The third time I sent a publication to Lao Sun, I talked with him about the pressure of children’s study and the fierce competition in the college entrance examination. Lao Sun said that the college entrance examination is only a barrier on the road of life, as to whether this barrier can be passed, in fact, it has been written in life.
Then Lao Sun told me a story about a Confucian scholar in the Tang Dynasty. The imperial examination system in the
Tang Dynasty was very strict. Thousands of people took the examination, but only a few dozen were admitted. At that time, the only chance for the children of poor families to turn over was to take the imperial examination.
In the course of this extremely fierce competition, either those Confucian scholars who have a good family and can afford to hire a good gentleman are naturally able to occupy an advantage, or those who have a poor family and can not afford to hire a good gentleman, but their brains are particularly good, such people also have a great chance.
But Zhao Liu these two are not occupied, the family is poor, the brain is stupid, there is no other way out, can only take the imperial examination this road. Half a year
before the exam, Zhao Liu heard that the Chenghuang Temple in the south of the city was very efficacious, and the wishes he prayed for there could often come true, so Zhao Liu went to the Chenghuang Temple to burn incense. In his dream, Zhao Liu dreamed of an antique house with the front door wide open, and he was wandering around the door. Cheng Huang stood at the door and waved to Zhao Liu, saying, “Zhao Liu, come in quickly. You will be my student in the future. I have something to tell you.”
Zhao Liu hurriedly entered the room, two people just sat down, the servant to report, said the canal God to see. After the city God was introduced to Zhao Liu, the three of them sat together. After
sitting down, Cheng Huang and the God of the canal chatted in a voice like a mosquito chirping. Zhao and Liu only faintly heard a few words: “Die in Chang’an, live in Tangxi, live in the rocks of Nanshan, and live ten thousand years.”. After a while, the God of the canal retired, and Cheng Huang sent Zhao Liu to see him off. Before he left, the God of the canal asked Zhao Liu in a low voice, “Did you hear what I said to Cheng Huang just now?” Zhao Liu said, “I only heard sixteen words clearly.” The canal God said, “That’s enough. Write down these sixteen words. Your life is in them.” After
Zhao Liu returned to the house, the city God asked the same question as the canal God. After Zhao Liu answered, he also gave the same warning to the canal God. Then the city God suddenly pushed, and Zhao Liu woke up.
Zhao Liu woke up, a little back to God, hurriedly wrote down the sixteen words on paper, the next day to the people around him to see, no one knows how to explain.
Zhao Liu has a cousin, also want to take part in this year’s exam, his cousin’s father has a courtyard in Changan, said want to let Zhao Liu and his cousin two people go there, peace of mind to prepare for the exam. When his cousin found Zhao Liu to discuss the departure time, Zhao Liu hurriedly told his cousin the sixteen words he had dreamed of, saying that the immortal in his dream told him to “die in Chang’an.” If he went with him, I’m afraid it would be ominous. When
my cousin heard this, he burst out laughing and said, “Don’t worry about it. The immortal said, ‘The beginning is long, and the middle is Tangxi.'” Zhao Liu felt that what his cousin said was reasonable, so they went to Chang’an together.
Chang’an that courtyard is not big, there are two small courtyards, cousin said that the west courtyard is a little strange, not living all the year round, it is better for two people to live in the east courtyard, Zhao Liu disagreed, so two people a small courtyard, peace of mind to study.
Zhao Liu’s brain is stupid, the same article cousin can recite in an hour, he needs ten hours, so Zhao Liu’s learning depends on stupid kungfu, except for the rest in the back garden before going to bed at night, the rest of the time is learning.
That night, after drinking a little wine, Zhao Liu lay down on a recliner, blowing in the wind, looking at the moon, and intoned, “The moon is as bright as water on the terrace.” As soon as he finished speaking, he heard someone clapping and laughing in the air, saying, ” ‘The moon is as bright as water on the terrace.’ If you use the word’shine, ‘you won’t see the moonlight as water.” Zhao Liu quickly looked up. He found an old man with white clothes, white beard and white hair sitting on the top of the sycamore tree. He was so frightened that Zhao Liu threw down his wine glass and ran to the house. The old man in
white floated down and held out his fan in front of Zhao Liu, saying, “Hey, little brother, don’t be afraid.”
Zhao Liu’s legs were weak. “Are you a person or a ghost?” The old man in
white laughed. “Have you ever heard of such an elegant ghost?”
Zhao Liu said in a trembling voice, “Well, I dare to ask what kind of immortal it is.” The old man in
white waved his hand and said, “Don’t say anything. I’d better talk about poetry with you.”
