The world of film and television starts from the flow of money

The morning mist has not yet dissipated, and it is as hazy as a veil.

A long queue of pilgrims had already formed in front of the White Horse Temple. Some looked pious, clasping their hands together and mumbling something; others looked hurried and walked eagerly, as if they were full of expectations and wishes. Young or old, male or female, they came to pray for blessings at dawn.

Yi Huawei led Yue Lingshan around to the western corner gate. Next to the corner gate, two wheel tracks on the bluestone slab had long been soaked black. The novice monk guarding the gate was dozing off, nodding his head. Suddenly, two figures appeared in front of him, and he woke up suddenly. Before he was fully awake, two pieces of silver had already landed steadily on the copper plate of the merit box, making a crisp sound, which was particularly pleasant in this quiet morning.

"Brother, how did you know there is a shortcut here?"

Yue Lingshan held up the hem of her apricot-yellow skirt and carefully stepped over the threshold; the soles of her embroidered shoes were still covered with moss.

Yi Huawei used his scabbard to push aside the drooping cypress branches and smiled: "I was here a while ago, so I know."

"Oh, I thought so!"

Yue Lingshan nodded and smiled, then followed Yi Huawei.

The stone tablets on the east side of the Mahavira Hall were still covered with dew, and looked even more solemn and majestic under the morning mist. There was a light brown stain under the remaining tablet of the "Buddha's Initiation Sutra" carved during the Tianlu period.

Yue Lingshan squatted down to take a closer look, as if she wanted to find out the story behind the stain. Suddenly, she felt a slight chill on the back of her neck. It turned out that Yi Huawei had broken off a banana leaf to block the water dripping from the eaves for her.

Yue Lingshan smiled at Yi Huawei, and her brows immediately relaxed.

The bell tower struck the first quarter of the morning, dull and melodious, echoing throughout the temple. The monks in charge of reception began to sweep the courtyard, holding brooms and sweeping away fallen leaves and dust.

Yi Huawei led Yue Lingshan through the corridor, which was winding and deep, like a long winding dragon. Behind the Medicine Master Hall, they found an octagonal glazed well.

The Eighteen Arhats reliefs on the well curb have been rubbed shiny by pilgrims, and the passage of time has made them more rounded and smooth.

When Yi Huawei took the copper bowl to scoop water, the water surface reflected the new pearl hairpin in Yue Lingshan's hair. The pearls sparkled softly in the dim light, complementing Yue Lingshan's eyebrows and eyes.

"This is the ancient well from the 13th year of Zhenguan."

Yi Huawei scooped up water to wash his hands and said with a smile: "I heard that Master Xuanzang drew water here before he went west."

"really?"

Before she finished speaking, Yue Lingshan had already reached out to fish out her reflection in the water. Her movements were agile and playful, startling the red carp at the bottom of the well so much that it swung its tail and fled, shattering the morning light in the pond. The red carp flashed through the water, leaving only ripples.

When I left the temple, the sun was getting higher and the flags in Nanshi had been unfurled one after another, fluttering in the breeze.

Yue Lingshan stopped in front of a silk shop and was attracted by the silk in the shop. After entering the shop, Yue Lingshan stroked a piece of Yuehua brocade, and felt the unique coolness of silk on her fingertips. Her eyes showed love, and she gently stroked the silk, feeling its softness and smoothness.

Yi Huawei gestured with three fingers to the shopkeeper, then turned to him and said, "Pick out a few more pieces of good material and pack them together."

"Okay, wait a moment!"

The shopkeeper responded quickly with a smile on his face. This was a big business. He quickly directed his employees to move around the store and select the best silks.

After instructing the shopkeeper to deliver it to Wang's house, the two of them left the silk shop.

On the street, more and more people were walking, including farmers carrying loads to sell vegetables, vendors pushing carts to sell snacks, and merchants leading donkeys on their way.

There are shops on both sides of the street.

Yi Huawei and Yue Lingshan walked slowly along the street, admiring the bustling city scene.

Soon, Yue Lingshan was attracted by a small stall selling sugar figures on the street. She walked over quickly and looked at the sugar figures of various shapes with surprise in her eyes.

The candy man who made the candy figurines saw a customer coming and immediately greeted them warmly, "Girl, pick one. They are all freshly made and very sweet! If they are not sweet, you don't have to pay!"

Yue Lingshan looked at those lifelike sugar figures and didn't know which one to choose.

Yi Huawei walked forward and pointed: "Pack up that Phoenix sugar man for me."

Yue Lingshan took the candy man and took a light bite. The sweet taste spread in her mouth and her eyes immediately narrowed into slits.

Yi Huawei and Yue Lingshan strolled through the streets and alleys of Luoyang, and visited various places of interest in the city. Yue Lingshan kept asking Yi Huawei about various historical allusions, and Yi Huawei patiently answered them one by one.

However, in sharp contrast to the two is Linghu Chong.

