Guanqingzhai

Surviving in the world stealthily, not in the form of reincarnation, not in the five elements, not in the three realms, and forever in the world, as if in the inexhaustible, neither birth nor death.

After a long time, the candles in Guanqing Zhai are still burning, and the sound of chess pieces hitting the table can be heard from time to time.Chu Jue looked at the chess game and smiled without saying a word, pouring tea for the two people in front of him from time to time.

Once the game was settled, Hu Yue's brows relaxed, and he said excitedly, "It seems that I'm better at chess, old man."

Chu Jue, who had been maintaining an upright sitting posture, chuckled lightly, as if he had anticipated the outcome of this game.He took out a small box from his jacket and placed it in front of Hu Yue.There was a faint burst of cool fragrance from inside the box.He said with a smile in his words: "Watching chess without talking is a real gentleman."

Xuan Mingzi frowned and sighed: "Oh, what a pity... It seems that I have no fate with it."

Hu Yue smiled heartily, and he said, "What's the rush? It's not impossible to borrow it from you after I use up this thing, but you owe me a favor, so it's natural to exchange one thing for another."

Xuan Mingzi straightened his sleeves unhappily. He looked at Hu Yue and said, "The old fox is really good at planning. You still expect me to take care of you like Chu Jue?"

Hu Yue glanced at Xuan Mingzi and said, "You're getting angry from embarrassment. I have hands and feet, so why do I need others to support me? But how long are you going to be a fake Taoist priest?"

Xuan Mingzi shook his finger twice and said, "The heavenly secrets must not be leaked. So now, old fox, don't call me Can Mei, you should call me Daoist Xuanming."

Hu Yue laughed out loud, and Chu Jue also jokingly said, "Then Taoist Xuan Ming is now practicing in that fairy mountain Taoist residence?"

Xuan Mingzi reached out and grabbed a chess piece, blinked and said, "I am a wandering Taoist priest, and I can live in any Taoist temple. Don't look at me like this. I have visited a lot of famous mountains and ancient temples since I practiced Taoism. Of course, hey, there are no good things. Shao Shun."

Hu Yue's eyes lit up, and Chu Jue's hand drinking tea trembled slightly, and he muttered softly: "The two people have exactly the same temperament in this respect, what a pair of bad friends..."

Hu Yue said: "Is there such a benefit?"

Xuan Mingzi knocked on the table, and said as if imparting experience: "That's natural, first you have to get a certificate from the government, and then attend a few evangelistic meetings on the Ghost Festival, so that you can get familiar with it. Next Ordinary small Taoist temples are nothing to worry about, but I go to places where there are rare treasures in legends."

The more Chu Jue listened, the more he felt something was wrong, he interjected, "Could it be that you are going to steal..."

Hu Yue deliberately raised her body backwards, and Xuan Mingzi immediately explained: "Of course it is impossible. What is my identity, do I need to use stealing? I am trading with them! Use a word that has not appeared since ancient times, then It's called 'win-win'!"

The corner of Hu Yue's mouth twitched slightly, and he said, "Could it be that you changed that...?"

Xuan Mingzi chuckled, took a sip of tea, and suddenly said: "I got a good thing in exchange for that book you mentioned, but I remembered one thing, do you know a Taoist named Elder Lingshi, Someone whose common name is Jiang Lu?"

Seeing him mentioning this person, Hu Yue said, "I know him, he has been practicing Taoism for a year."

Xuan Mingzi approached Hu Yue, but his eyes turned to Chu Jue, he lowered his voice and said, "This man is pregnant with Liujia!"

Chu Jue said, "Is he a woman?"

Hu Yue shook his head and said, "No, he must be a man."

Xuan Mingzi smiled and said: "It's weird, it's true, he is a real man, but he is pregnant, because of this he can't continue to live in the original Taoist temple, he can only use it in the name of cultivating bigu. , ran to Qingyun Mountain to hide. But a cultivator must not kill, he..."

It was rare for Hu Yue's tone to change. He said, "Could it be that he is planning to give birth to a child?"

Xuan Mingzi said: "You old fox is really... straightforward enough. Aren't you surprised at all? Men have children?"

