White tea legend

Chapter 243 Rafting towards Mount Yu

In the early morning at Guoxing Temple, between the morning bells and evening drums, incense was lingering, and devout believers came in an endless stream.

The ancient trees are towering, the birds are singing loudly, everything looks solemn and peaceful.

Master Mingxin patrols the temple as usual and cares about every disciple and visiting believer.

This morning, he frowned.

"Master, what's wrong with you?" Hui Gen, a young monk at the side, asked with concern. Hui Gen is a proud disciple of Ming Xin. He is smart and has a strong interest in Buddhism.

Master Mingxin pointed in the direction of the backyard and said solemnly: "Go to the life-release pond and have a look. The golden turtle is gone."

Hui Gen was startled and quickly followed his master to the backyard. The blue waves of the release pond are rippling, and the fish in the pond are swimming freely, but the golden turtle that originally lived in the center of the pond has disappeared.

"How is this possible? The golden turtle has always been quiet and has never left here." Hui Gen said puzzled.

Master Mingxin pondered for a moment, and suddenly a light flashed in his eyes: "Go and ask Zhishen to come over."

Soon, Zhishen came in a hurry. Zhishen is another eminent monk at Guoxing Temple who is good at solving various problems. His arrival makes Mingxin feel at ease.

Zhishen looked around, then lowered his head to carefully observe the soil beside the pool, and seemed to find some clues. He said solemnly: "Someone has been here before, and their movements were very light, leaving almost no traces."

When Master Mingxin heard this, his heart tightened: "Did someone steal the golden tortoise?"

Zhishen nodded: "It's very possible. We need to investigate carefully."

As a result, the three began to investigate inside and outside the temple. They questioned everyone who might know, including regular believers, nearby villagers, and even the occasional tourist passing by. However, no one seems to know the whereabouts of the golden turtle.

Just when everyone was confused, an unexpected discovery caught their attention. Under an old tree not far from the release pond, they found a series of strange footprints. The footprints were of different shades, as if someone had stayed here for a while.

Master Mingxin thought: "These footprints may be the key." He decided to follow the footprints.

After some difficult tracking, they arrived at a remote cave. The entrance to the cave is covered by dense shrubs. If you don't look carefully, it is difficult to find that there is a secret place hidden here.

Master Mingxin took a deep breath and led Huigen and Zhishen into the cave carefully. The cave is dark and humid, and there is a mysterious atmosphere in the air. They lit torches and continued exploring.

At this moment, a faint golden light came from the front, attracting their attention. They quickened their pace and finally found the missing golden turtle in a hidden corner. It lay quietly on a pile of hay, seemingly unharmed.

Master Mingxin breathed a sigh of relief, but the doubts in his heart were even deeper. Who brought the golden turtle here? What is his purpose? Behind all this, there seems to be a bigger secret hidden.

After finding the missing golden turtle deep in the cave, Master Mingxin, Huigen and Zhishen looked at each other with doubts in their hearts. They decided to return to Guoxing Temple with the Golden Turtle and conduct an in-depth investigation into the incident.

Back at the temple, Master Mingxin summoned all the monks and believers and announced the safe return of the Golden Turtle. Everyone cheered, but Master Mingxin’s brows remained furrowed. He knew that there must be some unknown secret behind this incident.

Zhishen suggested: "We should start with those footprints, maybe we can find some clues."

Master Mingxin nodded in agreement, and the three of them returned to the ancient tree again. They observed the footprints carefully, trying to find some patterns or special marks.

At this moment, a young villager passed by and came over curiously. He is Li Ergou, the hunter in the village, known for his bravery and wit. Seeing the three monks studying the footprints so intently, he couldn't help but ask: "What are the masters looking for?"

Master Mingxin took a look at him and felt that this person might be able to provide some help, so he told him about the missing golden turtle. After hearing this, a trace of surprise flashed in Li Ergou's eyes: "When I was hunting in the mountains yesterday, I did see some strange figures wandering nearby."

Zhishen asked hurriedly: "Do you still remember their characteristics?"

Li Ergou recalled: "One of them is tall and the other is smaller. They wear black clothes and move sneakily."

Upon hearing these descriptions, Master Mingxin's heart moved. He realized that these people were probably the thieves who stole the golden turtle. He decided to lead the team himself and investigate the matter in depth.

In the next few days, Master Mingxin, Huigen and Zhishen went around asking for information and looking for traces of the two suspicious figures. They visited nearby villages and towns, questioning everyone who might know anything.

