Sword from the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 70 Wuzhuang Temple (Seeking first subscription!)
It was the seventh day after Old Master Ren came back to life.

"Drive~!"

"Drive~!"

Zhou Yi and Ying Yu rode their horses west of the county town, and after exiting the city gate, they gradually increased their speed.

After crossing a small bend in the river, Yingyu slightly tightened the reins.

He discovered that Master Yi was not good at horsemanship, and was even quite inexperienced.

"You flatter me," Zhou Yi said frankly. "Actually, I rarely ride horses. Just now, the city was bustling, and I was afraid of bumping into passersby, so I only dared to lead the horse."

"I see."

Yingyu rode side by side:

"Master, your lightness skill is first-rate, enough to traverse the whole world. There are places where horses cannot go, but you can walk on flat ground with your lightness skill. I would rather give up my saddle and stirrups and wish to have your lightness skill."

"The western part of the city is spacious and perfect for practicing horsemanship. It's a pity that Wolonggang is so close; it only takes the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to get there."

He suddenly looked depressed:
"I have urgent business to attend to. Once the Taoist priest has found the person, I will take my leave."

Zhou Yi said, "Brother Meng Ying has pointed out the direction; I will go there myself."

"It's alright, I don't care about the time. If I hadn't been injured by Old Master Ren, I would have delivered the letter home for the Taoist priest long ago."

Ying Yu touched his chest; he was fine now.

"I told my master about the Daoist Master's long journey to deliver a letter home, and he greatly praised it. If Daoist Master Yi has the time, he can visit my Tiankui Sect's Nanyang Daoist Temple."

"Old Master Ren is an old friend of my master. It was only with the help of the Taoist priest that this was able to be completed."

Zhou Yi smiled and said, "I've already thanked the Ren family head for his help, so let's not talk about whether I'll help or not."

"However, given Senior Lü's advanced age and high moral character, I will certainly not miss the opportunity to pay him a visit."

Ying Yu nodded repeatedly, almost ready to arrange a time with him.

After traveling eight or nine miles, Zhou Yi became increasingly skilled at horseback riding.

But before he could whip his horse and spur it on, they had already arrived at their destination.

In the distance, rolling hills stretched out, their verdant slopes condensing into a deep lush green in the early summer air, with Wolonggang stretching out before us.

"The sky is like a round canopy, the land like a chessboard. People are divided into black and white, vying for honor and disgrace."

Seeing the Baihe River flowing like a ribbon alongside the hills, Zhou Yi was moved by the beautiful scenery and wrote this poem.

"Yes, this is a song composed by Mr. Wolong. In Nanyang, even farmers who are tilling the fields can sing a few lines."

Ying Yu, being a local, was naturally very familiar with the place.

He led the way towards the vast field ridges ahead. The road became narrower and narrower, and houses could be seen on the hills and at the foot of the hills, with the sounds of chickens and dogs echoing through the fields.

After walking another two miles, the horse's hooves were covered in wet mud.

Seeing an old farmer leaning on his hoe and sipping water by the field, Zhou Yi stepped forward, bowed, and asked:
"May I ask, sir, is there a Xie family in the mountain village ahead?"

“There are many people with the surname Lü around here, but there is one family with the surname Xie. Just keep going along the way. There is an old Taoist temple on this mountain, not far from there.”

Zhou Yi thanked him, and the old farmer chuckled and drank again.

Ying Yu said, "That's right, it must be the household you're looking for."

Zhou Yi bowed to him:

“The villages around this hill are scattered like stars. If I were to search for them alone, it would probably take me ten days. I am deeply grateful to Brother Ying.”

Ying Yu waved his hand:

"Now that I have found it, I shall take my leave."

"it is good."

Ying Yu gave a shout, turned his horse around, and rode away.

At this moment, he no longer needed to worry about Zhou Yi; he spurred his horse and galloped away, clearly having something urgent to attend to.

Zhou Yi felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

My impression of the Tiankui Sect has improved somewhat.

Leading the horse forward across the field ridges, we saw a stone path winding through the wilderness. As we climbed the stone steps, ancient cypress trees lined the path, creating a serene and tranquil atmosphere.

As the mountain breeze passes by, the new leaves flutter like green waves, and a refreshing atmosphere permeates Wolonggang.

Along the way, Zhou Yi saw several thatched huts covered with ivy, some with bamboo fences, but the fences were broken and dilapidated.

It was clearly abandoned long ago and no one lived there.

Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage in Nanyang... Hmm... Zhou Yi didn't know where the Prime Minister's thatched cottage was.

Then, after encountering a few farmers carrying hoes, ask them for directions.

After walking several hundred steps, I heard the tinkling sound of water coming from a mountain stream.

Beside a makeshift wooden bridge made from a few fallen trees, a wooden house stands alone.

Zhou Yi stepped forward and gently knocked on the wooden door, but no one answered.

Aren't you at home?
"Uncle, thank you, Uncle!"

I tried calling out a few times, but after a while there was still no response.

Looking around, he found a poplar tree and was about to tie his horse to it and wait.

Unexpectedly, the knot was not tied.

Then they heard hurried footsteps coming from around the bend in the mountain path.

Zhou Yi turned around, and the person was already in front of him.

