Volume 1 Chapter 36: Stone Dew in the Cave Can Be Used for Nourishment
Lin Longqing frowned and said, "He said that, but he may not know anything. Besides, I'm worried about you staying here alone ." Lin Jianlan smiled and said, "Why should I worry about you, Uncle Qing?" He was about to say, "I've been in the Kuangyi Gang alone for more than a year," but was afraid that Lin Longqing would be suspicious, so he swallowed it and said, "Besides, he promised to save my life, so I should take care of him." Lin Longqing said, "You are right to think so, but there is no water on the mountain, and the bucket was taken away by the Taoist boy. How are you going to cook?" Lin Jianlan smiled, "Qing Uncle just goes down the mountain and waits for Grandpa Cheng. Lan'er has a way to make sure that I won't starve to death or become thin when you come up the mountain again." Lin Longqing sighed. He saw that Lan'er had encountered many things since then. He knew that this adopted son was actually very intelligent and he should not worry about anything, so he said, "In this case, I will go down the mountain. Although you can take care of yourself, if the immortal doesn't like you to disturb him, you can go to the inn where we live in the county to find me." Seeing Lin Jianlan nodded, he turned around and left.
Lin Jianlan was not in a hurry to go in to find Duanmu'er. Instead, he looked around first and saw a small moon gate next to the Chaoran Pavilion. He walked slowly towards it and saw a small wing room inside. There was a pile of unchopped firewood in front. In addition to the road, there were some homely vegetables planted on the ground. He knew that this was where the Taoist boy usually worked. When he pushed open the door of the wing room, he was a little surprised. All kinds of things were arranged very neatly. He found three or five clean basins, took them to the Real Person Cave, and placed them under the dripping rock. After a while, he heard dripping sounds coming from several basins, so he went out of the cave and sat down on the stone next to the cave.
At this time, the mountain wind blew, revealing the smell of mountain forests. A crescent moon like a white tooth hung in the sky, very dim, but he remembered his adventures in the past few years. If he hadn't met Uncle Qing, he would probably still be an ordinary boy in that small village in Liaodong. In another year or two, he would have to marry a wife and raise a child. He would live like this. Thinking of this, he said in his heart: "But maybe I won't live to that time. I don't know why they all say that the internal breath in my body will kill me. If I don't meet Uncle Qing, will I die in a daze? Grandma will be very sad." Thinking of Yin Yin, he felt sad. Although he and Yin Yin had talked for no more than ten sentences in total, somehow, Yin Yin's tears at the stern that day and the scene of repelling Ding Lei were so vivid. Ding Shui's flushed face always flashed before his eyes, and he thought to himself: "Aunt said that one day, Yin Yin would return to the Kuang Yi Gang with her own ability. Would she have to compete with Uncle Qing? How could she beat Uncle Qing? In fact, it was very clear that day that her father was not killed by Uncle Qing, but Aunt just didn't believe it. I wonder what Yin Yin thinks in her heart? Does she still look at me and Uncle Qing the same as before?" He sighed again: "Lan'er, how do you want her to look at you? She has never taken you seriously . You are just a country boy who knows nothing."
Lin Jianlan was thinking about this, and suddenly he jumped up and said to himself, "Oh, no, the water is overflowing." He quickly ran to the cave and saw that the small basin was already full. He quickly picked it up and ran back and forth several times. Seeing that there was more than half a bucket of water in the kitchen bucket, he rolled up his sleeves and opened the rice bag. He saw a few large pieces of ginger on the rice to prevent insects. He thought to himself, "Although the Taoist boy named Mo Dan went down the mountain cursing for some reason, he took very good care of this Taoist priest." After a busy period, a strong rice fragrance came from the pot. Lin Jianlan couldn't help laughing, opened the lid of the pot, served two bowls of rice, and put a plate of vegetables on the tray. He took it out of the kitchen, walked gently to the front of Chaoran Pavilion, pushed open the door, and heard Duanmu'er inside saying, "Why did you come back so soon today? It doesn't matter if I, the Taoist, starve for a few more days. I don't need you to serve me! Did you get hurt outside? There is ointment in my cupboard. If you are injured, you can do it yourself."
Lin Jianlan laughed : "I think that Mo Dan must be injured every time he comes back. These two are a perfect match. They both have weird tempers and speak bluntly, but they treat each other very well in their hearts." After thinking it over, he did not respond and placed the food on the coffee table.
