You have mastered the art of thunder and you tell me that it is in a strange world?

Chapter 34 Going to Anming

When Zuo Chen went down the mountain carrying the bear head, Wang Erniu had been waiting at the village entrance for a long time.

He paced back and forth on the spot, his face full of anxiety, and he was very restless.

Wang Erniu turned his head and saw two people walking down the mountain, then he happily came over.

"Taoist Priest!"

When he got closer, Wang Erniu discovered that Zuo Chen was holding a black object in his hand. Upon closer inspection, he found that it was the head of the blind black bear!

Staring at the blind bear's head, Wang Erniu felt ecstatic, but also scared.

It was too dark and if you couldn't see clearly, you would think it was a Taoist priest holding a human head!

"The disaster in your village was caused by this thing. After I kill it, there will be no more strange things happening in the village at night."

Zuo Chen said to Wang Erniu, and Wang Erniu smiled like a chrysanthemum.

He then asked:

"Master, is this bear transformed by the monk? It looks like a human but not a monster. How can a bear be so smart?"

Zuo Chen heard this and shook his head:
"A monk is a monk. This has nothing to do with him. He was just unlucky like the people in your village. He ran into a bear on the mountain and got eaten."

Wang Erniu nodded, not quite understanding.

Things went much more smoothly afterwards. Wang Erniu took the bear head directly to the village chief's house. When he put the head on the table, the village chief was frightened to the point of almost fainting. After he came to his senses, he confirmed again and again whether this thing was indeed the one harming people on the mountain.

After getting a positive answer, the village chief burst into tears and laughter, went straight into the house, took out a gong, put on a suona, asked his wife to find him a red silk, and rushed out of the house while blowing, dancing, and beating the gong, shouting:
"The disaster is over! The disaster is over!"

The villagers originally thought that their village chief had gone crazy because of too much pressure. But after hearing the village chief beating gongs and drums outside for a whole incense stick of time without encountering any bad things, some brave villagers came out to take a look.

The village chief was also happy. Every time he saw someone, he would tell them what had happened that day. After hearing that the one causing the disaster was a black bear and its head had been chopped off, the other people in the village also started to smile.

Many of them were in high spirits and even followed the village chief in shouting and dancing, and patrolling the village at night.

After all this trouble, the village chief's team became larger and larger. Some were beating gongs, some were beating drums, some were lighting lanterns, some were singing, and some were shouting and cursing, "Thank God for sending such a wild bear to harm us and not being human."

The village chief walked in front, playing the suona, his face turning red.

The whole night was as lively as New Year's Day.

Just as everyone in the village had woken up, the village chief had people move out the eight-immortal table again and quickly urged those who were still able to work in the kitchen to start cooking. When it was just light in the sky, they set out a banquet to entertain Zuo Chen and the others.

Zuo Chen did not refuse and joined the fellow villagers in the banquet.

The banquet ended only at noon. The villagers who had not slept well the previous night returned to their houses and fell into a deep sleep. The village chief had drunk a little too much the previous night and now felt dizzy, so he was taken back to his room by his wife.

When they arrived at the village gate, Wang Erniu was the only one left to see them off.

"Master, the village chief asked me to come and honor you."

Wang Erniu simply brought out a basket of silver coins, and Zuo Chen weighed the silver with his hand.

About three pounds.

It was far less than what Liu Laizi gave at that time, but it also showed the thoughtfulness.

"Then the village chief said that he saw that the Taoist priest was going to travel, and there happened to be a strong donkey and a cart in the village, so he would let the Taoist priest use them first."

Someone came over leading a donkey, which was pulling a small cart made of wooden boards. Wang Erniu picked up the basket of silver with one hand and put it on the cart.

At a glance, there were many other baskets on the car, filled with fresh fruits and vegetables as well as dried meat soaked in salt.

There was also a rather large gourd filled with wine, which Caiyi had specifically asked for yesterday.

The donkey looked a little stubborn, whining, as if it was not very satisfied with its seemingly weak new master. Zuo Chen walked to the donkey's ears and patted it on the head, and the donkey instantly became obedient.

The villagers living near Wang Erniu found it strange. The donkey was strong and durable, a good donkey, but its temper was a little bit stubborn. They didn't expect that it couldn't behave next to the Taoist priest.

Zuo Chen rode on the donkey, and Caiyi sat next to the silver basket on the back cart, holding the silver and smiling.

"See you again if we're lucky." After saying goodbye, Zuo Chen patted the donkey's head, and the donkey started pulling the cart forward as if it knew the way.

Wang Erniu stood at the entrance of the village and watched Zuo Chen leave silently until their two figures disappeared at the edge of the horizon.

On the donkey cart, when Wangjia Village was completely out of sight, Caiyi held up the wine gourd soaked in bear bile and asked:

"Master, where are we going next?"

"Let's go to Anming Temple first, and then leave."

"Anming Temple? What are you going there for?"

Caiyi didn't understand.

A bald head poked out from Zuo Chen's sleeve, and next to the bald head were two little dolls, one made of gold and one made of jade:

"Miss Caiyi, I asked the Taoist priest to take me there to have a look. I have been called a monk all my life and I don't know what a real monk looks like. Although I don't need to eat, I really want to see a monk who can have a full meal... Hey, don't pull my clothes."

The monk was busy dealing with the golden boy and jade girl, which made the two kids laugh.

Caiyi was speechless.

It is indeed strange that after being a monk all my life, I don’t know what other monks are like.

But she thought about it, moved closer to Zuo Chen, and lowered her voice:

"I heard the village chief talking about Anming Temple earlier. That temple looks like it's in bad shape. Is it really okay for a monk to go there?"

"The monk is not going there to preach. He is just curious. Just let him take a look." Zuo Chen said.

He paused for a moment and said, "If it is a relic, I will accept it, but it contains the monk's soul, so it is not a treasure. I cannot decide for him whether to keep it or not.

"He's not a robber."

This is not even a treasure.

Caiyi stared at the relic that was playing with the golden boy and jade girl.

If this thing fell into the hands of other people, they would want to take it out and play with it day and night. They would even fish out the soul for you and sew it into a painting as a treasure.

The Taoist priest is indeed different from others.

……

Anming Temple sent out several young monks to walk down the mountain in four directions, looking for the big monk's trace.

Last night, although their deputy abbot sensed the presence of a big monk nearby through the tricks he knew, he couldn't determine his location. He could only let the little guys under him be busy.

Among them, there was a young monk who walked along the mountain path, which was winding all the way, and finally came to the official road facing Xuzhou.

Seeing the desolate Xuzhou, the little monk was afraid that some refugees would suddenly show up and eat him like rice and meat, so he planned to go back.

But suddenly I saw a sedan chair coming from the direction of Xuzhou not far away.

Under the sedan were five skinny monks, who were carrying the sedan with great effort, their upper bodies naked and their waists and pants soaked with sweat.

Four of the monks each corresponded to one corner, and the last one was supporting the bottom of the sedan chair, pushing up with both hands, his eyes almost popping out from exhaustion.

And right above the sedan sat a fat monk with a fat head and big ears.

He held a bowl in his hand, which was full of rice.

Seeing the little monk, the sedan chair stopped.

The young monk could feel that the fat monk had a mysterious power, so he thought that he was the person he was looking for. He took two steps at a time to the front of the sedan chair, knelt down and kowtowed.

"Master, I am a monk from the nearby Anming Temple. My abbot sensed that you are coming here. I hope you will do me the honor of visiting Anming Temple."

The fat monk lowered his head and stared at him:
"Anming Temple? Is there any offering?"

(End of this chapter)