"You should ask for the Dharma's name instead of your surname. Are you out of your mind?"
It was this old Taoist man named Heyiqiu again, and Ouyang Rong found that he had a very poisonous mouth.
Ouyang Rong ignored the old man and nodded: "Yeah, then I'll ask the eminent monk for his Buddhist name."
The withered monk lowered his eyebrows and said, "I don't know."
"I don't know the master, but I have admired him for a long time."
Old Taoist Heyi Qiu sneered, "He means he doesn't know. Do you want to make me laugh?"
Ouyang Rong glanced at him sideways, "Which cookie are you?"
But the old Taoist asked curiously: "Biscuit? What is this? How can it be measured in pieces?"
Ouyang Rong fell silent and said nothing.
He got up from the ground, left the lotus platform in the center, and walked to the darkness where the three of them, He Yuan Qiu Lao Dao, were hiding from the rain.
He looked down and saw that the white sweater he was wearing was mostly soaked. Ouyang Rong seemed to have seen this style of Hanfu in a book.
The old system of round collar, big sleeves, horizontal pleats underneath, and pleats at the waist. The upper garment was worn by scholars in ancient times. It seemed that only scholars and officials could wear it.
After groping for a while about how to put it on, he finally took it off and threw it aside. Fortunately, there was a moon-white undershirt inside, but Ouyang Rong was not happy at all.
This unfamiliar outfit feels "heavy" on the body, and the friction with the skin is also very rough, as if the coarse rag from the balcony is worn on the body. It is in no way comparable to his thickened autumn clothes and down jackets. Comes soft and comfortable.
But what was strange when he thought about it was that although the Confucian clothes he replaced were thin, he didn't feel very cold after tossing around under the moonlight for so long in the early morning and even got wet.
"Have the seasons even changed..."
Ouyang Rong muttered and shivered twice more. It was not that he had caught a cold, but that the whole set of encounters and trends at the moment made him feel very familiar, as familiar as returning home.
In the past, Ouyang Rong would usually just walk away from this kind of opening process without raising his eyes. The only thing that made him care a little in the first two chapters was whether the male protagonist was half as handsome as him.
Ouyang Rong, Heyi Qiu Laodao and the other three found a dry place in the darkness, sat cross-legged on the spot, and then took off the boots on their right feet.
He had wanted to do this for a long time. There was a hole in the bag of his right foot... that is, the sock. Ever since he climbed the rope, his thumb had been sticking out of it and he couldn't get it back... It was so annoying that he was suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. Rhythm.
After putting your footwear on inside out, put your boots back on.
He stared at the rain curtain falling in the center of the underground palace.
He rubbed his right cheek hard.
At the moment, it seems that if he is really reborn, then he randomly arrived in an ancient world with high martial arts? This underground palace rebirth point seems to be safe at the moment, but there are some mythical powers outside that are difficult for him to understand, and it seems that some kind of terrifying force has the upper hand, forcing people to come to this pure land.
As for whether the soul is wearing it or wearing it... the face is still the same as before. It looks like it is wearing it, but it is not necessarily true. What if it is the same person in parallel time and space, but the situation is different, which is possible.
So now there is only one question left - his identity in this world.
Ouyang Rong raised his hand and touched the gauze on his forehead. The pain after pressing it with his fingertips and the wet and sticky feeling showed that the wound was an inch and seven minutes above the right brow bone, about two fingers wide and long.
He glanced at the stone lotus pedestal in the center of the underground palace.
Ouyang Rong pointed to the wound on his head and whispered: "Excuse me, who saved me?"
"How did you know we were the ones who saved him?" He Mao Qiu Lao Tao replied again.
Among the three people in the underground palace, the haggard monk always lowered his head to chant sutras, which gave Ouyang Rong an unfathomable feeling, while the slender girl didn't know whether it was because she was too cold or too shy, so she remained silent.
From this point of view, only the Taoist He-Huo Qiu, who is a bit of a talker, can talk to him.
Ouyang Rong slumped his shoulders, "I fell from above. When I woke up, I was lying on my back, but my forehead was injured. Who saved it if you didn't save it? It couldn't be the one I brought with me before I fell, right? .”
