the last priest

A broken bowl contained rapeseed oil brought from Master Dog's house, and Cha Wenbin twisted a wick with cotton wool from Master Dog's rotten cotton jacket when he was alive.A flame the size of a broad bean was smoldering. In the mourning hall, Xiao Hetu was the only one kneeling in front of the door, sobbing and burning paper money.

Lord Dog sat on the left with red eyes, and Zha Wenbin kept chanting scriptures around the deceased body of this senior. God owed him too much, and death must make him feel more comfortable on Huangquan Road.

The pair of shoes on Kun Bu’s feet were also bought by Lord Gou when he went home. They were also the thousand-layer soles that he paid 50 yuan for the widow in the village to give him, and he planned to wear them when he kicked his feet in the future.

This night, Cha Wenbin hardly stopped, but he kept repeating all the scriptures he knew that could save people. He didn't want all Taoist priests to end up like this, since he didn't live a good life Days, can only look forward to the next life.

On the first day of the first lunar month, the heavy snow gradually stopped, and the hazy weather indicated that the year had a not-so-good start.Other people's homes set off festive door-opening cannons early in the morning, and three firecrackers from Tong's family went up to the sky just to comfort the sleeping old man.

Finally, someone found the obituary posted on the gate of Tong's house, and then someone told it to everyone they saw.After a while, the whole village knew that the old Taoist priest Tong who had been home for five years had passed away.The village is not big at all, and there are only a few families living close together, but at noon, no one came to offer their condolences.To say that Tong Kunbu was a human being during his lifetime, he was righteous. There are a dozen or so people who have exorcised evil spirits for others in his hands alone, not to mention how many of them are in the rows of newly built buildings in the village. The feng shui level he showed.

This person, that’s how it is. Once you’re down and out, even ghosts don’t bother to seduce you. If you’re poor, you’ll be a poor ghost even if you die.In the afternoon, a few people finally came, carrying baskets containing joss sticks and paper money, and some vegetable bowls.The visitor didn't enter the house, but just stood in the yard, sighed softly, and put down the things, and one of the women shouted into the house: "Master Dog, if you need help at home, remember to come here Shout out."

Lord Dog didn't say a word, and those people left.

Lord Dog walked into the yard, kicked over the basket, and cursed: "Hmph, what, you were so blind back then, Kun Bu will save you!"

According to Lord Dog, the woman who spoke just now is the southern daughter-in-law who married here, that is, the woman Tong Kunbu rescued.Now that the savior is dead, and he doesn't even enter the door, Mr. Dog can't swallow the pain in his heart.

Cha Wenbin went out to pick up the scattered things, and said to Lord Dog: "On the first day of the first lunar month, according to the rules, there is no mourning. Don't blame others. The living are always more particular than the dead. No one wants to be in bad luck. If people can come, they already have a heart.”

Master Dog spit at the back of the person going away: "Be particular? Me! As long as they want to be particular, I'll stay here for three days and three nights, to see if I can be unlucky!"

In the afternoon, there were no more than five groups of people who came to Tong's house, and the total number of people was less than ten.No one had ever entered the house to see Taoist Tong for the last time, and some of them didn't even enter the courtyard door.The customs in their village are different from those in other places. When someone in the village passes away, each of them has to bring joss sticks, paper money, and firecrackers to the host's house first. The more things a family receives, the bigger the family's reputation.Generally speaking in rural areas, people live in a village, and they don’t see each other when they look up. Almost everyone else will go to other families if they have something to do, but the Tong’s family receives very little.

From time to time, Mr. Dog would scold the people in the village for being white-eyed wolves, and the three of them hadn't closed their eyes all day and all night.Zha Wenbin was fine, but Xiao Hetu couldn't cry anymore. He hadn't had a drop of water in it for so long, and Mr. Dog was getting old. Zha Wenbin was afraid that both of them would be too much.

After reading the scriptures again, Cha Wenbin said: "Master Dog, take the child to lie down for a while, and I will just watch it by myself. I will call you if there is anything to do."

Lord Dog didn't want to go there at first, but when he saw the child, he was already shaking back and forth, presumably because his knees were numb from kneeling, and his heart ached, so he picked up the child and walked inside.This little Hetu was really sensible, he held on to his grandfather's feet and refused to leave. In the end, the two forcibly separated his little hand. Finally, amidst the sound of crying, Hetu fell asleep in a coma.

Entering the funeral and building the fairy bridge were all done by Cha Wenbin alone.Rather than saying that he is seeing off this old man who has never met before, it is better to say that he is saving himself in a few years later.

