Painter

Chapter 151: Chapter 150

With the arrival of the troops from the Dayong Kingdom, the voice of Huang Zhong and Da Lu resounded from the foot of Taodu Mountain.

The branches and leaves of the big peach tree piercing the sky trembled, and the peach blossoms fell like shooting stars.

This majestic flower rain like a broken sky lasted for more than half a month.

Under the fallen flowers, the soldiers of the Dayong Kingdom fought with demons, and it was hard to tell whether it was flowers or blood that were crimson on the ground.

The Luming Mountain is still quiet, with birds chirping in the forest, and yellow muntjacs chewing new leaves from time to time.

24 days passed, Li Chan polished 24 mirrors in that ancient pavilion and saw 24 sentient beings.

……

He saw the psychic fisher girl sacrificed to the river god, the swordsmith whose family was ruined, the scholar who fell in love with ghosts by mistake, and the locust tree skull exiled at the foot of Taodu Mountain;

Chang Suimo, a boy priest, Cang Bi covered with sword marks, a firework girl who died for love, and a charcoal seller who died of freezing;
The virgin who was built into the city wall, the widowed woodcutter who chopped up the wood, the fox who was punished for doing good, the charming green umbrella girl;
General Wu who enslaves the villagers, the homesick ghost of the ancient battlefield, the candle-cutter demon who steals babies, and the ghost who buys coffins without a funeral;
The black-headed ran who entered the house to murder, the beggar who stole lamp oil and was executed with a stick, the silver dog who was reborn, and the Shui Taibao who drowned;

The old woman who raises pupils, the easy-nosed ghost who is tortured, the hair-whisk of the barber, the ear-splitter who provokes people's hearts;
24 kinds of demonic obsessions condensed in his body, disturbing his mood.

Every time he looked at the mirror, he realized the joy, anger, sorrow, and joy of the mirror image, like crazy, and escaped from it.It's like a lotus flower that has been covered with dust, but after sinking into the mud, it becomes clean and flawless.

……

When the last bronze mirror corresponding to the heavy snow was put down, the divine lines on Li Chan's face quietly disappeared, like poplar flowers being blown away by the wind.

The original 24 divine lines are like the umbilical cord, allowing the baby in the mother's womb to contact the heaven and the earth.When the umbilical cord is severed, the baby is born between heaven and earth.From this, he can feel the coolness and heat in the wind and breathe the fragrance of grass and flowers.

Li Chan left the ancient pavilion and looked up at the peach branches.There are no flowers on the branches, but clusters of young leaves.

He saw a peach branch in his eyes, but he saw 24 peach branches in his heart, and saw the 24 seasons that the peach branch had experienced.

The flowing silk thread that pulls 24 peach branches is called "Fate" in Buddhism and "Tao" in Taoism.

He also thought of Xu Yingqiu's supernatural powers about flowers blooming and falling, and the mind is bright and dying. He suddenly became a little interested, and raised his finger to stir and fiddle with the peach branches in the air, like playing a piano or painting.

The young leaves on the branches trembled, and a few spots of pink and white were quietly drilled in the joints.

Pink and white gradually grow into flower buds, blooming in this flowerless peach forest, full of peach blossoms.

Li Chan looked at the peach blossoms and smiled, as if feeling the joy of completing her first painting when she was young.

He is like a child whose interest has been aroused. He is still not satisfied after painting a peach branch and another tree.

Walking in the forest, after one tree of peach blossoms, there are two, three trees...

On this day, Taodu Mountain was flying red in disorder, but in Luming Mountain, there was a forest of flowers blooming.

Li Chan grinds 24 mirrors, sees all living beings and enters the Tao.

……

The monsters are playing in the forest, some dig into the soil, and some lift up the rotten leaves.The green and red yaksha heads are flying and chasing each other among the branches, and the white cat is chasing flowers and butterflies.Hong Yao picked the most plump and tender peach petals and put them in the basket for the next meal of peach blossom porridge.She caught a glimpse of bright red, mistook Song Wuji for a peach blossom, reached out to pick it up, and was scalded.

Li Chan went back to the pavilion and picked up the No.20 four-sided mirror. The mirror surface was still clear, reflecting a pair of mandarin duck eyes.The shadow of others has been worn away, and the person in the mirror is himself.

When he saw his mirror image, he felt a strange feeling.He has planted the Tao and fulfilled a long-cherished wish.But he has seen all living beings and all the sufferings in the world, but he has not seen himself clearly.

who I am?This thought came to mind again.Li Chan spread out the paper on the stone table, pondered for a while, and drew his own face on it.

Hong Yao went into the pavilion clasping her hands, watching Li Chan's painting curiously.Li Chan put down her pen, turned her head and asked her, "Is this me?"

Hong Yao looked at the painting, the person in the painting was exactly the same as Li Chan, she said without thinking, "Yes."

Li Chan shook her head.

"It's just what Danqing did."

"that is not?"

"Who is that?"

