Chapter Sixteen Once upon a time there was a mountain
The old monk Tongshou Temple almost cried.
Really, even though I was holding back, tears were already welling up in my eyes.
What a sin!
He was originally a low-level street liar. He occasionally relied on fairly good playing cards and mahjong tiles to spend a little money in the lowest-end gambling stalls on the street. Of course, not too much.
If there are too many, they will be discovered.
If he is discovered, his hands will be chopped off.
He doesn't want this.
He also wanted to live a long life and rest in peace in his grave.
Therefore, he mingled cautiously and stayed alive.
As for finding a real job?
He did it before he was fifty.
He has worked as a convenience store waiter, food stall vegetable cutter, car cleaner, parking boy, etc.
That time was his happiest time.
Although they are all part-time workers, not regular workers, and they don’t earn much, they can earn some money every day and occasionally have working meals.
But once he passed the age of fifty, this kind of work said goodbye to him.
More young people replaced him.
However, he did not blame others.
After all, compared with those guys who jumped from the roof after the financial wave receded, he is much happier.
At least, he is still alive.
Live like a human being.
Therefore, the cardboard box he lives in is the cleanest, and the surrounding area is cleaned every day.
Until...
An old monk appeared.
It was a misty morning, and the old monk fell at the door of his "home" covered in blood.
If it were somewhere else, he would just be out of sight and out of mind, and leave ruthlessly.
But at the door of 'home', he couldn't turn a blind eye.
He didn't know what happened to the old monk.
He just carried the old monk into his home, and then cleaned up the blood stains.
Then, the old monk was treated with the treasured medicine.
If you want to live longer, medicine is a must.
He always leaves some working capital to buy necessary medicines.
From cold medicine, antidiarrheal medicine to iodophor, bandages and more.
These may seem basic, but they are life-saving things at critical moments.
He has seen many 'neighbors' lose their lives due to a cold.
The old monk was seriously injured.
There are scars all over the body.
Many of them have deep visible bones.
Even being alive seemed incredible to him.
Likewise, there is the resilience of the old monk.
After disinfecting and applying medicine, the old monk woke up in the evening.
However, it's a bit weak.
But it's normal.
An ordinary person would have been out of breath by such a serious injury.
"Thank you, thank you."
The old monk thanked him with difficulty.
"No thanks."
"If you died on my doorstep, I would be in trouble."
"Eat quickly, recover quickly after eating, and then leave quickly."
He talked to the old monk in an indifferent tone.
Then, he took out two cans from his 'spare dry food'.
Canned food is easy to preserve and has a long storage time.
Canned meat, in particular, is a treasure in difficult times.
He only hid three.
Now I take out two of them just to help the old monk recover quickly.
He had even prepared a plan on how to make the old monk eat these two canned meats.
But contrary to his expectation, the old monk didn't seem to mind eating meat at all.
It was completely different from the old monk he knew.
The old monk is not just weird in this way.
In addition to not eating meat, this old monk is also very interested in playing cards and mahjong tiles.
He must be a fake monk!
The previous injuries should have been caused by the fraud being discovered!
This is what he was thinking at the time.
Then, the distance between the two became so close.
After all, he is half a peer.
The diary just goes by day by day.
The old monk's bald head has long been covered by a layer of short white hair, and his health has improved. He wears his old clothes and walks around his 'home' for a long time.
Sometimes we even pick up cans with him.
Occasionally, I find something useful in the trash.
then?
Naturally, I would drink some beer instead.
He drank, chatted and laughed with the fake monk.
He was the one laughing.
Because this fake monk always told him some legends as truth.
Has a nose and eyes.
He won't believe it.
Then, a few months later, the fake monk suddenly said that he was leaving because he had some things to do.
He didn't hold back.
How can people like them retain others?
Absolutely no regrets!
He didn't send the fake monk and went back 'home' early.
Then, looking at the clothes left by the old monk, I stayed in a daze all night.
You have to get through life.
More than a month has passed.
After his life became peaceful, the old monk appeared again.
Still injured and covered in blood, he fell at the door of his house.
