Mysterious Martial Arts: The Record of the Swordsman

Facing the mountain peak shaped like a drum, Jiang Wen and his party climbed slowly along the ancient mountain road. They saw "Shigufeng" engraved on the huge stone wall at the foot of the mountain. , I am afraid that very human beings can write.

The scenery along the way was also considered beautiful, until the few people passed through the countryside full of miscellaneous bamboos, shrubs and wild thorns, and saw a few lonely stone houses, Jiang Wen felt a bad feeling spontaneously.

"Amitabha, the two benefactors will temporarily live in the mountain house from now on, waiting for the abbot brother to arrange other residences."

Venerable Anren, who was wearing a dung sweeper, was carrying the luggage and living things for the two of them. He was still able to walk like flying on the mountain road, his dark face was neither frightened nor worried, and he seemed to be content with everything in front of him.

"Although this place is remote and cold, it is a first-class place of practice in Jizu Mountain. It is also close to the medicine pond in the stone chamber at the foot of the mountain. The two of you can stay at ease."

The few dilapidated houses that appeared in front of Jiang Wen were so airy and shabby that it was even worrying to stay there during the day, let alone in the middle of the night when the dew was heavy. Jiang Wen couldn't help but looked at Luo Shuang'er in surprise, only to find that Luo Shuang'er kept his face cold and silent, and his attitude was even more indifferent than usual.

"Ahem, Master Anren, do you usually live here? It's not that I want to be picky. There are so many places to live in the Da Sitan Temple, why did the master choose this... this..."

Jiang Wen was shocked for a long time and finally opened his mouth, and said in a deliberate tone, "Choose this treasure land with superior wind and water?"

What Jiang Wen wanted to question the most was whether Abbot Hongbian had abused his juniors, otherwise why would there be such a huge difference between one living in a quiet and tasteful house and the other in a dilapidated house with leaky tiles.

Taking ten thousand steps back, it is understandable that Master Anren wanted to build a house in such a lush and secluded place, but these stone rooms are too simple, and the desolation is in stark contrast to the magnificence of Xitan Temple. It's like two worlds, compared to Jiang Wen's own Dawang Peak, which is three points bitterer and colder, which can't help but make people imagine.

"Amitabha, what do you mean by the words of the donor?"

The old monk in front of him had a bitter look on his face, his short stubble hair was not shaved off, and it was even more white and mottled after the wind and snow. Now, it is only because people in the world can do what is hard to do, and can endure what is hard to bear, that all karma will always exist.”

Hearing what the old monk said, Jiang Wen became interested again, and asked: "But Sakyamuni said that all living beings have the wisdom and virtue of the Tathagata, but they cannot be proved because of delusion and persistence. No increase, no decrease in everything', what is the master's opinion?"

Master Anren said immovably, "Amitabha. Humans and all Buddhas are ultimately equal in terms of dharma nature. However, in terms of things, humans are deluded and Buddhas are enlightened. Otherwise, why did the predecessors seek the Dharma?" In practice, there are Lixue sutras at night, and broken arms to seek the Dharma? The old monk is just an ordinary person, how can he be greedy for a night of rest?"

"The Venerable Master's words are wrong. The wonderful way of all Buddhas is great virtue and great wisdom. Living alone in the empty mountain is just a small virtue and little wisdom. How can it be regarded as true practice? If the Venerable Master really wants to go out of the world and practice hard, he should move to the top of Kunlun, Qunyu At the top, to experience the fruit of practice in the ice and snow, this is to let go of the carelessness and arrogance, and to be worthy of the seal of all Buddhas.” …

After listening to Jiang Wen's words, Master An Ren showed a little thought, but judging from his eyes, the thought was obviously not because of Jiang Wen's forceful rhetorical question, but for him, an uninvited guest of Xitan Temple.

"Amitabha, goodness, goodness. It seems that the old monk despised the donor, please don't blame him."

Master An Ren expressed his apology expressionlessly, but there was a slight change in his attitude. Jiang Wen quickly clapped his hands together and said to the old monk: "The master is telling the truth. After all, it was Jiang who lied before me. Please forgive me. crime."

