Nine Heavenly Towers

In the dead of night, Xuan Mu and the old man were drunk.

At this time, the old man was blushing and somewhat confused, and he took down a painting from the wall with a half-drunk and half-awake appearance.

The painting shows a white horse with a white body. Xuan Mu didn't know the horse, but only saw the six characters "Han Gan Huazhao Yebai" written on one side of the scroll.

"Old man, students don't understand this painting. If you take it from me, it would be a waste of money." Xuanmu explained with a wry smile.

"Han Gan painted this when he said this. The horse in the painting is the mount of Emperor Xuanzong. Its name is Zhao Yebai." The old man said as if taking care of himself.

"Oh, this is Emperor Xuanzong's mount, which the students didn't expect. Could there be a story in this painting?" Xuanmu asked in surprise after hearing the words.

"There is a story. I have to tell you about this Han Gan first. During the Xuanzong period, there were two famous painters, one was Dai Song, and the other was this Han Gan. At that time, all the literati praised 'Han Ma Dai Niu'. The reason why Han Gan was able to It deserves such high praise, all because of one sentence, what is it? - The horses in your majesty's inner stables are the teachers of your ministers. What does this mean? This is what Han Gan said to Emperor Xuanzong back then. As for the meaning, it is extremely obvious. Maybe ordinary people don't understand that a horse can be a teacher, and think it is Han Gan's flattery. You are different, I believe you can understand the meaning. Since you want to ask, I will enlighten you on what you mean. The horse in the inner stable Everyone is a teacher, and the heaven and earth are naturally Tao. Han Gan’s achievement lies in teaching horses to imitate horses, as the Tao says, Tao follows nature, and heaven and earth are naturally Tao.” The old man explained a lot of truths affectionately.

At first Xuanmu thought he had understood the Dao, but now it seems that he just walked from the path to the small path.He couldn't help but said with a lot of emotion: "Thank you, sir, for your guidance, this is the real way!"

"It doesn't matter, since you and I are destined, this painting is given to you. I also want you to always remember that the four words of Tao follow nature." While talking, the old man rolled up the scroll and handed it to Xuanmu.

If Xuanmu didn't know that this painting was made by Han Gan, a famous artist at that time, even if he knew.If he didn't know about Han Gan's fame, he might have taken over this painting at this time.

But now he knows.He didn't dare to accept the painting of night and white.He said cautiously, "No, sir. This painting is so precious. The students dare not accept it."

"What's there to be embarrassed about? I told you to accept it, so you just accept it. The old man is old and his days are numbered, so there is no point in keeping this painting. Since this painting is destined for you, I will give it to you."

"This..., how can you call yourself a student?"

"If you talk too much, don't come after you talk too much."

"Okay, okay, the student accepts it. Sir, please don't turn the student away." Xuan Mu heard that he was gone, and hurriedly agreed in his heart.After all, he also studied with the old man for more than a month, and he already wanted to continue his feelings for the old man of the He country in this old man.Naturally, he couldn't bear to make the old man sad, so he obeyed the old man's wishes and accepted the painting with a little guilt.

Back in the small courtyard, Xuan Mu sat down cross-legged again, muttering in his mouth: "Master said, after practicing, you will be enlightened. Now that you have gone down the mountain, you have practiced the practice and enlightened the Tao. It is unbelievable! I thought it was very easy to understand the Tao. Difficult, it turns out that as long as there are big-hearted and knowledgeable seniors pointing it out, you can understand it by yourself. After listening to the lecture tomorrow, it is time to go to the teahouse and listen to some anecdotes about the Tang Dynasty. After all, the Tao cannot come to my mind by itself .”

After Xuanmu finished thinking, he entered into samadhi, swallowing the aura of heaven and earth.

In the early morning of the next day, Xuan Mu woke up from sedation, put away the aura of spiritual power on his body, and looked no different from ordinary people.

He took out the painting and looked at it for a long time, but he didn't see any tricks.Indeed, for a person who knows nothing about painting, it is indeed very difficult to understand the meaning of a painting with only a white horse and a pillar.

In the end, Xuan Mu threw the painting into the storage ring in frustration.Strutting with his head held high, he hummed a ditty and walked towards the old gentleman's yard.

No one knows the old man's real name.Xuan Mu also wanted to ask, but the old man didn't intend to tell him the truth.So he closed his mouth knowingly.

There is another reason why Xuan Mu likes to go to the old man's place, because the old man's residence is surrounded by bamboo forests and hundreds of flowers.There is a small pond at the back of the small courtyard. There are quite a few carp in the pond, but the old man never fishes, and he doesn't like to eat fish.Xuanmu didn't know why, the old man said that they were not kept in captivity to eat them.Instead, let them add a touch of excitement to this gorgeous world.

——Such words, I am afraid that only a person who often draws can say it.

The old man likes painting very much, Xuan Mu can see this.However, the old gentleman never seems to draw.There may be a story in it, Xuan Mu thinks so.

Just as Xuanmu walked into the bamboo forest full of apprehension, he felt a murderous aura rising from the old man's room with his keen senses.Xuan Mu's heart skipped a beat, and with a flick of his body, he swept into the small courtyard.

The scene that caught his eyes gave him an unbelievable illusion.

The old man was firmly tied to the wooden pillar with ropes in the corridor, his eyes were slightly closed, and his face was pale.There were several shocking bloodstains on his face, not only on his face, but everywhere on his body.It was evidently whipped.

"Would you like to tell me where is the 'Bai Ye Picture'?" A sudden voice sounded in Xuan Mu's ear. There was silence in Xuan Mu's ear at this moment, but the voice was naturally sudden, although the sound was very sudden, But very familiar.

Xuan Mu looked away dully from the old man, and Xuan Yu was standing opposite the old man.It turned out to be Xuan Yu!This made Xuanmu a little unresponsive.

"Xuanmu, why are you here?" Xuanmu's voice was more familiar.

Xuan Mu trembled all over when he heard the voice, and looked away again laxly, a girl with a pretty face appeared in his eyes.The girl turned out to be his little senior sister Xuanyan.

"The old man is dead." A soldier in leather armor in the courtyard suddenly reported.

"what?"

Xuan Mu, Xuan Yu, and Xuan Yan looked at the old gentleman at the same time.At this time, a trace of blood flowed from the corner of the old man's mouth.

A soldier stepped forward and said: "Prince, the old man committed suicide by biting his tongue."

"Trash, how can I let the old man kill himself by biting his tongue? There is a shocking secret hidden in that painting." Xuan Yu scolded with an extremely corrupt look, thought for a while and reprimanded: "Look, dig it for me. I don't believe that old Hantou can give the 'Zhao Yebai Tu' to someone else. It must still be in this room."