Volume 1 Chapter 35: When the Fake Is Real and the Fake Is Real
Lin Longqing felt very heavy in his heart. Seeing that Lin Jianlan wanted to comfort him, he became even more sad. He just walked forward in silence, but suddenly heard a voice from the cave: "Don't talk about our master." He didn't pay attention to this crazy old man, and rushed forward. Lin Jianlan laughed secretly and shouted, "No, your master is very good!" Seeing that Lin Longqing was walking with the fire fold in his hand and he was a little behind, he hurried towards the fire, but "bang!" "He bumped into something, his nose felt sour, and he almost cried. He took a few steps back. When Lin Longqing heard the noise, he turned around and saw the crazy old man standing in front of Lin Jianlan with his arms on his shoulders. He was startled and rushed to his side, using his scabbard to block him. However, he felt that the old man's arms did not move, and he was still holding Lin Jianlan's shoulders. Lin Longqing was worried that Lan'er would be hurt by him, so he took a breath and said, "Get out of the way. Did he say anything bad about your master?"
Lin Jianlan saw that the hands holding him were very dirty, with blue veins tangled. He looked up at the old man who seemed not to have heard Lin Longqing's words, and said slowly: "Old man, please let me go. We are here to ask the master to treat our illnesses, so of course we won't say bad things about him."
The old man said with joy, "I want to be cured too." He grabbed Lin Jianlan and ran to the side. Lin Longqing was unable to stop him. Seeing that the old man and Lin Jianlan were already sitting on the stone bed, the old man said happily, "Cure the disease, cure me."
Seeing that the old man was crazy, Lin Longqing was very worried and said, "Lan'er, let's go. Don't pay attention to him. It's a waste of time." The old man's eyes showed a desolate look when he heard it. He suddenly fell straight on the stone bed and said, "No one treats me. Ah, I'm dead."
Lin Jianlan's heart suddenly ached, thinking that if the master of Baiyun Temple didn't treat him, he would probably die eventually. He turned around and said to Lin Longqing, "Uncle Qing, this old man is very pitiful. It won't hurt for me to play with him for a while." After that, he pulled up the old man's wrist in a serious manner, pinched it with his fingers for a while, and rubbed the old man's chest a few times and said, "Divine Doctor Lin treated you, and you are alive again. Get up quickly." The old man turned over and laughed, "Let me treat you instead." After that, he opened his hand and patted Lin Jianlan's chest, but saw Lin Jianlan blocking it with both hands, and said mischievously, "I won't let you treat it."
The old man was very anxious when he heard this, scratching his head and said, "No, I want to cure diseases for fun, I also want to be a miracle doctor."
Lin Jianlan smiled and said, "I will only let you treat me if you really want to. I'm not kidding you. Otherwise, I will go down the mountain with Uncle Qing."
The old man was stunned, blinked and said, "What do you mean by real treatment or fake treatment? Now it's my turn to treat you. I want to treat you. Take your hand off quickly."
Lin Jianlan thought for a while, then took his hand away and said seriously, "Well, I will assume that you are really curing me. If I die after you cure me, I will become a ghost and wander around in this cave to haunt you."
The old man tilted his head and thought for a while, then said, "I don't want to be a miracle doctor anymore. Please go down the mountain. I've let you treat me for nothing. I consider myself at a loss."
Lin Jianlan could no longer bear it. His shoulders trembled and he threw himself on the stone bed and laughed, "Why don't you keep your word, Grandpa Baiyun Temple Master?"
As soon as these words fell, Lin Longqing and the old man were both shocked. Just as Lin Longqing was about to ask, he heard the old man shaking his head, lying on the bed with his face turned inward and said, "I don't know the master, I don't want to play with you anymore, you guys go."
Seeing him fall on the bed angrily, Lin Jianlan found it quite amusing, so he stood up and bowed, saying: "If senior really doesn't want to play anymore, then I will go down the mountain. Uncle Qing, let's go." After that, he pulled Lin Longqing, winked, and walked out.
Lin Longqing was confused at this time. He didn't know why Lin Jianlan called this crazy old man Baiyun Temple Master. The two walked a few steps, but heard the old man behind them sigh and said, "Come back." Lin Jianlan showed joy and walked back to the stone bed. He saw the old man sitting at the head of the bed. In the light of the fire, although his face was dirty, he did look a bit like Baiyun Temple Master. He sighed and said, "I should have known not to play with you. How did you know you were so powerful?"
