To the west of Chang'an City, there is the Saint Temple. The tightly closed brown temple door is mottled to the point of being in tatters, and the old plaque has been clearly cracked and divided into three or two parts. The three strong characters on it are said to have been written by the great calligrapher Yan Yi a hundred years ago.
This person is especially good at writing large characters, neatly and evenly, with strong strokes and a lot of effort, so he is respected by the world.
"Yan Zhuo", many royal lintels in the capital have their inscriptions, but this one
The three characters "Sage Temple" are not signed, so some calligraphers today call it an imitation of others.
After all, the Saint's Temple, which is currently unknown in the eyes of the world, has long lost the prestige it had when the country was first founded more than a hundred years ago. It is normal for such rumors to exist.
At present, the three neat and neat characters are also dilapidated along with the plaque.
The word "人" is divided into two parts, with a crack in the middle, like a deserted thing in front of the door, people are different, and no one cares about it.
The plain yellow walls on both sides have long since revealed their original earth color, with a large "
The word "Zen" is probably not an exaggeration to describe it as dilapidated, with only an outline left.
Two great monks, one tall and thin, the other short and fat, squatted under the stone platform of the temple gate, whispering, saying nothing more than whether they should enter this door for several days, such as: If you apologize, you will have food, or if you force your way in, this method can also make two people argue endlessly, which is quite likely to lead to a fight.
Obviously this time they failed to complete the task given by the junior sister and returned empty-handed, which made the two great monks who were sent back by Qi Moyan feel a little embarrassed.
At this time, the door of the temple opened, and the only female monk in the entire dynasty came out with a big broom in one hand and a dustpan in the other. Even if she saw the two sneaking senior brothers, she pretended not to see them. She threw away the dustpan and went to clean herself. The stone platform in front of the door.
The two great monks heard the sound and took a peek, but still did not dare to show their faces. An old man with a hunchback came walking around the corner of the street. He had spotted silver hair and was very stooped. His head seemed to be buried in his chest, but he walked steadily without any stagger.
There is a big black dog not far behind, following not far but not close, obedient and psychic.
"Why are the two young masters hiding here?" The hunchbacked old man was also polite. When he saw the two big monks, he greeted them with a smile and never showed any airs.
Afraid of being overheard by their junior sister, the two senior monks hurriedly motioned to the hunchbacked old man to keep his voice down, and then dragged the old man aside without any respect. Apparently they were not worried that such a rough move would make the other person uncomfortable.
Then he took a peek to see if the junior sister over there hadn't noticed, then he patted his chest with peace of mind and let out a sigh of relief.
The hunchbacked old man, who treated the two great monks as if they were his own descendants, was very cooperative. He tightened his feet and imitated the two great monks by squatting on the ground. He smiled more like an old man next door and was amiable.
The thin and tall Yi Shui was taller than the old man by a head. He still hugged the old man without any respect, without any respect for the only king with a different surname in the dynasty, and asked: "Are you? Come to see my junior sister?" The hunchbacked old man didn't say anything. On the way here, a personal guard had already told him about the actions of the two great monks in front of the Saint's Temple in the past two days. What were the plans of the two great monks in their minds right now? Can't guess it?
"Jiazi has not been in a good mood these past two days. I'm afraid of you..." The short and fat Yishan said half of the sentence. It was not that he wanted to make the old man opposite him guess. It was obviously because he was short of words and didn't know how to continue. The next person said it, but Yi Shui said, "We are afraid that if you put a hot face on a cold butt, Jiazi will scold you." Yi Shan said yes again and again, quite agreeing with Yi Shui's wording.
Obviously knowing these two great monks, the hunchbacked old man, who was less than ten thousand people in the Great Zhou Dynasty, did not care about the depth of the two people's words, he just nodded and smiled.
Yishui pursed his lips towards the female monk over there and said, "Look, the two of us senior brothers don't dare to go over and provoke her. I suspect that my master has provoked her. How about you go over and try to persuade her?" You are also his grandfather." Yishan nodded in agreement again and again.
The two great monks kept persuading themselves passionately, but the hunchbacked old man just didn't speak and nodded in agreement with the two of them with a smile.
