Become a cat [Zhan Zhao]

After seeing off the uninvited chinchilla, Zhan Zhao turned his head and bumped into Alan who was full of curiosity, and couldn't help laughing: "Have you finished writing the article silently?"

"Ah..." Ah Lan glanced back at the pen and paper on the table with a guilty conscience, then lowered her head and replied honestly, "No, I'm only focused on watching you and that Mr. Bai exercising martial arts."

Zhan Zhao pretended to be serious: "Why don't you finish writing soon?"

"Hey!" Ah Lan quickly trotted to the table, bit the pen and finished the last few sentences silently, then looked up at Zhan Zhao with a smile, "Sir, it's finished."

Zhan Zhao stood by the table, took a quick glance at the childish writing of the article, and then pointed to the last sentence: "Read it yourself, what did you write?"

Alan opened her mouth to read, and then said "ah", blushing and erased the last sentence and rewritten it.Zhan Zhao casually tapped her on the head, and said, "I'm not focused, how can I do this?"

"Oh." Alan lowered her head with a blushing face, then raised her head with a smile after a while, "Sir, I have something on my mind. Who is that Mr. Bai just now?"

Zhan Zhao deliberately said: "You were here just now, didn't you hear him announce his family name?"

"Listen, but what is the golden mouse? What are the five mice?" Alan was full of doubts, and quickly vomited out.In fact, she still has a question—why does the person surnamed Bai say that Zhan Zhao is a "royal cat"?Could it be that he also knew that Zhan Zhao was a cat demon, so couldn't he be a rat demon?Is it because cats and mice don't get along, that's why he wants Zhan Zhao not to be called "Royal Cat"?But is it free to do such a thing as a cat demon or not?

Zhan Zhao didn't know that A Lan had so many childish thoughts, he just said: "Five Rats is a title given to five people in the world, and Chin Mao Shu is the youngest of the five sworn brothers. Because he looks flirtatious. , gave birth to a good skin, so it is called 'Chinosaurus'."

"But how do you call them 'rats' in the Jianghu? It sounds sneaky. And the rats like to steal food. I tried to hide some food in the ancestral hall, but I was eaten by them in the end. Are the five rats not good people? Like to steal things?" Alan didn't understand Jianghu, nor did she understand why some people were nicknamed "rats".

Zhan Zhao's brows twitched when he heard this, and he thought that it was a good thing Bai Yutang had already left, otherwise, with that person's temper, he would definitely have made trouble with them after hearing this.Facing the knowledge-seeking girl, he could only patiently explain: "The rat has a psychic nature, and is good at jumping over walls and running like flying. The head of the five rats, Lu Fang, was given a nickname because of his lightness kung fu." It was called 'Drilling Sky Mouse'. Later, in order to sound neat, the brothers also called it 'Mouse'."

"Ah, it turns out that mice still have this ability. That's right, I used to really want to catch them and prevent them from eating my food, but I couldn't." Alan leaned on the table with his chin resting, one leg dangling slightly She said, reminiscing about the past, "I asked someone later, and they said that if I didn't buy rat poison, I would have to keep a cat..." She suddenly stopped talking, and looked at Zhan Zhao anxiously.

Zhan Zhao told her seriously: "It's all right to tell me about it. In front of that Mr. Bai just now, don't mention 'rat poison', 'cat catching mice' and the like. He seems to like Regardless of these, he will be annoyed if you say so."

"Well, I know." A Lan nodded again and again, deeply convinced.While she was talking, she tidied up the paper and pens on the table, and asked casually: "Sir, you just said that you want to make an appointment with that 'Chinchmouse' for a martial arts competition in a year's time, because you have something to do. Do you have anything important to do? It must be a very important thing to do it for a year."

As she spoke, she raised her eyes and looked at Zhan Zhao as calmly as possible.The days are going so well these days, Alan almost forgets that he is a homeless orphan.But if Zhan Zhao really had something important to do, would he still bring himself by his side?