Lin Jianlan said, "I was a little suspicious when I saw you at Chaoran Pavilion. This real person cave is on the way to your place. I'm afraid that you will be frightened by the 'crazy old man' you pretend to be when you enter the cave. You are very concerned about the little Taoist boy running away to play and no one is making tea, but you didn't mention this at all, as if there is no such person. Isn't it strange? Moreover, when we were greeting at the door, we heard a rustling sound inside. Washing your face is much slower than painting your face black, so you don't have enough time to change clothes."
Duan Muer nodded and said, "What you said makes some sense, but how can we be sure that it is this poor Taoist just by this?"
Lin Jianlan said, "Originally, when I came back to this cave and bumped into you, I no longer had any doubts in my heart, because I thought to myself, how can a person change so quickly? Just now he was still pure and spotless, but now he has..." He glanced at the face of the master of Baiyun Temple and continued, "It's dirty, that... it stinks."
The old man laughed and said, "Haha, that's right, it has to stink, that's the fun. So how did you figure that out?"
Lin Jianlan picked up Duanmu'er's dirty hand and said, "I found this when I was pretending to be Doctor Lin examining a patient. Look at this hand, it's very dirty and black. But there is one thing that gives it away. Look, the gaps between the nails are very clean. If it was someone who didn't wash for years, the gaps between the nails would probably be full of dirt!"
After listening to this, Duanmuer carefully observed the nail seam, laughed and said, "It is true!" Then he turned to Lin Longqing and said, "He is much smarter than you. It is also because he is kind-hearted and willing to play with a crazy old man like me that he discovered it." Lin Longqing was delighted to see him praising Lan'er, and thought to himself that it seemed that the master of Baiyun Temple really liked Lan'er, and maybe he was willing to help. But he heard Lin Jianlan say, "You are also amazing. You disguised yourself so quickly. You burned incense and candles inside and outside the house, just to prevent people from noticing the remaining dirty air, right?"
Duanmu Er said: "You have seen through a lot of things with your eyes. Come on, come on, you guys go to Chaoran Pavilion first. I have been pretending to be a crazy old man for too long. I can't stand this smell anymore. I am almost suffocating to death!"
In Chaoran Pavilion, the three of them sat down again, but Lin Jianlan couldn't help but ask, "Master, why are you pretending to be a crazy old man?"
Duan Muer smiled and said, "This was a problem I had before I was thirty years old. I have not been able to change it for many years, and I don't want to change it. To be honest, I was a one-legged thief before that. I am not bragging, but if I wanted to attack someone at that time, no one could defend themselves. It was because my art of disguise was very wonderful. After I succeeded, I would change my appearance within fifty steps. Sometimes I was a woman with a big belly, sometimes a very sloppy beggar, and sometimes a delicate and weak scholar. Even if the other party immediately discovered the theft, they would never think that the person not far away from him was the one who stole the things. But although I have retired from the business, I can't help but change my appearance every once in a while."
Lin Jianlan thought to himself, "This Taoist priest's temperament and hobbies are indeed very different from those of ordinary people." He looked up and said, "Are you and that Taoist boy the only two people in this Taoist temple? No wonder this place is so clean and tidy, while the pavilions and towers in the front mountain are all covered in dust."
Duanmu'er laughed and said, "My disciple is very naughty. He never thinks that he has a master here unless he goes down the mountain and messes around outside for more than ten days."
Lin Jianlan stuck out his tongue and said secretly: "Only a master like you can have a disciple like that. Aren't you just as naughty yourself?"
Duanmu'er seemed to know what Lin Jianlan was thinking. He smiled and turned to Lin Longqing and said, "Boss Lin, this young man calls you 'Uncle Qing'. Who is he to you?" The two answered almost at the same time. Lin Longqing said, "This is my savior." Lan'er said, "He is my adoptive father." Duanmu'er seemed to be just asking casually. He said, "Boss Lin, you must have found out everything before going up the mountain. If you want to resolve this internal energy in the young man's body, I'm afraid you will have to consume a lot of internal energy. Before the internal energy is restored, the whole body will be very weak. You can say that you are at the mercy of others."
Seeing that he got down to business after chatting and laughing, Lin Longqing said solemnly, "I know." He smiled again and said, "But it's only a few days' work. If it can save a life, what does it matter?"
