"...Me and the fat Taoist priest over there are dedicated to cultivating the moon in the sky. What do you think the moon looks like at this time?"
"The crescent moon, Mom said that a big piece was chewed by the tengu and it will take a long, long time for the moon to grow back into a round shape."
The bonfire swayed slightly in the wind, making a subtle crackling sound.
The little girl looking at the moonlight seemed to have regained her former innocence and romance from her uneasiness and hesitation. She opened her mouth in sudden enlightenment, tapped the crescent moon in the sky with her little finger, and looked at Chen Yuan next to her.
"Oh... Xiaoju knows, if the moon can become round again, it must have been repaired by your husband and the Taoist priest over there."
The innocent words made the surrounding villagers laugh, and even the panicked woman smiled a little. They knew in their hearts that this middle-aged man who looked like a gentleman was trying to calm everyone down, so naturally they would not take it seriously.
"Cultivation of the moon is not the work of Fat Taoist and I. There are many people like us who want to cultivate the moon. Otherwise, they would be too busy. The dog was too greedy that day and would come over and take a bite if there was nothing wrong.
.”
Chen Yuan smiled and touched the little girl's head. Looking at the child behind the treetops, she felt a warmth from the top of her head straight to her heart. She no longer felt cold despite the spring chill at night.
The little girl blinked her eyes and squatted in front of Chen Yuan with her bare feet, "Then how did Mr. and the Taoist master cultivate the moon? Can I do it too?"
"Okay, just like this."
Chen Yuan rolled up his sleeves and suddenly raised his hand, using his index finger and thumb to pick off the crescent moon behind the treetop in front of everyone's sight. The next moment, everyone present felt dazzled when they saw that the teacher actually took off the crescent moon.
Come down.
Look at the treetops again, where is the moon.
The people around him suddenly stood up in excitement, and even the dull-looking old man opened his mouth and couldn't close his mouth in shock.
"What's going on...have you seen it?"
"Look...I saw..."
"This gentleman took off the moon."
"Ouch... this, this... have we met a god?"
With trembling words of excitement, the little girl didn't seem to notice the horror of the adults. She made her hands like lotus flowers and held her chin up to look curiously at the crescent moon in Chen Yuan's hand that was shining brightly.
"Xiaoju, do you like how I repair the moon?"
Chen Yuan's voice was gentle, and his fingertips lightly scratched the empty space of the crescent moon, and then pulled it, bit by bit, to pull the other half out of the crescent moon and turn it into a circle.
"Stretch your hand over here."
After hearing the husband's words, the little girl obediently held up her hands and walked over. The round moon fell into her palms, feeling cold and indescribably comfortable.
"I hold the moon in my hands."
The little girl cried out in surprise, turned around and looked at the woman behind her: "Mother, look here."
The hearts of adults are naturally different from those of children. When they saw the shining full moon, they were frightened and nervously asked the little girl to quickly return the moon to Chen Yuan.
"Sir, the little girl is ignorant, you..."
"Haha, it's just a little trick." Chen Yuan interrupted her and stepped forward to flick it in the little girl's hand. The bright light disappeared immediately, and the full moon was just a round stone.
Everyone subconsciously looked at the sky again. The crescent moon was still hanging in the night sky.
"A craftsman walks in the world, and there is no one who doesn't have the unique skill of eating with one or two hands, which will make you laugh." Chen Yuan raised his sleeves and arched his head, "It's getting late, so I'll rest first, I have to be on the road tomorrow morning."
"That's right, sir, let's go to that hut with the Taoist priest. We just built it today and no one has slept in it yet."
After hearing that there was no magic trick, the surrounding villagers breathed a sigh of relief, but the skill just now really left them unfulfilled. Until Chen Yuan and the fat Taoist went into the hut to sleep, they still talked about picking the moon with some excitement, and they fell asleep late at night.
However, early the next morning, before dawn, everyone discovered that the three people who had rested in the hut yesterday had disappeared, and the bullock cart and the tall old cow had also disappeared.
When I asked the villagers who were on duty yesterday, no one knew when they left.
This surprised everyone who gathered here.
