An Unlooked-For Meeting Stirs an Old Dream

After everyone left, a pale crescent moon hung in the sky, as clear as water.

On the back of Golden Ao Mountain, the guests had already left, and colorful flags fluttered in the wind or hung on the ground.

Su Yao sat in the pavilion, gazing at the county town on the south bank of Cibi Lake, leaning against the table.

Jueming was pouring him wine, while Nannuo was arranging and adding delicacies to the table for Su Yao to enjoy.

Suddenly, five-colored wisps of smoke appeared above the south bank, then quietly dissipated a moment later.

Su Yao smiled and said:

"The old man is still the same; he always likes to do things behind people's backs, and he never says a word about the good deeds he does."

Upon hearing this, Nannuo looked up at Su Yao:

"Daozheng is cold-hearted, but he is extremely kind to the Abbot." Seeing Su Yao looking over at the sound of his voice, he quickly added, "After the Abbot descended the mountain, Daozheng manifested his Dharma body and stayed at the 'Xuanguan Residence,' where the Abbot used to reside, for a long time before setting off for Jade Void."

Su Yao smiled, not taking up the subject, picked up a glass of wine, tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp, then looked into the distance and sighed:

"There's never a day without a break."

Then he raised the empty cup and said softly:

The music and songs of the Buddhist banquet have faded into the azure sky; the people have left the Rainbow Bridge, and the painted pavilions are empty.

Officials fill the mountains, all are passersby; who remembers the pines, the moon, and the wind of yesteryear?

My body is like a lone cloud with nowhere to rest; why do I entrust my heart and soul to the dust of the world?

"How I wish I could live a secluded life, retreating to the autumn peaks shrouded in mist and rain."

After saying this, Jueming smiled and said:

"The abbot's poetic skills have improved considerably since he left the mountain."

Su Yao put down the empty cup, reached out and gently tapped Jueming's forehead, and scolded:

"It's a good thing the old man isn't here, otherwise, upon hearing your words, he would accuse me of being physically in the Mysterious Gate, but mentally in the Demonic Dao, and thinking in the Confucian School."

Jueming covered his forehead with both hands and said helplessly:

"Master, it's best to be cautious. Daozheng is fond of eavesdropping. He might not have been empty-handed before, but the five-colored smoke and mist of Wu Earth that you and I just saw was probably Daozheng's doing. After all, that lord of Jieshi doesn't like to use calamities; instead, he prefers to use the heavy weight of Wu Earth to suppress people. In the world, only this one person likes to use Wu Earth Calamity."

Upon hearing this, Su Yao burst into laughter.

Just then, a mysterious voice rang out from behind:

Is it really that funny?

After he finished speaking, the pavilion fell silent for a moment. After realizing what had happened, Jueming, his face full of fear, hurriedly prostrated himself on the ground.

Nannuo also turned around and bowed.

Su Yao's face stiffened, and he cursed inwardly: It must have been that when Jueming and the others brought things to Golden Ao Mountain earlier, this old guy possessed them and that's how they unknowingly sneaked in. I wonder how long he's been eavesdropping just now.

So he quickly suppressed his smile, stood up, bowed first, and then slowly turned around and said:

"Disciple pays respects to Daozheng."

As soon as he finished speaking, the mysterious voice rose again, its tone now carrying a hint of teasing:

"I am merely a Daoist Daozheng at Qixia Temple; how could I possibly be as noble as you, the abbot of Qixia Temple?"

Upon hearing this, Su Yao was about to explain when Xuan Yin continued:

"It is only right that this old man has come to pay my respects to the new abbot. After all, it has been a long time since Qixia has had such a grand occasion."

He paused and then said:

"After this, I wonder how much more the Qingshi will extort from me..."

Before he could finish speaking, Su Yao interrupted him:

Daozheng cannot wrong his disciple. This matter was all arranged by Qingzhu. The disciple only intended to have a small gathering beforehand...

After saying that, he thought to himself, "I'm sorry, Qingzhu."