A monk and a layman suddenly apologized to each other there, which made Luo Shuang'er who was following behind her puzzled, but today she seemed much more indifferent to Jiang Wen, full of doubts and no one to answer, after biting her lips lightly and moving her eyes, she turned out to be He held back and didn't ask any questions.

Then Master An Ren fell into silence again, as if he had exhausted all he had said today.

After he settled the two of them in the mountain house, he took the two of them back down the mountain and returned to the stone room that was integrated with the mountain. He went in alone to check the situation everywhere, and put the medicinal materials in a fixed position. , in order to exert the greatest efficacy.

At this time, only Jiang Wen and Luo Shuang'er were left outside the stone room, but Luo Shuang'er still stood aside with a face as cold as ice and snow, and didn't say a word to Jiang Wen. The expression was also insincere, and there was no intention of further explanation.

"Sister Shuang, you misunderstood me, you must listen to my explanation, things are not as you imagined..."

What to explain?Jiang Wen didn't know either.

The quarrel between the two is not big, it’s just that they haven’t seen each other much during the three days of recuperation, and when Jiang Wen pestered the abbot to question Princess Pingxi, Luo Shuang’er, who was looking for someone at the door, just happened to hear her, and immediately Luo Shuang’er’s attitude became abnormal Indifferent, Jiang Wen didn't know how he had offended her when he became what he is now.

The crux of the matter is, what is he trying to explain?
On weekdays, Luo Shuang'er was indifferent to Jiang Wen, but Jiang Wen obviously didn't have any affection for Luo Shuang'er towards him, and he just ignored him and followed him mysteriously, which seemed a bit socially intimidating. Because the other party's attitude is a bit indifferent, you can't just go up and criticize yourself, saying that you shouldn't inquire about other women, right?

Therefore, no matter what he wants to do, it is not appropriate, so he simply pretends that nothing happened, and wait for the other party to show signs before making plans.

"You two benefactors, all the things for use are in the stone room. It is ready at this time. You only need to put the medicinal materials and light the stove. In the past few days, no other monks will come and go under Shigu Peak. Meals will also be delivered by hand."

Monk Anren came out of the cave sweating profusely, brought out the debris that had been cleared up last, and told the two of them some precautions, "There is no second exit to this cave except for the flue. When you two enter the stone chamber, the old monk will The stone gate will be completely closed from the outside, as long as the gate is locked inside, there will be no reason to push it away from the outside, you two can rest assured."

The old monk gestured at the internal structure. It turns out that the stone door can be locked from the inside to prevent outsiders from intruding. It seems that the original function of this deep stone room should be a place for monks to retreat and sit in meditation, not a prison cell that Jiang Wen maliciously conjectured. …

But the more Jiang Wen heard his tone, the more strange it became, he quickly grabbed Master Anren's monk robe sleeve and asked, "Master Anren, I don't need to soak in the medicine pool, who told you that I would enter together?"

Venerable Anren looked at him in surprise for a long time: "On weekdays, I saw Jiang's benefactor's intimate voice, and I thought the two of you were floundering Kangli, so I made this statement... Could it be that the old monk has misread it?"

As soon as these words came out, Jiang Wen felt that the cold air on Luo Shuang'er's body on the side suddenly increased, and he quickly got up and stepped aside, explaining solemnly: "Master misunderstood, I am alone and unmarried, Sister Shuang is my junior sister of the same sect, the two of us Not husband and wife."

After explaining this way, the cold air on Luo Shuang'er's side gradually dissipated. Seeing that the situation of the two of them was not quite right at this time, the old monk hurriedly recited the Buddha's name and retreated, leaving the two of them immediately.

"Sister Shuang... please?"

The inconveniences of women in the pure place of Buddhism can be seen. Jiang Wen stretched out his hand to signal Luo Shuang'er to enter, and stopped outside the stone gate in an orderly manner, not daring to take half a step beyond.

Serving Luo Shuang'er's medicinal bath, not to mention Jiang Wen, I am afraid that there is no suitable candidate in the entire Xitan Temple, and it is really difficult to operate.Abbot Hongbian took the reputation of Xitan Temple as a gamble, and he had thoughtfully driven the monks away from this place in advance, just to avoid any other troubles. Do stay longer.