Duanmu Er said, "I haven't interacted with people in the martial arts world for a long time. This time, it was because the young man was very smart and had a temperament similar to mine, but he was also kind-hearted, unlike those cunning people. That's why I agreed to treat him, whether it was true or false. Although my Baiyun Temple is deserted, it has an advantage. Except for my disciple, there has been no visitor for several months, and I don't think anyone will take this opportunity to harm us. But this process is very complicated, and there can be no mistakes in every link. Otherwise, not only will he die, but it will also cause great harm to both of us, so Gang Leader Lin must think it over carefully."
After hearing this, Lin Jianlan looked at Lin Longqing with a worried look in his eyes, but Lin Longqing smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. I have never taken these things to heart. Lan'er is my savior and now he is like my own son. It's not that my whole body's internal energy is exhausted, but I won't frown." He said apologetically, "It's just that I have to implicate the immortal to do this dangerous thing. I am really uneasy. I am glad that the immortal promised to help today. I will definitely thank you in the future." After that, he pulled Lin Jianlan and said, "Thank you, immortal."
Lin Jianlan couldn't help but said, "If the damage to you is too great, I'd rather not treat you." Duanmu Er said, "Others can't wait to beg for their lives, but you're still hesitating? Since I promised you, I'll let you see the ability of the miracle doctor. You can't do anything about it now."
Things suddenly took a turn for the better, and Lin Longqing was naturally ecstatic. Duanmu Er said, "I think you should be much happier than this young man, but don't be too happy too soon. It's not enough for just you and me. We need to find a medical expert to use golden needles to pass through the acupuncture points to guide the internal energy. A slight mistake can lead to a great error. We need to make no mistakes at all, otherwise our hard work will be in vain. This is the young man... It is too difficult to find such a miracle doctor."
Lin Longqing smiled and said, "I'm not bragging. There's no one that we can't find in the Kuangyi Gang. Before I came to ask for help, I sent a letter back to the gang, asking Doctor Cheng to come to Sanyuan today to wait for news. I estimate that he will be here in a few days. Doctor Cheng is known as the 'divine fortune teller of life and death'. With his help, everything can be settled."
Duanmu Er said, "It would be best if Gang Leader Lin has already arranged the candidate. This Doctor Cheng must be the 'Grandpa Cheng' that the young man mentioned just now, right? He seems to know me quite well."
Lin Longqing said: "Doctor Cheng has great respect for the immortal. He once told me about the Taoist's practice of dispersing his power and starting over. I also admire him very much."
Duanmu'er waved his hand and said, "That's all in the past. I'm just an empty-shell temple master now, playing around every day." Lin Jianlan thought to himself, "That's good. Just do what you want. He was playing crazy just now and he seemed to be enjoying it." But Duanmu'er looked at them blankly and said, "My disciple has gone down the mountain. There's no food in the temple to entertain you two. I won't keep you here. Go down the mountain." They were both stunned, but they felt a little funny in their hearts, "This temple master is really straightforward. He didn't flatter us, but directly ordered us to leave." Lin Longqing stood up and said, "I've bothered you for a long time. I'll go up the mountain together with Doctor Cheng when he arrives. Goodbye." Lin Jianlan turned around and said, "In that case, do you have anything to eat?" Duanmu'er was stunned and said, "It won't hurt to have a few meals. Maybe Mo Dan will come back."
Lin Jianlan thought to himself, "So the Taoist boy's name is Mo Dan, but it doesn't sound like a Taoist name." He asked again, "You said he often doesn't come back for more than ten days, how could you stand it?" Duanmu Er said, "I was really hungry. There were many wild animals behind the mountain, so I caught them and ate them. Hey, little brother, why are you so long-winded? Go down the mountain with your godfather." After saying that, he waved his hands again and again as if to drive them away. Lin Jianlan and Lin Longqing stepped out, but they heard the door behind them close with a "bang". A humming tune came from inside, "It's Taoism, but it doesn't seem to be Taoism. You live your life upside down... Open it... and take a look... You are a big idiot... No, no... I am... the big idiot..."
The two smiled at each other. Lin Jianlan said, "This immortal is really weird. I don't know why he became a Taoist priest, but I don't know how he will survive these days." Lin Longqing said, "Lan'er actually saw through his disguise today. Uncle Qing really has to look at you differently! In any case, he promised us to treat you, which is a happy thing." After a while, they came to the real cave again. Lin Jianlan saw that the stone bed was empty, and suddenly said, "Uncle Qing, I won't go back these days. Stay here and take care of him. I grew up in the countryside and know a little bit about cooking. His apprentice left, and I can't bear to see him without food."
