Chapter 3416 Burning incense at the Hebo Temple, writing calligraphy

An old farmer sees weeds in the fields, and a woodcutter sees good firewood in the mountains. People who live by the mountains eat by the mountains, and people who live by the water eat by the water. People who make a living in different industries will see very different things. Qingluan Kingdom is different from most of the territory of Baopingzhou. It has a very close relationship with the mountains. The court has never deliberately elevated the status of the immortals. There are many frictions between the mountains and the mountains, and the Tang emperor has shown quite good courage and toughness. This makes Qingluan Kingdom, especially the wealthy families, very familiar with gods and monsters and mountain spirits. Therefore, the people of Qingluan have always regarded themselves highly, and a special profession has emerged, the incense vendor.

Incense vendors are a kind of livelihood among the wild cultivators in the mountains and swamps. They do errands and help the temples of mountain and water gods or Taoist temples as lobbyists to invite those big pilgrims who are expected to spend a lot of money to burn incense.

Generally speaking, incense vendors carry a certain amount of incense. These incense carefully made by mountain and water temples and real monks are expensive. After burning incense, the Qigong practitioners can calm their minds and absorb spiritual energy more quickly. Generals, ministers, and nobles light this kind of incense and worship their ancestors in the family temple. It is said that they can accumulate Yinde for their descendants. The quality varies and the price varies. The incense is divided into mountain incense and water incense. Mountain incense is produced by mountain temples and Wuyue Temples, and water incense naturally comes from the temples of Hebo and Water Gods.

Nowadays, countless well-dressed nobles have poured into Qingluan Kingdom. With the upcoming debate on Buddhism and Taoism that has attracted national attention, Qingluan Kingdom has become the most popular country in the southeast of Aquarius Continent. Many mountain and swamp wild cultivators have begun to look for big customers and invite them to Taoist temples to burn incense.

After walking for most of the day, Chen Pingan and his party stopped by a river, chose a secluded place, started to make a fire and cook, and were busy.

Not far away, a middle-aged man in a tight robe, with dark skin, a strong physique, a face with a bit of phoenix frost, and a gleam in his eyes. He looked around and locked onto Chen Pingan and his party.

This middle-aged man had a shallow cultivation level, only the third realm, and a shriveled wallet. He walked hesitantly in front of Chen Pingan and others, opened and closed his mouth several times, and seemed to be a little nervous. Under the surprised gaze of Chen Pingan and others, he finally spoke.

Sir, can we discuss something? "

Chen Pingan was dressed in white, carrying a long sword, with a pair of bright eyes, like the most shining gems, and a tall figure, like a mountain standing tall, outstanding, and unworldly. This may be the reason why the middle-aged man noticed him.

"You say!"

Chen Pingan stopped his actions, and his attitude was very kind, making the somewhat nervous middle-aged man feel like spring breeze and very comfortable.

"I wonder if you have heard of the incense vendors? "

The nervousness on the middle-aged man's face disappeared, and he showed a simple smile on his face. He asked softly. If this young man with a refined temperament had not heard of it, he was ready to explain it to him.

"I know a little bit. I wonder which Taoist temple in Qingluan Country you are the incense bearer. Are you a mountain incense or a water incense bearer?"

Chen Ping'an had heard Cui Dongshan talk about this special profession in Qingluan Country. He was gentle and very particular. He did not call the middle-aged man an incense vendor, but chose a more pleasant name, incense bearer, to respect the middle-aged man more.

The middle-aged man felt a little happy in his heart. This young man was indeed an expert, and his attitude was quite kind. He was definitely a high-quality customer.

The middle-aged man carefully observed Chen Ping'an and his group. They were led by the young man in white with a sword on his back. The other party had light steps and a solemn demeanor. He should be from the family of immortal masters, but the real roots, They should still be from a wealthy family. And they won't go to the mountains to practice too early.

The middle-aged man has seen many young immortal masters who were not born well, but were born well, so they have excellent qualifications. They got the opportunity to practice Taoism early when they were young. Some wandering masters or some great immortal sects are responsible for finding and selecting good seedlings. They are favored at first sight and ascend to heaven in one step. Their temperaments become arrogant and few are approachable. Some people are even indifferent to the secular beings.

The middle-aged man pointed to the big river not far away in front of him, and the smile on his face became more sincere. He said.

"It's the water incense from the local Hebo Temple."

Chen Pingan put down the bowl and chopsticks in his hand, wiped his hands, walked to the middle-aged man, and asked with a smile.

"If I want to buy incense, how much snowflake money do I need?"

