Copper Coins

In the southwest corner of the city wall of Qingping County, bypassing the Dupan Mountain all the way forward, there is an ancient river that leads directly to the big river, nicknamed Wild Duck Park.

There have been rumors about this river in the Qingping area since ancient times. It is always said that there is a river god in the river, who can bless the farmland in this area with good weather and delicious fish and shrimp.

As time went by, it became more and more popular, so people built a river temple by the river to offer sacrifices to people near and far for peace of mind.

But this Wild Duck Pond is a wild place after all. During the day, people occasionally come to the River God Temple, but at night, there is no one, and it is a good place to be haunted.

That night, the Heshen Temple uncharacteristically lit candles in the middle of the night, and the two bean oil fires swayed slightly at the feet of the Heshen stone statue, illuminating the room dimly.There were two people sitting on the cushions in the temple, one was a chunky middle-aged man, and the other was a thin and thin young man.

A young monk in Yunxue's white robe was standing by the candle, and by the light of the candle, he spread out a piece of yellow paper on the incense table.He raised his sleeves, dipped the tip of his pen in ink, and wrote a few words on the yellow paper:

Jiang Shining

The seventh day of the eighth month of Bingyin Year

On an old tree beside the temple gate, a man in black was sitting on a thick bent branch, with his back against the tree trunk, one leg bent, and the other hanging down leisurely, looking a bit lazy.His plain face was warmed by the light from the temple, and the contours of his handsome eyebrows and eyes were softened, showing a rare gentleness.

It was none other than Xue Xian.

It was rare for the Fang Mansion to rest late that night, all the people, old and young, continued to drink some wine, and fell asleep with a hint of tipsiness.As for Xue Xian and the others, they left after everyone had rested.

"Aren't you afraid that your sister will scold you for burning paper in the future?" Xue Xian rested his elbows on his knees, and with the other hand he flapped the leaves hanging by his hand.

Standing under the tree, Jiang Shining looked up at him, shook his head and said, "My sister is soft-hearted and reluctant."

"You are willing to leave without saying goodbye." Xue Xian grabbed two leaves and folded them in his hands.

"If you don't leave at night, you won't be able to leave during the day, and I have nothing to do with her crying at me." Jiang Shining smiled, "Short-term pain is worse than long-term pain, I have to leave, I left her a letter. "

Xue Xian nodded, "Okay, the left and right are your sister, not mine."

He tilted his head, stared at the thin nerd under the tree, looked up and down, and then said: "You really think about it? There is no going back for this matter."

"Yeah." Jiang Shining nodded, "My parents are on their way, my sister is doing well, and I don't have any regrets, so it's time to go. There is no reason for a good ghost to stay in the world and not reincarnate."

It is also true, if it is delayed for too long, it will be difficult to enter the cycle of reincarnation, which is not a good thing.

"There is always a banquet in the world." Jiang Shining looked down at his hands, feet and body, then turned his head and carefully scanned the people who came all the way in the temple, and finally raised his eyes to Xue Xian.

The three years of wandering around in the ruins of the Jiang Family Medical Hall seemed like a fleeting moment, passing by in the blink of an eye, and he couldn't even remember it now.Only I clearly remember that when I raised my eyes in the tall weeds in the corner of the room, I saw this young man in a black robe. His face was so pale that it was almost sickly, but there was an arrogant beauty in his eyebrows and eyes.

Since then, he had a paper body, found his parents, and even traveled such a long distance, crossed a long river, wrote a letter full of words, and bid farewell to his sister...

"Suddenly remembered—" Jiang Shining said to Xue Xian, "I don't seem to have ever said thank you seriously."

Xue Xian sneered, "Thank you for what?

I have so much to thank, I can't explain it in a few words.Jiang Shining smiled.

Xuan Min looked over from the Heshen Temple, nodded at Jiang Shining, and lit the folded yellow paper in his hand.A long stick of incense smoked quietly in the tongue of yellow paper burning.

The yellow paper was slowly burned to ashes, and the long incense fell down one by one.

Jiang Shining's figure faded away...

He made a deep bow in the direction of Xuan Min in the thin and thick cigarette, then turned around and bowed to Xue Xian.

"You are so bitter all of a sudden, do you want to flatter for a while, so that I will remember to burn you a piece of paper money in the future?" Xue Xian squinted his eyes in a daze as he looked at his increasingly blurred outline.

Jiang Shining: "There is no need for paper money, and I will not pay it if it is burned." I just wish everyone a safe life through the incense of this river temple.

After all, this farewell is really an indefinite goodbye.

The last ash of Changxiang's incense fell down, and Jiang Shining's figure was never seen again.

Xue Xian stared at the place where he disappeared for a moment, then turned over and jumped down from the tree. The black robe fluttered and closed in the night, following his steps, it swept silently across the grass.

He stood at the gate of the temple, but he didn't lift his foot to step into the door.He looked at Xuan Min who was standing by the incense table and flicked the candle wick, his heart was ready to move, and a trace of unexplained regret welled up.

Xuan Min glanced at him in the candlelight, then looked away.

With his eyes lowered, he calmly folded the paper ash and incense ash talisman on the incense table a few times, swept his long sleeves, and then the cluster of flames on the candlestick fell into the folded talisman.Like a simple river lantern.

Xuan Min held the river lantern made of talisman paper in one hand, and strode towards Xue Xian with big strides.

The ground inside the Heshen Temple was slightly higher than the outside. Xuan Min stopped at the threshold and handed the river lantern in his hand to Xue Xian. His quiet gaze fell into Xue Xian's eyes, and he took it back like a dragonfly. "The original name of this river is Ping An."

Can live in peace, can send wild ghosts.

