Yingyin and a group of monks chased him to Jiujiang Pier, found a ferry, and rowed to the other side. Yingyin sat on the boat, looking at the scenery on both sides of the river, and hummed a ditty proudly.
Huiming scolded: "The mantle and mantle that was deceived has not yet been found, so it is not the time to be happy."
Yingyin said confidently: "Senior brother, don't worry, within three days, Zhang Shaofei will obediently hand over the cassock of the ancestor."
Huiming heard what he said matter-of-factly and looked at him curiously.
Yingyin explained in detail: "Zhang Shaofei only left six hours earlier than us, and his legs and feet were injured and he could not walk fast. It is four hundred miles from Jiangzhou to Hongzhou, so if we don't reach Hongzhou, we Then you can catch up with him.”
Huiming knew in his heart that what he said made sense, but he didn't like to see his smug look, so he deliberately argued with him and said, "How do you know which way Zhang Shaofei took?"
Yingyin chuckled and said: "The only way from Jiangzhou is via Hongzhou and along the Ganjiang River. Because the Dayu Mountains stretch from east to west and tower into the clouds, there is only one canyon running from north to south. Besides, every corner on this road is , I am familiar with every ditch and every fork in the road, so..."
"Hey..." Huiming asked curiously: "Didn't you say that you are from Jiangsu and Zhejiang? How come you are so familiar with the road to Lingnan? Could it be that you have walked it before you became a monk?"
"I, I, before I became a monk, in... in..." Yingyin consciously made a mistake and almost revealed the truth. He rolled his eyes, pointed forward, and changed the subject, "Oh, look, everyone, we're at the center of the river! Wow, what a big wave!"
Following Yingyin's pointing, the monks all turned their attention to the surging river.
The Yangtze River is mighty and empty of turbid waves. At this time, a strange thick fog rose from the river and tightly enveloped their ferry.
The water flow was indistinguishable and the direction was difficult to distinguish. Even the captain of the boat, who had been ferrying on the Yangtze River all his life, panicked and became dizzy. He pushed the tiller left and right, causing the ferry to spin around in the river...
At the same time, a strong wind suddenly blew from upstream, pushing their ferry boat downriver.
Boatmen all say that a good helmsman can control the wind from all directions. The boss of the ship was just about to take advantage of the wind and sail the ship to the south coast. Suddenly, a stronger westerly wind blew, and there was a loud "click" and the mast was broken.
Strong winds, huge waves, thick fog, and the out-of-control ferry were tossed downstream by the rapid current and wild wind...
By the time they finally got the boat to the shore, they had drifted a hundred miles down the river and finally crossed the mouth of the lake.
It was this sudden and incredible accident that caused them to miss the best opportunity to catch up with Zhang Shaofei.
Helpless, Yingyin was forced to change his plan from land to water: take a boat from Hukou and cross China's largest lake, Poyang Lake, to Hongzhou.
The monks were very happy. Sitting on the boat, they could not only enjoy the scenery of the lake and mountains, but also save the hard work of running around.
However, the boat travels through the water at a much slower speed than walking. What's more, when sailing from north to south in Poyang Lake, there is always some going against the current. By the time they arrived in Hongzhou and abandoned the ship and landed, Zhang Shaofei had already disappeared like a goose flying across the sky.
Huiming, Yingyin and a group of monks continued to chase on horseback. These monks usually chant sutras and meditate, but have they ever been jolted by a horse? Their bones were falling apart. Therefore, after arriving in Ganzhou, many people gave up.
Yingyin called everyone together and said with encouragement: "Brothers, you all know that the cassock that Zhang Shaofei deceived is a symbol of our Zen sect's wisdom. Therefore, we must not let it fall into Zhang Shaofei's hands under any circumstances."
"But, that cassock was taught to Zhang Shaofei personally by the elder!" The person who was unwilling to move forward brought this fact out.
"This..." Yingyin was speechless for a moment. He frowned and then said, "The elder became more and more confused as he got older, so he secretly handed over the mantle to the hardworking woodcutter. We have all followed him for many years. Everyone has better Buddhist attainments and meditation skills than Zhang Shaofei, but he ruthlessly abandoned us! Therefore, after we take back the mantle this time, according to the monastery tradition, everyone must re-elect the successor of the grandmaster, no one else. It has the final say. This is also a manifestation of equality in Buddhism." Yingyin paused and then said, "Of course, those of us who come out to take back the mantle this time have all exerted great efforts and made great achievements, and are more qualified to inherit the title of Grandmaster. Position. If... at least, you should be invited to serve as deacons such as the second senior brother, supervisor, intellectual guest, and hall master in the future!"
For this reason, everyone tacitly agreed, cheered up, and continued to track south.
After they arrived in Nankang County, the road to Guangdong divided into two. A wide post road leads directly to Guangzhou, an important town in the south of Lingnan, and another leads into the vast mountains of northern Guangdong.
In comparison, the journey to Qiu County, Zhang Shaofei's hometown, is slightly shorter by taking this rugged mountain road. Moreover, after arriving in Shaozhou, you can take a boat down the Beijiang River to Sanshui, which is very close to Qiu County.
However, Yingyin believed that Zhang Shaofei would go back to Qiu County and went to Lingnan instead. Therefore, he advocated chasing along the main road.
Huiming asked him why?
"Because..." Yingyin hesitated and hesitated for a long time before saying, "I heard that Zhang Shaofei is from Qiu County."
Huiming said: "Just because Zhang Shaofei is from Qiu County and will go back to his hometown? You have a reason for what you said."
So, everyone decided to chase down the path.
Yingyin was a hundred reluctant, but he hesitated and couldn't explain why, so he had to follow everyone.
Fortunately, this road can also lead to Qiu County.
The monks turned their horses into the path.
However, not long after the journey, the path became difficult to move forward due to the high grass and thick bushes, which tripped the horse's feet and scratched its belly.
Huiming said, "Dismount."
Everyone abandoned their horses and walked.
The path became increasingly difficult to walk, and everyone fell behind out of breath. Only Huiming took the lead.
He turned around and shouted: "Are you women? You are walking so slowly!" Yingyin was out of breath: "Hui... Hui Ming... senior brother, you... you slow down. us……"
Huiming said anxiously: "No matter how slow you are, you won't be able to catch up with that kid when he enters the deep mountains!" Looking at the embarrassed figures of Yingyin and others, Huiming stamped his feet, gave a helpless "cough", and chased forward alone. go.
