"In addition to this man, there were many other men who came with him. These men were surprisingly enthusiastic. They rushed to beg for donations of incense money while squeezing towards the temple gate."
"They all clamored that they needed to perform religious services at home and hoped that the monks in the temple would follow them back to the village. There were all kinds of excuses, but there was only one thing. They all named Huicong."
The abbot's tone became more serious, "Although the poor monk has escaped into Buddhism for a long time, I know very well what these villagers are thinking. I asked my disciples to stop them all outside the temple gate and return all the incense money. I can't watch. Let your disciple make mistakes again and again."
"But before I could persuade the villagers to come down the mountain, these villagers suddenly started shouting like they were crazy. When I turned around, Hui Cong...it was actually my disciple Hui Cong who came out."
"He walked straight into the villagers, surrounded by the villagers, and just...just went down the mountain with them."
"Master didn't stop him?" Jiang Cheng was a little surprised.
"I have thought about it, but just as I was about to speak, my disciple turned back. He glanced at me, and it was still... the same feeling. I was stunned immediately." The abbot's tone became urgent, with a hint of rareness. "He knows what I'm going to say, no, he even knows what I'm going to say next, I mean... he knows every word I'm going to say next!"
"Amitabha." As if to suppress his frightened heart, the abbot chanted the Buddha's name in a hoarse voice. Tao
Jiang Cheng was not carried away by the abbot's story. He was looking for loopholes in it. "Master, there is something I don't understand. The peasants in the village should be extremely traditional. How can such a thing be passed on to the next generation..."
"How could you use your hands on others?" The abbot did not hesitate and directly added what Jiang Cheng had not finished.
"That's right."
First he sighed, and then the abbot said slowly: "Does the donor know why the villagers sent the stone girl to this temple for meditation?"
"Does the donor think they are stupid? Do they really think they can produce a fat son just by practicing meditation?"
"The peasants in the village pay attention to tradition, but they are not stupid at all. Compared with reputation, the matter of having a future is more real, or to be precise, more urgent!"
"The donor thinks the village is harmonious? Are blood relatives living in the same courtyard really blood thicker than water?"
"Haha, have you ever heard of the donor?" The abbot's attitude changed and he became a little gloomy.
Jiang Cheng nodded, "I've heard that after the head of a family dies, if he has no descendants, his family property will be disposed of by the people in the same village. First, the closest relatives will choose, and then the neighbors, and then the neighbors. He is a member of the same village. After all this trouble, nothing was left in this man's house, let alone valuables. Even the better tiles on the house had to be taken away, so it was called "Kearing the Dead Tiles". There is a name, Chijuehu."
The abbot took the words and added: "Or it could be that the squire in the village took the lead and sold off all the land and property left behind by this person during his life, exchanged them for silver, and then used the money to hold a flowing banquet in the village, from the beginning of the village to the end of the village. Every household in the village has to wait for as little as a few days and as many as ten months. In short, they will not stop until all the family’s savings are consumed.”
After a pause, the abbot continued: "The property mentioned by the poor monk also includes these women who are like stone girls. They are not considered real villagers."
"So in order to have a future, these seemingly stupid peasant men can tolerate a lot and let go of a lot. Does the donor know why the leading man was willing to let Huicong and the two village girls go up the mountain that night?"
"That's because the poor monk used money to buy those two stone girls!"
"A monk should not do such a thing, but this is the condition put forward by the man, the husband of the two women, otherwise Huicong and the other three will be beaten to death with sticks in front of me!"
"And with this money, a man can buy other women to continue his relationship."
"Huh -" the abbot exhaled a long breath, as if to let out the depression accumulated in his heart, "These villagers will do anything to have a future. Do you know that the donor is not far from here? Some barefoot men wandering around
Among them, there is a peddler carrying a load, and a Taoist priest with wide sleeves wearing a hat of a god seeking a child. "
"These guys have no real abilities, they are just strong and have thick beards and hair. Everywhere they go, they will be invited to live in a certain master's home. In the name of driving away evil spirits, they will live in the same room with those stone girls. On the 2nd and 3rd, in half a month at most, these people will leave."
"Of course, the people in the village are not surprised. Every family has its own problems. Even if those stone girls really get pregnant, the people in the neighborhood will keep their mouths shut and never mention what happened before."
Hearing these things gave Jiang Cheng a headache. He felt that the abbot had been talking about it for a long time without getting to the point. All he cared about was Monk Hui Cong, "Master, let's talk about your disciple Hui Cong."
"Hey, from that day on, Huicong rarely came back to the temple. I also sent people to look for him at the foot of the mountain, but those disciples...those disciples returned without success every time, knowing that they knew what they were doing the moment before. He was still there, but when they arrived, the Huicong man was gone."
"It is said that he lived a very happy life. The surrounding villages invited him repeatedly and treated him as an honored guest."
"It was also from that time that all the stone girls in those villages disappeared. The village was peaceful with men farming and women weaving. Those fake doctors and fake Taoists who defrauded money no longer dared to go there, fearing that they would be beaten out with sticks. "
Jiang Cheng endured it for a long time, and finally said seriously: "Master, your disciple is so powerful."
The abbot didn't know whether he paid attention to Jiang Cheng's words. After a long time, he only heard the abbot sigh heavily, "I shouldn't, I shouldn't, he...he shouldn't kill people!"
Jiang Cheng's expression changed, "Killing?"
Killing is a serious crime, let alone murder. When Jiang Cheng thought of Monk Huicong's frail appearance, he never expected that he would actually kill someone.
"Who did he kill?" Jiang Cheng asked: "The men who forced Shi Nu to do that kind of thing?"
The abbot's tone was full of misery and deep self-blame, "No, not just that, he killed many people, including men, women, and... and babies who were just a few months old and waiting to be fed."
"Why?" Jiang Cheng was shocked.
"The poor monk couldn't understand it at the time, let alone understand it. When I came down the mountain to see him, he was sitting on the ground, his whole body was stained red with blood, a hatchet was thrown in front of him, and there were piles of objects lying on the ground. No one dares to approach his corpse."
"It wasn't until I appeared that his frozen face finally had an expression. He cried, heartbreakingly, saying I'm sorry, master, and the disciple didn't want to do this, but... but the disciple couldn't help it, the disciple I’m going to become a Buddha!”
