As Monk Zhikong walked down the mountain for a while, passing by the mountain stream where he fetched water, and then climbing again, Yin Xiu and the others followed him towards the main courtyard of Qianfo Temple.
Zhikong had another full load of water on his shoulders. He was swaying as he walked, but he looked relaxed.
Yin Xiu could tell that it should be a certain kind of practice footwork. Although Zhikong used it very basic and blunt, it contained some kind of concept and philosophy.
"Master, when do you usually go down the mountain?" Yin Xiu asked.
"Going down the mountain?"
Zhikong turned around and smiled innocently, as if he didn't understand what Yin Xiu was talking about.
"I mean, like going down the mountain to buy things, asking for alms, holding Dharma meetings, etc." Yin Xiu explained.
"Oh, I usually don't go down the mountain. This kind of errand is not my turn."
Zhikong scratched his head, "The market opens about once a month. However, we have our own vegetable plot on the mountain, and believers often send us some rice and supplies, so we don't go down the mountain to buy things."
Zhikong never answered what Yin Xiu wanted, but Yin Xiu was very patient and gave Ma Xiaoyu a look.
Ma Xiaoyu immediately understood and clasped his hands together and said: "The local believers are really sincere in worshiping the Buddha and are extremely pious."
"Good, good."
Zhikong clasped his hands together and swung the pole on his shoulders, but it was still stable.
"Thanks to these kind people, Thousand Buddhas Temple can continue to promote Buddhism."
Yin Xiu kept smiling, "It would be a real pleasure if we could meet the local believers and communicate."
"Actually..."
Zhikong's expression changed, "The three donors are also here to take refuge, right?"
Huh?
Yin Xiu was speechless.
Instead, the white peacock screamed, "So, you already know what happened at the foot of the mountain? Right?"
"Jiaozhi is always hot and humid all year round. It must be abnormal if it doesn't rain for so long."
Zhikong looked serious, "We just walked around the mountain stream and were very close to the stream. The three donors may not have noticed anything unusual.
However, half a month ago, the road we were walking was actually submerged by water waves and was bottomless. ”
Seeing the silence of the three people, Zhikong just thought that they were frightened and comforted them: "But please rest assured, you three. Maybe it's because this is a Buddhist holy land and the Buddha's light shines all over it, so the zombies can't come up."
“Can’t come up?”
"Yes, there is not one, if there is..."
Zhikong smiled bitterly, "The monks in this temple only know how to eat fast and chant Buddha's name, so they can't deal with them."
"Those at the foot of the mountain...ah!"
The white peacock screamed and felt a pain in his butt.
She turned around and saw Ma Xiaoyu winking at her, so the white peacock obediently closed her mouth.
Just when Zhikong felt strange, Yin Xiu had already sighed hard.
He said "honestly": "I and my wife did come to visit Thousand Buddhas Temple from the middle. However, when we were at the foot of the mountain, the tragic situation made us have no choice but to run away and can't remember anything else.
The main purpose of going up the mountain this time was to seek shelter in a Buddhist temple, and I hoped that Master would not dislike it. ”
"What did the donor say?"
Zhikong said solemnly: "Thousand Buddha Temple has always opened the door to everyone. Although its ability is limited, providing a Zen room, a few more sets of bowls and chopsticks, and a few more dishes of cabbage, what does it mean?"
He spoke so seriously that Yin Xiu was also touched by his attitude.
Could it be that the two monks they met after going up the mountain were only good people in a million? A good monk?
Or is it not the time to break up the relationship yet?
With a natural distrust of the monk, Yin Xiu stopped talking and just followed him to the Thousand Buddha Temple on the top of the mountain.
After walking for a long time, when the sun passed noon, they could vaguely see the towering gate of Thousand Buddha Temple.
Beside the road, there are stone Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The craftsmanship and maintenance vary. Some are lifelike, while others appear fuzzy and clumsy.
"How come some are so ugly and some are like gods?"
The white peacock expressed his doubts.
"Don't people also have hundreds of appearances and thousands of manners?"
Zhikong smiled and said: "Buddhas probably have different shapes. Some of the Buddha statues here are donated by devotees, and some are carved by seniors on a whim. Therefore, the techniques and skills are different, and they appear to be very arbitrary."
"It's really casual."
The white peacock looked at one of them and felt that the nose was actually a point on the stone that had not been cut off, and was not intentionally carved.
