Chapter 77: A Small Bet

  Mountain Gate Guardian!

  As soon as the four characters came out, not only did Zhu Ying and Da Sheng lose their color, but also the monks in the inner courtyard of Guiyuan Temple who had been unclear about the inside story showed a shocked and joyful expression. Even the young master who was always calm and composed shook his shoulders slightly.

  Bamboo Ying Su sank into deep thought for a long time, as if he had dissipated the astonishment in his heart, and then carefully said: "The Buddhist sect has not had a guardian for sixty years. I don't know which merit this easy guardian was established on the Daochang?"

  Yi Tian Xing only then realized that to become a mountain gate guardian, one actually had to open a grand Daoist altar. He couldn't help but curl up the corner of his lips and sneer: "Open an altar? Could it be that all mountain gate guardians are destined to die? Is that why Buddhist monks directly open altars for transcendence?"

  Master Bin didn't know what was on his mind, and he replied faintly to Zhuo Shou: "The matter of Mr. Yi becoming the guardian of our Buddhist sect's mountain gate is a secret, if it weren't for some misunderstandings between your esteemed family and ours, this old monk wouldn't dare mention it easily." After a brief moment of contemplation, he continued: "Two months later, the brothers from the Northern School will come to Rongyuan Temple to preside over this matter. At that time, please have your esteemed family send someone to attend the ceremony."

  Yi Tian Xing shook his head in admiration, thinking that the old monk's words were well-spoken. If it weren't for your Ji Xiang Tian being so overbearing, this would have been a matter between us monks, why did you need to know? Now that you do know, it's already a great favor from Heaven, don't you think you should know when to retreat? I have Fa Men Temple in the north, Ling Yin Temple in the south, and also the secular branch of Mei Ling Cao She passed down by the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng. Even if you are mysterious and unpredictable for three days, you still need to count how many bald heads there are in the world besides those in prison. Each of these bald heads can chant "Amitabha" at you once, let's see how long you can endure...

  ……

  ……

  The young master's hands were now clasped behind his back, and his slender fingers tapped gently as he said in a low voice: "It turns out that Mr. Yi is actually the guardian of the Buddhist family, a person with great connections, I have offended him many times before."

  This was his first time speaking to Yi Tianxing in the Temple of Return to the Origin today.

  Yi Tian Xing felt a little dazed and bewildered, as if he had been pampered, but then immediately thought that he was being too humble, and couldn't help but smile wryly as he replied: "What orders does the young master have?"

  Young Master said quietly: "Since Mr. Yi is the guardian of the Buddhist sect, he is naturally not a monster. However, the whereabouts of my disciple Zong Si will eventually fall on your shoulders, I wonder how you plan to deal with it?"

  Yi Tian Xing was also a clever person, he knew that the young master had come out of the Guiyuan Temple at this time, so he directly confronted him. He rubbed his nose and said quietly: "Whether Zong Si is dead or alive, I don't know. Even if he unfortunately passed away, I can only express my condolences. After all, this matter was his fault. Jixiang Tian is one of the top three heavens, although I, a junior, have been in the mortal world for a long time and don't know your divine powers, but I've also heard that your door rules are strict, strictly prohibiting harm to ordinary people. Since Zong Si has already violated the door rules, he can't blame me for taking action to punish him."

  Young Master Xiao sighed and said: "Zong Si, this person, has a proud temperament. On the day he saw you...". He suddenly stopped speaking and turned to say: "Where is the Kunlun earth fire now? This fire is the heart of the earth, it has the ability to gather fire, it is the object that I rely on for my auspicious repair. Three days ago, Mr. returned the ancient bronze oil lamp to our sect, but there was nothing left in the lamp. Please, Mr. Yi, return it to me."

  Yi Tian Xing furrowed his brow, finding that the young master's words had become much more polite than when he first entered the temple. He thought to himself that the Kunlun earth fire had already been swallowed by his own Firebird son and seemed to have caused indigestion. Now, was he supposed to cut open his son's round little belly? He couldn't help but smile wryly: "That day in the forest, after a fierce battle, Zong Si fled, and the earth fire suddenly burned in mid-air above the treetops, its whereabouts unknown."

  He thought that on that day, the forest outside the fish pond had indeed been burned by himself once, so he lied, thinking that he could deceive the other party.

  Unexpectedly, the young master heard this and let out a faint sigh. His black cheongsam was tightly wrapped around his body, making him look even more somber than before.

  Yi Tian Xing smiled and said: "This matter is due to my own rashness, please forgive me."

