"Several donors, can you have a cup of cold tea?"
The monk asked again and stood in the courtyard, just waiting for Yin Xiu and the others to answer.
"Brother, is that a human or a ghost?" Bai Peacock asked nervously.
"How do I know this?"
After Yin Xiu finished speaking, she smiled at the monk and secretly handed two grapefruit leaves to Ma Xiaoyu.
Ma Xiaoyu pretended to be blinded by the wind. When she raised her hand to wipe it, the grapefruit leaves rubbed her eyes, and then she took a closer look.
There is no black energy in the monk's body, and there is even a faint glow of Buddha's light.
"It's people." Ma Xiaoyu whispered.
"That's it."
The smile on Yin Xiu's face became brighter and brighter, she opened her hands and clasped them together in front of her body.
"Amitabha, it's so good. We have finally arrived at Thousand Buddhas Temple. I and my wife are really excited."
The monk just smiled and said, "The donor may have lost his way. This is the side courtyard of Thousand Buddhas Temple, far away from the main road. It is fate to be able to come here."
"I have a destiny with the Buddha, and I have a destiny with the master."
Yin Xiu smiled, "It's all because of the heavy fog that we lost our way."
“Looking at the donor’s accent and appearance, you don’t seem to be from southern Xinjiang?”
"Yes, we came from it. We heard that Thousand Buddha Temple is efficacious, so we came here to pay homage." Yin Xiu said sincerely.
"Please come over here and have a cup of tea."
The monk still insisted, "By the way, the poor monk named Mengwu is responsible for sweeping the courtyard every day.
I wonder what the donor is asking for after traveling thousands of miles to Qianfo Temple? ”
Meng Wude lowered his eyes, as if he didn't care about Yin Xiu's purpose of coming here, but he still asked again.
"Asking for a son."
"Asking for a child?"
Mengwu smiled slightly and said, "There is no Guanyin in Thousand Buddhas Temple to give birth to children. Is there anyone out there who has the reputation of seeking children?"
"Almost the same. They are all the same. I have a neighbor named A Niu. He and his wife have not had sex for many years. Later, someone told me that foreign devils' churches can help them pray for children. It is very effective.
He took his wife for a trip, and when he came back he gave birth to a big fat boy, who was white and fat. ”
Speaking of this, Yin Xiu smiled bitterly again, "I don't believe in the teachings of foreigners. I just worship Buddha wholeheartedly and eat fast and release animals on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, so I came to Qianfo Temple."
“The donor is also sincere.”
Meng Wu recited a Buddhist chant in a low voice, then lowered his eyes to look at Ma Xiaoyu and Bai Peacock not far away, and quickly looked away.
"Although I don't know if our temple can help the donor get what he wants, but since the donor is here, please rest here for a few days and eat some vegetarian food."
Mengwu opened a room and said, "Please come in and sit down."
"It's so good, it's so good."
Yin Xiu was not polite. She walked towards the door and waved to Ma Xiaoyu.
The white peacock gently pulled Ma Xiaoyu's sleeve and said nervously: "Do you really want to go in?"
Ma Xiaoyu tilted her head and looked at her, "What are you afraid of?"
"Who said I'm afraid?"
The white peacock puffed up his chest and said, "What haven't I seen while walking around the world? Are you afraid of having a cup of tea?"
"Let's go then?"
Ma Xiaoyu raised her hand to signal the white peacock to move forward. Suddenly she turned back and blinked.
The light purple eyeliner and beautiful eyes make even a white peacock look fascinated.
"By the way, can you use your inner strength to force the tea out?" Ma Xiaoyu asked.
"Do you still have this magical power?"
The white peacock was stunned and shook his head vigorously, "What can I do? I don't know how!"
"It doesn't matter."
Ma Xiaoyu grinned, "I don't know how either."
"Huh?"
While Bai Peacock was stunned, Ma Xiaoyu had already entered the room and sat down on the bench.
The layout of this room is extremely simple, with only a bed, a table, a few benches, a futon, a portrait of Buddha on the wall, an incense burner, and wooden fish, and that's it.
Yin Xiu sipped the tea that came out of nowhere and just talked to him about her family life.
"I heard that Cochin was originally under the control of the Central Plains court?"
"That was a long time ago."
Meng Wu smiled and said, "And speaking of it, neither the people of the country nor the Central Plains court actually care about anything. As long as they can pay enough salary here every year, they will not care about anything else and just do whatever you want."
After a pause, he nodded and said: "Sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins, sins"
"The world has changed, and Master doesn't need to be so taboo."
Yin Xiu took a sip of tea, only to feel that the cold tea was bitter and astringent, and she couldn't help but frown.
"This is bitter tea from the mountains. It's really not the best quality. I offended you." Meng Wu apologized and smiled.
"It's okay, just drink it as herbal tea."
Yin Xiu looked around and saw that the room was as neat and spotless as the courtyard outside.
