Accompanied by the crisp ringing of the bell, a tall Taoist priest holding a bamboo staff walked along a fairly wide mountain road.
It was Xu Junming who was extremely still and thoughtful. After five years of meditation in the cave of Dihuang Mountain, he returned to the mortal world.
Because people's livelihood has become increasingly difficult in recent years, and the government has imposed heavy taxes on businessmen, many business travelers avoid the tax cards on major roads and take longer routes to save money.
Therefore, on this relatively smooth mountain road, you can see traveling merchants carrying cargo loads and horse-drawn carriages laden with various goods.
However, the mountain road is difficult to navigate, and there are many potholes in the middle. Once those heavy carriages loaded with a lot of goods fall into them, they will be in big trouble.
‘Click’, a crisp sound.
After watching the carriage in front fall into the pit, the axle was overwhelmed and broke.
The heavy cargo fell instantly.
The bamboo stick in Xu Junming's hand flashed, as if an invisible giant hand was grabbing the goods. At the same time, the stone pit as deep as one foot suddenly rose, lifting the wheel that had fallen into it.
The broken axle is also automatically connected, restored to its original shape, and even stronger.
Putting the goods back on the carriage, the man next to him, wearing a gray robe with a surprised look on his face, seemed to be the owner of the goods. He trotted over and bowed deeply to Xu Junming.
"Zhang Youde from Jinhua County would like to thank you for your help."
"Are you from Jinhua County?" Xu Junming's heart moved.
"Exactly."
"How far is it from Jinhua County?"
"About ninety miles!" After a pause, "The Taoist Master is also going to Jinhua?"
Xu Junming nodded.
"In that case, Taoist priest, you might as well go with me. I am familiar with the route to Jinhua."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard thunder in the air.
Thick black clouds as thick as ink rolled in from the southeast, and it was obvious that a heavy rain would fall soon.
"Taoist Priest, not far ahead is a Buddhist temple that has been abandoned for many years. We can take shelter there from the rain."
Xu Junming came all the way with the intention of playing in the world. After hearing what he said, he did not refuse.
Zhang Youde led a few men, drove a cart, and walked along the mountain road with Xu Junming for about half a mile. A trace of cornices and brackets appeared in the forest on the left front.
Although the whole picture has not been seen, the size of this Buddhist temple should be quite large.
Sure enough, when Zhang Youde took Xu Junming down the mountain road, they turned into the dense forest along a stone road, and after making a turn, a magnificent Buddhist temple appeared in front of them.
The entire Buddhist temple is built on the mountain and is divided into three levels from bottom to top.
Each level has many branch buildings.
All added together, this Buddhist temple probably has thirty or forty halls.
You can imagine how popular this Buddhist temple was back then.
But now, except for a few palaces, most of the rest are in ruins.
Half of the grand mountain gate collapsed, and the morning bells and evening drums disappeared. The half-collapsed clay statue was covered with heavy cobwebs and wild animal dung, and combined with the thick soil, it had long since lost its shape.
However, there was a crack in the broken wall, which was relatively clean. Zhang Youde drove the carriage through the crack and walked into the yard.
Many large cars have been parked in the overgrown and spacious courtyard.
Obviously, they are not the only merchants who come here to take shelter from the rain.
Because most of the penthouses on both sides collapsed, the main hall in the middle became a common choice for everyone.
The plaque in the center of the hall is gone, and it is not known who burned it.
Stepping in, there is a headless Buddha statue sitting on the high platform in the middle. Judging from the image, it should be the Buddha Sakyamuni.
Most of the four major Buddha statues on both sides were damaged, and the only relatively complete Guanyin Bodhisattva was missing an arm.
The spacious hall is relatively clean, probably because people often come to spend the night.
Seeing them come in, the people who came first in the hall just took a look and went about their own business.
We are all just businessmen, and we have nothing to be curious about.
As for Xu Junming, since Dayong Taizu Emperor Wu destroyed Buddhism, the world has become a place for Taoists.
It is normal to meet one or two wandering Taoist priests.
After finding a relatively free place in the hall, Xu Junming walked over.
"Taoist Priest, you do it first. I'll arrange the goods and bring the food over."
Before he could speak, Zhang Youde ran out in a hurry.
Nearly half an hour passed before four boys came in.
He came to Xu Junming and opened the package on his back.
A dozen full heads and several oil paper bags were exposed inside.
When opened, there were pickles, salted fish, and a half-eaten chicken.
"Taoist Priest, I'm in a hurry and didn't bring anything good to eat. Can you make do with some of these?"
Xu Junming waved his hand.
"You're welcome. I've been practicing Qi for many years and I've long since gone without food. You can just eat it."
After saying that, he closed his eyes.
Seeing him like this, Zhang Youde opened his mouth, saw the serious and steady face in front of him, and swallowed back the words that came to his lips.
After bowing his hands, he took the food over and shared it with several waiters.