…
At this time, Chen Yuan, who they were talking about, was sitting in an ox cart at dawn. Along the way, the undulating mountains and the green forests exposed the smoke-filled villages. They were all different from the prosperous Luoyang or Jiangnan.
view.
In the afternoon of the third day, the sun was shining in the clouds. Chen Yuan and the fat Taoist sat on the bullock cart, looking at the rolling mountains that looked like the Buddha lying on his back, and listening to the distant bells echoing in the mountain mist.
It was Chen Yuan's first time here, but Sun Zhengde was familiar with it. He knew exactly where to direct the old cow.
Boom~~
As if knowing that Chen Yuan and the others were coming, a Zhike bell suddenly rang. The bell was rich and powerful, loud and long, echoing through the mountains for a long time.
Chen Yuan looked at the towering Buddha Mountain, smiled, raised his hands and bowed to the temple where the fragrance was lingering in the mountain.
Afterwards, the ox cart was placed in the market at the foot of the mountain, with the fat Taoist leading the way. Chen Yuan and the little Taoist boy followed behind and walked up the stone steps mottled with moss and fallen leaves.
On the green brick path in the mountain forest, with the warmth of early spring, there are already melodious birds singing on the nearby branches, and occasionally a few ape calls can be heard in the distance.
"Dongjia, the deep stream below the iron rope, has tens of thousands of large and small Buddhist caves on it. The Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple is named after this."
When crossing the chain bridge connecting the cliffs on the opposite side, Sun Zhengde pointed to the mist-filled cliffs below. There were countless potholes on them, and there were Buddha statues carved inside. Some of them had been covered with moss for a long time, and the facial features could still be seen.
“So is it the temple that’s named after the cave, or the cave that’s named after the temple?”
Chen Yuan's rhetorical question stopped Sun Zhengde. When he first came here, he only heard mentions from the literati and elegant guests who visited this place. If he really wanted to get to the bottom of it, he didn't have the leisure.
"My boss, you should ask Monk Zhenhai when the time comes. But first, I would like to remind you that he has had a violent temper in recent years, and his senior brother has really convinced him that he is very murderous."
With the nagging instructions, the three of them walked past the leafy old pines on both sides and arrived in front of the Buddhist temple where the fragrance was lingering. The monks were already waiting at the mountain gate for a long time. When they saw Chen Yuan, they stepped forward and bowed their heads.
"But Benefactor Chen?"
Chen Yuan nodded: "Exactly."
"Please come with the three young monks. Uncle Zhenhai is already waiting at Luohan Hall." Zhike Monk turned around and walked to the front to lead the way. Chen Yuan and the fat Taoist looked at each other and followed closely.
Chen Yuan was in a good mood after seeing his old friend. Along the way, he also looked at this temple that he had never had the opportunity to visit before. Compared with the Lingyun Temple he had visited before, this place was even more majestic.
The mountain gate and the palace are majestic, with painted latticework railings, gold-rimmed Buddhist pillars, and huge rock carvings for the inner and outer gates. The Heavenly King's Hall is majestic and steep, with long rows of wind chimes hanging from the four eaves. There are also low buildings, with yellow and fallen leaves accumulated everywhere.
Pilgrims can be seen, and monks in gray plain robes hold the Buddha in their hands and fold their hands.
The monk Zhike walked in front, occasionally turning his head, clasping his hands and bowing, leading the scholar behind him to go around to the backyard of the temple.
"You three, please come this way."
Chen Yuan said "Okay", looked at the Heavenly King and Daxiong halls in front of him, followed the Zhike monk in front and continued to go around one side of the courtyard. When he got here, the monk leading the way obviously slowed down and looked cautious.
"My Buddha is compassionate!"
A chant of Buddha came from the Luohan Hall in front, and the closed doors were pushed open. A strong wind blew in the face, causing the little Taoist boy and the monk to stagger. Chen Yuan reached out and pressed the back of his head before he could stand firm.
The fat Taoist also caught the young monk.
"Friend Daoist Chen, long time no see."
Among the four open doors, under the golden statue of Arhat, a skinny figure sat cross-legged on a futon and fiddled with Buddhist beads.
The beads stopped.
The old monk on the futon slowly stood up and turned around. His beard was pale and his eyes were like lightning.
The angry-eyed King Kong statue in this temple is like a king.