"Hmph." Xuan Yin snorted coldly, causing Su Yao and the other two to tremble. "Do I not know you? Qingzhu clearly anticipated your show-off nature, that you would definitely want to show off in Nanzhao, which is why she sent out invitations in the name of Qixia Temple, and took the opportunity to invite so many fellow practitioners. Otherwise, this time you used the name of Pear Garden Branch Temple, and Qingshi, out of consideration for your leadership of Nanzhao, would have let it go and not investigated, but you would still suffer!"

Su Yao gave a wry smile.

Liu Yunhe had previously advised him, saying that the Crown Prince had decreed that, regardless of Qixia Temple and other registered Daoist temples, Pear Garden Branch Temple was not allowed to display lanterns or decorations for a hundred years.

He was indeed careless in this matter.

So he said:

"This disciple knows his mistake. This disciple was only thinking that Qixia had been without Purple Mansion for a long time. This disciple had just been established, and there was also an imperial edict from the Jade Void Immortal ordering this disciple to temporarily Qixia Temple and oversee all affairs of Proclaiming Earth. This disciple was thinking..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted again.

Xuan Yin said:

"Do you think I don't know you, Su Yao? Others may not know what kind of person you are. Qingzhu is lazy, Gui Hong is arrogant. How can you expect to do well if you follow their example? Plus, Daoist Zheng spoils you. What did you do in Qixia Mountain when Su Yao were young? Do you think I don't know?"

Su Yao was still bowing and clasping his hands, but his face was flushed, and he thought to himself:

That old geezer used to spy on him a lot when he was a child.

This is truly disrespectful to elders!

But the next moment, a pebble appeared out of thin air and hit Su Yao on the head.

Even though he had already attained the Purple Mansion Dharma Body, he still felt a sharp pain.

Xuan Yin added, "I curse my teacher in my heart, he deserves to be beaten!"

Su Yao pressed one hand against the spot where he had been hit, and straightened up, pointing forward:

"You previously said you wanted to pay your respects to me, the Abbot of Qixia Temple, but now why..."

He stopped abruptly when he saw the person in front of him.

Tears, like rosy clouds, slid down her cheeks.

He remained silent for a moment, staring at the figure shrouded in mist before him, and roared:

Who is it!

The person before me did not reveal their true face as they had on Qixia Mountain; instead, they concealed their features with mist. Yet, there were obvious hollows in the corners of their eyes, hidden by the mist, which even the mist could not hide.

He shook his head:

"What good will it do you to know?"

Su Yao stopped talking and slowly walked forward.

These short ten or so steps took him a long time to reach Him, and then his Sword Intent arose spontaneously.

Then he said coldly:

"I can kill His disciples."

He shook his head and smiled:

"Once Proclaiming Earth's affairs are settled, you will return to Qixia, and you will inevitably have to deal with His disciples in the future."

Upon hearing this, Su Yao understood the situation and gritted his teeth:

"This grudge should be avenged!"

Then, he reached out to touch His left eye, but His hand was pushed away.

"How dare you touch this True Lord's Blood Qi?" He paused, seemingly not wanting Su Yao to worry too much, and added, "He injured my eye, but I also severed his arm. In a few days, I'll find a way to go to Zhongnan and have Xicheng forge a Law Treasure for me."

At this point, He smiled.

Su Yao felt increasingly heartbroken as he listened, tears streaming down his face. He said with a hint of reproach:

"If the True Lord were still at the foot of the mountain, how could he be allowed to act so arrogantly?"

He shook his head upon hearing this:

"I've told you many times that I don't hate Xicheng. Otherwise, I wouldn't have helped him move all his things from Zhongnan to Qixia back then."

Su Yao smiled wryly, "You're always so soft-hearted."

He waved his hand, calming Su Yao's Sword Intent, and said softly:

"This Sword Intent is fierce; be careful not to injure the disciples of Mount Lao."

After saying that, the two looked at each other and then burst into laughter.

However, there was a hint of bitterness in Su Yao's laughter.

That is:

The rainbow fades as guests depart from the high platform, Golden Ao gradually disappears in the pine breeze.

The smoke from the five streams dissipates, and the moon hangs hazy in the distance.

A chance encounter stirred up old dreams; I longed to speak, but the evening clouds grew heavy.

The scenery of Qixia Mountain is beautiful, and the old pines in my hometown are rich in autumn colors.

When will we revisit Bixidong?

The moon over Zi Lake tonight once shone on two serene figures.