The national teacher does not practice

Chapter 356 Return to the original starting point (please subscribe for a monthly ticket)

Ji Ping'an led the bad horse and walked towards the "flowing lake" in winter.

From this angle, the entire frozen lake looks like a lovely mirror.

The wooden house by the lake, which had almost collapsed due to neglect and damage from wind and snow, looked extremely inconspicuous.

The scenery here is undoubtedly excellent. The surrounding towering mountains separate this place from the busy outside world. It is a good place for self-cultivation.

Correspondingly, it brings about the occlusion of information and the impoverishment of commercial soil.

Several villages within a radius of dozens of miles have lived in this quiet corner for generations. The closest place to the outside world is a town at the end of the official road behind him.

If people in the village want to go to the town, they have to walk a long mountain road.

This place is at the junction of Lanzhou and Leizhou. Judging from the official map, the grassroots in this area undoubtedly belong to "Leizhou", but it is still far away from Daxizhou.

Therefore, relatively speaking, the folk customs are not fierce, but a blend of the gentleness of the south of the Yangtze River and the tenacity and endurance of the west.

When Ji Ping'an was thinking about where to hide or wait for this crisis, this place popped up in his mind:
In this life, the identity "Ji Ping'an" was born.

With almost no hesitation, he said goodbye to everyone, led his horse alone, and returned to the very beginning of his life from the center of the whirlpool.

It snows lightly in winter, and there are few pedestrians along the way, let alone on the lake.

However, when Ji Pingan led the horse and stepped on the frozen lake to the area near the collapsed wooden house, he was surprised to see a child lying nearby, holding a hemp rope and focusing on Staring at the bamboo basket held up by wooden sticks on the lake, he was patiently catching birds.

Accompanied by a frightened gray bird that was about to enter its urn, it fluttered its wings and flew up. The village boy behind the stone jumped up in frustration, staring at the returning traveler angrily.

The village boy was about ten years old. He was wrapped in a cotton-padded coat that had been modified by an adult and wore a leather hat. His ears were red from the cold. His red face showed the simplicity of a country boy. He was so angry that he almost cried:

"Hey, you scared away my bird..."

However, the next second, the village boy suddenly froze, saw Ji Pingan's appearance clearly, rubbed his eyes in disbelief, and shouted in disbelief:

"Brother Ping An?!"

Ji Pingan smiled: "Yuanzi, it's me."

The village boy named "Ji Yuan" opened his mouth wide in surprise, shouted "Ah ah ah" with a bright smile, lost the hemp rope, rushed over, and ran around Ji Ping'an several times.

Then he suddenly thought of something, suddenly turned around and ran towards the village at the foot of the hillside in the distance, waving his hands and shouting:
"Brother Ping An is back! Brother Ping An is back!!"

In winter, the boy's voice is like a gong and drum, sounding the airtight tranquility.

There are three or four villages scattered around Liuhu. In this era, most of the villages had the same surname.

Therefore, the boy's destination is "Jijia Village".

Jijia Village is not big, with a total of more than a dozen households, and the houses are scattered under the beautiful hillside.

When Ji Ping'an led the horse and walked slowly to the entrance of the village, almost the entire village was alarmed and gathered in a chaotic manner.

The leader was a stocky man who looked like he was a good farmer. When he saw the young man leading the horse, he almost dreamed:
"Xiao Ping'an, are you back from Beijing? Why didn't you send a letter in advance?"

An aunt with a good waist next to her, her face glowing red, rushed over and looked at Ji Ping'an, and said distressedly:
"I've lost weight since I went out. It's so cold and you walked all the way? Go to my aunt's house to warm up."

The other villagers were also talking a lot, and Ji Ping'an was overwhelmed with all kinds of problems from the seven aunts and eight aunts.

However, at this moment, he didn't have the airs of "National Master" or "Ji Sichen", nor was he impatient at all. He was just like a real wanderer returning home, calling out the titles of his elders one by one with a smile.

And these ordinary villagers, no matter how ordinary, seemed not to have the slightest understanding of his fame.

Not surprising.

After all, the ordinary world is really far away from the wonderful world of practice.

There are few people in the village who can leave the county town. Not to mention the changes in the court, even the emperor's enthronement is often delayed for several months, or even a year.

You may have never heard of the words "Grand Prize in the City of Gods" in your entire life, let alone know about the various deeds Ji Ping'an has done in the past year.

A year ago, Ji Ping'an, who was still a mortal, left this remote village with his luggage on his back.

After traveling across three state capitals, he arrived at Qintian Prison, the capital of the gods, and became a little star official with a letter of recommendation.

And a year later, he returned to the place where he was born and raised.

"Chief A is here!"

In the chaotic atmosphere, someone shouted, and then the crowd dispersed, and an old man with gray temples and a bit of a stoop came out.