Probably not.Ah Lan thought with some dejection that there is no feast that never ends, so she can only keep this kindness in her heart and try her best to repay it.

However, Zhan Zhao was stunned when he heard Ah Lan's question. He frowned, and was caught off guard by the word "one year".When making this agreement with Bai Yutang before, Zhan Zhao didn't know if he just casually said "one year later".Or is this just nonsense?

Or, did he actually think, in the back of his mind, that this cursed condition should go on for a year, maybe longer?

Ah Lan frowned after seeing Zhan Zhao and hearing the words, and his face gradually sank.She thought she had said something wrong, so she hurriedly packed up paper and pens and other things, hugged her in her arms and ran out in a hurry, saying, "I'll ask the buddy to add some tea."

Being interrupted by her like this, Zhan Zhao couldn't help but sigh because of his sudden depression.Whether it's a year or half a year, if you don't think of a way and just sit in the room with a sad face, nothing will happen after all.

However, this made him feel a sense of urgency. In the afternoon of the second day, he told Alan: "We won't be in Jinling for a long time. We will leave for Gusu by water tomorrow. I'm going to visit a friend. If you want to stay in Jinling If you want to stroll around Jinling City, go as soon as possible."

Alan nodded obediently, and although she was a little disappointed, she didn't dare to show it.Zhan Zhao didn't bother to pay attention to the thoughts of his youngest daughter's family. He originally planned to go back to Changzhou to worship, and then go to Suzhou to find that person to solve his problems.Now that the itinerary has changed, he decided to go directly to Gusu, otherwise this state of being neither human nor ghost would really be ashamed of his deceased elder brother.

So the next day, they boarded a ship.A Lan grew up in the north, unlike Zhan Zhao who often takes boats, this is undoubtedly a novel journey for her.She often lies on the ship's side, being attracted by the white water birds flying by for a while, and watching the white waves breaking through the hull for a while.Sometimes when Zhan Zhao is in a good mood, he will tell her about the customs or historical allusions of the places he passes by.A Lan listened with gusto, and Zhan Zhao was speechless when he often questioned him, not knowing how to answer.

At this time, Zhan Zhao would play tricks and say, "When I have a chance to flip through the books by myself, I always ask me what I am doing. I am not really a teacher."

They traveled all the way southeast along the river, passing through Changzhou, and finally arrived at Gusu City on this day.It's cloudy now, but it hasn't rained yet.Zhan Zhao took her off the boat, rented a black-covered boat, and walked along the narrow, winding, labyrinth-like river towards Hanshan Temple outside the city.

Gusu City has a gentle temperament.On the way out of the city, they crossed many exquisite stone arch bridges, passed by countless similar awning boats, and walked between houses with white walls and black tiles.The people here speak Wu Nong's soft language, and everything around them is like a river carrying them, flowing slowly at their elbows.

Fascinated by this scene, A Lan asked, "Sir, did you grow up in such a place too? Since your hometown is in Changzhou, it is very close to here."

"When I was very young, I lived with my brother in a small town," Zhan Zhao casually looked at the waves on the side of the boat, "There are not as many waterways there, and they are not as delicate as here."

Alan couldn't think of such a scene: "Do we have a chance to go there and have a look?"

"Maybe." Zhan Zhao replied, "Actually, I haven't stayed there very much. Ever since... since I studied art with my master, I followed my master to travel around the rivers and lakes."

Alan asked: "Is it like us now?"

Zhan Zhao laughed, nodded and said, "Yes, just like we are now." With his hands on the side of the boat, he stared at the ripples and said softly, "My master often said, you can travel thousands of miles by reading thousands of books. , Practicing martial arts is actually the same principle. You can find a quiet place to retreat and meditate, and ignore worldly affairs, but no matter how much you comprehend and enter the realm, you still have to return to the world in the end and see this world of mortals."

"What is the world? What is the world of mortals?" Alan sat hugging her knees at Zhan Zhao's feet, "Why is it so important?"

