Chapter 49 Section ten

The little sparrow came again.Although mixed in a large group of sparrows looking for food, the little monk recognized it at a glance: round black eyes, and a yellow hair on its forehead.The little monk laughed happily, quickly scattered the grains in his hand, and called softly: "Come, come and eat." The brother who was sweeping the floor smiled and said, "Scatter the grains in front of you, and it will come over." The little monk didn't answer, just stared at the sparrows pecking at it, and laughed foolishly. The senior brother shook his head lovingly, what a silly boy.I have been in Guanyin Temple for more than three years, and I follow vegetarian diet every day, and I am still so thin at the age of ten.After studying scriptures for so long, because he seldom speaks, he doesn't know how much he has learned, most likely he didn't learn anything.The monks in the monastery loved this poor, silly boy very much and took good care of him, but he was always depressed by himself, and only rarely would he show a child's innocent smile, such as now.

The little sparrow was full, jumped a few times in place, and then took off with wings.First it hovered over the top of the head, and then flew towards the northwest. The little monk's eyes followed it for a long time.Northwest direction, he knew where he came from.He knew that home was there, and his parents were there. The early spring sun fell through the shade of the new green trees and fell on his eyes.The sun is so close, but why is Chang'an so far away? "Thirteen Lang!" The little monk turned his head slowly. No one had ever called him that in the Zen monastery, so he didn't know if it was him.The two young gentlemen ran towards him while shouting.One is handsome and tall, the other is round and honest. They are both wearing lapel collar and crotchless shirts and sheepskin boots, which are rarely seen among Jiangnan folk.

"Thirteen Lang, do you still know us? I'm Duan Chengshi!" "I'm Guo Huan!" The excitement of the two of them was in stark contrast to Li Chen's dullness.The abbot who accompanied him was not surprised, and said slowly: "The Holy Spirit has a decree, these two gentlemen are here to take you back to Chang'an. Pack up, and leave with them tomorrow morning. Amitabha." A small oil lamp was lit in the simple meditation room, and Li Chen had already curled up in a corner of the couch and was fast asleep.Duan Chengshi and Guo Huan sat beside him, looking at each other, neither sleepy.

Guo Huan asked: "Why don't you sleep for a while? Otherwise, you won't be able to drive tomorrow." Duan Chengshi said: "You go to bed first, I have something on my mind and I can't sleep." "Oh, have you thought it through yet?" Guo Huan scratched his head, "Should I tell Thirteen Lang that his father is no longer here..." "Forget it, let's not talk about it for now." Duan Chengshi looked at Li Chen who was curled up into a ball, "He may not understand it, let's talk about it when we return to Chang'an."

"Ok." After a while, Guo Huan's snoring sounded in the meditation room, and Duan Chengshi slightly closed his eyes. After the new emperor came to the throne, he decided to bring the thirteenth brother back to Chang'an from Yangzhou.There are many candidates who can carry out this task, but Jing Zhaoyin Guo Yu specially went to Duan Mansion to meet Duan Wenchang, and jointly agreed to recommend Duan Chengshi and Guo Huan to the emperor, and they will handle this task. The emperor readily agreed.On February 1, the fifteenth year of Yuanhe, Duan Chengshi and Guo Huan set off from Chang'an, went all the way south along the Grand Canal, and arrived in Yangzhou after 20 days.

On the surface, Guo Wei and Duan Wenchang wanted to take this opportunity to allow the two teenagers to practice and at the same time have a glimpse of the great rivers and mountains of the Tang Dynasty, but Duan Chengshi felt that things were not that simple.The first emperor died suddenly, and the announced cause of death was poisoning by taking pills. The national teacher Liu Mi was soon killed with a stick.But at the same time, Tutu Chengcui, the late emperor's confidant, died in the Daming Palace inexplicably, while another eunuch, Chen Hongzhi, who was deeply favored by the late emperor, was promoted to the supervisor of Xiangzhou.What's even more strange is that a few days later Li Wang Li Yun also died without any illness in the palace.