He was dressed in a coarse gray linen Taoist robe, was over fifty years old, and had an unusual appearance.

His face was dark, his cheeks were sunken so deep that you could see the bone, and his cheekbones were high and straight like a crow's beak.

His eyebrows were thick and dark, and below them, a pair of dark gold pupils were intently fixed on Zhou Yi.

"Hey!"

He held a calligraphy brush in his hand, tilted his head back, and took a breath, looking rather strange.

Seeing that Zhou Yi was dressed in a simple Taoist robe, but did not address him as a fellow Taoist.

He frowned and asked fiercely, "Hey kid, who are you from?" Who are you from?

"Naturally, they are people from the Great Sui Dynasty in the East."

Zhou Yi's tone was also rather cold. "I don't owe you any money. How can you be so rude as to question me like this?"

"nonsense!"

The Taoist priest frowned even more deeply. "I asked you where you came from?"

"From a thousand miles away."

"Nonsense! Utter rubbish!"

He cursed and leaped over three zhang (approximately 10 meters) in one bound, shouting, "Kid, are you deliberately messing with me?"

Zhou Yi glared at him coldly:

"Seeing your Taoist attire, I assumed you were a fellow practitioner cultivating your mind and body in the mountains. However, I was surprised to find you speaking so rudely and without any manners upon our first meeting."

“I replied to you, but I didn’t curse at you. Isn’t that better than your attitude? Why are you saying I’m playing you?”

The Taoist priest, who had been furious, swallowed his anger upon hearing Zhou Yi's words: "Fine, I admit I was rude first."

“But what are you doing lurking around in front of Xie Jiyou’s door? Old man Xie has no relatives, I can tell there’s something wrong with you as soon as I look at you.”

His face darkened further, and he brandished the thick brush in his hand, sneering, "If you can't explain yourself, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Xie Jiyou.
Zhou Yi glanced at the Taoist priest, then silently took out the family letter from his pocket.

Remove the outer oil paper to reveal the letter.

"I came to find this old man Xie for this very reason."

"letter?"

"It's a family letter, written by his son."

"What?!" The Taoist priest was immediately shocked upon hearing this.

He quickly pressed on, asking, "Is it true or false?"

"If you don't believe me, you'll see when the old man comes back. What good would it do me to lie to you?"

"hiss"

He took another breath: "Is his son still alive?"

Zhou Yi remained silent for a few moments, then shook his head.

“As expected, I believe you now,” the Taoist priest said, his malice vanishing instantly.

"I am the Crow Daoist. May I ask your name, fellow Daoist?"

Zhou Yi said, "The Daoist Yi."

"You've come all this way from a thousand miles away, just to deliver a message?"

"Exactly."

"it is good."

He said "Okay" and then said, "Old Xie has gone down the mountain and probably won't be back until evening. Come and sit here for a while."

After saying that, he turned and led the way.

Zhou Yi hesitated for a moment, then pulled his horse and followed. After turning a bend in the mountain, they came to see an old and dilapidated Taoist temple.

Ok?
Suddenly, Zhou Yi was drawn to a wooden sign at the entrance.

The inscription reads: "This humble Taoist is currently traveling and not at home. Please make yourself at home, guests."

The ink was not yet dry.

The last character "便" was written hastily and was not aligned with the character above it.

Thankfully, Emperor Ding's obsessive-compulsive disorder wasn't there, otherwise he would have gone crazy from the discomfort.

I examined the handwriting carefully.

That's right, the handwriting is basically the same.

"What's wrong?" the Crow Taoist asked proudly, seeing him engrossed in the calligraphy. "Are you amazed by my masterpiece?"

He raised his hand and wrote with great pride: "My calligraphy is already excellent. A few years ago, I also acquired the 'Thirteen Lines of the Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River.' Even if the four sages in the book were in front of me, I would still dare to put pen to paper!"

Zhou Yi gazed at the words on the wooden sign and read them slowly:

"Fugou City, Wuyan Mountain, Wuyan Temple".

Misty Mountain is also known as Crow Mountain, no wonder he is called Crow Taoist, Zhou Yi finally understood.

"Um?!"

The Crow Taoist came to his senses and was greatly surprised: "You've been to my ancestral temple?"

"Yes."

Zhou Yi smiled, no longer blaming the Crow Taoist, after all, he had used the Taoist's offerings.

"He who takes a bribe is bound to be obligated to do so"—that's the principle.

She then told him about how she had cleaned and tidied the Taoist temple and impersonated the "abbot of Wuyan Temple" to collect incense offerings.

"Gagaga~!!"

Upon hearing this, the Crow Taoist burst into loud laughter.

He put his arm around Zhou Yi's shoulder and, as if they were old friends, let out a long, strange laugh.

Zhou Yi was so frightened that he quickly took three steps back.

"Fellow Daoist, we are truly destined to meet. Are you planning to reside in Nanyang for an extended period?"

Zhou Yi replied with a puzzled look, "Yes."

The Crow Taoist was overjoyed: "I was just about to return to my ancestral temple, and I didn't know how to deal with the aftermath at Wuzhuang Temple. Your arrival is perfect!"

"Then you shall become the abbot of Wuzhuang Temple."

……

(End of this chapter)