Under the sky

Chapter 8 The floating world of images
"Songshan sect?" Liao Jing raised his angry eyebrows and said, "You want me to go to Songshan?" He showed a contemptuous smile, "You will refuse to save the master and then become a complete Shaolin traitor? You said you are help me?"

"Where is Shaolin?" Ming asked uncertainly.

Liao Jing pointed to the mountain, which was the road he wanted to go back to. He was about to speak, but stopped.

Ming Wuxiang is not a person who talks nonsense. His expressions are always accurate, and that is the accuracy of his intentions.His confrontation with Ming Wuxi gave him a deeper understanding of this person. When Ming Wuxi asked where Shaolin was, he was not referring to the temple above.

"Without Shaolin, where will you go back?" Ming Ming asked again.

Liao Jing retracted his finger and said calmly: "You mean, I will either live like a dog or die like a worm?"

"Maybe he's a hero, it depends on your luck." Ming said calmly, "I'll help you here."

Liao Jing laughed loudly: "Are you so kind?" He sarcastically said, "The fortune teller also believes in you."

"That's his decision."

"Push a person to the bottom of a cliff and kill him with a rock. Is this what you mean?"

"I just brought him to the edge of the cliff and he jumped off by himself." Ming said unknownly, "Yao Yunda and the others didn't jump."

"It was always you who drove Wu Yu crazy and killed Wu, right? And Miss Yuan's husband..." Liao Jing said, "They didn't choose to go crazy and die on their own!"

"You killed them, and you still want to kill me." Ming asked uncertainly, "Shouldn't I die this month?"

Liao Jing sneered and said: "You are not out of kindness. You are afraid that the matter will be revealed this month and involve you, so you attacked him."

"Are you kind-hearted?" Mingwu seemed to be tired of this topic, "Is it because you are kind-hearted that you are going up the mountain now?" He shook his head, "It's just that more people will die."

"Are you still afraid of death?" Liao Jing laughed and said, "Don't tell me you don't kill people!"

Ming Wuxi thought about it for a while, as if this issue was very important, and said after a long time: "Perhaps, he will always be killed in the future."

When he talked about killing, his face remained expressionless, as if it was a matter of course. All he was thinking about was when, where, and what opportunity to do it.

Liao Jing was suddenly startled and asked, "Who do you want to kill?"

Ming shook his head uncertainly: "I don't know yet, I'll tell you later."

"If I don't go back to the temple." Liao Jing asked again, "Do you have a way to save Master? Even if I don't go up the mountain, won't it trigger a dispute between the secular and the secular?"

Ming said unclearly: "I can't save your master, and neither can you. It's not me, nor you, who caused the dispute between the orthodox and the secular. We don't have that ability. It's cause and effect, it's common karma, and no one can stop it."

Liao Jing said: "You pushed it all!"

Ming said unceremoniously: "Ben Song and Miss Yuan have not escaped far, they will be captured, and it will cost two lives." He pointed to the south and said, "Go in the direction of Wudang, you can catch up with them. It depends on you If you are capable, you can protect them to Wudang. Then take a detour from Jiangsu to Shandong, which is the Songshan sect, and you can return to secular life there."

After saying that, Ming Ming looked towards the mountain again: "It's time for me to go back."

Liao Jing asked: "Who do you want to harm next? Abbot Juejian? Chief Juekong?"

Ming unknown shook his head and said: "You still don't understand."

Liao Jing asked: "I don't understand. With your intelligence and talent, without using these methods, the position of abbot will be yours sooner or later. What are you asking for?"

He didn't reply again and went straight up the mountain.

Liao Jing looked at Ming Wuxi's back, hesitated for a long time, and suddenly a surge of anger surged into his heart, shouting loudly: "Ming Wuxi! Even if I can't fight you, one day, someone will accept you as a monster! When the time comes, we will definitely I have a share!”

Mingming didn't pay attention to it, and his figure gradually moved away.

Liao Jingyao knelt down in the direction of the Shaolin Temple, kowtowed three times until his forehead bled, and then walked quickly down the mountain.