Finally, by chance, they heard rumors about those two people in a tavern. It is said that they have frequently appeared in the nearby mountains and forests recently, seeming to be looking for something.

Master Mingxin's heart tightened: "It seems that we are getting closer to the truth." He decided to go to the mountains and forests in person to find the hiding place of the two thieves.

After trekking hard in the mountains and forests for several days, they finally found traces of the two suspicious figures in front of a hidden cave. They cautiously approached the entrance of the cave, preparing to capture the thief in one fell swoop.

However, at this moment, a burst of rapid footsteps came from inside the cave. Master Mingxin and others immediately hid in the bushes nearby and observed the situation at the entrance of the cave with bated breath.

I saw two men in black hurriedly walking out of the cave, their faces full of horror. As they ran, they whispered to each other: "Let's go! Those people are coming!"

Upon seeing this, Master Mingxin and others immediately understood the seriousness of the matter. They knew that the two thieves must have done something bad to be so panicked.

Master Mingxin, Huigen and Zhishen quickly discussed countermeasures and decided to split up and follow the two men in black. They carefully followed the thief's traces through a dense forest and came to a quiet valley.

There is a clear stream in the valley. The water is gurgling and the air is filled with fresh breath. However, the three people at this time had no intention of admiring this beautiful scenery. Their eyes were firmly locked on the figures of the two men in black.

After a period of tracking, they finally found the thief's hiding place - a dilapidated thatched hut. The hut is hidden in a bamboo forest deep in the valley. If you don't observe carefully, it is difficult to find its existence.

Master Mingxin signaled everyone to stop and whispered: "Let's observe the situation here first and see if they have any other accomplices."

So, the three of them hid in the bamboo forest and waited patiently for the opportunity to come. After a long time, the sky gradually darkened, and a faint light came on in the hut. Through the gap in the window, they could vaguely see what was going on inside.

I saw the two men in black sitting at a table, seemingly discussing something important. There was a map and some strange items in front of them. Master Mingxin and others were moved and realized that these things were probably related to the disappearance of the golden turtle.

At this moment, one of the men in black suddenly stood up, walked to the door and looked outside. He seemed to notice something unusual, and there was a look of vigilance on his face. When Master Mingxin and others saw this, they immediately held their breath for fear of being discovered by him.

Fortunately, the man in black did not notice their presence. He turned back to the table and sat down, continuing to talk to the other man in black. Master Mingxin and others took the opportunity to quietly approach the hut some distance away.

Just then, they heard a shocking conversation. It turned out that the two men in black were members of a group of thieves, and the target of their operation was the golden turtle, the treasure in Guoxing Temple.

They didn't know where they heard that the shell of the golden tortoise was made of pure gold.

They plan to steal the golden turtle and sell it to a wealthy businessman in exchange for huge wealth. And this operation is just the first step in their plan. They didn't know yet that the golden turtle they had worked so hard to steal had been recovered by Abbot Mingxin.

They also didn't know that what they stole was a fake golden turtle.

Abbot Mingxin didn't know that what he found was a fake golden turtle.

The real golden turtle has turned into a young man and followed Prince Long San to Chang'an City.

……

In the white tea workshop, ten new disciples wearing uniform cyan apprentice uniforms sat around the courtyard, their eyes focused on an old man with white hair in front of them.

The old man is Wang Shanhe.

Although he was not the first to start, everyone agreed that he was Lu Yu's chief disciple because of his age.

The new disciples even respected him as "Big Brother".

Senior Brother Wang Shanhe slowly stood up from the bamboo chair, shaking an antique bamboo teaspoon in his hand, with a hint of cunning in his eyes. Clearing his throat, he started his "teaching" with a slightly hoarse but warm voice: "Junior brothers and sisters, making tea is like being a human being. You can't be hasty or slow."

The new disciples nodded quickly, with solemn expressions on their faces, as if they were afraid of missing any word. Wang Shanhe smiled slightly and continued: "I remember back then, my technique was so fast that even the tea leaves couldn't keep up. Although I'm old now, this technique..." He paused deliberately and gave up.

At this moment, a gust of breeze blew by, picking up a few fallen flowers. Wang Shanhe seemed to have an appointment with the wind. He gently waved the teaspoon in his hand, and the petals miraculously flew up, and finally slowly fell into his palm. The new disciples were amazed and applauded.

