The first Taoist priest of the Tang Dynasty

The deeper you go, the more quiet it seems, or even more gloomy.

Zhong Mugen turned his head and looked around, afraid that other wild beasts would suddenly come out and attack him.

He didn't have much experience in walking in the mountains and forests. If he was an old hunter, he wouldn't be so cautious.

Where there are tigers, it is naturally impossible for other large beasts to appear. This is experience and a law of nature.

Half an hour later, Zhong Mugen came to a small hill, squatted down beside a big tree, looked at the blood stains along the side of the big tree, and looked at the rocks not far away.

There are not many rocks, but there are not many. At the bottom of the rocks, there is a cave. It is not very big, but it is big enough for an adult to enter with a cat.

Zhong Mugen carefully looked at the cave, thinking that the cave was the hiding place of the big tiger.

Because the bloodstains extended all the way into the cave, Zhong Mugen didn't dare to go forward to investigate. He didn't know if the tiger was dead or alive. If he went forward and found that the tiger was still alive, Thinking about it, I am afraid that I will be buried under the tiger's mouth.

After observing for half a quarter of an hour, Zhong Mugen suppressed the fear and tension in his heart, clenched the wooden stick in his hand, leaned forward, and walked lightly towards the cave.

When he came near the entrance of the cave, Zhong Mugen didn't dare to take a breath, and looked straight into the cave.

Confused, the big tiger from last night was lying in the cave, sticking out its tongue and licking the wound on its body.

Suddenly, the tiger stopped licking the wound, looked at Zhong Mugen outside the cave entrance, and stared at the tiger's eyes, as if he wanted to eat Zhong Mugen.

At this time, Zhong Mugen's heart was beating non-stop. In his eyes, he was a big tiger who was still alive, and it seemed that his life would die today.

"Roar" Duhu got up with difficulty, roared at Zhong Mugen, then ran out of the hole, and rushed towards Zhong Mugen quickly.

Zhong Mugen was terrified by the scene in front of him, and quickly waved the wooden stick in his hand to resist, but it was of no avail. The wooden stick was directly dodged by Dug, and took advantage of the opportunity to bite the wooden stick in Zhong Mugen's hand, and directly The wooden stick in Zhong Mugen's hand was snatched away, and the tiger took a few steps back, shook the tiger's head, threw away the wooden stick, stared at Zhong Mugen, ready to pounce on the person in front of him.

Zhong Mugen looked at the tiger who was about to run close to him, and he was so nervous and scared that he turned around and ran quickly towards the way he came, thinking in his heart that as long as the tiger was still injured, he must not be able to escape him.

Chapter 20

Big Tiger looked at the person in front of him and turned around and fled quickly. How could he let this human go away, let alone come to his own territory, how could he give up such a great food and automatically deliver it to the door.

After a few jumps, the tiger had already reached not far behind Zhong Mugen.

Zhong Mugen was shocked, but he didn't run very far, so he had to choose a big tree, and started to deal with the tiger.

If there was no such a big tree, the clock tree root would have been knocked down by the tiger's paw.

The tiger circled around the big tree, staring at the human being in front of him with two tiger eyes, determined to kill the human being and eat it.

In a panic, Zhong Mugen took the kitchen knife from his waist and held it tightly in his hand, always vigilantly avoiding the tiger's attack.

"Roar..." Dumb was not reconciled and kept turning around in circles, and the wound on its body burst open again, and began to bleed. If one person and one tiger continue to stand in such a stalemate, it won't take half a day for Dumb to bleed to death. death, there is no need to swing a knife at him.

With a mouth full of blood, he roared at Zhong Mugen. The hot air from Dug's mouth, mixed with the smell of blood, hit Zhong Mugen directly. Smell the smell, as if he hadn't brushed his teeth for a hundred years.

Although Zhong Mugen was terrified in his heart, he couldn't panic at this moment, otherwise, he would definitely be caught in the poisonous claws of the tiger.

