Strange Stories

Chapter 579: Learning increases day by day, but the Dao decreases day by day

"Miss..."

In Yangzhou City, someone sat up in shock.

"What's the matter, sir?"

"I had that dream again!"

"Hmm? What dream?"

"My lady, have you forgotten? The chess game against Tian Weng a year ago."

"Ah? That thing!" The woman thought for a while before she remembered, "But I remember the master said it was the twenty-first day of the first lunar month, right?"

"I had the same doubt in my dream, and he smiled and told me that the twenty-first day of the first lunar month was the day he went to play chess with the celestial elder. However, one day in heaven is one year on earth, and a game of chess would take at least one or two months, or at most a quarter, so he came to see me a little late."

"This is happening!"

Although the woman was a great demon, she was also surprised.

"In that dream..."

"My wife knows, how can I resist? Naturally, I reviewed the game with him and analyzed it for him." Mr. Gu said, "But his chess skills this year have improved a lot compared to last year."

……

Yuanqiu Fairyland, green mountains and peaks, bamboo houses with thatched roofs, small courtyards and people's homes, and fairy trees in the courtyard are in full bloom.

There was smoke coming from the roof and voices coming from inside the house.

"Xianweng, let's begin."

"What's the hurry?" said the old man. "I just woke up. I need to comb my hair, drink a cup of tea, and sort out my thoughts before I can make a move."

"Old Immortal, I am willing not to rush, but unfortunately the time in your fairyland is strange. One day here is like one year outside. If I play chess for a long time, half a year will be wasted."

"Aren't you here to gain enlightenment?"

"yes……"

"Then how much have you gained by being so anxious?"

"Replying to the old immortal, I have some feelings about the Great Dao."

"It's just that you have a connection with the Great Dao. Haha, these past few days, every time you came in, you looked at my residence clearly, not sparing a single flower, grass, stone or gravel. I thought you had already understood the mysteries of this world..."

The old man laughed and mocked him.

Lin Jue was not ashamed. It takes a lot of time to realize the truth. Since he had no one to guide him, he had to realize it on his own. It was good enough for him to have made such progress. Therefore, he remained calm and sincere:

"What the Immortal said is correct. Every time I come here, I take the opportunity to observe and look at this fairyland of the Immortal, and also try to comprehend the mysteries within. However, even though every flower, grass, stone, and gravel here are already in my mind, I can only come to the conclusion that 'this fairyland is no different from the outside world'. The mysteries are only clearest at the moment the fairyland is opened, and become blurred afterwards, so the gains are limited."

"Then why are you in such a hurry?"

The old man asked him back, then smiled and shook his head:

"The more you learn, the less you pursue the truth. It's better not to think about those things, calm down and play chess with me. Maybe you will forget all those trivial things and be able to focus on the truth."

The more you learn, the less you practice the Tao. This is actually the difference between technique and Tao.

This means that when you are learning to do something, your knowledge will increase every day, and your mind will have more and more things, and your skills and knowledge will become higher and higher. But when you want to pursue the true meaning of the Tao, you have to simplify it, not only simplify your knowledge, but also simplify your vision and prejudice, and reduce it every day, and what is left is the essence of the Tao.

Lin Jue thought about it and shook his head:

"Well, then, Immortal Master, take your time to wash up. I will sort out my thoughts and play a good game of chess with you."

"Hahahaha, if you can play one hundred and fifty hands with me today... I see that you are very interested in those literary horses in the sky outside, so I will let you take one away."

"Okay!"

An hour later, Lin Jue left Yuanqiu Fairyland with a literary horse.

……

In Yangzhou City, in Gu Mansion.

"Sir, you woke up so tired today. Considering the time, could it be that you dreamed of that immortal again?"

"The one who knows me best is my wife."

"This immortal is coming later and later."

"Yes, his chess skills have improved, and he has played against the Celestial Weng for longer and longer periods of time." Mr. Gu shook his head and said, "In my dream last night, he thanked me and said that thanks to our guidance, although he is still far from being able to beat the Celestial Weng, he won a Wenma from the Immortal Weng by counting his moves. Hey, do you know what a Wenma is?"

"Wenma..."

The woman had seen in ancient books——

Wenma, also called Jihuangma or Jiguangma, has red mane, white body, stripes on its body, eyes as bright as gold, can fly and walk on clouds, has a fierce temperament, and feeds on tigers and leopards.

I have also heard that in the nine heavens, the war horses of the heavenly soldiers and generals were crossbred with civil horses.

However, she had never seen one with her own eyes. She only heard that it was a rare bird and beast from ancient times. Nowadays, apart from heaven, only a few immortals would raise it in paradise, and it is almost extinct in the human world.

And a woman shouldn't know that.

"Sir, I don't know either."

"Even a learned lady like you wouldn't know. I guess it must be something from the immortals."

"Maybe……"

The woman was a little worried: "Just now the master said... thanks to our guidance?"

"Yes! Although the immortal only comes once a year, we have met several times in the past few years. When we were chatting while reviewing the game, I naturally told him that my wife is also an excellent chess player. Every time I review the game for him in my dream, after waking up, I have to review it again with my wife. So, you also have a share of the credit."