The whole ceremony went smoothly, except for being tired and blocked, Cha Wenbin was in a panic.Looking at the portrait of the Taishang Laojun in the hut, he knelt on the ground and begged the Taoist gods to take pity on the real Taoists in the world and let his disciples and grandchildren receive a little shelter. Why are they the ones who suffer after all.Since Taoists are so miserable, why do gods still preach?

When Lord Dog came out with the picture of Xiaohe, Cha Wenbin had already fallen asleep. He fell in front of the portrait of the Patriarch of the Three Qing Dynasty and fell into a deep sleep. He was too tired.

Until the third day, there were no new guests from the Tong family, although the whole village knew about the change in the Tong family.There are also people who want to take a look, but there are always people in the family who will remind them: I haven't passed the third grade yet, I want to find bad things for my family!People who want to go have no choice but to give up. These days, no one can live for themselves.

On the day of the funeral, Cha Wenbin found Tong Kunbu's big seal, which was hidden in the hole in the wall behind Laojun's portrait.He put the big seal and the portrait in Tong Kunbu's coffin, and these were the only two funeral objects available at home.A life full of legends, a Taoist priest who was once hailed as a fortune teller by ten miles and eight villages ended his last journey in such a tragic way. Tong Kunbu, who has counted the lives of others for a lifetime, has never done a fortune teller for himself after all. He calculated that he would end up like this, would he still choose to be a Taoist priest?The answer, perhaps only he himself knows.

The tomb of Tong Kunbu is also the ancestral mountain of their family. The mountain road is difficult to walk, the snow is very thick, and the mud on the ground is as hard as iron sheet.After Cha Wenbin and Lord Dog cleared a piece of snow, they had to use a fire to melt the ice underneath.

No one carried the coffin, Cha Wenbin carried the coffin and walked to the front, Lord Gou walked to the backstage to carry it, Xiao Hetu was at the front holding a bell to ward off evil spirits and sprinkled paper money, the whole village hid at home and watched from a distance, no one came out Ask if you need help and they just hide in a corner or behind a door and watch.This is the first time for Cha Wenbin to raise his spirit. Taoist priests do not lift their spirits. Taoist priests have to lead the way. Now this task can only be handed over to Xiaohetu. His immature and hoarse voice is based on what Cha Wenbin taught him. Every sentence shouted: "Lift up the coffin!" "Give way" and "Go back to the mountain". . . . . .

Tong Kunbu did not have a tombstone, so Cha Wenbin erected a piece of wood in front of him, and erected a monument for him in the name of Hetu.After leading Hetu to kowtow, Zha Wenbin squatted down and asked the child, "Would you like to go with Uncle in the future?"

Master Dog wanted to say something, but he hesitated to speak. He knew that if the child followed him, he might not be able to repeat today's process for a long time. He was already old and there was not much time left.

He Tu nodded vigorously and said, "Grandpa also asked me to go with you."

Cha Wenbin wiped the tears from the child's face, and asked, "When did grandpa say that?"

"Grandpa told me after you left that he was going to a far away place, and he will follow that uncle from now on."

Cha Wenbin hugged the child vigorously, knelt in front of Tong Kunbu's tomb, respectfully lit a stick of incense and said, "Brother, Taoism always needs incense to continue, and this child is a piece of material to be a Taoist priest. I will take him to adulthood, so you can go on the road with peace of mind!" After speaking, he gave Tong Kunbu three heavy knocks on the head.

After going down the mountain, Cha Wenbin took Xiaohetu to take a good bath. After the bath, the color of the water in the wooden bucket could be used as ink.

That night, under the witness of Lord Dog, Tong Hetu worshiped Cha Wenbin as his teacher. This was Cha Wenbin's first and last apprentice.

On the second day, Cha Wenbin asked Hetu to leave here, and Lord Dog nodded in agreement.Originally, Cha Wenbin wanted to take Master Dog out for a walk, but Master Dog said that he was old and his relatives were gone, so he no longer had the idea of ​​going out, so he just watched the sunrise and sunset quietly. In the last few days, I just asked Cha Wenbin to teach this child well.

Cha Wenbin asked Hetu to kowtow three times to Master Dog, one to repay Master Dog for his constant care of Tong Kunbu, and the other to say goodbye to his hometown.

Tong Kunbu did not do seven, because Cha Wenbin knew that he would not return to evil, because he had already calculated that his grandson would follow Cha Wenbin, then he would have no worries in this world, and naturally he would not have to return to his soul I made a wish.

Since then, there has been a child beside Zha Wenbin, a child who everyone will find aura when they see him, his name is Tong Hetu!