"Amitabha."
"Stop talking nonsense," the idler immediately interrupted, "Master Tongshi is here to see the sword."
"Master General," Xi Jing faced the idler and put his hands together respectfully, "The sword you want to see is..."
"I am Tongtong!" Tongtang said angrily, "Does he look like Tongtong?" This made the idler very embarrassed.
Xi Jing pretended to apologize: "Sorry, donor, the poor monk cannot recognize..."
The general manager was unhappy: "I heard that you have two famous swords. I came here to take a look. Why didn't I see them?"
The idler hurriedly said: "My lord, it is already a huge honor to come here in person, why don't you present it quickly?"
"The poor monk has many swords, but no famous swords."
"Nonsense," the idler shouted, "who doesn't know you have two rare swords?"
Xi Jing frowned.
"Don't be unreasonable," Tongshi waved his hand, "Is this how you speak to the master?"
"The poor monk has a sword, just show it to the adults." Xi Jing returned to the inner room and carefully picked up the swords.
He stroked the sword and said softly: "Don't be afraid, I'll be back soon." The sword was relatively sensitive and trembled slightly under Xi Jing's fingers.
Xi Jing took the sword out of the main hall and respectfully presented it to the general.
Tongshi raised his eyebrows and glanced contemptuously: "That's all?"
"The poor monk chants sutras to them every day." Xi Jing's tone was very respectful. He just hoped that this troublesome person would leave quickly so that he could find peace.
"Yes, it's exactly these two." The old monk next to him also interjected.
Tongshi held the sword in his hand and turned it over, repeatedly hoping to see something from the mottled rust stains on it, the gaps in the blade, and the dull blade. He looked at it for a while, then snorted and said, Step away.
※※※
"Sir, that old monk is lying to you."
The general stared at the idler and said bitterly: "Don't you think I don't know? You used two broken knives to deal with me. That bald donkey obviously underestimated me!" He was angry and came out with two rusty weapons. To him, it was extremely arrogant to dare to do this to Master Tongshi, "Don't he know who I am?"
"Sir, please forgive me for being bold," said the idler, "even an old bald donkey dares to do this. What will happen to your prestige in the future...?"
The general looked at him sideways: "What do you think we should do?"
"The villain doesn't dare!" The idler looked frightened and said with a bow, "The villain is just a mess, can you tell me what to do?"
The general took out a bunch of silver from his sleeve and put it in the idler's hand.
"Sir, this... will kill the villain..."
"If you don't want to be killed, just go home." Tongtong narrowed his eyes and slowly leaned back in his chair, "Think of a way to get the best of both worlds."
"Don't worry, sir." The idle man smiled so hard that he couldn't close his mouth and hurriedly put away the money.
"If you don't teach me to be at ease, you won't have an easy time either."
※※※
The city of Yanjing was quietly bathed in the moonlight, and it was peaceful.
This place that has been occupied by the Jin people cannot be seen to be any different from the past except that the people who manage it have been replaced by Jin people.
After washing the mirror, I felt something different.
At least no one bothered him before.
He once left a name in the world, but now he is an unknown old monk. He has stayed in this ordinary stone nunnery for more than ten years and no one has bothered him.
How come when the Jin man came, a so-called "tongshi" appeared and came to harass him?
Maybe it wasn't that Tongshi's fault, it was his fault. He shouldn't have been chanting to the sword in the hall. It was because he was too showy.
Having said that, wouldn't it be okay if they were buried in the Abandoned Sword Tomb from the beginning?
No, these swords and swords have not experienced the experience of life. They are children who have not grown up yet, unlike those in the Tomb of Wasted Swords.
Xi Jing took advantage of the morning light to go to the Abandoned Sword Tomb to chant sutras.
Ever since the general brought an idle man to harass him, he took the sword and the Japanese sword together to the Abandoned Sword Tomb every morning and chanted sutras together.
As the sound of the sutras rose and fell, the morning light became brighter and brighter, gradually illuminating the entire backyard.
The sword jumped.
Xi Jing noticed it, separated his clasped hands, and comforted the sword.
The sword began to shake uneasily again.
"Jian, you have been following me for many days, are you still afraid of me?"
Jian calmed down and seemed to answer: "No."
Then, the sword started shaking violently again.
