Boom—
Boom...
The sound of the bell is rich, powerful, loud and long, lingering for a long time before echoing over the mountains. Immersed in the morning bell, groups of pilgrims, with their hearts full of worries or laughter, come and go on the bluestone slabs in the mountains. Villagers from nearby towns set up stalls in pavilions at the foot of the mountain and on the mountainside, where they stop to rest, and put incense, candles and paper money for the pilgrims to buy.
Monk Fajing led his eight children through the bustling and noisy foot of the mountain. Passing pilgrims made way for him. Not only because of his status as a monk, but also because of Fajing's size, no one was willing to meet him head-on.
"Master, how were those Buddhas carved?"
Walking across the iron chain in the mountain stream, the young man with two-colored eyes pointed to the cliff under the temple opposite. There were countless pits and holes on the cliff, and stone statues of Buddha could be seen in the holes. Some were very old, with blurred faces and covered with moss, while some looked like newly carved, with their facial features clearly visible.
"Naturally, the skilled craftsman came down from the cliff and carved it."
After walking to one end of the chain bridge, the fat monk reached out and held down the shaking chain, asking the timid children in the middle to come over quickly, and then continued to move towards the temple ahead.
There were clouds of smoke curling up in the Buddhist temple. When one stepped into the temple gate, flames rose from a huge cauldron and countless ashes floated around. The monk in charge of receiving guests saw the fat monk and stepped forward to greet him.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Fajing."
"No, thank you for your courtesy. My master, can you come out of seclusion?"
"not yet."
After listening, Fajing Shuyin nodded, led the eight children behind him, walked around the big cauldron, separated from the Maitreya Hall where there were more pilgrims, and went to the inner courtyard of the temple.
"That's where the bell was struck, right?"
Among the children, there was also a brave boy who pointed at the bell tower and said, Fajing just smiled and did not deny it. He walked into the courtyard behind the main hall where the monks usually lived. The monks coming and going greeted him one by one.
After Fa Jing passed, they gathered together and discussed in a low voice.
"Is that Brother Fajing who left the temple to practice cultivation?" "With such a huge body, he must be able to eat a lot, right?"
"I heard... he is not good at chanting sutras... but he has a very Buddhist nature."
"... It would be great if I could also leave the temple to practice." "Hehe... Then you need to have the same level of cultivation as my senior brother."
Fajing didn't care about the whispers behind him. He called out to the curious children around him from time to time. Just as he was about to go to where his master was in retreat, a Buddhist chant came from a meditation room on the side.
"All Buddhas are like the Avalokitesvara of Heaven..."
Like a spring breeze that swept away the dust on the eight young men, Fa Jing stood with his seal vertical and bowed towards the meditation room.
"Fa Jing greets Uncle Zhen Kong."
Squeak...
The Zen gate opened silently, and the children saw an old monk with white beard and eyebrows sitting cross-legged on a cushion under the huge "Buddha" word. His two long ears trembled slightly. Then he stood up, walked out wearing linen monk shoes, and clasped his hands in a salute.
"Fa Jing, where does the evil spirit come from?"
"Demon spirit?"
Fa Jing raised his head and was stunned for a moment, then looked at his shoulders and chest on both sides. Even with his Dharma eyes opened, he did not see any trace of demonic energy.
I thought to myself, my uncle is very knowledgeable in Buddhist knowledge, so if he said yes, then it must be there.
Immediately, he shook his big head.
"The Dharma is pure and I don't know."
The old monk reached out and touched Fajing's monk robe, then retracted his hand, chanted the Buddha's name, closed his eyes and remained silent for a while before speaking.
"You go ahead."
"Yes, Uncle."
The fat monk took the children away and the Zen temple became quiet. Soon, the old monk Zhenkong opened his eyes, which were no longer cloudy. He turned and walked into the Zen room, took the nine-ring staff in the corner, a monk's robe, strode out of the temple, walked across the iron chain across the mountain stream, passed through the bustling pilgrims, and walked to the foot of the mountain.
Bathed in the sunshine, the sound of bells can be heard from the distant mountain temple behind.
"Master Zixing, long time no see."
With a staff and a monk's robe, he walked towards the distant road.
…
"yawn-"
In the compartment, the Toad Taoist priest who had just woken up pushed open the small door and couldn't help sneezing.
"Who is cursing me behind my back..."
"Master, are you awake?"
The sun shone into a bamboo forest, and fell in patches on the back of an old donkey. Lu Liangsheng broke off a dead branch and threw it into the fire, then stirred the boiling rice porridge in the pot.
"The meal is almost ready, but there's no frog."
"snort."
When the frog was mentioned, the Toad Taoist snorted and turned away, but later he walked to the fire and sat down, spreading out the small axis of the map, tapping on it with his round-headed frog web, and gestured:
"My master and I are now near Yingshi Mountain. The Qihuo Sect is in the mountain. The Holy Fire Master that the dead ghost mentioned should be the one who stole my master's magic weapons and classics."