Duan Chengshi didn't dare to speculate, but quietly did a daring thing: he rewrote "Xin Ping Shangxian", signed it by Li Fuyan, and then hid the manuscript in Qinglong Temple on Leyouyuan.When he came to Yangzhou this time, he also brought a copy with him, and without even telling Guo Huan, he secretly put it in the scripture storage pavilion of Guanyin Temple. Duan Chengshi believes that the truth of the emperor's death is hidden in the story of "Xin Gong Shangxian". Even if this truth cannot be revealed today, it should be preserved. One day the truth will come out.

It would be great if I could see Sister Lianshi again.As the drowsiness grew, Duan Chengshi thought in a daze that the late emperor released Pei Xuanjing from the Daming Palace before his death, so there were rumors that she was the one who mixed the deadly golden pill into the golden pill that the late emperor took. Poison, she should be arrested and questioned.But the new emperor does not seem to agree with this statement, so no action has been taken.Of course, Duan Chengshi didn't believe such nonsense even more, although he did feel that Pei Xuanjing knew all the truth. His body became lighter and lighter, as if he was being lifted up by the waves... Duan Chengshi was pleasantly surprised to find that he had swam to the middle of the sea again, and there were three big ships driving in front of him. Suddenly, the waves rolled and a huge dragon jumped out of the water.It shook its long tail, set off huge waves, and spewed out balls of flames from its mouth!Sparks fell from the sky, landed on the big ship, and also landed around Duan Chengshi.It was getting hotter and hotter, and the flames were blazing.

Duan Chengshi suddenly turned over from the couch and sat up, the smoke had already filled the entire Zen room, there was a "cracking" sound everywhere, and the cracks in the window panes were ablaze. "It's on fire!" Duan Chengshi desperately pushed Guo Huan, "Wake up! It's on fire!" Then he grabbed Li Chen from the corner. Guo Huan also woke up, jumped off the couch and rushed to the door. As soon as his hand touched the door, he shouted: "Hot!" He turned his head and stared at Duan Chengshi in horror. Can't get out. The fire burned hotter and hotter, and they couldn't see anything. They were choked by the smoke and had to lie on the ground.Duan Chengshi protected Li Chen under his body, and when he heard a loud noise from the burning beams and wooden pillars, and something fell down, he felt a sharp pain in his back and lost consciousness in an instant.

Duan Chengshi returned to the sea again.The bloody killing is still going on, but the outcome has been reversed.Jiaolong lost his bravery in the mermaid's singing, and is suffering the worst revenge.It was dying, but its eyes were still staring at the shark reluctantly.She stopped singing and turned her head to look at the dying Jiaolong. Two lines of blood and tears slowly flowed down her beautiful face. Duan Chengshi murmured: "Sister Lianshi..." Pei Xuanjing was stroking his cheek gently, her fingertips were icy cold, and Duan Chengshi immediately felt less restless and hot.