He didn't believe Ming Wuxi, but he knew what Ming Wuxi said was right.

Master wouldn't want him to go back, and he couldn't go back.If he goes back, it will be a disaster for Shaolin Temple.

There is no hope of seeing him again. What awaits him is an unknown future.He told himself that one day he would return to Shaolin, and the reunion was unknown.

The figure walking down the mountain became faster and faster, and gradually disappeared into the forest, never to be seen again.

※ ※ ※

Juekong's initial problem was that Juejian handed him the autopsy certificates of the seven corpses found in Songshan. It said: "It is feared that they died in a fight. There are suspicions to be investigated."

Why not write "Cause of death unknown, murderer to be investigated"?Juekong knew what Juejian was thinking.If Suo Jian writes like this, he will have the handle on Suo Jian. If he finds his heart and finds out that it was really a fight between the orthodox and the secular to death, or if the incident later comes to light, then he is covering up his heart and concealing the truth.This matter can be big or small. The better way is to skip it directly, send it to the abbot, discuss it with the four houses, and directly decide on the crime of murdering a fellow disciple and absconding in fear of crime.This would be the consensus of the four houses and had nothing to do with customs. He had always thought that with his sophistication, this would be his approach.

So when he saw the autopsy, he was really shocked.

Puxian Yuan is in charge of all precepts and law enforcement inside and outside the Shaolin Temple. If it is in my hands, if it is sent to the four academies for discussion, it means that I am incompetent to decide the matter.Has even Juejian started playing tricks like this?After that, the only way was to send it back to Puxian Academy for retrial. Thinking about it, Juejian had expected this possibility. Since he had sent it, he didn't plan to change it anymore.

Do you want to write "Cause of death unknown, murderer pending investigation" and then close the case?Protecting a righteous monk is just a piece of cake for me.The orthodox and secular people have always treated the same crime with different punishments. The lay monks often take it lightly, especially the Buddhist precepts. However, killing a fellow disciple is a capital offense even for a lay monk.What was Juejian’s idea?Nowadays, the orthodox and the secular are secretly opposed to each other. He wants to take on the name of protecting the orthodox monks. Not only does it appear that he strictly abides by the precepts, but it is also difficult for him to explain to the lay monks, and he also has to bear the charge of favoritism?

This awareness...

Juekong finally settled on "fighting to death, suspected cases to be investigated."

The lay monks must be convinced that he will protect their status and stand up for them.

As long as he still holds the authority and convinces the lay monks, he can control the lay monks who are close to [-]% of the Shaolin Temple and prevent them from mutiny and causing big trouble.

Power is a dangerous weapon and must be placed in the hands of those with sufficient wisdom and conviction.

The way to maintain authority is to never allow others to infringe or test.As long as someone steps on your feet, they will step on your face. When others see it, they will also think that they can follow suit.

But he didn't expect that although the turtle fortune-telling incident was small, it would cause quite a commotion.After the lay monks believed that Master Bu Gui was an orthodox monk, the orthodox monks believed that Master Di Gui was close to the lay monks and that Di Gui was a lay monk. This became an excuse for the two sides to attack each other.

What was even more unexpected was that Jueguan and Jueru actually mentioned the matter of the lay monk changing his name at this moment.

What two idiots, Juekong thought to himself, Jueru's cleverness is only limited to talking.In his eyes, he only sees the secular and does not see a higher place.

Ben Song's matter is both a crisis and an opportunity.

If Jueru dies, the anger of the lay monk can be appeased, and the lay monk's change of name can be suppressed.

In this way, Shaolin will be stable.

Juekong remembered what his master said.

That is a sentence that can be called deviant for Shaolin.That's why he never mentioned it to anyone.

That was a philosophy he believed in throughout his life.

※ ※ ※

Juekuan and Juejian went to see Jueru in the prison, but Jueru was still smiling.

Jue Guan said: "You can still laugh and cause such a big trouble."

