Chapter 338 The White-haired Lantern Keeper
“When will the mountains turn to sea, the earth produce rain, the snow turn to gold, and the desert Hanlin become like the Milky Way?”
Below the three big characters "Yu Shen Xing", there is a line of small characters engraved.
The five people looked at each other.
Bu Yan said firmly, "This means we must answer the question correctly before we are allowed to enter. I've read in storybooks that hermits and sages are like this, living in dangerous and sacred places, and only those who answer the questions correctly can enter."
So childish...
But it is in line with Bu Yan's obsession with storytelling.
Ye Yan pondered, "What this question means is, when will the mountains turn into seas, when will the earth produce rain instead of the sky, when will the snow turn into gold and never melt, and when will the desert turn into a forest? How is this possible? It can only be realized in dreams, right?"
After saying that, Ye Yan pushed the door again, not believing it, but the door remained motionless.
Huo Gannian pondered for a moment:
"When the mountains collapse and the earth cracks? When everything changes?"
As the strongest brain in the Lion Army, everyone agreed that this should be the answer.
Ye Yan quickly shouted at the door: "Mountains collapse and the earth cracks, and things change with each passing day!"
After the voice fell, the only response to Ye Yan was the whistling cold wind and the motionless ice-carved door.
In the slightly awkward silence, a hint of stiffness flashed across Huo Gannian's face.
Huo Luyu next to him said tentatively:
"Everything is upside down in the mirror. Could it be 'Mirror Flower, Water Moon'?"
Ye Yan shouted towards the door again, "Mirror Flower, Water Moon?"
As expected, the door still showed no sign of opening.
Everyone was a little discouraged and decided to be more direct and solve the problem with violence.
Ye Yan took the lead in shouting slogans, "Hey yo hey yo!" The five of them pushed hard and were having a great time when an unhappy voice sounded from behind them:
"What are you guys yelling about?!"
The five people quickly stopped and looked back.
An old man with disheveled hair appeared behind the crowd, obviously the owner of the temple.
It was freezing cold in Mount Paektu, but the old man was only wearing a single layer of clothes and straw sandals. His wrists and ankles were red from the cold, and he was pulling a large bundle of firewood behind him, as if he had just returned from chopping wood.
The five people and the old man stared at each other.
The old man looked obviously displeased, as if he was about to lose his temper.
Just as Huo Gan was thinking about how to smooth things over, Yun Chen noticed that the old man's thin clothes were blown into disarray by the wind, revealing his withered and shriveled chest, and his bony body was vaguely visible.
She instinctively felt distressed, so she took off her cloak and walked forward to put it on the old man.
This action was almost a split second thought, without any consideration at all.
When she met the old man's surprised eyes, she realized that she was being rude.
However, the old man stared at her for a long time, his eyes fixed on her masculine hair bun and military armor, unable to move away for a long time.
This was not the first time that she was stared at with eyes full of surprise and affection, which were clearly looking at her but not really looking at her. After a moment of thought, Yun Chen guessed that like Jiang Ming and Emperor Dong Yan, the person in front of her was probably an old acquaintance of the Empress.
She quickly took a step back, knelt on one knee and introduced herself:
"Junior Yun Chen, my master is Jiang Ming, and my family is from the Yun family of Youzhou."
"You don't look like the disciple taught by Jiang Ming. Not at all." The old man said with a smile, his expression softened a lot, making the atmosphere relaxed.
Although the others didn't know who the old man was, they all bowed and greeted him when they saw that he was an old friend of Master Yun Chen.
Ye Yan said embarrassedly, "Please forgive me, Senior. We are from the Lion Army and are traveling north over the snowy mountains. We passed by here and would like to use your precious place to rest for a while. We apologize for disturbing you."
"Yes, yes!" Bu Yan pointed to the stone tablet beside him and added:
"We've answered the questions above, but none of them are correct. The door won't open. It's so cold outside, we're freezing, so we have no choice but to push the door together. Old man, your door is too strong. No matter how hard we try, it won't open!"
The old man obviously didn't want to pay any attention to Ye Yan and Buyan. He looked at them as if they were fools, then walked to the ice sculpture door and gently pulled it, and the door opened.
The air suddenly froze.
After a long silence, several people followed the old man into the gate with red faces and lowered heads.
"This is the first time I've seen a door that opens outwards..." Ye Yan said in a low voice, his face as red as a monkey's butt.
Bu Yan awkwardly dug his toes into the ground, "So I don't have to answer any questions... Damn it... The guy who wrote the storybook is lying!"
This was the first time that the Huo siblings had ever experienced such an awkward situation, and they were too embarrassed to speak.
Yun Chen was fine. He helped the old man pull the firewood and walked side by side, looking around as he walked.
From the outside, this temple, which is neither Buddhist nor Taoist, doesn't look very big, but once you come in you'll discover a different world.
The temple seemed to be built on a natural cave. When you entered, you would see the lofty main hall. In the center stood a huge furnace, which was brightly lit but not scorching hot.
Behind the stove, there was a naturally formed stone platform on the wall, on which was placed a terrifying black and golden sword that looked to weigh a thousand pounds.
On both sides of the main hall are small stone chambers connected by passages. Some are filled with calligraphy and paintings, some are filled with fine silk clothes, and there is also a stone chamber full of potted rhinoceros hornbeams.
There was a stone chamber filled with countless gold, silver, and treasures, almost overflowing...
The whole place looked out of place and randomly mixed up, with a contradictory feeling of being both decadent and unrestrained, similar to the temperament of the old man.
The only thing that was the same was that there were lamps, candles, and torches everywhere, with three feet of candle wax and wood ash underneath, illuminating the surroundings as bright as day, as if they had never been extinguished.
The old man signaled Yun Chen to put down the firewood, and he added some more to the stove. He also replaced all the burnt candles and lit new ones.
Yun Chen was curious: "Senior, have you always lived here? Why don't you live somewhere more comfortable? It's so cold, why don't you wear those silk clothes?"
"Well, almost thirty years." This was the only answer the old man gave.
The five people were surprised. They couldn't imagine how a person could live in such a cold and desolate place for thirty years.
"Isolated from the world" sounds romantic, but only by living in it day by day can you experience the boundless loneliness and solitude.
However, the old man's next words shocked and impressed the five people even more:
"The light cannot be extinguished, and the firewood cannot be added."
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