"It's okay." Cui Miao felt Duan Chengshi's pulse and said with a smile, "You can't just write ghost stories in the future, you have to practice when you have time. Your physique is much weaker than this Mr. Guo." "You're awake." Guo Huan flashed out from the side, his chubby face was still black and white. Duan Chengshi looked at them in turn: "Where is the fire?" Guo Huan said: "It was Pei Lianshi and Cui Langzhong who saved us. As soon as we came out, the house burned down. It's so hanging!" "Where is Thirteen Lang?" "It's here." Guo Huan pointed to Li Chen next to him, sleeping peacefully, and his face and body were cleaner than theirs. Only then did Duan Chengshi regain his strength, looked at Cui Miao, then at Pei Xuanjing, his eyes were a little red: "Sister Lianshi, Cui Langzhong, how are you all?" "Didn't you see it all?" Cui Miao asked back with a smile. Duan Chengshi nodded, thought for a while, and asked softly, "Why did the Guanyin Temple suddenly catch fire?" Cui Miao said: "The temple is fine, but the house you live in has collapsed. And the guards you brought with you were burned to death in the other room without being able to rescue them in time." "how so!" No one answered Duan Chengshi.Only then did he understand why Guo Wei and Duan Wenchang strongly recommended himself and Guo Huan to Yangzhou to pick Thirteen Lang back to Beijing.The two fathers must think that due to the identities of Duan Chengshi and Guo Huan, even if someone wants to attack Thirteen Lang, they will have some scruples.It's just that they didn't expect that a heart filled with jealousy can ignore everything. If the two fathers knew what happened today, they would definitely blame themselves. Suddenly I heard Guo Huan asking: "Master Pei Lian, do you really have a plan? How did you know that we will be in danger today?" Pei Xuanjing and Cui Miao looked at each other and smiled, and it was still Cui Miao who replied: "There is no magic trick. We have been waiting by the Guanyin Temple for several days. We only thought that someone from the capital would come sooner or later, but unexpectedly it was the two of you. " Duan Chengshi's heart was sour.Pei Xuanjing never said a word, of course he knew the reason.But there are some things that even if you have prepared in your heart, you can still feel the heart-pounding pain when you actually face them.He wanted to say something to her, but he didn't know what to say. She must have sensed Duan Chengshi's inner voice, and smiled faintly into his gaze.The smile is so ethereal, as if separated from the world of mortals. "The capital, I don't want to go back to the capital!" Suddenly, Li Chen woke up with a loud cry. Guo Huan reassured him: "Don't be afraid of Thirteen Lang, just let's go back to Chang'an!" "No! I won't go!" Li Chen cried out as if possessed by a demon, "I don't want to go back! Daddy will kill me! He wants to kill me! Kill me!" Duan Chengshi couldn't take it anymore, and shouted: "Don't talk nonsense! Your father is already dead, why would he kill you!" Li Chen was stunned for a moment. Duan Chengshi stuffed the blood drops that fell outside back into Li Chen's collar, and said softly: "You have to remember, the first emperor loved Thirteen Lang very much. It is others who want to harm you. But you don't have to be afraid, as long as With us here, we can keep you safe." Then he turned to Cui Miao, "Cui Lang, what should we do next?" Cui Miao said: "It's really time to ask, we are here." Following his words, Duan Chengshi felt his body shake slightly.Cui Miao raised the door curtain: "It's docked. You can go back to Chang'an by land here. Look, the carriages and horses are ready." Duan Chengshi looked outside the curtain, and saw the water glistening under the cold moonlight. It turned out that they were on the same boat.At this moment, the boat was moored on the shore, looking up through the dense aquatic plants, there was indeed a black-covered carriage parked on the shore.There is also a white horse standing beside the carriage, and the gentleman on the horse is stretching his neck and looking here. Cui Miao said: "Han Xiang and Yinniang couple will escort you all the way." "What about you?" "Us?" Cui Miao said with a smile, "We will continue to go boating on the Grand Canal." Duan Chengshi's heart moved, and he hurriedly asked: "Are Cui Lang and Sister Lianshi trying to lure away the pursuers for us?" Cui Miao smiled but did not answer. "This is very dangerous!" "Let's go!" Cui Miao said, "If you don't go, you will really be in danger." Guo Huan jumped ashore first.Duan Chengshi was behind to help Li Chen climb up the slope on the bank.Halfway through the climb, Li Chen suddenly stopped. "What's the matter, Thirteen Lang?" Li Chen looked past Duan Chengshi and landed on Pei Xuanjing. "Master Pei Lian, do you know how my father died?" He said clearly, "You know right? Please tell me!" Duan Chengshi said: "Thirteen Lang, if Master Pei Lian doesn't know, stop making trouble." Guo Huan also stretched out his hand to pull Li Chen.He struggled, turned around and shouted to Pei Xuanjing: "Master Pei Lian, please wait for me! When I grow up and come to you, you must tell me the truth!" Guo Huan took Li Chen away. Duan Chengshi's heart suddenly filled with reluctance.Parting from life to death, he knew that this moment had come, but he couldn't help asking: "Sister Lianshi, can we meet again?" She just looked at him in silence. The carriage gallops along the banks of the Grand Canal.Soon, Ye Xiaozhou was left far away, only the moonlight was still closely following them. Duan Chengshi was still persistently looking at the surface of the canal. For a moment, he seemed to really see a white light rising from the canal, and the white light surrounded the graceful figure and merged into the moonlight. This impression remained in his mind for a long time.