In our northeastern Maoshan Village, there is an old man named Li Dazhu, his daughter Li Xiuying, who looks like a water spirit, and the young men within a radius of ten miles are staring straight at each other. But this Xiuying has a soft spot for Zhang Ergou, a poor boy in the village. Although Zhang Ergou is poor, he is diligent and kind-hearted, and Xiuying thinks he is a reliable person. The old man Li Dazhu resolutely disagreed with this family affair at first, and felt that Zhang Ergou was not worthy of his baby daughter. But Xiuying, she is hard-hearted, and the old man can only nod in agreement in the end.
After getting married, Zhang Ergou followed the fishermen in the village to go out to sea to fish, leaving Xiuying and the old man to rely on each other at home. As the days passed, Zhang Ergou also saved some money outside, and he thought about going home to see his daughter-in-law and father-in-law. One day, Zhang Ergou was carrying a burden and rushed home happily. When I arrived at the entrance of the village, I saw a man sitting in the yard of his house, holding a bowl in his hand, and a dog was rushing to eat. Zhang Ergou muttered in his heart, who is this? Why are you grabbing food from my dog? He took a closer look and said, "Oh hey, isn't this his mother-in-law?" I saw that Li Dazhu had gray hair and tattered clothes, and was fighting with the dog for a bowl of gruel. Not to be outdone, the dog bared his teeth and grinned, looking like he wanted to grab food. Zhang Ergou's heart is like turning over the river and the sea, with mixed tastes.
He hurriedly ran over, snatched the bowl of porridge, and shouted, "Mother, what are you doing here? Why do you grab food with dogs? Li Dazhu looked up and saw that it was Zhang Ergou who came back, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then he became a little panicked. She said hesitantly: "Ergou, why are you back?" This porridge is for dogs, and I'm not hungry. When Zhang Ergou heard this, he felt even more uncomfortable. He put down his baggage, helped his mother-in-law to the house and sat down, and then began to cook for dinner. For this meal, Zhang Ergou did his best to make a table full of good dishes.
During the meal, Zhang Ergou asked about his mother-in-law's situation. It turned out that not long after he left, Li Dazhu had a serious illness, and the family's money was used up, and he was not cured. This disease has tortured Li Dazhu to what he is now. As for Xiuying, in order to treat her father's illness, she also ran around, and in the end she had no choice but to sell all the valuable things in the family, but she still failed to save her father's life. After Zhang Ergou heard this, his heart felt like a knife. He patted his chest and said, "Mother, don't worry, I'm back, and I'll leave the affairs of the family to me in the future." I will definitely let you and Suyoung live a good life. When Li Dazhu heard this, his tears couldn't stop flowing. She took Zhang Ergou's hand, with a bit of emotion in her tone: "Ergou, you are really a good young man, Xiuying has a good eye, I have taken a fancy to you." I'm an old bone, and I'll rely on you to support it in the future. After eating, Zhang Ergou got busy and cleaned up the house. He saw in the corner of the wall, there was an old dust whisk, and there was a yellowed Taoist book next to it. He muttered in his heart: These two things are not easy to look at, could it be that his mother-in-law has studied Taoism before? Zhang Ergou couldn't help but ask.
Li Dazhu sighed, with a bit of memory in his tone: "Ergou, this matter has to be talked about." When I was young, I did learn a few tricks from the Taoist priests in the village, but then there were many things at home, so I slowly put them aside. This dust and Taoist book were left behind at that time. ”
As soon as Zhang Ergou heard this, he began to think in his heart: Since her mother-in-law has learned Taoism, will her current situation have anything to do with this? He decided to look into the matter and see if he could find any clues. So, Zhang Ergou settled down at home. During the day, he went out fishing to earn some money to support his family, and at night he chatted with his mother-in-law to relieve his boredom. He also went to the bookstore in the town and bought a few Taoist books to study, hoping to find something useful.
One night, Zhang Ergou was flipping through those Taoist books under the lamp, and suddenly his eyes lit up, and he found that a book recorded an evil art called "ghost snatching food". This magic is said to be able to detach people's souls from their bodies and turn into evil spirits to grab food, and those who fall for this magic will become delirious and may even lose their humanity. When Zhang Ergou saw this description, his heart tightened: Aren't the mother-in-law's symptoms similar to this? He quickly brought the book to his mother-in-law and asked her if she knew about this evil art.
