The legend of Longjing Cave

一

In a mountain nest deep in the Mengshan Mountains, there lives a family named Lou. They have one father and three sons living together. There are medicinal materials and wild animals everywhere on Mengshan Mountain, such as ginseng, Ganoderma lucidum, Gastrodia elata, Polygonum multiflorum... there are all kinds of medicinal materials. Mountain hare, pheasant, wild boar, badger...prey is everywhere. The three brothers have lived here since they were born. They spend their whole day hunting and gathering herbs. The family of four lives here very happily. Although they lived a good life, none of the three brothers mentioned a wife. It turned out that they were afraid that they would not be able to be filial to their father if they married a daughter-in-law. They all said that it would not be too late to wait until their father had been a hundred years before marrying a wife.

Speaking of the filial piety of the three sons, it is really hard to say. In winter, it was cold in the mountains, and they were afraid that their father would freeze, so the three brothers took turns to warm the old man's bed. In the summer, there were a lot of mosquitoes in the mountains, so the three brothers took off their clothes and slept with their father. They took turns swatting mosquitoes away from their father. They were naked so that the mosquitoes would bite them and prevent the mosquitoes from biting their father.

One day, the three brothers came back from collecting herbs in the mountains. As soon as they entered the door, they found an old man chatting with their father. This old man looks very strange, with black hair, black eyebrows, black beard, and a face like a child. The father told them: "Your uncle's surname is He, and he lives on the back side of the mountain." The three brothers didn't care at all. From then on, the old man came every day. In this way, the family became familiar with the old man, and the three brothers also felt that there was a person who chatted with their father every day. The father was not lonely, and they just went to the mountains to collect herbs and hunt with peace of mind.

Unconsciously, more than half a year passed. One day, the old man got up in the morning and said to his three sons: "Don't go up the mountain today. I have something to say to you." "Say."

When the three brothers saw the serious look on their father's face, they all gathered around the old man's face. The old man looked at his three sons, and then said: "Last night, I had a dream. I dreamed that an old man with a white beard came to me and said that he was Wang Chan. He heard that you three are famous for your filial piety. You are all destined to be immortals, and he wants to transform you into immortals.”

After hearing this, the three sons thought to themselves: Their father seems to have not woken up yet, why is it so? Talking nonsense so early in the morning. Seeing that the three of them didn't believe it, the father added: "Ancestor Wang Chan said that the old man who often comes to our house to play with me is a thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum essence. As long as you eat it, you will With the body of a half-immortal."

The three sons seemed to understand a little after hearing this. Think about it, they have been collecting herbs and hunting in the mountains all year round, so they have no idea about this surname. The origin of the old man He has long been suspected. At this time, I heard my father say again: "My life has expired, wait until the day of my funeral. You prepare a red thread tassel in advance, and when the old man comes to kowtow to me and salute, you can take advantage of it when he is not paying attention." Just pin the needle on its back. Then, you can find the Polygonum multiflorum essence by following the red line." After speaking, the old man looked at the three brothers and smiled with satisfaction, and died after a while.

The three brothers shed tears sadly for a while, and then began to prepare for their father's funeral. It was true, on the day of their father's funeral, the old man really came again. The boss secretly pinned the needle with thread to the clothes on his back while he was kowtowing. After burying their father, the three brothers took their belongings and followed the red line. Soon they found the thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum tree on the back hillside.

The three of them carefully dug out the Polygonum multiflorum essence and took a look. This thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum actually looks like a human being, with a nose, eyes, and fully alive arms and legs. . He held the boss in his rare hands, as if holding his own child, for fear of frightening him.

They couldn't wait when they got the Polygonum multiflorum essence at home. The eldest brother washed the Polygonum multiflorum root, and the second child was busy fetching water. The third child had already prepared the pot and stove. They used the mountain spring water in Mengshan Mountain and the pine branches in Mengshan Mountain. The three brothers made a ground pot to stew Polygonum multiflorum.

After a while, the aroma came out of the pot. The three of them had never eaten anything in their lives. Even the little ones had smelled such a fragrant smell. Dogs and kittens gathered around greedily. A few hours later, they had cooked the Polygonum multiflorum essence, and the three of them had no time to stand in front of the pot and eat it. Three brothers, each with a chopstick. You eat an arm and he eats a leg. In a short time, he has eaten all the thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum essence. At this time, the boss saw the puppy, and the kitten also screamed greedily. He gave the remaining soup to the puppy, and the kitten drank it. The three brothers, the puppy, and the kitten ate the Polygonum multiflorum essence. They all felt relaxed all over, and they walked lightly. With a slight bounce, they could jump several feet high. The power of Polygonum multiflorum essence has given them semi-immortal bodies.