Chu Jue didn't answer, but continued to ask: "How is he going to give birth?"

The corners of Xuan Mingzi's eyes twitched a few times, thinking: Am I the only one wondering how he, a big man, got pregnant?

He looked at Chu Jue, held back for a long time and said, "Your Excellency, don't give up too much..."

Xuan Mingzi adjusted his mood, he pushed the chess piece away, poured himself a cup of tea and said, "It's hard to say, because the half of the concentration pearl in my hand was exchanged from him, this man said It's strange, his whole body is cold, even in summer, he won't break a drop of sweat. The whole person is like... a stone. I can't tell the age, and he looks like he is in his twenties. A strange person, now this strange person is about to give birth, do you think this is an anecdote?"

Chu Jue said, "Could it be something evil?"

Xuan Mingzi shook his head and said, "It's not like..."

Xuan Mingzi thought for a while: "If it was a vicious thing, then it would definitely not be so quiet, but I don't have any hostility at all now. So it doesn't look like some vicious thing is causing trouble. Even he himself is too quiet. Moreover, this person has no self-consciousness at all, although he can be regarded as a well-educated person in speech and conversation, but he feels that he has no feelings, and he is a person who is very similar to the old fox."

Hu Yue said: "Although it is a miracle, but... I have no interest."

Xuan Mingzi asked puzzled, "Why?"

While making tea, Chu Jue said softly, "Because there are no beautiful women. What do I see when a big man gives birth to a child?"

Xuan Mingzi choked for a moment, he looked outside the house and said: "Okay, since you are not interested, then just listen to this matter and let it go, I will leave soon."

He got up and glanced at the chessboard, dropped a piece on the empty board, and said, "There really is a temple of stealing life in this world."

The two were taken aback, but Xuan Mingzi didn't explain. He patted his clothes, turned off the light, but without any hesitation, walked towards the night without hesitation, and then disappeared into the depths of the alley.

After Xuan Mingzi left, Chu Jue put away the chess pieces and said, "Actually, you don't have to do that. I originally wanted to give you the half of the concentration bead. This kind of bead is useless to ordinary people. But for you , as long as I'm here, there's no need to use this thing."

Hu Yue curled her lips and said with a smile: "Don't worry, because I want Canmei to owe me a favor. Don't look at him like this, he has a lot of treasures in his hand."

Chu Jue stopped Hu Yue's waist and said, "Then you owe me so much love, why don't you pay it back?"

Hu Yue still smiled indifferently, but that smile seemed a bit bitter. He said: "Because I can't afford it, so this is the best situation for us now. Dependent origin and extinction, without too much interference and involvement, on that day you I'm gone, I won't look for you, if I'm gone that day..."

Chu Jue approached Hu Yue, kissed his neck and said, "I will definitely find you, where do you think you can go?"

Hu Yue narrowed her eyes and looked at the beads in her hand, "What if I die one day?"

Chu Jue was slightly taken aback, he grabbed Hu Yue's chin with his hand, let him look at him and said, "Life and death are not a problem in my eyes." After speaking, he kissed Hu Yue's lips, Hu Yue still had no problem His only reaction was to let Chu Jue kiss her, but his eyes were flickering.Chu Jue let go of him and said, "Are you thinking about what Xuan Mingzi said last?"

Hu Yue smiled slightly, but he didn't answer Chu Jue's question.Seeing that he just smiled and said nothing, Chu Jue let out a sigh of relief with his eyes closed. He sat back in his seat, poured a cup of tea for Hu Yue, and changed the subject, "Who is the Jiang Lu you are talking about?"

Hu Yue glanced at the box on the table, drinking tea, as if lost in memory, he said: "That happened ten years ago..."

Hu Yue was a poor scholar at that time as he is now, and made a living by selling calligraphy and composing music. It was just that he was even poorer at that time, and he didn’t even have a Guanqing Zhai, so he could only live in a Taoist temple, except for him. , and there is another scholar, that is Jiang Lu.

Jiang Lu, whose style is Liuyi.He is from Jinling, and he came to Beijing to take the imperial examination.But like Hu Yue, he came from a poor family and had to stay in a temple or a Taoist temple.