Ji Ping'an respectfully saluted as a junior: "Chief A."

"Okay, okay..." The commander of Dazhou is not an official, but a famous person selected from the village. Naturally, he is not a very knowledgeable person, he is just an old farmer digging in the soil.

At this time, his eyes were filled with tears of excitement, and he couldn't say anything decent, but after all, he knew that this was not the place to talk, so he immediately called Ji Ping'an to his home.

Ji Ping'an followed the good deeds, but did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he turned around and took out things from the two huge sacks on the left and right of the bad horse.

It's nothing more than some crispy candies, rice cakes, frozen meat, rice wine, paper and pen, rouge gouache, wooden comb and small mirror...etc., etc., which are common in the wells of Yuhang city, but in the village, they are gifts of hard currency.

One by one, according to the seniority in the village, they were sent over one by one.

The villagers were so happy that they smiled and exclaimed again and again. Even the bird-catching boy "Ji Yuan" shared a large bag of candy and howled with joy.

Only a few people, including Lao Zhang, had complicated eyes.

Then, a group of people surrounded Ji Pingan and entered the village.

Chief Lao Jia's yard was the largest in the village. After a group of people tied their horses in the yard, they swarmed into the side room and started asking questions.

Ji Yuan has a flexible figure and squeezes to the front, looking up with anticipation:
"Brother Ping'an, didn't you go to Shendu City to become a god? That's what...practice...practice. Why did you suddenly come back? Also, have you become a Taoist priest? Have you learned magic? Just like in the story kind……"

This is also the most curious topic among all the villagers.

However, when Ji Ping'an smiled and was about to speak, Uncle Ji, a stocky man, suddenly patted the back of Ji Yuan's head gently and glared:
"What's the kid asking blindly?"

The old commander also nodded and said with a straight face to chase people away:

"Ping'an has just come back. Everyone is surrounded in such a mess. Let's go back first. Ping'an, your house by the lake has collapsed. Let's stay at the old man's house first and have some hot meals. It's just the right time to come back. The Chinese New Year will be here soon. It’s just a good time to spend the New Year at home.”

Ji Ping'an originally had two houses in his name, one in the village.One is the cabin by the lake.

In order to save money for traveling to the capital of the gods, he sold his house in the village to collect the money for traveling, but now he really has no place to stay.

Driven by the old chief, a group of curious villagers had no choice but to go home with their gifts in their arms. Ji Ping'an was left laughing in the side room to warm up by the fire.

Old Chief A secretly left the house and came to the outside of the courtyard. He asked Uncle Ji and Aunt Ji to stay and said:
"You guys go and tell the people in the village later, keep your mouths shut and don't ask around, especially about spiritual practice."

The fat aunt opened her mouth: "You mean..." The old commander shook his head and sighed, then lowered his voice and said firmly:
"Back then, Pingan was studying in the town. Maybe he was tricked by the teacher in the school. He left the good books and didn't read. He went all the way to the yamen to become an immortal teacher. Now that he's back, he must have failed the exam, otherwise he would really When you become an immortal master, all the eldest men in the county have to come to see you off in person. That’s called returning home in fine clothes, with the same treatment as the number one scholar, but can you come back alone? So you can’t mention this kind of thing, otherwise how uncomfortable will it sound to the child? "

The fat aunt woke up from a dream and nodded her head:

"Then I'll go tell you."

Uncle Ji was silent for a moment and said:

"I'm going to pack up the axes and saws, and find a few people to repair his house by the lake. The child must have a home when he comes back."

Inside the room.

Ji Ping'an was warming himself by the fire, his consciousness had already spread, covering the whole village, and countless information poured into his mind.

The whispered conversation between the three of them outside the hospital fell into Ji Ping'an's ears. He smiled and was not prepared to explain.

In fact, compared to his long thousand-year lifespan, these elders in the village are nothing more than a fleeting moment in the sky and the earth.

A retreat for a national master is already a mortal life, but Ji Ping'an is still willing to treat them as elders. Only in this way can he truly realize that his blood is still hot.

At this time, the old commander also walked into the room again, smiling, careful not to expose Ji Ping'an's "sadness".

While eating, he beat around the bush and used the old man's only wisdom in life to persuade him that there was no limit in the world that he couldn't pass. If he couldn't realize his dream of becoming an immortal, he could still take the imperial examination.

"You are the brightest young man in our village in the past few decades. You have achieved success in everything you do. No matter what worries you have, put them down first and wait until the New Year is over. Let's have a new look in the new year." Old Chief A Finally said.

Ji Ping'an smiled and nodded, saying "yes" seriously.

……

……

In the next few days, perhaps because of the aunt's instructions, the villagers tacitly agreed not to ask any questions about spiritual practice.

