The villain is right beside me

There are countless dynasties in this world, and the officials in the court are also interconnected. There are also positions of six ministries and nine ministers. However, the Daluo Dynasty only retained the six ministries. Above the six ministries is the inner court composed of many ministers and university scholars.

Mu Qing went to the Ministry of War and became a fifth-rank official. It could be said that as long as there was no war, it was the most leisurely department among the six ministries.

To put it bluntly, Mu Qing's history knowledge is not that good, and he has never understood what these officials of different ranks do or what their positions do. He can be said to be a real layman.

Mu Qing first bought a courtyard house near the capital, not too big or too small, where he and Yunxi lived alone, and Yunxi pretended to be his maid. Mu Qing didn't know that a maid was a job title, and there was still a chance to become a concubine, but if a maid had a low status, even if the master visited her, she would never become a concubine, and she would even be labeled as a "derogatory term" for being romantic.

This is equivalent to the difference between a concubine and a cauldron in the world of immortal cultivation. The former can still be regarded as a person, while the latter is really a tool.

The working hours here are quite reasonable. After the morning court, we get off work at 3 p.m. and we never work overtime.

Mu Qing just did his job day by day, and before he knew it, after a few months, he had seen all kinds of people and the mundane world. These mortals who were struggling to make a living, although they could not be as free and easy as the monks and look down upon the sky, but in the same way, whether they were monks or mortals, they were all people living together in this world, and under the unreachable heaven, what difference was there between them and ants.

Today, snow is falling all over the country, and the scenery is beautiful in the north, but the mansion is warm. Yunxi bought some goods, decorated the house with lights and big red lanterns hung high.

Mu Qing was stunned as he watched her busy with the arrangements and the snow sweeping.

"What's going on today? It's so lively."

It was a cold and snowy winter day, but the people in the house didn't feel cold. Yunxi, wearing a black silk jacket, blushed as she said, "Don't you know? The New Year is almost here!"

"!!!"

Mu Qing was stunned.

Yunxi looked at Mu Qing and whispered, "Yes, we all sit here and watch the world change. Time flies. Time is the most difficult thing for us. We watch the sunset in the west during the day and count the bright moon and stars in the sky at night. We have long forgotten what season it is... What's wrong with you?"

Mu Qing’s thoughts suddenly went back to the time when he was still a mortal.

On New Year’s Eve, people herald the good news of the New Year and always replace the old charms with new ones.

This should have been a happy festival, with bright lights at night and the whole family sitting together in harmony, eating the New Year's Eve dinner and welcoming tomorrow's New Year blessings, good luck and health.

And me?

After so many years, I have long forgotten what day it is. I thought I would lie in a cave for the rest of my life, drinking morning dew, fasting and becoming an ascetic.

but.

I can never forget it! It is impossible to forget it! I come from another world, that world is called Earth! It is called China!

That is my affectionate homeland! There are my parents who gave birth to me and raised me! There are the footprints of my life!

One year spent similar, each year is different.

The biggest difference between monks and mortals is not the difference in strength, but lifespan! How many years can a monk live? One hundred years, five hundred years, one thousand years! In the short life of an ordinary person, others are in their prime, but you are an old man with white hair.

When you witness your loved ones grow old and die before your eyes, what’s even more terrifying is that you are powerless to do anything! This is really cruel!

At some point, Mu Qing's eyes were filled with tears. He was dressed in a snow-white robe and stood alone in the snow, filled with desolation, loneliness and coldness.

Suddenly, a strong thought surged in Mu Qing’s heart. My path is completely different now. Since I can’t forget it, I will bury it deep in my heart, turn it into tenacious strength, and keep going!

Mu Qing was standing in the snow, looking a little dazed, his eyes looking forward without focus. Yunxi saw his expression and didn't dare to speak, for fear of disturbing his mood at the moment.

From Yunxi's perspective, Mu Qing in front of her was filled with a temperament that she could not understand, which seemed to be endless nostalgia, indescribable loneliness, deep sadness, and deep loneliness and... loneliness!

These auras gathered on Mu Qing's face, gradually forming an indescribable and complex expression. Yunxi secretly wondered why he had such a heavy heart.

In Yunxi's eyes, Mu Qing often had this strange expression, and this strange expression appeared more and more in front of her. Yunxi always had a feeling that he was very lonely.

Whether on a crowded street or in a sect with tens of thousands of people, Mu Qing is still independent and aloof. This is a unique temperament that no one in this world can imitate!

Yunxi, dressed in black as ink, stood quietly behind Mu Qing, silently looking at Mu Qing's lonely and desolate mood, a pair of bright and pretty eyes unconsciously showed a trace of intimate tears.

Suddenly, when Mu Qing woke up from the loneliness, the lonely temperament also disappeared quietly. In front of her, it seemed that the person who had disappeared had come back, and even had something more.

In Yunxi's eyes, it was as if Mu Qing had crossed the long river of time and landed in this world from the other side of the distant starry sky, full of mystery and unrestrained loneliness.

It seems like he is the only one in this world!

what happened?

Yunxi was stunned: Why do I feel this way? Or how could there be such a person?

"Ha——" Mu Qing let out a long breath, as if he wanted to reveal all the bitterness, confusion, sadness, melancholy... bit by bit.

Mu Qing smiled in a relaxed manner, and in a trance, his mood seemed to be different again. His shoulders sank, as if he had unloaded a burden, and he felt relaxed, returning to his normal self, and was still the same Mu Qing.