"I do have some sense... Well, my guess is correct." Old Hehuo Qiu smiled, "But don't thank me and that stupid bald donkey. Go thank her. It was this girl who saved you."
Ouyang Rong was a little surprised. Looking at the slender girl on the right, he turned out to be a cold-faced and warm-hearted master.
Learning from the similar word order of He Yuan Qiu Laodao, he also organized his words, unfamiliar with clasping his fists:
"Thank you...girl for helping me."
The slender girl just nodded her head lightly, apparently she cherished her words like gold.
Ouyang Rong waited for a while, then... felt a little embarrassed.
Old Taoist Heyi Qiu couldn't help but laugh, "Hahahahaha..."
"Smile like a hammer."
"She is a mute girl, and you are still waiting for her to speak? Hahahaha..."
Ouyang Rong was stunned and couldn't help but take another look at the slender girl.
Amid the old Taoist's laughter, the latter's body hugging his knees trembled slightly, and his head lowered.
Ouyang Rong shook his head, "All living beings suffer, don't laugh at them."
The old Taoist Hehuoqiu sneered, "Which of you saw that Pindao was laughing at me? He was laughing because it was so interesting here, hahaha."
"In this pure land palace, there are four of us together. This one is a bald donkey, this one is a dumb dumb girl, you are a bookish idiot, and the poor Taoist, hehe, is also a shameless thing covered in sores. The four of us got together, hahaha, it was so fun."
Ouyang Rong glanced at the throat and neck of the crane cloak Qiu Laodao. The latter laughed so hard that some ulcerated pustules were exposed on the neck of his neck that was originally shrunk in the black-feathered crane cloak.
But the strange thing is that this old man who is covered with sores has the appearance and complexion of a young man. If it were not for his gray hair and stooped body, he would be no different from a young man.
She really has a childlike appearance.
Heyao Qiu Laodao suddenly asked: "Hey kid, do you want a wife or not?"
Ouyang Rong thought for a moment, "Taoist priests don't lie."
"Just say whether you want it or not."
The body nodded honestly, but said: "Taoist Master, why are you so embarrassed..."
The old Taoist priest Qiu Gu held his palms and laughed, pointing at the slender mute girl.
"Then let's take this girl. We can't get out anyway. You two are a nerd and a little mute. You two just make a pair. They are a pair of mandarin ducks in distress. Hahaha, little girl, what do you think? Don't speak for three breaths. Just treat it as if you agree... That's fine, let's get married now, and you two can go to the bridal chamber as soon as it's still dark."
Ouyang Rong silently looked at Leziren Lao Dao without saying a word.
The slender mute woman also remained motionless and seemed to pay no attention.
Hehuo Qiu Lao Dao was happy for a while, and found that no one was paying attention to him, but he was not embarrassed at all. He held up his Hunyuan scarf hat with a natural look on his face.
"Hmph, treat your kindness like a donkey's liver and lungs. Don't regret it in the future."
Ouyang Rong didn't answer.
The rain outside had stopped at some point. After the dark clouds faded away, the moon set across the sky, and the whole world became much darker.
This night scene was familiar to Ouyang Rong, who often got up early to go to the rooftop to endorse books. It was about to dawn.
He looked at the hole the size of a wellhead at the top of the center of the underground palace, and couldn't help but murmured: "Is this really a pure land?"
"How can this be false? Don't you believe the words of 'I don't know the master' again?" Heyi Qiu Lao Tao said with a smile.
Someone sighed, and then confessed in a low voice: "If I had known better, I wouldn't have watched that kind of thing in this important place of Buddhism."
"What are you looking at?" The old man seemed to be very interested in him, paying attention to him from beginning to end.
Also, I don’t know that the master was chanting sutras to himself, and the little mute girl couldn’t speak, so only the two of them could talk normally.
"Something that deducts merit."
"You scholars still believe this?"
"I didn't believe it at first, but now I half-believe it."
"Only half convinced?"
"Because the education I received in the past does not allow me to believe everything."
"Although you are a nerd, your words are interesting."