Linghu Chong was not very literate and had limited knowledge of ancient history. Faced with the historical sites in Luoyang City that carried a lot of history, he had no interest in them at all.

I walked into an alley filled with an old smell and moss covered the walls. I saw seven or eight rogues sitting together in a small hotel playing dice. The dice rolled and collided in the bowl, making a crisp sound. Several people were shouting loudly, spitting everywhere.

Linghu Chong squeezed in and watched them gambling. He suddenly felt an impulse in his heart. He took out the gift package that Wang Yuanba had given him yesterday, took out the silver, and joined the gambling game without hesitation. Soon, he was shouting and yelling with those scoundrels. This game lasted for several days.

In the first few days, Linghu Chong had good luck, and after a few rounds, he actually won a few taels of silver. He couldn't help but feel proud of himself, thinking that gambling was interesting, and immersed himself in it every day.

However, on the fourth day, Linghu Chong's luck took a sharp turn for the worse, and he lost repeatedly in the card games. Linghu Chong's face became increasingly ugly, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but he was unwilling to admit defeat and continued to bet with red eyes.

He lost more and more in one round after another, and soon lost all the forty taels of silver. Seeing that he had no money left, the scoundrels stopped him from gambling and showed him a mocking look.

Linghu Chong was furious and felt greatly insulted. He just ordered wine, one pot after another. The waiter saw that he drank too much and stepped forward to dissuade him, saying, "Young man, you have lost all your money, how are you going to pay for the wine?"

Linghu Chong was already a little drunk at this time, and his words became unclear: "I owe you money and will pay you back tomorrow."

The waiter shook his head helplessly and said, "Our shop is small and our profits are slim. We will not sell on credit to our relatives or friends!"

Linghu Chong was furious. He slammed the table and shouted, "Are you bullying me for having no money?"

The waiter was not in a hurry. He sneered and said, "It doesn't matter if you are a young master or a master. If you have money, you can sell it. If you don't have money, you can't buy it on credit."

Linghu Chong looked around and found that he was in rags, and indeed did not look like a rich man. He felt around his body and found that he had nothing except a long sword at his waist. After a brief thought, he immediately took off the sword, threw it on the table, and said, "Pawn it at the pawnshop."

A scoundrel had been coveting his sword for a long time. Seeing that he wanted to pawn his sword, he hurriedly said, "Okay! I'll pawn it for you."

After saying this, he picked up his sword and left in a hurry. After a while, the waiter brought up two more pots of wine. Linghu Chong was completely drunk at this time, and he picked up the pot and drank it all in one gulp. The rogue soon came back with a few pieces of silver and said, "I pawned it for a total of three taels and four cents of silver." Then he stuffed the silver and the pawn ticket into Linghu Chong's hands.

Linghu Chong weighed the silver and felt that it was less than three taels, but his mind was full of gambling thoughts at the moment, so he didn't say anything and started gambling with the scoundrels again. This gambling lasted for another day, and by the evening, he had lost a lot of money after drinking, and the three taels of silver were nowhere to be found.

Linghu Chong was so frustrated by his loss that he was unwilling to leave like this. He said to a scoundrel named Chen Waizui beside him, "Borrow three taels of silver. If you win, I will pay you back double."

Chen smiled coldly, his eyes full of mockery:
"What if I lose?"

Linghu Chong said nonchalantly, "Lose? I'll return it to you tomorrow."

Chen Waizui laughed even harder and said, "I suppose you don't have much money at home, so what are you going to use to pay back if you lose? Are you going to sell your wife? Are you going to sell your sister?"

Linghu Chong was already upset because of losing money, and was humiliated by Chen Waizui. He was furious and slapped Chen Waizui's face, making it red and swollen.

At this time, he was already about eight or nine points drunk, and taking advantage of the alcohol, he snatched the few taels of silver in front of Chen Waizui.

Chen Waizui covered his cheek and shouted, "Rebellion, rebellion! This kid is a robber."

The scoundrels were originally in the same group, and upon seeing this, they immediately rushed forward, with seven or eight fists simultaneously attacking Linghu Chong.

Although Linghu Chong had drunk a lot of wine, he was skilled in martial arts after all, and these scoundrels were no match for him. He dodged their attacks skillfully, and then quickly counterattacked. His punches and kicks rained down like raindrops, making the scoundrels run away in panic. After a while, these scoundrels were beaten black and blue by him, and they lay on the ground groaning.

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves was heard, and several horses passed by the alley. Someone on the horse shouted, "Get out of the way, get out of the way!" and waved his whip to scatter the scoundrels on the ground.

"Hey, isn't this Senior Brother?" A clear voice rang out. It was Yue Lingshan who immediately recognized the drunk Linghu Chong in the alley.

"I'll go take a look!" Yi Huawei said as he dismounted from his horse.

Everyone gathered around and saw the drunk Linghu Chong.