Jueru smiled and said: "I saved my apprentice, of course I am happy."

"You failed to take care of your apprentice." Juejian still looked serious. He didn't think there was anything funny about it. "Ben Song violated the precepts, and Liao Jing actually covered his escape."

Jueru smiled and said: "Bensong is not my apprentice, he is Liaoxu's apprentice. Liaoxu is the supervisor of Zhengye Hall. It's your responsibility. Speaking of which, it's your lax governance that has caused misfortune to my apprentice and me." .”

Jue Guan asked, "Do you know where your apprentice has gone?"

Jueru said: "Your Majesty, are you asking for nothing? Don't say I don't know. What if I told you that I love going to jail and sleep here on purpose?"

Jue Guan said: "The current situation is no different than usual, and you have a long way to go. If the name change of lay monks cannot be decided in one fell swoop, how can the Three Treasures exist?"

Jueru was stunned for a moment, looked up and looked around, sighed and said, "That's because the Buddha didn't bless me."

Juejian said: "You destroy the righteous Dharma for your own selfishness, and you still blame the World Honored One? You are calling it self-accomplishment."

Jueru said: "I'm about to die. I just need to go and repent to the Buddha after I die."

Juejian said: "I'm afraid you won't be able to see the World Honored One."

Jueru laughed loudly and said: "In a few hundred lives, no one will see the Buddha. Just tell him then. Cultivation is the accumulation of countless kalpas. My little mistake will mean nothing in the long journey of practice." ?”

Jue Guan said: "You are using strong words to make sense. This is not a small mistake of yours. The lay monks used the name of the Three Jewels to ruin the Buddha's name. They stayed with prostitutes, married and had children, gambled and drank, and showed no signs of spiritual practice. Let me ask what it looks like in the eyes of ordinary people. Are you a real monk or a fake monk? Or are you a Buddhist disciple?"

"The abbot hasn't made a decision yet. There may be variables." Juejian looked at Jueru and said, "Fortunately, the monks still have one more vote than the lay monks. Otherwise, you would really be smiling."

Jueru still laughed.

After Jiaokuan and Jiajian left, Jiawen came to see him.

"You're here too." Jueru was very surprised.Although they were both abbots of Guanyin Temple, firstly, Juewen was a lay monk, and secondly, their personalities did not get along with each other. Juewen had always been reserved, and Jueru's jokes never impressed him, and it was very boring to get along with him.

"When the four houses discussed together, I agreed with your death." Jue Wen sat on the floor, "This is not my original intention."

"I understand, Chief Juekong wants me to die, right?" Jueru said, "If I die, the matter of the lay monk changing his name will be ruined."

"The change of name for lay monks is not due to discrimination." Jue Wen said, "I understand what you and Jue Guan are thinking."

Jueru smiled and said, "Tell me, how do you know the law?"

Jue Wen said, "Shaolin Temple rules state that non-monks are not allowed to enter the temple. This cannot be changed."

Jueru nodded and said: "Yeah, I can't move. If there are more lay disciples than monks, then that would be okay."

Jie Wen said: "It is a good thing that lay monks change their names so that they can maintain the legal system internally, express their position externally, and avoid people's misunderstanding of the Three Jewels."

Jue Ru said: "Why don't you agree with a good thing? Are you really so afraid of Jue Kong's first position?"

Juewen shook his head and said: "Our ancestors 50 years ago could not see this. Today, 50 years later, it is already too late."

Jueru said: "Better late than never. If we don't do it, will Shaolin Temple still be able to boast of being an authentic Buddhist sect in the future?"

Feeling and hearing are silent.

Jueru said: "We should have exchanged masters from the beginning. If you were to be a righteous monk, you would either be enlightened or enlightened. If I were a lay monk, I would occupy the position of jueji. There is no need to be so embarrassed now."

Juewen sighed, "It's difficult to practice cultivation in this world."

※ ※ ※

Jueming did not go to see Jueru. He came to the door of the abbot's room and knocked twice.