The old and young men here were whispering to each other, and the female monk over there threw the broom in her hand and shouted: "You didn't see me working here, what are you talking about!" Hearing the anger in the junior sister's tone, the two of them The big monk trembled with fright. The hunchbacked old man finally spoke and said with a smile: "Go quickly, you can go in now, right?" The two big monks suddenly realized and hurriedly ran over. Pick up the dustpan, one picks up the broom.
The female monk still ignored the two great monks and turned away without looking at the hunchbacked old man over there.
The hunchbacked old man who knew her temper well hurried forward to greet her.
"Female Master, Female Master." The female monk just turned around and sang, clasping her hands together respectfully.
"Amitabha, Master is not here, please give me another day." After saying this, he turned around again. The hunchbacked old man was about to speak when he saw another old monk coming out of the temple. He was wearing a rare red cassock and had eighteen rare ring scars on his head. However, his face looked really withered, like an old tree. It is full of ravines, even if it is described as mottled, it is not an exaggeration.
The two gray eyebrows that slanted up to the forehead looked like a fierce Shura, but the pair of bright eyes seemed to be smiling but not smiling, actually dividing the face into two parts: the evil ghost and the Guanyin.
The string of rosary beads around the neck is even more shocking. It should be the number of one hundred and eight that can eliminate one hundred and eight worries and realize the one hundred and eighty samadhi. However, there are large and small ones with no rules. The big ones are like a baby's fist, and the small ones are like peanuts. , fell from the neck and wrapped twice around the left wrist, and there was a big pile hanging half on the chest.
"Master." The two great monks, one from the mountain and the other from the river, called out at the same time as if they saw a savior. However, they saw the junior sister's quick eyes and hurriedly swept the floor.
The female monk averted her gaze, bent down and shouted respectfully.
"Master". The old monks each returned a salute, and then they saluted the hunchbacked old man and said, "The Lord of the Night is here." The hunchbacked old man, who enjoyed special treatment when meeting officials, bowed in return, but in a very respectful tone, and said, "Daoji." May the saint be well." The old monk was not obsessed with these etiquettes, nor was he too polite. He went straight to the point: "I have recently been wandering around in my great Zhou Dynasty. I have only returned in the past few days. I heard that the prince came here some time ago?" The hunchbacked old man naturally said There was no need to hide anything, and he said truthfully: "I came here a few days ago. Firstly, I wanted to pay New Year greetings to Master Daoji. Secondly, I came here for the sake of my incompetent third child. Isn't it because I got into trouble three years ago?" He ran away, and now he is preparing to come back, thinking that when the time comes, Master Daoji will be there to help the emperor, say some nice things, and don't blame others." This caused the female monk to sneer.
As the grandfather of a female monk, the hunchbacked old man just smiled, which was quite flattering. However, the old monk bowed to the hunchbacked old man very apologetically, looked at the female monk, and said: "Why are you still so angry? You lied and were obsessed with it. Why was this time wasted in vain?" ?" Before the female monk could reply, the hunchbacked old man hurriedly said: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." The old monk was obviously a little timid. After the female monk glared, he quickly turned back to the hunchbacked old man and said, "By the way, the prince is in front of the saint. To save face, I don’t think I need to tell you anything.” The hunchbacked old man nodded and said, “That’s why I haven’t bothered my master in the past month.”
"Then why did the prince come here this time? Are you looking for Jiazi or Laoji?" The old monk asked but did not get a reply from the hunchbacked old man. The two people's eyes met each other, and their emotions were not affected. They just smiled at each other after a few breaths. , making the three monks next to him confused.
"How did Master Daoji know?" The hunchbacked old man looked up at the old monk from the steps. The old monk didn't want to hide it, but he just said it a little euphemistically, saying: "I have lived in vain for two years. Although I am not good at this, I still know a few things by drawing parallels."
"The master's so-called one or two are much more powerful than the Yuan family." The hunchbacked old man made an inappropriate sarcastic comment.
The unspoken words were like a jab, and the three people on the side were even more confused.
"Where is the Emperor?"
"It's just a family rumor. We haven't verified it yet, so we don't dare to file a complaint." One was older, the other was older. The two most important ministers in the dynasty fell silent after the conversation came to an end.
The hunchbacked old man started walking in front of the north-south temple from east to west, with his hands behind his back, repeating three or four times. The old monk just looked at him, and if he didn't speak, he wouldn't speak either.
