Chapter 319 Master Tao Tian
The night in early February is shorter after all.
Around the hour of Mao, the sky was already dark, and the big red lanterns hanging everywhere in the West Garden were still lit, illuminating the black palaces and buildings, and also illuminating the winding roads under the corridor.
A team of twenty or thirty people walked neatly from the end of the corridor, and only when I got closer saw clearly, it turned out to be a team of guards wearing big red unicorn suits, followed by four Jinyiweis in flying fish suits. Among the four Jinyiweis, there was a young man wearing a lake blue Confucian robe and a sheepskin jacket. The young man was silent.
While walking, he was silent and thought, "If someone asked after going out, what is the palace like? How should I answer? It seems that it is probably going to pretend to be mysterious..." From the moment he stepped into the palace gate, he was surrounded by these burly men, and could not see clearly the front, back, left and right.
He was so wrapped up and walked outside a palace. The leading guard reported that the door of the palace opened silently. The guard leader said to silently: "You go in by yourself. As for the brothers of Beisi, please wait in the side room."
Zhu Shisan nodded, gave Chen Si a look of "Good luck" and left with his subordinates. The team of big guards also followed the leader to continue patrolling, leaving only Chen Si, standing alone at the entrance of the hall.
"Come in..." An old voice came from inside.
‘Good, this emperor is too approachable, right?’ Chen Si was shocked, so he had to step over the threshold and go into the hall.
Two little Taoist boys closed the door again, and they were silent. In the hall, nine rows of red candles were lit in the hall. The candlelight was flickering, and the smoke was floating. Sometimes a crisp sound broke out, reflecting the empty hall becoming more and more quiet.
With the bright candlelight, I silently saw a three-legged Bagua furnace more than eight feet high in the center of the hall... The above was hollowed out according to the image of the Bagua, and faint white smoke continued to spread out from the hollow.
While he was looking at the copper stove, he heard someone say behind the stove, "Come here."
After silentness, he passed by, and saw an old Taoist priest with a long hair and beard wearing a purple sash fairy dress, holding a whisk in his hand, sitting cross-legged on a purple cushion... Looking at the age of this old Taoist, he was at least seventy or eighty, which did not match His Majesty.
Seeing his hesitation, the old Taoist priest said lightly: "I Tao Zhongwen."
"It turns out to be a celestial master, and the students are disrespectful!" Chen Shu quickly saluted.
"Sit down." Tao Zhongwen did not look up, but pointed to the futon opposite with a whisk, and then ordered the little Taoist boy, "Make the alchemy furnace prosperous."
"Yes, Master." The two little Taoist children began to pull the bellows together. The fire of the alchemy furnace suddenly shone brightly, and the sound in the hall became louder and louder.
Amid the sound of the bellows and the crackling sound of fire, Master Tao Tian picked up a crisp willow branch from the basin at hand... Seeing that there were green leaves on it, I don’t know where it was made. The old Taoist priest finally said, “Don’t move, let me get rid of bad luck for you.”
Chen Si quickly stopped moving, watching the old Taoist throw the water-dripping willow branches on his face. After nine times, the old man asked him to wash his hands and face with the water in the basin, and then threw the willow branches into the alchemy furnace, which was considered to be the work of eliminating evil.
Seeing that the old man had already finished his work, a strong impulse to change his career surged in his silent heart... If I had known that being a Taoist priest was so awesome and so relaxed, I would have had to study and do something, saying, "Tianshi, please accept me." I endured it and then didn't say it.
Master Tao Tian’s hair and beard were all white and thin, but his eyes were deep and bright, as if he could see through all the worldly emotions. The silent psychological changes did not escape his gaze. He smiled faintly and said, “Are you envious?”
Chen Si was slightly surprised, and immediately knew that the old man had become a spirit, and it was useless to say nonsense to him. He nodded and said, "I really admire him, and I even had the urge to become a disciple. I just don't know if you always accept it?"
"Cache, why not?" Tao Zhongwen was surprisingly happy, which made Chen Si completely confused and asked forcefully: "Are you kidding?"
"Of course not." Tao Zhongwen smiled faintly and said, "If you want, I will accept you as a registered disciple."
'It turned out to be a registered disciple, and I didn't really let me be a bull's nose.' Chen Ji then felt relieved, and then listened to him and continued: "That Tianlan Daoxing begs me and asked me to help you no matter what. I tried to let Your Majesty get out of seclusion in advance..."
Chen Shuo quickly saluted again and said, "Your disciple will never forget your kindness." His ability to climb along the pole is even better than that of a monkey.
"It seems that I am willing to be this disciple for me," Tao Zhongwen said with a smile: "I am very comforted, so I will talk to you about one thing and two things."
"Student...oh no, my apprentice listened carefully." Silently said.