Zhan Zhao replied: "Because this is where everything is. We live in this world, and we have fetters with this world, no one is an exception. Leaving it for a while may make the mind clearer and the spirit more active, but long-term seclusion will make the world People become dull and impractical. You need to keep this in mind when you practice martial arts in the future."

"Yes." Alan agreed first, then snickered, and asked with a hint of cleverness that wasn't annoying, "Well... so, do you have any bonds?"

Zhan Zhao glanced at A Lan, stretched out his hand to push her head aside, and scolded with a smile, "Why are there so many problems?"

"I mean," Ah Lan hid away laughingly, and asked jokingly, "Is it time for you to start a family? At this age."

Zhan Zhao didn't answer, he pointed to a stone bridge not far away to change the subject, "Look, that's Fengqiao."

"Maple Bridge?" Ah Lan looked at the stone arch bridge, and saw that the maple leaves on both sides of it were red, like burning flames in the sunset.There are turquoise vines climbing on the stone bridge, entangled with the damp sedge.She tilted her head to recall briefly, and asked, "Is it the Maple Bridge in "Night Mooring at Maple Bridge"?"

Zhan Zhao couldn't help raising his eyebrows, and asked her, ""Night Mooring at the Maple Bridge"? Where did you hear it? I remember I never taught you this poem, right?"

"Ah, I didn't teach you." A Lan replied with a blushing face, "I saw it on "Zhongxing Jianqi Ji", and I always feel that this poem is written very bleakly, and it makes people uncomfortable to read. .”

Zhan Zhao was a little surprised when he heard this: "Where did you read "Zhongxing Jianqi Collection"?"

"It was when I was wandering around Jinling City that day," Ah Lan seemed a little surprised, "There is a bookshop hidden in a deep alley. The owner of the shop is also a lover of poetry. He has a large collection of books and only rents them out. He also said You want to rent me a few copies, and tell me to go back and write them on paper."

After hearing this, Zhan Zhao remained silent, wondering if he should buy some books for A Lan, she was already able to learn by herself.However, A Lan quickly forgot about this and began to ask more new questions: "Why is Fengqiao called Fengqiao? Is it because there are maple trees planted on both sides of the bridge?" This tree is often seen in the south, and she still I only recently came to know this strange tree whose leaves turn fiery red every autumn.

However, Zhan Zhao shook his head and replied: "Fengqiao was originally a 'sealed bridge', a closed 'sealed'. Because a long time ago, water bandits and Japanese pirates often invaded here, and the bridge was sealed every night for safety. Hence the name 'Fengqiao'. Later it was called 'Fengqiao', I guess it was just a rumor."

"But there are indeed maple trees here, wouldn't it be more appropriate to call it Maple Bridge?" Alan asked seriously.

Zhan Zhao was speechless.

After crossing Fengqiao, Hanshan Temple is only a hundred steps away.When they got close, Zhan Zhao and A Lan got off the boat, gave some silver taels to the boatman, and then headed towards Hanshan Temple.This season incense is not prosperous, only a few pilgrims sporadically.Zhan Zhao took Ah Lan up the stairs, entered the mountain gate, and was led to the main hall by the Zhike monk.

What is enshrined here is not the Buddha and Bodhisattva, but the two monks Hanshan and Shide.According to records, Han Shan once asked Shide: There are people in the world who slander me, deceive me, humiliate me, laugh at me, belittle me, despise me, hate me, and lie to me, how to deal with it?Shi De said: Just endure him, let him, let him, avoid him, respect him, ignore him, after ten years, just look at him!

Ah Lan disagrees with this, and Zhan Zhao laughs that she has no Buddha-nature.

Of course, they did not come here to worship Buddha.So after worshiping the Buddha, Zhan Zhao let A Lan play alone in the temple, while he walked towards the back hall.

He came here to visit a friend.

an old friend.

The author has something to say: This is a story of cultivation.