Going east to the territory of the Northern Qi Dynasty was more than 1,400 miles. Leaving Jingzhao, one had to follow the Yellow River, using the magic of shrinking the earth into an inch to hurry on. One had to pass through Hedong, Henei, and Jijun, and change boats halfway to reach the other side of the Yellow River. It took almost six days.
After entering Sikouguan, head north along the official road. Along the way, you will see undulating mountains and villages with smoke rising from the yellowish woods, all of which have a different local flavor from the northwest or the south of the Yangtze River.
The ground was flat, with official roads extending in all directions. Occasionally there were one or two inns beside the road. The sounds of carts, livestock, and people were heard all around, making a noisy scene.
"Erniu, take good care of the goods. I'll bring you some biscuits!"
“… I brought this batch of goods back from the south thousands of miles away. On the way, I encountered robbers and almost got caught with my car!”
"Have you ever been to Mount Qixia?"
"I don't know. I arrived at Tianzhi and collected some goods. Then I encountered a mutiny. Fortunately, the army to suppress the rebellion arrived quickly, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to leave the city."
In the noisy teahouse, as the waiter was wiping the table and clearing the dishes from the earthen stove, he heard a distinctive copper bell sound coming from the official road in the southwest. The jingling and clanging of the bell seemed to drown out all the other sounds around. He turned his head and looked outside. He seemed to hear faint singing, which made the diners in the teahouse subconsciously tilt their heads.
“… The world is like a blanket~~~It’s better to have two broken houses~~Old trees and courtyards, to see the beautiful stars~~Crush the wandering clouds~~The floating of the world is just a dream~~Ride an old donkey alone and share the vastness of the world~~”
Ding ding dong…
The autumn wind turned the treetops yellow, and the official road was filled with smoke and dust. An old donkey, with a pair of copper bells swinging around its neck and a scholar lying on its back, walked slowly along the road, passed through the merchants and travelers, and stopped at a tea stall.
Lu Liangsheng stopped singing, turned over, put the gourd in his hand on the bookshelf, took out a big toad and put it on his shoulder, and with his other hand took the reins and tied them to the wooden stake outside the shed.
"Sir, what would you like to eat? Pancakes and green onions are all available!"
The waiter stepped forward, cleverly took down the bookshelf from the donkey's back, held it in his hands, and politely invited the scholar in. He put the bookshelf next to the square table and quickly wiped the bench.
"Two pancakes and a bowl of cold tea." Lu Liangsheng smiled and replied to the waiter. He glanced at the other tables in the shed. Most of them were occupied by passers-by and vendors. He ignored them and waited for the waiter to finish serving a few pancakes to the table that came first. When it was his turn, he pulled the waiter over and asked:
"Young man, can I ask for directions? How far is it from here to the Wanfo Temple?"
Lu Liangsheng had not been to Qi County yet, and he asked the merchants he met on the way for directions, but the other party's answers were vague about how far it was and which mountain it was in. He asked several people and got the same answer.
The waiter put down the plate, poured tea for Lu Liangsheng, and glanced at the big toad lying on the corner of the table. Its back was covered with purple and black bumps, which made him feel scared.
He straightened the teapot and quickly replied, "Sir, you are going to the Wanfo Temple. You have asked the right person. Most people who are not from Qi County and come from outside cannot find it."
Once the conversation started, the waiter was no longer so afraid of the big toad in the scholar's hand. He pulled a chopstick from the chopstick cage and drew a route with the few drops of water that had just fallen on the table, as if drawing a map.
"Sir, just walk eastward along the official road outside. After about 200 miles, you will see a vast expanse of mountains after you cross the Qi River. In the middle of the mountains is a reclining Buddha. If you still can't recognize it, just walk towards crowded places and you will definitely find it."
Looking at the lines drawn by the water stains on the table, Lu Liangsheng wrote down the words, smiled and bowed to the waiter, and put a few copper coins into his hand unnoticeably.
"Thanks for the pointer, little brother."
The waiter glanced at the shopkeeper at the earthen stove, rubbed the copper coins in his palm, and put them in his sleeves: "Sir, you are too polite. It's a good idea to help others. Please eat slowly. I will go and get busy first."
"Please."
Lu Liangsheng replied, and after the waiter left, he reached out and took a pancake and tore it in two halves. He then broke one half into several small pieces and placed them in front of the Toad Taoist.