After washing the mirror, he put his palms together again, cleared up distracting thoughts, and chanted sutras loudly.
The sword shook even more violently. It bounced off the ground and poked at the weeds around it.
Even the wooden sign that said "Waste Sword" began to shake. The entire Tomb of Waste Sword was shaking, the soil was beating on the tomb, and some grasses gradually exposed their roots.
"What's wrong?" Xi Jing asked worriedly, "Why are you so uneasy?"
Jian couldn't answer, he could only tremble nervously.
Only the Japanese sword remained untouched.
"You won't lie..." Xi Jing knew.
He approached the Japanese sword: "Do you know what's going on? Can you tell me?"
The sword flew up quickly and was inserted into the wooden sign that said "waste sword".
Japanese swords are still very quiet.
"Wash the mirror!" Someone called him in a panic. He recognized that it was a monk from the temple. "It's a disaster! Hide quickly!"
"What's going on?" Xi Jing hurriedly greeted the visitor.
I saw several officials appearing behind the monk, and they rushed over fiercely: "Where is the monk Nian Jian?"
"There is no Nianjian monk here." The monk said.
"Then who is he?" The official pointed at the washing mirror.
"Amitabha," Xi Jing bowed, "The poor monk's name is Xi Jing."
"Are you harboring him?" the officer yelled, "I want to arrest Monk Nianjian!"
"Donor," Xi Jing said, "there are only three poor monks in this temple. Apart from the poor monk Xi Jing, there is also this Guyun, the other Jingsi, and no Nianjian monk."
"Don't waste any time talking," I saw the idler who had followed Tongshi that day appeared from behind the burly officials, "That's the sword reciter, the one who recites sutras to the sword every day."
The officials rushed forward without saying a word.
There was a huge earthquake in the Waste Sword Tomb, and a piece of soil suddenly rose up, as if something was about to rush out.
Xi Jing clasped his hands together and whispered: "Amitabha, what do I usually say...?"
The sword stuck on the wooden sign was shaking angrily, and the whole sword burst out with a rush of heat.
"Silence!" Xi Jing shouted, and the sword suddenly became silent.
Everyone looked at the sword in astonishment, not understanding what had just happened.
"Amitabha..." Xi Jing bowed to the Abandoned Sword Tomb, and then said to the official: "I will go with you..."
I don’t know how long it had been since I last left the temple. Only then did Xi Jing realize that I hadn’t stepped out of the temple for a long time.
I wonder if I can come back if I step out now?
※※※
Nichuch must have spoken the language of the Jin people, no wonder he couldn't understand a word of it.
The mirror-washer was ordered to kneel down, while Yanjing's "left behind" Nichukh stood high and muttered something to the general manager.
The general listened to Nichuk's words for a while, then replied with some more golden words, and then asked Xi Jing in Chinese: "The master left behind asks you, how many years have you been a monk?"
"Sir, it's been sixteen years." Xi Jing replied in confusion.
He didn't understand what kind of medicine was sold in Tongshi Gourd.
I saw the general said a few more words to Nichukh, then turned around and asked: "Have you always been in that monastery for sixteen years?"
"Yes."
"Nod if yes."
Wash the mirror and nod.
Seeing Xi Jing nodding, Nichuch smiled happily and said a bunch of unknown things to the general manager, so the general manager asked again: "Do you have your ultimatum with you?"
"Yes, I thought I might need to verify my identity, so I brought it with me..."
"No need to say much, just nod."
Washing the mirror nodded again.
Nichukh was even happier.
"Take him back!" The general ordered, and the officials took the mirror wash back again.
Xi Jing was very confused. The officials didn't mention anything and he didn't want to ask.
Anyway, he finally came back.
The two monks who had known each other for many years couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that he had returned safely.
But washing the mirror has not cleared up the doubts.
He walked around the Tomb of the Abandoned Sword all night, sometimes sitting down and chanting sutras, sometimes cutting his hands behind his back and meditating.
The discarded swords in the tomb said nothing, and even the sword stuck on the wooden sign remained motionless.
The Japanese sword exudes a solemn silence, like a sophisticated traveler who feels that it is useless to say another word.
"I don't know..." Xi Jing murmured, and was in a daze for a while.
He doesn't want to waste time.
He looked up at the starry sky with nostalgia and watched the stars move.
Finally, the sky turned white.
