Pawn Crossing the River

Renzheng Temple, abbot's room.

Master Qingwei is sitting in the seat of the lord of Japan, with Munemasa Yagyu on his left and Master Aobo on his right.

Although kneeling is an ancient tradition in the Central Plains, since the introduction of chairs, Central Plains people have become unaccustomed to kneeling. Master Qingwei simply sits cross-legged. Meditation is the basic skill of Taoist priests, and his posture is leisurely.

Yagyu Zongzheng's standard kneeling posture is serious and upright, and he can stand up with his sword at any time.

Because of his large flat feet, Qingbozhu could only sit on a kei and recite sutras softly in Japanese.

Shen Yuqing, the secretary of Master Qingwei, brought in three cups of hot tea.

"This is the green tea I brought from the Central Plains. You two might as well have a try." Master Qingwei said.

Yagyu Zongzheng picked up the tea cup, took a sip, and after thinking about it carefully for a moment, said: "Is this...new tea just picked?"

Master Qingwei said: "This year's first crop is picked in Mingqian at night when the buds are showing."

The so-called Mingqian refers to the fresh tea leaves picked before the Qingming Festival, while the Yuqian tea refers to the tea leaves picked before the Grain Rain. Generally speaking, the quality of Mingqian tea picked the day before Qingming is the best. If it is picked too early, it will be too tender, and if it is picked too late, it will be too old. This year's Qingming Festival is February 14th. This Mingqian tea should have been picked on February 13th. Today is February 15th, which means that Daomen transported Mingqian tea from Jiangzhou within three days. Fenglinzhou.

One thing can be viewed from two aspects. It can be seen as Master Qingwei's greed for enjoyment, or it could not be that Master Qingwei uses these trivial things to show the powerful strength of the Taoist sect?

Money is indispensable for fighting a war. The most intuitive manifestation is logistics. Daomen can deliver the Mingqian tea picked just on February 13th to Fenglinzhou, but will there be a shortage of other supplies?

With such a huge transport capacity, Daomen is actually not much different from fighting on the mainland.

Yagyu Somasa immediately figured out the mystery, his expression changed slightly, and he sighed: "Thanks to Master Li, I can drink fresh Mingqian. Although the merchants who come and go also sell Mingqian. The tea is fresh, but the fastest it takes is more than a month to transport it from Jiangzhou to Fenglinzhou. Even if it is sealed in a jar, it will still lose its freshness. "

Master Qingwei smiled and said: "If Shi Zhouzhai likes it, I can give Shi Zhouzhai a few kilograms."

"Then I'll be disrespectful." Yagyu Munamasa leaned forward slightly.

However, Master Qingfang did not touch the tea cup, stopped chanting, and looked at Master Qingwei.

He is neither a public family nor a martial artist, so he doesn't care about these.

Master Qingwei said: "The master has talked about many issues related to Fenglinzhou before, and they all hit the point. In fact, this is indeed what the Taoist sect is concerned about. In the eyes of the master, are these things independent? Or are they relatively unified? The root cause?”

Master Qingfang clasped his hands together: "Zhenzhen is very clear. On the surface, these things are unrelated to each other, but in fact, as Zhenzhen said, they are actually different manifestations of the same problem in different aspects."

Master Qingwei asked: "What is the root cause?"

The master of Qingfang said concisely and comprehensively: "Furong Mountain."

Master Qingwei said: "I have heard of Furong Mountain. This is the name of the Central Plains. In the context of Fenglinzhou, it means longevity. I heard that many people regard it as a holy mountain and do not even allow women to climb it. Some people Is this the case?" Yagyu Zongzheng said: "There is indeed such a rule. It is not that women are not allowed to climb, but that women are not allowed to climb the peak."

Master Qingwei asked: "Has Shi Zhouzhai been to Furong Mountain?"

Yagyu Munamasa said: "I have been there three times. The first time I climbed to the top of Furong Mountain, I had not yet reached the crown. I went with my late father. The second time I went there, I was in my prime and had little skill in swordsmanship. Achievement, go there to learn the art of swordsmanship. As for the last time I climbed to the top of Furong Mountain, it was just to enjoy the scenery. Although it is covered with snow all year round, I can clearly see it. I feel a strong fire below. Moreover, according to historical records, Furong Mountain is a volcano that has erupted flames and magma many times. Each time, it caused great harm, changed the landscape, and turned the sea into land. It can be said that the sea has changed, and the ashes are like snow. , filling half of Fenglinzhou,”

Master Qingwei's face was calm: "It fills half of Fenglin Continent, which is the land of several mansions in the Central Plains. It is just a volcano, and its power is indeed a bit exaggerated."

Master Qingwei looked at Master Qingfang again: "Master, is there any connection between the fire at Furong Mountain and the various visions in Fenglin Continent?"

Master Qingfang nodded and said: "It is indeed relevant."

Master Qingwei asked: "How much does Master know about this?"

Master Qingbo said: "When I was a monk, I had a junior fellow student named Anzhen. At that time, we were still ascetic monks. We went to Kumano to practice together, and we stayed in a family's house on the way. The hostess was named Qing Ji. "I thought I was just a stranger from the end of the world, but I didn't expect that Qing Ji fell in love with my junior brother An Zhen that night and tried every means to make An Zhen stay."