The tiger turned around and ran over, waving its paws and slapping the angry human behind the big tree.

Zhong Mugen immediately backed away to the side of the big tree, the tiger's claws could only slap towards the air, and did not hurt Zhong Mugen. Fortunately, the tree was big enough, if it was a small tree, maybe at this time Zhong Mugen had already fallen to the ground.

One tiger alone, unable to stand still, and Zhong Mugen didn't have a long stick in his hand, so he could only circle around the big tree. If he wanted to run, he had to run faster than the tiger, otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Roar" Duhu was eager, and roared at Zhong Mugen again.

At this moment, when the tiger roared, Zhong Mugen's line of sight was blocked, and it was impossible for the tiger to swing its claws in a hurry when the tiger roared.

Holding the kitchen knife tightly, he waved his hand and chopped hard.

"Bang" the kitchen knife slashed on the right side of Dumb's forehead, the sound was so loud that the fur above Dumb's right eye was directly cut into a wound the size of a palm by the kitchen knife.

The tiger was hit so hard, the wound on the right side of the tiger's head immediately bled. Fortunately, the tiger's skin was still attached to the fur, so it was not completely cut off, but the tiger's blood began to flow to the tiger's eyes .

"Roar, roar, roar!" The tiger was hurt and kept roaring, the tiger's blood flowed to the eyes, which blocked its sight even more.

Dumb vowed to take Zhong Mugen under his claws, but the reality is cruel. With the stalemate of one tiger and one person, Zhong Mugen could not be taken down at all.

As time went by, Dumb finally couldn't bear such a stalemate. Apart from the wound on his forehead, other wounds on his body also began to bleed.

The tiger couldn't bear the pain on his body. After a long battle, he didn't get the result he wanted. As if he had some wisdom, he finally turned the tiger's head and flew away quickly, heading deeper into the mountains. In Zhong Mugen, who had a nervous expression on his face and his whole body was tense.

Seeing the tiger galloping away and disappearing without a trace, Zhong Mugen leaned on the big tree and sat down paralyzed.

All the strength in his body was exhausted in the stalemate just now, and he hoped that this big tiger would not appear again, and the farther he ran, the better.

Zhong Mugen, who recovered a little bit of strength, started trotting back with the kitchen knife in hand, leaving blood all over the ground, as if nothing had happened.

Half an hour later, Zhong Mugen came out of the forest, and all this looked so beautiful in Zhong Mu's eyes. He did not die under the claws of a big tiger, and he still had a family and a pair of children who needed him to take care of him. Take a long breath out of your mouth.

"Father, how is it? Did you get hurt?"

Zhong Wen saw his father come back with a kitchen knife in his hand, it looked like he had fought a lot, his body was completely soaked.

"Father is useless. Although the big tiger has been injured, it is only a minor injury. Fortunately, dad is smarter, otherwise he almost died under the claws of the big tiger just now."

Before Zhong Mugen returned to the open space at home, he saw his two sons and daughters making wild hemp rope, and felt relieved. Whether he could read Xiaowen in the future was not too important to him. If he really wanted to die, the family Everything will change, it's better to be alive.

"Father, are you not injured? Is there anything wrong?"

Zhong Wen listened to his father's words, looked at Zhong Mugen, and found that apart from the wet clothes on his body, there was no wound, and his hanging heart fell to the ground.

"Father is fine, just tired and not hurt, Xiao Hua, bring a bowl of water for Dad."

Zhong Mugen walked over, sat on the stone in front of the open space, and said casually.

"It's fine if Dad is fine, it's my fault, I shouldn't tell Dad about the blood that Dahu shed."

In fact, Zhong Wen had been afraid for a long time, but he was small and weak, otherwise, he would have carried the wooden stick and went to chase the tiger by himself.

"Xiaowen, it's not your fault, it's dad who got greedy."