Hong Yao was a little puzzled, but she also knew that Alang was enlightening these days, so she thought about it for a while and replied, "It's just Danqing."

"How did you say it was me?"

"Because... because he looks similar to Alang. But he can't speak, he can't draw, and he won't be nice to monsters."

"If I don't paint anymore, and I don't treat you well anymore, it's not me anymore?"

Hong Yao shook her head, "I don't know."

Li Chan whispered, "I don't know either."

Hong Yao was taken aback, and said shyly, "Then, then you still question me."

Li Chan smiled, "I don't know, that's why I have to look for it."

……

She lived in seclusion on Luming Mountain for more than a month, and when she left, Li Chan left only two letters.A letter of thanks to the viewer, and a letter for Du Chengzhou.

He wanted to leave Xuandu and go to Yujing, but he didn't want to ride in the carriage of Youjin God Zhasi.Although it is thousands of miles away, it happens to meet all living beings in the world again.

He carried a book case with a rain cloth on his back, put an umbrella in the case, a few scrolls, and put some coils and important things. He left Luming Academy quietly and went to the west side of the temple where Mr. Lu stepped on the moon. On the cliff, after a salute, he went down the mountain.I went to the market to buy some food, and went to the weapon shop of Zhenwumen to get two knives.

No one noticed that the strange person from Qingxin West Courtyard had left.

In the afternoon, a scholar caught a glimpse of pink in the mountains and found the peach blossom forest.This incident caused a sensation in the entire Luming Academy, and all the students were shocked by the spectacle of flowers blooming for the second time, and all exclaimed that Xiao Yangchun had come.

……

At dusk, in the tea shed outside the gate of Dailou in the east of Xuandu City, a black and thin storyteller stood behind the tea table and talked.

"Colorful clothes and flower faces, a prince and general for a while; Qingdan Hongsheng, here is a beautiful girl Tanlang."

"As I just said, Gu Jiuniang in Gantang Lane died for Na Yalang. This tragedy is really depressing for everyone who hears it. The world has been low for a long time."

"But the story is not over. The so-called cycle of karma and retribution is not good. The abandoned disciple of Xiyi Mountain fell into the devil's way and did many unrighteous deeds, and he will eventually pay back. Although Gu Jiuniang died, her soul turned into a demon , on the Wangque Stage, a piece of "Desperate" stunned Xuandu, exhaled sword energy, and that mysterious red student, in front of thousands, hundreds, and tens of thousands of people! Kill that enemy on the spot!"

The storyteller's sonorous and passionate tone won applause.

But some people sang a different tune: "It's wrong! How can a dead person be resurrected? I heard people say that the one who killed the abandoned disciple of Xiyi Mountain was also a demon!"

The storyteller shook his head, "I thought that man was a righteous man, a hero."

"Bewitching words to confuse people, it doesn't matter if you don't listen." The naysayer snorted coldly and walked away in a huff.

It was the time to discuss rewards at the end of the ceremony, and being interrupted by such an interruption, the scene suddenly became a lot colder. The storyteller held on to his bag and only received more than a dozen coins sporadically, and he couldn't help sighing secretly.

Suddenly, a silver light fell into the bag, which was heavy and quite heavy, at least three taels of silver.

The storyteller was taken aback, and when he saw a young man, he hurriedly said: "Too much, this gentleman has given too much."

"The book is well said and worth the price." The young man smiled slightly, put down his tea bowl, picked up the book case at his feet, and stepped on the official road to the east.

The storyteller watched the young man go away, in a daze for a while.

After the young man walked away, he suddenly remembered that if he walked east now, he might not be able to find a place to rest at night.

He hurriedly called out, but saw the figure carrying the book case disappearing into the twilight, and there were vague figures around him, as if many shadows appeared.

The storyteller was startled, and wiped his eyes vigorously.

When I looked again, the figure of the young man had disappeared.

……

The moon is dark and the stars are hidden, and the night is dark and windy.

Hong Yao stopped walking with her sleeves folded and looked down the mountain, the city of Xuandu was brightly lit, already in the distance.

"Let's go." Sao Qingniang whispered in front of her.

Hong Yao put away her heart, and followed her step by step.

Several lanterns lined the mountain path, and the dim light replaced the moonlight, illuminating the silhouettes.

The young man with the books on his back walked in the front, and behind him, Eryacha was bobbing up and down in mid-air with a yellow leather lamp in his mouth.Mirage and night mist are intertwined, white beasts carry boxes, red clothes loom, fox girls hold swords, and ghost shadows flicker.

……

Under the city of Xuandu, lights were lit up in the restaurant.The black and thin storyteller was telling a story of "Leaving the Customs" until the end of the curtain.

He patted Xingmu, shook the folding fan in his hand, and spoke in a tone that seemed to be singing but not singing:

"On a peaceful day, Zhenghua is about to ride, and the fish and dragon will turn into—"

-

Volume one.

　The first volume of "Fish and Dragon" is coming to an end.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)