the last priest

It has been three years since I returned to the small mountain village in the northwest of Zhejiang, but the house of the Cha family is still there, and Chaozi and Zhuoxiong's business has been quite successful.

During the years when Zha Wenbin left, there were still many people looking for him, but as time went by, everyone knew that there was a very powerful Taoist priest who wandered around, and the number of people looking for him has been extremely small in recent years.

When Cha Wenbin came back with Xiaohetu, Chaozi was holding a piece of porcelain and arguing with Zhuo Xiong whether it was a vase or a chamber pot.

With a "click", the porcelain vase that Chaozi had just collected from the old farmer after spending a lot of money fell to pieces.

"Wen...Brother Wen Bin?" The three looked at the slovenly, even beggar-like person in front of them, and didn't know what to say for a while.

"Burn a hot bath first, I haven't taken a bath for some days." Cha Wenbin sniffed his clothes like a self-deprecating smell, and the unpleasant smell was really unsightly.

When the water in the bucket turned black, Cha Wenbin came out with Xiaohe Tu just now.

Taoists are most particular about cleanliness, because those evil things are called dirty things by the world. In the past, Taoists who were a little more particular had to bathe and change clothes before performing the practice, and wash them from head to toe to show their respect for the gods.

During the banquet, the cups were exchanged, and the three years of parting were all in the cups.Men, don't talk about feelings, just wine glasses.A lunch was eaten from one o'clock to the evening, and after the four big men all lay down on the table, only one half-grown child was left to clean up the mess.

The news of Zha Wenbin's return spread like wildfire. There were not a few people who missed him. In a few days, the threshold of the house would be broken down.Some of the people who came prepared local eggs, and some directly gave red envelopes, but how many of these people were all rejected, and Cha Wenbin didn't see any of the visitors.

All of a sudden, when the neighbors went to the countryside, some people rumored that Cha Wenbin would not be a Taoist priest anymore, some people said that he was practicing behind closed doors, and some people said that the gods and ghosts that Cha Wenbin had offended in the past few years There are too many, and I went out to avoid the limelight a while ago.I later learned that during that time, Cha Wenbin was preaching behind closed doors.

Taoist priests pay attention to a word of fate when accepting disciples.He Tuben has Daogen, and has been with his grandfather for so many years, so he naturally has a different temperament from other children.Not everyone can do the job of a Taoist priest. First of all, you have to be recognized by the patriarch, otherwise you will have to call the patriarch to bless you in the future.

Although Tianzhengdao is a partial branch of the Maoshan lineage, it is not a great sect. In Cha Wenbin's generation, it can also be described as the incense dying.But to be a Taoist priest, the most important thing is a seniority, so Hetu has to worship the ancestors and go to the ancestor incense to be considered a real introduction.

After choosing an auspicious day, Cha Wenbin sent Chaozi and several people to prepare wine, vegetables and meat, incense and paper money, and tied a small sedan chair with bamboo.This sedan chair is not made for people to sit on, the lower two poles are made of yellow dry bamboo, and a small roof is tied on top of the bamboo, which is no bigger than a bedside table.

The top of the cabinet imitates the appearance of a gazebo, and is pasted with red paper as tiles, and green paper tapes are wrapped around the entire sedan chair.At the front of the tripod, there is also a specially set up space for placing the incense burner.

Zha Wenbin put on a brand new Zijin Taoist robe, which was custom-made in the provincial capital.A pair of cloud-climbing shoes on the feet, square toe, black cloth and white sole, a cloud crown square scarf on the head, and several pieces of cloth inlaid with gold thread hanging on the back.Holding a fly whisk in his left hand, holding up a bell to ward off evil spirits in his right hand, and carrying a seven-star sword on his back, this outfit is so majestic and chic.

Hetu got up early that day, and Zha Wenbin had prepared a bucket of hot water for him. After bathing with wormwood, he wiped himself with wicker, and finally had to wrap himself in sackcloth before going out.

I saw the firecrackers in the courtyard of the Cha family shooting up into the sky with a "boom". After Cha Wenbin finished reciting the mantra, he respectfully invited the tablet of the master out of the house, knelt down on the ground, and placed it gently On that sedan chair.

The three tribute incense sticks were lit one by one and placed on the incense burner. Cha Wenbin took Xiao Hetu's hand and shouted: "Get up the sedan chair!"

The sedan chairs were carried by Chaozi and Zhuo Xiong, and the rest of the tribute was carried by Dashan alone, and the destination was Nacha's ancestral tomb mountain.There were a lot of people watching the excitement along the way, and some were timid who didn't dare to get too close, while those who were brave followed behind Cha Wenbin.On this day, Cha Wenbin was all smiles and did not drive away the crowd. After a while, the team expanded to half the village.