"Three incense sticks, one snowflake money. "

The middle-aged man raised a finger, a serious look on his face, staring at Chen Pingan, and said in a firm tone.

The charcoal-like girl, with a bamboo sword hanging from her waist, stared at the middle-aged man curiously. When she heard him say the price of a snowflake coin, her eyes widened. That was equivalent to one thousand taels of silver, how many candied haws could it buy? This price was too high.

"I'll buy three servings of Shuixiang. "

Chen Pingan didn't show any surprise, as if he already knew the price, and took out three snowflake coins and handed them to the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man smiled brightly, and was overjoyed. He quickly put away the snowflake coins, and then handed Chen Pingan three quaint long wooden boxes, each containing three incense sticks.

Originally, you don't need to go to the temple to burn incense immediately, you can go at any time, and you don't even have to go or not.

Even if you burn incense somewhere else, as long as you don't ask for mountain incense, you can go to worship the water god, you can go to any Taoist temple, even to worship the ancestors of the ancestral hall, the Wenwu Temple, the Chenghuang Pavilion, etc.

But Chen Pingan still asked the middle-aged man to wait, asked Pei Qian and others to eat quickly, and then set off together to the Hebo Temple to burn incense.

Pei Qian frowned. As the group walked on the road, she approached Chen Pingan, glanced cautiously at the middle-aged man leading the way, and spoke in a low voice.

"Master, if we go this way, we need to take a lot of detours!"

Chen Ping'an raised his head and looked into the distance, silently. In the warm spring breeze, the young man in white swayed his sleeves and walked slowly, murmuring.

"I want to see more."

Since Chen Ping'an has been traveling around the world, whenever he encounters places of interest or even nice scenery, he will not be in a hurry, stop and go, and often take the wrong path.

It takes about half an hour to go to the Hebo Temple to offer incense. It is not a short distance, but Chen Ping'an thinks it is nothing. While walking, he tells Pei Qian the secrets of the mountain gods at the level of Hebo.

Although Hebo, Hepo, etc. are gods recognized by the imperial court and can enjoy the incense and worship of local people, their rank is very low, equivalent to subordinate officials who are not in the officialdom, and they are not in the gold and jade genealogy of the gods of mountains and rivers, but they are lower than Regarding those wild sacrifices and obscene temples that violate etiquette, no matter how big the latter is and how small the former is, the latter will still envy the former more.

Wild sacrifices and obscene temples belong to the attic in the sky. Without the incense, it is cut off. The golden body is rotten and is just waiting for death. There is no ascending ladder, and it is easy to become the target of the Genealogy Immortal Master and the fat coveted by the Shanze Yexiu. Like Hebo and Hepo, even if the geomantic omen of a place has passed away and there is very little incense, as long as the imperial court's orthodoxy still exists and is willing to help, the position of the god master can be changed, the incense can be received again, and the golden body can be repaired.

Chen Pingan and his party of four arrived at the Hebo Temple, which covers an area of ​​more than ten acres. The temple priest went out to greet them and personally explained to Chen Pingan and his party the deeds of Master Hebo, as well as some of the poems and calligraphy inscribed by literati and poets on the walls.

On the way to the main hall to offer incense, the temple blessing also hinted that as long as you spend three to five snow coins, you can leave handwriting on several snow-white walls. The price is calculated according to the quality of the location, which can be viewed by future generations. This side of the temple will be carefully protected from wind and rain.

The middle-aged man who delivered the incense looked slightly embarrassed and did not get involved. Even though Miao Zhu looked at him several times to remind him to say a few words of kindness, he still did not speak. Although this middle-aged man was engaged in this business, he was simple and honest by nature and could not say those beautiful words, so he pretended not to notice Miao Zhu's eyes.

Chen Ping'an, Pei Qian, and Zhu Lian each burned three sticks of incense, but Shi Rou didn't. After all, she was a female ghost residing in the mortal body of an immortal, so she might not be able to offer incense to avoid violating taboos.

After offering incense, the temple's blessing asked Chen Ping'an to wait for a cup of tea at the temple. The middle-aged man opened his mouth at this time, because the river water by the Hebo Temple is very particular about drawing, and it contains some water essence, which can benefit the body. , of great benefit.

When the temple director saw this, he was immediately laughed at by the middle-aged man. While Chen Ping'an and others were not paying attention while they were admiring the rubbings of the inscriptions on the corridor, he deliberately fell a step behind and secretly kicked the middle-aged man, dissing him for turning his elbow outward.

The middle-aged man was not angry at all. He had a simple and honest smile on his face. He was used to it. From this, it can be seen that this kind of thing happened often.