Li Dazhu looked at the description in the book, his face changed, and he hurriedly said, "Ergou, don't talk about this." When Zhang Ergou heard this, the doubts in his heart became heavier, and he hurriedly asked: "Mother, what's going on here?" How did you fall for this sorcery? ”
Li Dazhu sighed, his eyes were full of helplessness and remorse: "Ergou, I have to talk about this matter later." Do you remember the old locust tree in the east of the village? It was planted with the Taoist priests in the village when I was young. At that time, our village was calm and peaceful, and there was nothing strange about it. But later, the old locust tree grew more and more vigorous, and strange things began to happen in the village. At first, the chickens, ducks and geese in the family were lost, and then even people began to disappear. The people in the village were frightened, so they went to the Taoist priests to find a way. The Taoist priests checked it and said that the old locust tree had become a fine and had to be removed quickly. ”
"But at that time, I was young and vigorous, and I felt that this old locust tree had grown for hundreds of years, how could I say that I would cut it down? I quarreled with the Taoist priests, and finally made a move. The Taoist priests couldn't do anything about me, so they warned me that if this old locust tree was left alone, something big would happen in the village sooner or later. I didn't listen at the time, I thought they were just scaring people. "Gee, that's a real nuisance. In our village, there was a commotion in a few days, and every household could hear crying, laughing, and the strange sound at night. This scares people so much that they don't even dare to go out of the door, and they have to sleep with the lights on. That's when I realized that I was in for a big deal. I hurried to find those Taoist priests, but they all avoided me, saying that I had brought it on myself and had to carry it myself.
Later, I became what I am now. I knew I had fallen for it, but I couldn't find a way to solve it. I'm afraid you're worried, so I haven't dared to tell you. Now that you're back, I have a little hope in my heart.
Zhang Ergou listened to these words, and the taste in his heart was really mixed. He didn't expect that in the years he had been away from home, there would be so many moths in his home. He held Li Dazhu's hand tightly and said, "Mother, don't worry, I will definitely have to think of a way to help you solve this evil art." Our family will definitely get better. ”
In the following days, Zhang Ergou was really busy, running around looking for ways to solve evil magic. He went to the Taoist temple in the town and asked the Taoist priests about it; I went to the library in the city and read a lot of Taoist books; I also went to Maoshan and wanted to ask those masters for advice. But along the way, Zhang Ergou found that this evil art was much more complicated than he thought. Those Taoist priests either said that they didn't know what to do, or they offered a frighteningly high price, where did Zhang Ergou have so much money? He could only figure it out for himself.
Just when Zhang Ergou was at a loss, he suddenly remembered the worn-out dust whisk and the yellowed Taoist book of his mother-in-law's house. He pondered: Since this dust whisk and Taoist book were used by his mother-in-law when she was young, maybe there is a secret to solving evil spirits? So, Zhang Ergou studied the dust and Taoist books every day. He found that the dust, though worn, had strange runes engraved on it; Although the book was yellow, its content was very profound. He carefully studied the runes and their contents, and gradually discovered some doorways. It turned out that the rune on the dust was a special Taoist rune that could drive away ghosts and evil spirits; And the "soul purification technique" recorded in that book can purify people's souls and drive away evil spirits.
Zhang Ergou was so happy in his heart that he hurriedly began to practice the Soul Purification Technique according to the method in the Taoist book. He recites scriptures every morning and evening, waving the dust, and cultivates hard. After a period of hard work, Zhang Ergou finally cultivated the Soul Purification Technique. He came to his mother-in-law and said, "Mother, I have already cultivated the Soul Purification Technique, and now I can help you solve this evil technique." When Li Dazhu heard this, she was so excited that tears were about to fall, and she said, "Ergou, you are really my good son-in-law." I'm counting on you, old bones. Zhang Ergou nodded and said, "Mother, don't worry, I'll start to help you solve this evil art." "Hey, this kid waved that broken dust, and there were words in his mouth, and he was reading some Taoist scriptures, hey, don't say it, this trick is really smart. The evil aura on Li Dazhu's body was like smoke blown away by the wind, and slowly disappeared. Look at her face again, it used to be as pale as paper, but now it is good, as ruddy as a ripe apple. After a long while, Li Dazhu opened his eyes suddenly, and found that he had nothing to do, and he recovered as before, she was as excited as if she was something, and said: "Ergou, you kid, you are really a god, this evil art has been solved by you!" Zhang Ergou happily replied: "Mother, this is what our family should do." In the future, our family's life will be stable. Since then, Li Dazhu has been like a normal person, taking care of housework with Zhang Ergou, and Zhang Ergou still goes out to fish and earn a little money to support his family. Don't look at their tight lives, but the beauty in their hearts, not to mention how happy.