"Sister Shuang, after you enter the medicine pool, remember to use your kung fu to absorb the power of the medicine. I will patrol the vicinity and watch. I will come back and knock on the door every other time. If you are fine, just knock on the brick three times as a sign. "

But to Jiang Wen's surprise, Luo Shuang'er, who entered the cave in white clothes like snow, changed her previous attitude and suddenly said to Jiang Wen, "Can you stay and talk with me?"

Jiang Wen, who was just about to move his feet, was stunned: "Ah? What did you say?"

Luo Shuang'er walked into the deep stone room, and left the most emotionally fluctuating sentence of the day: "In order to heal your wounds, you haven't spoken to me for three whole days. Do I have to be dumb too?"

As soon as this remark came out, Jiang Wen couldn't help but feel embarrassed. It turned out that it was for such a reason to play his temper.

In this way, I was a bit too much. First, I hid in Fayun Pavilion for three days without seeing anyone, and left Luo Shuanger alone in a daze in the monastery. Then I finally went out to find the abbot, but was caught by Luo Shuanger who didn't do any business. I just kept asking for news about a certain Qinhuai Bayan...

"Sister Shuang, you misunderstood me, you must listen to my explanation, things are not as you imagined..."

Jiang Wen started his expressionless and insincere defense again. At this time, the old monk who was hiding in secret and protecting his face was covering his face and sighing. The benefactor Jiang in front of him looked very clever, why couldn't he tell the difference at this time? How serious is it?

…………

As Jiang Wen slowly exerted his strength, the heavy stone chamber door was gradually pushed up, closing tightly without leaving a single gap, only a few remaining cracks in the overlapping rock layers of the mountain, winding and winding as a flue to communicate with the outside world. Traffic, and then heard a click and the stone bar fell. At this time, unless someone can overturn the rock and dig out the stone veins, it is absolutely impossible to break into it.

Jiang Wen, who was staying outside the cave, hesitated. After studying the mushroom at the door that seemed to be eaten in his previous life, he decided to face the reality. …

Since Luo Shuang'er ordered him to talk with her, Jiang Wen, who still felt a little guilty in his heart, was embarrassed to leave at this time, so he found the crack in the rock and said to the chimney of the crack, "Sister Shuang, listen to me. See you?"

There are mountains and rocks separated by sound transmission, and it is not easy to be found even if you are trapped in it on weekdays. Fortunately, Jiang Wen has a lot of martial arts by his side. Yan Bi Yun concentrated his skills on the Tinggong acupoint of the ear, and instantly amplified his hearing Ultimately, start listening.

"I heard……"

Jiang Wen only heard Luo Shuang'er say the word "I heard" in a little surprise, followed by the rustling sound of undressing and rippling water waves, she quickly dissipated her energy and waited for a while before continuing to talk to her. He said with a crack in the rock.

"Sister Shuang, don't worry, I'll just wait outside the cave and won't go anywhere."

Jiang Wen said honestly, with a frank and lenient attitude, expressing his style of being a pig who is not afraid of boiling water, "You let me talk with you, I don't know what to say, I am afraid that if I say the wrong thing, I will make you unhappy."

After Luo Shuang'er sighed slightly, a helpless voice came: "...Then tell me, what are the riddles you and Master Anren talked about just now?"

There were few words in the other direction, Jiang Wen saw Luo Shuang'er stepped down a step, with a slight smile on his mouth, and casually explained the previous story.

If you want to get along well, you have to go to some temple to recite some sutras, and if you want to deal with monks, you have to understand something about them. Therefore, during the three days in Fayun Pavilion, Jiang Wen did not just sit in death meditation with nothing to do, but I took the opportunity to read a lot of scriptures and classics, and made up for some Buddhist knowledge.

Jiang Wen had experience in Taoist temples, and there were Buddhist classics and biographies of eminent monks collected by Abbot Hongbian in the Fayun Pavilion, so he learned a lot of plausible content by quoting from sources, and he immediately recognized Master Anren What it means.

