Chapter 525 Who said the Rain God cant be invited?
All the way up, wooden corridors and cave passages alternate with each other, passing through many caves, some of which are temples and temples enshrining Buddha statues, and some of which are residences of monks.
Temples and temples are either large or small depending on the statues they enshrine. The monks' residences are often very cramped. The smaller ones can only accommodate one or a few wooden beds and a few scriptures and sundries. There are no doors. Passers-by only need to turn their heads.
You can read it all, and the monks living there don't seem to mind. They are not worried about property theft or privacy.
Many monks were chanting and studying, and Master Xuanhua, the abbot and abbot, was not even noticed as he walked past the door with his guests.
"Zhizhou is currently a guest at the Hanging Wall Temple. The poor monk has been out for three days and I don't know if he has returned." Master Xuanhua bent down and passed the low and narrow cave and said as he walked, "If he has not left, the Taoist priest will ask the Queen of Rain to come."
It should be more convenient for discussions.”
“Is Zhizhou also doing this because of the drought?”
"Exactly."
Unknowingly, it was halfway up the mountain. The calico cat occasionally stopped and turned around to look out, only to find that it was already very high from the ground.
It's so high that even cats feel dangerous.
Suddenly a large cave appeared ahead.
The cave is about the same width and depth as the main hall of an ordinary temple. It is really the main hall of this hanging wall temple. There are many statues enshrined in it. The one in the middle is the Lord of Ten Thousand Buddhas. There are several Buddhas beside him, and then the current one.
There are several famous Bodhisattvas in Buddhism, including Arhats at the very edge, and two Dharma protectors standing under the altar.
Even though the temple looks simple because it is built on a mountain, in fact, the carved balustrades and painted buildings are also golden, red and blue from the outside, and the Buddha statues inside are even more golden.
There are several scholars standing here.
It seems that he knew Master Xuanhua was back and was here specially to welcome him.
"The master is back!"
A middle-aged man in the lead hurriedly came up to him, looked anxiously at Master Xuanhua, and then at the warriors behind him: "Have you found the landluer and captured it?"
"Back in Zhizhou, we have found the dry deer, but we have not been able to capture it." Master Xuanhua saluted with his hands together, then turned to look at Song You behind him, "But this trip is not all in vain. We have found the dry deer.
At the same time as Lu, I met an expert, Taoist Song, which can be regarded as an unexpected gain in this industry."
After speaking, he said to Song You: "This is what the poor monk said before, Wei Wuqi, the magistrate of Longzhou who is a guest in this temple."
"My surname is Song, and my name is You, Wei Zhizhou. You are polite."
"It turns out it's Taoist Master Song. This state is polite." Wei Zhizhou was obviously flustered and absent-minded. He only returned the courtesy to Song You, and then looked at Master Xuanhua anxiously, "Why? Why didn't you find the dry deer even though you found it?
Can you bring it back? Master, isn’t he profound in Buddhism and has promised this state that as long as he finds it, he will definitely bring it back?"
"..."
Master Xuanhua put his hands together and was silent for a moment.
This is the time for Song You to speak.
So Song You stood up and said those words again in order to take the responsibility away from Master Xuanhua.
After Wei Zhizhou heard this, he frowned. He just looked at Song You and then at Master Xuanhua. He did not make any judgment at will. He just asked Song You politely: "Sir, what you said makes sense, but how can you let us
I believe it is not a land deer but a wandering deer. The drought has nothing to do with it, so what can be done to solve the drought?"
"I heard that there was originally a rain god named Humu Daxian in Shazhou, Longzhou. I would like to invite him here. Humu Daxian is the rain god. Just ask, Zhizhou will naturally understand the reason for the drought and the so-called
Does the drought have anything to do with the drought?" Song You paused, "If possible, I would also like to persuade the Rain God to use his divine power. It is absolutely impossible to completely solve the drought. Only divine power and human beings can cooperate with each other.
The impact of drought can be eliminated as much as possible.”
"It's not like I haven't invited the Great Immortal Hu Mu from Honshu, but the Immortal is arrogant and rarely appears."
"Since there are rare spiritual manifestations, but there are spiritual manifestations, I can rest assured." Song You was afraid that Shazhou, Longzhou, had not provided incense to Immortal Hu Mu for a long time and starved him to death. "I can give it a try."
"Then when do you plan to invite God?"
"The governor of the state is anxious about the drought, and the people of Longzhou are even more anxious. It should not be later, the sooner the better." Song You said, "I need an incense table altar. For expediency, I can keep everything simple, but I need Hu Mu.
Statues or tablets of great immortals are indispensable."
"Do you want anything else, sir?"
"Nothing else."