Seeing no response, Duanmu'er said, "But now your kung fu is not bad. I really can't think of anyone near Sanyuan who can hurt you. You have a conscience and remember to come back to cook." Just as he finished speaking, footsteps were heard. Duanmu'er walked out of the inner room. He looked up and saw that it was Lin Jianlan. His expression suddenly became very unnatural and he asked, "Why is it you?"
Lin Jianlan bowed and said, "Since the Immortal Master's disciple is not here, I dared to cook some food, but the ingredients are limited, so please make do with it."
Duanmu'er felt uncomfortable when he saw him being so respectful. He sighed and said, "Don't imitate your adoptive father's tone. I don't like it." But he didn't say anything polite. He just sat down and picked up the rice bowl. He took a chopstick of food and chewed it for a few times. He said, "Not bad, not bad, but it's worse than Mo Dan. Come and eat too."
Lin Jianlan had been in a hurry on the road and had climbed the mountain trail, so he was extremely hungry. He reordered his meal twice. However, there was only one dish, so he seldom picked up his chopsticks, and most of the food went into Duanmuru's stomach. After the meal, Lin Jianlan made a pot of tea and sat opposite Duanmuru. Seeing that Duanmuru was silent and seemed to be in a daze, he did not speak either, but just looked at the three hanging images and pondered them carefully.
Neither of them was willing to speak, and the atmosphere was extremely strange. Lin Jianlan knew that he actually had a very bad temper, so he patiently turned around and shook his head at the portrait, nodding from time to time, and sometimes pondering. Duan Muer really couldn't bear it anymore and said, "Hey, what did you see?"
Actually, Lin Jianlan didn't see anything. Seeing Duanmure asking the question, he said, "I think the black donkey in this painting has very bright eyes." But he heard Duanmure exclaimed, "Oh no, I forgot." Lin Jianlan heard that he was talking nonsense, and was about to ask, but Duanmure asked hurriedly, "Do you have any leftovers?" Lin Jianlan nodded blankly and said, "Maybe there are some rice crusts... that I soaked." But he saw Duanmure walking out hurriedly, so he followed him, went to the kitchen, looked around, took out a pottery basin from the corner, handed it to Lin Jianlan, and said, "Put the leftovers here, follow me." Lin Jianlan was very surprised and put the leftovers in the pottery basin. Duanmu'er walked through the courtyard and came to a place at the back, but there was nothing. Duanmu'er did not move forward and said, "You go over there, it will get angry when it sees me." But he heard a strange cry from inside, and a black shadow ran straight towards Duanmu'er. Lin Jianlan looked closely and couldn't help laughing. It turned out that the creature was actually a black donkey, but when it came to Duanmu'er, it raised its hoof to kick. Duanmu'er was very embarrassed and ran back, shouting, "You are still laughing, you will have a lot later! I'm leaving first, you feed him well, and don't forget to clean the inside, otherwise he will get angry again."
Lin Jianlan was puzzled. When the black donkey saw Duan Muer running away, it cried to the sky for a while, pawed the ground with its hooves, and seemed very proud. After a while, it turned its head to look at him. Lin Jianlan hurriedly put down the pottery basin, but stared at the things inside and said to himself: "Shouldn't donkeys eat grass? Could it be that the immortal is confused? This thing..." But the animal slowly walked over, lowered its head to sniff the pottery basin for a while, and even stretched out its tongue to roll a ball of rice crust into it. After a while, it seemed to taste that the taste of this meal was not right, it had a burnt smell, and there was no side dish. It stopped, arched the basin to the side, and looked at Lin Jianlan.
Seeing that it seemed to be very psychic, Lin Jianlan liked it very much. He stood up and touched its neck boldly and said, "This is my first time cooking, and I didn't know I would have to feed you. You just have to put up with it for one night, and I'll make you something delicious tomorrow, okay?"
The black donkey neighed softly and tilted its head to look at Lin Jianlan. There was already a circle of white around its eyes, which now seemed to shine in the darkness. Lin Jianlan exclaimed, "Ah!" and patted the black donkey's head and said, "I was wondering why you look so familiar. The horse led by the bearded man in the painting must be your ancestor, right?" After that, he gently scratched the black donkey's ears a few times, and saw it snort loudly, shudder all over, and then lowered its head to start eating again.
After about an incense stick of time, Lin Jianlan finally finished feeding the black donkey and cleaned up the surroundings before waving to it. He walked back to Chaoran Pavilion, thinking, "This Baiyun Temple is really weird. There are two weird people and a weird donkey." He looked up and saw Duan Muer standing at the door. He still looked nervous and asked, "Are you done yet?"