Ouyang Rong suddenly turned his head, "How do you know I'm a nerd? Are there other scholars out there? Do you know me?"
"I don't know you." Hepao Qiu Laodao curled his lips, "But your clothes are just like those of saints, aren't they? You also hide and tuck your words, it's so convenient!"
"Is there anything outside..."
"Don't worry about the outside. The flood just now wasn't enough to make you give up? Just stay there. It's not easy to come to a pure land. Hahaha, I need to take a good rest."
"If this is the Pure Land...why are only the four of us here? Where are the others?"
"Because you are lucky, and everyone else is suffering outside." The old Taoist waved his hand impatiently: "Also, you scholars, don't always think about being a saint to save the world."
"Is there a saint in this world?" Ouyang Rong was curious.
"Yes." Hepao Qiu Lao Dao pursed his lips to indicate, "Aren't you? You don't have the power of a saint, but you can control the heart of a saint."
Ouyang Rong shook his head, "I am not a saint, nor do I have the heart of a saint."
"That's best. Besides, what kind of saints are they? They are obviously big thieves."
The old Taoist sneered and pointed his index finger outward: "All these natural and man-made disasters are ultimately caused by those guys who claim to be disciples of saints. As long as there are saints in the world, there will be thieves who steal the names and tools of saints. So this saint has another relationship with him. What's the difference between thieves? They're just one unintentional and the other intentional, the source of trouble. Both saints and thieves deserve to die! Saints deserve to die the most!"
Ouyang Rong raised his eyes and looked at him, "What you are talking about is the Taoist theory of 'the saint is immortal and the thief is not the only one'. I have studied... that subject, and I know it backwards."
"Oh? Are you still studying this in your studies?" Old Taoist Heyi Qiu was a little surprised.
Ouyang Rong hesitated for a moment and said implicitly: "To be precise, I have learned a little bit of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and I understand a little bit of them all." Damn it, how can I not be familiar with professional courses? He was laughing and joking when he took the postgraduate entrance examination.
Hehuo Qiu Laodao raised his eyebrows, couldn't help but look at him one more time, and suddenly asked: "What is the first meaning of the holy truth?"
Ouyang Rong randomly chose a short answer, "Guoran Wusheng."
This is a Buddhist question, asking what is the highest truth of Buddhism. Ouyang Rong answered that it is empty and contains no sage.
Old Taoist Heyi Qiu was silent for a while, and rarely put away his frivolity.
After chewing with lowered eyebrows for a while, he glanced at him and said, "You are nothing like that."
Ouyang Rong sighed, "That's why I want to go back."
Old Taoist Heyi Qiu sneered, "He also said that Kuo Ran is unsage. He wants to go up and save the common people again."
Ouyang Rong didn't explain. The word "go back" in his mouth was not exactly the same as the word "go up" in the old Taoist mouth.
Feeling that his physical strength was almost restored, Ouyang Rong stood up with his hands on the ground and walked towards the central rosette again.
It was the first time in his life that he prepared something so seriously and spent all his time and effort. But when he was about to welcome it, God suddenly told him:
it's over……
It's all over.
Ouyang Rong disagrees.
"I don't save the common people, I...save myself."
He answered softly, but more to himself.
Hepao Qiu Laodao shook his head, said no more, closed his eyes and leaned against the wall.
Unexpectedly, the master noticed the movement, paused his chanting, and advised with compassion: "Donor, this is the lotus pure land, and above is the endless hell..."
The old Taoist closed his eyes and said, "Don't waste your words. He is a saint, and his realm is different from ours."
"Saint!" The master seemed to have thought of something, and lowered his head and whispered: "The saint is dead, the Taoist ancestor is dead, and even the Buddha... is dead. Why are there still people who are so obsessed with it that they go up and die."
The monk Buddha sang once, put his palms together, and continued to recite the scriptures:
"So I heard that there are sentient beings who have fallen into hell today. There are bull-headed jailers and horse-headed Rakshasa, holding spears and spears in their hands, driving into the city gate to the Infinite Hell. They are animals, ghosts, pus, blood, and ashes. Miasma is the flying sand that shatters the body, the electricity is the hail that shatters the soul, it is the flesh that blooms and rots into a big mountain of flesh with hundreds of thousands of eyes, and it can be eaten endlessly..."
