Strange Stories

Chapter 484: Mountain Guardian Treasure
There is leisure in the mountains, a few days of meditation, a few days of watching the clouds, a few days of listening to the rain, and ten days pass in a flash.

Junior sister really went to the Western Regions.

Before leaving, she went to find her second senior brother, got a lot of elixirs, went back to Fuqiu Temple, got a lot of rare treasures, and went to Tianshan with valuable gifts, leaving her apprentice to Lin Jue to take care of her.

So Lin Jue helped his junior sister take care of the baby. He preached to her for a few days, let her read and practice calligraphy for a few days, took her to make tea for a few days, took her to climb mountains for a few laps, and took advantage of the fact that winter had not yet come to catch fish in the river for a few days. In the blink of an eye, another half month had passed.

Lin Jue took good care of her.

Then he went to visit Qingxia Zhenren in Nanshan, enjoyed the spring breeze with him and discussed the gods in the south and the north. He also went to visit Yuzhuan Taoist, who loved watching clouds and gave him a white cloud, to apologize to him for accidentally breaking the white cloud. Leisurely, another half a month passed.

The world below the mountain was in turmoil.

After Shiding City was breached, the right wing army under the King of Yue marched straight into Qinzhou. They first showed an attitude of heading straight for the capital, which frightened the other armies into sending troops to reinforce. Then they launched a surprise counterattack and detoured to Cuiwei County to rescue the left wing army. Then they joined forces with the King of Yue himself to capture the capital together.

The wind and rain of the world have already hit us in the face.

More and more people are going to Fengshan, and even my junior sister’s Red Leaf Temple is seeing more and more people visiting.

The deep mountains are relatively quiet, but there are also traces of people.

After all, this place could never become a busy city. More people would bring a brief period of bustle, but Lin Jue didn't care. This mountain didn't belong to him. Instead, when he had free time, he would often pay attention to the various people coming and going on the top of the mountain or in the forest.

First, it's really relaxing. You can spend a long time watching the petals spinning on the spider web or the ants moving on the ground. Watching people can naturally kill time.

The second is to intentionally see if there is someone who is destined to be with you.

Most of the pilgrims came to the temple to worship with sad faces, hoping to find peace in troubled times, or to ask the gods in the temple to cast spells to eliminate evil spirits in their homes.

I also saw some poor people full of worries. In order to avoid the crazy harsh taxes in the mountains, to avoid the random conscription of the court on the verge of death, and to avoid the subsequent wars, they brought their families, took only some silver and some tools, and went into the mountains.

The rise and fall of the country is mostly caused by the suffering of the people.

The thatched cottages deep in the foggy mountains may not all be left by immortals or hermits, but they may be left there out of helplessness.

There are also literati and elegant scholars. This chaotic world has made them completely convinced of the existence of fairies, ghosts, gods and immortals in the world. Therefore, they go in groups of two or three to search for immortals in the mountains, recite poems on high places, leave their calligraphy in places with beautiful scenery, sleep under pines, have picnics in the wind, talk to woodcutters when they meet them, and knock on the door of the refugees' huts when they see them, treating them as hermits.

Lin Jue had met them several times.

Unfortunately, there is no match for each other.

Lin Juexun’s requirements for being a disciple are really not high.

Unlike Fuqiu Temple, which required outstanding talent and pure five energies to recruit disciples, Lin Jue did not even ask his senior brother to learn the method of "knowing people and understanding their fate", so it was difficult for him to carefully discern the other person's talent and five energies.

Lin Jue didn't take in any disciples for the purpose of building up some power. He just wanted them to be helpful to him in the future, and he didn't have to pass on his skills, otherwise the inheritance would be cut off. If the disciple is talented, he will be great. If he is not talented, it is up to fate. If the disciple can achieve enlightenment, it is a good thing. If he can't, Lin Jue himself is an immortal. As long as he doesn't die, how can there be such a thing as the inheritance being cut off?

