Chapter 90 Li Yanming

Li Daoxuan returned home in the rain. Mrs. Li saw that he was in a mess and blamed him for not knowing how to take care of himself.

Li Daoxuan didn't say anything, but just let Mrs. Li wipe the rain off his head. His mouth was tightly pursed, and there were some difficult to express thoughts in his heart.

After all, what happened to the Zhang family had such a huge impact on him that it took him a long time to recover.

Li Daoxuan couldn't be blamed for this. After all, he had never seen such a scene in his past life. In his past life, he had only seen it a few times in movies and TV shows, but when he faced it in reality, even though he felt that he was strong inside, it was still difficult for him to accept such an ending.

Is it wrong for the yellow fox to seek revenge? If we look at it from a human perspective, it is also a matter of taking revenge.

But was the young master of the Zhang family wrong? He was just making soup for Zhang out of filial piety.

Is Granny Zhang wrong? Her husband died early and she herself has a heart disease. As a mother, she wants to find a way to survive, even if she has to live a miserable life, and continue to take care of her son who has not yet started a family.

Perhaps if the yellow fox had not gotten on the car at the gate of Da Baoen Temple that day, and if the young master of the Zhang family had not believed the local rumors, the tragedy today would not have happened.

But, how could there be so many maybes?
Feeling depressed, Li Daoxuan drew a talisman to calm his mind, and when three yin-yang fish jumped into his eyes, he went to bed and fell asleep. In the illusion, he found Uncle Jiu and told him what he had experienced today.

After hearing this, Uncle Jiu was silent for a long time and comforted Li Daoxuan.

"There are few people in this world who can really judge right from wrong. The Zhang family kid is easily deceived by rumors. Even if he doesn't survive this time, there will be consequences next time. Zhang's mother's heart disease should be a terminal illness that cannot be cured under normal circumstances. She was not supposed to live long. This time it seems like you have saved her, but in fact, each of them has their own fate. Although you failed to save Zhang's mother, you did your best. After all, not everything in the world goes as planned. You must always accept frustration and joy and sorrow, and don't let these distracting thoughts bother you."

"I understand, Uncle Jiu." After being enlightened by Uncle Jiu, Li Daoxuan felt much better.

Maybe just like Uncle Jiu said, he has tried his best and the result is God's will.

Uncle Jiu knew that he was not in a good mood today, so he asked him to chant scriptures and meditate.

Knock the wooden fish and recite the "Classic of Purity and Tranquility".

Speaking of the wooden fish, Li Daoxuan once thought it was exclusive to Buddhism. Later he realized that Taoists also beat the wooden fish. Not only Taoists can do it, but the wooden fish even originated from Taoism.

The wooden fish originated in the Tang Dynasty and was recorded in "Chongdao Ji". It was originally in the shape of a long dragon head and fish body, which was called "Ao Yu". It was made of wood and hung in the corridor. It was a Taoist ritual instrument used to summon believers to preach and set up fasts. Later, it gradually evolved into the round hollow style that can be seen today. It is used in Taoist fasting rituals or practicing and chanting scriptures to refresh the mind and concentrate, eliminate distracting thoughts, guide everyone to be united, and pray for wisdom and clarity.

It was not until the Ming Dynasty that the wooden fish was widely used in Zen Buddhism.

A few days passed like this, and Li Daoxuan stayed in the house without taking care of the trivial matters at home. He just practiced Taoism, drew talismans, and practiced martial arts, preparing to return to the mountain after the Lantern Festival.

Someone was sent here to inquire about the Zhang family's situation, and the servants said that the Zhang family's house had been sold.

As for where the young master of the Zhang family went, none of the neighbors knew.

"It is said that the old woman of the Zhang family died, and her daughter-in-law also died. The young master of the Zhang family hurriedly took care of the funeral and then left Jinling."

After the servant finished speaking, Li Daoxuan understood some of the situation. He gave him a few coins for running errands and wrote a correct word on the paper.

Li Daoxuan looked at the clear sky outside and couldn't help but be mesmerized.

Outside Jinling, a man stood by the river.

He held two porcelain bottles in his arms, his eyes were emotionless, his mouth was dry and cracked, and his withered face showed no sadness or joy.

This man was none other than the young master of the Zhang family, but now he no longer had the happy expression he had in the past.

He was dressed in white and looked exhausted.

He looked down at the two porcelain bottles in his arms, placed one of them carefully on the ground, opened the other one, threw it hard into the river, then picked up the porcelain bottle on the ground and walked away slowly.

He walked while mumbling something, as if he had lost his soul and was floating in the world.

The young master of the Zhang family went away, and the river gurgled.

A round bead the size of a fingernail rolled out of the porcelain bottle that fell to the bottom of the water and was soon swallowed by a passing fish.

A human face appeared on the fish's face, lurking under the water with a half-smile on his face. It swam down the river towards the distant Lijia Village.

