"Thank you... um... Taoist priest." The young man took the book back, but was momentarily stumped by the question of address. "It's just for show on the train, I don't think much of it."
"Very modest." The old Taoist priest became more interested in talking after hearing the answer. "Where are you from, young man? How old are you? Why are you interested in coming to our Laozi Temple?"
"Local, 21." The young man said casually, his Mandarin gradually taking on a Huaixi local accent. "I just graduated from college and started working, so I came home to do some work. My train leaves in the evening, and I know it's quiet here, so I just came here to spend some time."
"Twenty-one is great!" the old Taoist priest sighed. "Young! You don't know, our Woyang is the hometown of Laozi, and the Laozi Temple has a long history. Unfortunately, few locals come here, and even fewer young people come here. It's rare that you..."
Before he finished speaking, the young man couldn't help laughing: "Master, I'm a local. You are just fooling outsiders with this. Why are you fooling me? Everyone knows that my hometown is Luyi next door. Is ours fake?"
The old Taoist priest became even more embarrassed upon hearing this, and his face even turned red, but he just waved his hands and said nothing.
The young man was probably bored, and did not let the other party go. Instead, he asked: "What do you mean, Taoist priest? Ours is real, and the one in Luyi is fake? The Laozi Temple over there dates from the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty and then to the Song Dynasty. There are layers upon layers, and cultural relics and historical sites emerge one after another. The iron pillars in front of the door have a history of a thousand years..."
"I didn't say Luyi was fake." The old Taoist priest replied awkwardly while holding a big broom. "But our Woyang may not be fake... The two places are so close. In ancient times, Luyi has always belonged to Bozhou, and Woyang is a newly built county that has only been around for a hundred years. Why should we distinguish them so clearly?"
The young man suddenly realized and smiled again: "That makes sense. We are all next to the Wo River. Maybe we were a family when I was alive."
"That's right!" The old Taoist finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Things like true and false are meaningless in history. When we say Laozi's hometown, we mean the birthplace of Li Er. Luyi can be a place of worship for generations. They are both true, so why say one is false?"
The young man nodded perfunctorily, but he was disdainful in his heart... To put it bluntly, no one cares where I was born, and the dispute over Laozi's hometown is clearly a dispute over tourism resources and local cultural confidence. Even if the old Taoist priest's argument is somewhat reasonable, the two local governments will definitely not recognize it! The Luyi government, which holds a large number of genuine cultural relics and historical sites, will not recognize it even more!
Moreover, this Taoist priest is not a proper Taoist priest. He is probably just a cosplay cleaner, and a lazy cleaner at that... What else? A Taoist priest who always calls himself "Laozi" and "Li Er" without any respect? And then he is carrying a broom in the garden on a windy day, pretending to be serious. Who is he trying to fool?
However, the old Taoist priest seemed to have seen through the young man's perfunctory attitude, and he continued to chatter: "Young man, don't disbelieve me... We in Woyang also have real cultural relics and historical sites. The Nine Dragon Well in Meteor Garden is an ancient artifact from the Spring and Autumn Period verified by experts. There is only one well. If you don't believe me, go and take a look."
The young man shook his head repeatedly, and simply stood up and picked up his backpack to leave... As a local, what does he know? The so-called Nine Dragon Well, there is also one in Luyi, but to be honest, let alone the one in Woyang, even if it is the one in Luyi, who knows if it has any connection with Daozu?
"Young man, wait a moment!" Seeing this, the old Taoist became even more anxious, and simply stood up and told the truth while leaning on the broom. "A dog fell into the Jiulong Well over there, and its legs were injured. We can't reach it with a broom. The well is supposed to be wide, only one person deep, but we are too old to get out after going in, so we need to trouble the young man for help."
The young man was speechless for a moment: "Master, why didn't you say so earlier?"
"Isn't it because I'm afraid you won't agree?" The old Taoist priest also felt embarrassed, but he just held the broom and led the way. "Young people are not easy to talk to nowadays. Besides, I don't want to take care of this dog, but its family is familiar with us and often invites us to dinner. Now that his family is not here, I feel embarrassed to leave their dog at the bottom of the well and do nothing about it..."
In the midst of the chattering, the two of them, one in front and one behind, headed towards the ancient site of the Spring and Autumn Period, the so-called Nine Dragon Well in Meteor Garden. When they arrived at the place, they saw a well-protected ancient well, a pavilion on top, and a plaque with the title of the No. 1 Pavilion in the World... But the old Taoist led the young man to the secondary well on the side.
It is called a secondary well, but it is just one of the eight new wells that were forcibly built to complete the story of the Nine Dragon Wells when Laozi was born. It is not a historical site, but simply made of cement with a cement bottom, two meters square and less than two meters deep... Rather than a well, it is more like a wide-mouthed cement pit.
The young man followed the Taoist priest to one of the wells. He stuck his head out and saw a little pug lying motionless at the bottom of the well, which was more than one person deep. It only kicked its legs occasionally to show that it was still alive. Around the puppy there were a pile of coins, copper coins and other objects of blessing.
Seeing this, the young man just frowned slightly and was about to put down his backpack and jump down. However, when he supported the edge of the well with both hands, he didn't know why he always felt unwilling to help with this small favor, as if someone would die if he went down the well this time.
Seeing that the young man was so ignorant, the old Taoist sighed, but suddenly his eyes turned angry:
"You don't want to save him, you don't want to leave, are you trying to fool everyone in the world?!"
"How can a mere dog be involved with the whole world?" The young man frowned instantly.
"No matter what, since you have promised me, you should be honest, right?" The old Taoist shouted vigorously, leaning on his broom. "Young man, you are hesitant and don't have integrity. How will you enter the society in the future?!"
The young man was just about to say that he had found a job and was a member of society, but the old Taoist suddenly raised the broom, pushed hard, and easily pushed the young man into the well.
3
After the young man fell into the well, the old Taoist quickly grabbed the edge of the well with both hands and looked inside. However, there was no trace of the young man in the well, and even the dog was gone. Only the young man's backpack was lying quietly at the bottom of the well.
The old Taoist stared at the backpack in a daze, tears suddenly welled up in his eyes. He kowtowed to the Nine Dragon Well and said, "Please forgive me, I deserve to be executed. The Song Dynasty can do without its old ministers, but it cannot do without the emperor..."
A few days later, the old Taoist priest, carrying the young man's backpack, stood in front of the Nine Dragon Well again and bowed down: "Your Majesty, the Song Dynasty is handed over to you... Your parents, your old ministers will serve them..."
After saying this, the old Taoist kowtowed several times towards the Nine Dragon Well, then stood up and walked down the mountain...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