An old man who knows a little bit said that Taoist Cha is about to open an altar to worship his ancestors, in order to inform the ancestors of his successors, and the news that Taoist Cha is going to accept disciples spreads all over the township and neighbors, and it is like New Year's Eve. It was very lively.

The adults want to be lively, while the children are looking for novelty. It is likely that the Cha family's ancestral grave mountain has not seen such a lively scene in many years.Everyone surrounded them, it all depends on how Cha Wenbin accepts disciples.

Zha Wenbin's master, Ma Sufeng, named Taoist Qingfeng, the sixth generation leader of Tianzhengdao No. 20, has already returned to the underworld.Cha Wenbin held a stack of paper money in his hand and lightly threw it into the air, shouting: "Disciple Cha Wenbin is priest today, and I hope that Master will protect my Tianzheng line of incense forever!"

To be a Taoist priest, the most important thing is to have one's own seal. The seal is the status symbol of a Taoist priest, and it is also a sharp tool to exorcise evil spirits. Only a Taoist priest with a great seal can be considered a qualified Taoist priest.Generally speaking, a sect will have a big seal that symbolizes the head of the sect, which is passed down from generation to generation, and the person who gets the big seal is the head.

Similarly, every Taoist priest will get a seal of his own after getting started, and this seal is usually taught by the master.Only with seals can one draw talismans, and only with talismans can exorcism be done. The quality of the seal directly affects the power and effectiveness of the spell.Naturally, engraving is also a skill. It is not as simple as engraving a radish badge. Each engraving will consume a lot of Dao power, and the spirit of gods and ghosts contained in it needs to exhaust the efforts of the engraver.It took Zha Wenbin three months to carve such a printing pad. Although the material is not the best, the quality is unambiguous.

Cha Wenbin asked Hetu to kneel in front of his master's grave, and lit three more incense sticks for him.He Tu took the incense and held it over his head, and bowed respectfully to the grave three times.

After the incense was served, the wine glass was handed over, and after toasting the patriarch, Cha Wenbin untied the big rooster, tied one of its feet with a rope, and tied the other end of the rope to the river map. on the wrist.

There is a cock called the master leading the door here, how to lead it, this big rooster will lead it.

In the past, people believed that the rooster was able to communicate with spirits, and the patriarch's ability to deny his disciples all depended on this big rooster.The rooster probably had been hung for too long, and it flapped its arms desperately when it hit the ground, slapping Hetu's feathers all over his body, causing the onlookers to burst into laughter.

But the blame came later, and not long after, the big rooster flapped its wings and jumped onto the top of Hetu's head.The child didn't dare to be frightened, but let the chicken step on his head.After a while, the chicken began to adjust its position continuously, and gradually moved its body to the grave facing Ma Zhenren.Not long after, the chicken's neck straightened up, and it opened its mouth violently and let out a loud cry.

Seeing this, Zha Wenbin hurried forward to untie the rope on the rooster's feet. The rooster flapped its wings and flew, jumped onto the grave, and then turned around to look at the picture of the river.

Zha Wenbin then gave Hetu a bowl, which contained five grains, and Hetu respectfully held the bowl over his head and handed it to the rooster.

The rooster looked down at the river map for a while, then slowly put its head into the bowl, pecking at only one grain of each grain.After a total of five bends, he jumped off the grave again and dodged into the haystack beside him, presumably looking for bugs.

Arriving here meant that the patriarch recognized this disciple, and Hetu changed into a Taoist robe prepared for him in advance, and stood at the front of the team holding the spirit tablet in the sedan chair, and led everyone down the mountain.

At this time, the daring ones have already started to catch the cock.This rooster is edible and is said to bring good luck to those who eat it.

Back home, Zha Wenbin was sitting in the house, and Hetu gave Zha Wenbin three knocks, presented a tea bowl, and received a big seal, which was considered a real entry.

After worshiping Sanqing, then heaven and earth, the five ghosts, the eight halls of hell, and the eighteen roads of immortals and river maps.For those in this line of work, it is better to ask God more than to offend God. It is easy to hide a sharp spear, but it is difficult to guard against a dark arrow.

That night, the Cha family held a ten-table banquet and invited the villagers to gather together. First, it was to thank the villagers for their care over the years, and second, it was to officially announce that Tong Hetu was his apprentice.

Tianzhengdao, the No.20 eighth disciple Tong Hetu became Cha Wenbin's closed disciple, and Cha Wenbin did train him with all his heart, but then he didn't expect so many things to happen, which made this the swan song of Tianzhengdao .