"After it's done..."
"I don't care about that."
"..."
Wei Zhizhou looked at his expression and carefully studied his words. He felt that he was indeed confident and really wanted to do good for the people of Longzhou, so he didn't waste any words. He just decisively turned to the people behind him and said: "Xiangan altar and statues
Please ask Li Sima to arrange everything as soon as possible..."
"I'm going to go now!"
The Sima named Li quickly saluted, called a guard, and walked out without hesitation.
"There are not many statues of Immortal Hu Mu in Longzhou anymore, but this year there are more. However, the nearest ones are still dozens of miles away. Even if Sima asks people to work harder, they won't be able to come back in a short time." Master Xuanhua said to everyone.
, "It's getting late, let's have a fast meal at this temple first."
"Thank you."
Song You thanked him calmly.
Wei Zhizhou was not in the mood to eat. He just looked at Song You and frowned. He always felt a little confused. He wanted to speak several times but held back.
The vegetarian meal was quickly served.
There was a severe drought in Longzhou. The meal at the Hanging Wall Temple in the west of Longzhou was very simple. It was just a bowl of batter, plus a large piece of watermelon for each person, one to satisfy hunger and the other to quench thirst.
Watermelons were also sold in Changjing, but Song You didn't eat much.
The watermelon these days is yellow, not pretty in appearance, and has no sweetness, but it has enough water and is a good water reserve and supplement. Because of this, whether it is merchants traveling in the East or the West or some countries
The army, as well as the ships traveling at sea, all like to carry watermelons as an alternative to drinking water.
Eat all the way and spit out seeds all the way.
Watermelon was also passed down this way.
The monks were speechless while eating, and Song You didn't say anything either. Even Lady Sanhua also lowered her head to lick the paste and eat it. While eating, she was thinking about how many mice she would catch in the evening and then eat meat in the temple.
I ate the paste and nibbled on the watermelon.
"Bah chi..."
As the poem says, a thousand red cherries, a ball of citrine.
The shape is as light as water.
Only slightly sweet.
It is very different from the watermelon in Song You’s memory.
Moreover, this watermelon seems to have been stored for a long time, and the texture has obviously become softer and has a more mixed flavor.
If we just talk about replenishing water, the taste is not as good as the clear and sweet spring water that has just been scooped up. But walking in the northwest, water will have a taste after a long time, but it is not necessarily as palatable as melons. In addition, it is also more delicious.
It has a slight hunger-satisfying effect and is somewhat nutritious, so it is indeed a good choice for long journeys.
Song You also broke off a piece and fed it to the cat.
The cat chewed it with one tooth, and it made a squeaking sound.
Night has completely fallen.
Sima Li, surnamed Li, worked hard and brought the statue of "Humu Daxian" back within an hour without stopping, and the temple also set up an incense table on the platform halfway up the mountain.
The platform is not big, with red paint pillars and a red paint floor, protruding from the mountainside, where you can see the bright moon and stars.
The incense table is also very simple——
It was just a high red-lacquered table, with a plate of rice, a plate of noodles, and a plate of watermelon placed on it, with cubes of clay on both sides. There was a small stove in the middle, incense and candles were placed on the table, and the statue of Hu Mu Daxian was placed in front.
The Taoist did not bathe or change his clothes. He was still wearing the dusty clothes and invited Taoist gods in the temple, which was somewhat strange.
It was just that there were many people watching behind him, but no one thought anything was wrong.
"Please Sanhua Empress, please light the incense candle for me."
"Canopy..."
A slight sound.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the calico cat that had been following the Taoist suddenly turned into a human form. It turned out to be a girl wearing three-color clothes, who was born like a fairy child.
Several officials couldn't help but exclaimed.
Even among the monks from the Hanging Wall Temple who were watching, some opened their eyes wide and had different reactions.
But the girl ignored them and didn't even look at them. She just picked up the incense candle with a serious face, played the role of a Taoist boy, and completed the tasks assigned by her Taoist priest.
"call……"
After blowing a breath, large flames appeared at the tops of the two candles.
Although the flame was small, it was the only light on the ground. It faced the stars in the sky. In the words of Empress Sanhua, it burned two holes in the night.
He handed the candle to the Taoist priest and took the incense stick.
Still blowing a breath, the incense burned.
The Taoist put the candle on and took the incense.
No other ritual words were needed, he just closed his eyes for a moment, then held the incense and said: "Fulong Temple Songyou, please ask the Great Immortal Hu Mu to appear..."
The night is silent, only the candlelight shines.
Stars and rivers are scattered across the sky, and the slightly extinguished glow reflects the horizon, which is the unique splendor of the northwest.