The tattered dust and the yellowed Taoist book, Zhang Ergou is a treasure, and it is regarded as a family heirloom. Someone asked about this past, and Zhang Ergou always said happily: "This is all the blessing brought to me by my good mother-in-law, the dust, and the Taoist book!" "Zhang Ergou, this kid, with that dust whisk and Taoist book, not only helped his mother-in-law solve the evil arts, but also revitalized the family. The people in the village saw that Zhang Ergou was so capable, and they all came to him to ask him for advice, wondering how he did it. Zhang Ergou didn't hide it, and told them generously that the fur he learned was nothing, and his real ability depended on the Taoist priests of Maoshan. He also advised the people in the village to respect nature more in the future, and stop being as willful as he was when he was young, otherwise he would be punished sooner or later. After listening to Zhang Ergou's words, the people in the village all nodded yes, and began to re-examine their behavior, and they were a little more in awe of the old locust tree in the village. Gradually, there are fewer strange things in the village, and everyone's life has returned to its former peace.
Zhang Ergou was not idle, he used the fishing skills he learned outside, and took the young people in the village to go out to sea to fish, which not only made everyone earn money, but also taught them a lot of skills. The days in the village are getting more and more prosperous, and everyone is grateful to Zhang Ergou. That night, Zhang Ergou and several young people in the village sat around the fire, eating grilled fish and chatting. Zhang Ergou suddenly said, "Do you know? In fact, I have always had a wish, that is, I want to visit those Taoist priests in Maoshan and thank them for their guidance back then. When several young people heard this, they all said that they wanted to go together. They said, "Brother Ergou, you are the benefactor of our village, of course we will help you fulfill your wish." So, early the next morning, Zhang Ergou took several young people in the village and embarked on the road to Maoshan. They crossed the mountains and mountains, walked for a whole day and night, and finally came to the foot of Maoshan Mountain. Maoshan is really worthy of its name, and the clouds and mist on the mountain are shrouded, like a fairyland. 14579 Zhang Ergou led a few young people and climbed all the way up the mountain, excited and a little apprehensive in his heart. When they arrived at the Taoist temple on the top of the mountain, they saw that those Taoist priests were busy cultivating, and they were all full of energy. As soon as they saw Zhang Ergou and them, the Taoist priests immediately stopped what they were doing and greeted them warmly.
Zhang Ergou was not ambiguous, hurriedly stepped forward, saluted respectfully, and explained his intention. When the Taoist priests heard this, they nodded one by one, with a smile on their faces, and said, "Zhang Ergou, you kid, you are really a man with affection and righteousness. It's really rare that you still remember our little help back then! Then, they asked Zhang Ergou about the situation at home and in the village, and Zhang Ergou did not hide it, and told them 1510.
After hearing this, the Taoist priests nodded their heads one by one: "Zhang Ergou, the people in your village are really getting more and more knowledgeable, so let's rest assured." Zhang Ergou took the opportunity to ask the Taoist priests some Taoist questions, and the Taoist priests were not stingy and patiently explained to him. Zhang Ergou was fascinated by the listen, and felt as if he had learned a lot of things.
After staying on Maoshan Mountain for a few days, Zhang Ergou and a few young people were ready to go down the mountain. The Taoist priests sent them all the way to the gate of the mountain, and specially gave them some Taoist cheats and magic weapons as gifts. Zhang Ergou was so moved that he thanked him repeatedly: "Thank you for the love of the Taoist elders, we will definitely cherish these gifts." ”
After descending the mountain, Zhang Ergou brought back to the village the cheats and magic weapons given by the Taoist priests. He organized the young people in the village to learn the Tao together, hoping that they would also become capable people in the future. Time flies, and a few years have passed in the blink of an eye. Under the leadership of Zhang Ergou, the young people in the village not only learned to fish, but also learned a lot of Taoism. Not only do they protect themselves, but they also help others solve their problems.
The people in the village respected Zhang Ergou even more, and they all said: "Zhang Ergou is really a great person, he not only helped us dispel the evil arts, but also taught us so many skills." Zhang Ergou himself is very modest, he said: "What I do is within my bounds, and the real skills have to be learned and comprehended by everyone." ”
In this way, under the leadership of Zhang Ergou, the life in the village has become more and more prosperous, and everyone's life has become happier and happier. The whisk and the book have also become heirlooms in the village, passed down from generation to generation. Whenever someone asks about this past, Zhang Ergou will smile and say: "This is all a blessing given to me by the Taoist priests of Maoshan!" Without them, I would not have achieved what I am today, nor would I have the happy life of our village today. The young people in the village will also proudly say: "We were taught by Brother Zhang Ergou!" We will definitely continue to work hard to make the village a better place! ”