If the disciple's five energies are pure, then that is naturally good. If the five energies are turbid, he will guide him patiently. If this is still unfortunate for the master's sect, then this disciple will be considered amazing to have deceived him for so many years.

A person who is confident enough will never pin too much on the next generation.

Lin Jue just needs to have "good luck".

However, even so, it is not easy to find.

After a few days of carving the attic, teasing the fox, and meditating for a few days, another ten days passed.

The world here is gradually getting colder and winter has arrived.

While worshipping the gods, the pilgrims at the foot of the mountain brought news that the Northern Caohai Pass had been breached for the second time, and the cavalry under Lord Luo also began to rush towards the capital.

Lin Jue took advantage of the fact that it was still early in the mountains and no pilgrims had come up yet, so he sat cross-legged on a cushion on the platform in front of the temple, facing the sea of ​​clouds in the early morning, exhaling mist, and lowering his head to continue carving the palace attic.

The attic in hand has taken shape.

A three-storey attic with dragon-shaped pillars and phoenix-shaped beams, it has an elegant design, reasonable planning and exquisite craftsmanship. It has both the majesty of a temple and the elegance and leisure of a Taoist hall.

If compared with the attic built by the immortal Xuanming Zhenren, it is hard to say which one is more beautiful, but this attic that Lin Jue personally requested is obviously more to his liking.

"As expected of you, Gu Daizhao..."

Even Gu Daizhao and his apprentices made a lot of furniture for him according to proportion, such as armchairs, round chairs, cross-legged chairs, couches, desks, coffee tables, and they also made some wooden racks in the style of Taoist temples to place elixirs, medicinal materials or collections, and even woven cushions with fine grass and placed them inside.

Lin Jue found it very interesting——

Doesn't Gu Daizhao think that he is going to live in this attic, or burn it down as if for a funeral, and it will become the abode of gods in the dark?
"call……"

With a puff of air, wood chips flew everywhere.

Lin Jue took a look at the attic.

The main body is fully formed.

Through the first and second floors of the attic, you can see the white fox opposite, which is also looking at you with its head tilted. There is clear curiosity in the eyes of the white fox.

Another colorful civet cat was scratching his hand, feeling itchy, and seemed to want him to give it to it to play with.

"Go! Go! Go!

“Go, go, go!

"If you make trouble again, you will be punished by copying Taoist scriptures!"

Caili retracted his hand and looked around as if nothing had happened.

Lin Jue took out many small objects from the side.

With the help of mortise and tenon joints and a light press, the doors and windows were installed into the attic.

It didn't take long before the attic was completely finished, except for the tiles.

"We'll live here from now on." Lin Jue first said to Fuyao, and then said to the stupid cat, "You can come here to play with Fuyao from now on."

There were footsteps behind me.

It was a little girl wearing a Taoist robe, about ten years old. She was holding a bowl with white porridge and some pickles in it. It was Ziyun, who was being taken care of by him.

"Uncle Master! It's time for breakfast!" "Um..."

"The floor is dirty!" Ziyun looked at the sawdust all over the floor, "Uncle Master, please eat first. When you are done, put the bowl there. I will wash the bowl and then come to sweep."

"This is a treasure, we can't just sweep it away." Lin Jue waved his sleeves, and the wood chips on the ground were all blown up by the wind and put into the basket next to him. "After you finish cleaning up, pilgrims will come to the mountain. We won't go to the mountain today. The Taoist temple will be open for one day. You can entertain the pilgrims. When you grow up, you will have to rely on the incense from this Taoist temple to make a living."

"Oh……"

Ziyun pulled up a small stool, picked up his bowl, and sat next to his uncle to eat.

This little girl is as well-behaved as my former junior sister.

"Uncle, when will Master come back?"

"I do not know either."

"You are a deity, can't you calculate?"

"I'm not a god who can calculate."

"So what kind of deity are you?"

"Anyway, I have my skills."