The sound of Dharma came from the chewing mouth.
"Master, after dinner, let's get going. You're tired of staying in the bookshelf. I'll put you on the donkey's head later."
"Just remember to tie the rope for the master."
The Toad Taoist stuck out his tongue, rolled up a piece of pancake, pulled it into his mouth, rubbed it, and spat it out: "There's not even enough oil or salt, it tastes bad."
"Master, just make do with what you have... There are no frogs in autumn."
Lu Liangsheng broke the pancakes into smaller pieces, then took another pancake and took a bite. There were guests at several nearby tables, gathered in groups of three or four, chatting with each other.
"By the way, does anyone still remember the incident with the demon star in the sky a few days ago?"
"Yes, I was doing business in Donglai at that time..."
Just like the usual gossip and chat, there was also a whisper at a nearby table: "If we find that girl this time, we'll have to beat her up."
"Don't say it here, be careful someone might hear it."
"What are you afraid of? We arrested a girl from our village, so why should we be afraid of what others will say?"
Lu Liangsheng turned his head to take a look. The table where five men were talking in low voices was occupied by five men in shorts. They were skinny and had dark skin. Under their shorts, they were all wearing the same straw sandals. They had thick hands and feet and were obviously farmers.
Several people soaked the biscuits in herbal tea and drank it with loud slurping sounds, which made the diners around them quite unhappy. One of them seemed to notice the gaze of the scholar over there, raised his head to look at him, then buried his head and continued to eat and drink, and stopped talking.
"A group of farmers came out to arrest people. It should be related to marriage... Never mind. They may not be able to find it."
Qi County is not small. If the woman who escaped from marriage wanted to leave, it would be difficult for these five people to catch her in such a huge crowd of people. Moreover, even though Lu Liangsheng wanted to help, he didn't know where the woman was.
After a while, the five men finished their meal and left first. Lu Liangsheng had also finished his meal. He put down the money for his meal, put the bookshelf on the old donkey's back, held the reins, and went in the direction indicated by the waiter.
In the afternoon, the sun was slanting and the mountains were full of autumn colors. Lu Liangsheng crossed the Qi River, as the waiter called it. He asked the ferryman for the specific direction of Wanfo Temple. In a blink of an eye, he was in the mountains.
Bang~~~
The evening bell echoes far away between the reclining Buddha. In the dim sunlight, egrets fly over the water and spread their wings to fly away to the mountains.
Lu Liangsheng stood at the foot of the mountain, listening to the distant and deep sound of the bell. He walked past the stalls spontaneously set up by the nearby villagers. In the smell of incense, money and paper, he led the old donkey up the blue brick path in the mountain forest. The cicadas of early autumn were still chirping one after another on the nearby branches, and occasionally a few monkey calls could be heard in the distance.
In the past, there was an iron chain bridge connecting the opposite cliff. On the cliffs, there were countless holes with carved Buddha statues. Some of them were so old that they were covered with moss, but the facial features could still be seen.
“Is this why the Wanfo Temple got its name?”
Over there, the Toad Taoist snorted, as if he could sense the Buddha's aura, which made him feel a little uncomfortable. He half-opened his eyelids and said, "A bunch of bald donkeys, just pretending to be gods."
Lu Liangsheng then remembered that his master had a deep feud with the Wanfo Temple, especially the old monk Zhenhai. If they were to fight head-on, the old monk's strength would be extraordinary.
After crossing the iron chain bridge, we walked another hundred steps. On the gravel road, we passed through old lush pines on both sides, and saw a magnificent building in front.
Green smoke was curling up in the Buddhist temple. When Lu Liangsheng arrived at the mountain gate, he greeted the monk who was waiting outside the door.
"My dear little master, I am Lu Liangsheng from Qixia Mountain. I wonder if Master Zhenhai and Master Fajing are in the temple?"
"Amitabha!"
The monk in charge of reception bowed to the Buddha, looked at the scholar in front of him, and then bowed his head and made a seal: "Replying to the donor, Brother Fajing is in the temple, but my uncle is now in seclusion to practice Zen and does not see outsiders."
After listening, Lu Liangsheng nodded, left the old donkey outside, and put his master on the bookshelf as well. He didn't like to stay here anyway.
Soon, the scholar walked into this thousand-year-old temple alone.