Strange Stories

Chapter 583 A Better Place

"Thank you, Immortal, for your help."

"Thank you, Immortal."

"Sir, you are too polite. Although this is the first time we meet, we have known each other for a long time. I should thank you for something." Lin Jue paused, "Besides, I only helped you two survive the disaster. The current Emperor of Heaven is very obsessed with exterminating demons. Although the Buddhist Dharma is profound, it is not as powerful as the gods under the Emperor of Heaven. This is only the second time to exterminate demons. There will be a third and fourth time. What are your plans?"

"This……"

The two looked at each other, both feeling embarrassed.

But they had obviously discussed it before.

Finally, the woman spoke:
"Reporting to the Immortal, the Purple Emperor exterminates demons and monsters once every sixty years, and the next time should be fifty years from now. My husband is a mortal with a limited life span. It just so happens that we have no other concerns in the human world, so we have decided to go to the ends of the earth and find a quiet place in the mountains to live in seclusion, play chess for fun, and spend the rest of our lives together."

"Um……"

Lin Jue nodded.

This is a solution, but not a good one.

"But Mr. Gu is not a Taoist. If he travels far away, he will suffer from the pain of traveling. If he lives in seclusion in the mountains, he will eat wild game all day long and cut off all ties with people. Even if you two are both elegant people and can play chess to kill time, I'm afraid it will be boring." Lin Jue said, "What's more, the wife is pregnant. What will happen after the baby is born?"

"But what can we do?" Mr. Gu said helplessly, "The immortal can protect me once, but he can't protect me for my whole life. How can a mortal like me resist the might of the Heavenly Law?"

"If you and your wife stay in the human world, I will not be able to protect you for your whole life. But I also have a Taoist temple and a deep mountain. I originally said that if you two really have nowhere to go, you can go to my place to live in seclusion. Unless I am eliminated by the Purple Emperor one day, no monks or Taoists will come to my place to attack me."

Lin Jue paused and smiled slightly. Although he looked young, he already had the air of an immortal:
"But now I have found a better place for you two."

"Where to go?"

Both husband and wife looked at him.

"This is it."

Lin Jue turned around and pointed behind him. The sky had cleared up, but Feilai Mountain was still shrouded in a faint mist, which even looked cleaner and fresher because of the heavy rain.

"There is an immortal in this mountain, and he is considered half an old friend of yours. If you two really have no attachments in this world, why not go to this mountain and play a few games of chess with him."

"Half an old friend?"

"Hahaha, the gentleman reviewed and analyzed the game with me seventeen times in my dream, isn't that equivalent to playing chess with him seventeen times? Since we are both good chess players and we met through chess, how can we not be considered half-old friends?"

When the two heard this, they knew who he was talking about:

"That Sky-goddess!"

"He used to be a great man, and he's also a chess lover. He needs someone to play chess with him to relieve his boredom." Lin Jue said, "If Mr. Gu comes, I think he will be more interested in him than me."

When Mr. Gu heard this, his expression immediately changed.

There are often rumors of "someone playing chess with the sky". Regardless of whether such rumors are true or false, whether mortals can really play chess with the sky, at least it can be said that this is the highest aspiration of chess players. Moreover, he has seen the chess game between this immortal and the celestial being seventeen times in his dreams. He already knows the celestial being's chess ability. He only regrets that he is not the one playing chess. He can only watch from the side and cannot personally understand it. He has been itching to play for a long time.

only……

"If I play a few games of chess with Tian Weng, will the Purple Emperor let my wife go?"

"Hahaha, sir, go ahead and play a few games of chess. When you come out, maybe the Purple Emperor's exorcism of demons will be over." Lin Jue said, "If I am still here by then, I will come to pick you up in person. You two can return to Yangzhou City, continue to have children, and enjoy the happiness of family life on earth."

The couple thought about it and finally understood.

Most likely it was the truth that “one day in heaven is one year on earth” that this immortal mentioned in a dream more than ten years ago.

"call……"

The Taoist waved his sleeves, and a hole appeared in front of him.

"Tian Weng is waiting for you two inside."

The two looked at each other, and then looked into the hole.

All they saw was a steep mountain with a white silk ribbon hanging on the mountain. There were countless fairy trees growing in the mountain, spewing out clouds and mist and radiating brilliant light. There were exotic beasts appearing in the forest and rare birds flying across the sky. It was just like the fairyland in secular legends, and they were a little dazed by what they saw.

The two of them no longer hesitated and stepped forward.

"Mr. Immortal, let Mr. Gu place the bet of 200 hands on my behalf." Lin Jue shouted inside, "I will come back to get the Royal Snake next year."

Silently, the hole disappeared.

The fox leaped down from the cloud and shrank to stand in front of him, with a restrained aura and looking clever and agile.

……

Fairy bells sound elegant music, white cranes fly together, nine-day clouds and mist open the palace, and the purple-robed emperor wears the crown.

"Your Majesty, Bodhisattva Ciyun sent a report saying that she followed your Majesty's orders to eliminate demons in Jiangnan, and encountered a demon that invaded the human world and even had sex with humans, which violated the rules of heaven. When she was about to eliminate it, she was stopped by Master Lin from the lower world and was biased towards her, and even fought with her."