During this period, Zhao Liu also asked the old man’s life experience, the old man said that he was originally a minister in charge of documents in the former Dynasty, because he was good at keeping in good health, and survived to this day, which Zhao Liu thought deeply. The old man deliberately told Zhao Liu not to tell others about his existence, otherwise it would be bad for him, and Zhao Liu also made a promise. The
old man in white was indeed a civil servant of the former Dynasty. He was an old minister in the period of the Yellow Emperor. After the death of the Yellow Emperor, he had no official position and traveled around the world. Occasionally, he made friends with those sorcerers who studied longevity. Like the legendary Queen Mother of the West, he also visited him. But it was Liu An of the Western Han Dynasty, known as the King of Huainan. It is said that Liu An gathered together the most famous sorcerer in the world at that time, and trained him into an elixir of immortality. After eating it, he became an immortal, and after some of the dregs of the medicine spilled in the garden were eaten by chickens and dogs, they all ascended to heaven, that is, the so-called “one person ascends to heaven, and the chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.”.
Liu An left a “Huainan Honglie” before he ascended to heaven. What we see today is the outer chapter. The inner chapter was taken away by the old man in white. It describes the contents of alchemy and cultivation.
In the section on alchemy, in addition to describing the medicinal materials needed, it is also mentioned that if you want to succeed in alchemy, you must do more good deeds to accumulate your own “healthy energy.” Only when there is enough “healthy energy” can you keep the alchemy furnace from exploding and refine the elixir of immortality.
In this way, alchemy and cultivation become one.
However, immortality is, after all, against the way of Heaven. Therefore, this “righteousness” cannot be accumulated by doing ordinary good deeds, but can only be accumulated by using a part of one’s own body to save people. The heart, liver, spleen, stomach, kidney, and lungs, the six organs, and the six lives, can be accumulated. Moreover, saving people must happen to happen, and one must not intentionally hurt others to save people. But it’s not over yet. After
each rescue, the rescuer will suffer from thunder robbery, and the more he goes on, the bigger the thunder robbery will be. For
thousands of years, the old man in white has saved five people and survived five times of thunder plunder. There is only one heart left in his body, and the last thunder plunder is still needed.
This time to meet Zhao Liu, is also fate, the old man has been wandering for more than three hundred years, the older he lives, the more he can not find someone willing to talk, did not expect to chat with Zhao Liu. The servant of the
cousin’s family met Zhao Liu several times at night, holding a glass of wine facing the night sky, talking with fervor and assurance, and immediately told his cousin.
Cousin did not believe it at first, but later slowly found that Zhao Liu’s complexion was really wrong, and there was a faint black gas enveloping his face. So he asked Zhao Liu during the meal, “Brother Zhao, I see you have a ghost look recently. I’m afraid what you remember in your dream,” Death in Chang’an, “will come true!”! What strange things have happened to you recently?
Zhao Liu wanted to prevaricate, but his cousin asked him again and again, and finally he told the story of the old man in white. My cousin turned pale with fright and said that the room he lived in had been empty for more than ten years and no one had ever lived in it. It seemed that there was something strange about it. He also asked Brother Zhao not to talk to the old man in white again, otherwise he would suffer misfortune.
Two days later, when they were having dinner together, my cousin saw that the Yin Qi on Zhao Liu’s face was getting heavier and heavier. He knew that his brother must not have listened to his advice, so he secretly went to the temple to ask for a ghost charm and handed it over to Zhao Liu.
“Brother Chao, I know you don’t think much of what I’m saying. It’s all right. I’m holding an exorcism charm that I specially asked for from the temple. You can secretly paste it on the wall of the garden. If the old man in white doesn’t respond, that’s good. But if it really works, won’t it help you escape?”
Zhao Liu took the exorcism amulet from his cousin’s hand. It was very small, not half the size of a palm. It was painted with red ink with some symbols that he had never seen before. It should be mixed with a lot of cinnabar in the ink. The whole amulet emitted a faint fragrance.
Zhao Liu held the exorcism charm in his hand, pondering what his cousin had said, and felt that it was reasonable. Anyway, the exorcism charm was not big, and it would not be particularly eye-catching on the wall, so he pasted it on the wall of the back garden after lunch.
That night, Zhao Liu was still as usual, carrying a small pot of wine, lying on the recliner, muttering in his mouth, waiting for the appearance of the old man in white.
