The first year of Xiangfu. Early winter.
Near the city of Liangzhou, a delicate and pretty girl in thin clothes and a young monk in a shabby kasaya were walking together.
"Stupid Nanbei, we're almost at Liangzhou. Why am I getting more and more nervous? It's almost as nervous as the first time I peeked at the love letter that the vixen at the foot of the mountain wrote to my father! "
"You're nervous when you're close to home. Anyway, Hsu Fengnian's home is half your home. "
"A monk is pleading for you. Aren't you afraid that the Buddha living in the Western Paradise will drown you with a sneeze?"
"Master still has his wife. I don't see him being afraid of wind, rain, or thunder."
"Stupid Nanbei, we don't even have a copper coin to buy beautiful rouge and face powder this time. Will he think that I'm getting uglier and uglier?"
"How can he!"
"This is your promise. If it's not like this when the time comes, I'll beat you up."
"Amitabha …"
"Stupid Nanbei, let me ask you a question. You Buddhists …"
"Stop, stop. Li Zi, your home is my home. What do you mean 'you Buddhists'? I was picked up by Master and brought up the mountain. It was Master's wife who helped me shave my hair. Master's wife said that I was crying at that time. Look, how old was I at that time? I already knew that I didn't want to be a monk."
"Okay, okay. Just answer me directly. Why do Buddhists say that the heart is all prajna? Then, are those Bodhisattvas' great wishes a kind of obsession? If so, how can there be hope to become a Buddha? "
"Well … Li Zi, why don't I answer you after I become a Buddha and burn the Sarira?"
"Is this how you used to preach to those big and small baldies? No wonder the old abbot always likes to owe copper coins. Mother asked me to urge him, but the old abbot always laughed bitterly as if he had eaten something bad. It must be that the old abbot dislikes your preaching. "
"…"
"Eh? Stupid Nanbei, why are you crying? Can you be a little more promising? The old abbot has become a Buddha, not dead! "
"Cry when you cry, laugh when you laugh, eat when you eat, sleep when you sleep, and recite when you recite. When the wooden fish rings, I am Buddha. This is what my master taught me."
"Come on, how stupid are you? You can't even comprehend Buddhism. If you become a Buddha, who will be willing to believe in Buddhism in the future?"
"Heh …"
"By the way, stupid Nanbei, speaking of the wooden fish, why haven't I seen my father let you knock it?"
"My family doesn't have it either."
"That's true, but our stingy neighbor, Baldy Hui Neng, did hide a very precious wooden fish. I heard from my mother that it was carved from the Wutong tree of Xishu. If you hit it with all your might, you could hear it from dozens of miles away. Are you serious? "
"Of course not. Once, Master's wife wanted to go down the mountain to buy a set of clothes that she liked for a long time. Coincidentally, Master didn't have any extra money, so he took me out to hide from Master's wife and secretly met with Abbot Hui Neng to drink. Abbot Hui Neng drank happily and sat on the ground holding the wooden fish for most of the night. At that time, I stood outside the door to keep a lookout for them. I didn't feel that the wooden fish was very loud. Actually, Master's wife was thinking about the value of the wooden fish. Once, when Master's wife saw me washing clothes, she let it slip. She said that in the future, she must bring the wooden fish home and then give it to you as a dowry. How impressive! "
"My mother … No wonder every time my mother saw Baldy Hui Neng a few years ago, she would ask him how old he was. Alas, fortunately, my mother only wandered around the small town at the foot of the mountain and never went into the Jianghu. Otherwise, which young master would be willing to pay attention to her? "
"Anyway, Master is watching over Master's wife, and Master's wife isn't willing to go into the Jianghu. Besides, Master's wife always said that the women at the foot of the mountain are either tigresses that eat people without spitting out their bones or foxes that only have skin but not brains. Especially that Great Peace City, the streets are full of shameless and indecent women. It has always been Master's forbidden area. How can Master's wife be at ease with Master? Otherwise, Master's wife wouldn't have followed Master to the capital this time, right? "
"Wu Nanbei! Do you believe that I won't tell my mother!? "
"Amitabha … Master, no wonder you don't talk back every time Master's wife scolds you. The more you say, the more mistakes you make. I kind of understand. "
"Stupid Nanbei, what are you muttering about?"
On the road, the young girl puffed up her cheeks and clenched her fists as if she was knocking on the wooden fish.
"Dong dong dong ~ When the wooden fish sounds, I am Buddha. Yiyayiyaya ~ Dong dong dong ~"
The young monk secretly turned his head and snickered.
On this day, the sun was warm.
— —
As the center of Beimang's Southern Dynasty, Xi Jing City was originally called Good Son-In-Law City. It was once just a normal city. With the influx of scholars from the north, it gradually had deep and secluded courtyards in Jiangnan. It had thick black tiles and white walls in the style of respecting one's ancestors. It had the private library of an aristocratic family that cultivated and studied. It had the unfamiliar sounds of reading, elegant high hats and broad belts, beautiful women's long dresses that dragged on the ground, and all kinds of food that dazzled the locals. Good Son-In-Law City became more and more prosperous day by day until it became Beimang's auxiliary capital. With continuous expansion, there was a court where the local nobles and foreign scholars each occupied half of the country. There was a system of three provinces and six departments. There were many talents, and it was beautiful.
With the passage of more than 20 years, this city seemed to have grown from a thin little girl into a plump beautiful woman.
Then, on this imperial road that was slightly more deserted than usual, a group of people walked slowly. The leader was an old woman. The old woman's age was naturally not something that New Xi Jing City could compare with.
The old woman with an old fox fur draped over her shoulders was followed by an old Confucian scholar. Further behind, there was a middle-aged swordsman with a sword and a burly man in his fifties walking side by side.
The old woman suddenly chuckled softly and said, "I heard that our War God met that family of three at Mount Hui, but they didn't fight."
The old man in the green shirt nodded.
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