Yue Lingfeng took the portraits with trembling hands and looked at them carefully one by one.
Xiao Yihan stared at Yue Lingfeng's facial expression with sharp eyes. He saw that Yue Lingfeng's expression became obviously strange when he saw the two portraits of Taoist priests.
He pointed to a portrait of a Taoist priest and said, "This is my master, Taoist Qingyun. I don't recognize the other three portraits."
Xiao Yihan asked his subordinates to bring the portrait of Taoist Qingyun. He glanced at the portrait and found that the portrait Yue Lingfeng brought was the portrait of the old man disguised as a Taoist priest.
He calmly pointed to another portrait and said, "Yue Lingfeng, take a closer look at the other three portraits, especially the portrait of the other Taoist priest. See if you recognize him."
Yue Lingfeng looked at Xiao Yihan in confusion, then picked up the other three portraits and examined them carefully.
He read it over and over again, and finally shook his head and said, "Captain Xiao, I really don't know this Taoist priest, and I have never seen this woman or old man before."
Xiao Yihan felt a little surprised. He could tell from Yue Lingfeng's expression that he didn't seem to be lying.
He pressed on, "Yue Lingfeng, isn't this Taoist priest the same Taoist priest Qingxu who taught you the art of disguise?"
Hearing this question, a hint of surprise and confusion flashed in Yue Lingfeng's eyes.
He put down the portrait in his hand and looked up at Xiao Yihan, "Master Qingxu? How could this be Master Qingxu! We have lived together for so many years, how could he not recognize him!"
Xiao Yihan and Qi Yue were both a little surprised to hear this answer. They had originally thought that the old man who could disguise himself was Taoist Qingxu.
Now it seems that things are not as simple as they imagined. Every word Yue Lingfeng said seemed very sincere, without a trace of lies, and he had no need to lie.
Xiao Yihan carefully observed the portrait again. He began to wonder who this Taoist priest was and why he had disguised himself as Taoist Qingyun.
He had a hunch that this Taoist must know Taoist Master Qingyun. Perhaps they were old acquaintances, or had some special connection.
This Taoist priest may have disguised himself as Taoist Qingyun for some reason, and Yue Lingfeng may not know the truth.
In order to find out the truth of the matter, Xiao Yihan decided to go to Yuxu Temple to meet Taoist Qingyun in person.
He wanted to know the Taoist's true identity and purpose, as well as his relationship with Taoist Master Qingyun.
Xiao Yihan, Qi Yue and Zeng Xuyang changed into casual clothes and walked towards Yuxu Temple with a few subordinates.
Yuxu Temple is located on Fenghuang Mountain in Beijing. It is a Taoist temple with a long history. However, due to the destruction caused by the movement, it has now become dilapidated.
Xiao Yihan and others arrived at the gate of Yuxu Temple. The originally simple and elegant gate and courtyard had disappeared, replaced by a dilapidated wooden door and deserted courtyard.
The wooden door of Yuxu Temple was closed. They knocked on the door and a Taoist priest with white hair and beard opened the door. Xiao Yihan recognized that this was the Taoist priest Qingyun in the portrait.
Taoist Master Qingyun led everyone into the temple. Some buildings in the main hall vaguely showed the scene of prosperity in the past.
Everyone looked around and saw that the hall was filled with shabby altars and statues of gods, and some faded Taoist instruments were hung on the walls.
Taoist Qingyun led everyone to the reception room. Although the reception room was dilapidated, it was still cleaned spotlessly.
The Taoist priest made a few cups of hot tea for everyone and asked, "Comrades, what can I do for you?"
Xiao Yihan smiled and said, "Master, I heard that your temple has a Master Qingxu. Could you introduce him to us?"
Taoist Qingyun sighed, "Qingxu has already left the mountain. After the movement began, many Taoists returned home.
I am 80 years old this year. I grew up in the Taoist temple. The temple is my home. Even if I go down the mountain, I have no place to stay. So, I have been guarding the temple alone.
Xiao Yihan took out the portrait of the Taoist priest and said, "Master, I brought a portrait today. I would like you to take a look and see if you recognize the person in the portrait."
Taoist Qingyun took the portrait and took a look at it with a surprised look on his face. "Young comrade, can you tell me who painted this portrait?"
Xiao Yihan smiled and said, "This portrait was painted by my friend. From the Taoist's tone, it seems that he knows the person in the portrait."
Taoist Priest Qingyun nodded slightly, his eyes as sharp as a torch, looking at the young people in front of him, and said in a loud voice: "Although I am old, my heart is still young, and I can still see clearly the good and evil in the world.
Seeing the clear eyes and upright spirit of several of you comrades, I know that you are all people with justice in your hearts.
Now that you have found this place, I will tell you everything I know.
The person in this portrait is Taoist Qingxu, or more precisely, Taoist Qingxu before he changed his appearance."
"Why does Taoist Qingxu want to change his appearance?" Qi Yue asked curiously.
Taoist Qingyun sighed, his eyes becoming somewhat distant. "That was many years ago. I remember it was in March of 1949, when I was traveling around with my apprentice.
Near Yuejiazhai in Daqingshan, Bei Province, we met a middle-aged man with a leg injury. He said his name was Liang Dashan and he was a wandering artist. He and his family of three made a living by performing.
While he was performing in the town, bandits from Yuejiazhai took a fancy to his wife and daughter and wanted to take them away. He knelt down and begged desperately, but the bandits were completely inhumane and beat him up.
He fainted from the pain, and when he woke up, he found that his wife and daughter were missing.
Because he was good at disguise, he disguised himself as a bandit and went to Yuejiazhai to look for his wife and daughter.
But when he arrived at Yuejiazhai, he found that his wife and daughter had committed suicide by jumping off a cliff because they could not bear the humiliation.
He killed the bandit in anger, but was injured in his left leg by the bandit while escaping. He relied on brute force to escape here with his injured leg.
I felt he was a pitiful man, so I took him to the Qingyun Temple in Daqing Mountain and cured his injured leg.
Taoist Priest Qingyun paused, looking into the distance, "He said that he no longer has any relatives in this world and has seen through the mundane world, and he hopes that I can let him stay in the Taoist temple.
After so many days of contact, I had actually noticed that his facial expression was stiff and that face was not his true appearance.
I hesitated for a moment, then refused him, "Dashan, I don't want to take in someone who doesn't dare to show his true face."
Liang Dashan's body shook at that moment. He was silent for a moment, finally made up his mind, and slowly took off the mask on his face.
He begged bitterly: "Master, I have no choice. I killed the son of the leader of Yuejia Village. I am afraid that he will recognize me and seek revenge on me, so I can only disguise myself as this unfamiliar face.
I didn't mean to hide it from you, please accept me!
The face beneath his mask is the same face in the portrait, a face filled with violence, murder, and gloom."
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