(9)
By the way, the enemies seemed to be still chattering endlessly. The Miao girl named Mengdie noticed the few people who had just arrived, and glanced at Mei Niang angrily. The latter was so frightened that the latter hid behind the others, and then turned to meet the kneeling girl. The monks were arguing about something. The monk opened his round eyes and looked straight at the arched door of the pagoda. Inside the door was pitch black and there was nothing, but his face was full of expectation, completely ignoring the Miao girl on the side. Such a graceful woman, coupled with her looming face hidden by a veil, makes it difficult for any ordinary person to ignore her existence. This shows the sincerity in the monk's heart. He really wants to stop and talk for a while with the famous monk Xuanqing of Qingliang Temple. .
In this place of pure cultivation, everything should be quiet, but today's situation is a bit special. The sweeping monk on the side was naturally very dissatisfied with the Miao girl who was making loud noises and disturbing the rules, but he was afraid of the mysterious wandering monk beside her, so he only dared to stay in the distance and complain softly. After a while, two monks came out of the dark door of the pagoda. One was the kind-browed young monk who led Bai Feng and others here, and the other was an old monk with white beard and hair. His eyes looked like he hadn't slept for days. It's so bloated that only a thin seam is exposed. He holds a gold-lacquered Zen staff in his right hand, with a golden Buddha bell hanging from the end of the staff, which makes a sound when he walks.
The old monk's body was hunched, and he was gently supported by the young monk beside him, and he moved forward slowly step by step. The Zen staff in his right hand also made a sound, attracting the attention of everyone in front of the pagoda. When one of the monks who was cleaning the fallen leaves and dust just now saw this, he hurriedly took the Buddhist rug to the front of the pagoda and welcomed the old monk to sit in front of the rug. The old monk placed his Zen staff across his face and sat cross-legged. His loose red Buddhist shirt could not cover his shriveled body and was pulled down to the ground. He immediately put his hands together, with a string of sandalwood beads hanging on his left palm. He turned to look at the visitor and recognized the town official Yang Ji at a glance.
"Oh! Master Yang! We haven't seen each other for a long time. How is Mrs. Yang?"
After Yang Ji heard this, he clasped his hands and replied: "Master, my wife and the child are fine. Speaking of which, the last time I met the master was half a year ago. The master is a noble and troubled man, but he still remembers the villain. This is really a petty thing." What an honor!”
"Hahaha..." The intermittent laughter from Xuanqing's mouth made people immediately forget that this was a serious place of cultivation: "It's better for Mr. Yang to say less compliments. After all, this place of cultivation is for the sake of people." If a person is pure, there is no need to repeat the clichés in official circles and the secular world!”
"Keep this in mind, Yang!" Yang Ji bowed deeply, slightly ashamed.
"By the way, has Mr. Yang's matter been settled? I saw that your face, old monk, was different from before, so I asked you out of curiosity..."
"Master is right!" Yang Ji replied, only to hear a woman's whine coming from the side.
"Ouch!" Miao girl knelt on the ground in response, stroking her scratched red arm with her delicate fingertips, and then yelled in a louder voice to another monk who was kneeling like her: "Why do you want me?" Kneel down? These old bald donkeys are not my parents!"
Several monks who were sweeping the floor nearby saw someone yelling and making rude remarks in front of the abbot. Finally, they couldn't bear it any more, so they grabbed brooms and came to drive the person away. Upon seeing this, Abbot Xuanqing waved his hand to stop the young monks and said "No problem", thus preventing a big battle from happening. The abbot narrowed his eyes, smiled kindly, and said to the group of kneeling men and women: "Are these two guests who came up the mountain just recently?"
"Yes, Master Xuanqing!" The round-eyed monk finally said: "The young monk's name is Juexin, and he is a traveling monk."
"Oh! Your Excellency, do you want to spend the night in Qingliang Temple to practice?"