Chen Ping'an declined Miao Zhu's invitation to drink tea, looked down at the little Heitan girl next to him, and asked.

"Want to write on the wall?"

Pei Qian shook his head vigorously and spent three or five snowflakes. This temple Zhu master was simply robbing money. If the money was converted into money, it would be enough to kill someone. Pei Qian did not want his master to spend this unjust money.

Pei Qian's temperament is somewhat similar to that of Chen Ping'an when he was a child. He was stingy and money-obsessed. Cui Dongshan won eight copper coins from her in a chess game and almost died of heartache, let alone three to five snow coins.

Unfortunately, Chen Pingan ignored Pei Qian, turned to look at Miao Zhu, and said with a smile.

"Please help us choose a wall that is not so conspicuous. It only costs three snowflakes, and the two of us can write a few sentences. Well, is there a limit to the number of words?"

When Pei Qian heard this, he grabbed Chen Pingan's sleeve and kept shaking his little head like a rattle.

Miao Zhu was overjoyed, but also worried that Chen Pingan would regret it, so he said quickly.

"As long as we have the best feng shui wall here and three snow coins, it doesn't matter if the young master fills all the walls."

Miao Zhu quickly walked to the front to lead the way, asking the middle-aged man to help say hello, and asked the temple to quickly prepare pen and ink.

Chen Ping'an and others stayed in a handwriting corridor. Miao Zhu pointed at the literati's poems on the wall and said proudly.

"Although this is at the back and is inconspicuous, it is the feng shui treasure of the temple. To be honest, I brought him here because I felt that I was destined to be with you. Over there is the calligraphy treasure of our old servant Liu of Qingluan Kingdom. This Old Minister Liu is a famous scholar in our Qingluan Kingdom, a well-deserved master of Confucianism, and his skill in calligraphy is unmistakable!"

Chen Pingan looked over, nodded slightly, and praised.

"The writing is powerful and the muscles and bones are strong."

"Young Master is an expert and has an excellent taste."

Miao Zhu gave a thumbs up, and his old face smiled brightly.

Chen Ping'an felt a little guilty after being praised. He has mediocre qualifications and no talent when it comes to writing.

Pei Qian was also worried and spent three snow coins. If it was her temperament, she would have written all over the floor of the Hebo Temple to avoid losing money. However, her handwriting was also shameful, and she was often criticized. Zhu Lian ridiculed that it was crawled by earthworms and scratched by chickens and ducks. She would be embarrassed if it were written on the wall.

But the three pieces of snow money have been spent. It would be a big loss if he didn't write. Pei Qian quickly put down his hiking pole against the wall, took out a book from the small bag behind him, and planned to excerpt it quickly. Some beautiful statements. She had a good memory, and she had actually memorized everything by heart, but she was so nervous that her mind went blank and she couldn't remember it at all.

Zhu Lian had a stooped figure, white hair, and an old face. When he saw Pei Qian being so nervous, he immediately started laughing.

"Pei Qian, you have been reading for so long and copied so many words. You are blind! It turns out that you have not read a word into your stomach. The book of the sage is still the sage, and the little fool is still a little fool."

If Pei Qian's past temperament had been followed, he would definitely not let go with Zhu Lian, but at this time she had no time to deal with this evil-minded old cook. She flipped through the book and looked around, but she felt that it was not good enough. It would be a big shame to write it on the wall.

"Master, don't you have a lot of bamboo slips full of words written on them? Can you lend me a few? I don't know what to write."

Pei Qian closed the book, looked up at Chen Pingan with a sad face, and begged.

Chen Ping'an felt very funny when he saw the pitiful look on Pei Qian's face. He put the brush in his hand into the little girl's hand and said with a smile.

"There's no need to be so nervous, just like copying books normally."

"Just write the sentence that makes the most sense to you. If you really can't think of it, just write something from your heart!"

Pei Qian inquired about Chen Ping'an's comforting words and felt relieved. His tension was relieved a lot. He held the brush and looked at the blank wall in front of him. He slowly squatted down and planned to write at the base of the wall. He was extremely timid.

Chen Pingan laughed angrily at the little girl. It would be really embarrassing to write like this. He reached out and grabbed Pei Qian's ear, lifted it up and said.

"Write to a higher place, there is no need to be afraid of embarrassment!"

At this moment, a ray of sword light tore through the sky of Dongbaopingzhou, fell from the nine heavens, and transformed into a young scholar, wearing a loose Confucian shirt, elegant and handsome, giving people a wise and knowledgeable look. Feel.

"If you don't dare to write, why not let me write first!"