Although they have semi-immortal bodies, they still don’t know anything about cultivating themselves to become immortals. At this time, one day, an old man with a white beard suddenly came down from mid-air. This old man has fair hair and a childlike face, and is dressed in an apricot Taoist robe, with golden light shining all over his body. At first glance, he looks like a living god. Just listen to him say: "I am Wang Chan, the lord of Mengshan Mountain."

After the three of them heard this, they thought to themselves: After living in Mengshan Mountain for so many years, they all dreamed of seeing him. Ancestor Wang Chan, I didn’t expect to see him today. The three brothers quickly knelt down and kowtowed to Patriarch Wang Chan.

Ancestor Wang Chan looked at the three of them, nodded with satisfaction, and then said to them: "Although you have a semi-immortal body now, you don't have a half-immortal body." If no one enlightens you on the secret book of cultivating immortals, you will never become immortals no matter how hard you try."

After hearing this, the three of them quickly begged Patriarch Wang Chan and said, "Just do it. Ancestor, please accept us as your disciples. The three of us brothers will definitely repay your kindness."

After hearing this, Ancestor Wang Chan said: "Zheng'er. It's definitely not possible for the Eight Classics to accept you as a disciple. Because we don't have the fate of master and disciple. Although we can't become masters and disciples, we have been neighbors in Mengshan Mountain for so many years. Based on this, I still want to teach. I’m going to give you some techniques for cultivating immortals. Listen up, you three. I’m going to tell you the secrets of cultivating immortals right now. You must keep them in mind.”

Ancestor Wang Chan. After teaching the secret book, he said: "I have chosen a good place for you to practice. There is a sedan-top mountain facing the southwest. There is a cave in the mountain, and inside the cave is a fairy well called Longjing. That Longjing The water in it can help you practice and become an immortal as soon as possible. Because there is this fairy well in the cave, you should go there to practice now. > After hearing this, the boss hurriedly said: "No, ancestor, we can't go now. Because my father just passed away, we have to stay at home for three years."

Wang After hearing this, the Zen Patriarch thought: What he said makes sense, so he added: "In this case, your eldest son will take the place of the second son, and the third son will observe mourning at home for three years. The two of them will go to the Longjing Cave to practice first."< /p>

In this way, the eldest brother observed his filial piety at home, and the second and third children went to Longjing Cave first. I don’t know if the third child is more scheming or if he is a fast runner. He arrived at Jiaoding Mountain earlier than the second child and found Longjing Cave. He came to the cave and took a look and found that there was actually a well in the cave. The Dragon Well was in the third cave, so he chose to practice in the third cave. It turns out that Longjing Cave is divided into three caves inside and outside, just like three houses, separated by a mountain in the middle, and there is a door on the mountain. In this way, there is such a door between the first hole, the second hole, and the third hole. Later, the second child came and saw that the third child occupied the third hole, so he chose to practice in the second hole. After the two brothers cleaned up the cave, they began to practice according to the secrets of cultivating immortals taught to them by ancestor Wang Chan, collecting medicines and making elixirs.

Besides, the boss keeps filial piety for his father in his hometown in Mengshan. Normally, he has nothing to do anyway, so he keeps his filial piety and cultivates both. In addition, there are puppies and kittens accompanying him to exercise, so he is neither lonely nor anxious.

Three years of filial piety passed in the blink of an eye, and the boss was still thinking about the two brothers. He tidied up the house, took off all the locks on the doors, washed all the household utensils in the house, and then arranged them neatly. He thought: People often go up the mountain to collect herbs. If they come down late, they can stay in the house and cook.

After the boss finished packing, he called the puppy, and the kitten ran to the top of the sedan chair. They went up to the sky and rode on the clouds, then landed on the ground and walked. In an instant, they arrived at Jiaoding Mountain, found Longjing Cave, and saw the second and third children. The boss looked back and forth in the cave and saw that there are holes in the Longjing Cave. Each hole is a hundred steps long and a dozen steps wide. It is really spacious and generous. It is really a place for alchemy and martial arts. Great place. After seeing it, he was very satisfied and said happily to the second and third children: "Is this arranged by God a long time ago? I know that the three of us brothers are going to come here to practice, with three single rooms in one cave."

