The old master had never thought that the question raised by the child in front of him would be so big. He was slightly startled, then smiled gently, stretched out his hand, found a place to sit in the book next to him, pulled the child to sit next to him, then smiled and stretched out his finger, pointed at the child's heart, and said gently: "The truth is right here."

The child lowered his head and looked at his chest, puzzled, and asked, "Is it here?"

"Um."

Confucius smiled gently and nodded. The child was puzzled, and Confucius waited for him to think about it. He was always like this. Different disciples had different qualifications, different personalities, and different strengths. So when the disciples asked him the same question, they would always get different answers.

At this moment, the old teacher gave the most suitable direction for the child.

This is not the true explanation of the avenue, but it is the direction that best fits the child in front of him. If he continues to move forward in this direction, he can find his own answer. Of course, at this moment, he is just full of doubts in his heart, and then naturally asks: "Why is it here?"

It is to inspire their minds and open their wisdom, and then they can be taught.

When the child was puzzled by the answer, the Master's teaching had already begun. He continued to explain the lesson in a calm and simple tone, following the child's natural curiosity.

…

"It is said that a thousand years ago, the world was divided and the nine states were at odds. Although they were all human, they were fighting each other. They fought against each other constantly and settled blood feuds. The people lived in misery and were laughed at by other races. At that time, the heaven was not at peace, the Lord of All Spirits was still young, and all spirits were called monsters."

"The Demon King Taixiao has great ambitions. He wants to refine the people of the world and use them as the foundation of his own path..."

Above the restaurant, an old man in a long gown sat in the middle, holding a gavel in his hand, talking about what happened in the past. These were some of the most popular legends passed down in the world today, and he spoke vividly and eloquently.

The mighty King was invincible in military force; Emperor Taizong was benevolent and investigated injustice; Confucius founded hundreds of schools of thought and passed on the orthodox doctrine. People in this world have been familiar with these stories since childhood. Even when they are old, they think that these stories are exaggerated, but they are still very interested in them. When passing by, they will be willing to stop and listen to a while.

I have heard it so many times that I am familiar with the story and can continue telling the story from any part.

But I never get tired of listening to it.

It is the safest subject in this restaurant and teahouse, a business that is sure to make money.

Especially around the New Year, every restaurant and teahouse would put in a lot of effort to tell this story well.

The restaurant owner was leaning against the doorpost with his arms crossed, also listening intently.

When people heard the old man talk about the Master coming out of seclusion and resisting the Buddhas in the west, they all cheered and said good. However, when he later told about the Master riding a green ox, with purple air coming from the east for 30,000 miles, and ascending to the sky step by step, although people still listened with gusto, they couldn't help feeling that it was like listening to a myth.

He caught a glimpse of a young man in a black robe, with a simple demeanor but a handsome face, sitting by the window on the second floor, humming a cup of wine. There seemed to be not much wine left in the jug. There were not many side dishes on the table, just a plate of peanuts and a plate of vegetarian dishes.

Since he was the owner of a restaurant, he naturally saw people coming and going, and his eyes were very sharp. He could tell that the young man had a different temperament, so he cut a small plate of beef, picked up a small pot of wine, walked upstairs, and delivered it to him personally.

The young man raised his eyes slightly, and the restaurant owner said cheerfully: "Sir, you are drinking alone, and you are a stranger. This is your first time in our restaurant, so you must enjoy the food. Here is a plate of beef, please try it. If you like it, you can come back next time."

"Sir, is this your first time in our capital?"

Is this your first time here?

The young man smiled and shook his head, saying, "No, I lived here for a while."

The shop owner was a little embarrassed, and then pointed to the dishes he had placed on the table and said, "Then you should try our signature dish. It's a time-honored brand in Beijing!"

"It has a history of seven hundred years."

"It was improved from an old beef in the capital seven hundred years ago."

The young man didn't seem to be a stickler for words. He just smiled and nodded, then drank alone and watched the storyteller. The shopkeeper simply sat down beside him and listened to a passage. He couldn't help but sighed, "This old man Song was okay when he talked about the various schools of thought and the story of King Weiwu, but when he mentioned the Master, he was a little exaggerated."

The black-robed young man asked, "What do you mean?"

The shopkeeper was also a good talker. After hearing the customer's words, he smiled and replied, "Sir, you don't know. Don't just look at Old Song, who is telling stories in this restaurant wearing only shabby clothes. He is one of the authentic descendants of various schools of thought and has mastered the Miscellaneous School."

"He talked about the mighty king's army and the great and mighty Emperor Taizu. These are all historical records and cannot be exaggerated. However, when the descendants of the various philosophers mentioned the Master under the nine tablets, they always praised him with such flattering words as "purple air came from the east for 30,000 miles", "he resisted the Buddhist sect for 17 days in the west" and "he fought against the gods in battle". These are already legends."

The shopkeeper shook his head.

The young man with a jade crown and a clean black robe held a cup of tea, drank a little, and said, "That's right."