A clear voice sounded, and the long sword from Chen Pingan's back flew out and landed on the young man's waist. A sharp edge was revealed, attracting everyone's attention.

"Mr. Zhou?"

Chen Ping'an showed some hesitation on his face, looked at the young scholar, and shouted uncertainly.

"What, don't you recognize me?"

Zhou Jue's left hand was behind his back, and with a slight move of his right hand, the brush in Pei Qian's hand flew up and fell into his hand.

When Pei Qian saw this, his brows stood up, a fierce look appeared on his face, he stared at the stranger who suddenly appeared, and asked angrily.

"Who are you, and how can you steal my brush?"

Pei Qian was fierce in words, but physically weak. She hid behind Chen Ping'an with only a small head exposed. She was afraid that she would not be able to defeat him, so she only dared to hide behind her master and scream.

Zhou Jue chuckled lightly and took a deep look at the dark-skinned little girl. His heart was separated from her body, like a bird out of its cage. Bright and pure, like glass. There is a bright moon hanging inside, and her body and mind feel happy. She is indeed a martial arts embryo. She is worthy of being the daughter of Jiang She, the ancestor of the military strategist. Her qualifications are far better than those of Chen Ping'an and others.

"My name is Zhou Jue, I can be regarded as half master and half senior brother of Chen Ping'an!"

Pei Qian was confused by Zhou Jue's words and didn't understand what he meant, but Chen Pingan understood and explained.

"Mr. Zhou is Miss Ning's senior brother, and he taught me the Mountain Shaking Fist, so he is half my martial arts master and half my senior brother!"

Naturally, Pei Qian had heard Chen Pingan talk about Ning Yao. He was very curious about this mistress, who had never been masked before, and wanted to meet him. Unexpectedly, Ning Yao hadn't seen her yet, but he met the mistress's mother-in-law first, and he didn't dare to neglect him. , using his best face-changing magical power.

"Uncle Zhou, you are the elder, you write first, and I will make room for you!"

At this time, there was no murderous intent on Pei Qian's face. He had a flattering smile on his face, fearing that he would offend his uncle and make his master unable to marry a wife.

"You are quite clever!"

Zhou Jue was not disgusted with Pei Qian's behavior, and did not refuse the kindness of the little Heitan girl. He walked to the wall, reached out and wrote a sentence in the middle of the wall.

"When the sea reaches the end, the sky is the shore; when the mountain reaches the top, I am the peak!"

These fourteen characters were vigorous and powerful, flying like dragons and phoenixes. As soon as they landed on the wall, all the calligraphy characters on the wall began to move downwards and landed below the fourteen characters. Some even moved to the root of the wall, such as When the ministers faced the king, they bowed their heads and paid homage. They were extremely respectful and did not dare to go any further.

When Zhu Lian saw this scene, his eyes widened and he stared at the young man in disbelief. What a terrifying state this was. These fourteen words seemed to be the avenue of heaven and earth, superior to all living things. A pair of calligraphy treasures dare to go beyond.

Pei Qian had little knowledge and didn't know the horror involved. He just felt curious. He raised his eyebrows, looked at Zhou Jue, gave a thumbs up and praised.

"Master Zhou, your words are so majestic and your Taoism is so exquisite. It actually makes all the calligraphy treasures move. You are the only one who dominates me. You are so domineering and majestic!"

"However, some of the owners of these calligraphy treasures seem to be high-ranking officials. Aren't you afraid that they will cause trouble for you by doing this?"

Pei Qian frowned, with a look of worry on his face. Not to mention others, the calligraphy of Old Minister Liu just now almost fell to the base of the wall, which was really unsightly.

"They won't cause trouble for me, don't worry!"

Zhou Jue smiled and didn't take it seriously. Not to mention the old minister Liu of Qingluan country, even the ritual saint and sub-saint of the Confucian Temple would not dare to trouble him for such a thing.

Zhou Jue returned the brush in his hand to Pei Qian, winked and said.

"You can start writing!"

After what happened just now, Pei Qian forgot her nervousness just now. She scratched her head and began to write under Zhou Jue's calligraphy. The first horizontal stroke was crooked, which made her face slightly red. She didn't dare to look at Zhou Jue and others, and gritted her teeth and continued to write.

"Heaven and earth combine qi."

Pei Qian stopped after writing only half of the sentence. He didn't write the second half of the sentence "All things are born by themselves". After hesitating for a moment, he moved the pen downwards and added another sentence.

"Pei Qian and Master and Uncle visited here!"

"Well written!"

Zhou Jue smiled, it was hard for the little girl to write herself, so he didn't hesitate to praise her.