In the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, there was a Qinjiazhuang in Guixi, Jiangxi, and the zhuang zhong, Wai Qin Anyu, was a rich man on the rich side, and his ancestors left him countless fields and gold and silver. However, Qin Yuanwai neither loved money nor was he lustful, he had no teacher since he was a child, and he was particularly obsessed with advocating the learning of Lao Zhuang and wanted to learn Taoist immortals.
When he became an adult, Qin Anyu's parents set him a family affair and married a beautiful wife for him. Qin An was forced by his father's orders, so he had to settle down and give birth to children. However, after the death of his parents, no one could control him anymore, so he abandoned his wife and son, traveled the world alone, visited the famous mountains and rivers in the world, and went to various famous Taoist temples to learn Taoism. However, he traveled outside for ten years, but found nothing, and returned home disappointed.
After Qin Anyu returned, he did not change his mind, he always felt that he was not sincere enough to impress the Taoist True Immortals, so he did not learn the Taoist Immortals. Whenever he heard that the local Daoist monks who had come to Yunyou would personally visit the house, try to invite the other party to his home, warmly entertain, not only eat and live in vain, but also send a generous gift when he left, just to ask them for advice and ask about various problems encountered in the process of cultivation.
As long as it is a Taoist priest or a person outside the Fang who claims to be a one-minded cultivator, Qin Yuanwai does not refuse to come and receives them attentively, so his home is always full of friends every day, and the guests are like clouds. Among them, there are also those who use their names to mix food and drink, and the Qin family knows it, but they dare to be angry and dare not speak. Qin Yuanwai's wife had earlier euphemistically given advice to Qin Yuanwai, but was reprimanded by Qin Yuanwai: "Those who seek the Tao, be pious, jin cheng, iron and stone can be opened, otherwise how can you get the true transmission of the Immortal Family?" As for the harm in spending some money, the world's gold and silver treasures are just floating clouds gathering and scattering. Lady Qin had to keep her mouth shut, and the other relatives and friends of the Qin family did not dare to say much more.
There was an old man in his fifties outside the Qin family, and the family could not tell how many years he had been a servant in the Qin family, and they couldn't even remember what his name was, only remembering his surname Zhu, and everyone called him Old Man Zhu. Usually, old man Zhu did some chores in the Qin family to carry water and chop firewood, feed pigs and horses, and when there were many guests, he also asked him to help entertain guests. Because the old man is old, he usually does not talk much, his ears are not good, he can't hear what others say, so no one wants to interact with him, he comes and goes alone every day, and no one pays attention to him. However, Qin Yuanwai sympathized with him when he was older, and did not ask him to work more, and took good care of him.
On this day, Qin Yuanwai also greeted a group of Daoist immortals from other places in the living room, and they were very busy. Old Man Zhu ran in from nowhere, came to Qin Yuanwai, full of joy, nervously stretched out his palm, and said excitedly: "Lord, I just went to the ground to pick up feces, and on the way I met a Dao chief, he gave me this red jujube, saying that this is the Immortal Fruit, if mortals eat it, they can no longer eat human fireworks." I know you pray all day, but this is a godsend, and you can eat it and become an immortal. ”
Qin Yuanwai looked down and saw that there was indeed a red jujube in the palm of Old Man Zhu's hand, and he looked at this red jujube with some doubt, suspecting that it was zhu Old Man who didn't know where to pick it up, and he hesitated in his heart whether to take it. Many cultivators in the living room saw old man Zhu's crazy and turbulent look, and they all laughed at Old Man Zhu's nonsense--where in the world could he meet the heavenly immortal Daoist so easily, and give him a fairy fruit? The red dates in his hand may have been picked up in some muddy field.
Saying this, Qin Yuanwai was even more suspicious in his heart, he carefully looked at the red dates in the hands of old man Zhu, which were indeed a little gray, and there were several black mud stains in the palms of old man Zhu's hands. Qin Yuanwai frowned a little disgustedly, and said to Old Man Zhu without anger: "Okay, you should put it away first." The old man sighed quietly, but smiled and said, "Lord, if you don't eat me, you can eat me." Don't regret it when the time comes. Qin Yuanwai waved his hand impatiently: "You ate it, go fast and go fast!" Zhu The old man didn't care at all, raised his dirty hand and shoved the red date directly into his mouth, didn't even spit out the jujube core, swallowed it like this, and then ran out of the living room without turning his head.