Wang Shanhe smiled proudly, feeling secretly proud in his heart: These kids are still a little too young.

While Wang Shanhe was intoxicated with his little performance, the owner of the workshop came over and reminded everyone to start today's formal study. Wang Shanhe quickly put away his joking attitude and seriously introduced the process of making white tea to the new disciples.

But his love to show off has made this afternoon's study no longer boring. Under the sun, Wang Shanhe's figure looked extraordinarily long.

Under the leadership of Wang Shanhe, the new disciples gradually mastered all aspects of white tea production. However, Wang Shanhe's love of showing off could not be restrained. Whenever a new disciple encounters difficulties during the production process, he always pretends to be mysterious and pulls out some "exclusive secrets", claiming that this is the key to solving the problem.

Once, when a new disciple couldn't control the heat when drying tea leaves, Wang Shanhe took out a seemingly ordinary stone and said mysteriously: "This is the 'spiritual stone' I found from the deep mountains and old forests. Place it next to the drying oven to ensure your tea is properly dried.”

The new disciples were hesitant, but out of respect for Wang Shanhe, they still did it. Unexpectedly, the stone seemed to really work, and the quality of the dried tea was surprisingly good.

However, the good times did not last long, and the new disciples began to discover that these so-called "secrets" did not always work. Once, Wang Shanhe took out a strange copper coin and said it could enhance the aroma of tea. But this time, not only was it ineffective, but the distraction caused a batch of tea leaves to burn. The new disciples began to doubt the authenticity of these "secrets", and some even privately discussed whether Wang Shanhe was playing tricks on them.

Wang Shanhe felt mixed emotions after hearing these discussions. He originally just wanted to use these small methods to make teaching more interesting, but unexpectedly it had the opposite effect.

He began to reflect on whether his behavior was really too much.

At night, Wang Shanhe sat alone in the yard, looking at the stars in the sky, feeling an unprecedented sense of loneliness in his heart. He realized that if he could not win the true trust and respect of his junior brothers and sisters, then all his showing off would be nothing but self-deception.

Since that failure, Wang Shanhe has become taciturn and he no longer shows off the so-called "secrets" to his new disciples.

Lu Yu handed a manuscript to Wang Shanhe. There were dense handwritings on it, recording the characteristics of various tea leaves, details of the production process, and Lu Yu's personal insights into tea making.

“The most important thing when making tea is respect for tea and reverence for craftsmanship. Don’t always think about how to make yourself look more powerful and forget the most essential things.”

The young master is selflessly sharing and imparting experience to his elderly disciple.

This moved Wang Shanhe to tears and thanked Lu Yu repeatedly.

Lu Yu said, "I am the one who should say thank you."

As the more senior apprentice, Wang Shanhe took the initiative to take on the responsibility of teaching his younger brothers and sisters, which freed up Lu Yu a lot of free time.

He should have thanked Wang Shanhe.

Now this free time is extremely precious to Lu Yu, because he has more important things to do.

He wanted to give himself and Bai Cha a short vacation to do something more important.

After handing over "Xiang Ming Ya Xu" to Zi Yao, Guo Lou and Hu Huan, Lu Yu set off with the white tea.

……

The morning glow is beginning to shine, and the sky is gradually turning white.

East Coast.

The sea breeze blows gently, with a bit of saltiness and a bit of coolness.

On the sparkling sea, a sailboat is waiting quietly.

The hull is long and narrow but strong, and the canvas is as white as a crescent moon, gently billowing in the wind. Lu Yu took the white tea and both boarded the boat. The boatman waved his long oar, stirring up layers of blue waves. The boat was like an arrow from the string, slowly cutting through the quiet sea and sailing towards the same color as the sea and sky.

Surrounded by the endless blend of water colors, seagulls spread their wings and fly high with the first ray of sunshine in the morning. They either swoop down to the sea and pick up fish in their mouths, or hover in the air and make crisp calls.
The ships seemed to become a scenery in their eyes on this vibrant sea.

As the ship moves forward, the outline of the island in the distance gradually appears.

It is like an emerald inlaid in the sea, green and green. The island has undulating mountains and green trees, with several quaint pavilions and pavilions dotted among them, exuding an otherworldly atmosphere.

Lu Yu and Bai Cha sat on the boat, letting the cool breeze blow, feeling relaxed and happy.

"Where is that?" Bai Cha asked curiously.

"Yishan Island." Lu Yu said.