Lixue and Broken Arm refer to the story of Huijian, the second ancestor of Zen Buddhism, and the first ancestor Bodhidharma, which is recorded in "Jingde Biography of Lantern Records".

You must know that this "Jingde Biography of Lantern Records" is not about teaching people how to touch porcelain, and this story is not as simple as studying sincerity. It is all about the fundamental purpose of learning Buddhism and practicing, asking people to "get rid of life and death, and be free."

Master Anren's words were actually for himself. He hated Jiang Wen's behavior of creating karma casually in his heart, and eventually fell into the three evil realms.

But what Jiang Wen said was not to defend himself, but to himself, so he asked the other party through Huatou whether what he saw was all he had.

You must know that according to Buddhism, there are too many places and things that ordinary people cannot see with their naked eyes, and their existence cannot be denied just because they have not seen them.For example, one can only see the human and animal realms among the six realms, while the rest of the heavens, asuras, hells, and ghost realms cannot be seen.But if you can't see it, you can't say it. If you judge it according to the holy words, you should firmly believe that there are still four ways.

In other words, Abbot Hongbian did not reveal that these were false, and Venerable Anren should not question everything like this.

After the two of them had something to say in their conversation, they both knew that the other party was a person who knew how to practice, and Master Anren was worthy of being an eminent monk, so he immediately abandoned the mountain of prejudice in his heart, and took the lead in apologizing to Jiang Wen. …

"It turned out to be like this. I thought you had tricked everyone in the temple. Then, in this case, Master An Ren actually lost the argument to you?"

Luo Shuang'er whispered along the cracks in the rock, accompanied by the sound of water.

"Not lying is one of the five precepts that Buddhists should abide by at least. Who dares to play with the precepts and clear rules. I know that in Tan Temple, except for Abbot Hongbian, I am afraid that no one really believes in me. Abbot Hongbian and Venerable Anren were born together. One course, it seems that what I have learned is not enough, one learns 'cleaning frequently', and the other only does 'Where to get dust', it is really interesting."

Jiang Wen said helplessly across the rock: "Again, when it comes to winning or losing, Venerable An Ren doesn't make any distinctions in the face of disputes, he only clarifies that his mind mirrors all directions. He already sees me like a Buddha, but I see him as useless, who do you think wins?"

Luo Shuang'er was silent for a while, and the topic between the two seemed to be coming to an end here, so Jiang Wen said, "Sister Shuang, I told you something interesting, you should tell me something too."

The two chatted slowly, Luo Shuang'er's voice seemed to be thousands of miles away, floating in the Dongting landscape painting, Jiang Wen could feel that her mood was much lighter, and the gradually suppressed emotions during this period of time gradually calmed down.

"Hey, Master said that people's hearts are unpredictable. I didn't believe it at first. I'm afraid you are also interested in this news-I'm telling you quietly, you can't reveal it to others."

In the words that followed, Luo Shuang'er showed a bit of the cuteness she should have at this age. After hearing Jiang Wen's repeated promises, she said to Jiang Wen in a serious manner: "Actually, my father has met Chen Yuanyuan."

Jiang Wen, who was listening outside the cracks in the stone, almost crushed a corner of the rock when he heard this, his mind was buzzing, there was nothing he could do, and Luo Yuantong, a golden sword with white beard and hair, who was not angry and arrogant, and lingering Brothel Chu Guan and the prodigal son's land on the Qinhuai River are connected together.

"Hiss... I never thought that senior Luo would have such a flirtatious story..."

Luo Shuang'er's voice came intermittently: "When I was practicing martial arts in Dongting, Master often chatted with me across the water bank like this, talking about rumors and past stories, but he refused to reveal his name—only one time he missed it. Mouth, I heard that it was Daddy."

"Master said that in the 12th year of Chongzhen, the young master of the Luo family in Yuhang spent a lot of money to see Chen Yuanyuan, who is famous in Qinhuai. In the Smoke', a strange woman he has never seen."

Jiang Wen quickly asked: "That's all, how do you know it's old Luo?"