"Come in." Juesheng's voice came from inside.Jueming opened the door and saw the abbot sitting on the futon. "I just thought it was your turn." Juesheng pointed to the two futons in front of him and said, "Sit down."

Two futons?Jueming had a guess in his heart. "Are they Chief Jueyun and Abbot Jueguang?" he asked.

Juesheng said: "Yes, you have never been to Wenshu Monastery."

Jueming said: "Juejian is the abbot of Zhengye Hall, so he should be neutral. Juekuan and Jueru have a close relationship. If he talks too much, he may be suspected of harming the public for personal gain. Zhuozheng is the newly promoted abbot, with the lowest seniority, and he does not dare to make mistakes. "

Juesheng asked: "What do you want to say?"

Jueming thought for a while, put his hands on the ground, and gave a big salute to Juesheng.

"The abbot understands what I want to say." After saying this, he stood up, opened the door and left.This indifferent Jueming finally said what he wanted to say in his own way in order to protect Jueru.

Of course Juesheng understands what Jueming wants to say. As the Taishan Beidou in this martial arts world and the abbot of Shaolin Temple, the highest holy land of Buddhism, he is the most noble person in this martial arts world except for the leader of the Kunlun Alliance.

He has the ability to control the life and death of millions of people, but he is a compassionate monk who will not give up for the death of anyone.

Not to mention someone like Jue Ru.

He stood up and opened the door. It was an April afternoon, the wind was warm and the sun was beautiful.

Can Jueru still feel the wind and sunshine?

In terms of spiritual practice, Jueru was not a serious monk.But he was capable in his work and always smiled, and he was more loved by his disciples than other strict monks.And he is not just a person who doesn't know how to adapt.Jue sees the world, feels more harmonious, knows how to calculate, and is ruthless when it is time to be ruthless. He presides over the Zhengyu Hall, with both kindness and power. The government affairs in the temple are communicated clearly and executed properly. Such a person is among the best monks. Common.What's more, Jueru's eagerness to protect his disciples is pitiable, and his crime does not deserve death.

But Juekong is right. Without killing Jueru, how can we appease the lay monks?
Jue Ru must die.

So should I kill him because he is guilty, or because he has to die?
Juesheng raised his head, and a small piece of spider web on the corner of the eaves happened to catch a grass fly.

He specifically instructed his disciples to leave a small area on the corner of the roof unswept when cleaning, so that spiders could weave webs here to replenish their food.But this net also became the burial place of grass flies. His compassion also killed many lives.

"Cause and effect..." He sighed softly.Who knows whether saving one person today will kill more people tomorrow?

But if you don't save someone today, how do you know that you won't kill others in the future?
He lowered his kind brows, closed his eyes slightly, and softly recited a Buddha's name.

※ ※ ※

Liao Jing left Shaolin at night and went to the town at the foot of the mountain. He found an inn and ordered two pounds of white gan.

It is no longer unusual for monks to drink alcohol in the Shaolin Temple. After leaving the Buddhist capital, many lay monks will drink.Seeing the shopkeeper serving the wine without asking, Liao Jing suddenly understood why the master was so insistent on changing the name of the lay monk.

But it was no longer his turn to worry. He smiled bitterly, poured a glass of wine, raised it to his chest, and said to himself: "Here's my first glass of wine!"

He drank it in one gulp and spurted it out again with a "Gah!"

"Spicy! Spicy! Shopkeeper, get me a cup of tea!" Liao Jing shouted in panic.The shopkeeper hurriedly made a pot of hot tea for him. He raised his head and drank it in one gulp. He sprayed it out again, stuck out his tongue and shouted: "It's hot! It's hot!"

So I quickly drank a glass of wine to relieve my fever.

He had never drank before, this was his first time, and his face suddenly turned red.

"What's so good about this thing?" Liao Jing didn't understand.

He poured a second glass.As the first step to return to secular life, he decided to learn how to drink alcohol.

