Volume 1 Huangquan in December Chapter 11: Endless hardships
Aluan was frightened by the sound.
"What are you doing? It's scary. Get up soon!"
Shan Hai wiped his temples and saw that they were covered in sweat. As soon as he sat up, he felt that all the joints in his body were hurting. He must have caught a cold.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this coolness that he recalled his childhood. The dream was so real that he felt dazed even when he woke up. It was not easy to struggle in the quagmire of memories, after all, he was with him.
Words, they are too heavy. Especially the last voice of Lord Jiyue, it is as if he himself is whispering in his ear.
What a nightmare.
Early in the morning, the old man went out and talked about exorcising evil spirits. The neighbors gathered at the door of Butcher Chen's house. When Shanhai squeezed through the crowd, they saw a dog tied up on the tree at the door.
Tie up a kid.
It looks quite similar to the one I saw yesterday, but it's not exactly the same. This hungry ghost is smaller, with a layer of rough and unkempt dead hair covering its head. It has a twisted face and a ferocious expression. It looks like an evil monster.
The dog showed its teeth to everyone, and if it hadn't been trapped by the rope, it would have jumped up and bit someone.
A group of people formed a large circle, and the mountains and seas drew an array with talisman water. In the array, damp toona trees were placed, which seemed to be arranged in a special pattern. He lit a yellow talisman, stretched out his hand,
Let it float into the firewood pile with the wind. Then, he waved the fly whisk and muttered something.
He has always had a good memory, and he has memorized all the various spells passed down from master to master in those years.
Aluan stood aside, fanning the black smoke rising from the wet firewood towards the hungry ghosts.
The open space was filled with smoke and mist, and everyone covered their noses, wondering what kind of medicine the Taoist priest was selling in his gourd. But after a while, the hungry ghosts who were snarling in the black smoke actually became a little quieter, as if they were furious.
As if a dog has seen meat, it pounces on the smoke, constantly grabbing the air and sending it to its mouth.
The bystanders were all dumbfounded.
This spell can teach smoke to become food that can be swallowed in the eyes of hungry ghosts. Although it cannot save them, it can alleviate their pain.
This little devil ate in front of the smoke for almost half an hour, and a group of people just stared at it blankly. Finally, it seemed to be full, and it was lying in the middle with its round belly. Butcher Chen walked over and pulled its rope.
It didn't resist, it just dragged a dog some distance away.
People were talking a lot, praising Taoist Master Lin for his profound teachings. But Shan Hai was still sweating. He didn't know whether such methods would be effective on the evil child. After thinking about it for a while, a turban-wearing middle man
The young woman rushed forward and knelt down at Shanhai's feet, crying and mumbling something incomprehensible.
He understood that this must be the widow the old man was talking about. What she was talking about must also be about Shuan Zi.
He also knelt down and tried to persuade Shuanzi's mother.
"I've heard about your son. But I'm not completely sure, so I can only give it a try. Besides, I came in a hurry and didn't make any preparations. I have to go back to my residence to get some
Tools, buy some things and come back."
"Taoist priest, Taoist priest, you are true to your word. You must come back, you must come back!"
It took a lot of effort for a group of people to persuade Shuanzi's mother to take her hands off Shanhai's clothes. Someone lent them an old horse to go back to the city, but the horse was indeed old and would stop and stop for a while.
, and they would eat grass again after a while. It took them twice as long to get from Southwest Hui to Yu'an Restaurant in the northwest.
He didn’t have a good rest, and doing alms so early in the morning, Shan Hai was indeed a little weakened. Aluan could see that he had been taking the initiative to carry Shan Hai’s baggage, which made him happy. When he returned to the restaurant, he
He led Aluan up to the third floor and knocked on the door of Mr. Pei's residence.
There was still a lot of fun and debauchery inside the house.
Shan Hai and Aluan's expressions were both not good-looking, but Yuan Yuanwai obviously didn't notice. He drunkenly invited the two of them to sit down and drink, and at the same time he boasted to the two pretty girls about how powerful the Taoist priest in front of him was.
.
Practitioners should not speak vulgar words, Shan Hai persuaded himself in his heart.
He reported to Member Pei what he had seen and what he had done. Sometimes he and the girls looked horrified, sometimes they were so surprised, they seemed to be listening to a book, and they even made fun of them at every turn.
Aluan couldn't stand it any longer, and frowned as he looked at Shanhai. He grabbed the corner of her clothes under the table and signaled her to keep quiet.
"Then hungry ghosts, why can't they eat human food?" A girl stuffed snacks into Yuanwai Pei's mouth, and he puffed his cheeks and asked.
"There are many reasons. What we have seen is that the food turned into inedible food in front of their eyes or in their stomachs due to the karma of previous lives."
"Can I just eat cigarettes?"
"That's right."
"Can the Immortal Master give a live demonstration to open our eyes?"
A Luan was just about to reach out to pull Shan Hai's clothes, but he took the first step and saluted with his fists, and stood up from the stool, his wooden legs making a clicking sound on the ground.