Turning around, Mu Qing saw Yunxi's shocked expression. He was stunned for a moment, looked at himself, and said, "What's wrong?"

Yunxi was extremely surprised: "You just...how are you now? How do you feel?"

Mu Qing's face was full of question marks: "What feeling?"

"Just now... Oh, there is a strange state. What are you thinking about?"

Yunxi suspected that Mu Qing had just realized an unprecedented state of mind, a state of mind that could only be felt but not expressed in words, like enlightenment, but not really. It was mysterious and profound, probably like this.

Mu Qing frowned and thought carefully, there was nothing special.

This was similar to the scene in the Immortal Valley, similar to enlightenment, but Mu Qing was not enlightened just now, but felt... sensed nature... sensed his heart...

Yunxi did not ask any more questions, because even if she said it, she could not express it in words. She smiled and said, "Let's go out and enjoy the snow scenery."

"it is good."

The two walked side by side, walked out of the mansion and came to the street. Looking around, the whole city was covered in silver, but there were still people coming and going, as prosperous as a busy city.

The eaves were wrapped in a layer of snow-white quilt, the ground had been swept clean, revealing bluestone roads, and someone was still clearing the snow on both sides.

Some little children wrapped in big red coats were chasing and playing in the snow, with snowballs flying.

Because it was the New Year, the capital was filled with festive atmosphere. The daughters and wives of wealthy families also took their families out, and small vendors crowded the streets and alleys, with quite a lot of people.

The two were walking slowly on the road, and were just moving forward when suddenly a large group of people came from the front, beating drums and gongs, cymbals sounding deafeningly, and flags fluttering in the wind. All of a sudden, merchants and pedestrians were on the road one after another, and many people knelt on the ground and worshiped them.

When Mu Qing saw this grand ceremony, he thought that even a king or a prince might not be able to match it, so he looked over curiously. From the flags, he saw the Buddhist six-syllable mantra and the swastika Buddha's name. Then a large group of young novices and monks came out, chanting the Buddha's name with the sound of cymbals and trumpets. Only then did he realize that they were monks.

Mu Qing looked intently and saw four luxurious carriages passing by one after another. There was a lotus throne on the carriage, and a monk in a bright red cassock sat on each of them. The four monks were all over 70 years old, with long beards and long eyebrows, and solemn appearance. They closed their eyes and chanted scriptures, oblivious to the noise around them. They really looked like masters of Taoism.

As the carriage passed by, the devout believers stood up one after another. Someone asked, "Aren't the four Buddhas practicing in Longquan Temple? Where are you going?"

Another person who knew about the situation said, “I heard that Prince Xiande invited four Buddhist masters to perform rituals to celebrate the auspicious day of the New Year.”

There were many people in the city who worshipped Taoism and Buddha. Unexpectedly, these monks were so popular among the people that even the princes invited them to perform rituals.

But Mu Qing took a look and immediately realized that something was wrong. These four eminent monks were all cultivators in the awakening state. They were only at the eighth or ninth level, while the young novices and monks who followed behind were all cultivators at the first or second level.

Mu Qing and Yun Xi looked at each other and both saw that something was wrong with them.

The cultivation level of the cultivators is actually invisible to ordinary people. If they can cast spells, they can still recognize these cultivators. But so many low-level cultivators gathered in the city all of a sudden, this is too abnormal!

Mu Qing pulled someone over and asked, "Excuse me, brother, where are these four living Buddhas from? Why are they so popular?"

"You are from another place, right?" the man said. "These four gods and Buddhas are famous monks who live in seclusion in Longquan Temple on Longquan Mountain in the east of the city! They have profound Taoism and great magical powers, and they are also kind and compassionate Bodhisattvas."

"Oh? How to be compassionate?"

"Hey, let me tell you something. These four monks are really immortals who have descended to earth. They are proficient in magic, and can pick up objects from the air and walk on fire barefoot... They often spread the teachings near our capital. Our people love them very much. We have ordered temples to be built and donated money for incense. Countless believers have come to worship them. Look, those little monks are them."

"There is such a way to recruit disciples!" Mu Qing was shocked. Isn't this just a scam? But seeing his expression, he believed it.

"What's the point of you donating incense and becoming a disciple?"

"My Buddha said: As long as you have compassion in your heart and accumulate merits, there will definitely be karma and reincarnation, and you will be reborn as a good person in the next life."

Afterlife? Mu Qing doesn't believe it at all!

Mu Qing asked again: "How long have they been here?"

"About one or two years."

Yunxi also didn't believe it. She said to me, "Have you found anything strange?"

"what?"

"They have so many followers, but not all of them are gifted. Even ordinary warriors can cultivate to the awakening state, but the speed of cultivation is so fast, which is no less than a small sect."

This is a problem! When Mu Qing was practicing, he either swallowed pills or spiritual stones, which consumed a lot of resources. But can they have this ability?

"Who cares about them..." Mu Qing didn't want to meddle in other people's business. Besides, how could he take these little monks with low cultivation seriously?

Yunxi looked over carefully and said, "Their Qi and blood are weak, which shows that they are practicing evil ways. If they didn't go wrong in their practice, then they might be using the method of taking Yin to replenish Yang. With such a large number of believers, if it is just the latter, it is far from enough... Is there something in Longquan Temple?"