Ouyang Rong walked by indifferently. When he passed by the slender mute woman, the latter suddenly reached out and stopped him.
Looking down, the girl hugging her knees and burying her face handed over a sheepskin water bag.
He licked his dry lips, took it, and found that her right palm only had four fingers.
Ouyang Rong raised his head and took a sip without touching his mouth, then returned it.
"Thanks."
The mute woman retracted her hand that was missing her little finger and did not stop her.
He walked past her, and then he saw that she had been sitting on a straight 'long bar'. The strip is like a sword.
Ouyang Rong picked up the golden lotus lantern that had been broken into half on the ground. Fortunately, the rope was still tightly tied to the lamp holder, so it was still usable.
It's still the same place, it's still the same way.
This time, perhaps because he was familiar with the task, or perhaps because of good luck, Ouyang Rong, who was standing on the lotus pedestal, managed to throw half of the lotus lantern out of the cave in only his fifth attempt.
And it was tightly wrapped around a fixed weight outside.
Unwilling to give up, someone began to climb. This time he concentrated and carefully paid attention to the movements outside.
finally.
Once again, he climbed safely to a position near the exit.
Ouyang Rong discovered that the exit did look like a well, because there was a cylindrical tunnel about one meter in length that connected to the ceiling of the square underground palace below.
Ouyang Rong observed for a while and prepared to enter the last section of the corridor.
But at this moment, a roar of a beast suddenly came from outside the well. This roar sounded like a human but not a human, a beast but not an animal. Ouyang Rong had never heard it before. What made him even more desperate was that the rope he was holding tightly began to sway without wind - there was some kind of creature above that was biting his rope, and the rope was shaking and about to break!
At the critical moment, Ouyang Rong's body was like a curved nine-stone bow. He suddenly pulled up and jumped up. He threw the rope in the air and grabbed the edge of the wellhead with both hands. The broken rope fell back from his side. The underground palace.
Ouyang Rong was hanging alone on it, his chest rising and falling violently like a bellows, and the unknown evil thing outside made him dare not take a big breath, so he could only suppress it and suppress it.
He exhaled rapidly in small mouths, and with his trembling fingers on the edge of the well mouth, he could clearly feel the roughness of the rocks and the slipperiness of the blood mixed with the morning dew.
The palms of his hands were bruised, but the person remained motionless, as if he was still digesting the series of sudden changes that occurred a few breaths ago.
Below, I don't know the master, the old Taoist wearing a crane cloak and a fur coat, and the mute woman with a broken finger all looked up at him from afar.
Ouyang Rong looked down.
The unknown master shook his head at him and said, "Namo Amitabha."
Hehuo Qiu Lao Dao closed his eyes and chanted for the first time tonight: "Blessings are born in the infinite deity, and the merits are inconceivable."
The mute girl stood up and said softly, not knowing what she wanted to say. There was reluctance in her eyes.
Ouyang Rong lifted his muddy lips and smiled at them.
He really wants to go home.
Even if God was joking about rebirth, he would climb up and see it with his own eyes.
Even if it was Abi Hell who really stepped on the horse, Ouyang Rong would have to take one look before he could completely give up on this idea.
Ouyang Rong raised his head and saw the sky as big as the mouth of a well above his head. The sky was already bright. He was hungry and tired, but he exerted the strength of the last horizontal bar on the line to pass the final physical examination...
Turned out.
…
The dry well stands quietly in front of a peach blossom forest, surrounded by stone fences.
Ouyang Rong was stunned as he sat paralyzed by the well.
What catches the eye is the Zen monastery with green tiles and red walls. In the distance among the lush green bamboo forest, you can occasionally see the bell tower with its cornices peeking out. There are yawning monks upstairs who are slowly ringing the morning bell.
To the east, a red sun was slowly rising from the east-flowing river, staring directly at all creatures who dared to look directly at it.
"This..." His slightly sunken eye sockets were warmed by the light, and he gently sniffed the unique sandalwood incense from the ancient temple in the mountains.
