Confucian Cultivator Under One Person

Just now at the dinner table, Fu Yuan and Fu Rong talked about the story of "Zhuang Zhou Dreaming of the Butterfly".

At this moment, Fu Yuan was in a trance, feeling that he had turned into a butterfly, flapping his wings and flying into the painting.

In the pitch-black environment, keep moving forward...

I didn't know how long I flew. Time and space were meaningless in the darkness.

Finally, a tiny light appeared ahead.

When I passed through the light, my eyes suddenly became bright and the world changed.

The sky seemed shrouded in a thick, dark fog. Above me stood a tree, its branches bare of leaves, its trunk drooping limply.

Just the sky and the branches reveal the desolation and loneliness of the entire world...

Suddenly, an old face occupied most of the vision. It was an old Taoist priest with a sad face but a compassionate look in his eyes.

"Poor baby, its mother died right after it was born... Its eyes opened as soon as it was born, and they were so bright... shining like stars..."

"Never mind, you're just a miserable person. Just live with me from now on... I'll give you a name..."

"Yao, take my surname, Feng Yao... From now on, you can be called Feng Yao."

A pair of weathered hands reached out.

As his vision spun, more scenes came into view: beneath a solitary, dead tree, lay the body of a woman, her lower body covered in blood...

There was also smoke rising from the distance, a village in ruins, and corpses lying in all directions...

What a desolate scene, what a miserable world!

Chapter 88: No Root

A Taoist priest named Feng found a newborn baby among a pile of dead bodies.

Perhaps because he was surprised that the baby opened his eyes and had shining eyes as soon as he was born, Taoist Feng decided to adopt the baby and named him Feng Yao.

In such a chaotic and lawless world, such things are all too normal.

So when Taoist Feng was holding the baby and going from house to house begging for milk, everyone understood what was going on as soon as they saw his age.

A little kindness in troubled times was enough to allow the baby Feng Yao to survive, learn to read and write with Taoist Feng, and grow up slowly.

Taoist Feng did not have a Taoist temple where he stayed. He was just a wandering Taoist priest. He usually lived in a charity cemetery and made a living by presiding over weddings and funerals for others.

Gradually, Feng Yao also learned a little bit. He knew that it was now the Guangxu period. If he came out of Lantian County and walked three miles along the west gate, he would reach the charity cemetery where Taoist Feng lived.

However, the owner of the charity cemetery was not Taoist Feng, but a family surnamed Chen in Lantian County. Taoist Feng was just a guest and managed the cemetery on their behalf.

Due to the special nature of the charity cemetery, corpses and coffins were often seen entering and leaving the west gate. Over time, the Qing garrison felt that it was unlucky and stopped setting up checkpoints at the west gate. As a result, merchants often bypassed the charity cemetery and entered the city through the west gate in order to avoid the city entry tax.

Therefore, Feng Yao, at a young age, had seen all kinds of people coming and going from all over the country.

Although there were officials sent by the Qing court in Lantian County, the real person in charge was the head of the Chen family. It was said that one of his ancestors had served as governor during the reign of Emperor Kangxi and as the commander of the Han army of the Jiangnan Green Camp in the early years of Emperor Yongzheng. Although the family's influence had weakened, it was still no problem for them to control a county.

There is a tree on the roadside in front of the charity cemetery. In addition to following Taoist Feng in performing rituals and chanting scriptures, Feng Yao’s favorite thing is to sit under the tree and observe the passers-by.

Gradually, he discovered that there were a few people among them who were different from the others and gave him a different feeling.

Feng Yao didn't know how to describe it, he just felt that those people were... cleaner than others.

This "clean" does not refer to the outside, but an inner feeling.

So he focused on this type of people, but there were too few of them, and sometimes he wouldn't meet one for several months.

Feng Yao asked Taoist Feng, but Taoist Feng himself couldn't explain it, so Feng Yao could only keep the question in his heart.

That night, a melodious sound of copper bells suddenly came from outside the charity cemetery. There seemed to be a kind of magic in the sound of the bells, which made Feng Yao feel as if he was floating in the air. His eyelids became very heavy and he felt sleepy involuntarily.

However, this feeling was not strong. Feng Yao was able to resist it with just a little persistence.

Turning around, he saw that Taoist Feng was sleeping even more soundly than usual. Feng Yao pushed him several times, but Taoist Feng did not wake up.

The bell sounded from far away and seemed to stop at the door of the charity cemetery, making a continuous "ding-ling-ling" sound.

The feeling I had been able to resist before became stronger again. Sleepiness flooded over me again, my eyelids began to droop, I began to feel sleepy, and my expression became dull and blank...

Suddenly, a warm current appeared in his chest and abdomen, rushing straight to his head, making his mind suddenly clear.

Feng Yao simply stood up, quietly walked to the door, and looked out through the crack.

I saw that three rows of people wearing black funeral clothes were standing neatly on the large square outside the charity cemetery. There were about sixty people in total. Their faces were covered with yellow scrolls with Taoist talismans painted on them. The way they stood looked very strange, like flagpoles, and their bodies seemed extremely stiff.

Standing in front of this group of people was a white-haired old Taoist priest, short and thin, with a hooked nose and inverted triangular eyes. He looked very wretched and was shaking a copper bell in his hand.

A chill seeped in from the crack in the door, and the temperature in the charity cemetery seemed to drop several degrees in an instant, causing Feng Yao to shiver involuntarily.

Just a shudder startled the white-haired Taoist outside the charity cemetery. His expression changed slightly and he turned his head to look through the crack in the door.