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"There is something you can't think of. There are two small holes on the east side of the mountain, just right for puppies and kittens to live there and practice." The second and third sons were happy to see the boss, and said to him explain.

In this way, the boss came late and could only practice in a cave. Then he arranged for the puppies and kittens to practice in two caves in Dongshanbang. From then on, the three brothers were together again. They helped each other and learned from each other's strengths. In addition, with the help of the divine water in the Longjing, their skills improved quickly. Later, the three brothers began to practice here with peace of mind.

Two

The three brothers lived in Longjing Cave, collected herbs, made elixirs, and practiced, and their respective magical skills were perfect. Great achievement. As long as the local people are sick or have disasters, they will respond to their requests for help. Just to the east of Jiaoding Mountain, there is Niutou Mountain, which is connected by mountains and mountains. Below Niutou Mountain is an area of ​​​​10,000 acres of fertile land. However, there has been no rain here since the second half of last year until now. Such good land and such good crops were destroyed by drought right before our eyes. The local people were anxious looking at the dry crop seedlings all over the fields. Then they couldn't think of anything else, so they all went to Wang Yuanwai, a man named Wang Shanren, to ask him for advice and a solution. However, he didn't have any good ideas. Their family had more land and wider fields, and he was more anxious than anyone else. Later, when people started talking too much, they thought of the immortals in Longjing Cave again, and it seemed that they had no choice but to ask them for help.

On the second day, Wang Shanren led the villagers to Jiaoding Mountain and found Longjing Cave. They burned incense and paper and called out three immortals. When the third brother came outside the cave and saw so many people, he asked: "Fellow fellow villagers, what's the matter with you coming here to see our brothers?"

< p> Wang Shanren told the three immortals everything about the drought, and finally said: "We are here just to ask the three immortals to help us think of a way to save us."

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"Actually, we have known about this for a long time, but we have never come up with a good solution." The three brothers have long been worried about this drought. After that, the three brothers comforted the villagers and said, "You should go back first. We have figured out a way and will go find you."

After Wang Shanren and the others left, brothers The three of them discussed it, and finally decided to ask the boss to go to Mengshan Mountain to find Patriarch Wang Chan and ask him to give him advice.

The boss returned to the cave, tidied up, and went up to Mengshan Mountain. When he reached the mountain, he lit a stick of incense, and after a while, Patriarch Wang Chan appeared. After he asked the boss about the purpose of his visit, he smiled and said to the boss: "Asking for rain is against the rules of heaven and we can't do it. The only way to solve the drought is to get water locally. Isn't there a fairy well in your cave? Fairy The water in the well will never be used up."

After hearing this, the boss hurriedly said: "We have also thought of Longjing, but how can we draw the water out. ?”

Ancestor Wang Chan stroked his beard with his hand and said: “The Longjing in your cave is connected to an underground river, and this underground river leads to Niutou. Mountain.

You can dig a pond at the foot of Niutou Mountain and open up the Dihe River with your three brothers’ current powers. That’s a very simple matter, so go back and do it quickly. "After saying that, Patriarch Wang Chan disappeared with a gust of wind.

The boss returned to Longjing Cave and told the second and third elders about Patriarch Wang Chan's method. The two of them listened. They all said it was okay. At that time, the three of them came to the foot of Niutou Mountain and found Wang Shan and the local people. When the people heard about such a good thing, what were they waiting for? After a while, a large and deep pond was dug. At this time, the boss and the second and third brothers worked together. In a short time, they opened a spring as thick as the mouth of a bowl. As soon as they finished digging, they started digging. Divine water from the Longjing emerged from the spring. In just a short time, the large pond was filled to the brim. Seeing that there was water, the common people were so happy that they kowtowed to the three immortals again. , and bowed. After that, everyone got busy. Men, women, old and young came together to carry water to the fields. Within a few days, the people watered all the fields and solved the drought.

Because this spring water is sacred water from Longjing Cave, people who drink it can not only strengthen their health, but also prevent plagues. From then on, local people came here. They used the water for cooking and tea. Later, someone named this spring "Longquan".

