Kyushu · Endless Nagato

Chapter 6 Misfortune (2)
"So your name is really good, An Xingmian, An Xinmian, sleeping in peace is your greatest wish," Zhang Haoge said, bowing slightly to everyone, "Sorry, we have to go."

"Wait a minute, I have another matter." An Xingmian waved his hand.Then, under the surprised eyes of everyone, he went straight to a homeless man in the distance.It was an old vagabond with all his hair lost. Although he was not infected with cholera, he was too old and weak to help him at all, so he just hid far away in a cool place and dozed off.An Xingmian actually walked towards him, and people couldn't help being very curious.Many people recognize this old vagabond. He has been in the north of the city for several years. He lives by begging.

The strange thing was that when the old homeless man saw An Xingmian walking towards him, he was terrified, hugged a dirty and torn bag in his arms, and curled up into a ball.An Xingmian squatted down in front of him: "I've been paying attention to you for several days. Ever since Mrs. Zhang and I came here, you've deliberately stayed away and often secretly looked at us. Today, when those few days ago When a soldier said, "All the monks in the country will be arrested with all their strength, and none of them can escape", your body trembled violently, and you immediately hugged your bag tightly. Why? What scares you about the head monk, and what scares you about arresting the head monk? Who are you?"

The old homeless man was trembling all over, and his cloudy eyes were full of fear.He suddenly jumped up and wanted to run away with his baggage in his arms, but his body was so old that he fell to the ground after two steps.An Xingmian stood up and followed her: "Don't be afraid, I didn't mean to do anything to you, I just wanted to ask out of curiosity. If you really don't want to say it, forget it, everyone will Mentioned past."

He stretched out his hand, intending to help him up, but the old tramp seemed even more frightened, he didn't even bother to stand up, and crawled on the ground with both hands, trying to hide a little farther away.And there was a strange whoo-ho sound from his mouth, like a beast breathing.He suddenly yelled loudly, his voice was hoarse and shrill, which made one's heart shudder.

"Don't blame me! Don't blame me!" He yelled desperately, "Don't blame me, Xu Mizi is so powerful, I can't save them even if I take a shot! Really don't blame me!"

"I can't blame you for anything?" An Xingmian asked hastily, "Who are you going to save? And who is Sumeru?"

The old vagabond didn't answer. The violent struggle and shouting, coupled with the extreme fear in his heart, finally made the string of his life unable to hold on any longer.His eyes slowly lost their luster, his body limply lay on the ground, and he finally uttered an inarticulate "Don't blame me", and then stopped moving.

An Xingmian and Zhang Haoge looked at each other, with countless doubts churning in their hearts.In the end, An Xingmian stepped forward, sniffed the old homeless man's breath, shook his head to indicate that the man had passed away, and then pulled out from his arms the broken bag that he had been hugging tightly.In addition to one or two pieces of worn-out clothes and a few copper coins from begging, there was also a wooden sign in the baggage.

This is a very old wooden sign, the color has begun to darken, but the writing on it is still barely legible: "Li Han of Monastery in the Cloud".

"This person... used to be a head monk." An Xingmian scratched his scalp.

two

In the long history of Kyushu, there are countless religious organizations of all kinds, but most of them are just a wave in the long river, and they will disappear soon.There are really only a few that can be handed down after thousands of years, and Tianqi, Tianluo, Chenyue, and Nagato are the most famous among them.

In comparison, Tianqi, Tianluo, and Chenyue all have a relatively strict organizational form, while Nagato is extremely loose.To be precise, the Nagato Order is just a title and does not represent a specific organization. No one has ever become the general leader of the Nagato Order, and no one has the power to order the world's Nagato monks.

However, Nagato is still divided into many sects according to different beliefs.This is because although the wisdom of Nagato comes from the "Nagato Sutra" written by the original enlightened person, different people have different interpretations and interpretations of the "Nagato Sutra", so various tribes gradually formed .Anyone who believes in the "Long Gate Sutra" can be called a long door monk as long as he is willing to follow a certain teacher to practice seriously and hard. They can always follow the teacher to practice, or they can choose after learning something Practice alone.When the denomination he belongs to needs to call on believers to contribute to the denomination, he can voluntarily participate, but he will not be forced.

In addition, there are also many believers who are willing to practice together with other long-door monks and exchange experiences with each other, and gradually formed a place where many monks concentrate on practice, which is called a monastery.

The "Cloud Monastery" written on the wooden sign left by the old tramp is such a place, where most of the monks belong to the same tribe, a tribe called "Tianzangzong".

"In other words, this old tramp is actually a member of Tianzangzong?" An Xingmian asked.

"It's not obvious that not all the people practicing in the Yunzhong Monastery belong to the Tianzang Sect, it's just that this possibility is relatively high." Zhang Haoge said.

