[Comprehensive Mythology] Asking about the beginning

Great Tang Kingdom, Chang'an.

This is a dilapidated courtyard with scattered bricks and tiles in an old house.The gray-haired old man was sitting under the crooked willow tree in the courtyard with a smile, his cloudy eyes were dull, which formed a sharp contrast with the lightness of his words.

"Of course the only ones who died were the tree demon grandma and the Montenegro old demon."

The old man doesn't care when he sees that all the children have the attitude of annoying you to death if you don't explain clearly.But he said slowly:

"Or do you think it's fun for me to lie to you when I'm full?"

All the children "cut" together and did not refute, but continued to ask:

"What about Nie Xiaoqian and Ning Caichen?"

"And Yan Chixia?"

"How are they?"

......

The children's doubts will not stop with the old man's perfunctory words, and before they get the results they want, they pester the old man with the curiosity and strong energy unique to this age.

The old man has lived in Chang'an City for many years, and no one knows when he appeared, as if no one knows whether he will disappear as quietly as he came here one day in the future.The old man was very old, with gray hair and a gray beard.Even the wrinkles on the face were infinitely elongated as if long noodles could be squeezed out.If someone can carefully recall the years that this old man has experienced in Chang'an City, he will be surprised to find that the appearance of this old man has not changed.

No matter what time it is, how many generations have passed through the ups and downs of the world, countless children were born and grew up and then grew old, only this old man in this humble yard has been sticking to it.

But all the people in Chang'an City, whether they have seen the old man or not, whether they know the old man exists or not, subconsciously ignore all this.Ignore the weirdness in this.

That is to say, there are those who like to tease, so they can't help but mutter a few words:

At this old man's age, he might be able to become a fairy.

The Tang State emphasized Confucianism, and the rest were heretics except Confucianism.For ordinary people, it is naturally a matter of studying and studying hard to obtain fame, which is the right way.As for the fairy god, it is not a good word in the Tang Dynasty. It is mostly satirizing the daydreaming of some leisurely and lazy people.

The old, the old, the old, the young, the young, the young, and the young are the things that the Confucian old master Meng pursued, but in the Tang Dynasty, where the imperial examinations and others have been infinitely magnified, there are not many people who practice the ancient sages. Great Confucianism of thought.On the contrary, many people with ulterior motives took the opportunity to infiltrate the officialdom and act around in the name of Confucianism.

Fortunately, the old man is also a person who can endure loneliness, and he doesn't go out of the small courtyard on weekdays, nor does he have any excessive communication with others.That is to say, the old man was funny, and he didn't know where so many stories came from, and let the group of children who hadn't grown up know it.They often gather around the old man and listen to his strange stories.

But this time he told the story of a scholar and a female ghost.

A scholar went to Beijing to rush for an exam, and while staying overnight in a ruined temple, he met a beautiful woman and fell in love.But he didn't think that the woman was originally a female ghost, who was driven by a tree demon to confuse the man so that he could absorb the essence.The female ghost fell in love with the scholar, so naturally she didn't want to do that outrageous thing anymore, but she wanted to take the scholar to live together and get rid of the control of the tree demon.Naturally, the dryad didn't do it, and captured the female ghost and the scholar to force the female ghost to submit.It was at this moment that a Taoist priest who slayed demons appeared, wounded the tree demon and rescued the scholar.

The scholar's love was deeply rooted, and he didn't want to let go of the female ghost and let him face the tree demon alone. Seeing that the Taoist priest was powerful, he begged him to rescue the female ghost.The Taoist priest was originally an old-fashioned and enthusiastic person, so he readily agreed.On the other hand, after being seriously injured by the Taoist priest, the tree demon hooked up with another powerful monster, and wanted to marry the female ghost to that monster in exchange for the big monster's support.

It's the story of A Chinese Ghost Story, and it's the version Jiang Ning is familiar with.

At this point in the story, we can already know the rest. The Taoist priest rescued the female ghost, killed the tree demon and the monster, and drifted away.The scholar and the female ghost live together happily after going through all kinds of secular obstacles.

"Now, it's really over."

The old man smacked his lips and waved his hand impatiently as his thin fingertips brushed across the tattered bamboo slips:

"Okay, okay, that's the end of today's story. It's getting late, you go back!"

The sky will be dark and the mountain will be setting in the evening. The sun will exude a strange and strange color, reflecting the magnificence of Chang'an City in the center of the Tang Dynasty.It's just that in the eyes of this group of children who don't know what it's like to be sad, they are unusually evil.Even the shadow of the willow tree stretched by the setting sun seemed to turn into a grandma tree demon in an instant, clamoring and rushing towards them.

The children dispersed at the sound, without staying much.

In fact, no matter in ancient times or in the present, the sun sets are the best words to deal with disobedient children, of course, the premise is that their parents control them tightly enough.No matter how playful a child is, he should know that he will be punished for coming home late.

