Is there no difference... Master Zhang smiled when he heard this, but he didn't quite agree.
But he had no intention of arguing with his old friend.
When you are young, you are sharp and have your own ideas about the world. It may be a pleasure to argue with each other because of different ideas.
But at this age, what you think has already been finalized. Who can convince whom?
Besides, when old friends are reunited after so many years, why bother talking about those unpleasant topics.
Master Zhang and Abbot Xueting have indeed known each other for many years. If we go back further, the first time they met was when they were most energetic.
In the past, the former had not yet entered Huaiyuan to practice, but was studying in the capital of the gods. He was full of thoughts about entering the court and becoming an official and leaving a name in history.
The latter...the origin is more complicated, but he was born in the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Five hundred years ago, at the end of the Daqian Dynasty, fortune collapsed, and rebel armies sprung up across Kyushu. After fighting like mushrooms, the two largest forces were born.
One is the army led by the first generation of the God Emperor and the National Preceptor.
The second is the rebel army that started in the south.
The two sides fought a decisive battle on the Wei River. The former won and determined the boundaries of the five states in the Central Plains. The latter was defeated and retreated to the south to occupy the relatively remote lands of the two states.
At that time, the war had been raging for many years, the people were in dire straits, and the vitality of both sides was severely damaged, making it difficult to continue fighting. In addition, Buddhism took action to protect the latter, and the two sides finally drew a line to stop the war.
The former became the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the latter became the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Compared with the numerous practicing sects in the Zhou Dynasty, the power structure of the Southern Tang Dynasty was simpler. The royal family was weak, the Buddhist sect was prosperous, and there was also a practicing sword field as the second largest.
The Imperial Master once wrote a poem in the past, saying, "There are four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Tang Dynasty, and there are so many towers in the mist and rain."
It’s talking about how prosperous Buddhism is there.
Correspondingly, although Buddhist monks are not uncommon in the Great Zhou Dynasty, they hardly have any large-scale influence. Most of them are small temples scattered in major prefectures and are dominated by traveling monks.
Midstate range is even less.
In the Divine City, only the White Pagoda Temple is the most famous.
It was somewhat like an "embassy". If anyone came from the Southern Tang Dynasty, most of them would stay in the temple.
As for Monk Xueting, he was still very young when he traveled thousands of miles to the divine capital, and he was determined to station here and promote Buddhism.
Let the radiance of Lord Buddha illuminate the northern land.
But under the eyes of the God-Emperor, the so-called "promoting" certainly cannot be done.
The White Pagoda Temple has stood in the divine capital for hundreds of years, and its presence is not very strong. Although the monks in the temple are given preferential treatment by the court, it is impossible to make a difference...
Rather than "promoting", it is better to say that it is just maintaining the existence of Buddhism in the divine capital, which has a greater symbolic meaning.
If you're just messing around, it seems pretty good.
But for a monk like Xueting, who has great ambitions and is astonishing in talent, talent, and perseverance, this is undoubtedly a heavy blow.
Although the White Tower is high, it is like a prison.
Over the years, countless people have advised him to return to the Southern Tang Dynasty, and even the leader of the Southern Tang Dynasty sent a letter inviting him.
Everyone knows that his attainments in Buddhism are enough to achieve greater achievements and higher status in the south.
But the monk just shook his head and refused again and again.
Like a stubborn nail, it was hammered into this small temple in the capital of the gods. It went from boyhood to middle age, and then into old age.
Master Zhang, who was a young scholar who aspired to become an official in the court, guide the country, and promote writing, was hit by reality time and time again, and saw with his own eyes the filth and despicability of the officialdom.
Finally, he wrote and went to Huaiyuan, and like many of his predecessors, he became a Confucian swordsman monk.
…
"The past is over!"
In the small wonton shop, Master Zhang sighed and said:
"In the blink of an eye, you and I are already old, and I don't even know if there will be a chance to meet again."
Xueting smiled, but looked at it very lightly:
"It's just life and death, nothing more than another reincarnation."
Master Zhang said:
"You Buddhists like to talk about these nonsense the most. Even the Lord Buddha does not see reincarnation, and death is death."
Xueting said slowly:
"There are three thousand worlds in the Buddha's kingdom. Why should reincarnation be limited to one place? The Buddha said..."
Master Zhang had a headache and waved his hand:
"Stop, stop, don't read your stuff to me, it gives me a headache."
Xueting smiled, shut up as expected, and then said:
"Today's literary meeting, I thought you would come later to keep the appointment. Looking at your expression, what happened?"
"There was indeed something unexpected." Master Zhang looked strange, recounted the situation of today's literary meeting, and said:
"I haven't been in the city for a long time, so I don't know much about it. Do you know who in this city has such talent?"
Xueting was quite surprised, shook his head and said:
"The poor monk doesn't know either. But you and I are both practicing people, so why bother to pursue it? If you are destined, you will meet it if you don't look for it. If you are not destined, you can't find it even if you walk across the mountains and seas."