  The young master suddenly turned his body and said in a low voice: "Yi Hu Fa, this matter must have an end."

  Yi Tianxing heard him call himself a protector and knew something was up, so he smiled and said, "Please speak."

  "Let's make another bet," said the young master lightly.

  At this time, the sunlight had reached the courtyard, and the branches of the trees were gently combing the sun. The stone slab was lightly flashing with light spots. The young master turned sideways, his white as jade lower jaw was reflected by the faint light, extremely beautiful. Yi Tianxing's heart was shaken, and he didn't hear the word "again" in the middle of "Let's make another bet".

  If he had heard clearly at that time, perhaps he could have guessed who the young master was. Perhaps the story that followed would not be so interesting, and it might not be so thrilling either.

  "Have you been to Mount Wudang?" the young master asked in a low voice.

  "No." Yitian Xing replied, but he didn't know what this delicate and beardless young master meant.

  The young master's hat covered most of his face, only revealing his pale and beautiful lips, as if he was smiling: "What a coincidence, I haven't been there either. Mr. Yi, would you like to join me on a trip to Wudang to enjoy the scenery?"

  Yi Tian Xing frowned and waited for the rest of the story.

  "Our bet is, whoever lights the dragon head incense in front of the Golden Temple on Mount Wudang first wins."

  ……

  ……

  The peaks of Wudang Mountain are layered with greenery, like the ebb and flow of the sea. The quiet and dynamic scenery is intertwined. In the dense forest of green trees, streams can be seen everywhere, and among the precipitous rocks, the landscape is vast and empty. It is a famous mountain for Chinese Taoism and also a popular tourist destination.

  Wudang Mountain was originally named Taihe Mountain, and the reason for its name change to Wudang is due to a phrase: "Non-true Wu is not worthy of being equal", where true Wu refers to the Xuantian Shangdi worshipped by the Taoist priests of Mount Wudang. The Wudang Taoist sect is the origin of the True Emperor Wu, so it has a big difference with other famous Taoist mountains in China. In the Laojun Rock and the Golden Temple, among many Taoist immortals being worshipped, "Sanqing" and "Si Yu" are not that important, while Xuantian Shangdi is enshrined in the most prominent position.

  In folklore, when the True Martial Emperor ascended to heaven, he was supported by five dragons. Petals of flowers scattered everywhere like rainwater filling the valleys, and the magnificent scene of the immortal realm suddenly appeared in the valley of Wudang Mountain. In a poem, Li Bai, a Tang Dynasty poet who loved drinking, wrote: "Rainbow as clothes, wind as horse, Cloud Master comes down in a flurry; Tiger drum and zither, Phoenix returns to the carriage, Immortals line up like hemp..."

  In ancient Chinese mythology, the four directions of east, south, west and north all have gods guarding them. Zhenwu is the god who guards the North. The ancients imagined the northern constellations as a turtle and snake entwined together, called Xuanwu. The True Warrior of Mount Wudang is this very same gentleman.

  The dragon head incense that Xiao Gongzi spoke of is located on the cliff outside Wanshou Palace at Nan Rock in Mount Wudang. There is a stone beam here, with a carved dragon on it, stretching out one zhang (about 3.3 meters) into the air, and just wide enough for one foot to stand on. The coiled dragon on top is said to be the mount of Xuanwu Dadi, who rode it to patrol everywhere before ascending to heaven.

  The dragon head stone beam is carved with an incense burner at its top, which is called "Dragon Head Incense".

  Since ancient times, incense guests have come to worship at Wudang, and some people have risked their lives to burn dragon head incense. The thin stone beam extends out of the cliff, suspended in mid-air with no bottom in sight. The surrounding mountain winds howl, making it extremely difficult to stand firm, let alone carry a long pole of incense to light it up. As a result, countless incense guests have fallen off the rocks and died.

  Until the Kangxi period of the Qing dynasty, a filial son climbed to the top of Longtou Liang to burn incense for his long-suffering mother, but unfortunately fell to death. The governor of Chuanhu Department then ordered the prohibition of burning incense on Longtou Liang and set up railings with locks, erecting a stele to warn people. The inscription reads: "The divine is benevolent and compassionate; if one's heart is sincere, it will be effective. Incense burners do not have to climb to the precipice to show respect for the gods." Therefore, do not repeat the mistake of the past and destroy precious lives.

  Do you want to smell the fragrance of the dot on the dragon's head? Only a fool would be happy about that.