"It's so secluded here, there should be very few visitors, right?"
"Yes, except for the people who deliver water and food every day in the temple, the poor monk has only seen three rare guests in the past month."
Meng Wu said this, and footsteps came from outside.
It was heavy, but steady, and at the same time there was a sound of wood swaying, twisting and pulling.
"It's the brothers from the temple who are here."
Mengwu got up and walked out of the door.
Yin Xiu and the other three followed him outside. It turned out that there was a bluestone staircase at the back of the monastery, which went all the way down and was bottomless.
There was a monk wearing a bamboo hat and blue monk's robes, carrying two buckets of water, and a bundle of vegetables tied to the pole. He was lowering his head and climbing up step by step.
"Zhi Kong, thank you for your hard work."
Mengwu stepped forward and gave him a hand.
At this time, the monk wearing a bamboo hat raised his head, revealing a dark, thin but naive face.
"Uncle Master, what are you talking about? The abbot said this is practice and what we should do."
Zhikong showed a row of white teeth and glanced at Yin Xiu again. When he met Ma Xiaoyu's eyes, he quickly lowered his head and recited the Buddha's name in a low voice.
"Who are these three donors?"
"Oh, we're here to offer incense."
Yin Xiu clasped her hands together and said, "Nice to meet you."
Then he gave Ma Xiaoyu another look.
Ma Xiaoyu wiped her eyes with the grapefruit leaves again, then threw the grapefruit leaves to the ground and shook her head angrily.
"Incense?"
"Yes, I offered incense, but I went the wrong way."
Yin Xiu sighed.
Originally, for Taoist priests like them, one could basically tell whether the person was a human or a ghost from the clouds on his body. If he was really uncertain, he could wipe his eyes with grapefruit leaves to see whether the person was real or not.
However, despite being very suspicious, Ma Xiaoyu still had to say that there was nothing strange about the two monks in front of her.
Mengwu took the pole and saw the green vegetables on it. He couldn't help but said happily: "The fresh and tender Qingjiang vegetables are perfect for boiling. Are some of the donors willing to stay and let the poor monk treat me with a side dish?"
"Thank you, Master."
Yin Xiu smiled, "However, we don't have much time. We still want to go to the temple to see it, which is already the wrong way. Of course, Master, this place is also secluded and is a resort for spiritual practice."
"The poor monk understands, the poor monk understands."
Mengwu said with a smile: "Everyone in the world yearns for the majesty of the Bodhisattva's Dharma in Thousand Buddhas Temple. They have to take a look to be satisfied."
"Yes, that's exactly why we're here."
"So, Zhikong." Mengwu called to the monk carrying water, "When you go back to the temple later, take a few donors with you."
"As commanded."
Zhikong bowed, then carried a pole to the Zen courtyard, filled the water tank first, and then walked out quickly.
"Three donors, please come here."
"Then we bid farewell, Master."
Yin Xiu and Ma Xiaoyu clasped their hands together and lowered their eyebrows, like a pair of newlyweds who sincerely worshiped the Buddha.
The white peacock was at a loss and refused to imitate their clasping hands, so he could only nod his head as a greeting.
Mengwu smiled and suddenly asked: "Donor, do you think the solemnity of the Dharma and the perfection of heaven are important to Bodhisattvas and Buddhas?"
"What?"
Yin Xiu paused, thinking that she heard wrongly.
However, Meng Wu was not talking nonsense. He smiled and said: "The reason why the world worships Buddha is because the Buddha is majestic and sacred. The reason why people are afraid of ghosts is because the ghosts look ferocious and show their teeth and claws.
What if the true appearance of the Buddha does not match what we see and think? ”
"You mean, Buddha, Jialan, looks like an evil ghost. What should we think when we see him?" White Peacock asked.
Mengwu didn't say it clearly, but just smiled, "Perhaps Buddha and Bodhisattva are neither kind-faced and kind-eyed, nor bloody-eyed and big-mouthed? He is neither a woman, nor a man, nor a child, nor an old man?"
"Amitabha."
Zhikong clasped his hands together and said distressedly: "My disciple is stupid and I really don't dare to think about it."
"Empty is form, form is emptiness, form is not different from emptiness, and emptiness is not different from color." Yin Xiu replied.
"Oh?"
Meng Wu's eyebrows relaxed, and there was joy in his eyes. He bowed down and said, "Donor, you are really a man of great practice and wisdom. This poor monk worships you."
Yin Xiu returned the greeting, "It's just a little insight, farewell."
He looked at Zhikong again, "Master, please lead the way."
Mengwu put his hands together and said, "Goodbye!"
Yin Xiu immediately turned around and took Ma Xiaoyu and Bai Peacock down.
"Why did you answer like this?"
As expected, Ma Xiaoyu was the first to feel strange and asked him in a low voice.
