White Bone Monkey King

Kangding country.

Wuzhou Prefecture.

In mid-December, the weather has cooled down significantly, and the cold wind makes people’s heads hurt.

A year and a half had passed between the last time he left and the time he set foot on this homeland again. Jin An's mood changed, and it was a feeling of homesickness.

It is strange to say that he clearly does not belong to this world, but he gradually develops a complex bond with this world that is difficult to break away from.

Jin'an's visits to several major tribes on the plateau in the past few months went smoothly. He was even escorted by the mysterious family sages, which pushed his reputation in the snowy plateau to a higher level. This was a great gift given to him by Master Zunzhu before leaving. , the epic singing about Jin Anima spread throughout every corner of the mountains and snowy mountains.

There are hundreds of thousands of mountains between Wuzhou Prefecture and the plateau. There are more birds and animals here than people. When Jin'an and his party actually walked out of the endless mountains of one hundred thousand mountains and set foot on the official road, another month had passed. , entering January.

This time is the winter solstice in the 20th solar term. The most common people seen on the official road are firewood collectors and charcoal sellers. They are in a hurry along the way and plan to take advantage of this time to earn a few more coppers to supplement their household income. This winter will be easier.

This is the time when the charcoal market is at its best, and wealthy squires purchase large amounts of charcoal in advance for winter use every year.

But except for one place.

The official road leading to Chang County was deserted, with no one around. Due to neglect, the official road was seriously damaged. In fact, this official road has long been abandoned, and the government built another official road to bypass Chang County and lead to other nearby counties.

Several counties adjacent to Chang County all know that there is a ghost county called Chang in Wuzhou Prefecture. Ten years ago, a fire burned the entire city to death. Since then, this place has been filled with resentment every day. Passersby go missing. The local people said that because too many people died in that place and the yin energy was too strong, ghosts would cover their eyes when passing by during the day, and they would accidentally enter the ghost market and become human-headed buns in the ghost market. In the end, the Zhenguo Temple in the capital was alarmed, and an eminent monk drew a symbol to seal the city gate. It got better, but it was only peaceful during the day, and it became violent at night.

Therefore, over time, the area within dozens of miles of Gui County has become a place where no human traces can be found, and no living person is allowed to enter.

"Two Taoist priests, I really didn't mean not to continue walking. It's just that the place is too evil. Even the men with official career would rather take a long detour than pass through Chang County and contaminate the bad luck of that place. This is not a matter of adding more money or not. No matter how much money you are given, you will not go. If you have a life to earn, you must have a life to spend."

This is a three-way intersection, and there are two completely different official roads in front of you. One official road has been repaired every year and is smooth. People come and go, and it is bustling. There are tea stalls on the roadside for passers-by to have a short rest; The other official road has been abandoned for more than ten years, and is cold and dilapidated, with not a single person in sight.

The people who spoke were several coachmen driving the carriage. The coachmen surrounded the two Taoist priests, an old man and a young man, and kept complaining.

The carts were filled with many newly purchased chickens, ducks, cloth, baskets of carrots and other supplies. A total of more than a dozen carts of supplies were loaded. After the winter solstice, there will be a minor cold and a major cold. There is only one month left before New Year's Eve to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year. It’s to prepare New Year’s goods in advance.

Jin An and the old Taoist priest looked at each other. It seemed that Chang County had a pretty good reputation within a few hundred miles, but this famous reputation was a bit scary. Even human heads, faces, and human flesh steamed buns appeared.

Jin An was not an unreasonable person. Seeing the fear on the faces of these coachmen, he really did not dare to take a step forward. Even the oxen and horses pulling the carriage were agitated, so he said: "Since everyone is unwilling to go forward, Come on, I won’t force anyone to do anything difficult for you, so you can take back the horses and oxen that pull the carts, and I’ll buy the carts as well, and you can set a price.”

These coachmen were all kind-hearted and good people. Seeing that Jin An insisted on going to Chang County, they all reminded him kindly: "We know that the two Taoist priests are experts and have the ability to kill demons. But in Chang County, You really can’t go to Ghost County. Ever since the fire burned a whole city to death, there has never been a peaceful day in that place. In the past, many Taoist priests and monks said they wanted to kill demons and do justice for heaven, but in the end they were all meat. Baozi fights ghosts and never comes back, and no one comes back alive."