Zhong Mugen didn't mean to blame Zhong Wen, it was also caused by his own greed, but fortunately nothing happened, otherwise, the family would collapse.

"Dad, drink water."

Xiaohua fetched half a bowl of water, handed it to Zhong Mugen, and whispered, but her eyes never left Zhong Mugen.

"Little Hua." Zhong Mugen took the bowl, drank all the water in the bowl in one go, and let out a long breath.

Zhong Wen and his sister stood beside Zhong Mugen, looking at their father, they didn't know what to say.

Zhong Wen regretted it very much in his heart. If it wasn't for his selfishness, his father would not be so desperate. If something happened to his father, it is estimated that his mother would not know whether he would go crazy. Fortunately, nothing happened to my father.

If something really happened in the future, he couldn't tell his father, no matter how much temptation there was, he had to endure it, this was the decision in Zhong Wen's heart.

And Xiaohua is only worried about her father, she doesn't know how much fear and fear her father has endured, Xiaohua is still that Xiaohua.

As for Zhong Mugen, besides sighing, he basically had no other thoughts in his mind.

As a strong laborer in the family, he understands that he needs to take care of the family, even if he is a little tired and bitter, he must feed his wife and the children in front of him.

Of course, if a big tiger can be exchanged for dozens or even hundreds of copper coins, Zhong Mugen is willing to exchange his life for another life, this is his true thinking.

As for today, it can only be said to be a mistake. I misjudged the injuries on Dumb's body, and I also misjudged my own abilities. If I call a few men from the village to go together today, maybe I can really hunt today. A big tiger came back.

After resting at home for a quarter of an hour or two, Zhong Mugen continued to work in the rice fields. Before leaving, he did not forget to tell the two little children in the family.

Zhong Wen looked at the back of his far away father, feeling remorse in his heart.

"What kind of tiger are you fighting? My father almost died because of my words. What my son did is really cheating." Zhong Wen began to blame himself in his heart.

"Brother, I'm starting a fire, do you want to roast hemp rope?"

Xiaohua took Zhong Wen's hand who was standing quietly, and called Zhong Wen to make hemp rope.

"Okay, I'll take the hemp rope and carry it to the stove to roast it."

Zhong Wen withdrew his mind, hugged the hemp rope from the ground, and went to the stove to start baking.

When the new hemp rope is urgently needed, it needs to be baked with fire to remove the moisture from the hemp rope, then wet it again, and then bake it several times. This kind of hemp rope can also be used as a normal dry hemp rope of.

After finishing the hemp rope, Zhong Wen took a small wooden hoe to dig some earthworms, took a kitchen knife and a basket, went to the small river, and continued fishing.

When he came to the small river, he cut a piece of bamboo and made a fishing rod. Along the way, he made a few barbs and tied them to a fine hemp rope to make a chain fishhook.

Holding the fishing rod in hand, she quietly watched the movement of the float, and Xiaohua did the same, waiting for the big fish to take the bait.

If there is a chair, it is a good way to fish, but unfortunately there are no chairs at home, only rocks.

Not to mention chairs, few households in the village seem to have these things.

It's not that the chair is difficult to make, but it's mainly because there are no tools, and there is no craftsmanship. The people in the village basically follow the habits of the older generation, and rarely change anything.

No one in the village can read, let alone read, except for the Taoists in Longquan Temple, no one can read.

Every day, apart from working in the fields, rubbing linen and weaving silk, there is no extra time to come out.

After a quarter of an hour or two, the basket was filled with half a basket of small fish, the largest one was the size of a palm, and the smaller ones were only finger-thick small miscellaneous fish.

"Brother, today's fish are so small."

Xiaohua squatted by the basket, stretched out her small hands to pick up the fish in the basket, disgusted that today's fish was too small.

"Little sister, don't worry, we've only been fishing for a long time, maybe I'll catch a big fish for you in a while, so that Auntie can cook a big meal for you."