After the second glass of wine, the feeling of being slightly tipsy aroused his suppressed emotions. He felt that he had a lot to say, but he didn't know who to talk to.It was already dark at this time, and the store was also cleaning up, and was about to close. He was going to stay in this inn tonight, and he didn't know if the money he had brought was enough to stay overnight.

In the lobby of the inn, there was only a scholar in blue sitting in the corner, reading and drinking tea by candlelight.

"Hey, that scholar!" Liao Jing shouted, "Are you interested in having a drink with me?"

The scholar raised his head, looked at Jing, closed the book, and walked over.

"What book are you reading?" Liao Jing looked at the man's hand.The scholar raised the book. It was a copy of "Sou Shen Ji".

"I've read this book, it's interesting." Liao Jing turned to the shopkeeper and shouted, "Shopkeeper, bring me another wine glass!"

The shopkeeper hurriedly handed over a wine glass and asked, "Do you want to stay overnight? The shop is closing."

"How much does it cost to stay overnight?" Liao Jing asked.

"Together with the wine money, five hundred coins."

Liao Jing put his hand into his arms to explore, with some hesitation on his face.

"You treat me to a drink, and I treat you to a hotel. It's fair." The scholar seemed to see through his predicament, and turned to the shopkeeper and said, "The money for his room will be charged to my account."

Liao Jing didn't dare to show off and quickly thanked him.At this time, I looked closely at the scholar and saw that he had a handsome face and a gentle smile on his face.

This smile seemed familiar, Ling Jing thought, but he couldn't remember where he had seen this person before, so he had to pour a glass of wine for himself and the other person.

"Do it!" He drank it all in one gulp and felt dizzy.The scholar also drank a drink.

"Meeting by chance is fate." Liao Jing asked, "Where are you going, sir?"

The scholar said: "I originally wanted to go to Shaolin to participate in the Buddha's birthday event, but unfortunately I was delayed on the way and missed the date."

"What's good to go to in Shaolin? There are monsters there!"

"Monster? Is it like this in the book?" The scholar raised the "Sou Shen Ji" in his hand.

"That's a lie, what I said is true." At this moment, Li Jing was dizzy, as if there were a lot of words stuffed in his chest, and the grievances he had suffered in the past few days were about to burst out.He took out an unknown note from his pocket and handed it to the scholar: "Look, do you believe what is written here?"

The scholar opened the notebook and read it by candlelight.He flipped through the pages very quickly, and Liao Jing somewhat doubted whether he had read the Chinese text carefully.

"Whatever, you don't believe it, right?" Liao Jing sighed, poured wine for himself and the scholar, and drank it down in one gulp, "The handwriting on this is still mine, does it look like something I was blindly talking about? "

"I believe it." The scholar returned the note to Jing and asked calmly, "Is he the reason why you rebelled against the monastery and returned to secular life?"

When Liao Jing heard this, he broke out in a cold sweat. His mind suddenly became clearer. He asked cautiously, "How do you know that I returned to secular life and rebelled against the monastery?"

"If there is such a person and you know so many of his secrets, he will definitely not be able to tolerate you in Shaolin." The scholar said, "You don't know how to drink. Tonight is the first time. You have something on your mind. There is mud on your shoes. You are taking advantage of this." It has to do with walking on the mountain road at night. The closest town to here, and also on the mountain, is the Buddhist capital. You came down from Shaolin Temple. You really have urgent business, and you know how to ride a horse. If you don't have any official business, why are you walking in such a hurry? Could it be that you ran away. It can be seen that I have to return to secular life.”

Liao Jing looked at the scholar in front of him in surprise.

"This is close to the Shaolin Temple. News comes quickly. I heard about what happened recently. Are you Master Jing?"

Liao Jing nodded.As if sensing the suspicion in his eyes, the scholar continued: "I won't expose you, you are a good person."

Liao Jing smiled bitterly and said, "How do you know?"

The scholar raised his glass: "Aren't you inviting me to drink?"

"Ha!" Liao Jing laughed, poured two more glasses of wine, and raised his glass, "Here's to this good man!"