"You've exaggerated the achievements of that master back then."

The shopkeeper smiled and nodded when he heard this, and continued to chat. However, the storyteller, Old Man Song, seemed to be indignant. When he stopped, he went upstairs and said, "You say I am flattering you, but these things were recorded for our ancestors. Can you tell a lie?"

"Tsk, if it was Confucius who said that, then I definitely wouldn't say anything, but even Confucius only said to respect ghosts and gods and keep them at a distance..."

The two men started arguing, but they didn't know when the young man in black robe had disappeared. They turned around and saw that the man had left, leaving silver and money on the table. The store owner felt a little sorry and muttered, "It's all your fault. I argued with you so much and neglected the customers."

"Arguing with me? Aren't you the one who wants to argue?"

Old Song glared and said, "Didn't your ancestors also listen to lectures from the Master? Simon!"

The shopkeeper with the surname Ximen said:

"But Ximen Dachong Xuanzu never said that we should blindly believe in and follow that master!"

"You you you!"

The two men started arguing again. The descendants of various philosophers and diners around them did not know that the person who had just sat by the window was the protagonist of the story. The man in black robe walked down the restaurant and heard a familiar name behind him. Looking at the street next to him, a thousand years had passed. The whole world had changed tremendously with each passing day, but the area near the Nine Monuments had not changed much.

Qi Wuhuo walked to a place not far from the Nine Monuments. The area around here was full of plum blossoms. In the dead of winter, the plum blossoms were in full bloom for dozens of miles, which was a magnificent sight. He stood in the plum blossom forest admiring the scenery, but suddenly heard someone say, "Grandma, this plum blossom forest is absolutely beautiful, it seems to be a thousand years old. No wonder you come here every year over the years."

The Taoist in black robe did not say anything. Not far away, a white-haired woman was quietly looking at the nine steles. There were plum blossoms like a forest, her white hair was like frost and snow, she was dressed in black clothes, and her hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin. Her eyes were soft and bright, as if she had quietly seen through everything, and was just looking at the plum blossoms peacefully.

A veil covered the face.

At this moment, she didn't seem to notice the black-robed man next to her. She just quietly admired the scenery. Qi Wuhuo didn't say anything. He also looked at the thousand-year-old plum blossom forest peacefully. Over the years, the plum blossoms bloomed and fell, fell and bloomed again. The white-haired woman looked at it for a long time, then retracted her gaze and said gently, "Let's go."

Li Xuanzuo was surprised, but he didn't know why his ancestor wanted to leave after enjoying the flowers for such a short time today.

After he reported everything to the Jinzhou Academy, he quickly rushed back to the capital because of this matter.

In the past, she always came here to enjoy the scenery and flowers for a few days. When she left, Li Xuanzuo glanced at the man in black robe over there and retracted his gaze. At this time, the child came out of the storage room and was brought here by the old teacher. He finally found Qi Wuhuo and said, "Senior, I'm back."

Qi Wuhuo looked at the child and asked gently, "How is it? Did you gain anything?"

The child nodded, then hesitated and asked, "Senior, aren't you going to see the Master?"

The black-robed emperor reached out and touched the child's hair, then smiled and said, "I have seen him."

The child doesn't understand.

Qiu looked at the emperor and the child at the nine monuments, smiled slightly, turned around and walked back to where he was originally sitting.

I have seen it.

The Master asked the child to come and ask him questions, so that the child could see him and also so that he could see the child.

So he knew that his path was not alone, and that there were still successors to his legacy. This kind of fire passed down from generation to generation made him happier and more relieved than anything else. This was the true meeting. Qi Wuhuo turned around and looked at the direction where Qiu was. He seemed to see Qiu bowing deeply towards him, nodding slightly, and pulling the child forward, he asked softly:

"Tell me, what have you learned?"

The child's voice was still soft, and he spoke out all his thoughts and insights one by one. The Taoist pulled him, and they walked farther and farther away in the crowd. The world of mortals remained the same as before. Outside the capital, there was the largest famous mountain, named Dingyan Peak, with a Taoist temple on the mountain. Li Xuanzuo sent the ancestor back to this mountain. The white-haired woman put her hands in front of her, and watched the world of mortals rolling on the mountain, and watched the Taoist in black robe pulling the child away step by step.

There is no obsession in his eyes, only peace and calmness.

She looked at the world under her feet, turned around, her white hair slightly fluttering, and her voice was gentle and low.

As he walked step by step, the clouds rolled away from the sides of his sleeves, as if it was a thousand years.

"The flowers that fall this year will be better next year, but when you see the flowers bloom you grow old."

"My hair is as white as snow all year round."

"Rao Jun is young and energetic."

The child pulled the black-robed emperor, seemed to sense something, raised his eyes and asked: "Senior?"

The black-robed emperor looked gentle and calm, and said, "Nothing."

He touched the child's head:

"It's just a farewell to an old friend."