"But Anzhen left first on the pretext of going to Kumano to pay homage and would come back to visit Kiyohime afterwards, leaving Kiyohime waiting. Gradually, Kiyohime, who couldn't wait for her lover's return, realized that she had been cheated, so Not even wearing shoes, she chased An Zhen crazily day and night, experiencing all the hardships along the way. When she finally caught up with An Zhen on the way to Daocheng Temple, she no longer looked like a human being or a ghost. ”

"Seeing that the lie was about to be exposed, Anzhen quickly begged Kumano God to trap Kiyohime. She quickly crossed the Hidaka River, fled to Dojoji Temple, asked me for help, and hid in the big bell in the temple. When Kiyohime chased after There were no boats at the Hidaka River, but she jumped into the river resolutely, and turned into a human head with a snake body and continued to chase her ashore."

"Qing Ji, who had turned into a monster, was very angry with An Zhen. When she entered Daocheng Temple, she knew that An Zhen was hiding behind the big bell, so she wrapped her snake body around the big bell, but the bell was too strong to enter. In the end, Qing Ji Although there was nothing he could do, he refused to give up, so he spontaneously ignited and burned Monk Anzhen in the bell to black coals. "

Master Qingwei listened to the story calmly without showing any impatience. He just said: "It is a common thing in Fenglinzhou for living people to turn into monsters due to resentment, obsession, curses, etc. The master said to What is my purpose in telling this story?"

Master Qingfang continued: "Because of this incident, I was greatly shocked, so I read a lot of classics and visited many places in person, intending to find out the origin of this kind of transformation of humans into demons. Finally, I came to the conclusion One conclusion seems to be related to the power of incense. Real people should know that divine power is refined from the power of incense. In other words, divine power is the pure power of incense without any impurities. Then the power of incense is derived from the power of incense. Where does it come from? It comes from people's hearts. Whether it is an ordinary person or a high-level immortal, as long as they truly recognize, believe in, and persevere in someone or something, they can produce incense and fire power that is almost omnipotent. From a theoretical point of view, there is no essential difference between the power of incense and divine power. Whatever can be done by divine power, the power of incense can also be done. "

"So I came to the conclusion that the reason why so many people turned from humans to monsters is because they lost the object of their faith. They did not believe in Buddha or gods. The incense and vows were not collected, but left behind. In one's own body. An eminent monk from the Central Plains once said: "When water comes out, there will be dark ghosts in the heart." There is no room for dark ghosts to live in a bright heart. However, if the heart is full of resentment and resentment, it will inevitably be filled with all kinds of obsessions and resentments. In the end, under the guidance of obsession and resentment, the incense and desire in their bodies turned into an alternative divine power, turning them into monsters. "

"I originally thought this was the answer. The solution to the problem is simply to promote Buddhism. As long as you believe in Buddhism sincerely, you will not turn into a monster. After all, the Buddhist sect in Fenglinzhou is extremely large, like a vassal town, and you can marry and have children. The position of the master changed from the master-disciple lineage to the father-son lineage, and eventually became depraved. The monks who became monks had six impure roots. Not only did they not engage in production, but they also did not engage in spiritual practice. They annexed fields, expropriated and expropriated money, and were arrogant and extravagant. "Tong, the decline of Buddhism is inevitable, and it is reasonable for the people at the bottom not to believe in Buddhism."

Master Qingwei said: "The master just said 'I thought', but it seems that the master later found other answers."

Qingbozhu nodded slightly and said: "It wasn't until I turned into a monster myself, Qingbozhu, that I discovered that the reason why I turned into a monster had nothing to do with whether I had devout faith. Even people who wholeheartedly worship Buddha will also do it. Become a monster, a Buddhist monster like me.”

"I left the temple, turned into a void monk and traveled around, visiting every place in Fenglin Continent, and finally climbed to the top of Furong Mountain. Here, I felt a very familiar atmosphere."

"I have vaguely felt this kind of breath in my own body, and I have also seen it in other people's bodies, but it is not strong. The one that really impressed me and will be unforgettable for the rest of my life is Qingji."

Master Aobo finally explains why he told the story about Kiyohime in the first place.

Master Qingwei is such a smart person. He does not need Qingfang Master to remind him. He has already connected the two stories: "Shi Zhouzhai said before that Furong Mountain has spewed out fires several times, and every time it was earth-shattering, the ashes could fill half a Phoenix. Linzhou, the key here is flame. Master Fangcai also told the story about Qing Ji. She eventually spontaneously ignited and burned the monk An Zhen into charcoal. The key is that the two can indeed be connected. Get up, but does the master have any evidence to prove this speculation? "

Master Qingbo said: "Before Koshi, the Houlinzhou Taoist Office secretly investigated this matter and invited a cardinal from the Western Holy Court to participate. As a Buddhist disciple of Horinzhou who has been investigating this matter, I went to Mount Hiei With the recommendation of , we were lucky enough to participate in it. We came to the conclusion that the fire hidden under Furong Mountain is not an ordinary flame. The Taoist sect calls it Yin Fire, the Holy Court calls it epileptic fire, and Feng Lin. Zhou Buddhism calls it the evil fire, which is the flame of the evil god."