"The reason why I help you is because those who help others help you." Tao Zhongwen sighed in a voice: "I am already eighty-one this year. I will tell you that I am dizzy and weak. I moved to the countryside a few years ago and wanted to live my life, but I have never been able to get what I want. Do you know why?"
"Is Your Majesty's retention too earnest?" Chen Silent asked softly.
"That's one aspect." Tao Zhongwen said lightly: "But more importantly, I have three worries in my heart and cannot leave with ease."
"I dare to ask what are the three worries?"
"One is to be prepared for danger in times of peace." Tao Zhongwen said slowly: "Since Your Majesty's expedition, our Taoism has flourished and has been at its peak for thirty years... It can be said that it has reached the highest level in five hundred years."
"It's all the credit of the two generations of celestial masters." Chen Si said suspiciously that he was flattering.
"It's not our contribution, but because Your Majesty has Taoist wisdom... After a thousand years, the rise and fall of the Taoist and Hisang's two schools have determined their likes and dislikes. If this generation of emperors likes to believe in Buddhism, it would be like the Zhengde period that the whole country would destroy Taoism and worship Buddha; if the next generation of emperors turned around, that's what it is now."
Tao Zhongwen said soberly: "The core of my Taoism is Tai Chi. Tai Chi is not eternal, but it is not prosperous forever, but there is a cycle of prosperity and decline, or failure. The emperor admires Taoism. Once the Taoist sect washes the bad luck of the previous emperor, it is a bit too much to destroy Buddhas and temples across the country. In fact, monks and Taoism have experienced several difficulties in the Dharma, which are destroyed and revived again and then established. After the revival, the Taoist sect has brought many disasters, such as Huichang Dharma, Emperor Wuzong of Tang destroyed more than 4,000 temples, and returned 260,000 subdistrict monks and nuns. The ban on Buddha is not completely complete. However, once Emperor Xuanzong succeeded to the throne, the Buddhist temple was restored, and dozens of Taoist real people such as Liu Xuanqing and Zhao Guizhen returned to the underworld. The previous situation can be seen!"
Although as a secular person, he did not understand the dispute over Buddhism and Taoism, Chen Shu still understood Master Tao’s concerns and said softly: “Are you always worried that Buddhism will make a comeback in the future and will become more revenge on Taoism?”
"The secret lesson is not far away..." Tao Zhongwen sighed and lowered his voice: "I am over 80 years old and may die at any time. Your Majesty has been practicing for a long time and his skills have improved. He will surely achieve great success in ten years and ascend in the sun. When the new emperor ascends the throne, it will be a great killing disaster for our Taoist sect."
Chen Si couldn't help but skip a beat and said to himself: 'Why are you hinting at me that Your Majesty has a life of ten years at most?' But he couldn't ask this, so he could only follow Tao Zhongwen's thinking: "What does that Tianshi mean?"
"I hope someone can save the Taoist sect at that time, so that my disciples and grandchildren will all become headless ghosts..." As he said that, the old master actually saluted Chen Si and said in a trembling voice: "Can you help me?"
He hurriedly went to help the old master, laughing and crying: "You always ask someone to ask for an orphan, and you also want to find the elders. At the worst, you have to be the Minister of the Shangshu and the Minister. What can I do as a young juren with sin?"
Tao Zhongwen sat back and said, "Ge Master Yan is about the same age as me, who can survive whoever can survive? Li Mo is a man who rises up quickly and falls quickly, and I don't like him. As for Ge Master Xu, he should be the most suitable candidate, but unfortunately he is a slippery man. He must be the most important thing at critical moments. It is too unreliable to expect him." As he said, he looked at Simon and said, "I'm so confident that you can die and protect Zhao Wenhua, which is much more reliable than them."
‘I care about Zhao Wenhua’s death?’ Chen Si was depressed and smiled bitterly, saying, “My character is fine, but you can’t help but look down on me too high. In just ten years, I can’t join the cabinet as a minister. Is it effective to speak?”
"Don't belittle yourself," Tao Zhongwen shook his head and smiled: "I am good at face-to-face. When you look at your face, the heaven is full, with a high height, sharp eyes, and a haircut on your temples. It is the appearance of a young man's success. You can enter the cabinet at around thirty years old! Believe me, my prediction never goes wrong."
Chen Jing still didn't believe it, but the old Taoist said, "If you have not entered the cabinet ten years later, our agreement will be invalidated. If you have entered the cabinet, please help me, can you?"
After saying this, silent naturally nodded. Such long-term commitments like this are simply the least tiring of all commitments.
"As for the other two things, they are trivial things that can be done at that time." Tao Zhongwen whispered: "One is my incompetent grandson. The prodigal must be in his generation. Please take care of the person at that time."
"This is no problem." Silent nodded, "Students must do their best."
Chapter completed!