"I need to go there again tomorrow. I need to make some preparations. It's not advisable to stay here for a long time. I'll leave first."
With that said, he turned around and left. Aluan was stunned for a moment and glanced at Pei Yuanwai, who looked confused, as if he didn't know why there was such a big fire in Shanhai. She quickly chased after him, leaving Pei Yuanwai and the wine companion behind.
The girls looked at each other.
Why not eat ground meat?
Shan Hai leaned on the railing and watched the people coming and going downstairs. The men's noise and the women's laughter were endless. He frowned, but he didn't know what to say to this.
Maybe there are some words that he doesn't need to say. That's just the way this world is.
Aluan gently pulled his long hair from behind, but he didn't look back.
"What are you going to do?"
"Forcibly done."
"If you are really unhappy about doing this, forget it, no one will blame you."
"But I would blame myself."
Lin Shanhai really couldn't live a heartless life. He was so easy to be soft-hearted, and he had heard about the suffering in the world since he was a child, and he also saw it when he grew up.
His master, Aluan's ancestor, the master of Linxiaoguan, had a young friend. He was dressed in a green and black cassock, always holding a Zen staff, and hanging Buddhist beads on his other hand. But
If he is a disciple of Buddhism, he has long hair like a waterfall under his old hat. He is really a weirdo.
When he had nothing to do, that man often came to the temple to chat with him. At that time, Shanhai was still small, and he only did some work of serving tea and water. When he walked out, he would occasionally hear the whispers of his fellow apprentices.
"That false monk is here again."
"Yes, it seems that you are not sincere to the Buddha. Why did you come to our Taoist temple?"
"Don't say that. I heard that he and Master have been friends for many years."
Children are naturally outspoken. He listened to these words and remembered them in his heart. Finally one day he had the opportunity and asked the sect master about the monk.
"Buddhism and Taoism are different, but they lead to the same goal through different paths. I think that Buddha and Taoism are not divided into superior and inferior, but should seek common ground while reserving differences. Everything in this world is the same. Although your master-uncle leads the practice, he has already implemented the truth of heaven and earth.
I still want to ask him for advice on some things."
I originally thought that asking such an unreasonable question would arouse Master's dissatisfaction. Unexpectedly, Master was not angry at all. Unexpectedly, Master put aside his former serious face and talked to him kindly and calmly.
Speaking of which, the hexagram Huo Zezui that he had not yet finished explaining to the disciple of the Xue Yan Sect had some similarities in the differences.
He still remembered that when he was a child, he questioned his master like this.
"What's the difference?"
"Buddhists use their bodies to redeem the world, and aim to save all sentient beings and help the world. I, the Taoist, cultivate his moral character and cultivate his nature. If he wants to save others, he should save me first."
"Together and in the same place——"
"The great road is invisible and all living beings suffer."
All living beings suffer.
Thinking of the hope in the eyes of those ordinary people, Lin Shanhai had to force himself to cheer up. He took a deep breath, pinched the bridge of his nose, and straightened his body again.
Aluan came around to his side and blinked, as if she had something to say to him.
"If you want to say something, just say it."
"Ah, it's nothing. It's just that I just heard the waiter chatting and said that there is a Jacques living upstairs. He was there a few days ago. He said that he was not interested in beautiful girls or fine wine, so he summoned the top geisha, just
I play the piano to him all day long. Judging from the location, it seems to be right next door to our house."
Without saying a word, Lin Shanhai ran upstairs in three steps. Aluan originally wanted to divert his attention and let him not think about the things that are and are not, but he never thought that he would be very interested in this kind of news.
Interested. She chased after him and found that Shanhai had opened the door of the neighboring house uninvited, and she followed him in.
Immediately, Aluan froze at the door.
Sitting in the room, in addition to a young woman who was frightened when her performance was interrupted, there was also someone she was somewhat familiar with.
The man was dressed in fluttering white clothes, with green satin ribbons embroidered on the edges. The outer folds of the clothes were made of black silk, embroidered with dark patterns, and the inside was pure blue lining.
Although her attire was different from before, she could never mistake that face.
"Jiyue-kun?!"
Aluan exclaimed.
He was not wearing the black curtain in front of him, but those clear and clear eyes were exactly what she thought.
Mr. Jiyue waved his hand, and the woman playing the piano bowed, hugged the piano and left the room, closing the door behind her.
"Why are you always staring at me? It's so hard to let go."
He said with a smile, and his eyebrows also curved up. However, his pupils were very light, glowing like blue but not green, which made her feel very unnatural. What was even more strange was that between the pupils and the whites of his eyes,
, there is a trace of arc-shaped golden traces, the thickness is uneven, and the end of the slender ring is not completely closed - just like the crescent moon.
She desperately moved her palms up and down in front of him, as if to confirm whether he was really blind.
"Stop shaking, he really can't see."
Shanhai said gloomily, sitting opposite him and pouring tea.
