Liaozhai: A Poor Monk Transcends to Immortal

Chapter 24 Peasant Woman Still Starved to Death

Normally, saving a person only has a little merit, but just helping a yellow-skinned person to transform into another person was actually rewarded with three points of merit. Not to mention, he also got a magical power called the "Zen Meditation Seal".

Is there really something secret about asking for a seal?
After thinking for a while, he shook his head helplessly.
Not to mention this, he doesn't even understand the concept of salvation now. Saving a ghost is considered salvation; killing a villain is also considered salvation; not to mention subduing demons and demons, it is still considered salvation; now, helping Huang Pizi seek a seal , is still regarded as salvation. From this point of view, the concept of salvation is very deep.

You can be saved without killing people.

Apart from spiritual and physical salvation, what is this?
Physiological excess?

I couldn't help but feel a chill, and then I threw these bad thoughts out of my mind and started reciting the scriptures.

The next day,

It's sunny,

the sun shines brightly,

The scholar was walking in the opposite direction to him, apparently going to Jingshui County. Without saying hello, the two of them walked out of the ruined temple one after another and set off again.

Although the trail is still a little muddy, it will surely get better soon as long as the sun comes out.

To his surprise, after walking along the trail for more than an hour, he still didn't encounter any pedestrians. Just when he was wondering if he had gone wrong, a wisp of green smoke curled up not far away.

Anyone?
Xu Zisu's face lit up and his pace sped up a lot.

Not far away, we saw a village with about a dozen households, and the green smoke was rising from the farmers' houses.

When we entered the village, we saw only blue sky and white sun, and the doors of every house were closed.

I knocked on the door of a courtyard out of curiosity. The courtyard where I could still hear some sounds suddenly fell silent.

"Amitabha."

"Donor, the young monk came here on the way and is a little thirsty. Can you ask for a bowl of water?"

"You should go elsewhere. It's not convenient right now."

Xu Zisu shook his head helplessly, and then walked towards the other people's houses.

However, after knocking on eight doors, nine did not open the door. In one of them, perhaps he heard a sound. As soon as he walked to the door, there was a sound of expulsion coming from inside the house.

Just when Xu Zisu was about to leave, a courtyard door suddenly opened.

"Little master, if you don't mind, come in and have a rest."

The crooked figure had a kind smile on his face, and he turned half his body and waved at him.

"Thank you, old benefactor."

The furnishings in the courtyard are extremely simple, except for the old man, there is no one else.

"Little master, wait a moment. The old woman will go bring water to the little master."

"Sorry for bothering you, old benefactor."

It can be seen that they are all ordinary miserable people struggling at the bottom.

After a while, the old woman brought a bowl of water, Xu Zisu took it with a smile, but did not drink it, instead looked at the old woman with a smile.

"Old benefactor, the young monk has something that I don't know whether to ask or not."

"Young master, I just want to ask, why are the people in the village staying behind closed doors now that the sky is clear and the sun is shining brightly?"

"That's exactly the case, please ask the old benefactor to clarify."

"Well, of course it is an order issued by the yamen. You are not allowed to go out between the tenth and fifteenth of each month. If you find out that you are out, you will immediately implicate the whole village. At least it will be severely beaten, and at worst it will kill you. We ordinary people, How dare you resist the government?"

"Why is that?"

"This old woman is unknown."

Xu Zisu frowned and nodded.

Then he looked at the old woman: "Is there anyone else in the old benefactor's family?"

The old woman shook her head when she heard this: "The old woman is the only one left in the family."

"Amitabha."

"In this case, the young monk will see the old benefactor off for the last time." The old woman couldn't help but be stunned. She saw Xu Zisu put the water bowl aside, and then walked straight into the house. The furnishings in the house were even simpler, and the only thing that was terrifying was that Surprisingly, there was an old woman lying on the bed in the house, who looked exactly like the old woman who had just spoken to him.

However, the old woman on the bed had long since lost her life. Perhaps because of the hot weather, a rotten smell could be smelled. Several mice were crawling on the body. After hearing the footsteps, they immediately dispersed. .

The old woman followed Xu Zisu into the house. When she saw herself on the bed, she suddenly collapsed on the ground.

"This······"

"Old donor, do you remember what day today is?"

"Is it the tenth day of the first lunar month?"

"Alas, old benefactor, today is the middle of the month, the fifteenth day of the month."

"In other words, the donor has been dead for five days."

Looking at the old woman with confused eyes, Xu Zisu sighed helplessly. In today's time, are starvation deaths happening right in front of his eyes?
Once upon a time, I always thought that this kind of thing was far away from him.

He shook his head helplessly, sat cross-legged and recited the [Diamond Sutra].

Along with the chanting, the old woman bowed to him and then disappeared into the house.

[Saving the souls of the dead will reward you with a little merit]

After reciting the Diamond Sutra once and burying the old woman, he left the yard.

There was a pottery bowl placed in the corner of the yard. There was a layer of dust in the bowl, as if it had not been used for a long time.

······
Only a wall separates them, like yin and yang. Although separated by a wall, it seems to put a shackle on people's hearts.

Leaving the village and embarking on the trail again,
Since the county government's order can reach here, it proves that this place is not far from the county government.

However, he didn't expect that not far from the village, he would encounter two forked roads. Looking at the two forked roads, one left and one right, Xu Zisu frowned, and then chose one by chance.

Night was approaching, and halfway through the journey, there was still no sign of the county town.
He looked up at the full moon in the sky and sighed secretly.

It seems that we have gone astray.

Just as he was about to turn around and return, he heard a few whispers coming from the front.

"Hey, this ghost place is really scary. It's really hard to earn this little money."

"Come on, be satisfied. 30 taels of silver is enough for us brothers to go to Baixiang Tower for a few days."

"Too."

"By the way, why did the county magistrate ask us to transport the body to this place?"

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, and don't care about what you shouldn't care about. This is the capital that our old Zhao has survived for so many years. I will teach you today, kid."

"Brother Zhao is right, you kid should learn from it."

"Okay, don't talk nonsense, let's go back quickly."

······
Seeing the figures of several people getting further and further away, Xu Zisu walked out of the weeds on the side and frowned.

Transporting corpses?

After five days of being closed, it is the fifteenth day, that is, today,
Xu Zisu raised his head and glanced at the bright moon in the sky. On the night of the fifteenth full moon, the yin energy was at its strongest.
Therefore, there must be something fishy!

Facing the moonlight, we walked along the path and continued walking forward.

After a few moments, I felt an extremely huge Yin Qi rising from the mountain col.

The lingering Yin Qi caused even the sound of insects to disappear completely.
In the silent night, the dark wind blows,

Xu Zisu stopped by the mountain road and frowned at the mountain col below. With such a huge amount of yin energy, there were countless corpses piled up in this mountain col. I'm afraid it was nothing more than a mass grave.

Moreover, where did all these corpses come from?

"Amitabha."

"Since I can be met by the young monk, it is the opportunity for the young monk, and it is also the fate of you all."

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(End of this chapter)