What's the use of you!
Master Zhang was greatly disappointed. He pulled up his sleeve with one hand to prevent it from contaminating the soup bowl. He picked up a wooden spoon with the other hand and pretended to eat wontons:
"Although I have already practiced cultivation, I still can't live without food. I have been busy at the Wenhui for a long time. I haven't even eaten half a grain of rice in my stomach all day long. Eat it while it's hot."
Xueting followed Shan Ruliu, pulling up the sleeves of the blue robe with one hand and holding the wooden chopsticks with the other.
The conversation between the two was very soft, but every word fell into Ji Ping'an's ears.
They didn't notice the strange look flashing in the eyes of the young man in the store.
Is it fate... Ji Ping'an smiled and found it interesting.
For a while, no one spoke in the store, except for the faint sound of three people eating wontons quietly.
When Master Zhang put down the spoon, he couldn't help but said with satisfaction:
"It tastes very good."
Monk Xueting had some emotion in his eyes and said:
"Master is hungry, anything to eat is good."
"You don't like it?"
"It's not that I don't like it, but the son inherited his father's business, and the secret recipe may still be the same, but the person making the wontons has changed, and it doesn't taste the same after all."
Master Zhang smiled and said:
"I just heard you talk so much about Buddhism, but aren't you a monk who is nostalgic? No wonder we chose the same place to meet you."
Xueting looked at the clear soup in the bowl and sighed:
"Perhaps he is old. The poor monk really can't bear to see the spring flowers wither and the ice and snow melt. When I came here, I just hoped to have a taste of the memory and recall the past of you and me."
"Since I just said that birth, old age, illness and death are also reincarnations, why should Master be sad about spring and autumn? It seems a bit unethical." Suddenly, a voice came.
The two old men looked over and saw that it was the young man from the store before.
Now that he had finished the bowl, he stood up and walked to the entrance of the store, and happened to pass by the two of them.
What's the meaning of being upright? Master Zhang chewed on this new word and was surprised by the young man's magnanimity.
The snow court monk smiled and said:
"Donor, do you think I am so wrong?"
Ji Ping'an shook his head and casually recited a Buddhist verse:
"All conditioned phenomena are like bubbles in a dream. They are like dew and lightning. They should be viewed as such."
Buddhist verses are sentences condensed from the insights of Buddhist practitioners, and are recorded in many Buddhist scriptures.
What Ji Ping'an said is recorded in the Diamond Sutra, and the translated meaning is:
All existence is like dreams and bubbles, just like dewdrops and lightning that will disappear soon. Practitioners should maintain this correct concept.
After saying that, Ji Pingan didn't stay any longer, walked away, and quickly disappeared around the corner.
Meeting is fate, this casual sentence is both a whim and a gift to the other party.
"This young man is quite interesting. I don't think there is such a wonderful person in the well of Shendu City. Monk, what do you think of this Buddhist verse he recited?" Master Zhang asked with a smile while stroking his beard.
At first glance, Buddhist verses and poetry are similar, but in fact they are completely different things.
Master Zhang read the books of sages and had no understanding of the Buddhist chapters, and was even a little annoyed.
He would ask casually, but get no answer.
He turned his head and looked over, then froze. He saw the old monk with gray eyebrows sitting opposite, sitting in a daze.
"All conditioned dharma...should be viewed in this way."
Xueting recited it softly, with a hint of wonder in his eyes.
Then, he actually fell into thinking. He came back to his senses when he heard Master Zhang's call, and was about to speak with a complicated expression.
Suddenly, there was noise from the street outside.
A group of scholars came out of the street corner, looking excited and expectant. They blocked the door of the store and looked around.
"This...distinguished guests..."
Such a big movement shocked the middle-aged man in the kitchen, and he was confused.
I don’t understand why there was a sudden rush of such a large group of scholars outside.
"Shopkeeper, you can see a young man, about this tall, wearing clothes similar to mine, and he looks like..." The leader described it with gestures and words.
The middle-aged man was stunned and said:
"I see, a young man did come to my shop just now, but he has already left."
"Which direction did you go?"
"It seems to be over there..."
"Let's go, he's gone over there, chase him quickly, don't let him get away!" A group of scholars ran in the direction pointed by, with more people following behind.
There were also random discussions mixed in among them.
The middle-aged man was at a loss, wondering if that young man had committed some crime? He actually attracted such old people to chase him.
The two old men sitting in the store were even more discerning and had already picked up the general idea from the noise in the crowd.
Xueting opened his mouth, looked at his old friend opposite, and said hesitantly:
"You just said that the cultural gathering was disrupted by a young man..."
Master Zhang was equally surprised when a drop of soup fell from his beard, and he realized:
The person who said the verse just now was the culprit who completed the remaining poems all the way, causing a sensation and forcing the literary meeting to come to an end.
Well... no wonder, this person speaks well and has an extraordinary bearing.
Wait, isn't this what is called "fate"? But if you miss it, is it "missed" again?