"No! To be honest, the young monk fled here... I heard that there is a holy monk living on Qingliang Mountain, so I came here to visit!" Monk Juexin looked at the shocked faces of the people around him, and suddenly opened his mouth in humiliation, eyes filled with tears. With hot tears, he clasped his hands tightly and said hesitantly: "The young monk has committed a heinous crime! The young monk..."
Abbot Xuanqing also seemed a little confused, but he seemed to be very interested in this monk with a young young girl by his side, so he gave guidance: "Juexin, if you think that what you have done is not against heaven and justice, but It’s okay to say it!”
"The young monk... killed people... killed many people!" Juexin confessed: "The young monk has been growing up in temples since he was a child and has been deeply taught by Buddhist scriptures. About two years ago, the young monk began to travel around the world under the orders of his master. With his simple kung fu, he avoided various military and man-made disasters. However, in a temple at the foot of Qihuang City, the young monk encountered something absurd that he had never seen before in his life!" After saying this, he looked at himself again with tears in his eyes. The Miao girl next to her continued: "When the young monk was practicing there, he often heard about the disappearance of daughters and young wives from civilian families. At first, I thought it was the work of bandits, until one day, I discovered that at the foot of the imperial city There were many women hidden in the temple, and I learned the truth behind it! It turned out that the monks in the temple collaborated with the Taiping Taoists to traffic in women! They relied on the protection of our imperial master, and they did all kinds of evil!"
"Taipingdao?" After saying this, Bai Feng and Murong Yan on the side met their eyes at the same time. Abbot Xuanqing, who was sitting on the Buddhist rug, widened his bloated eyes as if he remembered something!
"Those women were disguised as pilgrims and believers on weekdays, but at night, they sadly became playthings! This made the young monk very puzzled and angry, so I went to find the abbot of the temple to reason. How could I expect that old slut? 'More so than others! He actually shamelessly admitted his viciousness and invited me to go to the dark pavilion with him to have a look. When the young monk saw the 'interesting thing' he said, the young monk could no longer hold back. The anger in his heart! For his own selfish desires, he actually wanted to starve a Miao woman to unconsciousness, and even torture her into a human shape!" Juexin nodded deeply, with an extremely sad expression on his face, and tears kept falling on the ground, with his clasped palms He was also trembling violently because the long-suppressed emotions suddenly surged into his heart.
"Juexin! Stop talking!" Mengdie on the side also cried sadly, hugging him to comfort him. Juexin's solid arms became tender due to the almost collapsed emotions, clinging to Mengdie's arms like a child.
When Abbot Xuanqing saw such a situation and heard such a tragedy, he frowned deeply and pressed his eyes. After a while, he slowly stood up. The kind-hearted young monk next to him wanted to help, but the abbot declined. Xuanqing walked up to Juexin with his Zen staff, stroked his head with his hand, and said compassionately: "My child, you did the right thing. Eliminating demons and defending the Way is what a monk should do..."
"But...but, in order to save everyone, I did not hesitate to kill dozens of monks! No matter how they begged for mercy, I had no mercy! Can such a person continue to devote himself to Buddha and continue to practice? ?”
"Of course! Please stand up!" After saying that, Xuanqing asked the two men to stand up, and then ordered the monk to take Juexin, who was already in tears, back to rest.
Xuan Qing sighed deeply and sighed in a regretful tone: "What a sin! I allowed you to indulge in such an evil way that harmed the country and the people!" Then, he turned to Miao Nu, who was still standing there. Mengdie asked: "Female donor, can you continue to explain the story that Jue Xin just told?"
"I... I only know that later on, Jue Xin was rescued from death row. It was said that the leader's name was 'Mei Lin', and he seemed to be a sworn enemy of Taiping Dao! Then I followed him, and I have been following him until now. ..." Mengdie showed a rare smile as she spoke, and then she seemed to be defending Juexin: "Old monk! After that incident, he really never killed anyone again! He is not a murderer!"
Xuanqing nodded in agreement and slowly returned to the seat, watching the Miao girl follow Juexin's footsteps.
