I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 166 Farewell to Immortal Destiny (+11)

That man said the same thing earlier.

Jiang She thought for a moment.

He began, “Many famous mountains and rivers possess the spirit of mountains and waters.”

The old deer mountain god stroked his beard and sipped his tea with lowered eyes.

The abbot nodded, but a doubt arose in his heart, and he thought about what to say.

"I've never heard of Mount Tai..."

Their Puzhao Temple is located at the foot of Mount Tai. He became a monk at a young age and lived in this area for decades, but he never thought that Mount Tai had a mountain god.

Jiang She smiled.

"It's still just a vague awareness, like a person in their mother's womb."

When infants are young and innocent, they are also mischievous and often do things that seem silly and incomprehensible to others. They do not have the concepts of good and evil that are taught by later generations; they simply follow their nature.

The same applies to mountains.

That's why during this period, some people have heard some hazy sounds in the mountains, but upon closer listening, they can't understand what they're saying.

Many monks at Puzhao Temple also found it strange.

Today a wise person has come, so I am seeking their guidance and advice.

The old deer mountain god, who had been drinking tea nearby, suddenly looked up and asked:

How long will it take for them to grow up?

"A few hundred years."

When the abbot first heard that Mount Tai would have a mountain god, he was quite excited and leaned forward to listen. To witness a mountain god with one's own eyes was something many people could only dream of.

Then I heard it was from several hundred years ago.

His expression turned somewhat melancholy. The abbot lowered his head, picked up his teacup, drank some tea, and sighed with a smile.

"Then I'm afraid I won't be able to see him."

Many people in the living room also shared similar sentiments.

Li Bai also said so.

"Several hundred years later, the imperial court will probably be in a different state, and Puzhao Temple will be renovated several times. We will only be left with our bones in the tomb, to be discussed by future generations."

Yuan Danqiu said.

"I wonder if anyone will remember me and Master Mencius hundreds of years from now."

They sighed for a while.

The abbot then asked the monks in their temple, as well as the pilgrims who came from time to time, what taboos they should avoid.

Jiang She said:
"There's no need to avoid anything; it's just that many years later, the county annals and folk tales might add some legends to them."

Pei agreed from the side.

He planned to spend some money on the people in the county to have his Pei family's encounter with a divine being recorded in the county annals.

Just then, he saw Mr. Jiang glance at him.

Pei hurriedly asked, "Sir?"

"nothing."

Jiang She withdrew his gaze.

They chatted for a while longer in the guest room. Jiang She asked about the route after leaving Yanzhou, and only then did the old monk realize that they were traveling the world.

"How long will you be traveling, sir?"

Jiang She said, "I don't know where I'll be for the time being."

The abbot thought of what Pei Langjun had told him, about continuing life and sending messages through wind and snow... All sorts of thoughts and feelings swirled in his mind for who knows how many years.

The abbot smiled.

"How delightful!"

"Then today is probably the last time I will see you, sir."

It was clearly their first meeting, yet it already felt like their time of parting had begun.

The abbot was not about to miss this rare opportunity, so he talked to Jiang She for a long time and asked him many questions.

The old monk said that many of the pilgrims in the temple were teenagers when he first met them, and then, a dozen or so years later, he heard that they had died, which made people sigh with regret.

He also said that he had encountered robbers many years ago during a drought when he couldn't survive and thought of going to a temple to steal rice.

Fortunately, there wasn't much rice in the temple.

"Half a bushel was stolen, but I'm spared my life."

Jiang She also told some stories, picking and choosing, without mentioning anything about Sichuan, but talking about Lumen Mountain, how he got the cat, and his former neighbors.

Then they started talking about the interesting things that happened along the way.

Enjoyed talking.

As the evening glow began to rise and the sky darkened, the time was not yet over.

A monk stopped in front of the guest hall, wanting to report something, but was stopped by others.

The abbot invited several people to a vegetarian meal.

It's getting late, so let's ask them to stay overnight.

The next day, when we parted.