The old man is naturally aware of this, and this has become his only magic weapon to deal with this group of brats.Often, no matter how difficult a child is, all he needs to say is "Your mother is coming to call you home for dinner" or "It's time for your father to come to you when the sun goes down".Then he can almost end the day's hustle and bustle.

However, things seem to be different today.

This is a very pleasing-looking child, if one ignores his tattered body and those black pupils that are deep and calm that do not match his age.

The children's clothes were old, shabby, and ill-fitting.But it is undeniable that the starch is clean.The child wears it seriously and meticulously, without any mess.The child's eyes are very large, and his body is very thin and thin, which is the result of long-term malnutrition.

The child appeared so abruptly, and the clothes, which had been so cleanly starched, were covered with dust, and were newly printed.As for that handsome and lovable little face, it was slightly embarrassed.

"Whose doll are you, why don't you go home for dinner, aren't you afraid that your family will worry?"

The skinny fingertips flicked on the broken bamboo slips, and there was a faint wave transmission, which was something that ordinary people could not perceive in their perception.The cloudy eyes flashed across Ran, and the old man asked kindly.

"I have no family."

The muffled sound was indescribably clear, but those deep and calm black pupils dimmed at that moment, and the child lowered his eyes, adding:

"My mother is dead, my father, they all say that I am a child without a father. My mother is my only relative in this world, but she is dead."

The old man didn't care about the truth of the child's words, in fact it was not the first time he had seen this child.He also always knew the existence of this child, the child who was lying on the wall and eavesdropping on the story.But it was never broken.

He must have encountered some difficulty, otherwise, how could he have fallen off the wall?

He didn't say any words of pity or comfort, and his skinny fingertips kept moving on the bamboo slips, as if he was doing something sacred.There are faint silver spots of light constantly gathering, repairing the dilapidated bamboo slips.

I don't know when, everything around here seems to be a silhouette.Only the skinny fingertips of the old man kept expanding and evolving in front of his eyes.

Something in the blood is waking up, but it is separated by a thin barrier.No matter how eagerly the child wants to break him, he is so indifferent, fragile and tenacious.

Fine beads of sweat ooze from the forehead, and every time the child thinks that he is about to break through the barrier, there will always be a mysterious force blocking the child's footsteps.

It doesn't feel good.

That is, when the child was mentally exhausted and about to pass out, the old man seemed to finally break away from the sacred things and set his sights on the child.

Then there was the sound of the bamboo slip breaking again, which was not serious but inexplicably rescued the child from that strange situation.

"It counts as two points."

With a low whisper, the words didn't reach anyone's ears, even the children who were very close to each other.

He glanced at the broken bamboo slip in his hand with a little regret, and a gentle and warm smile appeared on his wrinkled face.The old man said to the child:

"Do me a favor, the old man. Give this bamboo slip to the first person you see at the gate of the city tomorrow. Then tell him that if he wants to protect the people around him, first of all, he must abide by the rules of the city. Rules. As a reward, old man, I will send you to your father's side, okay?"

He didn't even say who the father of the child was, so how could he know the whereabouts of his father.The old man just took a leisurely look at the child, allowing him to look at him with eyes that did not threaten him.

Silently took the bamboo slips handed over by the old man, the child saluted silently, and then nodded to the old man to accept the errand.

The night has fallen, and the faint moonlight shines on the courtyard.

The old man stood up tremblingly, beckoned to the child and said:

"I think you are also a homeless person, why don't you just make do with the old man and me for the night."

The child who had been speechless since receiving the bamboo slip suddenly raised his head and looked at the old man in shock.His lips moved and he spit out two words.

Thank you.

The old man heard it, or didn't hear it, but it didn't matter.

That is when the child follows the old man into the dilapidated house without lights and lights up the room.Under the white moonlight, some water-like handwriting flashed in the void.

Nie Xiaoqian and Ning Caichen.

And the place where the handwriting appeared was exactly where the old man stood before, under the crooked willow tree.

More content, however, seemed to be interrupted by human force, and nothing appeared.

This story is not over.

Apparently it's not just one person who has this knowledge.

Under the same moonlight, a man dressed as a middle-aged scribe in plain white clothes gently shook the folding fan in his hand and asked to the empty surroundings:

"Those two people must have gone in the direction of Chang'an City, right?"

"Have you ever made a mistake in your actions?"

"..."

"By the way, do you really not think about it? A handsome man like me, if he misses this village, there won't be this shop."

"There is no need to mention this matter again!"

......

If Taoist Wuyu and the old Black Mountain demon were present, they would have clearly recognized that the man holding the folding fan was none other than Mr. Long Da, whose identity was mysteriously suspected to be a great Confucianist.

As for the other one, it was just a voice sent by some kind of secret method in the cultivation world.

But neither Jiang Ning nor Rong Chu would be unfamiliar with the owner of this voice.

Qingmei demon king.

Empress Daji's closed disciple, Qingqiu clan has a Qingmei demon king from the Su family.It's just that I don't know when I got mixed up with this mysterious Mr. Long Da.And the relationship between them is not simple.