The people in the living room, looking at the back of the old man, made fun of it again. Qin Yuanwai originally only thought that this was a small matter, and he did not pay attention to it. However, a few days later, the other servants of the Qin family told Qin Yuanwai that since the old man had eaten the red jujube that day, he had not eaten for several days, nor had he seen him say that he was hungry. Qin Yuanwai was curious in his heart, and asked the others, and everyone said that the old man had indeed not eaten any more food these days, but only took some dew on the leaves in the morning.
Qin Yuanwai began to believe that Old Man Zhu had really met the immortals, and that the red jujube was really a fairy fruit, and he couldn't help but regret it. He hurriedly came to the old man and asked him where he had met the immortals, and the immortals had said something to him. However, Old Man Zhu couldn't tell where he met the immortal, and he couldn't remember what the immortal had said to him, only that the immortal gave him this red jujube and asked him to give it to Qin Yuanwai, and then suddenly disappeared.
Qin Yuanwai missed the opportunity to take the immortal fruit, and his heart was full of remorse, especially when he saw that since then, the old man's body had become more and more strong, and he did not feel hot at all when working under the hot sun in the summer, and he did not feel cold in the winter, nor did he feel cold, and he did not get sick for many years, and Qin Yuanwai regretted that his intestines were blue.
The old man became a living immortal of the Qin family, and everyone called him "Zhu Immortal". Qin Yuanwai also looked at Old Man Zhu differently, and specially arranged a guest room for him to treat him as a guest. However, Old Man Zhu was unwilling, he was still doing all kinds of chores in the Qin family, unwilling to enjoy special treatment, he said to Qin Yuanwai: "I was originally a servant, and I am already grateful for your care." When the time comes, I will naturally go where I should go. ”
Three years passed in the blink of an eye, and on this day, the old man Zhu suddenly came to see Qin Yuanwai: "I have a few friends I knew in the past, and I want me to live with them in Baihuayan. Come with me if you wish. Qin Yuanwai had been to Hundred Flowers Rock, about ten miles away from the Qin family, and he also wanted to see where the old man Zhu had gone, so he gladly agreed.
Qin Yuanwai wanted to arrange carriages and horses, and the old man did not agree, saying that the road was full of mountain roads, and the carriages and horses were not good. Qin Yuanwai and Old Man Zhu set off on foot, walking on the rugged mountain road, Qin Yuanwai was tired and breathless and sweaty for a long time, but Old Man Zhu walked easily.
Coming to the Hundred Flowers Rock, a melodious and pleasant music sound came from the valley, which made people listen to the refreshment, suddenly felt that all distractions were eliminated, and Qin Yuanwai's heart was immediately clear. He looked up, only to see a cloud rising in the valley, slowly stopping in mid-air, reflecting a glow in mid-air, brilliant and colorful. Qin Yuanwai felt that after seeking the Dao for so long, he finally saw the Wonderland Sacred Place in his mind. The old man asked Qin Yuanwai, "Lord, are you willing to leave all the worries of this world and follow me to the Immortal Realm to cultivate?" ”
Qin Yuanwai originally wanted to nod his head in agreement, but at this moment, his mind suddenly came up with his wife and concubine, as well as his own children, and his heart was a little unable to give up, and he couldn't help but hesitate a little. Zhu Lao let out a long sigh: "Qin Yuanwai, it seems that you have no connection with the Dao, I have resigned, and each of them cherishes!" Qin Yuanwai turned to look at Old Man Zhu, only to see that he had already taken off into the air, flew up into the clouds, and went straight up into the clouds.
Qin Yuanwai had no regrets in his heart, and could only watch as the clouds flew away in vain. Qin Yuanwai later saw in the book that the Taoists were really immortal fruits, and the world called them "cross-pear fire dates". The Taoist ZhenjingYun said, "Jade liquor golden pulp, pear fire jujube, this is the medicine of soaring, no better than Jin Danye." ”