"We couldn't bear to see the two Taoist priests die in the ghost county, so we tried to persuade them all the way."

Jin An smiled and nodded: "We accept everyone's kindness and thank you for your kindness. Don't worry, we have our own sense of proportion."

"Taoist Priest, why don't you listen to good people... Hey." Seeing that their advice was useless, several coachmen finally shook their heads and left with a sigh of disappointment.

It wasn't until the cart drivers had gone away that the old Taoist priest winked at Jin An and said cheerfully: "Little brother, everyone seems to be afraid of your natal family."

"!"

Jin An saw that the old Taoist priest was so energetic, so he forced the reins of the cart into the old Taoist priest's hands: "Since you are so energetic, Taoist, tie these carts one by one, and then put them around the neck of the silly sheep." , let Shayang work part-time as a coachman for us."

Click, click, the silly sheep on the side kept chewing carrots in his mouth, eating with gusto, and looked at the old Taoist priest who was beating his chest and repenting.

A year and a half later, Chang County is still desolate, with overgrown weeds outside the city walls. When Jin'an and the others arrived at Chang County, it was already nightfall. The convoy had just arrived at the city gate. The city gate, which looked desolate and gloomy, suddenly creaked open, revealing the noisy and lively ghost town inside. city.

For more than half a month, there was music and singing every night in Chang County. There were sounds of eating meat and drinking, and there was a huge crowd. It was like someone was setting up a flowing water banquet for half a month in this ghost county town, beating gongs, drums and playing suona. It was so lively and lasted for half a month.

Even because the people in this city made so much noise, people standing far away on the mountains could see Chang County full of red lanterns, bright as day, so rumors spread in nearby counties and villages that the ghost king of Chang County was getting married. , and the rumors became more and more outrageous. Later, it was rumored that the groom married by the female ghost king was a handsome young Taoist named Jin An.

…

Another half month later.

Big cold.

There are still about ten days left until New Year's Eve, at the Five Zang Taoist Temple.

The Wu Zang Taoist Temple has been built, with temples lined up, incense flourishing, and a constant flow of people. The Wu Zang Taoist Temple today has changed dramatically from the Wuzang Taoist Temple two years ago.

Two years ago, the Wu Zang Taoist Temple was so poor that it was a dilapidated and old Taoist temple. There was only a Sanqing Hall in the small Taoist temple, which was deserted and had no name in the city.

In just two years, the Wu Zang Taoist Temple has undergone earth-shaking changes. The Sanqing Hall, the Liuding Liujia Martial Hall, the Five Thunder Emperor Hall, and the Gongde Hall have been built and expanded continuously. Each temple has the incense of believers burning. , the door and courtyard are lively.

In the past year, the reputation of the Five Zang Taoist Temple among the people of Fucheng has skyrocketed. The He family, the Xue family, and the Jia family, the three major medicinal merchants in Fucheng, come to the Five Zang Taoist Temple every day to offer incense. When asked why, the answer is: Make a wish. Even other prominent local families came to Wuzang Taoist Temple to offer incense. When asked why, they were told that there were reclusive masters in Wuzang Taoist Temple who lived in seclusion in the city and did not pursue fame or fortune. Even later, the people of Fucheng were even more shocked to discover that even the governor of the government office and the general in charge of the military would bring local officials, nobles, and military officers to worship at the Wu Zang Taoist Temple on important days. When asked why, the answer was: This is what Fucheng owes to the Five Zang Taoist Temple.

In Fucheng, there are temples such as Bailong Temple and Taoist temples such as Wu Zang Taoist Temple. They have become the two major incense places in Wuzhou Prefecture, and Taoist and Buddhist incense are unprecedentedly popular.

It’s just that people have always wondered why the Five Zang Taoist Temple, which has a prosperous incense and has an official background, a military background, and a noble background, does not even have a Taoist priest? Throughout the year, only a couple surnamed Huang cleans the Taoist temple day after day. When asked why, the answer is that the world is so big that only the Five Zang Taoist Temple is the place to stay, and Taoist Master Jin'an is the real Taoist master.

Until this day, a Taoist priest wearing a five-color Taoist robe came to the Wu Zang Taoist Temple...