Wei Zhizhou stood behind and watched, still confused.
Since the severe drought this year, he has done a lot of things to invite the Rain God. He has done it himself, and he has also asked many famous Taoists and folk gentlemen to come and invite him. Although the ceremony is far more complicated than what the Taoist did this time, overall it is
He said it was pretty much the same. He knew that such words to pray to God usually need to be recited three times.
If you recite too little, you will lack sincerity; if you recite too much, you will be afraid of disturbing the gods.
Hu Mu Daxian rarely responds to requests for spiritual appearances.
But that wasn't what he was wondering about.
But since the beginning, he has always felt a little confused, as if this Taoist's name is still familiar to him, but he can't remember it for a while.
This feeling of thinking of something but not being able to remember it is very uncomfortable and makes people feel panicked.
The more I hold it in, the more uncomfortable it becomes, and the more uncomfortable it becomes, the less I can think of it.
It wasn't until the night wind blew and the candlelight swayed that the Taoist priest stood in front of the incense table holding incense, and the Taoist boy turned into a calico cat stood beside him in a decent manner. The picture was quite fairy-like, and he was suddenly startled.
Some legends from other places that I had heard before created a picture in my mind, and the picture overlapped with the scene I was seeing at this time, perfectly blending together.
"..."
Wei Zhizhou suddenly opened his eyes wide.
There was no doubt in my mind about "Whether it was a drought deer or a wandering deer", "Whether it brought drought", but only full of expectations.
"Fulong Guan Song..."
Before I finished reciting it for the second time, the wind started blowing from heaven and earth.
"call……"
The night wind fluttered everyone's robes, and although it was high in the sky, it also blew away the wind and sand on the mountain, making everyone's eyes blurred.
But the wind did not blow the incense candles on the incense table, nor the monk and the girl.
Regardless of whether they were officials or monks, except for Master Xuanhua, who remained calm and composed, the rest covered their faces with their sleeves and forced their eyes open to look forward.
I saw three more bright scarlet light spots between the candles. The incense sticks in the incense burner burned out instantly and turned into thick green smoke. The green smoke did not disperse in the wind, and all of it floated towards the statue of the god on the incense table.
Every time more green smoke enters the statue, there is an extra touch of brilliance on the statue, and it becomes dazzling in the blink of an eye.
The angular color of the statue gradually became softer, the figure and facial features became vivid, and it seemed to come alive under the divine light.
And just the next second, it really came alive.
The originally seated statue not only stood up, but also started walking under the candlelight, and even jumped down from the altar.
The two-foot-tall clay statue becomes life-size when it reaches the ground.
He is an old god dressed in colorful divine clothes. He is of medium build. His clothes are casually draped, with his breasts exposed. He is bald but has a gray beard. He holds a wooden staff and hangs a gourd. He is currently widely recognized by the people of Dayan.
The classic image of the old fairy.
The immortal landed on the high platform. Before he looked at the others, he saluted the Taoist first with a very respectful attitude:
"Why did you call the old god here?"
Wei Zhizhou was surrounded by several officials and guards. Looking at this scene, he felt surprised but also felt that he should be.
It’s just that expressions are inevitably complicated after all.
The rest of the people are not as calm as him——
The Great Immortal Hu Mu, whom the officials and people of Longzhou could not invite no matter how hard they tried, came in a panic before the Taoist had the chance to call him a second time. Not only did he show up directly, he even spoke only after landing on the ground.
Everyone felt a little unbelievable for a moment.
"Don't dare."
Song You returned the gift very politely, and then asked: "Is the Great Immortal the local rain god?"
"Thanks to the praise of the people, I respect the old god as Immortal Hu Mu. I hope that the old god will bless the local good weather. Many years ago, the Tiangong divided the responsibilities and ordered the old god to take charge of the wind and rain in Shazhou, Longzhou."
"That's it." Song You was still very polite, "While traveling down the river to the northwest, I saw a severe drought here and the people were struggling to survive, so I invited the immortal to ask what was going on."
"Your Majesty, this is the general trend of heaven and earth, and the normal cycle of weather." Hu Mu Daxian saluted again and said, with a somewhat uneasy look and voice, "The world is like this, with ever-changing changes. Sometimes hot and humid places will become dry and cold.
Sometimes the dry and cold land will become wet and cold. No matter how powerful the gods are, they cannot compete with the general trend of the world. What's more, the old gods are already old and have received very little incense in Shazhou, Longzhou in recent years.
My magic power is low, so I’m really in trouble.”
Song You turned around and glanced at Wei Zhizhou.
So that he can understand that this severe drought is indeed a natural change of heaven and earth, and has nothing to do with any land deer or wandering.