With Old Huang and the old man wearing the sheepskin fur coat, these two swordsmen in front of him, it did not matter whether he saw the Wu family ruins or not.
Hsu Fengnian passed by the Wu family ruins but did not enter it. Walking up the northern hillside, he found a group of buildings that were neither donkey nor horse, half temple, half Taoist temple, green and white robed Taoist priests and red robed Lamas mingled together, each of them soliciting pilgrims. Hsu Fengnian gnawed on dried green fruit and dates, bypassing the red mottled outer wall, and stopped at the door to the rear courtyard. There was a bright red Taoist peach talisman hanging above the door. The couplet was written in the characters of the Central Plains, it was rare to see the strong strokes and silver hooks, it was quite a Buddhist style: No matter how lawless you are, seeing this bright mirror hanging high above, ask yourself if you still have the guts? You must know that I can be lenient and forgiving, put down the butcher's knife and quickly turn around! Hsu Fengnian crossed the threshold. It was dusk, a group of Lamas wearing red robes had finished their evening classes and were sitting on the floor of the corridor outside the main hall, discussing sutras. The older Lamas were already seventy or sixty years old, the younger ones were only seven or eight years old. They were all wearing red velvet robes. Some of the more lively young Lamas simply sat on the railing. They had not been cultivating for a long time, making a string of squeaking noise. The older Lamas held the Buddhist prayer beads in front of their chests, their expressions varied. Some of the debaters were in high spirits, some had knitted brows, while the spectators were either deep in thought or cheerful. Hsu Fengnian did not approach, he stood quietly in the distance, listening with some difficulty to those Beimang gatha debating with each other. The last rays of twilight scattered, several of the young Lamas, who were absent-minded during the debate, saw the pilgrim Hsu Fengnian. They grinned and turned their heads to whisper to each other. It was not clear whether they were talking about the new sutras and Buddhist doctrine, or the appearance of a certain elder sister who burned incense the day before. The inside and outside of the courtyard were only a few feet high, a small threshold that could be crossed in one step. But to be out of the secular world was the big threshold. Hsu Fengnian walked along the wall. Along the way, a middle-aged monk came toward him with a wooden basin in his hand. His expression was calm, he gently saluted with one hand. Hsu Fengnian returned the salute and went to burn three incense sticks outside the main hall to worship the Buddha, the Dharma, and the monks. For some reason, he thought of the impending catastrophe of the two dynasties, as well as the Dragon Tree monk's saying that one must have the Buddha's heart even without the Buddha's image and Buddhist scriptures. He sighed with emotion. Could an old monk of the Two Zen Temples withstand it?
Hsu Fengnian shook his shoulders, tightened the belt, and slightly hung the book case. He was about to find a way to leave through the main entrance when he saw a familiar man and woman coming out of the hall. They were the diners sitting at the same table at the wine stall. The man wore a silk robe, his face was like jade, and he had an elegant demeanor. Around his waist hung a string of golden chains, which was very popular among the scholars of the Southern Dynasty. The woman was delicate and virtuous, wearing a golden hairpin, and her hair was swaying. She had the appearance of a pretty girl from a humble family, but she had the air of a lady from a noble family. The young, handsome man was talking to his companion about the Thirty-Two Forms of Buddhism, and conveniently explained the difference between the Golden Body Form of Buddhism and the Vajra Realm of First Grade Martial Artists. His words were profound and simple, and it was obvious that he was familiar with the classical classics of Buddhism. The woman nodded her head gently. Hsu Fengnian did not want to speed up and overtake the two. His original intention was not to disturb this outstanding man and woman who were only a little bit less than a couple. Unexpectedly, after a while, the man turned his head and glared fiercely at him, as if he felt that Hsu Fengnian was staring at the woman's graceful figure with ill intentions. However, because of the man's upbringing, he did not say any malicious words. Hsu Fengnian could only stop and wait until they were far away before he continued forward. With his hearing, he heard the man angrily say, "My dynasty's Dharma is already at the end of the world, and it should have been completely cleansed. Take these temples for example. If someone obstructs a monk from becoming a monk, even if you are the abbot, you will be cursed to be blind for generations to come. As a result, most of the monks in these temples are heretical liars who rely on Buddhism. If they don't do shady business, they don't understand what Dharma is. Buddhism is a pure land, so how can it be pure? They are a bunch of disgraceful things who deserve to be killed! "
The woman's temperament was gentle, her way of looking at human affairs seemed to be a lot gentler. She spoke softly, "Those lamas debating sutra are all very nice, they don't look like bad people. You deliberately offered them gold and silver, but they were unwilling to touch the money. Instead, they gave you a sutra book."
The man's finger flicked the jade bracelet on his waist. 'Ding dong! Ding dong!' he said with a scornful sneer, "The general trend is irresistible, one or two good monks are not enough."
The woman dismissed it with a laugh. Although she had her doubts, she did not argue with him.
From a distance, Hsu Fengnian saw them burning incense and praying to heaven in front of a cauldron. In order not to annoy them, he simply sat down on the steps, took down the book case, and pretended to take a short break. Because the poor and pedantic old man selling secret manuals was missing his front teeth, Hsu Fengnian could not help but think of Old Huang of Western Shu. It happened that it was this old swordsman, who was the most unreasonable swordsman, who taught Hsu Fengnian the most simple truth. This was probably the reason why the truth was always in a plain and quiet place. He remembered that on the way back to Beiliang, after he parted with Wen Hua, before he met White Fox, the two of them were no longer in a difficult situation like they were in the past. They were still in a difficult situation, but after they became familiar with the rules, they also became familiar with the way. Even without Old Huang's help, Hsu Fengnian could still steal chickens, touch dogs, roast sweet potatoes, and weave straw sandals on his own. He would not starve to death, nor would he freeze to death. At that time, by chance, he saw a murder case caused by a fight over secret manuals from a distance. The secret manuals were very common, they could not even be called third-rate, but they still lost five or six lives.
"Old Huang, I didn't know that secret manuals are so popular in Jianghu. My Tide-listening Pavilion has several tens of thousands of copies, why don't we sell them all at a low price? Just treat it as a good thing, okay? Won't the whole Jianghu be deeply grateful to me? How many young and beautiful heroines will secretly throw flirtatious glances at me? Just thinking about it makes me feel good. "
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