Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

Wen Jiao had been married before, and this was a piece of news that had caused a sensation in Chang'an, so many people knew about it. Although the reason why this matter caused a sensation in Chang'an was not because of her marriage itself, but because her experience of being occupied by an imposter for sixteen years was very sympathetic.

Wen Jiao had given birth to a son, who became a monk, but few people knew about this. As for the son's Buddhist name, only the nobles in the same circle had heard of it.

As for people like Fu Yi, who worked in the Bureau of Astronomy and was either absorbed in every case or obsessed with astronomical phenomena, if he had even the slightest interest in the gossip about his colleagues, he would not be in his current position.

Therefore, even though her adopted son was severely scolded by the old man, Wen Jiao still forgave him generously and even tactfully defended Xuanzang: "Master Xuanzang is not without a king or a mother."

Fu Yi's face was filled with disbelief: "The Shi family has always been lawless, Master Jingrong should not cover up for them."

Although Tang Seng's journey to the West is seen as a pilgrimage of firm faith, his original intention was not so much to seek Buddha, but rather to serve his country, which drove him to undertake the important task of obtaining Buddhist scriptures from the West. His loyalty to his country is undeniable. But this is a matter for the future and cannot be counted.

So Wen Jiao called out, "Sister Huo."

The crystal lion rolled out from her sleeve, fell to the ground and quickly grew into a red lion as tall as a man, speaking in human language: "What do you want from me?"

Judging from its appearance, this should be the fierce lion that Master Jingrong rode through Chang'an that day. So its name is Huo Jie? It is indeed very powerful!

Fu Yi silently moved his cushion a little further away.

Wen Jiao had no idea what the old man was thinking, so she just said, "Go to Huasheng Temple, and after you finish performing the ritual today, bring Xuanzang to see me."

Hearing this, Fu Yi was confused: "Why should we pick him up? I get so angry when I see a bald guy!" He paused and suddenly asked suspiciously, "That Master Xuanzang, can Jingrong Zhenren call him whenever he wants?"

Wen Jiao smiled but did not answer: "Don't be impatient, old lady, just have some tea."

The tea that Wen Jiao used to entertain guests was the Longfeng tea she brought back from Shangyong County. Ever since the Han River Dragon King showed up and brought rain, the valley that was renamed Longwangya has grown wonderful tea. Not only is the scent refreshing and fragrant, but the tea leaves are also tall and straight, which is very cute. Wen Jiao was not used to the powdered tea with seasonings that was popular in this era, so she worked hard to learn how to stir-fry tea. She roasted more than a thousand kilograms of tea herself and preserved it with the immortal method, which was enough for her to drink fresh for many years.

She brewed the tea herself, and soon, the white porcelain teacup, which was as red as a baby's skin, was filled with tender green tea soup. The tall and delicate tea leaves floated up and down in it, like hundreds of dragons swimming, carrying a mysterious meaning that made people feel peaceful and calm.

Fu Yi's anger was swept away unconsciously, and he praised: "Master Jingrong's method of brewing tea is unique, retaining the original appearance of the tea leaves, and more in line with the Taoist way of valuing life. I don't know where this idea came from?"

In fact, it is the most common way of brewing tea nowadays.

Wen Jiao muttered in her heart and personally served him a cup of tea: "Let everything take its natural course, only then can you get the true taste. A forced melon is not sweet, and the same is true for ground tea leaves."

Fu Yi felt that she seemed to be pointing at something, and his face darkened: "Master, are you accusing me of being reckless and shouldn't openly go against the Shi Clan?"

Wen Jiao sighed, "Tao values ​​nature. If you see a young and weak tree and force it to grow, it is undoubtedly against the original intention of Taoism. But if you see a tree with lush branches and leaves, about to grow into a pillar of a giant tree, and you insist on cutting it down, isn't that also against the original intention of Taoism?"

Fu Yi's expression this time was even worse than when he heard that the emperor wanted to honor Buddha in the court: "Master, are you reminding me that Buddhism is destined to flourish in the East?"

Wen Jiao said nothing, but stared into the cup. A piece of emerald green tea slowly sank, and another piece gently floated to the surface. One sinks and one floats, sinking and floating, sometimes sinking and sometimes floating, the world is always so simple.

Fu Yi could no longer suppress his anger, and slammed the table, saying fiercely: "Buddhism does not respect the emperor and father, and does not engage in production. If this idea spreads widely, the people will have no land to cultivate, and all the good land will belong to the temples. There will also be no people to cultivate, and all the able-bodied men will devote themselves to Buddhism. The imperial treasury will inevitably be empty, because monks do not pay taxes. Will the only way to tax the good people is to increase taxes? That is equivalent to driving the good people to join Buddhism, which is really harmful! Just look at how the Southern Liang Dynasty was ruined because the whole country worshipped Buddhism. Is my Tang Dynasty going to repeat the same mistake?"

The more he spoke, the sadder he became, and in the end two lines of tears flowed down between his wrinkles.

"When prosperity reaches its peak, it will inevitably turn against the Buddha. If that happens, the descendants of Confucius will take action." Wen Jiao said, as if she saw a scholar named Han in the future writing down a theory of destroying Buddhism. There was also an emperor named Li Yan, who destroyed Buddhism throughout the country and deeply suppressed the rampant Buddhist trend at that time.

Over the next thousand years, whenever Buddhism was in decline, it would slowly prosper, and whenever it became rampant it would be suppressed, and this cycle would repeat itself.

In fact, let alone Buddhism, Taoism, and even Confucianism, which has become orthodox today, is it not the same?

Seeing Fu Yi's depressed look, Wen Jiao comforted him, "Besides, I would not be a bystander as long as I am here." She thought for a moment and then said, "Seven hundred years later, the Arab religion will flourish, and no one in the Western Tianzhu will believe in Buddhism anymore."

Fu Yi couldn't help but burst into laughter before he could even wipe the tears from his face.

Huo Ling'er brought Xuan Zang with her. As soon as they came in, they heard Fu Yi's laughter, which made all his worries disappear. She was confused and said, "What is this old man laughing at? He looks so happy!"

Xuanzang saw Fu Yi's shadow from a distance and felt a little scared. He forced a smile and said, "Mr. Fu, I am honored to meet you."

Although Fu Yi's distress was alleviated by the fact that Buddhism had lost its hometown after 700 years, he was still very angry when he saw Xuanzang. He snorted twice from his nose, turned his head away, and said bitterly: "I still couldn't stop you after all."

Wen Jiao knew that the task of selecting the world's eminent monks was originally assigned to Fu Yi, but the old man took the risk of disobeying the order and pushed it back, so it was given to someone else. Judging from Xuanzang's expression, the monks must have been scolded by the old man in the Taishi Bureau that day.

Fu Yi added, "With the emperor taking sides, even if I say a lot, I can't stop you monks from playing tricks. But don't get complacent. I'm half dead, and I can't wait to see what happens to you. But I've already taught a few of my favorite students, and they will slowly fight you in the future."

This Mr. Fu is really too strong.

Xuanzang looked embarrassed and worried, so he had no choice but to ignore the old man and turned to Wen Jiao and saluted: "Mother, why did you ask the fire donor to call me here?"

Fu Yi's whole body froze in an instant. If his beard had not been still trembling, he would have almost turned into a stone statue.