The two drank another drink, and the scholar said: "I am very interested in this monster, can you tell me more?"

Liao Jing felt very angry. No one believed his grievances for days. Now finally someone was willing to listen, so he naturally spoke out.He talked while drinking, starting from seeing the broken pages in the Sutra Pavilion, ending with his master suffering for him and escaping from Shaolin.

He had never drank, and by the time he realized he was drunk, he was already dizzy and couldn't speak clearly.

"These things...are they bizarre enough?...He is only 15 years old...Who are you lying to?"

The scholar said: "It seems bizarre, but in fact it is not impossible as long as you plan in advance."

Liao Jing chuckled and said, "Really?"

The scholar said: "Master is drunk, please rest."

Liao Jing said vaguely: "There is another period...I saw him again later...when I was preparing to return to Shaolin Temple..."

When he said this, he was really sleepy and couldn't explain clearly. He only said: "I...you...what's your name..."

The scholar said: "My name is Xie Gubai. Master, see you soon."

Liao Jing said: "Thank you...Gu..." before he finished speaking, he fell asleep.He shouldn't have drank such a strong drink, what was it called Baigan... Many years later he regretted the day he drank Baigan, so he never drank Baigan again.

That night, Liao Jing got up from the bed and vomited a large amount in the chamber pot. He felt his mouth was dry and his tongue was splitting, and he had a splitting headache. He found the kettle in the dark, drank it by the mouth of the pot, and then fell back to the bed and fell asleep.

When he woke up the next day, he found a note on the table with only twelve words written on it——

"Song Gao is not only a place in Shaolin, it is big enough for a hidden dragon to live in."

Are you comparing yourself to a hidden dragon?What a compliment.Liao Jing scratched his chin and smiled bitterly.

Judging from the meaning of these twelve words, it is also to persuade him to go to Songshan, just like Ming Wuxi said.He suddenly remembered why he felt so similar to the scholar.The scholar's smile reminded him of Ming Wu.No, strictly speaking, their smiles are completely different.Ming Wuxi smiled like warm sunshine, but the scholar was indifferent and distant, but for some reason, that smile reminded him of Ming Wuxi, even though they looked completely different.

He asked the shopkeeper about the person yesterday. The shopkeeper said that the scholar stayed here for two days. He seemed to want to go up the mountain, but then he left last night for some unknown reason. Maybe he went up the mountain, or maybe not.

Liao Jing felt it was a pity. He knew that man was no ordinary person, and he only regretted that he could not make friends with him.

Songshan...

He originally had doubts about Ming's unknown words, but the scholar also asked him to go to Songshan Mountain. If what the two people said was not a coincidence, there must be some reason for him to go to Songshan Mountain.

He found Ben Song and two others on the way to Wudang, and they were almost overtaken by the monks from Shaolin Temple.Liao Jing protected them and fled to Hubei, then went to Anhui.At least, he saved two people.

On the way to Songshan Mountain, he finally heard about the treatment of Master Jueru in Shaolin Temple.

He was demoted to the fifth level, demoted from Shaolin, and transferred to the abbot of Baima Temple in Shanxi.

He didn't know whether he should be happy or worried.

In the Shaolin Temple, the bells ring melodiously and Sanskrit chants continue.

Juekong could not change the fact that Abbot Juesheng announced in public: Juekong was exiled to Baima Temple in Shanxi, and the new abbot of Zhengyu Hall was recommended by Juekong.

Abbot Juesheng has tried his best to reduce the consequences of this treatment and asked Juekong to recommend the abbot of Zhengyu Hall, which is equivalent to four courtyards and eight halls, half of which are secular and secular.

Only Juekong knows that in the midst of rising anger, a solution that seems to be the best of both worlds and one step back often deepens the conflict.

He stood in front of the main hall of Samantabhadra, and suddenly remembered what his master had said.

That is the most deviant sentence for Shaolin Temple:

"Buddha can be destroyed, but Shaolin cannot be destroyed!"

(End of this chapter)