The floating clouds and the vast sky. After Zhang Shaofei said goodbye to Wu, he came to a Huixing Temple in Hubei Province.
Zhang Shaofei felt excited when he saw flags hanging high on the flagpole of Huixing Temple, fluttering in the wind. He knew that raising banners and flying five-colored ribbons in the temple meant there were important religious activities; raising the flag alone today meant that there were eminent monks giving lectures in the temple.
Zhang Shaofei slowly walked into Huixing Temple along with the endless flow of people. In Huixing Temple, on the ordination platform of the temple, a teenage novice monk knelt down and paid homage to a bodhi tree, his expression solemn and solemn.
On this day, the sun was shining brightly, the wind was blowing slightly, and the cicadas were chirping on the tall bodhi tree at the temple gate.
There are so many people who come to Huixing Temple to pray. They are packed with people and the flow of people is like crucian carp. Incense smoke curled up inside and outside the hall, and candlelight flourished.
Zhang Shaofei came to Huixing Temple from Jiming Mountain after a long journey. When he saw the donors offering incense in the temple, all of them had sad faces.
An old man with flowing hair and beard had just finished incense and came out of the Mahavira Hall. Zhang Shaofei clasped his hands together and said, "Amitabha, that's good! That's good! May I ask the donor, what happened here to make you so worried?"
This old man's name is Wang Boxing, and he is a highly respected local patriarch.
Wang Boxing sighed, raised his hand and pointed outside, saying, "You don't know something. During this period, a dragon came from nowhere and lurked in the deep pool in front of the temple."
Seeing Zhang Shaofei talking with the old patriarch, many pilgrims immediately gathered around him.
Zhang Shaofei smiled and said: "There is a saying that tigers follow the wind and dragons follow the clouds. It is not a bad thing for this dragon to come here."
Wang Boxing's eyes flashed with anger: "But this dragon relies on its superb magic skills and makes trouble here, doing many evil things."
Zhang Shaofei was surprised: "Ah, is there such a thing? Donor, please tell me in detail."
Wang Boxing complained: "There are many people in our village whose livestock have been devoured by this dragon." Wang Boxing looked sad, "There are countless people who have been harmed near and far. Not to mention my house was torn down by it even from far away. The roof makes my whole family restless when it rains.”
Zhang Shaofei looked solemn: "So, this dragon is really hateful."
At this time, several temple-protecting monks walked not far from Zhang Shaofei.
Zhang Shaofei stepped forward and said: "The common people outside the temple have suffered from that evil dragon. As the monks protecting the temple, why don't you step forward and subdue it?"
A monk named Shi Ruwu made a grand ceremony and looked depressed: "Two days ago, I led more than ten brothers, holding weapons in hand, to the edge of the deep pool, waiting for the evil dragon. But when the evil dragon suddenly emerged from the deep pool, the sky was filled with dark clouds, lightning and thunder, wind and rain, and strong winds hitting its face. Before we could come forward to reason, the evil dragon showed its fierce look, showed its lustful power, and swept away the few people beside the pool. A big tree was also blown down. We were also blown around by the strong wind, unable to stand and unable to get close to it. Therefore, all our swords, guns, swords and halberds were useless."
The other monks were still frightened when they shouted loudly, their voices trembling: "Yes, the evil dragon's tail swung, and the sound was very scary. If we had escaped slower that day, I'm afraid the evil dragon would have dragged us into the deep pool with its tail. Got hit."
Zhang Shaofei blinked and said: "Then, should we just let it do evil?"
Shi Ruwu sighed helplessly: "Donor, we have been discussing for a long time but there is no good solution. We cannot compete with the evil dragon based on our moral conduct alone. I wonder if you have a way to subdue the dragon."
Other monks: "Yes, this problem is waiting for you to solve."
Zhang Shaofei turned to Wang Boxing: "There are many hunters nearby, so of course you won't suffer them willingly. Haven't you thought of a good way to deal with them?"
Wang Boxing also sighed and said: "The villagers were so angry that they once organized more than ten hunters to form an array and ambush around the deep pool, waiting for the evil dragon to emerge from the deep pool and shoot it with arrows. Unexpectedly, those dense arrows hit the dragon's body and were all bounced down into the pool without even scratching its skin or scales."
A young pilgrim next to him chimed in: "That day, the evil dragon was enraged and its roar was louder than thunder. It came after us. We were so frightened that we even lost our bows and arrows and ran away desperately."
Another middle-aged pilgrim took over: "Fortunately, we escaped quickly and hid in the temple, so the evil dragon did not dare to chase us into the temple. Otherwise, we would have lost our life."
Zhang Shaofei pondered intently and said, "It seems like this is an unusual dragon."
Wang Boxing saluted and pleaded: "Seeing that no one can deal with it, that evil dragon became more and more arrogant. Now it is even more emboldened and can come out to do evil at any time. We hate it deeply but there is nothing we can do about it. So, we all come to the temple. Burn incense and pray for peace. Seeing that you have a dignified appearance and a profound moral practice, I hope you can personally take action and find a way to subdue the dragon and give our people a peaceful and peaceful living environment."
"Yes, donor, it's all up to you to get rid of that evil dragon." Shi Ruwu agreed.
Zhang Shaofei looked serious and said: "It is our unshirkable responsibility to eliminate harm and relieve the people's difficulties. Don't worry, I will fulfill my responsibility and protect the tranquility of the land and water."
Wang Boxing's eyes flashed: "I hope you can get rid of the harm to us as soon as possible."
The pilgrims gathered all around asked Zhang Shaofei to help them eliminate this disaster.
It was already dusk, the sky was filled with magnificent sunset, and a layer of gold was spread over the large and small temples. Huixing Temple looked solemn despite its splendor.
Zhang Shaofei took out the red cassock given by the old monk from his backpack and put it on. He took the golden bowl and went to the deep pool outside the temple. He sat on a big stone, burned incense and prayed, chanting some words.
The pool is now a flat lake, dark green in color and bottomless.
Soon, bubbles appeared in the calm deep pool, a cold wind blew, and with a "gulu" sound, a white light rose into the sky, and a white dragon emerged from the bottom of the pool, with its scales shining and glowing. Silver light. It faced Zhang Shaofei, blowing out air from its wide nostrils, baring its teeth and claws, showing an extremely ferocious look.
When Zhang Shaofei saw the dragon emerging from the water, looking provocative, he remained calm and shouted: "Dragon dragon, stop being so arrogant!"
Jiaolong was silenced by the scolding and stared at Zhang Shaofei with wide eyes.
Zhang Shaofei calmly put his hands together and shouted: "Amitabha. How good! How good!"
Knowing that Zhang Shaofei was going to the deep pool to subdue the dragon, some brave people hid behind the big trees from a distance and stretched out their heads to peek at the excitement. Now that they saw such a big dragon suddenly appearing in the deep pool, their feet became weak with fear. , shivering, clutching the trees with both hands, not daring to make a sound.
Jiaolong saw the man sitting by the pool wearing a red cassock. He was not panicked in the face of his own troubles, and looked calm. He felt strange and asked: "Everyone around me is trembling with fear when they see me. Why do you see me?" How can I act as if nothing has happened?"
Zhang Shaofei put his hands together and answered seriously: "Amitabha, my heart is selfless and the world is broad. If there is no evil in my heart, everything in front of me is not evil. So, where does fear come from?"
Jiaolong said: "Ah, it is true that he is a formidable person and his words are extraordinary."