The hunchbacked old man suddenly spoke,
"Where is Si Tianjian?" the old monk replied,
"I think Yuan Huojing didn't find out anything." He fell into silence again. The hunchbacked old man secretly let out a sigh of relief. As far as he was concerned, as long as Si Tianjian didn't have any definite news, it was okay.
"What do you mean?" It was the female monk who couldn't restrain her doubts and asked first. However, due to the relationship between the grandfather and grandson, it was not polite to call her.
But no one paid attention to her. The hunchbacked old man did not stop pacing and asked: "Master Daoji has entered the world this time, why did he come?" The old monk pronounced the Buddha's name and said: "Your Majesty, you are asking this question knowingly."
"What does Master Daoji plan?"
"I should go take a look first."
"Then what?" The old monk was speechless this time, and the Bodhisattva lowered his eyebrows. The hunchbacked old man asked again: "Master Daoji, does he know why I sent Jiazi here in the first place?" This time the old monk continued to answer: "I think it should be the so-called integration of the four religions to receive immortality." The hunchbacked old man Finally he stopped and glanced at the female monk carefully, but when he met the female monk's puzzled eyes, he quickly avoided it, as if he was afraid, and said: "Who in the world doesn't envy immortality?" There was a slight tone in his tone. Uncomfortable, like a guilty conscience thief.
"It's just a vague statement, how could the prince believe it?" The hunchbacked old man sighed, looked at the female monk, and did not avoid her aggressive gaze this time, and said: "These children are so outstanding, I can't do anything. Let's give it a try during your lifetime." The hunchbacked old man withdrew his gaze and turned to the old monk. Without waiting for the other party to speak, he added: "Although Linling asked the old guy in the White Horse Temple in Luoyang to say that he was born with a Buddha statue, that child She has been burdened with too much for my Ye family. She suffered a lot when she was a child, and she didn’t enjoy much happiness after entering my Ye family, so she was taken away by Master Kongkong of the White Horse Temple. You see, later on, she committed murder for her mother and was kicked out of Buddhism. , and alarmed the saint because of his brother, I can’t bear to let her suffer again.”
"Fortunately, we still have Jiazi. If I don't send her, who will I send? I'm convinced that those two little brats have no intelligence." As he spoke, he saw the female monk's eyebrows getting tighter and tighter. The hunchbacked old man hurriedly explained: "I am doing this all for the third watch." Seeing the female monk's brows relax, the hunchbacked old man continued slowly: "My life has been worthwhile. I have lived in the world and fought in the battlefield. However, none of the sons and daughters I gave birth to live up to my expectations. The birth of so many children in the grandchild generation has not embarrassed me. Look, Lin Ling was born with relics, Jiazi has the appearance of a Buddha, and it goes without saying that he is far away. How many twenty-eight-year-olds have been famous in Beijing since ancient times? At three o'clock in the morning, when they were less than twenty, they became astronomical. This is a natural martial arts prodigy. My Meisifu is even more unique, and has the rare Taoist purple-gold lotus look. You say, Is my life worth it?”
"It's worth it." The old monk nodded.
"In my more than 100 years, I have never seen anyone as lucky as the prince."
"Then what happens after you finish watching?" The hunchbacked old man returned to the previous question. The old monk looked at the female monk and hesitated to speak directly. However, the hunchbacked old man said calmly: "You are her master and I am her grandfather. Naturally, she will not help anyone. This is our business." The monk sighed, his eyebrows raised even more fiercely, and he looked angry.
"Your Majesty, I have been trying to win over Zhou Guo Zuo from the beginning of the founding of the dynasty." The hunchbacked old man nodded and sighed: "Oh, I heard it from hearsay, but you are just guessing, why are you so confused." As he spoke, the hunchbacked old man's eyes The fierceness is even worse.
"Your Majesty, I can't stop you." When the hunchbacked old man put down his hand, his rickety back slowly straightened, as if the whole place was stretched a little wider.
The world is shaken!
"For the sake of this family, I have to bear more responsibility no matter what."
"I have been practicing martial arts for as long as I can remember, and now I have a lot of experience. I am not good at intrigues in the court, but I have never been afraid of anyone in this fight."
"Master Daoji, you said I can't stop you?"
"How about giving it a try?" In the west of the capital, the situation is changing. In the south of the capital, someone came down the mountain.