"Hello!"
"Although we are liars, we must have a bottom line!"
"Just eat two meals together, don't go too far."
"Otherwise, you will die on the streets sooner or later!"
He said this in his mouth, but he 'carried' the fake monk back home with his hands and feet.
The days that followed became the previous experience.
The cycle repeats.
Every time a fake monk leaves, he always comes back hurt.
After he has cultivated himself well, the fake monk will tell him stories.
Those stories are all about how to deal with monsters and monsters.
The protagonists in those stories all have visualization methods, breathing methods, and techniques.
He heard it interesting and remembered a lot.
At his age, he couldn't remember many things at all, but somehow, he remembered everything this fake monk said, word for word.
He was a little strange at first.
But later on, I got used to it.
He only thought it was because the fake monk told the story interestingly that he remembered it.
Another month for the fake monk to leave.
He drew the word 1 all over a cardboard in his 'home'.
He counted them carefully.
A total of 80.
"It's been so many years?"
He looked at these words in astonishment.
Unknowingly, he had known the fake monk for almost 10 years.
"It's also luck."
He thought so.
In the past 10 years, every time the fake monk came back, he was injured, but he didn't die. Isn't this luck?
But good luck always runs out.
This time it is.
The fake monk is back.
There was a big hole in his chest and his face was torn apart.
If it weren't for the familiarity, he wouldn't have recognized it at all.
"what happened?"
He wanted to carry the fake monk back to his 'home' as before, but he was stopped by the fake monk.
"Dependent origination and cessation occur in an instant."
"You always say you have no name."
"I'll give you my name."
The fake monk ignored his meaning and just said it to himself.
He has lost his name since he moved to his new 'home'.
So did most of the people around him.
Everyone is called by their code names.
Or, just say ‘Hi’.
"From now on, you are the 'Tongshou Temple'."
"It's also given to you."
"As for more?"
"I can't teach you anymore, I need you to get in touch with it bit by bit."
After saying that, the fake monk handed him a cloth bag and raised his hand.
He was proud of his neat hair, which was not bald.
There is only one bald head left.
Before he could protest, a smile seemed to appear on the fake monk's bloody face, and then his head tilted to death.
Just when he thought the fake monk was immortal, the fake monk died.
Moreover, after the fake monk died, his body simply rotted away.
Within a breath, it turned into ashes.
Only the cloth bag was left.
There is a key in the cloth bag and a power of attorney for real estate.
Tongshou Temple!
The fake monk actually left him a temple in the market of Tongshou Town.
Although it is small, it is still amazing.
Why do fake monks cheat?
With such a temple, you can make a lot of money with just a little bit of operation.
Then, he soon found out.
What the fake monk told him turned out to be true!
Those stories!
Those monsters and monsters!
The so-called visualization methods, breathing methods, and techniques are all real!
Because, someone really came to him to exorcise demons.
If it weren't for the client's face being so solemn at that time, he almost laughed out loud.
And he really wanted to laugh out loud at that moment.
Because, if at that time, he really laughed out loud.
There is no need to carry out such dangerous things in the name of "Tongshou Temple" like now.
Even though he tried to avoid risks again and again, he still couldn't escape.
This time, you are dead!
You know, that's——
Tsuchimikado!
When thinking about this family, the old monk Tongshou Temple felt his scalp numb.
It's the same even if it's a separate family.
That was something he couldn't resist.
Using "substitute hair" to fool the other party is his ultimate achievement.
Then, he used the "boat crossing technique" to sneak in here to save people, just because he was afraid that he would not be able to eat or sleep in the future, and would have...an uneasy conscience.
But once discovered.
The old monk Tongshou Temple still wanted to cry bitterly.
There are still thirty years left before I turn 100.
Sure enough, am I going to die on the way?
It's so sad.
Thinking in his heart, the old monk Tongshou Temple adjusted his clothes.
Then, he put his hands together with a serious face.
Some habits, with the passage of time, have already been engraved in the bones.
Even if you face life and death, you will not change.
