Although Shen Luo was indignant about the actions of the city guards, they had important matters to attend to and should not attract attention. He was about to ask Bai Xiaotian to let it go.
"Amitabha. Officers, all lives are equal. Everyone else only needs to pay two taels of silver. Why do we have to pay two taels of gold?" Chan 'er stepped forward and asked.
Only then did the few city guards notice Chan 'er, and their expressions changed.
"Master, you're their companion? It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. Please enter the city! "The extortionist was all smiles and immediately stepped aside. His attitude was completely different from before.
The rest of the soldiers stopped laughing and bowed to Chan 'er. They looked rather pious.
Chan 'er returned a Buddhist bow to them. Shen Luo and Bai Xiaotian did not know what was going on, but it was naturally a good thing to avoid trouble. They immediately pulled Chan' er into the city.
White County City was on high ground. Shen Luo thought that the city would be bustling, but when he entered, he saw that the roads were narrow and dirty. The houses on both sides had low eaves, and there were very few shops. Even if there were, they were very dilapidated. The lives of the people seemed to be abnormally poor.
However, unlike the dilapidated houses of the people, there were many monasteries in the city. Moreover, they were all built with thousands of layers of Dharma space. The atmosphere was strict, and the sound of Sanskrit was ethereal. The incense was abnormally prosperous.
Chan 'er was dressed as an eminent monk. Although she was young, her bearing was extraordinary. When the people in the city saw the three of them, they immediately stepped aside and bowed to Chan' er respectfully.
Shen Luo and Bai Xiaotian looked at each other. They suddenly realized that the status of monks in White County City was so high. It was no wonder that the extortionist soldiers at the city gate immediately stepped aside when they saw Chan 'er.
"This city is located at the crossroads of the Silk Road. It should be quite prosperous. Why are the people living here so poor, and yet Buddhism is so prosperous? It's really strange." Bai Xiaotian was very surprised to see this scene.
"Amitabha. It's really strange." Chan 'er nodded.
"What's so strange about this? The lands of the countries in the Western Region are barren. They are not as rich as the Central Plains. As for trade, look at the behavior of the city guards. Which Central Plains merchant would dare to come here? If they were sold, there would be no one to reason. "The Buddha beads on Chan 'er's wrist sneered.
When Chan 'er heard this, she sighed and chanted Buddha's name softly.
"It won't be too late to investigate the situation here later. It's getting late, let's find a place to stay first," Shen Luo said.
"Alright." Bai Xiaotian agreed.
"Almsgivers, please go ahead and look for a place to stay. I am an outsider, so I will stay in the temple in front for the night. We will meet here tomorrow," Chan 'er said.
Only then did Shen Luo remember that with Chan 'er accompanying them, it was indeed inappropriate for them to stay at an inn.
"Master Golden Cicada, you can't be careless about your safety. How about this, I'll follow you to the temple to stay. Brother Shen, you can find another place to stay in the city and ask about the situation in Wuji Country," Bai Xiaotian said.
"Alright." Shen Luo had the same idea, so he immediately nodded in agreement.
Thus, the three of them parted ways. Shen Luo searched the city for a long time before he finally found an inn to stay in.
The inn was not big. Other than the owner, there were only two waiters. Perhaps it had been too long since there had been a guest, so the owner personally escorted Shen Luo to his room and served him tea and dinner attentively.
"Owner, this is the first time I've come to Wuji Country. However, when I was in the Tang Dynasty, I heard that Wuji Country was a rather large country in the Western Region. It was located at an important place for silk trade and should be quite prosperous. Why is White County City so dilapidated?" Shen Luo rewarded the owner with some silver and asked.
"Sir, are you from the Tang Dynasty? No wonder you look so talented! Alas, speaking of our Wuji Country, it used to be very prosperous. However, in recent years, there have been many natural disasters. Bandits and demons have run amok. The people have no way to make a living, and foreign merchants don't come. That's why the city has declined to this state. "The owner of the inn sighed.
"Oh, there's an attack by demons!" Shen Luo's eyes narrowed.
"That's right. I don't know why, but many demons have appeared in many places in the Wuji Kingdom. Although the Holy Monks of the Holy Lotus Altar have tried their best to kill the demons, there are too many of them. They can't kill all of them. Maybe it's because we don't serve the Holy Lord sincerely, so such a disaster has happened." The owner put his palms together and said.
"Holy Lotus Altar? What's that? A Buddhist temple? "Shen Luo asked curiously.
"Ah, sir, you don't know about the Holy Lotus Altar? I've heard that Buddhism is also prosperous in the Tang Dynasty. I didn't expect you to be so ignorant. " The owner of the inn's face darkened. He seemed to be very angry that Shen Luo didn't know about the Holy Lotus Altar. He flicked his sleeves and left.
Shen Luo raised his eyebrows, but he didn't care. He got up and closed the door.
It was already dark outside. This place was not like Chang 'an. Most of the people in the city were already asleep. He flew out of the window, turned into a black shadow, and disappeared silently into the distance.
After half the night, when the sky was about to brighten, he flew back from outside with a few thick books in his hands.
Shen Luo had just walked around the city and listened to the private discussions of the people in the city. He understood the situation in the city from another perspective.
As for these books, they were found in several small temples that recorded the history of the world.
He flipped through these books and read quickly. With his current Spiritual Power, he could read ten lines at a glance. Soon, he had finished reading all the books. A look of understanding flashed across his face.
Wuji Country was now weak and in troubled times, its people were all addicted to Buddhism in order to find relief. The Buddhism here was more prosperous than in the Tang Dynasty.
The Divine Lotus Spiritual Altar was the current national religion of the Wuji Kingdom. Most of the temples in White County City were branches of the Divine Lotus Spiritual Altar.
"Holy Lotus Altar?" Shen Luo frowned.
In troubled times, the people were in dire straits. It was not impossible to find some spiritual sustenance. However, from what he had heard, this Holy Lotus Altar was quite evil. It was different from the Life Transformation Temple, Jinshan Temple, and other Buddhist sects in the Central Plains. The Holy Lotus Altar did not advocate equality. Instead, it believed that the people in the Holy Lotus Altar were Holy Monks, who were one level higher than the common people. Moreover, the Holy Lotus Altar did not kill demons for free.
He had seen a record in a book that a demon had appeared in a city of the Wuji Country. The city lord had requested the Holy Monk of the Holy Lotus Altar to help. The Holy Monk had asked for half of the city's wealth. Although the city lord was extremely unwilling, he had to take out half of the wealth in order to get rid of the demon.
In the Great Tang, accumulating wealth in such a manner could be considered an act of banditry, but the Divine Lotus Altar described this as offering offerings to the Divine Lord and often brainwashed the common people. Year after year, the common people of Wuji slowly began to accept this explanation.
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