Zhong Wen looked back at Xiao Hua, and knew that the little girl's thoughts were all on Big Yu. For Xiao Yu, she didn't really dislike her, but she habitually thought that the bigger the fish, the better.

"Well, brother is the best."

Xiao Hua looked at the floats in the water, then raised her head to look at Zhong Wen, and nodded heavily.

"Hoo!" The fish float floating on the surface of the small river was suddenly dragged down by a strong force.

Zhong Wen immediately grabbed the bamboo pole, and carefully lifted it to the side. If he lifted it directly, Zhong Wen believed that the force would definitely break the bamboo pole.

"Brother, it must be a big fish, I'll help you."

Xiaohua saw the ripples on the water surface, the movement was too loud, and she shouted happily.

"Little sister, you stay on the side first. It is probably a big fish. I have to stalk it slowly, or the fishing rod will break easily."

Zhong Wen didn't dare to ask Xiao Hua for help, if he really wanted to give her the fishing rod, then don't drag this little guy into the river.

Half an hour later, Zhong Wen had been skulking the big fish for quite a long time, and the big fish at this time had long lost the movement it had just had.

Carefully dragging the big fish to the bank of the small river, because the big fish has never come from the surface of the water, so the Zhong Wen brothers and sisters have also seen from the water, whether it is a big fish or something.

Chapter 21 Main Hall

"Crash!" The big fish was finally dragged out of the water, and its huge tail hit the water directly, making a lot of noise.

"Brother, brother, the fish is so big."

Xiao Hua looked at the bank of the small river, the big fish that had just been dragged out of the water, exclaimed loudly, its small mouth could hold an egg.

"Little sister, step back first."

Zhong Wen looked at the big fish in front of him, and he could only describe it as big. Considering the size of this fish, it was already considered a big fish.

The big fish is at least one meter long and weighs tens of kilograms. No wonder I still have so much strength after skating for nearly an hour.

If the hemp rope hadn't been specially roasted today, otherwise, the fishing line wouldn't have lasted so long, even the barbs didn't fall off, and even the bamboo pole in his hand wasn't broken, Zhong Wen secretly praised it.

The fish was too heavy to be dragged directly to the shore. Zhong Wen went down to the small river. Fortunately, the water on the bank was not deep, otherwise he would not have ventured down to the river bank like this. It is difficult to say whether you can swim back after falling.

"Little sister, pull the fishing rod back and use some strength. I will bring the big fish up."

In order to prevent the big fish from running away, Zhong Wen didn't care whether Xiao Hua's strength could hold the big fish, and directly handed over the fishing rod to Xiao Hua to let him retreat.

"Okay, brother."

Xiao Hua took the fishing rod from her brother, and stepped back excitedly. Zhong Wen took advantage of the straightening of the fishing line to pick up the big fish and pushed it to the bank of the small river.

The brother and sister spent a lot of effort to bring the big fish ashore. Zhong Wen's body was already drenched, while Xiao Hua was tired and sitting not far away to rest.

Because the strength of the big fish had already been exhausted, and he was hurt by the barbs in his body, it was futile to struggle, not to mention that he was almost bleeding out.

"Brother, this fish is really big, how do we get it back?"

After Xiao Hua had a rest, she looked at the big fish in front of her, and at the two of them. With the small bodies of the siblings, it was impossible to bring this big fish home.

"Little sister, go to the field and call Dad over. We are too weak. This big fish weighs at least fifty or sixty catties. We won't be able to get it back."

Zhong Wen sat on the ground and looked at the big fish in front of him. He had more heart than energy, so he could only call Xiao Hua to inform his father to come and help.

After hearing this, Xiaohua got up and walked quickly to the farmland where Zhong Mugen worked.

"Daddy, daddy, we caught a big fish, the fish is too big, brother and I can't carry it back, daddy, go and have a look."

Xiaohua came to the edge of the farmland and shouted loudly to Zhong Mugen.