Just as the dull and distant bells sounded in the mountains and forests, a group of monks suddenly knocked open the ajar gate, climbed over the stone fence nimbly, and hurriedly ran in front of Ouyang Rong, gathering him in surprise.
"County Master, County Master, you are here! Why did you come to Beitian Alms Home!"
"County Master, we have had a hard time looking for you. Where did you go last night? We searched all night. Master Xiaoyan, who is in charge and looking after you, almost died of panic! We are planning to go down the mountain this morning to inform the Yamen and send someone. Search the mountain!"
"Amitabha, you are so lucky, County Lord, if I had found you a little later, Mr. Xiaoyan would have had to move all our heads. Is your head injury okay? Where are your clothes..."
A group of monks surrounded Ouyang Rong and asked wildly. The latter was in a state of confusion the whole time, staring blankly at the bald heads dangling in front of him, and his eyes were dazzled.
"Okay, okay, stop yelling. The county magistrate's injury... has just healed. Don't crowd around and let everyone breathe." Finally, a young novice monk who seemed to be the leader finally stood up and pushed away the wall of people.
This little novice monk was in his teens, with pretty features and a bright forehead. When he came up to Ouyang Rong and looked at him, it was a little reflective.
The little novice monk waved his hand in front of Ouyang Rong's eyes, and then checked his pulse with a profound expression. After a while of tossing, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
I couldn't help but murmur: "I didn't expect that Master's medical skills are sometimes reliable, and he can wake him up after being comatose for so many days... Ahem, county magistrate, when did you wake up, and why did you leave the yard alone in the middle of the night?"
"You... you... I... aren't." Ouyang Rong opened his mouth and touched the wound on his forehead, not knowing how to speak.
Finally he came to his senses and hurriedly pointed to the dry well behind him and said: "Down here, the people below..."
The young novice monk was stunned, looked at each other with other brothers, frowned and asked: "County Master, did you fall into this...this Pure Land Palace last night?"
Ouyang Rong nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but he didn't know how to ask, "Is this really a pure land down here?"
"That's the name."
Seeing his confused look, the little novice monk probably had some reaction. He pointed at the dry well and explained:
"County Master, this Pure Land Palace used to be the place where our Donglin Temple enshrines the relics. It was from this dynasty..." Seemingly speaking of a taboo, the little novice monk immediately changed his mind, "It was the former abbot of the temple during the reign of Emperor Taizong. It was built by the emperor's order. At that time, it was popular in Buddhist temples across the country to erect pagodas, build underground palaces, and welcome Buddha's bones. However, later, the lotus pagoda on top collapsed due to flooding, and the Pure Land Palace was also abandoned... As for the people inside now..."
The little novice monk walked to the well and shouted directly into it: "Hey, senior brother Xiuzhen! It's time to have breakfast!"
Soon, Ouyang Rong's familiar voice from Master Ignorance came from below:
"Your Excellency, why are you outside? Come down quickly! This place is the Lotus Pure Land, and above is the Infinite Hell!"
Ouyang Rong was speechless.
The little novice monk turned his head and sighed: "Senior Brother Xiuzhen has been insane for many years. He was actually quite good before, but later he always said that we were evil creatures and wanted to eat him. Find a place to go to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss... The Beitian Yuan can't hold him, so we have to hang him down with a rope and send him some fast food regularly every day, and he also likes to stay down there."
Ouyang Rong frowned, looked down at his hand that was frayed by the rope, and couldn't help but ask: "Well, there are two more people down there..."
"Ah, there are two more down there?" The little novice monk was stunned and nodded, "Oh, they should be the patients and beggars admitted to Beitian Alms Home." He looked around, "The dry well is at the back door of Beitian Hospital. It seems It was the senior brother who managed the courtyard who slacked off again yesterday and allowed the patient beggar to run out and fall."
"Beitian Almshouse?..." Ouyang Rong was startled, thinking of the mute woman with broken fingers and the old man covered in sores below.
The little novice monk looked at Ouyang Rong, who seemed to be a little emotionally unstable, and said cautiously: "Yes, speaking of it, the reason why the Beitian Nursing Home can continue to operate is because of your compassionate hearts, the county magistrate. The county government provides funding every year, and we are responsible for taking care of it. There are some shady people in the county who are ill, old, weak, sick and disabled. County Lord, did they scare you last night?"