Before the meal was finished, a strong wind roared like a bull outside, and the surrounding trees shook as if they were broken. Seeing this, many people were worried that the Buddhist temple would collapse.
‘Boom’.
Amidst lightning and thunder, heavy rain fell.
Fortunately, when this Buddhist temple was built, drainage issues were taken into consideration. In addition, the trees on the mountain are not too high.
Although there was a lot of rain, it did not cause flooding.
It's just that there was a thunderstorm, and rainwater splashed in from the corners of the hall. People who were originally resting here had to gather inside.
The already crowded hall instantly became even more crowded.
"Uncle Zhou, there are too many people here. I think there are a few main halls behind this Buddhist temple that are relatively intact. Why don't we spend the night there?"
A young man's voice rang out.
"Master, the back hall is not peaceful. Let's wait here."
A strong man about forty years old said.
"It's not peaceful. Is there still ghosts in this Buddhist land?" The young man had never seen a ghost in his life. In addition, he was young and energetic, so his words were quite presumptuous.
"Hey, if you don't believe me, young man, you can go to the back hall. Those dirty things like your tender skin the most." A rough man with a knife said teasingly.
Several big men who were with him around him also burst out laughing.
"you…!"
The young man was about to get angry when he was stopped by the man named Zhou.
Those rough guys on the opposite side were wielding knives and guns, and you could tell at a glance that they were not easy to bully. They were out to get money, and naturally they didn't want to get into trouble for nothing.
However, what they said made people around them talk.
"Old Liu, you are most familiar with this road. Is there really something dirty in this temple?"
Looking at his nervous companion, the man surnamed Liu, dressed in a blue cloth outfit, nodded.
"Damn it, why are you bringing us here to spend the night if you have dirty things?"
"Zhang Laosi, don't be ignorant. There is only such a shelter from the rain within a radius of fifty miles. If you don't come here, are you going to get wet on the road? See for yourself, you are really going to be soaked by the heavy rain outside and infected with the wind and cold.
, I have to lose half my life.”
Zhang Laosi pursed his lips and his tone became much weaker.
"If you get caught in the rain and still have half your life left, if it falls into the mouth of a dirty thing, ten lives won't be enough to compensate you."
"Look at your potential. Don't worry. Although Qinglian Temple is haunted, as long as you don't go to the two main halls at the back, you'll be fine. So, just be honest at night and don't run around. I'll keep you safe.
.”
"real?"
"Who dares to lie about such a thing?"
Zhang Laosi touched his chin, which had few hairs.
"It's strange, there are dirty things that don't eat people?"
"If you don't believe it, you can go to the back hall and try it yourself."
"Bullshit, I still want to live a few more days."
Anyone who walks outside knows one thing well: it is better to do less than to do more.
These words fell into Xu Junming's ears, and out of curiosity, his spiritual consciousness swept across the several temples behind them.
"I see."
With his current cultivation and realm, there are not many people in Dayong World who can threaten his existence, and the existence behind Qinglian Temple is even worse.
But they didn't look like evil beings, and Xu Junming didn't bother to care about them.
As time passed, the wind and rain outside the palace gradually became lighter.
The night was getting darker and darker, shrouding the entire mountain temple in darkness.
Accompanied by the fresh mountain air after the rain, the exhausted people gradually fell asleep as they rushed through the hall.
In the second half of the night, the dark clouds covering the sky slowly dispersed, and a silver moon hung on the treetops, spreading the silvery glow across the sky to the mountains.
Like a layer of bright silver gauze, mysterious and beautiful.
Xu Junming, who was meditating, suddenly opened his eyes, and two flashes of light lit up the hall.
It's a pity that the people who were already asleep did not notice this scene.
"Forget it, let's see what your plans are."
After closing his eyes, the palace returned to calm.
Not long after, a series of footsteps sounded from outside the hall.
"Creak", the heavy palace door was pushed open, and the hoarse friction sound instantly woke up many people who were dozing.
Everyone turned around and saw a rich old man wearing a brown gorgeous gown and a square hat walking in.
Behind him were four boys carrying lanterns.
Facing everyone's eyes, the old man smiled and cupped his hands.
"Excuse me, everyone. I am from Hujiazhuang behind this mountain. My old man is marrying his daughter tonight. I have ordered all the merchants who pass by my Hujiazhuang to invite me to the wedding banquet in Hujiazhuang. When I say goodbye, I will give you gold and jade.
.”
"It's a coincidence for you all today. If you don't mind, please come with me."
"Hujiazhuang, when did there be a Hujiazhuang behind this mountain?"
"Never mind it, since it's a wedding banquet, it must be treated with good wine and meat. Just go to his house to have a warm meal and have a solid sleep at night. Wouldn't it be better than the cold wind and rain in this hall? What's more, there are
Take the money.”
After he said it, everyone's eyes lit up except Xu Junming.
They seemed to have completely forgotten about the evil spirits in the back hall who had been frightened like tigers since they started talking about it.