"This……"

"What's wrong, madam?"

"How dare I take away the credit from you..."

The woman answered perfunctorily, but her mood was very uncertain.

Could that really be a "celestial being"?
Could the person coming be really an immortal?
But if it really was a celestial being, an immortal who could really play chess with the celestial being, and he came here once a year, how could he not know that the person lying next to this person was a monster?
Times have really changed - nowadays there is a difference between humans and demons. Not to mention the coexistence of humans and demons, even if a demon appears in a human city, it is a serious crime.

"Sir, do you know who that immortal is?"

"How should I know?"

"You have known him for several years and have met him several times, but you don't even know his name. Isn't that a bit ridiculous?"

"How can this be called absurd? Playing chess in a dream, obsessed with the chessboard, why bother asking for names? What if it's just a sweet dream?"

"Too……"

The woman didn't say anything more.

……

The sun and the moon alternate on earth, and the stars rotate at night.

"I had that dream again last night."

"Still like that?"

"It's still the same, but we talked about a few other things."

"What else?"

"He said he had won a few more horses from Tianweng, and that they could be bred and reproduced. He was very grateful to us."

"He also reminded me that it's colder here. He also said that I'm not as young as I used to be and I should take care of myself. He asked me to wear more clothes in the morning and evening to avoid catching a cold. He also asked me to remind you, my lady, to pay attention to the changing weather. I just asked him where he was."

"where is he?"

"He said he was in Huizhou, living in Feilai Mountain."

"Fei Lai Mountain? I have heard of this place, but it seems that no one lives there."

"I do not know……"

Mr. Gu took a thick coat and put it on.

Take another piece of clothing and put it on the lady, asking her not to catch a cold.

The couple loves each other very much.

……

The seasons change in an orderly manner, but the world is unpredictable.

"Sir, it's time to wake up. This year, the Changhe River suddenly changed its course, causing a disaster three thousand miles away. The victims have arrived here, and we need to provide them with porridge to relieve the disaster."

"I know, I know……"

"Your Excellency is so exhausted, are you worried about the victims, or did you dream about the immortals again?"

"I don't know which one..."

Mr. Gu said, but suddenly looked at the lady beside him:

"Oh right! Last night the immortal suddenly congratulated me and said that my wife is pregnant!"

"This……"

The woman naturally knew about it, but could only treat it as an accident.

……

Nothing in the world is ever smooth sailing.

Just like in this human world, after a great peace, there is often a great disaster.

The previous twenty or thirty years had been a prosperous era rarely seen in history. There were limited wars outside, and the country was relatively stable. The emperor was benevolent and generous, loving the people like his own children. The people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and even the stories of goblins and ghosts had become distant legends. But who would have thought that a heavy rain would suddenly change the course of the long river, causing immediate chaos for three thousand miles.

Don't underestimate the change of river course.

This is a river that gave birth to civilization, but it is not a kind mother. Instead, it is very irritable and moody. The change of the river's course is also one of the most persistent and terrible disasters in this land.

For thousands of years, no matter which dynasty, the most important thing that the human court and the nine heavenly gods had to do was to manage the long river.

In this land, civilization has been nurtured for as many years as people have been living and fighting with the river.

Every time it gets angry, it changes its route by two or three thousand miles, killing millions of people and even indirectly destroying a country.

The court was suddenly in chaos.

The Dayu Dynasty began to decline.

There is no need to talk about the fact that great disasters are accompanied by demons.

This is where the Purple Emperor’s second campaign to eliminate demons and monsters began.

But this time is different from last time.

Last time, only those demons and evil creatures that had done evil things were targeted. This time, not only that, but almost all the demons and ghosts that invaded the human world were beaten to death with one blow.

The human court is also different from last time.

Sixty years ago, when Taizu was still in power, he was so upright and tough that he could even threaten the gods. Now, more than a hundred years have passed since the founding of the dynasty, and the blood and blood of the people who rode on horses and wielded spears to conquer the world have been mostly worn out in comfort. Looking at the court, there are very few people who are as upright and tough as they were back then, both civil and military. The emperor is also kind and generous, but he is old, and his kindness and generosity have lost some of his iron blood.

Whenever there is a disaster like this, the development is similar.

There were rumors throughout the court and inside and outside the capital that it was the emperor's lack of virtue and benevolence that caused the disaster to be sent down by God.

This emperor is truly kind and generous!
First, he wrote an edict of repentance to God, admitting his mistakes. Then, with his old body and carrying thorns on his back, he prayed to God in person, hoping that God would stop the attacks, control the disasters, and not let his people suffer from them again.

As a result, coupled with the Purple Emperor's toughness, the human court quickly lost the courage to challenge the gods as it once did.

The Purple Emperor became even more wanton in his efforts to eliminate demons and monsters.

The chess master in Jiangnan didn't know this, because the river's change of course did not affect Yangzhou, and his family was well-off under the management of his wife, so they could survive such a disaster. He only knew that the immortal still came once a year to meet him in his dreams and play chess again.

(End of this chapter)