"What's the difference between Tianzang Sect and our Tianling Sect?" An Xingmian asked again, "There are too many sects in Nagato, which makes people dizzy. At the last Dharma conference, there was Tianzang sect. Zong people participated, but they didn't seem to say much."

"It's just that some interpretations of the "Nagato Sutra" are different, and there is not much fundamental difference. Of course, maybe they have some secret experience, so no one else can understand it," Zhang Haoge said, "I I have a lot of contacts with Tianzangzong, and I even know the contact codes of their sect, but when it comes to internal secrets, I am afraid they will not tell me. But speaking of it, it seems that they had a few disciples a few days ago It's gone, no one knows where it went...Leave them alone, let's think about what we should do."

While talking, the two were sitting in a large carriage, pulled by two famous Wanzhou horses, and were slowly leaving Qingshi City.Of course they will not stay there, because the six officers and soldiers who left may come back with more troops to arrest them at any time.It's just that where to go next, the two of them still don't know in their minds, because the arrest of the long-door monk is going on throughout the country, and they must find a place where they will not be hunted, unless they go to the territory of a foreign race.

"If it doesn't work, let's pretend to be a merchant and escape to Hanzhou to deal with the barbarians, or go to Ningzhou Yuren's territory to eat vegetarian." An Xingmian didn't seem to care, "As long as you have money, you can go anywhere." Row."

Zhang Haoge smiled wryly: "There are many things in this world that cannot be solved by spending money. But with your clothes and your money, as long as you don't say it yourself, it is impossible for others to see that you are a long door monk." .”

An Xingmian chuckled, "That's not true. When we met for the first time a few years ago, you wouldn't believe that I could be a long-door monk, let alone be my teacher. When I proposed When I paid you a thousand gold baht for tuition, your face turned green... Seriously, how did you change your mind and decide to accept me?"

"Using money to lure the Nagato monk, you have reached the pinnacle," Zhang Haoge recalled the past, and a smile slowly appeared on the corners of his mouth, "But then I thought, if you can plant a seed in the heart of a well-clothed and well-fed kid Pursuing the seeds of the true way can be regarded as a kind of experience and harvest of practice."

"Then do you think you've gained something now?" An Xingmian asked.

"Honestly speaking, the harvest is not too great," Zhang Haoge said, "He respects me a lot, but until now, I can't even persuade him to put on ascetic clothes, instead I always get caught up in his fallacies. "

"Where is this nonsense?" An Xingmian smiled, "I think what I said is right. What's so difficult about pursuing the truth in a pure heart and asceticism? Being able to live a luxurious life in a world of luxury without losing yourself , to be able to experience the true meaning of life in the worldly songs, that is truly firm faith."

"I can't argue with you, so I won't tell you more about this," Zhang Haoge waved his hand, "Anyway, you are a very smart disciple after all, and your understanding of the "Nagato Sutra" is indeed very deep, and your character is quite good." Correctness, I like this very much. It’s just that if I die, I hope you can continue this belief and don’t give up lightly.”

"Is it so serious? Why do you start thinking about life and death?" An Xingmian looked at him sideways.

"This matter is not simple," Zhang Haoge frowned. "There has never been a case where the head monk was expelled and hunted down. Never. We have always been a group of self-cultivation people. Even if we bring happiness to the people, Mostly rudimentary production techniques; we collect knowledge, but never spread anything that might be dangerous. I can't see any reason for the Emperor to take against us."

"That's right, just a few months ago, the emperor had always admired Nagato, and even got the immortal dharma body of a monk named Nagato to worship, but it was burned in the end," An Xingmian said, "The sudden Intermittent sex is really a bit puzzling, could someone use this to tell the truth?"

Zhang Haoge didn't answer, but fell into deep thought.Just at this time, the carriage stopped, and the driver lifted the curtain in front of the carriage, poked his head in and asked, "There is a fork in the official road ahead, where are we going?"

Before An Xingmian could answer, Zhang Haoge suddenly said, "Excuse me, let's go to Nanhuai City."

"What are you doing in Nanhuai City?" An Xingmian asked after the carriage continued on.

"I want to see the governor of Wanzhou, tell him my interests, and ask him to persuade the emperor to withdraw the imperial decree. I once treated his son for leprosy, so he should at least listen to me." Zhang Haoge said.

"This is not a good idea." An Xingmian frowned, "Not only will you be arrested, but you will also be regarded as the head of the head monk—even though we all know that the head monk has no head— Lock it up, even kill it, and use it as an example to warn the people not to hide and help the head monk. Not to mention treating his son, even if you save his whole family, he will exchange your head for him without hesitation Don’t touch such absurd thoughts, let the emperor destroy Nagato if he wants to, follow me to Hanzhou, we can open a ranch..."

"If you do that, I'm not worthy of being a teacher," Zhang Haoge said without getting angry, "I can't just watch Nagato go to ruin, I need to make my own efforts, no matter what it takes Such a price."