Ouyang Rong lowered his head and said nothing.
Seeing his thoughtful look, the little novice monk felt a little scared.
It may be that the common people of this era had a natural awe for people with official status, which was all summed up as some kind of official authority. In fact, Ouyang Rong knew that there was no official authority, but Donglin Temple was under the jurisdiction of this county. If all life and death are in the hands of others, you will naturally be careful about the other person's face and mood at all times.
At this time, the sharp-eyed little novice suddenly saw a dirty beggar lying on the ground in the bamboo forest not far away, biting things everywhere, looking like he was not in a good state of mind.
He quickly winked at the fellow apprentices next to him, and then sent out a few monks to hurriedly stabbed the person and escorted him back to the almshouse.
Most of the small movements happening around them, as well as the various expressions of the monks, were seen by someone who was silent and looking down.
He was not frightened by these ups and downs, but... after these ridiculous reasons cleared up the ridiculous misunderstanding, a new and almost certain reality was placed in front of him, and he was a little... even more disappointed.
Ouyang Rong suddenly felt that his head was starting to feel a little dizzy, but he still managed to stand up and spoke to them patiently: "I'm fine, I'm not scared. You guys explained so much, by the way, and I haven't asked you for advice yet." yes……"
The young novice monk immediately stood upright, breathed a sigh of relief, and said with a smile: "Young monk, please call me "Show Hair". "County Lord, you can just call me."
Ouyang Rong glanced at his shiny little forehead and nodded, "I can do it with my hair. No need to help me, I can do it...but I still have a problem."
"The county magistrate just says so!"
"Last night, the heavy rain and flood last night, did you hear it? What's going on with this momentum!"
The young monk and his companions, who were joking easily just a second ago, suddenly fell silent.
Ouyang Rong felt his head getting more and more dizzy. He grabbed Xiu Xiu's small shoulders and said in a weak but unquestionable tone: "You say it."
Seeing that his companions were also looking at him, the fair-haired young monk had no choice but to bite the bullet, pointed to the south and whispered:
"County Lord, you should know that when you take office as a new officer, the fields in our Jiangzhou are lower than those in the world; the fields in Longcheng are lower than those in Jiangzhou; and in Zhonghui, Yunmeng is the most important, and Yunmeng Guze is in our Longcheng." Next to the city and county..."
“Right now during the plum rain season, the water level in Yunmengze is soaring. Last night... the Digong Gate that blocked the water collapsed, and flash floods broke out... Now not only our Longcheng County, but also all the counties in Jiangzhou have been flooded. "
Hearing the familiar yet unfamiliar words "Yunmengze", "Di Gongzha", "Longcheng County", etc., Ouyang Rong's already dizzy head began to feel severe pain as if due to some kind of stress reaction.
It was as if someone had thrust a water pipe into his head, and the faucet connected to the other end had the switch turned to the maximum.
Ouyang Rong pushed everyone away and stumbled out of Beitian Courtyard. He came to an open place with a good view. Looking south at the foot of the mountain, everywhere he could see were collapsed houses, flooded fields, wailing women and children...
When you enter, you will see a vast country.
For some reason, after witnessing this scene, a poem suddenly appeared in Ouyang Rong's mind, as if someone had inserted it into his mind out of thin air:
The whole city is filled with mourning and blood, but there is nothing more than a thought to save the common people.
This slightly middle-class style didn't look like the solitary 'old music man' at all, but... the memories and thoughts of the 'original person' who was a gentleman began to pour out along with the headache.
"Good guy, my dead memory started to attack me... Wait, I remembered. I am the new county magistrate of Longcheng. On the day I took office, I announced in public that I would cure the flood. As a result... I immediately fell into the water and drowned. ...What kind of unlucky guy is this? What kind of flag should he set up..."
Before Ouyang Rong lost consciousness, the last thing he heard was the urgent shouts of Xiufa and the others...
He suddenly felt that maybe it would be good to stay in the pure land below?
…