"My father uses the official form to meet. I have seen that famous letter when I was a child, so I have to follow the rules. It is also this sentence that makes me vaguely guess that the person master is sneering at is my father."

Luo Shuang'er was silent for a long time before continuing unhappily, "...Besides, the Luo family in Yuhang is the ancestral home. Master also said that the young master of the Luo family once asked Chen Yuanyuan if he would go with him, and he would be willing to spend all his wealth to redeem her. , and the two of them roamed the rivers and lakes together.” …

"Redemption for her????"

If the person mentioned is really Luo Yuantong, then Jiang Wen can only sigh that Luo Yuantong is worthy of being the leader of the green forest.

Luo Shuang'er told Jiang Wen that Luo Yuantong was not originally a bandit in the green forest, but a son of an official with a surname in Jinling City. Until Luo Yuantong here, there are still hundreds of hereditary households, sitting on the family wealth, but because of Jiashentian's family's decline, he was lucky to live in the green forest, and instead achieved another prestige.

On this point, Jiang Wen can also vaguely guess the clue, because although Luo Yuantong behaved like a gangster, according to Luo Yuantong's familiarity with gold and stone antiques when he was a rhinoceros wielder, he was also able to chase after ancient books. Unearthing clues of Yixi things everywhere is definitely not something that a person from a reckless background can do, but I didn't expect that there was actually a layer of official status.

"Disrespect, disrespect, I didn't expect that Miss Luo is also from a famous family. I have actually heard a little about Yuhang. I don't know if there is a Li family with good swordsmanship?"

"Well, if you see Daddy, don't mention these things."

Luo Shuang'er's voice came intermittently, as if rippling across the water, like a dream, "Daddy said that my grandfather kept vomiting blood when he was dying, and forced all the descendants to make a poisonous oath that we must find the remnants of the Southern soldiers who died. Therefore, Daddy painstakingly found I met General Wu's nephew and asked about the 'Jizhou Mutiny in the 23rd year of Wanli', and since then I have been very cold towards the government."

When Jiang Wen heard the words "Jizhou mutiny", he thought about it in combination with the relationship between the Luo family in Yuhang, and gradually understood what Luo Shuang'er was referring to vaguely.

This is not Jiang Wenwei's prophet, but when he was in Luo's mansion in Guangzhou, Luo Yuantong's great mother mentioned to him that his ancestors were Qi Jiguang's generals, who followed Qi Jiguang to fight against the Japanese in various places, and the so-called Wanli The Jizhou mutiny in 23 years was undoubtedly the tragic event about the Qi family army.

In the 11th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1583), Zhang Juzheng was liquidated by Emperor Wanli one year after his death. Qi Jiguang was also impeached by the censor because of his close relationship with Zhang Juzheng during his lifetime. , Died in poverty and illness.In this world, people eat cold tea, people die, and the government rests. After Qi Jiguang left office, the chief soldier of Jizhou Town was replaced by northerners. It is called "thorn head".

Until the 20th year of Wanli (1592), Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the ruler of Japan, led a large-scale invasion of North Korea with elite troops. The king of North Korea was defeated and asked for help from the Ming Dynasty. .

In this battle, Wu Weizhong, Luo Shangzhi, and Li Bidi, who were originally under Qi Jiguang's command, were collectively known as the three battalions of the Southern Army. The "Records of Xuanzu of Joseon" commented on the Southern Army: "The Southern Army disregarded life and death, and always went forward. Wu Weizhong's contribution was the highest." "...

In the second battle of Pyongyang, Qi's army rushed and fought all the way, and they were the first to rush to the top of Pyongyang City, making their first contribution.However, Li Rusong, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Army, deliberately favored the Northern Army due to factional reasons, and credited Yang Yuan and Li Rubai for the first victory in breaking the city. Even Luo Shangzhi, who was seriously injured and defeated the enemy, only received 20 taels of silver. With the title of deputy commander in chief, the rest of them have not achieved an inch of merit.

For this reason, Wu Weizhong dared not speak out on behalf of the Qi family army, while Wang Bidi, a general from the Southern Army, denounced Li Rusong for being "unwise, unbelievable and unkind". When he was seriously injured and returned to the rear to recuperate, he also actively taught the Koreans martial arts formations to fight against the Japanese.