In addition to Yi Huawei, Yue Lingshan, and Lin Pingzhi, there were four other horses, ridden by Wang Bofen's two daughters and Wang Zhongqiang's two sons, who were Lin Pingzhi's cousins. The seven of them had come out early in the morning to play in the temples and monasteries in Luoyang, chatting and laughing along the way, enjoying the beautiful scenery of Luoyang, and only returned at this moment with great pleasure.

Everyone was surprised to see Linghu Chong fighting with a group of thugs in this alley.

Yue Lingshan walked quickly to Linghu Chong and asked with concern, "Big Brother, why are you here? You're so drunk, and you're fighting with these people?"

Linghu Chong was still not fully sober at this time. He looked at Yue Lingshan in a daze and said, "Junior sister, I... I just lost some money gambling, and they refused to sell me wine on credit and humiliated me..." As he spoke, his body swayed and he almost fell.

Yi Huawei hurried forward to support him, frowning and saying:
"Brother, how can you be so foolish as to gamble and drink with these scoundrels? You are a foreigner, and you still want to win money here?"

Linghu Chong looked at Yi Huawei with drunken eyes and shook his head repeatedly: "No..., I just started to win, today's luck is not good!"

"...Does Senior Brother know what it means to play the long game and catch the big fish?"

Yi Huawei didn't expect that Linghu Chong didn't even have this little experience in the martial arts world. Looking at the drunk Linghu Chong, he immediately lost the desire to educate him.

Lin Pingzhi stood aside, watching Linghu Chong's embarrassed appearance, secretly despising him in his heart. He felt that Linghu Chong, as the eldest disciple of Huashan Sect, was so undisciplined that it really damaged the reputation of Huashan Sect.

Wang Bofen's two daughters and Wang Zhongqiang's two sons were also pointing and talking, with disdainful expressions on their faces.

Yi Huawei supported Linghu Chong and said to everyone, "Let's send Senior Brother back first."

Everyone left the alley together.

On the way back, Linghu Chong gradually came to his senses and looked at the people around him with regret in his heart. He knew that his behavior this time was too absurd, not only embarrassing himself, but also bringing shame to Huashan Sect.

As soon as he returned to his residence, Linghu Chong fell asleep immediately. The absurd experiences of the day made him exhausted.

After hearing Linghu Chong's ridiculous behavior, Yue Buqun sighed and became even more disappointed with Linghu Chong.

...............

The night is as dark as ink, and the hustle and bustle of the day gradually settles under the moonlight, leaving only silence.

Yi Huawei was lying on the bed in the guest room of the palace, and was about to fall asleep, but was suddenly awakened by the sound of a long piano. The sound of the piano was like an invisible hand, gently plucking his heartstrings, making his heart move and all sleepiness disappear.

Yi Huawei quickly stood up and put on his clothes. The moonlight shone through the carved window lattice onto the ground, forming patches of mottled light and shadows. In a flash, he had already swept to the window. He gently pushed open the window, and the moonlight poured in like mercury.

With his brows slightly furrowed, Yi Huawei tapped the ground with his toes and floated out of the room like a wisp of green smoke, his movements light and without a sound.

The courtyard in the palace was quiet and deep, with flowers, plants and trees casting dancing shadows in the moonlight. Yi Huawei performed Qinggong, flying like a bird over branches, shuttling between roofs and eaves, and the moonlight stretched his shadow slenderly.

The sound of the piano was long and melodious, like a thread, sometimes far away, sometimes near, as if playing hide-and-seek with him, and as if leading him forward.

Yi Huawei's speed increased a bit, passing the high wall of the palace. The street outside the wall was empty, with only the moonlight shining on the stone road, shining with a cold light. He rushed along the street, and his figure flashed by like a ghost in the moonlight.

After chasing for a distance, Yi Huawei arrived in front of a green bamboo forest.

The bamboo forest was dim in the moonlight, like a large dark green wave. When the breeze blew, the bamboo leaves rustled, as if they were whispering.

When you step into the bamboo forest, the bamboo leaves under your feet make a slight sound. The bamboo forest is filled with a fresh scent, a mixture of the smell of soil and bamboo, which makes people feel relaxed and happy.

The moonlight shines through the dense bamboo leaves, casting tiny rays of light and shadows, and Yi Huawei shuttles between these rays of light and shadows.

The sound of the piano became clearer and clearer, as if it was right in front of him. Yi Huawei quickened his pace, bypassed clumps of bamboo, and finally saw a figure deep in the bamboo forest.

I saw a woman in a white dress, playing the zither under the moonlight. She wore a thin veil on her head, which fluttered gently in the breeze. The moonlight sprinkled on her body, as if she was coated with a layer of silver, and she exuded an otherworldly temperament.

The woman stopped playing the piano, raised her head, looked at Yi Huawei who was slowly approaching, and said in a deep voice:
"Why are you still here?"

(End of this chapter)