"Oh……"

The little girl calculated the time and missed her master very much.

These days, she cooked, swept the floor, and washed the dishes. When Master Uncle wanted to drink tea, he didn't go down the mountain to buy it, but had to make it himself, asking her to help him. After making it, he still complained that it was not as good as spring tea. Every day, she had to accompany Master Uncle to play in the mountains, climb up and down, and go to the river. Master Uncle was like a god, he would not get tired. If he got tired, he would wave his hand and a white cloud would come to pick him up, but she was different.

I have never been this tired when Master was here...

Just at this time, white clouds came from the sky.

The little girl immediately raised her head and looked towards the sky, thinking that it was her master who had returned, but she saw that it was three gods.

There was a female fairy who looked quite familiar, as if she was a good friend of the master and uncle. There were two priests beside her, both wearing divine robes and bathing in the morning glow, looking very holy.

How come this person has become a god and can ride on clouds?
Wasn’t it that the last time I saw her, she was still walking on the mountain with her legs swinging like me?

The little girl was a little confused.

But the white clouds floated down and stopped at the cliff in front of the Taoist temple. The female fairy changed her Taoist robe into a divine robe, still holding the whisk, and bowed calmly:
"So fellow Taoist is here."

"My cave is still under construction, so I'm temporarily staying with my junior sister." Lin Jue stood up to greet her and said at the same time.

"I brought a gift for my fellow Taoist."

"What gift?"

The white clouds fell on the platform and dissipated into mist. Master Jiang held out a hand, on which was a pair of silver rings, about the size of bracelets:

"It's a thank you gift from the South."

Lin Jue took it and looked at it, and he knew what it was.

It is the magic weapon of Lingzhi Sanren.

It turns out that there is a pair of silver rings.

In this case, it seems that Lingzhi Sanren has at least been defeated.

"How can I accept your help in my revenge?"

"Without your help, Lord Ku Nian alone would not be able to defeat Lingzhi Sanren and Lord Husheng." Daoist Jiang said, "The southern gods are wealthy, so it would be a waste if you don't take it. Accepting a thank-you gift will not affect your neutrality or tarnish your reputation. Not to mention that it won't spread, even if it does, it will help your neutrality. You don't have to refuse."

"Okay." Lin Jue thought about it for a while before accepting it. He then asked her, "After you return to heaven, can you be conferred the title of God?"

"I have only counted the merits. The matter of conferring titles will be discussed after the world is stabilized."

"Then the fellow Taoist now should be Jiang Zhaoren?"

"Anything is OK."

Master Jiang remained calm.

Today she came on official business to express her gratitude, and was accompanied by two priests. They did not chat much. After asking Lin Jue where his cave would be in the future, she rode back on a cloud.

Lin Jue took the two silver rings and looked at them carefully.

With a gentle rub of the index finger and thumb, one silver ring turned into two, and with a pinch of the other hand, there were four.

That's just right -

How can a Taoist temple be founded without treasures to protect the mountain?
"One of you."

Lin Jue handed one of them to Ziyun.

There were exactly two silver rings, one was placed in the Red Leaf Temple of his junior sister, and the other was placed in the cave he was about to build.

The little girl didn't understand anything and just reached out to take it.

At this moment, a song came faintly from the mountain:
"There are magical cranes on this mountain. You can ride them to travel between heaven and earth... There are clouds on this mountain. You can wear them to become a fairy... There is moonlight on this mountain. It is reflected in the eternal spring deep in the mountains..."

It was the voice of a young boy, still a bit immature, and the voice was leisurely and clear, coming from the mountains.

Lin Jue couldn't help but be stunned.

It’s not for any other reason, but because I suddenly remembered the past.

When I and my junior sister followed our master to Mount Yi for the first time, we heard woodcutters singing loudly in the mountains, chanting similar sentences. This sentence and all the other things that happened that day together formed his first impression of the fairyland of Mount Yi, which he still can't forget.

(End of this chapter)