A majestic voice came from behind the beaded curtain:
"Master Lin?"

"It was Master Lin who attained enlightenment at the end of the previous dynasty, and an old friend of the founder of the human dynasty."

"I know."

"I don't know..."

"Um……"

The Purple Emperor hesitated for a moment before speaking:
"This man is upright and kind-hearted. He has great merits and prestige in the human world. The fall of the previous dynasty and the establishment of the current dynasty may not be without his contributions. If he protects an ordinary monster, we can give him some face temporarily because of his merits. But I remember that the fox beside him is related to Empress Yaohua..."

"That's right!" "In that case..."

"..."

"That's all..."

The beaded curtain swayed slightly as the Purple Emperor waved his hands and flicked his sleeves: "It's not time yet, let's give him a few decades."

……

Although the years pass quickly in Yuanqiu Fairyland, isn’t it the same in the human world?
In the land of Zhongzhou, the old immortal doctor with a cane was too tired. Even though he had eaten immortal fruit and had a lot of Taoist skills, he was nearly 200 years old. He was walking on an ordinary road, under an ordinary tree, with countless disciples following him. His medicine box, gourd and cane were all placed beside him. It seemed like an ordinary day, on his way to treat illnesses, and he was taking a rest in the afternoon under the sun...

Suddenly a sentence:
"After I leave, don't be sad. I'll give the gourd to your senior brother, the medicine box to your junior brother, and the immobilization staff to you. Just dig a hole and bury my body."

The disciple was puzzled, and when he looked at his master again, he found that his master had closed his eyes and stopped breathing.

His vitality quickly faded away, but his soul left his body.

The old Taoist has not yet become an immortal, but after he came down the mountain, he first experienced the change of dynasties, several turbulent times, several natural disasters, and countless plagues and wars. In this world, in the hearts of countless people, he has already left the name of the medical immortal and the god of medicine, and his merits are immeasurable.

Just by offering incense, one can become a god.

……

Almost two years later—

Roadside Taoist temple in Mingxia County.

A Taoist priest is still young and elegant, entertaining others.

There are people rubbing grass to make fireflies and scattering wheat to make butterflies. While the fireflies and butterflies are flying, there are beautiful and graceful women playing music behind the pearl curtains and beautiful women twisting their bodies to pour wine for the guests.

Someone was just bragging about his ability to drink, and the Taoist laughed and pointed with his finger, allowing the man to keep drinking. He drank so much that he kept waving his hands.

The people around were all making a fuss, and someone called for the Taoist to come again. The Taoist did not refuse, but waved his hand and took out the love letter that had been hidden in his arms for a long time. He smiled and said that it was warmed up. Then he opened it in public, stood on the table and read it aloud to everyone. The man was so embarrassed that his face turned red, and the guests in the room laughed so hard that their stomachs hurt.

But everyone present was very generous. No one was angry or felt it was inappropriate because of the alcohol. They just enjoyed themselves by joking while drunk.

Someone at the table was red-faced, slapping the table and shouting loudly amid the song:

"Happy! Really happy! The world has been filled with sorrow for too long, and only here, Taoist priest, is the fun place in the immortal world far away from sorrow! Hahahaha!"

Another person echoed:

"Yes, I haven't come to the Taoist priest's place to have fun for several years. Every time I pass by here, I want to visit the Taoist priest, but the temple is closed. I even thought that the Taoist priest has become an immortal, hahahaha..."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

The Taoist in a simple plain shirt also laughed, then stood on the table again, stepping on the edge of the table. Everyone knew him and were not afraid that he would fall.

I thought he was going to perform something, but he just lowered his head and smiled at everyone present:
"How do you know? Today is the day I will become an immortal and leave?"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Everyone continued to laugh upon hearing this.

Some people said, "The Taoist priest has already been an immortal", while others said, "The Taoist priest is so happy all day long, how can he become an immortal?" The Taoist priest also laughed with them.

Suddenly the singing stopped and the dancing stopped too.

I don’t know when or how, but those singing girls and dancers disappeared without a trace, as if they had never appeared.

Everyone suddenly became quiet.

The Taoist on the table suddenly flew up, slowly ascended into the air, and with a smile on his face, he became an immortal and left.

Just one sentence:
"I came back this time to say goodbye to you all. If you come again in the future, you won't be able to find me. Haha, see you later."

……

At about the same time——

Yellow sandy road on the river and lake, the sound of horse hooves at the inn.

A Taoist priest in casual clothes came in with a woman in red. They ordered a plate of mutton and a pot of wine. While they were drinking, they suddenly felt something and looked up at the sky.

"what happened?"

The woman next to him asked him.

"Nothing." The Taoist shook his head, "It's just that I'm going to become an immortal."

"Why are you sad?"

"Melancholy is the cause. This is the last pot of wine for this mortal body. After achieving enlightenment, I don't know if I can drink so much fine wine again, and if I can feel drunk again..."

"I'll drink with you today."

The woman in red beside him smiled at him.

She held the cup in her bare hands, her wrist slender and white, as she poured wine for him. She also raised her sleeves to block the yellow sand outside the door for him. All the ruffians were extremely envious.

(End of this chapter)