Abbot Zhiyuan led them to a sturdy, vibrant pine tree in the temple.

He pointed and said, “This is an ancient pine tree planted during the Six Dynasties period. It’s two or three hundred years old. I don’t have many years left to live, so I can’t be as evergreen as this pine and cypress.”

The abbot's face was wrinkled.

Old, thin, and short in stature, the robe draped over his body billowed and rustled in the north wind, the garment larger than him.

He smiled and said:
"If you gentlemen come to Yanzhou again in the future..."

"To the foot of Mount Tai."

"Come to my Puzhao Temple."

"Seeing this pine tree is like seeing me."

He grinned, revealing his withered old mouth with few teeth left, and his wrinkled old face came to life.

He parted with the immortal, laughing heartily.

Jiang She returned the greeting earnestly.

They gradually descended the mountain. The abbot stood in the cold wind for a long time, until the figure in blue was almost out of sight. After completely disappearing into the forest, the two waited for a long time.

Until even the faintest shadow could no longer be seen.

The abbot then spoke to his disciples.

"Mr. Jiang said they came by horse-drawn carriage, and they should be on the carriage now."

The disciples also stood guard in the cold wind.

He advised, "Master, please go inside; it's cold outside."

The abbot is quite old and cannot withstand such a cold wind; a cold could take his life at any moment.

The abbot stood there for a while longer.

He said slowly, "You have no idea what I'm saying goodbye to today."

The disciple listened to his master talking to this distinguished guest for a while, thinking about how to respond.

"Is he a wise and insightful person? A spiritual practitioner?"

Mr. Jiang was knowledgeable and humorous. He also liked the other gentleman very much. When the group left, the disciple felt reluctant to part with them.

"No."

"what is that?"

It's a predestined connection.

The abbot answered in his heart.

He stood there for a while, then suddenly frowned. He chewed something, spat it out, and examined it in his hand.

It's a tooth.

The disciple saw it.

He immediately said, "Master, I advised you last night not to eat sesame cakes, your teeth can't handle it!"

The abbot smiled and waved his hand.

"Oh dear, how many years do I have left to live? That flatbread smells delicious, I'll just have a taste."

The disciple said angrily.

"You don't have many teeth left either!"

The abbot licked his tongue through his mouth, counted the numbers in his mind, and, feeling confident, said with a smile:
"Five left, that's enough, that's enough."

The disciple helped the abbot back to the temple, muttering to himself. He had been harboring resentment for a long time, and said that this wasn't the first time; he had knocked out a tooth by eating dental glue.

The abbot became serious.

That wasn't the first time!

The disciple was astonished, wondering when his master had secretly eaten the maltose and even lost a tooth. Was his claim of having five maltose just a lie?
Isn't it said that monks don't lie?
Suspicion.

Then I heard Master Zhiyuan speak earnestly.

"I lost a tooth like this when I was eleven years old."

The disciple breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt helpless.

"You're over sixty now, can you compare to when you were eleven..."

The master and apprentice helped each other back to the temple. The two figures, one old and one young, returned to the temple in the cold wind. They and the worshippers exhaled white mist from their mouths and noses, which drifted far away into the world.

Back at the temple, the disciple muttered to himself again.

"The governor's son has been waiting all day to visit you."

Would you like to see him?

The old monk slumped on the cushion, closing his eyes and shirking his responsibilities.

"Oh dear, I seem to have caught a chill and feel a bit cold. I'm afraid I won't be able to see any guests today, not even the governor's son."

The disciple observed his master's expression.

Then they heard the old monk, with his eyes closed, lazily instructing him:

"Yanshou, go and prepare a dose of medicine for your master. Don't be too extravagant; just make one dose with plums, hawthorns, and brown sugar... Go see him tomorrow."

The disciple was about to go and prepare the medicine.

He pondered it in his heart, and then flew into a rage.

"Isn't this plum juice? How can it cure a cold?"

【Ask for monthly ticket】

(End of this chapter)