Suddenly, Yin Xiu asked: "I heard that the great elder Fayin of this temple has lived for more than two hundred years? This is really a great supernatural power."
"Maybe."
Zhikong didn't seem to care, "His old man has been in poor health recently and rarely shows up anymore."
"Are you sick?" Yin Xiu looked very concerned.
"Maybe."
Zhikong still shook his head, "I don't know the specific situation. Someone else is responsible for the abbot's diet. In fact, I am just an outer disciple, and it is not my turn to participate in many things."
"Oh...outer disciples."
"Yes," Zhikong was a little embarrassed, "The young monk is not very qualified. He can do some chores like fetching water and chopping firewood, but he can't do the homework he really has to do."
"What does it matter?"
Yin Xiu patted him on the shoulder, "I have read many martial arts novels. The strongest ones are never the closed disciples. The inner sect does not pass on disciples, but the outer sect disciples."
Zhikong smiled, "The donor is really knowledgeable and talented."
While talking and laughing, they approached the gate of the temple.
Outside the gate, there were several children playing.
This can't help but make Yin Xiu and others stunned.
"Oh, the faithful children nearby."
Zhikong explained: "There have been a lot of people on the mountain recently, and it's very lively."
"You can see it."
Yin Xiu nodded, "This is the best place for children. It is much better than being at the foot of the mountain at this time."
"Amitabha."
When Zhikong recited, three broad and fat monks wearing cassocks came up. Their faces were plain, but they did not reject the coldness of being thousands of miles away.
"Who are these three donors?" one of them asked.
Zhikong saluted, "Master, uncle, please listen carefully..."
"So that's it."
The three monks understood and made way for each other, "Three donors, please come here. Someone in the temple will take you to rest."
Zhikong seemed to have stopped taking a step forward at this point. After bowing, he turned around and walked back.
"Maybe we can pay homage to the Buddha first?"
Yin Xiu said sincerely: "After all, the three of us came all the way here just to pay homage to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas!"
The three monks couldn't help but be moved. One of them said: "The poor monk arranged for his disciples to take the three donors to visit?" "No need to bother."
Yin Xiu smiled, "I don't dare to delay the masters' practice. We can just walk in the temple by ourselves."
"Walking on your own? Did the donor have a place he particularly wanted to go before he came?"
"No, I've never heard anyone talk about the layout here, it's just..."
Yin Xiu clasped her hands together and said, "I just worship the Buddha when I see him."
"When you see the Buddha, worship..."
One of the three monks repeated it and asked him again: "If you worship the Buddha when you see it, can you worship the real Buddha?"
"I dare to ask the master, what is a true Buddha?"
Yin Xiu asked him, "If you worship sincerely, can you see the true Buddha? If your heart is not sincere, the Buddha will not save people? If you are neither sincere nor dishonest, ignorant and fearless, without love and worry, without anger and kindness, the Buddha Doesn’t exist? ”
The monk was stunned. After a long time, he finally smiled and stretched his hand towards the door. "The donor is very wise. You are enlightening me. Please do it yourself."
Ma Xiaoyu originally thought that the monk was being arrogant and wanted to issue an eviction order or call a group of monks out to fight. However, the other party seemed to be convinced by Yin Xiu's statement and admitted it generously.
At this time, she inevitably had the same questions as Yin Xiusheng.
Are these monks really different from other places, just a bunch of people who sincerely worship the Buddha, chant sutras and eat fast?
The white peacock was still determined. After being far away from those monks, he couldn't help but sigh: "Oh, what a great facade skill."
"Appearance skills, what do you mean by the decoration here?" Yin Xiu asked her.
"No."
The white peacock shook his head, "I'm talking about the facade on these monks' expressions. How can they still pretend to accept the teachings with an open mind even after being told this by your brother?"
"I don't feel like I'm just pretending."
Yin Xiu said seriously: "I feel that the monk seemed to be really enlightened by what I said, even though I still made it up casually."
"But there does seem to be some philosophy in what you just said."
Ma Xiaoyu touched her ears and said, "Maybe it's just like kung fu, where you beat the master to death with random punches?"
"Maybe I did hit it by mistake?"
Yin Xiu smiled. He really couldn't think of anything that could be related to debate or the like. After all, he couldn't memorize any of the Taoist classics that weren't used in fighting.
