My Sword Has a Way

Chapter 82: Drinking Tea and Discussing Dao, Resolving Heartaches

It was drizzling in early spring, and the sky and the earth were gray.

This should have been the time for the snow to melt and moisten the earth, but the weather was not good and it rained on the eve of the Lantern Festival. I am afraid that countless crops will be killed by the freezing overnight.

The rain has not been heavy and has lasted for three days. The snow in the town has melted halfway and the roads are covered with a thin layer of ice. If you walk fast, you might get hurt.

A young man in white clothes, carrying a wooden sword on his back, walked slowly in the town, looking very relaxed, as if the slippery road had no effect on him at all.

The man had long hair tied up high, his face looked weather-beaten, and his not-so-long beard was dotted with white crystals clinging to it. Even the white air he exhaled dissipated instantly without staying for a moment.

Because of the weather, there were very few people in the town, and the occasional two or three passers-by were shop assistants trying to make a living.

"Mu Xiangyang, look at that person, he looks so familiar."

In front of a shop where a Nine Needle Hall was hung, a little boy in white clothes asked his playmate.

I saw my playmate carefully drawing a little man on a scroll of paper.

Seeing that he did not answer, the boy in black clothes joked, "You are so stubborn! If you have time to spare, you might as well learn from me and observe the various aspects of life. Maybe one day you will have an epiphany and become a god in heaven."

The playmate curled his lips and still ignored him. The boy in black clothes murmured "boring" and looked at the figure not far away. After a long time, he muttered, "Practicing swords again! Even more boring."

The young man in white did not hear the little boy's boring lament. He looked up at the three-story teahouse in front of him called Guilai Teahouse, and a slight bitter smile appeared on his face.

There is a sentence on each of the two main pillars on both sides of the teahouse. On the right side is: A cup of tea cannot tell all the interesting stories of the world, and on the left side is: Life is like a play, it is difficult to achieve the desired result in this lifetime.

The young man opened his lips slightly: "I intend to return."

Seeing a customer stopping at the door, the waiter hurriedly stepped forward to greet him, "Sir, please come in. The teahouse is quiet today and there are many empty seats. You can go up to the second floor to watch the rain."

The young man threw out two copper coins and waved his hand: "No, someone invited me to have tea, I will do whatever I want, you go on with your work."

"Okay, sir, please feel free to come and ask me if you need anything."

After the waiter left, the young man observed the few figures in the teahouse.

After looking around, he saw a man in coarse cloth sitting at a square table, and then he walked closer.

The man was holding a cup of steaming tea and sipping it. He waited until the young man sat down before he spoke, "Have you met the Lord of the Spiritual Control?"

The young man in white nodded, picked up the teapot and filled a cup, then replied: "I saw him, he asked me to tell you, please leave a way out."

The man nodded: "That's good, this way I will know what to do and don't have to worry about breaking the rules."

The young man spoke again: "I promised Master Zhenlingguan, I will be considered as your fellow Taoist from now on, right?"

The man chuckled and said, "I know that you, Mr. Lin, are aloof and have high standards. Even if we are of the same kind, you and we are not the same kind of people after all."

The young man smiled slightly, "I can't help it. When people live longer, their horizons will naturally broaden. Looking back at the past, it's really hard to get excited. You can say that I'm aloof and noble, or that I'm unsociable and unique, but in fact, this is who I am. Isn't this how a person matures? I was also proud when I was young, riding a horse on the streets, and I also wielded a sword in the rivers and lakes, with a chivalrous heart. Later, I saw all kinds of life and developed a heart for Taoism. So, I joined the town because I didn't want to enter that world again. I think that farming in the morning, fishing in the evening, boating in the lake, and being an idle cloud and wild crane are the natural way of the Tao, and they are my true self in swordsmanship."

The man nodded and drank the tea in the cup. "I am just a rough man and cannot speak elegantly, but I still agree with what you said. We pure sword cultivators cultivate ourselves, do what is in our hearts, and we will be closer to the Great Dao. You can rest assured to stay in the town and retire. The rest of the cause and effect and disputes can be left to the young master."

The young man raised his lips: "Young Master? He seems to be my friend."

The man's mouth twitched, and he said with a serious face: "That boy got it for free, but I still recognize him as a young master. I just don't know what other people think. You are an outsider, it doesn't matter whether you recognize him or not, but some people want to break the ancestral rules. I... I don't know whether I should take action. If it weren't for the words of the Lord Zhenlingguan, I don't know how to face my former colleagues."

Lin Jianyi did not respond to the man's sigh, but just sipped the tea slowly to get rid of the coldness in his body.

"If it weren't for the drizzle today, the stage would have been a bit of a distraction. Unfortunately, the weather is not good. Well, drinking tea without a show is not something a peasant like me can enjoy."

The man paused, then said to the young man, "The official stationed in the East Sea Kingdom is about to leave his post. Why don't you go and ask about the news in your hometown?"

The young man frowned, shook his head and smiled: "It's been too long. The one who gave birth to me and raised me has been gone for a hundred years. Even if I find out something, I'm afraid it will be in vain."

The man stood up and patted the young man on the shoulder: "This is cultivation? You have to be clear-minded, right? Just like when I sell pork, if I see a good pig, I want to cut it. If you do something for a long time, it will become a habit that you can't change, which is troublesome. Just like if you always have something in your mind, the demon in your heart will come out, and then the gain will outweigh the loss."

"Shopkeeper, keep the accounts!"

After the man finished speaking, he walked out the door.

There were not many customers in the teahouse. The young man looked out the window at the misty drizzle and shouted, "Another pot, put it on his bill!"

As the tea went into his stomach, the white dots on the young man's beard disappeared, and his haggard appearance over the days made him feel much older.

Soon, the tea was finished, the young man stood up, and walked into the drizzle again.

In front of a dilapidated gate, a pair of stone lions are guarding with pearls in their hands.

On the stone road not far away, a young man in white was walking in the rain. Two runners in Donghai official uniforms were looking at him curiously.

When the man approached the door, he said, "Stop, this is an important government place. You can't stay for long without a reason!"

The young yamen runner spoke in a bad tone, as if he was on guard.

"Young man, please inform them that the former resident officer of the town is here to visit."

As he spoke, he stuffed a brocade bag into the man's arms. The man quickly stuffed it into his arms and said kindly, "It turns out to be the resident official. I will go and report it right away. Please wait a moment."

Not long after, the man returned, bowed and said, "My master wants to see you. Please follow me."

This is a small courtyard with two entrances, which is extremely simple. After a while, they came to a living room with extremely simple furnishings. Most of the calligraphy and paintings were made by himself. It does not have the grandeur of famous artists, but it is more indifferent and peaceful.

In the living room, a gray-haired old man was drinking hot tea, looking at the files in his hands, and looking drowsy.

"Sir, the guest is here."

Following the reminder from the yamen runner, the old man began to look at the young man in white in front of him.

"Sir Cheng, sorry to bother you. I am Lin Qingyun and I want to ask you something. Is that convenient?"

The old man didn't take it seriously at first, but then he seemed to remember something and asked in surprise, "What did you say your name was?"

The young man smiled and spoke again.

"I am Lin Qingyun."