The moonlight is like water and the breeze is blowing. As usual, the old man in white came to him and greeted him with a smile. Suddenly, a ray of light shot out from the wall behind the old man and penetrated the old man’s chest. The old man spat out a mouthful of black blood at Zhao Liu. The stench of the blood was so strong that Zhao Liu retched. After
the old man spat out a mouthful of blood, his body went soft, and after he fell to the ground, his appearance slowly changed, and finally he became something like an ape, but the skin on his body was like a fish in the deep sea, with layers of scales shining in the moonlight, and this “ape” had extremely long hair on its head. The hair was still wriggling slowly, climbing up Zhao Liu’s body, and when it reached Zhao Liu’s face, the hair tried to climb into Zhao Liu’s mouth and nostrils. Zhao Liu was so frightened that he let out a loud cry. As a result, his body was empty and he lay on the ground.
It turned out to be a dream. Before Zhao Liu got up from the ground, he heard a burst of hearty laughter. Zhao Liu hurriedly looked back and saw that it was the old man in white, carrying a whisk in his hand. It must have been the old man in white who woke him up with the whisk just now. When
Chao Liu saw that it was the old man in white, he subconsciously hid back, and then secretly looked at the place on the wall where he had pasted the ghost charm. When he saw that nothing had happened, he felt a little relaxed, but he still dared not relax completely. He asked, “Why did you come late tonight?”? Is there something going on? Touching his beard, the old man in
white sighed, “I’m old. I was going to take a nap, but I overslept. When the old man arrived, he saw that Chao Laodi was asleep, too. Do you think it’s a coincidence?” “Ah, I say, you’d better get up from the ground quickly. What’s the matter with just sitting on the ground?”
Zhao Liu looked at the exorcism amulet on the wall again, and after making sure it was all right, he got up from the ground and breathed a sigh of relief.
That night, Zhao Liu and the old man in white are still talking about the practice of poetry, is still very happy to talk. The next day, while eating, Chao Liu told his cousin, “After putting on the charm, nothing has happened. There is nothing unusual about the old man in white.”
My cousin answered, but in his heart he was shocked. “I’m afraid this old man in white is quite good at Taoism. Ordinary exorcism charms can’t do anything about him. It seems that he’s going to visit an eminent monk to get a more powerful magic charm.”
Although there was nothing unusual about the old man in white, there was indeed a change in Zhao Liu’s body, the black gas on Zhao Liu’s face was getting heavier and heavier, and he began to feel that his body was not as strong as it used to be, and he felt tired when he moved a little, but even so, whenever his
cousin hinted that it was because of the old man in white. Zhao Liu behaved disdainfully and did not take it seriously.
Cousin can only seize the time to find the master, hoping to be able to save his life before Zhao Liu accident.
Zhao Liu’s body was getting weaker and weaker, and the old man in white also discovered his abnormality. That night, the old man in white said to Zhao Liu, “Brother Zhao, the old man has seen that your face has been not good in recent days, but your body feels strange.” At the beginning,
Chao and Liu would say, “What’s the matter? I’m in good health.” The old man in white went on to say, “Hey, brother Chao, don’t say polite words to me. It’s not right for the old man to look at your face. It happens that the old man also knows a little about medicine. Let me feel your pulse for you.” Chao and Liu declined a little and accepted it. After feeling Zhao Liu’s pulse, the old man in
white turned pale with fright and said, “Brother Zhao, it’s a good thing I asked you tonight, otherwise I might not see you tomorrow night.” Zhao Liu shook his body and hurriedly asked, “What do you mean?” The old man in white said, “Your body is full of Yin Qi, especially the heart, which is almost wrapped up by Yin Qi. If you go on like this, I’m afraid you won’t live more than two days.”
Zhao Liu turned pale with fright. He knelt down in front of the old man in white and said, “Is there a way to save him?” After pondering for a moment, the old man in white twirled his beard and said, “There are two ways to save you. The first thing is that tomorrow at noon you will find someone to dig up the bottom of your bed. There must be something under it. Burn the thing that has been dug up. This disease can be cured by half. Then take a bath and change clothes. Tomorrow night I will bring you some medicine. Your disease can be cured completely.”. “In addition, do not let others know about this matter, so as not to create complications. Remember it.”
It happened that my cousin was not there the next day. At noon, Zhao Liu found a few servants, dug the bottom of the bed, dug about one person deep, and indeed dug out something, is a red coffin, and the coffin is relatively small, not like an adult coffin, Zhao Liu saw this thing, the body fell down, hurriedly let the servants burn this thing in the sun, when burning out the stench. After the smell dissipated, Zhao Liu felt that his body was a little more relaxed, and the whole yard felt different from before. In the
afternoon, Zhao Liu bathed and changed clothes according to what the old man in white said, and in the evening he was still waiting for the old man in white in the yard.