…
…
Imperial Palace, Imperial Study Room.
The refreshing elixir in the incense burner was wrapped in green tongues of flame, floating in the air, emitting curls of smoke.
Emperor Yuan Qing, who was dressed in regular clothes and had jet-black hair, looked tired. He sat at the table and wrote a memorial in Zhu, among which there were not many major events.
Most of them were submitted by local officials, trivial matters, and a bunch of memorials to greet the God-Emperor.
At this moment, I finally finished correcting a pile of memorials on hand, put down my pen, and saw the little eunuch coming to report:
"Your Majesty, the Duke of Deer wishes to see you."
Emperor Yuan Qing glanced at the sky, felt a little surprised, and said, "Xuan."
Not long after, Duke Lu Guo arrived at the door of the imperial study along the corridor and bowed.
Emperor Yuan Qing waved his hand and said:
"I didn't tell you to keep an eye on Wenhui. Why did you come here so early? Could it be that the winner has already been decided?"
Duke Lu Guo raised his head, met the emperor's probing gaze, and said:
"Your Majesty, something unexpected happened during this meeting."
"Oh?" Emperor Yuan Qing raised his spirits.
Since both Mo Lin and the Beast Controlling Sect were victorious in their martial arts performance, and the Wenhui Court had the upper hand, he was not as worried as before.
But looking at the appearance of Duke Lu, it seemed to be beyond expectations.
"This literary meeting was originally quite normal..." Mr. Lu Guogong organized his speech and then narrated the whole incident.
It emphasized the dominance of the Hanlin Academy, but was interrupted by an accident.
"There is such a thing."
Emperor Yuan Qing didn't care too much about the result, but paid more attention to the person who caused the sensation:
"Can we find out the origin of that person?"
Deer Country Justice:
"After I learned about this, I immediately sent my guards to look for him, but there was no trace of him. After repeated inquiries, although I still couldn't find the person, I found out the identity of the woman who was traveling with him. She was Xu Jianhou, the Qin Tianjian."
Xu Xiurong? Emperor Yuan Qing was impressed by the female prisoner and couldn't help but be surprised:
"Is this person related to Qin Tian Jian?"
Duke Lu Guo said "grace" and said:
"Your Majesty has also heard of this person. He is Si Chen, Ji Ping'an, who was recommended by the Imperial Master."
It's him... Emperor Yuan Qing did remember this name. After all, when the Qintian Supervisor handled the case, he implicated the courtiers in collusion with the demon clan.
The person who solved the core of the case was this person. Later, he sent someone to reward him, not too long ago.
Duke Lu Guo smiled and said:
"This person once studied under the Imperial Preceptor and knew many of the Imperial Preceptor's life. I guess he also learned the poems from the Imperial Preceptor. He just didn't want to cause such a big commotion. But in the final analysis, he suppressed Huaiyuan and saved the day. Those scholars were dissatisfied and questioned the results of the martial arts evaluation."
Emperor Yuan Qing nodded, accepted this reasonable explanation, and said:
"No wonder."
After a pause, he asked:
"How many people know the truth about this matter?"
Deer Country Justice:
"When I came here, I heard that no one had found any trace of him. Xu Jianhou had left to avoid trouble. Your Majesty means..."
Emperor Yuan Qing smiled and said:
"Then there will be the Deer Ming Banquet. The five sects will gather together. Ji Ping'an will also be there. I really look forward to how Master Zhang will look after knowing the truth about this matter."
…
…
The sun was setting in the west, and a layer of warm light broke through the clouds, illuminating the divine capital city in a golden light.
The group of scholars still couldn't find Ji Pingan.
When the Muyuan star officials reunited at the agreed place and drove away on Chang'an Street in a carriage, the group of people in the car finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
Xu Xiurong had a piece of silk lying across her legs, and at her feet were items bought for women.
Mu Yaoyao's cheeks were bulging, and she was holding a brown paper bag to eat.
Luo Huaizhu hugged her cloth tiger.
As for Ji Pingan, who had eaten and drank enough, he leaned lazily on the soft cushion.
"Sir, are you the one who caused such a big fight?"
Huang He held a riding crop in his hand, his face glowing coppery in the sunset. He turned his head and looked through the car curtain behind him, and couldn't help but ask.
In the carriage, Ji Pingan blinked and said:
"no."
Then, he received the uniform white eyes of the beauties next to him.
Xu Xiurong sneered silently, with just the words "pretend, keep pretending" written in his eyes.
Because of Ji Ping'an, they didn't last long and ran away early. The shopping experience was extremely poor.
However... this experience is also an extremely rare one. Even though the actress has been living for many years, she has never had a similar experience:
There were cultural gatherings all over the city, but Ji Ping'an alone overshadowed the limelight.
She bit her lip, her beautiful eyes flashed, and she suddenly asked:
"By the way, what did you do when you left midway?"
Thank you: Gemini for your support every night!
(End of chapter)
