wanted to say something, but she couldn't utter a single word.
Beside her, Rhubarb let out a whining sound of "Wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu" and moved his head towards her leg, rubbing lightly against her leg.
She raised her head slowly, looking at the figure kneeling under the stone steps, and the gray-haired monkey beside that figure. After a long while, she said in a low voice, choked with sobs: "You are... Xiaofan?"
Ghost Li's body trembled, but he didn't raise his head, on the contrary, his head was buried lower, even tightly attached to the rough ground.
The mud sharpened his skin, but he seemed to be unconscious. After a while, he heard his trembling voice.
"It's...disciple...teacher...mother."
Suru smiled sadly and said: "You don't have to be like this, just get up and talk!"
Gui Li knelt down on the ground without raising his head, as if he had lost all his courage, he didn't dare to look at Suru again, and said in a low voice: "This disciple deserves death, no... failed to protect Master Zhouquan..." His voice was intermittent, It seemed that every word he said was a punishment for him.
Suru slowly lifted Tian Buyi's upper body, and hugged her in her arms. Her body trembled slightly. She didn't know if it was because she felt the coldness on Tian Buyi's body, or because she was thinking about taking this cold body, Use your own warmth to cover the heat.
"Get up!" Her voice sounded hollow and desolate.
In Gui Li's memory, he never remembered that Suru had such a powerless and helpless tone, and this discovery only made him more timid and painful, and he couldn't help but move his face slowly in the sand, so that the The pain on the face can disperse the heart that is about to burst.
"If you don't get up, how can you tell me what happened?" Suru said lightly, but her eyes were only looking at the body in her arms that had already lost consciousness, as if at this moment, she could no longer tolerate other things in her eyes. something.
Rhubarb crawled two steps forward, rubbed his head against Tian Buyi's body lightly, and whined incessantly.
Gui Li's body paused for a while, then slowly straightened up, raised his head, and looked at Suru. That dignified and beautiful woman, even at this moment of death, never lost her grace. In the morning wind, her slightly undulating hair fluttered on her temples, and she pressed her fair cheeks on the On Tian Buyi's face.
"You're back, you're finally home..."
This is the last sentence Gui Li heard Suru said.
Then, the blood in his chest suddenly surged, and the blood rolled up like a turbulent wave, and then his eyes went dark, like a string that had been tightly stretched in his mind, and it broke in an instant.
With a "plop", he fell to the ground like a board and passed out.
At the moment before he was about to lose consciousness in a daze, there was darkness in front of his eyes, and it felt as if his whole body was burned by fire, and it was extremely hot, but inside his body, it was as cold as ice. And suddenly there were several faint shouts in the distance, the shouts were full of panic and pain, and after a while, they turned into crying.
Chaotic footsteps sounded everywhere, but they all came in one direction.
"Miss! Mistress!..."
This silent cry was the last and only thought that flashed in Gui Li's mind, after that, he lost consciousness again.