"Any price you pay has to be paid in return to be worth it," An Xingmian said, "but you are obviously flying moths into the flames. Now is no longer the era of chaotic times and enfeoffment. If you are lucky enough to meet a A sensible ruler may be able to persuade the emperor for you. Today's Donglu belongs to Emperor Hongjing alone, and the Governor of Wanzhou is just a dog raised by him. Broken leg."

"I admit that what you said is reasonable," Zhang Haoge said calmly, "but I have to take this step. With me being the first one, maybe more people will stand up to speak for Nagato in the future, for This indelible belief speaks. This is not some vain organization and meaningless title, this is our belief, the more we are trampled on, the more we struggle to stand up."

An Xingmian had nothing to say.He leaned back, lay on the car, and slowly closed his eyes: "Then do as you like... I'm going to sleep."

But he quickly opened his eyes again: "There is one more question, who is Xu Mizi mentioned in Li Han's last words?"

"I've never heard of it. Maybe this is a character in the Jianghu. I don't know much about the affairs of the Jianghu." Zhang Haoge replied.

An Xingmian closed her eyes again.This time I really fell asleep at lightning speed.

Qingshi City is not far from Nanhuai City, a few days later in the afternoon, the carriage drove into the gate of Nanhuai City.This is the most prosperous city in the Eastern Continent, even surpassing Tianqi, the capital of the Wannian Emperor. Historically, it was the capital of several important duchies occupying Wanzhou.The commerce here is developed and the people's residence is prosperous. Countless wealthy people live here and enjoy the golden life of singing and singing every night.

Changmen monks usually stay away from the city and walk more in the mountains and wilderness. Zhang Haoge only visited Nanhuai once when he was treating the governor's son.But An Xingmian was obviously very familiar with Nanhuai, as soon as he entered the city, he directed the coachman to drive to the west of the city.

"There is Nanhuai in the west of the city. No, it's Huai Nanju, the best inn in Wanzhou. I haven't stayed there for a long time." An Xingmian half-closed her eyes with a look of nostalgia.

"I remember that we have an agreement. When you practice with me, I have the final say on where to live," Zhang Haoge said, "We can just find a roof that can shelter from the rain, and we can make it for the night. Tomorrow I will Go to see the governor, you can continue to Hanzhou where you want to go..."

"Changmen monks are being arrested everywhere now. Do you live under the eaves because you are afraid that others will not recognize you?" An Xingmian said lazily, "Everyone knows that Changmen monks practice asceticism. Knowing that Changmen monk is penniless, it is absolutely safe for us to live in Huai Nanju, because no one would have thought of it. Don’t you want to live until tomorrow to see the governor?"

Zhang Haoge thought for a while, then reluctantly nodded: "Okay. Just for one night."

So the two lived in Huai Nanju.This is indeed the best inn in Nanhuai City. The decoration is luxurious but not vulgar. The calligraphy and paintings of famous artists hanging in the lobby are said to be worth hundreds of gold baht each.At dinner, An Xingmian ordered a table of good dishes, so as not to live in such a good inn and eat too simple and suspicious, but he only picked a few exquisite dishes to eat, and the rest of the big fish The big meat doesn't move at all.Zhang Haoge was full of worries, but he didn't stop him from spending money to order so many dishes. He even turned a blind eye to his bad behavior of secretly bribing the waiter to replace tea with wine, but he only ate two steamed buns and a few sliced ​​greens.

"When you are with me, you can still eat and drink with me. You are never picky about what you eat. It looks like that. Now you are really acting like a rich man. If it's not expensive, you don't want to eat it." Zhang Haoge looked at the dishes on the table that were almost untouched, feeling a little distressed.

"Life is too short to sing about wine. Besides, you are wrong again. What I eat is 'good', not expensive. You can find good food on the streets and alleys of Nanhuai City for only a few coppers. Good thing," An Xingmian gracefully put down her chopsticks, "Okay, the meal is over, let's go for a walk."

"Where are you going?" Zhang Haoge watched An Xingmian open the door.

"It's not me, it's us, let's go for a walk together," An Xingmian said, "maybe tonight will be the last day we meet, can you stop preaching and gossip with your disciples?"

These words are actually quite sad, even though Zhang Haoge's heart is always as clear as water, at the moment of parting from life and death, it is inevitable that he will be infected.He hesitated for a while, but finally nodded.

The two walked out of the gate of Huai Nanju, and An Xingmian led Zhang Haoge all the way east.After walking about two streets, Zhang Haoge became suspicious: "You don't seem to be walking casually, but you seem to be taking me somewhere."

"That's right, this is where I want to bring you." An Xingmian pointed.In front is the famous theater "Lishengyuan" in Nanhuai City. There are always various performances, sometimes singing operas, sometimes performing juggling. The grass-roots team can't get mixed in.

(End of this chapter)