This "strange person" is none other than Xu Milu, who has been walking in the mountains for almost two and a half days.
It's said that "seeing the mountain makes you feel like you're running yourself ragged," meaning that while the smoke from the chimneys in the mountains looks close, it actually takes a long time to walk there. Plus, Xu Milu wasn't familiar with the terrain, so it took her two days to arrive.
She could hear their conversation from a distance, but she pretended not to hear and made a respectful bow from afar.
"Ladies, I come from the south and have traveled a long way through the mountains. May I ask where this place is?"
Thanks to the almighty TV dramas, she can even cobble together a few ancient sayings.
Several women stopped what they were doing and looked at her with some suspicion.
Although she didn't look like a woman from Guannei Dao, her accent didn't sound like that of a foreigner.
Xu Milu has a youthful face, and with her intentional adjustments to her appearance, she looks like a harmless fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl.
A bold woman, seeing that she had a tender face and a clever and obedient appearance, mustered up her courage and struck up a conversation:
"Who are you, young lady? Why are you coming from the direction of Iron Ox Mountain? Judging from your clothes, you don't look like someone from a poor family like us. Could you be a young lady from a wealthy family who went hunting and got separated from your servants?"
Xu Milu couldn't immediately figure out what dynasty this was set in, but she felt that the accents of the group sounded somewhat familiar, so she pointed towards the mountain in the distance:
“I am not from a wealthy family. My family name is Xu. I used to live in the mountains with my master. It’s just that there is no rice in the mountains. My master asked me to take some wild animals to exchange for some rice to take back. Sisters, could you please do me a favor and let me have a drink of water?”
She patted her backpack and pulled out two wild pheasants that were tied up tightly. She saw the eyes of the women opposite her light up immediately.
"So they're a family that lives in seclusion on the mountain. I vaguely remember hearing that there used to be an old Taoist priest in Iron Ox Mountain, but... is he still alive? Oh my, he must have been a real old immortal!"
Sister Niu's eyes lit up, and she affectionately stepped forward and took Xu Milu's hand:
"How should I address you, young lady? What is your secular name? Since you're here, why don't you come to my home for a meal before you leave? Is there anything I shouldn't do?"
When Xu Milu came, she saw a dilapidated Taoist temple in the mountains. It was deep in the mountains and there were hardly any people around. The temple sign was eaten away by insects, indicating that no one had been there for a long time. That's when she made up a story about her background.
Regardless of the dynasty, the common people seem to have great awe for those who cultivate themselves. If she makes any common-sense mistakes, Xu Milu can make an excuse, saying that she doesn't know these things because she doesn't often go down the mountain.
Seeing that everyone believed her, Xu Milu breathed a slight sigh of relief and said with a smile:
"There are no dietary restrictions. Our sect cultivates the natural way of heaven, acting according to our hearts and nature. Now that we have met you, sister-in-law, it must be a preordained fate. How could we dare to be picky? You are kind-hearted, and your family must be blessed with good fortune."
Hearing her speak in such refined and elegant language, most of the group immediately believed her. Sister-in-law Niu was overjoyed, picked up the laundry tub, and led her home.
“You’ve come at the right time. A few days ago, my son Niu Da had someone bring back a lot of new rice. Take some with you. You look so pitiful, little one.”
...
...
Sister-in-law Niu's house is not far from the village entrance. It has a square mud wall, a fence at the door, a clean and tidy vegetable garden, and two children playing with a chubby little black dog. It is a place that makes people feel good at first glance.
"Mother!"
"Mother!"
Seeing their mother bring back a stranger, the two children were a little shy and hid behind Sister Niu, secretly peeking at her.
“What are you doing? This is Xu Xiaozhenren from Fuyun Temple on Iron Ox Mountain. Quickly go and call the young man to weigh out some new rice and give it to Xiaozhenren to take back.”
As soon as Sister-in-law Niu finished speaking, a young man of about twenty-three or twenty-four years old came out of the room in the corner. He was dressed in hemp clothes and hemp shoes, and looked quite strong.
"Sister-in-law, do we have guests at home?"
Sister-in-law Niu said happily:
"This is a young master from Fuyun Temple. His secular surname is Xu. He said he has no rice in the mountains and wants to exchange some to take back. I will start a fire and cook a meal. Please let the young master stay at my house for a meal. Young man, go to the chicken coop and get two eggs. Go to Shuisheng's house and exchange them for a fish. We will have fish for lunch."
After she finished speaking, she said to Xu Milu:
“This is my son, Niu Er. He’s quite strong and usually works as a porter at Huasheng Temple. He only had time to come home these past few days because Huasheng Temple is holding a Water and Land Dharma Assembly.”
Upon hearing that Xu Milu had come to exchange rice, Niu Er readily turned around and weighed out a large bag of rice.
"Young Master, this dou of rice costs four qian. Two pheasants can be sold in the market for seven qian. This is two dou of rice. Can you carry it?"
Niu Er put the bag of rice on the ground. Xu Milu did a quick calculation: one dou (a unit of dry measure) was twelve jin (a unit of weight), and two dou were twenty-four jin, which wasn't too heavy.
But the brief conversation was enough for her to glean some information.
Huasheng Temple, Water and Land Dharma Assembly, Chang'an.
Xu Milu suddenly realized, could it be that she had actually arrived in the Tang Dynasty?
While Sister-in-law Niu was cooking and Niu Er wasn't home, Xu Milu took out two candies from her pocket to tease the two children. The two boys were a little shy at first, but as soon as the candies entered their mouths, they started talking to her with smiles.
"Dagen, you are Xiaogen's older brother, so you must be more capable than Xiaogen. Let me test you. Do you know who the current sage is?"
Xu Milu asked the question with a smile. The older children pondered for a while before hesitatingly answering:
“We cannot directly call the emperor by his name, but my mother said we must avoid it and not eat ‘carp’. Now it is the 28th year of Zhenguan.”
The 28th year of the Zhenguan era?
Xu Milu's mind was in a state of confusion.
Niu Er, carrying a fish, happened to come in. Seeing Xu Milu's disheveled appearance, he assumed it was the two children playing pranks. After asking what was wrong, he laughed.
"Little Immortal, have you never left the mountain? Our Emperor has been on the throne for twenty-eight years, isn't that the twenty-eighth year of the Zhenguan era?"
Xu Milu certainly knew that Li Shimin's reign title was Zhenguan.
Zhenguan was the reign title of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin. However, the problem is that Li Shimin should have died in the twenty-third year of Zhenguan, and then his son Li Zhi succeeded him with the reign title Yonghui. So where did the twenty-eighth year of Zhenguan come from?
Was it given away as a free gift with a phone top-up?
Where exactly did she end up?
When Sister Niu saw Niu Er come in and talk to Xu Milu and the two children, she couldn't help but peek out:
"Little Master, have you ever been to the Water and Land Dharma Assembly at Huasheng Temple? I heard that the holy monk Xuanzang, who went on his pilgrimage to the West, also attends. He recites the Mahayana Buddhist teachings he obtained from the West to deliver the souls of the unjustly deceased. Even our sage has accepted him as his imperial brother!"
All the clues in Xu Milu's mind connected, forming a thin thread.
Journey to the West, Mahayana Buddhism, the Holy Monk Tang Sanzang, riding a horse, boom boom—
This is Journey to the West!!!
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