This time, the old man in white came earlier. When Zhao Liu saw him, he quickly told him about his experience during the day. The old man in white nodded and then said with a straight face, “Brother Zhao, I have something to tell you. You don’t have to panic. Just listen to me slowly.”. Then he told Zhao Liu about his cultivation. When
Chao Liu heard this, he turned pale with fright and asked, “How dare you ask what the older generation practiced?” “Jin Che Da Dao.” The two characters Jin Che together are the character “Chop.” Chop oneself to help others is called Jin Che Da Dao.
Chao Liu said, “What about the’medicine ‘that the older generation talked about?”
“Yes, that medicine is my heart.”.
Zhao Liu hesitated for a moment, but when his expression slowed down a little, the old man in white said, “Brother Zhao, I will never force you. Whether you do this or not depends entirely on your own choice.” Zhao Liu thought for a moment and nodded. The old man in
white gave him a pill, and Zhao Liu soon fell asleep after taking it. After the old man untied the clothes on Zhao Liu’s chest, he took out a dagger engraved with ancient patterns from his bosom, found the right position, pierced Zhao Liu’s heart, and took out his heart. Sure enough, it was all black and smelly. The old man threw it aside. Then he stabbed the dagger into his chest, took out his heart and sent it into Zhao Liu’s chest. Finally, he sprinkled some powder on Zhao Liu and his chest. After a moment, there was no trace on their chests. After the old man in
white finished this, Zhao Liu was still in a coma. The old man sent him into the room. When he returned to the courtyard, there was thunder rolling in the air. The last thunder robbery is coming.
There were three thunder robberies, one bigger than other, and the first two thunder robberies were followed by the old man in white without much effort. When the third thunder robbery came, the old man in white looked rigorous and mobilized his lifelong cultivation. The whole person faintly emitted golden light, as if covered with a layer of golden cover, and the thunder was getting louder and louder. The last thunder was about to fall, and suddenly a white light shot out from under the ground behind the old man in white, piercing his cover in an instant.
Zhao Liu did not tell his cousin what happened tonight, and his cousin did not tell Zhao Liu that he had asked for the amulet of an eminent monk and secretly buried it under the garden.
This amulet is not an exorcism amulet, but a celestial amulet, and any act against the principles of heaven will be suppressed. The old man
in white did not use much magic power when he crossed the robbery twice before, so he did not touch the amulet.
The third thunder plunder was already in front of us, and the old man in white’s cover was pierced by Zhen Tianfu. The old man in white’s lips turned white, trembled all over, and closed his eyes, waiting for the arrival of the judgment of fate. But the trial did not come, and at the critical moment, Zhao Liu, who woke up, threw himself on the white light, and the golden mask of the old man in white rounded up at the moment when the third thunder robbery arrived. There was a loud noise between
heaven and earth, and then the dark clouds dispersed and the bright moon was overhead. After the
thunder robbery, the old man in white exudes a sense of righteousness. When he helped Zhao Liu up, Zhao Liu thought he had seen the Tathagata. Because
Zhao Liu had just changed his heart, and after all this trouble, the impact was too great, and he fainted again. After carefully examining Zhao Liu, the old man in white found that it was all right, so he sent him back to the house again and rushed back to the alchemy room.
Three days later, a firewood boy who went up the mountain to cut firewood said that he saw a beam of white light shooting straight into the sky from the ground and disappeared for a while. He ran over to see that there were only a few white hairs left on the ground. The adults around him said that he was looking for a reason to cut less firewood for himself. After
changing his mind, Zhao Liucai thought quickly and wrote poems far beyond ordinary people.
Zhao Liu later went to Tangxi to catch up with the exam, and as expected, he won the first prize. When he was a county magistrate in Tangxi, Zhao Liu once met a Taoist priest who had traveled all over the country. Zhao Liu told him about the old man in white. The Taoist priest said that the old man might have been made by the stone of Nanshan Mountain, which was left over when Nuwa mended the sky. I had a dream
last night. 1 & # x2F; 11 | An is the place where wealth and honor begin. If it is true that he died in Chang’an, how could 2 & # x2F; 11 | Zhao Liu look at his benevolent face, like ordinary people, slowly no longer afraid, turn around 3 & # x2F; 11 |
I came to chat with the old man in white, and the chat was very congenial. From then on, the old man in white was 3 & # x2F; 11 |
full of righteousness every night, and practiced not old Dan. 4/11|
