Riding the wind of rebirth

Chapter 1668: Magical Local Legend

"My room is also equipped with electric lights?"

"Yes, the main rooms of the grain station have been equipped with electric lights. However, the power station currently only has a power generation capacity of 3,000 watts, and this is the daily peak, which is not reached most of the time. In addition to the five 100-watt fluorescent tubes for classroom lighting, the remaining rooms have one 20-watt tube."

"The situation will only improve when wind power is introduced in the future," Zhou Zhi said with a smile. "The electricity problem in the township can only be completely solved when the national power grid is brought in."

"Thank you, Brother Elbow. Let me toast you." A Zi picked up the milk tea and clinked glasses with Zhou Zhi.

"Come and eat!" Wu Renzhong came over with a large plate of roasted meat: "I'm so depressed!"

"Take it easy, don't get diarrhea like last time." Shama Ricong reminded.

Zhou Zhi was happy. He had been locked up in Lianhe Township for too long, and his stomach had become accustomed to light food. If he was exposed to too much oil and water all of a sudden, he might really have this problem.

But he said, "In fact, the situation in Lianhe Township is not too bad now. At least we have enough oil now, and we can make our own dried tofu and eat it as meat."

"I admit that the bear paw tofu you made tastes good." Wu Renzhong said, "But I can't accept the logic of tofu with meat."

"If you don't believe me, ask Ah Zi." Zhou Zhi picked up a bunch of sizzling grilled small intestines. He had wanted to eat this for a long time. "Tofu is mainly protein. We eat meat mainly to supplement protein, but one is plant protein and the other is animal protein."

"After being broken down, they are all amino acids, and they are the same for human absorption."

"Azi, is it the same?"

"That's true in theory, but there are many kinds of amino acids, some of which are unique to meat and cannot be replaced by plant protein." Ah Zi smiled and said, "But the impact shouldn't be too big. Aren't there many people who only eat vegetarian food?"

"Speaking of vegetarianism, the monks in Lingshan Temple must be vegetarians," said Shama Ricong.

This girl is a Yi person who grew up in the city. She has been completely assimilated into Han Chinese culture. Apart from her facial features and figure, which still show Yi characteristics, her dress, speech and behavior are no different from those of Han Chinese. She also seems to be a bit of a Buddhist.

"Lingshan Temple..." Zhou Zhi was thoughtful when he heard the name and said, "I have to go and see it someday. I heard it is very effective."

"The main reason is that Lingshan Temple used to enshrine the Buddha in the flesh." Wu Renzhong was very excited when talking about this matter: "Unfortunately, it was stolen later. It was not recovered until we got down the mountain. The monks in the temple were afraid of such troubles in the future, so they simply cremated it."

After that, he added mysteriously, "I heard that 108 relics were found during the burning process and are now enshrined in the pagoda."

There are many versions of the legend of the flesh-and-blood Buddha in Lingshan Temple. It is said that during the Republic of China period, a monk moved in and practiced medicine while collecting herbs to save lives. His medical skills were very advanced, and many Yi and Han villagers around him benefited from his kindness.

Later one day, the monk gathered all his disciples and told them that he would pass away in the next two days. If they couldn’t find him, they should go to the top of the mountain to look for him.

If you see yourself, do not cremate your body. Carry it back and place it in your room. As long as it does not decay, burn a stick of incense each day, just like you do in your daily life.

Two days later, the disciples found that the monk was really missing. Remembering what their master had told them, they followed the path up the mountain to look for him. Finally, they found him on the cliff at the top of the mountain. He had passed away. But the strange thing was that the monk passed away while standing. When the disciples found him, they thought he was still alive and just shouted that he was not going to respond. When they got closer, they found that he was gone.

The man was already dead, but he was still standing on the edge of the cliff. This was a manifestation of a miracle. With this miracle, the disciples became even more respectful. Recalling their master's instructions, they quickly carried him down the mountain, changed him into monk's robes, and placed him in his meditation room while still keeping him standing.

Afterwards, the disciples took turns to burn incense every day, and the corpse did not decay, but just gradually dried up.

The news spread to the surrounding area and immediately caused a sensation. People said that the old monk of Lingshan Temple had become a Buddha in the flesh and left behind his remains. More and more believers came to burn incense and worship, and the scope became wider and wider. The monks sealed the old Zen master's remains with mud, carved them into the Zen master's appearance when he was alive, and painted them with gold paint.

This was even more amazing, and eventually the old Zen master became the living Buddha of Lingshan Temple.

People who have worshipped there say that it is very effective. I don’t know how effective it is, but when I visited there a thousand years ago in my previous life, I saw with my own eyes someone carrying a snakeskin bag of cash, about hundreds of thousands of dollars, to fulfill a vow. I was very surprised at the time.

However, both the Zhou and Zhi dynasties believed in Confucianism, and their visits to temples were basically for sightseeing, mainly to appreciate the architecture, sculptures, couplets and calligraphy.

The reason why I was so impressed by Lingshan Temple was that on the way up the mountain you could see snow-capped peaks, thousand-year-old pines and cypresses, as well as yellow gables that were very different from those in the Han area, and the magnificent temple with orange glazed tile roofs. It is a rare sight in China today.

"Actually, speaking of mysterious temples, I know there is another one opposite Qionghai Lake." Jike Azi said.

"Is there any?" Wu Renzhong asked, "Opposite Qionghai, there is nothing but a barren mountain except for a small fishing village that is now providing tourist reception."

"There is a bay next to the small fishing village. What's its name?" Jike Azi reminded Wu Renzhong.

"I know that. It's called Qinglong Temple." Wu Renzhong said confidently, "But there's nothing over there. It's definitely a wasteland!"

"I used to like riding a motorcycle around Qionghai on weekends. When I went there, there was a muddy road after crossing the Haihe River. It was so exciting to go off-road. Ah Zi, you can't fool me."

"I also heard the stories told by the fishermen after I came here." Ah Zi smiled and said, "They said that there is a temple called Zitong Temple at the deepest part of Qionghai, opposite the two yellow locust trees in front of the Qinglong Temple."

"There used to be a county town there called Zitong County. Suddenly one day the ground collapsed and the entire county town was submerged by the gushing water, which became the Qionghai Lake. Fishermen said that if the weather was clear and the sea was clear, you could vaguely see the outlines of submerged buildings and roof tiles on the seabed."

"Later, that place was favored by Xiao Qinglong, the fourth prince of the Dragon King of the East China Sea, and he moved in."

"Whenever there was a drought, the Fourth Prince would often show his divine power to bring rain to relieve the drought. To commemorate him, the people built the Qinglong Temple on the shore, opposite the underwater Zitong Temple, and worshipped his holy statue."

"When the incense became so popular, it alarmed the heavens, who sent Guanyin Bodhisattva to inspect Xiao Qinglong's good deeds. Guanyin Bodhisattva then took him to heaven and made him a true god."

"Now, every year on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, fishermen offer sacrifices to him. It is said that if you are lucky, you can easily see the shadow of a dragon between the sea and the sky in the west at dusk. There is even a legend that the holy image of Guanyin Bodhisattva was seen riding a blue dragon in the sky in the west."

"Tsk, how come I haven't seen it when I've been there so many times?" Wu Renzhong expressed his disbelief, but he was particularly impressed by the scenery there: "But the scenery there is beautiful. One summer I rode a motorcycle there, and there was a sudden rainstorm. I hid under a tree to watch the sea. After the rain stopped and the sun came out again, I saw with my own eyes that the sea water turned into a mixture of red, black, green and other colors with distinct layers. It's a pity that I didn't bring a camera at the time, so it was difficult to take a picture.