Shaanzhou, known as Fenglin in the Sui Dynasty, borders Laoshan Pass to the east, Tongguan to the west, two lakes to the south, and Shanxi to the north.
There are many religions in the prefecture, including Baolun Temple, a thousand-year-old temple, and Taoist temples such as Lingbao Taichu.
The missionary point of the Confucian classics in Shaanzhou City was a house used by a former official.
When Yis, who was tired of his career, showed the religious ultimatum to the deacon of the Shaanzhou Economic and Education Branch, the latter received the group from Chang'an very warmly.
After taking a bite of Shaanzhou's unique water flower cake, Yis glanced at the many monks in the house. He saw that these people's robes were brand new and their faces were rosy. He asked the deacon: "It seems that your life is pretty good?"
The deacon smiled and said: "There are many merchants in Shaanzhou, and most of them spend a lot of money."
Iss frowned and asked, "What about the civilian believers?"
The deacon was stunned: "Public believers?"
Iss: "The glory of the Lord should be as warm and bright as the rising sun. It can illuminate every corner of the world, even the darkest and most barren places."
The deacon smiled unnaturally and said: "The teachings of the Classics are complicated and difficult. How can ordinary people understand them? Therefore, since the Tang Dynasty, the Classics has only accepted knowledgeable believers."
Iss: "By the learned believers, do you mean the rich and powerful?"
The deacon did not answer the question, but the eyes he looked at Is gradually became colder.
Yissi also said: "The Lord has said that he will make all people know wisdom and instruction, make fools wise, make young people have knowledge and counsel, and make wise people increase their knowledge."
"However, the teachings of the Classics in the Tang Dynasty have deviated from the original intention of the Lord. You divide believers into three, six or nine grades, and you use wealth and power to judge whether a person is qualified to listen to the Lord's holy words. This is
Blasphemy! Also disrespectful!”
The deacon tapped his fingers on the table and said impatiently: "Brother Yis, we don't need you to judge the doctrine."
Seeing that Yis and the deacon were arguing, the monks in the room gathered over one after another.
Yis stood up and asked around: "You use wealth and power to judge whether a person is qualified to enter here. Do you all think so?"
The monks had different expressions when they heard this question. Some looked ashamed, but more people didn't take it seriously.
Is asked three times in a row, but no one was willing to stand up and answer him.
At the end, Iss' face was pale and shaky.
The deacon walked to Yisi and said with a smile: "The omniscient Lord can understand our actions. He did not send down signs or punish us, but allowed the scriptures to continue to grow under the bath of holy light.
, isn’t this divine blessing?”
Yis shook his head vigorously and murmured: "This is not right, this is not right."
The deacon took a bag of copper coins from the other monks, stuffed it into Yis's hand, approached the latter and whispered: "Leave from here, the further away the better."
Yis led his companions and walked out of the house in a daze.
His mind was in chaos. He knew something must be wrong, but he didn't know where it was.
At this moment, an old monk sneaked out of the house.
He first pulled Iss to the corner, and then said: "Many years ago, you and I had the same idea. We believed that the Lord should favor everyone and there should be no deviation."
"However, poverty, exclusion, and competition have made the teachings of scriptures more snobbish and more inclined to the powerful."
"I once saw those civilians struggling with hunger and pain, but I couldn't help them."
Is slowly raised his head, looked at the old monk, and asked, "Why didn't you stand up just now?"
The old monk shook his head and said: "You heard it just now. If the Lord acquiesces, then it means that all this is reasonable. As a monk who teaches scriptures, I can lose my life, but I cannot lose my faith."
After hearing this, Yis was stunned on the spot.
That night, Yis and his companions stayed at an inn in Shaanzhou City.
Pushing open the window and looking at the stars in the sky, Iss touched the cross on his chest and remained silent.
Seeing that it was getting late, the companion asked Yisi why he still didn't fall asleep.
Yis replied and would go to sleep later.
Seeing his companions falling asleep one after another, Yis took out the Yinglong Heavenly Book from his arms, opened the first page, and read softly: "The world is broken, and the world is confused..."
When he read "At the end of July, in the Shaanzhou County Chronicle, late one night, drought thunder fell from the sky and set fire to houses...", Iss raised his head and glanced at the starry sky.
After a moment, he smiled to himself and put the booklet back in his arms.
Turning over and lying down, Is slowly closed his eyes.
I don't know how long it took, but Is was awakened by the faint sound of thunder beside his ears, and he opened his eyes in a daze.
Getting up from the bed, Yis looked out the window and saw lightning flashing, bright and dark, among the dark clouds in the night sky, and there was thunder like a tide, coming from far to near.
Yis placed his hands on the window and muttered to himself: "Probably not..."
Before he finished speaking, a flash of thunder and lightning was seen, like a white dragon appearing in the world, rolling and moving in the night sky, rising and falling in the dark clouds, and then hitting the houses in the distance with great force.
In an instant, the fire rose from the roof of the house and gradually spread to the surrounding areas.
Yisi sat blankly at the window, almost unable to believe his eyes.
But soon, he got excited and reacted quickly.
Dressing up as quickly as possible, Isz rushed out of the inn, ran onto the street, and shouted: "It's on fire!"
When the patrolman on the street saw Yis, he rushed over and planned to arrest him for violating the prohibition.
But when he heard the other party shouting the word "fire", the patrolman quickly asked him for directions and ran over with Is at full speed.
Wait for Yisi and the patrol to arrive at the location of the fire.
The fire had spread to several houses, and the patrolman hurriedly sounded the watch gong on his waist, waking up the sleeping residents.
The house that was first struck by lightning had the biggest fire. In just a few breaths, the entire house was already on fire.
Yis pulled off a pair of liquor store cloths from the street, wrapped them around his body, and took water from a vat nearby to wet his body.
Then, with one quick step, he rushed into the sea of fire.
After passing through the front hall where the fire was burning, Is rushed into the back room and heard the cries of a woman and a child in the house.
After taking a few steps back and rushing forward with all his strength, Is knocked open the door of the wing.
In front of the bed in the inner compartment, a disheveled woman was seen, being pinned down by fallen wood and rocks.
Beside her, a child less than three years old was crying and picking at wood and rocks, trying to rescue the woman.
Yis rushed to the woman's side and helped the child clean up the wood and rocks.
During the busy period, the fire became more and more intense, the walls were mottled and peeled off, and even the ground was scorching hot.
The woman grabbed the child, pushed him into Yis's arms, and shouted: "Take him away!"
The child cried loudly and refused to leave.
The woman's clothes were ignited by the flames, sending out bursts of smoke, and her hair began to wither.
Seeing Yis's hesitation, the woman stared into the latter's eyes and said sadly: "The mother is like a bulrush, which withers in the autumn, and the child is like a reed bud, which blooms early in the spring. Fortunately, you are here. Even if you die, you will have no regrets and take care of you."
Let him go."
After hearing this, Yis gritted his teeth hard, grabbed the crying child, wrapped him in his chest, walked through the blazing fire, and rushed out of the crumbling wing.
In the early morning of the next day, Yis, who was covered in soot and had brown hair, sat in the courtyard of a house, looking at the collapsed and burned ruins of the wing, motionless.
The night watchman found Yis and praised him for his bravery and told him that there was a reward in the county.
Yisi turned a deaf ear and just slowly stood up from the ground.
He put his hand into his arms, tightly grasped the Yinglong Heavenly Book, and slowly walked away into the distance under the puzzled eyes of others.