Xue Xian took the river lantern and squinted at Xuan Min again, but he suddenly raised his hand and touched Xue Xian's face.

When the warm fingertips touched, Xue Xian's eyes flickered.

It's just that the body temperature suddenly left again.

"Dry leaves." Xuan Min said in a low voice, and then turned the thin withered leaves from Xue Xian's temple into ashes, and scattered them in the soil in front of the door.

Xue Xian closed his gaze, said "Mmm", then strode to the riverside with the lantern in his hand, and placed the lantern carrying the incense ashes on the surface of the ancient river.That star light flows quietly along the river, as if sending an old friend to the other side of the underworld.

He suddenly thought about it, what was the regret that he didn't know why before——

Seeing the moment when Jiang Shining disappeared, he felt some emotion, and felt that something was missing suddenly. Although Jiang Shining was not a noisy person, it still made him feel that the surroundings were suddenly quieter.

There is always a banquet in the world, not to mention that his lifespan is almost endless, he always has to watch others grow old and then meet again indefinitely, including Xuan Min...

Xue Xian frowned, feeling that such an idea made him extremely unhappy, and it was more than just regret.

At the same time, on the top of a low mountain to the south of the river temple, a group of people and horses were sitting quietly in the night to adjust their breath.Taking advantage of the moonlight on the top of the mountain, they could see that their white clothes were damaged everywhere, and they were in a state of embarrassment, as if they had just escaped from some predicament.

This group of people was the people of Taichang Temple who were surrounded by a cage formed by Xue Xian at the foot of Dupan Mountain.

They took advantage of the moonlight and the aura of the mountain to rest and recover on the top of the mountain, but they never lit a single lantern, as if deliberately hiding their tracks.

"Are you sure it's them there?" Taizhu Rare took off his mask, while combing his hair, he raised his chin towards a light in the distant mountains.

"Without a doubt." Tai Bu nodded.

From them, they could vaguely see a star of the River God Temple, but they couldn't see anyone there.All the information is determined by Tai Bu.

Although someone made a mistake the night before, but generally speaking, Taizhu's divination is still accurate, and there are very few mistakes, so since she is so sure, Taizhu is a little relieved.

"It's just—" Taizhu tied up her hair, put down her hands and fiddled with the edge of the mask, and suddenly said, "Actually, I still have some doubts..."

Tai Bu was taken aback, turned his head to look at him: "What?"

"Before I was too nervous and flustered, so I ignored one point. We bumped into the national teacher approaching at the foot of Dupan Mountain. When we bowed and were about to speak out, we received a letter from the national teacher." Tai Zhu frowned and said: "You Did you see the national teacher delivering the letter at that time?"

They have seen two returning national teachers to communicate with others. It is said that the moment the national teacher burns the letter paper, the other party can receive the letter.

But at that time Taizhu didn't even dare to lift his head, let alone saw the national teacher burn the letter.

"Maybe it happened to be burned before turning the corner of the mountain road, and we didn't receive it until we turned around." Tai Bu guessed for a while, and then said firmly: "But don't be suspicious, it is indeed the national teacher. When he left, I looked at his fingers specifically."

Tai Zhu was taken aback: "Finger?"

Although people in Taichang Temple have more opportunities to see the national teacher than ordinary people, even if they were brought up by Taichang Temple since they were young, they rarely have the opportunity to get close to the national teacher, because the national teacher does not Likes to be close to others.

Therefore, few of them can detect the subtle characteristics of the national teacher, such as whether there are moles or scars.

But Tai Bu knows one place...

That was the first time she saw the national teacher. She was only seven years old, with a sallow complexion and a thin body, like a top-heavy bean sprout.At that time, her family was poor, her father died early, and her mother was seriously ill, and she was about to die.

She knelt beside the bed in the dilapidated house at home, crying out of breath in the bitter wind and rain, when a monk knocked on the door.

At that time, she saw the national teacher for the first time. His monk clothes were as white as clouds and snow, and he was extremely tall. From her angle, he could only see his thin chin.

He bent down and stretched out a hand to her, that hand was also very good-looking, well-proportioned, clean as if it had never touched a speck of filth.In spite of his silver mask, she felt that he must be better looking than anyone she had ever seen in her short life.

She almost forgot to cry, and raised her face and asked the monk in a daze, "Who are you?"

The monk's voice was as deep as water, and she felt relieved when she heard it: "The poor monk's dharma name is the same as the lamp, and I will pick you up for Taichang Temple."

She stared at the slender and slender hand in front of her, barely heard what the other person said, and nodded incomprehensibly.

Since then, she has embarked on another path.

Although in the next ten years, after seeing too many things, the impression of the national teacher in her heart is far from the first glimpse when she first met. When facing the national teacher, she is far more respectful and cautious than before. However, she still clearly remembers every detail when she met the national teacher when she was seven years old, and she can remember it for a lifetime.

Seeing her in a daze, Taizhu asked again in doubt: "What's wrong with the teacher's finger?"

"There is another very small mole on the side of the ring finger joint of the national teacher's finger." Tai Bu returned to God, "I saw it when I saw the national teacher for the first time, and I always remembered it. I took a special look at it at the foot of Dupan Mountain that day. Confirmed, there will be no mistake, he is the national teacher."

Unexpectedly, after she finished speaking, Tai Zhu not only did not dispel her doubts, but instead took a breath, frowned, and said, "Isn't that right, I went to Tianji Academy a few years ago, do you remember? At that time, the national teacher was playing chess in the pavilion. When I was standing next to him, I forgot why. Anyway, I took a closer look at the hands of the national teacher, oh yes, because you told me about palmistry and bones in those few days , I secretly took a look at the bones of the national teacher's fingers, and I am sure that there is not a single mole on his hands."