One day, an enlightened monk passed by this place. At that time, he felt thirsty, so he came to Longquan and drank the water from Longquan. After drinking the water from Longquan, the eminent monk felt refreshed. He suspected that this spring was not an ordinary spring, so he asked around. The common people now know the origin of Longquan. Think about it, this eminent monk is not an ordinary person. How could he still leave after discovering such a good spring? He built a temple to the west of Longquan. After the temple was built, it was named Longquan Temple. The eminent monk also found a plaque of Longquan Temple written by a famous calligrapher. In order to commemorate the origin of Longquan Temple, the eminent monk carved a stone tablet in Longquan Temple to record the time. After that, two ginkgo trees were planted

Three

One day, Patriarch Wang Chan was on Mount Meng. With nothing to do, he was sitting on a piece of bluestone with his eyes closed and basking in the sun. For some reason, he suddenly remembered what happened to the three Lou brothers, and thought to himself: They don’t know what their cultivation is like now. No, I can’t. I have to go take a look. Thinking of this, he jumped on the cloud and drove to the Jiaoding Mountain. He jumped off the cloud and transformed into a shepherd boy driving a few cows on the mountain. He wanted to test it secretly. The three of them wanted to see who could become an immortal first. He held a bamboo flute, sat on the back of a cow and sang a pastoral song:

Filial piety is a great fault in life. Tian

I want to become an immortal after eating Shouwu

Patriarch Wang Chan comes to enlighten me

Practicing in Longjing Cave

Doing good deeds for disaster relief

I don’t know when I can ascend to heaven.

At this time, the boss was refining alchemy in a cave, and suddenly he heard a child singing, and the song he sang was related to the three brothers. He hurried out of the cave and came to the top of the mountain, where he saw a shepherd boy herding several cows and he was singing. The boss noticed that the child had good features and was a smart child at first glance. The boss seemed to like him strangely. He looked up and saw that it was already past noon, so he asked the shepherd boy, "When did you come here?"

The shepherd boy saw this When the boss asked him, he said: "I came up at dawn. The boss doesn't want to be late."

After hearing this, the boss felt sorry for the child and let him go at such a young age. ox. So he said to him: "You are hungry, come on, I will take you to my house for dinner."

The shepherd boy was very happy after hearing this, and followed the boss to the cave. inside. The boss twisted a rice seed from a rice tree hanging on the wall, and then planted it on the pot stand.

The little shepherd boy saw that in a short time, the rice had sprouted, had ears, turned yellow, and was ripe. I saw the boss pull out a small iron pot from the socket of his ear and blow it with his mouth. The small iron pot was as big as the nest of a large tobacco bag. The boss twisted a few grains of rice from the ripe ears of rice, then put them into the small pot and started cooking. In an instant, a small pot of fragrant rice was cooked. The boss brought it over and said to the little shepherd boy: "Eat it quickly while it's hot."

The shepherd boy seemed to be really hungry, and he devoured the pot of rice in just a few bites. The meal was clean. The boss here looked at it and couldn't understand it. He thought: This pot of rice I made can't even be eaten by a dozen adults. How come a child ate all the rice in just a few mouthfuls. The eldest son tentatively asked, "Child, are you full?"

When the shepherd boy saw the eldest son looking strange and asked him, he said, "That's it for those who are full or not." Well, I have to go up the mountain to herd my cattle quickly. I'm afraid the thieves will take them away if I'm late. "After that, I got up and left the cave.

The boss followed him to the top of the mountain. At this time, the more the boss looked, the more he realized that this shepherd boy was unusual. He casually asked: "I have been practicing here for so many years. When will I be able to attain enlightenment and ascend to heaven?"

The shepherd boy pointed at a big elm tree in front of him. Said: "If you climb up this tree, won't you be able to ascend to heaven?"

After hearing this, the boss actually climbed up the big elm tree and felt that As he climbed up, the tree grew up. The boss suddenly understood. He looked back and saw that there was another shepherd boy under the tree. He saw Patriarch Wang Chan looking up at him with a blindfold on. The boss quickly called out to the puppy and kitten, and the two of them jumped up to the tree one by one. At this time, the big elm tree grew taller and taller, and it had grown to the top of the clouds. The boss then turned around and said loudly: "Thank you, ancestor, for enlightening me to become an immortal." Just like that, the boss took the puppy and the kitten and became immortals and ascended to heaven.

Four

After the eldest son became an immortal and ascended to heaven, the second son thought that I could no longer stay in the Longjing Cave. . I have to find another cave and practice alone so that I can become an immortal and ascend to heaven as soon as possible. After he had this idea, he would leave the cave after practicing every day, fly to the sky on auspicious clouds, and search all over the Yimeng Mountains, trying to find his ideal cave. Later, he really found it. There was a big mountain just southeast of Jiaoding Mountain. There is a cave in a place called Jidaiya on this mountain. There is an underground lake in the cave. The water is so clear that you can clearly see a few fish under the water. The edge of the lake is covered with exotic flowers and plants. When the second child saw it, he thought: This is exactly the place I am looking for. After he returned to Longjing Cave, he explained the matter to Lao San, and the next day he moved to Jidai Cliff.

