Chapter 1 Li Daoxuan

In the severe winter, the mountain top is always covered with white snow. It is difficult to see the way back or the way back. Only the incense burning slowly in front of the temple gives people the feeling of being in the human world.

Li Daoxuan sat on the futon in the temple for a long time, looking at the snow outside and lost in thought. To be honest, it has been a month since he came to this world, and he still hasn't adapted to his current life.

In other words, whether it was eating, sleeping, or any other matters in life, they were all incompatible with his previous habits.

It may take some time to integrate into this world.

"Daoxuan, you are in a daze again." An old man's slightly reproachful voice came to his ears. Li Daoxuan turned his head and saw an old Taoist wearing a Taoist robe and looking quite immortal, with an unhappy expression on his face.

There was some dissatisfaction in the old Taoist's eyes, and the disciples who heard the old Taoist's words also secretly glanced at Li Daoxuan. They looked at him as if he were a bad student, and their eyes were full of curiosity.

I have been caught three times. Why is it so difficult to catch a fish? Li Daoxuan sighed in his heart, leaned over and kowtowed to the old man, saying: "Master, please punish me."

"Hmph, a rotten tree cannot be carved. So just recite the 'Tianrui Chapter' of the 'Chongxu Sutra' three more times." said the old Taoist.

Li Daoxuan could only wrap himself in his Taoist robe to keep himself warm in this cold winter. However, the robe was too thin, no matter how tight it was. In addition, he was short, so he couldn't keep warm.

In desperation, he could only move the futon to hide behind the door. Only after avoiding the cold wind did he feel a little more comfortable.

He picked up the "Chongxu Sutra" in front of him and began to recite it while shaking his head.

"Zi Liezi lived in a garden in Zheng, and no one knew him for forty years."

"The ruler of a country, the ministers and the high officials regard them as the common people."

"The country is not enough, so I will marry it to Wei."

……

There were also bursts of reading in the hall. The old Taoist sat high on the lotus platform, wearing a thick Taoist robe, stroking his beard and looking at his disciples with a smile. For the old Taoist, finding a suitable disciple to inherit the Taoist tradition is his life's work.

Although there are many disciples now, only a few of them are useful.

The old Taoist looked at Li Daoxuan in the corner again, and couldn't help frowning. He loved and hated this disciple. He loved his cleverness, and was much faster than ordinary disciples in studying scriptures and discussing Taoism. He hated him for not living up to expectations, always being lazy and sly. If he could use his mind on the right path instead of just doing things perfunctorily every day, he would definitely have a share of the position of the real person in Baiyun Temple.

"Let's take another look. Let's take another look." The old Taoist thought to himself.

Li Daoxuan waited until the bell for the end of get out of class. When he heard the deep bell sounds, he felt like school was finally over.

Rubbing his frozen arms, he placed the mat neatly in a corner. Li Daoxuan took a long breath of hot air, gritted his teeth and stepped into the icy and snowy land.

Outside the temple, there was a vast expanse of land, and it was impossible to distinguish the mountains from the sky and earth. Up and down, in all directions, it was all chaos. Only when I stepped on the snow that sunk into my calves did I realize that I was still in the world.

"It's really cold." Li Daoxuan shivered. He looked at the crowd of people in front of him. They were all Taoists wearing dark blue Taoist robes. Some had young faces, while others were already old. Everyone had their hands covered in their sleeves to resist the cold in the mountains.

"I didn't expect that after traveling through time and space to become a Taoist priest, I would be forced to learn to write. It's really strange." Li Daoxuan looked at the scene and thought to himself. Thinking back to his experiences these days, he had gained a lot of experience.

Just like in the novel, I traveled through time and became a little Taoist priest in Baiyun Temple. I thought the life of a Taoist priest was just chanting scriptures and meditating, practicing martial arts when I was free, but I didn't expect that I had to read and write every day like attending class.

Only when the get out of class was over would the Taoist priest let them out to eat. After finishing their lessons, they would have to go back to their residence to do their homework.

This experience really opened Li Daoxuan's eyes. He never expected that the Taoist priest could be so stubborn. He had never studied in such cold weather when he was in high school.

But these were all his true feelings, and he would not be so foolish as to say them out loud. After all, who told him to live under someone else's roof now, and he didn't even know who he was or where he was from.

But looking at his small body and fair skin, he must be a child raised in a wealthy family, but was thrown into a Taoist temple to become a Taoist priest.

Without knowing who he was and where he came from, Li Daoxuan would not run around foolishly. He stayed in the Taoist temple obediently and had a good life by doing nothing on weekdays.

Although the old Taoist's accent was strange, Li Daoxuan could still tell it was the Jianghuai dialect. Although it was difficult to understand at times, he would become familiar with it after listening more.

During this month, he also became familiar with the senior brothers around him, and was able to get some information by trying every possible means.

First of all, this is the Baiyun Temple of Maoshan. Secondly, the mountain is very chaotic, so it is better to stay on the mountain.

As for the rest, the brothers who seldom went down the mountain could not say anything. After listening to the brothers, Li Daoxuan completely gave up the idea of ​​going down the mountain.

It’s better to stay in the temple on the mountain, at least you can stay alive.

Sitting in the dining hall, looking at the bland food and the watery carrot soup in the bowl, Li Daoxuan swallowed hard and mixed the rough food with the carrot soup.

He really couldn't eat this tasteless meal. Maoshan was the main sect of the Correct Sect, and Baiyun Temple was no exception. But their doctrines were still the tradition of the Shangqing Sect, which emphasized "nurturing life and guarding nothingness, being calm and indifferent, and not worrying about anything." They followed the teachings of Bacon, nourishing the essence, and being quiet and inaction. So the meal was also light, with cabbage as the main dish.

Li Daoxuan has been eating cabbage for a month since he came here. He is almost at the point where he wants to vomit whenever he sees cabbage.

As he slowly swallowed his food, a Taoist priest came over with a chill all over his body. Li Daoxuan shivered and turned to look at the person who came. It was his senior brother Zhang Mingcheng, whom he had recently become acquainted with.

Zhang Mingcheng is two years older than him, with a sturdy face. He brags a lot and is more concerned about his reputation.

It was a pity that among all the senior and junior brothers, only Li Daoxuan gave him some comfort. So by some strange coincidence, the relationship between Li Daoxuan and him was pretty good.

"Junior brother, guess what I heard in the Taiyuan Palace just now?" Zhang Mingcheng came over slyly, glanced around, and then whispered in Li Daoxuan's ear.

Li Daoxuan glanced at him and continued to eat. He knew Zhang Mingcheng very well. As long as he ignored him, he would be able to tell the truth in less than three seconds with his big mouth.

As he expected, Zhang Mingcheng couldn't help but tell the whole story: "I just passed by there, and heard Master say that he would take his disciples down the mountain to perform a ritual. He would select a few disciples who are good at drawing talismans and writing calligraphy."

"Honesty?"

"Guaranteed!" Zhang Mingcheng nodded repeatedly. He smiled at Li Daoxuan, then took out a roasted sweet potato from his sleeve and put it in the bowl. He peeled off the sweet potato skin that was still charred by the charcoal fire, and then gobbled it up.

Li Daoxuan was left tapping the bottom of his bowl with chopsticks, thinking about going down the mountain.

(End of this chapter)