On the dark dirt road in the forest, Li Huowang held a torch and led the others forward.
It was still dark, but they were still in shock and did not feel any sleepiness. After all, after experiencing so many things just now, no one could care about sleeping.
There was some cut horse meat piled on the donkey cart. Apart from a few pieces of broken silver from the corpse of the robber, this was also Li Huowang's only trophy.
"That's almost it. Let's rest here until dawn. It's not safe to drive at night." Li Huowang gave the order, and soon the torches were piled on top of each other to form a new bonfire.
"It's okay to squint if you can't sleep. We have to continue our journey tomorrow. Keep up your strength. I'll keep watch."
As the sound of donkey hooves and footsteps disappeared, the entire dirt road became quiet again.
Li Huowang, who was sitting on the fire, turned his head and looked at the road he had just walked. It was pitch black. It seemed that the old beggar would not follow him until he finished burying all the dead people.
Thinking back on everything that had just happened, Li Huowang couldn't help but sigh in his heart, this place is really messy.
All kinds of messy things are dangerous enough. Not only do we not stick together to keep ourselves warm, but we also kill each other.
He poked the bonfire that was about to go out with his long sword, grabbed the firewood nearby and threw it in.
As time went by, those who had escaped in the forest gradually gathered around Li Huowang's bonfire, and soon several small bonfires gradually rose around the bonfire.
There were no Lu family members among those who returned, but Li Huowang was not worried at all. When the robbers came out, they were the fastest.
Lu Zhuangyuan is indeed a veteran. No wonder he is such a stingy person. He has to choose horses to pull the cart. He must have considered today's situation a long time ago.
Time passed little by little, and the sky gradually became brighter. Others began to wake up, grilled horse meat for breakfast, and prepared to start a new journey.
Regardless of whether horse meat is delicious or not, at least horse meat is meat and can replenish their physical strength very well.
Just as they were eating, a trembling figure walked over from behind.
Seeing the appearance of the person who came, Li Huowang relaxed his vigilance slightly. It was the old beggar from before. It looked like he had buried the person all night.
The early morning dew wetted his tattered monk's robe, and he shivered with the cold. He walked slightly closer to the bonfire, squatted down and huddled up.
Seeing Li Huowang looking at him, the beggar smiled innocently.
Thinking of his act of sacrificing his life to save others last night, the hostility in Li Huowang's heart weakened a lot.
Although he thought that this old beggar had such a rotten heart and a good heart, it would not be easy for him to survive in this dangerous world, but no one would reject contact with a good person.
Seeing Li Huowang handing him a steamed bun, the beggar quickly reached out to take it and said vaguely while chewing: "May the Buddha bless you."
Hearing what the other party said, Li Huowang suddenly became interested, "Which Buddha is the Buddha you are talking about?"
"Ah? Isn't the Buddha just called Buddha? Who else is he?" The old beggar showed a trace of confusion in his eyes.
"Hey, eat it quickly. People like you are rare in this world. I hope you are not lying to me."
"How can I lie to others? I am a monk, and a monk cannot lie to others." The old beggar said firmly.
"When you recite sutras, you can only recite Amitabha, and you don't even believe in the Buddha you believe in. What kind of monk are you?"
"Sun Xiucai said that monks are all bald, so I shaved my head. Tailor Wang said that monks can't beg wives, so I won't be! Liu Pu quickly said that monks can't eat meat, so I won't eat meat! And I saw other monks.
If you are shouting Amitabha, then I should learn to shout Amitabha. I have done it, so why can’t I be a monk?”
It seems that the old beggar cares about this aspect very much and defends very stubbornly.
Hearing what the other party said, Li Huowang burst into laughter. The other party's monk was more fake than his own Taoist priest. "But it doesn't mean you are a monk."
The old beggar was stunned, holding half a steamed bun and looking at Li Huowang carefully. "Then what do you think a monk should be like?"
Looking at the other party's eyes, Li Huowang opened his mouth, but was unable to answer the question. The other party's words seemed to contain a trace of truth in the foolishness.
For some reason, Li Huowang saw the shadow of Danyangzi in him, and he persisted in ignorance.
"I guess you can't read, right?"
"How do you know? Are you Taoist priests so good at pinching and calculating?"
"hehe."
"Why are you so obsessed with being a monk?"
"If a monk hadn't saved me, I would have died a long time ago. From that day on, I vowed that I would also become a monk! I must be a good monk!"
While talking, Li Huowang looked at the Lu family class rushing back from a distance. He patted his butt and stood up and walked towards that side.
There were no accidents on the road, and the old monk followed him all the way. Sometimes when he was so hungry that he chewed raw wild vegetables, Li Huowang occasionally helped him with one or two steamed buns.
After walking like this for more than ten days, a city more magnificent than Jianye appeared in front of Li Huowang, and Xijing had arrived.
The continuous green brick city walls are tall and majestic. Standing at the city gate and looking up, you will feel a huge sense of oppression.
"Have we finally arrived?" When he saw the city gate, Li Huowang was completely relieved. He was frightened all the way, but fortunately, the scene in his nightmare did not appear.
No matter what Danyangzi has become, or whether that voice is his hallucination, it is finally time to reveal it.
"Little Taoist Master, you can't live randomly in the inns in Xijing City, because it will kill people. I'll take you to an inn, it's definitely cheap," Lu Zhuangyuan said and was about to walk towards the tall city gate, but was stopped by Li Huowang.
"Wait a minute, where is the monk temple you mentioned before?" Li Huowang asked impatiently. This was the most important purpose of his coming to this place.
Under the leadership of Lu Zhuangyuan, Li Huowang walked towards Zhengde Temple, the most popular place in Xijing City.
Before even seeing the temple, Li Huowang smelled the unique fragrance of sandalwood in the land of Buddhism, and the spacious streets began to become crowded.
Old men, women, adults, children, all kinds of people.
Seeing the piles of incense in their hands, Li Huowang immediately understood that these people were going to worship Buddha.
"Is the incense in this temple always so prosperous?"
Hearing Li Huowang say this to Lu Zhuangyuan next to him, the pilgrim next to him came over and interrupted: "Of course, the Bodhisattva in Zhengde Temple is very effective! My daughter-in-law was conceived here after praying once.
"
"And the masters at Zhengde Temple are very nice people. They distribute porridge to the poor every now and then."
"Yes, yes. To have such a good temple in Xijing City is really a blessing that took several lifetimes to cultivate."