He Yingchun followed Zhang Yuan's line of sight, nodded slightly, and said in a firm tone:

"It's most likely this path. Let's go. All we have to do next is climb up the mountain."

Zhang Yuan also nodded without saying anything more, and then he and He Yingchun climbed up the stone steps to the top of the mountain.

Soon, the two reached the top of the mountain.

Standing on the top of Qingyun Temple, Zhang Yuan looked into the distance, gazing at the city in the distance. The well-arranged buildings and busy streets were in full view.

As the breeze blows on my face, a feeling of heroism surges in my heart, as if I am really looking down on all living beings.

However, even if you are at the top of the mountain in the scenic area, if you look back, you can see the rolling mountains, one higher than the other.

In fact, the mountain in the scenic area is not the highest peak among the mountains. There are several other mountains that are more majestic and steep than it.

Therefore, it is quite difficult to have a clear view of the scenery deep in the mountains from here, as the view will always be blocked by the mountains in front.

After Zhang Yuan and He Yingchun reached the top of the mountain, they quickly found a narrow path leading to the forest in the distance.

There are no prohibition signs on this path. If ordinary tourists are interested, they can follow the path into the forest to explore.

Seeing this, Zhang Yuan secretly admired Qingyun Temple and couldn't help but sigh:

As expected of a Taoist temple, it is open-minded and does not impose too many restrictions, allowing you to try, make mistakes, and even turn back.

He couldn't help but think of the Buddhist place. If it were Buddhism, the situation would probably be completely different.

If this path leads to some confidential place, there must be iron fences blocking it, or someone must be assigned to guard it, or there must be various obstacles set up.

The ultimate goal is to keep outsiders out and cut off the thought of entering.

However, Qingyun Temple is completely different. There are roads leading to all directions, so you can travel as you like. After enjoying the scenery in front, you can follow the trails to explore the wild scenery and feel the wonders of nature.

This kind of freedom and spontaneity made Zhang Yuan increasingly identify with the ideas contained in Taoism and the humanistic care it displayed.

The two walked along the path into the forest ahead. The trees in the forest were towering into the sky, more than 20 meters high, and each tree was straight and tall.

Zhang Yuan and He Yingchun walked along the path, looking up, they found that the blue sky and white clouds were completely obscured by the dense branches and leaves.

As far as the eye can see, there is only a little space in front, behind, left and right that is divided by branches and leaves.

If you continue walking along the path deeper into the forest, all you will see are dense, endless trees.

It was not until this moment that Zhang Yuan truly realized how exquisite and unique the nine-turn maze in Qingyun Temple was.

Before I experienced it myself, I felt that this formation was mysterious and unpredictable, leaving me puzzled.

Now that I am actually in it, I am surprised to find that the person who designed this formation is truly ingenious.

It is really not easy to skillfully combine the natural environment of heaven and earth to set up such a wonderful formation.

It was Zhang Yuan and He Yingchun's first time entering the forest. They did not deliberately explore anything, but just walked leisurely along the path.

But they didn't expect that after going around in a circle, they returned to the edge of the forest.

Zhang Yuan looked back. Behind him was the small hill of Qingyun Temple, and in front of him was the entrance to the forest.

For a moment, he was shocked and looked at He Yingchun in disbelief, saying:

"Aunt He, this is so interesting. We are actually back to the entrance of the forest.

But since we entered this forest, it feels like we have been moving in the same direction.

Although I turned several corners along the way, my intuition told me that I was not lost.

In the end, I came back here in such an unpredictable way. It’s magical. This forest is so magical!”

He Yingchun smiled and explained softly:

"I knew you would feel this way. Actually, there was a turn at that time, and my intuition was wrong. I should have gone in the opposite direction.

Then we both hesitated for a moment, and finally went in this direction, so we went the wrong way.

How about we go again?"

Zhang Yuan lowered his head and thought for a moment, then frowned slightly and said:

"If we go again, we will most likely come back, because this forest seems to allow us to make several wrong choices.

But even if you choose the right one or twice, you may not be able to get out of this nine-turn chain formation.

Besides, the forest is so big, why don't we just not take this path and walk along the wild path inside the forest?

Then turn on the compass on our phones, and I think we'll be able to get to the edge of the cliff pretty quickly."

Hearing this, He Yingchun stepped forward and hugged Zhang Yuan's neck affectionately, blinked her eyes, and said playfully:

"If that's the case, my dear husband, I have another idea. I wonder if you would like to adopt it?"

Zhang Yuan raised his lips and replied with a smile:

"Oh, since you have a good idea, then tell me quickly. I am the person who is most likely to accept other people's opinions."

He Yingchun blushed slightly, kissed Zhang Yuan on the cheek gently, and said coquettishly:

"That means you close your eyes and I take you to the edge of the cliff within three seconds. Is that faster?"

Zhang Yuan looked at He Yingchun's smiling face, and then saw that she was eager to try, as if she really wanted to hug him, and his heart moved.

Suddenly, he gave He Yingchun a princess hug and picked her up by the waist, then laughed and said:

"You still want to turn the tables? It's still early, let's go one more time.

If I let you take me to the edge of the cliff in an instant, what if you don't accompany me to go down Qingyun Temple again?

Then I can’t get out even if I want to. This forest is also a challenge for me.”

He Yingchun was surprised and delighted by Zhang Yuan's sudden princess hug. She couldn't help but smile and said:

"Okay, okay, then I'll listen to you, husband. I'll do whatever you tell me to do, isn't that okay?

I never thought that you, my stinky husband, are quite chauvinistic. "

Zhang Yuan waved his hands repeatedly and explained seriously:

"I don't call this male chauvinism, I call this having a zest for life."

He Yingchun smiled even more and nodded repeatedly:

"Yes, yes, yes, have fun with life. As long as you are happy, husband, whatever you want to express is fine."

Next, Zhang Yuan and He Yingchun stepped into the forest again.

This time, every time Zhang Yuan came to a turn, he would carefully memorize the direction of the path.

However, even though he was so attentive, after going around in circles a few times, the two of them finally returned to the starting point.

Zhang Yuan was immediately confused and said in disbelief:

"I think there must be some mysterious formation in this forest, otherwise,

Why would I end up back at the starting point if I didn’t follow the path? This is too mysterious, too magical!”

He Yingchun stood aside, just smiling and saying nothing.

It was not until Zhang Yuan was so curious that he scratched his head and asked for a long time that she spoke slowly:

"In fact, as long as you enter this forest, it is equivalent to entering this nine-curve chain formation.

No matter you follow the path or not, you will return to the starting point.

Because the growth position of each tree in this forest is carefully designed.

So even if you don't take the real path, there will still be other paths waiting for us.

There are roads between trees. You think there is only one road, but in fact there are roads everywhere in this forest.

If an ordinary person does not understand the I Ching and the Eight Trigrams, and does not understand Taoist metaphysics, even if he walks this path 100 times, he will still return to the starting point.

And my dear husband, you still didn't understand the mystery of Taoism when you walked the second time.

If you follow me, we can get out of this little maze easily and without any effort.

Now do you want to follow me?"