Lin Jianlan brushed off the dust on his body, walked into the house, and said with a smile: "It's done, but I didn't know it wanted to eat, so the leftovers must not be enough. I'm afraid it will be hungry again at night."
Duanmu'er followed behind and looked Lin Jianlan up and down, thinking in his heart: "Why didn't this beast kick him? He was very obedient to Mo Dan and was only irritable with me."
Lin Jianlan asked curiously, "Why is the Immortal so afraid of this donkey?"
Duanmu'er fell back on the bed and sighed, "This donkey is my nemesis. About ten years ago, I was struggling to reach the ninth level of the Shenyuan Heart Method. My meridians were severely strained, so I packed up and went out to relax. I didn't expect to meet a Taoist priest riding a donkey in a tavern. His clothes were very ordinary, but he was carrying a long wooden box. I was a lone thief in my early years. What kind of treasures have I not seen? Besides, I have retired from the world, so I shouldn't have any evil thoughts. But when I saw this wooden box, I don't know why my hands started to itch, and I wanted to steal it to see for myself. The old Taoist priest was very lax, not knowing that there was a thief with special skills following behind him to steal his wooden box. Alas, the donkey he rode was very spiritual. No matter what I pretended to be, it would neigh as soon as it saw me, and run away carrying the old Taoist priest."
After a pause, Duanmu'er ragged his beard with his hands and said, "You don't know yet, the more you can't get some things, the more you miss them. At first, I just wanted to get them, but later I couldn't do it again and again, and my heart was really itchy. Later, I saw the old Taoist staying in the village inn at night, so I made up my mind and decided to steal the waist badge at night no matter what."
Lin Jianlan asked: "Did you succeed?"
Duanmu'er beat his chest and said, "What a trick! I have become an old Taoist priest now. I quietly pried open the door of the room where the old Taoist priest lived. It was pitch black inside. I heard that the old Taoist priest seemed to be sleeping very soundly and had already started snoring. I also felt like something was breathing in my ear. I was very scared, but I was unwilling to leave like this. I bravely twisted a fire fold."
Seeing that what he said was very scary, Lin Jianlan stared at him without blinking. Seeing that his face was very horrified, he said, "Oh, I am still scared when I think about that night. When I saw the light, I looked to the right and saw a long black and furry face snorting at me. I screamed and fell to the ground." At this point, he looked embarrassed and said, "I have been a loner for many years and have never been afraid of anything, but I didn't expect to be scared by a donkey. Just as I was about to stand up, I saw the donkey staring at me, raised its front hoof, and stepped heavily on my chest. I only felt a loud clatter, and then fainted."
Lin Jianlan exclaimed, "No wonder you are so afraid of donkeys. It turns out you have been bullied by them before."
Duan Muer said angrily: "What bullying? I just don't want to argue with this beast."
Lin Jianlan asked, "Is the black donkey outside the courtyard the same one from that day?"
Duanmu Er said, "You are really confused. How can a donkey live so long? The one I have here is the offspring of that one."
Lin Jianlan blinked his eyes and thought to himself, "It's not enough to be bullied, but he has to continue to be bullied by his descendants." Duanmu'er seemed to know what he was thinking. He hit him with a chestnut chisel and said, "This horse here is very unruly since birth. It kicks when it sees me. I can't do anything about it."
Lin Jianlan rubbed his head and asked, "What happened next?"
Duanmu Er said, "Later, there is nothing to say. The old Taoist helped me set my bones. He also said that I first practiced the Yang Qi and now practiced the Yin Qi, so my heart meridians have been damaged. If I agree to be his apprentice, he will help me regulate my meridians and stabilize the Yin and Yang. I think what he said makes sense, because since I started practicing the Shenyuan Heart Method, there is a period of time every day when my hands and feet are numb and my chest is stuffy. With each level of improvement, this period of time will be longer and the pain will be more severe. After thinking about it, I pretended to agree and went to bed with him. This Baiyun Mountain. Because there were only me and him, fortunately I had deep skills and could protect my heart meridians, so he used his skills to help me regulate my body and used golden needles to transfer my acupuncture points, but the progress was very slow, and it took more than a month to completely regulate me. Later, as you can see, the old Taoist ascended to heaven to find his master, and I became the master of the temple. "When he said this, his eyes actually sparkled, and he turned over and said, "I'm going to sleep, you can find a place to rest, there are many houses here."