……

After the New Year in Lijia Village, each family returned to their peaceful daily life.

In the village, there is an old farmer. The old farmer has four sons. The villagers call them Li Lao Da, Lao Er, Lao San, and Lao Si. Each of them is capable and promising.

The old farmer's family was related to the philanthropic businessman Mr. Li, so they had some status in Li Village. Mother Li, who gave cow's tears to Li Daoxuan that day, was the daughter-in-law of Mr. Li.

After Mother Li and the old lady finished cooking, they invited the whole family to eat.

A young boy tiptoed to the table, picked up the bowl and ordered food. He then sat at the door and ate alone, licking all the rice in the bowl clean.

He was the third child of the Li family, named Li Yanming. This name was asked by old man Li from the master of the Li family, who said it sounded nice and auspicious. So Li Yanming was considered a favored child in the family.

Li Yanming finished his meal and looked at the dining table when he put down his bowl. He found that his uncle was not at home, so he pulled Li Laosan's sleeve and quietly asked where his uncle had gone.

Li Laosan told him that Li Laoda had gone to the market to buy supplies for the Lantern Festival. Li Yanming then found a shady corner to sit down and digest his food, mumbling to himself.

After the adults finished eating, everyone in the family went about their business, and the lively front hall became quiet.

Li Laosan walked to the chicken coop and caught a fat rooster from it.

Sharpening the knife, preparing to slaughter and pluck the chicken.

Li Yanming looked at Li Laosan, somewhat curious about what his father was going to do. There were no relatives coming to the house, and it was not the Lantern Festival yet, so why would he kill a chicken for no reason?

"Dad, is there something important happening at home?" Li Yanming squatted in front of Li Laosan and poked the rooster. Then he raised his head and asked Li Laosan curiously with blinking eyes.

"No big deal."

"Then why do you kill chickens, Dad?"

"This is for the scholar." Li Laosan wiped the rooster's neck neatly and dripped a few drops of chicken blood into the bowl. When the chicken stopped moving, he threw it into the hot water to soak. "The scholar's wife likes to eat roosters these days, so she asked for some roosters in the village. We have a lot of chickens at home, so we ask for a lot."

While talking to Li Yanming, the rooster in Li Laosan's hand was plucked of all its feathers. After cleaning the internal organs, he was ready to go out with the rooster in his hand.

"Yanming, do you want to go to Mr. Li's house with your father?" Li Laosan asked Li Yanming.

Li Yanming naturally wanted more than anything, and went out with Li Laosan excitedly.

Li Xiucai's home is in the south of the village, surrounded by mountains and rivers, which is also a good place.

Compared with the mud-walled wooden house of Old Li's family, the white walls and black tiles of Li Xiucai's house are obviously much more luxurious.

After all, in the Qing Dynasty, the status of scholars was very high.

Passing the exam means you are in a higher social class, and you don't have to pay land taxes or perform corvée labor. Compared to the peasants who forage for food in the fields, you are much better off.

After knocking on the door, an old woman opened it. It was Li Xiucai's mother, Jiang.

Behind Jiang stood a woman with a big belly, her figure hidden in the shadows.

Li Yanming looked at her curiously and felt a chill. In the shadows, he seemed to hear a fox cry. So he hid behind Li Laosan and dared not show his head.

Listening to the conversation between Li Laosan and Jiang, Li Yanming realized that it was Li Xiucai's wife who was pregnant and insisted on eating roosters these days.

After handing the plucked rooster to the old woman, Li Laosan did not stay for long. He looked at Li Yanming who was pulling at his trouser legs, pointed at Li Xiucai's house and said with a smile: "Brother Wen should be in the house, why don't you go and play with him?"

Wen Ge'er is the youngest son of Jiang and the younger brother of Li Xiucai. He is handsome and many people in the village like to play with him because he is always clean. Li Yanming and Wen Ge'er have a good relationship and often play together.

"..." Hearing this, Li Yanming couldn't help but glare at Li Laosan. Feeling the woman's gaze, he couldn't help but say timidly, "Brother Wen is probably studying. How can I disturb him?"

"Dad, let's go back quickly."

Li Laosan was very happy to hear this, thinking that his son envied others for studying. He picked him up, rubbed his forehead and said, "After a few years, Daddy will talk to Grandpa and send you to school. By then, you will be a scholar like Wen Ge'er."

Li Yanming pursed his lips when he heard this, knowing that his own father liked to brag. Old Li had many children and grandchildren. If they could all go to school, I'm afraid that even if the grandfather dug mud in the fields, he might not be able to support them. He was born late, so whether he could still do that was another matter.

However, he did not expose his father's trick. He just felt anxious when thinking about the unreal fox cry.

This was the first time he had encountered such a strange thing. Thinking about the supernatural things his grandfather had told him about, Li Yanming felt that this woman might be the supernatural thing.

(End of this chapter)