"What's the point? Can't I suddenly become enlightened?"
"Are you like this?"
Ma Xiaoyu glanced at him, "Do you want to be a monk?"
"That's not the case."
Yin Xiu smiled, turned around and glanced at Meng Wu who was still watching them in the distance, and whispered: "Usually when he asks like this, you just pull out a piece of Buddhist scripture. He has a high understanding and can always understand the truth from it. ”
"You usually lie to people, but why do you want to lie to a monk?" Ma Xiaoyu glared at him.
"Do I only lie to monks?"
Yin Xiu gently took Ma Xiaoyu's hand.
Ma Xiaoyu struggled slightly, but was finally caught in his hand. She could only pretend not to see it.
"That's right. You don't even let Taoist priests go. Why do you care about this?"
Ma Xiaoyu squeezed his hand again.
Standing on the mountain, Meng Wu still stopped to watch the three of them, especially staring at Yin Xiu.
It wasn't until they disappeared on the mountain road that Meng Wu turned around.
"Empty is form, form is emptiness? Interesting, interesting."
He put his hands behind his back and slowly walked into the Zen courtyard.
"Color is emptiness, emptiness is color."
Hearing a murmur, Ren Qi opened his eyes suddenly.
What caught his eyes were roof tiles, beams, and a girl.
"Who are you?"
Ren Qi reached for the pillow and was about to draw his sword, but found that he had neither the sword nor the ability to stand up.
"Don't move yet."
The girl whispered softly, holding a bowl of porridge in her hand, "Abba said you were seriously injured. It's a miracle that you survived. You can't move now."
"Who are you and here?"
Ren Qi stared at her closely, his eyes gleaming. Even though he was lying unable to move, the murderous aura on his body combined with the scars on his face made the girl look a little scared.
But she still had the courage to come closer.
"This is Bodhi Mountain, my name is A Ke."
"Bodhi Mountain?"
Ren Qi felt hot and sore in his temples, but he still vaguely remembered some memories, "Bodhi Mountain where Thousand Buddha Temple is located?"
"That's right."
Akko nodded, "But we are still two hills away from Thousand Buddhas Temple. Well, it's on our left."
After a pause, she remembered something and couldn't help but scratch her head, "Sorry, I forgot that you can't get up yet."
When she turned her head, Ren Qi saw a red birthmark under the left corner of the girl's eye and in front of her ear, about the size of a thumb, like half a moon.
The birthmark was originally not big, but on such a snow-white face with delicate skin and regular features, it seemed like a corner of the white jade was missing, and people couldn't help but pay more attention to that spot.
Realizing that Ren Qi was looking at him, Akko quickly covered his face and turned away.
"Isn't it ugly? Does it scare you?"
Ren Qi ignored her, just turned his gaze to the ceiling, and asked her coldly: "Why save me?"
"Do you still need a reason to save people?"
Akko asked him, "Could it be that when you saw someone on the road who was seriously injured and about to die, you wouldn't save him?"
"Of course not!"
Ren Qi said resolutely, "Why save? If a person dies, he dies. What does it have to do with me? If you save people in a good manner, isn't it harming others and yourself?"
"..."
Akko frowned, seemingly unable to understand Ren Qi's thoughts, but soon her expression became relaxed and she smiled.
"What are you laughing at?"
It was Ren Qi's turn to frown, "Shouldn't you regret saving a selfish person like me?"
"What does it matter?"
Akko took a bowl of porridge from the table, "Abba said, we just save people and do good deeds, that's it.
As for what others think and do in the future, it is none of our business. ”
[Your father is also stupid. 】
Ren Qi could still move his neck, so he turned his face away.
"Where is my sword? Also, have you seen the other person traveling with me? Is he a human or a corpse?"
"No."
Akko was very sure, "You were the only one who fell in the stream at that time. There was no one else. As for your sword, it was taken away by the elder of Qianfo Temple. He said that such a sharp weapon cannot be found in the mountain.
By the way, are you selling weapons? He actually carried six swords. ”
Ren Qi did not explain to her that the armored zombie was still too tyrannical after all.
He was unable to compete with the monster, and Liu Banxian did not know his whereabouts. Thinking of this, Ren Qi was just upset and became more and more silent.
"By the way, you slept for many days and only drank water. You must be starving, right?"
Akko didn't care about Ren Qi's indifference, he just smiled and said: "This is the five poison porridge I cooked. It contains poisonous snakes, scorpions, toads, centipedes and geckos. It is very good for your injuries."
Ren Qi's mood became even worse after hearing this. Did this woman want to save him or torture him?
Or was he spared to use him and ask him to repay him?
If it is the latter, this woman is too self-righteous, because Ren Qi has never been a person who knows how to repay kindness. For him, repaying kindness with evil is just a way of survival.
However, the porridge did exude a charming aroma, making Ren Qi's throat twitch. (End of chapter)