Feng Yao was shocked. He felt that the pair of eyes were like those of a dead person. An inexplicable chill penetrated into his heart through the stare.

Fortunately, the old Taoist turned his head in time and did not continue to look. He shook the copper bell in his hand and strode away.

Along with the sound of copper bells, the group of people in black shrouds followed with stiff steps, and soon disappeared into the night.

The ringing sound gradually faded away and eventually could no longer be heard.

The next day, Feng Yao did not tell Taoist Feng about this incident. Instead, he sat under a tree and thought...

Feng Yao is not like other children who are active and restless and cannot concentrate. Instead, he is naturally quiet. Whether he is holding a ceremony or chanting scriptures, he can quickly enter a state of tranquility.

It is the same now. Just thinking makes my mind clear, and the thoughts gradually fade away... Finally, when I am extremely quiet, a lively impulse suddenly arises.

This budding feeling was like a butterfly, fluttering and moving freely, as if it wanted to break free from all constraints, fly out of the body, and fly into the sky...

Feng Yao indulged this impulse, letting the butterfly flutter freely, unrestrained. His mind followed the butterfly, leaving his body and merging into the world...

Then it was plunged into darkness!

……

"Dengdengdeng!"

Fu Yuan regained consciousness, took three steps back, and couldn't help but gasp.

He was in the room, Chen Duo was lying on the bed, and he was holding a thin manual and a black painting in his hands.

It's still dark outside...

Fu Yuan took out his cell phone, glanced at the time, and breathed a sigh of relief. His consciousness was immersed in the painting for only three or four hours.

fine! fine!

Fu Yuan closed the painting, thought for a moment, and reopened it. He first closed his eyes and concentrated his mind, then opened his eyes and looked at the painting.

The pitch-black painting, like an abyss, once again generated a force of attraction, trying to draw his will into the painting.

However, as he was prepared, this attraction was not enough to shake Fu Yuan's will, and he easily got rid of it.

He looked away, closed the painting, found a stool to sit on, and began to think about what was going on.

Fu Yuan is Feng Yao? Feng Yao is Fu Yuan? Neither. Fu Yuan is Fu Yuan, and Feng Yao is Feng Yao!

It was just that Fu Yuan's will was integrated into Feng Yao... or Feng Yao let go of himself and allowed Fu Yuan's will to take in.

If a person has insufficient willpower, will he be assimilated by it?

Or, if Fu Yuan brought Feng Yao's will out and crossed the long river of time, would it be considered that the past Feng Yao was reborn in a body?

Sure enough, it was right not to dare to take a second look at the painting. If I didn't restrain myself and kept looking at it, and merged with Feng Yao's will for a long time, even if I came out of the painting, I might not be able to tell whether I was Fu Yuan or Feng Yao.

If a person's spirit is divided into the id, ego, and superego, the id is nature, the ego is desire, and the superego is virtue.

Fu Yuan used his own ego to bring in Feng Yao's ego... The prerequisite is that both parties have reached the superego to communicate in this way.

Or perhaps Feng Yao had captured Fu Yuan's true self? Probably not.

At the last moment, if Feng Yao had not let him go, Fu Yuan's will would not have been able to break free so easily... From this perspective, Feng Yao seemed to have no ill will towards him.

It was as if he just wanted Fu Yuan to take his place in his life and live Feng Yao's life from Fu Yuan's perspective...

There are too many doubts!

Fu Yuan let out a breath and gathered his thoughts. If it is unknowable and cannot be known, then don't try to "know" it!

At present, the only thing that is certain is that the will of the "Five Supremes" in the painting, the "Immortal No. 2" guessed by Fu Yuan, is indeed Feng Yao without a doubt.

In other words, it is rootless!

"Tao De Jing"

All things in the world come from "nothingness" to "existence". "Existence" is the mother of all things and is also the "root of all things". All things arise from it...

Rootless life does not mean "living" without roots, but "no" "roots" and "living". These three words explain everything in the world!

"Born without roots", when you can comprehend these three words, you are already on the road to enlightenment!

……

There was a sudden noise on the bed. Chen Duo sat up with a confused expression. She came to her senses when she saw Fu Yuan.

"This is for you." Fu Yuan handed over the manuscript and said, "Carry it with you and recite it all the time. It will help you maintain your determination and cultivate your energy."

Chen Duo took the manuscript, but without looking at it, she asked, "Do you want to continue?"

Fu Yuan shook his head and said, "Your willpower is too weak, and you've been unconscious for too long. You should strengthen your willpower before continuing."

Chen Duo looked down at the manuscript and said, "Read this?"

Fu Yuan nodded: "I wrote this specifically for you. It contains my intention. My Haoran intention will drive your intention... It will be more efficient."

"Okay." Chen Duo agreed without hesitation.

Chapter 89 Quest

I don’t know what Ma Xianhong is preparing for. He hasn’t appeared in the village for two days.

Tomorrow is the last day, and after that it will be the day for the two to discuss the Dao. Will Fu Yuan convince Ma Xianhong, or will Ma Xianhong convince Fu Yuan, or will neither of them be able to convince the other?

Fu Yuan sat by the river, his bare feet submerged in the water, one hand fiddling with the water unconsciously.

Beside him, Chen Duo was holding the manuscript, reading it intently. Her mind was completely attracted by the manuscript, and she passively reached the state of "stopping thoughts". There was no thought in her mind, not even the thought of "reading".

There is a saying that goes, "The young monk recites the scriptures, but his heart is not in it." The "heart" here does not mean being absent-minded, but knowing "no thoughts" and "stopping thoughts."