Although it is said that he and Liu Banxian can often fool others through their words, it seems that they are very good at talking and can tell tricks.
But really speaking, it is more like the technique used by Qianmen Eight Generals, rather than the so-called debate among Taoists.
Uncle Ming couldn't tell what the debate was about, whether it was the truth or who had the louder voice, let alone Yin Xiu.
It is said that Lu Zu was often able to defeat the monks who were unable to fight back during the debate on the scriptures. In the end, he became an immortal in a debate on the scriptures.
But he is a legendary figure, even more miraculous than the ancestors of the Mao and Ma families. It is not known whether he is a real person or a character created by future generations, so his deeds cannot be fully confirmed. .
While thinking this way, Yin Xiu and the others had already crossed three thresholds and entered the temple.
This is the main square of Thousand Buddhas Temple. It seems to be connected in all directions. All roads converge here and it can lead to all places.
"Three people walking together would be too eye-catching."
Yin Xiu looked around and felt that there was nothing as eye-catching as their group.
Ma Xiaoyu and Bai Peacock both nodded in agreement.
"Then what do you think we should do?"
"Of course we act separately."
Yin Xiu whispered: "It's still early before nightfall. We said we wanted to worship Buddha everywhere, and those monks probably didn't bother to care about us.
Let's walk around and explore here carefully. It would be best if we can find traces of Liu Banxian, Ren Qi, or the Miao man. If we can't find them, don't make those monks suspicious.
We may be here for a while after all. ”
Ma Xiaoyu glanced at him and said, "You mean, you have confirmed that Liu Banxian and the others are in the mountain?"
"I can't confirm this kind of thing."
Yin Xiu looked solemn, "However, I have an intuition that they must have had an accident at Qianfo Temple in Bodhi Mountain for some reason."
Thinking of the paper man that was burned to ashes, Ma Xiaoyu hoped more and more that Yin Xiu's intuition was correct.
Because if something happened to them somewhere else, then their visit to Thousand Buddhas Temple would be in vain, and it would be completely meaningless.
So if something happens, it's best to happen here.
"I don't know Liu Banxian and Ren Qi."
The white peacock suddenly said: "If I see them, I'm afraid I won't be able to recognize them, right?"
"Well, it seems so."
Yin Xiu remembered that the wanted poster with Ren Qi on it had been left at the Zhennan General's Mansion. It seemed that there was no portrait of them at this time.
So he thought for a while and said to the white peacock again: "In this case, Ren Qi is a very ferocious weirdo with six weapons."
"Very fierce?"
"Yes, he is simply a natural-born murderer. He is the kind of guy who will feel uncomfortable if he doesn't kill a few people a day. As soon as you see him, you will be scared by him."
"Then I understand."
Bai Peacock nodded, "He's the kind of guy who seems to owe him a lot of money on the road, right?"
"Absolutely."
Yin Xiu touched her chin, "As for Liu Banxian? He is a Feng Shui master. He likes to wear sunglasses and carries a white canvas bag on his back."
"This kind of dress is very common."
The white peacock asked, "Are there any other characteristics? For example, what does he look like?"
"It's vulgar, very vulgar." Ma Xiaoyu added.
"Yes, it is obscene."
Yin Xiu nodded, narrowed his eyes again, and looked at the white peacock.
The white peacock's face turned red when he saw it, and his ears burned. He couldn't help but said coquettishly: "Brother, why are you embarrassed to look at me in public like this? I won't be able to walk anymore."
"Remember this look."
Yin Xiu returned to her normal state, "Liu Banxian is such a person. As long as you see someone staring at you so lustfully and wishing to search your whole body with his eyes, that person is Liu Banxian.
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No matter how he dresses up, whether he is a monk or a Taoist priest, his status is easy to change, but his true nature is hard to change! ”
Ma Xiaoyu was rarely angry this time, but nodded seriously and agreed: "Yes, Liu Banxian is what he looked like just now."
White Peacock understood, "Then I understand, one is a natural-born murderer and the other is a nymphomaniac, right? I will remember it."
Ma Xiaoyu took out two more talisman papers from his pocket and handed them to Yin Xiu and Bai Peacock.
"We each carry one. If we encounter any emergency, light it and others will immediately sense your location, but not too far away."
"Okay."(End of Chapter)