After doing all this in Tongshou Temple, Hui Lijing and Ryosuke were surprised to find that the old monk in front of them suddenly became different.
What's the difference, they can't tell.
But there is always a feeling of facing an eminent monk.
The serious face always reminds them of the statues in the temple, and the calm eyes seem to be like seeing a Bodhisattva, and the long breathing makes people feel calm.
this?
Hui Lijing and Liang Jie looked at each other.
They don't know what happened.
Just when Hui Lijing wanted to ask, something happened suddenly.
The already rough river suddenly rolled with huge waves.
A sound like thunder echoed in the sky——
"Tongshou Temple!"
The sound was loud and filled with obvious anger.
"How dare you use the 'substitution technique' to deceive me!"
"Are you humiliating me?"
The questioning became extremely sharp under the anger.
The old monk from Tongshou Temple looked up at the dim sky. He did not lower his clasped hands, but only bowed slightly.
It seems to be an apology.
It seems to be a habit.
"Okay! Very good!"
"Since you want to save people!"
"Then I will let you save enough!"
The voice roared low.
The rolling river suddenly calmed down.
The moment Hui Lijing and Ryosuke took a breath in the river, their expressions changed drastically.
They felt as if they were being targeted by some ferocious beast.
Without hesitation, the two men took out their guns.
The next moment——
Wow!
Along with the sound of splashing water, a thin figure jumped onto the boat.
The whole body is dark green, the face is ferocious, the mouth has fangs, and the limbs are like toads. As soon as it comes up, it rushes towards Hui Lijing.
Bang!
Hui Lijing raised her hand and fired.
The monster fell down at the sound and fell into the river.
However, Hui Lijing had no time to be happy.
More monsters jumped out of the river.
Wow! Wow! Wow!
Bang bang bang!
The sound of water coming out kept coming, and the sound of gunshots coming one after another.
The voice in the sky was disdainful.
"Tongshou Temple, don't you want to save people?"
"Why don't you take action?"
"You don't think that a mere bullet can make the 'water ghost' I raise timid, do you?"
"Or are you undergoing a so-called test?"
Speaking of this, the voice snorted disdainfully.
"The human heart cannot stand the test!"
"You already failed once decades ago!"
"Now?"
"You are just repeating the same mistakes!"
"Whether it's the two in your boat or the one on the shore, they can't stand the test - especially the guy named Jason on the shore. He is a lost dog himself and came across the ocean.
When I was in panic all day long, my heart was still full of obsessions. If it hadn't been for him, how could I have discovered what was going on here? You might have successfully rescued the person."
"Do you think a guy like him can pass your so-called test and inherit Tongshou Temple?"
The voice asked.
"why not?"
Old monk Tongshou Temple answered.
Different from the angry, sharp voice.
The old monk's words were calm and indifferent.
But this tone of voice irritated the other party even more.
"Just him?"
"He still wants to pass your narrow-minded tests?"
"unless……"
"He drank up the 'Oni River' in front of him!"
The voice said angrily.
However, at the end of the sentence, he burst into laughter again.
Although his 'Ghost River' is just a projection of a branch.
But even the projection comes from the 'Onigawa' river.
After an ordinary person falls, he or she is dissolved into a skeleton within a breath, and then the essence becomes the nourishment for the water ghosts among them.
As for the skeleton?
After a little processing, he can become a new skeleton warrior.
Or simply soak in this 'River of Ghosts' and become a new 'Water Ghost'.
Jason drank his 'Onigawa' dry?
How is this possible?
Thinking of this, this man inexplicably wanted to laugh even more.
"If Jason really drinks up the Ghost River, I will not only admit defeat, but I will also join your camp to help you protect the 'fear' flag and become a member of your 'fear' flag."
This one said directly.
Very straightforward, without any hesitation.
Because he thinks this is impossible.
The old monk Tongshou Temple did not answer either.
He also thought it was impossible.
But at this time, Jason, who had eaten a meal of 'Grilled Ghost', stood up, carried his bag, and walked towards the 'Ghost River'.
The 'roasted ghost' was a bit salty, and he felt... thirsty.