On weekdays, except for studying, I can only chat with Hu Yue. Fortunately, although Hu Yue hangs out with other schools and schools of thought all day long, he is also proficient in poetry, books and Analects, so the two often have discussions, and they are considered half-classmates. friendship.The friendship between the first and second exchanges is also much deeper than others.

Jiang Lu has a wife who lives in his hometown in Jinling.The two had a very close relationship, and Jiang Lu often left letters home.And his wife also sent him cold clothes and food from time to time, and Hu Yue could get some from time to time.

Ten years ago at Duanyang, Jiang Lu invited Hu Yue to have a drink together, and Hu Yue happily went to the appointment.But unexpectedly, Jiang Lu not only invited Hu Yue to come, but also a monk came to the Jianting Pavilion to meet together.

This monk has a gender-neutral face. According to Hu Yue, this person can't tell whether he is a man or a woman. He is a man, but he doesn't have the masculinity that a man should have, but he said He is a woman, but he does not have the graceful beauty of a woman.In short, he can only be said to be a person.The facial features make up a face.It's just that there is no trace of anger on this face.

Hu Yue was a little surprised, how did Jiang Lu, who only knew how to study, know such a weird person.The man said: "The poor monk's name is Chi Jing. Mr. Hu is polite."

Hu Yue returned the salute, but his eyes were still on this strange monk.It stands to reason that monks are not allowed to drink alcohol and eat meat, but this monk does not shy away from it at all. He drinks heavily and eats corned millet stuffed with meat.Er Jiang Lu treated him with great respect, Hu Yue didn't know where the strange monk came from, nor could he tell his age.It was as if his whole being was just an empty bag.

Hu Yue is also a person who is used to seeing strange things. Although he was very weird in his heart, he didn't show it.The three of them drank and drank until late at night in the Jianting, and Chi Jing got up to say goodbye. Before he left, he whispered a word to Jiang Lu, and Jiang Lu's expression was always very painful, and he frowned. Say goodbye.

Hu Yue and Jiang Lu went back together, Jiang Lu was very silent all the way, and when they reached the residence, Jiang Lu bowed his hands and thanked, "Having a drink today, I am lucky to have my brother with me."

Hu Yue smiled and said, "Is there something on Liu Yi's heart?"

Jiang Lu frowned. He looked around and said, "In the past, I always said that Brother Hu doesn't seek fame and career. It's not a good thing. How long can it last? Hey, it’s just that my wife treats me wholeheartedly, how can I live up to her friendship.”

Hearing his remarks, Hu Yue remembered the monk Chi Jing who was drinking together.I always feel that he has something to say.

Jiang Lu continued, "I'm going back tomorrow."

Hu Yue asked: "Oh? Could it be that Brother Jiang gave up his official career? Won't your wife be disappointed?"

Jiang Lu looked at the lantern in his hand, and said, "Han Chuang studied hard for ten years, but failed the exam repeatedly. If I continue to take the exam, there may not be any results. And..."

Jiang Lu looked up at Hu Yue and said, "My life is not long..."

Hu Yue looked at Jiang Lu. Jiang Lu's body did not show signs of decay. Jiang Lu smiled bitterly and said, "So I don't have much time, so I will go to accompany my wife."

Hu Yue said: "But you don't look like you are terminally ill? Why did you get cured by medicine?"

Jiang Lu said, "Have you heard about the Temple of Stealing Life?"

Hu Yue was stunned for a moment, Jiang Lu finally showed a smile and said: "I didn't expect there are things in this world that you don't know. That monk Chi Jing is the abbot of the Temple of Susheng."

Jiang Lu said: "A few days ago, I passed by the foot of Jikan Mountain, and there I found a small temple there. There were rituals in the temple. holding a coffin. The coffin is obviously not new, and the vermilion paint is already mottled."

Hu Yue found that when Jiang Luyue said this, his hands were shaking constantly, and the white lantern was almost extinguished by him.

Jiang Lu took a deep breath and continued, "If I hadn't gone in at that time, maybe I wouldn't have to."

Hu Yue said, "What happened in that ceremony?"