The most I can do is ask him about what he has seen and heard outside this year, what the city is like, and what the city of God is like.

And some of the "new things" Ji Ping'an said casually were very interesting insights for these villagers who had little information.

Uncle Ji has very strong mobility.

Within a few days, he took a few men from the village to repair the wooden house by the lake far away from the village.

After replacing the rotten wood and filling it with new straw, a simple but sheltered hut took on a new look.

Ji Ping'an immediately moved in, and seemed to have completely forgotten about the storms in the outside world, those major events that could shake the pattern of Kyushu.

He went to bed early and got up early every day. During the day, he would carry an ax into the mountains, chop wood and come back to burn charcoal, cut fodder to feed the horses, buy food from the merchants and vendors in the mountains, and then live in a lakeside house.

During the day, you might read a book, or you might go to the lake to dig a small pit for ice fishing with your mazhao and fishing rod.

Because the lake was not close to the village, and since he had been back for a few days, the novelty was reduced. Gradually, the villagers got used to his return, and fewer people came to talk to him.

Only the bird-catching boy Ji Yuan never tired of it. He ran to him all day long, fished with him, read the books he carried, and inquired about the outside world.

Finally, one day, Ji Pingan dragged his chair and fished on the ice. When he saw Ji Yuan running over from a distance, he smiled and said:
"Stop holding back, just ask whatever you want."

Ji Yuan blushed and squatted beside him in embarrassment:

"Brother Ping'an, have you figured it out? But my mother didn't let me ask..."

Ji Ping'an sat in a homemade wicker chair, threw the fishing rod easily and freely, watched the fishhook accurately fall into the ice hole, and said calmly:

"It's okay, you want to know about cultivation."

Ji Yuan was shocked. He didn't expect to have been noticed, so he nodded sheepishly.

In the world of mortals, many people would consider even studying for the imperial examinations to be considered "whimsical". As for cultivating to become an immortal master, it would be a typical example of "not doing your job properly".

Ji Ping'an smiled and rubbed the bird-catching boy's hat:

"What do you want to ask?"

Ji Yuan squatted on the ice, raised his head, his red face and eyes full of curiosity:
"Brother, whatever you know, just say whatever you want."

Ji Pingan smiled and said:
"I know so much that I can't even finish it in a year. There is almost nothing in the world that I don't know."

"Brother Ping'an, you are just bragging to entertain me," Ji Yuan certainly didn't believe it and said casually:
"Then let's talk about a martial artist. He is not a master of martial arts. He is the kind of swordsman who can emit sword energy, swish, swish, swish, and is a very powerful swordsman."

"Why do you want to know this?" Ji Pingan asked curiously:
"Shouldn't we be asking about the kind of flying with a sword? Or the one with fluttering Taoist robes, which is cooler."

Ji Yuan said honestly:

"About summer, a group of bandits came out of our house and robbed many villages. The government posted a notice saying that among those people there were immortal masters who could use sword energy. It is said that they were the masters of the Southern Tang Dynasty. The person who came next to me was a powerful and important person who had practiced in that sword field.

Even the county police officers couldn't beat them. Later, it was said that some experts came around, but no one was arrested. People in the surrounding villages were all scared, and they were worried that the group of people would come at some time. To kill someone..."

Have you ever practiced in a sword field?

Ji Ping listened quietly for a while and realized that the so-called masters of swordsmanship were probably just swordsmen who paid money to learn a little bit at the Nantang sword field, and they were probably not even Pojiu.

But to a mortal, he is already a strong man that Ji Yuan fears and yearns for.

"That kind of kendo is not interesting. It's not a new path, it's just a patch on the original path of practice." Ji Ping'an shook his head:
"What do you do with that kind of thing?"

He thought of the defeated generals in the sword field in the past, shook his head, and then said:

"Taoism, Confucian swordsmanship, painter, musician, beast control, martial arts, star official... choose one you want to learn again, and come and ask me at this time tomorrow."

Ji Yuan muttered in his heart:

Brother, you haven't even been admitted to the practice sect yourself, yet you asked me to choose...

But the simple child did not say these words.

He felt that Brother Zuping should be given face. His mother said that this is called dignity.

And after all, he has been away for a year and has seen a lot of the world. He always knows more than he does. My mother said that this is called "the wise come first".

Ji Ping'an suddenly seemed to remember something and asked casually:

"By the way, do you know which direction the bandits appeared last time?"

That night, Ji Pingan closed the door, put on his raincoat and walked to Nanshan.

When he came back early in the morning, there was a drop of inconspicuous blood on his raincoat. The group of practicing bandits who had been entrenched in the prefecture for half a year and frightened countless people were wiped out overnight.

(End of this chapter)