After the second child left, the third child continued to collect medicines, refine elixirs, and practice martial arts every day. As time passed, he lived alone in Longjing Cave, and no one talked to him, so he felt bored and panicked. That day after he finished practicing, he came outside the cave and found a sheltered place to bask in the sun. After a while he suddenly heard someone talking below. It turns out that there is a spring just below Longjing Cave. The water in this spring gets hotter in winter. The eldest daughter and younger daughter-in-law from the village below often come here to wash their clothes. Today, it seems that a woman is leading a child to wash clothes below. Maybe it's been a long time and the children are getting impatient, so they get naughty and cry there. The child's mother had no choice but to scare the child: "If you continue to disobey, the immortal in the Longjing Cave will be basking in the sun. If he hears that you are disobedient and blackmails, he will take you away." This scare really worked, and the child really The crying stopped.

However, this woman said it unintentionally. Where could she see the immortal? She just said it casually to scare the naughty children. However, the listener was interested, and Lao San thought to himself: How can I, a majestic immortal who is about to ascend to heaven, be seen by a woman with mortal eyes? No, I can't stay here to practice anymore, I have to move. If you practice every day in a place where mortals can see you, when will you be able to attain enlightenment and ascend to heaven? After he thought about it, he went back to the cave to tidy up, and at night he decided to go find his second brother.

He came outside the cave and reached the sky as soon as he raised his feet. When his first step fell, he was already fifty miles away. His foot fell on a big stone at the head of a village, and his foot left a deep footprint on the big stone. Then he took another step and reached Jidai Cliff, where he found his second son. From then on, the two brothers were together again and continued to practice in this new cave.

The next morning, when the people in the village went to work in the fields, they discovered the footprints on the big stone. Everyone thinks that these must be the footprints of gods, which means that a god has come to our village, our village must be destined to the gods, and the gods will definitely bring great benefits to the village in the future. Therefore, the village was named "Buxia".

Besides, after the immortals in Longjing Cave left, the door of Longjing Cave opened. The local people have not forgotten the good things the three brothers did for them. In order to commemorate the immortals in Longjing Cave, a famous craftsman was invited to make three stone statues of the three brothers in seven or forty-nine days. It is very convenient when you want to stand in the cave to worship later. But after the erection, when the people went to worship, they found that they didn't know whether it was God's intentional arrangement or whether the craftsmen erected the stone statues of the three brothers one after another in the cave. The top one is the third child, the middle one is the second child, and the bottom one is the boss. I saw the stone statue of the boss, tilting his head angrily and looking at the third child angrily. However, no matter how much the people tried, there was nothing they could do. Since the stone statues had been erected, this was all they could do.

No matter what, there are quite a few people who come to worship the three immortals. Later, people discovered a strange phenomenon. When they usually came to Longjing Cave to worship the immortals or to play, they found that the cave was filled with clouds and mist, making everything difficult to see clearly. However, things are different on the Qingming Festival every year. There are no clouds and fog in the cave, and all the scenery inside can be seen clearly, and it remains like this until now.

Ending

After thinking for a long time, I decided to write an ending. Let’s talk about Longquan Temple. Later, after the enlightened monk returned to the West, another group of monks came from nowhere. After they came to Longquan Temple, they did all kinds of evil, bullying men and dominating women. Later, even Longquan was occupied, and they charged money for anyone who came to get water. The people were angry, so they came to Longjing Cave, found the Longjing, and sprinkled wheat chaff into it. The next morning, when the monk was fetching water for cooking, he found that there were wheat chaff coming out of Longquan, and even the entire pond was full of wheat chaff.

The monks stared at the spring without water. Later, Longquan Temple was defeated by Bao Sanniang and Luo Cheng, and a fire burned Longquan Temple to the ground. Although Longquan Temple is gone now, there is still one of the two ginkgo trees planted by the eminent monk, and it is still flourishing. From Longquan to this day, no matter how dry the weather is, the water in the pond is always there. If you want to see how thick the ginkgo tree is and take a sip of the sacred water from Longquan, you might as well go there. {a