But among these problems, the most serious is the problem of payment arrears.In the late Ming Dynasty, arrears of payment were a common phenomenon. The solution to this was to concentrate resources to support a small number of elite cavalry, and finally created freaks like Guanning cavalry.However, during the long-term anti-Japanese war, the Zhejiang soldiers who received equal treatment from Qi Jiguang could not understand the behavior of accepting arrears of payment, so the conflict between the North and the South became more and more serious.

"It's no wonder that Senior Luo has doubts about all parties. It turns out that after Zhongliang has been given all the credit, the world probably rarely knows that before the bloody battle in Hunhe, the Qi family's army had long been 'people's hearts were filled with anger, so they rarely recruited those who would not respond'." ..."

History is here, making a joke with Luo Shangzhi.

As the war gradually came to victory, in the first month of the 22nd year of Wanli, Luo Shangzhi, who had recovered from his injuries, chose to lead nearly [-] soldiers from the South to return to the country. He had been committed to mediating the relationship between the North and the South and the relationship between China and North Korea. He was stationed in Jizhou. The right deputy general of the Shenshen Shuying and the governor of the left army's governor's mansion thought that he could finally keep Qi Shaobao's legacy.

Unexpectedly, in the second year after he returned to China, Wang Bao, the chief soldier of Jizhen, with the support of the northern soldiers, had no scruples anymore, and attacked these disobedient Qi family troops in the Shimenzhai garrison. A few sentences: "In October of the 23rd year of Wanli, at the end of the day, Fanghai soldiers threatened Shuangliang to make a noise. The governor, Fu, and Taoist ministers of Jizhen captured those who advocated chaos and rectified the law. The rest of the party drove south and returned. I heard the Ministry of War's reply and reported it. "Wandering outside the book are three thousand unjust souls who vowed to sacrifice their lives for the country but died under their own knives...

"After that, my grandfather became sick with worry and anger. He heard that General Wu returned to his hometown to recruit soldiers again in order to fulfill Qi Shaobao's will. The people who responded went from bad to worse. In the end, he retreated in a false alarm during the Battle of Ulsan and was punished by the court. The children of the family also became exiled among the people..."

Luo Shuang'er's voice was ethereal, as if being disturbed by something, even if Jiang Wen put all his strength into his ears, he couldn't hear her whispering narration clearly.

"Until Dad found the only surviving descendant of General Wu, he didn't expect that everything has changed..."

Jiang Wen originally thought that Luo Shuang'er fell into silence because of his low mood, but his sense of hearing, which was poured into his whole body, listened for a while before he keenly caught a trace of an extremely abnormal sound.It was a crackling sound like liquid bubbling——

"Gulu...gulu...gulu".

This voice is strangely reminiscent of some vague and incomprehensible words and syllables. It seems that someone is squeezing out from the stone wall and wandering in the stone room with treacherous steps. The road was heading towards Luo Shuang'er who was gradually drowning.

"What happened?"

Jiang Wen sensed that something was wrong, and shouted loudly towards the smoke hole in the crack of the rock, "Wake up, tell me what happened inside?!"

What followed was the ultimate silence in the cave. It seemed that even the boiling of the medicine pool and the stove had stagnated, and there was only a clearer "hoot, hoot, hoot", a strange throat sound like a bellows being pulled.

That voice gradually turned into a dark wind blowing around in the stone room, the cold air had nowhere to vent, and even went up the flue, heading straight for Jiang Wen's face!
Burned by the dark smoke, Jiang Wen's eyes were stinging and weeping, but his sight seemed to merge with his hearing and enlarged, and began to deflect and refract. Possible sights——

Two pieces of dry human skin thoroughly smeared with blood, pus and saliva hang upside down on the top of the rock. The human body patterns have been burned, chewed by cattle, bitten by rats, and soaked in fat from dead people, and the colors are mottled.At this time, the human skin seemed to be wearing a pale hat and clothes made of birch bark, and it was spinning wildly around the medicine pool like a whirlwind!