Not far away, Hong Lian picked a few mushrooms and came over. She squatted aside with her knees hugged, looking at the name of the mountain above.
"Master Toad, what about that? That man is called Holy Fire Mingzun. He sounds very powerful from the name. Can we defeat him?"
snort!
The Toad Taoist slapped the map, as if he was furious, and walked away with his flippers on his back, looking at the swaying bamboo leaves.
"He is just a shameless fellow, and he still calls me a noble man... I was so powerful back then, and several major sects came to besiege me. Liangsheng knows that. I caused that scene, but I didn't get such a resounding reputation! He stole my things and still gave me such a reputation. Damn it!"
Puff…
The small pot was boiling, the rice porridge was boiling, Lu Liangsheng scooped a small bowl of porridge and blew away the hot steam, and said with a smile: "Master, didn't you say there were dozens of sects last time?"
"Huh?!" Toad turned his head away.
Lu Liangsheng handed over the bowl of porridge with a smile and took a pair of chopsticks.
"Okay, I remembered it wrong. Come, Master, have dinner. This is the millet I brought from home. There are also some red beans left. Let's cook them together. It smells delicious."
The toad leaned its upper body towards the mouth of the bowl, smelled the fragrance, then breathed a sigh of relief and sat down holding the bowl.
"Didn't you add the condiments that the master brought?"
As he said this, he took a bite and smacked his lips: "If you add some fragrant beans, it will be more fragrant than this. Forget it, forget it, I will cook it next time. When it comes to food, I am an expert, you know."
Hong Lian rolled her eyes, scooped a bowl and sipped it gently.
A man and a toad squatted around the map with bowls in their hands. After finishing their breakfast, the Toad Taoist used the magic of searching for gods and found a place where more than ten monks gathered. It was at least fifty miles away from the bamboo forest, but Lu Liangsheng could be sure that it was the base of the Fire Prayer Sect.
"Among them, there is a cultivator at the Jindan level. Is there no one with a higher level of cultivation?"
Toad Taoist was also confused. He rubbed his chin and walked back and forth on the ground, "Maybe that Mingzun left for something."
"But a cultivator at the Jindan level..."
Lu Liangsheng frowned, pondered for a while, looked at his master, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"Master, why don't you take that monk."
“I can’t beat him, I can’t beat him.” The Toad Taoist hugged his flippers and turned his face away. “My wounds haven’t healed yet. You can’t use your magic power recklessly. Otherwise, you won’t be able to regain your human body in this lifetime.”
Lu Liangsheng stared at the map with a frown on his face, not because of what his master said, but because he thought of a possibility.
… I don’t know if it can be used.
There is a theory in "Ce Dui": Attack the enemy where he is worried and attack the enemy where he is defending.
"Master, Fang Qingde died that day, and even triggered the restriction. I'm afraid that the Holy Fire Master must have been prepared..."
As they were talking, the mountain breeze blew through the bamboo forest, and into the distance we saw another foothill beyond the mountain. There was lush green fields, and under the shade of pine branches, there was a stele archway with stone pillars and stone eaves. Steps paved with bluestone slabs led straight up, and there was a lacquered red gate like that of a temple, but there was no plaque with the name of this place written on it.
Inside the white-walled and green-tiled enclosure, rockery, waterside pavilions, towers and low-rise buildings are scattered in an orderly manner. In the three-story four-cornered attic in the middle, several people are sitting in a row. To the side of the first person, a figure wearing a Taoist robe with gold patterns and cloud-patterned boots is holding a teacup and blowing away the tea leaves.
"Ming Zun sent news that Fang Qingde and others stationed in Chang'an were killed. We are asked to be careful and take good care of the things that Fang was going to give to Wu Se Manor."
There is a voice echoing below:
"... I'm afraid that Ming Zun has already arrived in Nan Chen, so we should be careful." "Hehe, even if that person comes, it doesn't matter. We already know the news. We can ambush him and catch him off guard."
“Good idea!”
…
Far away on the other side of the mountain, the bamboo forest swayed gently in the wind.
"Once Fang Qingde dies, the other party will definitely be on guard."
Amid the rustling sound of bamboo leaves, Lu Liangsheng picked up the map, flicked it with his fingertips, and looked at the Toad Taoist who was coming over.
"Master... Then we will catch them off guard and take back your things during the chaos."
Hmm…
The Toad Taoist held his flippers on his back, thought for a while, and nodded heavily.
“Good idea!”
Hum ha ah~~~
The old donkey crawling on the bamboo leaves was chewing the tender bamboo shoots, then turned its head and called out a few times, as if it also thought this was a good idea.