surnamed Wang

Chapter 246 Gatekeeper
The junction of the Central Plains and Xichi presents a criss-cross shape. On this junction that stretches for nearly two thousand miles, there is a place called Prarang.

It is located in the extreme west of the dynasty, hundreds of miles further west than Qu Xianwei, which was guarded by General Wuying Wang Bingru.

Prarang is one of the few places where the dynasty and Xichi can trade freely. Usually, the porcelain and silk produced in the Central Plains will flow into Xichi through this place, and the ivory carvings and spices of Xichi will also be traded here.

There are many sand dunes in the northwest, and the road to Prangjang has to pass through a large desert. Merchants often walk for a month without seeing the oasis, so most of them choose to use camels to transport goods.

On the sand dunes, camel caravans can often be seen passing by.

On this day, a caravan consisting of four or five merchants and a dozen camels headed west.

The leader is a middle-aged man, who is dressed in a typical Central Plains dress. Perhaps because he has been walking in the desert all year round, his face has been tanned, and his skin has been damaged by the wind and sand. Let alone compared with the handsome literati in the Jiangnan Water Village , even the local farmers in the Northwest are not as good.

This is the case when doing business in the desert, not to mention that women don't want to come, even men can't help but feel a little worried when they see this barren land with turbulent heat waves.

The weather in the desert is the most unpredictable. It is often sunny and sunny one moment, but dark clouds cover the sun and the wind blows the next moment. Many people are buried in the yellow sand before they have time to escape.

Even if they escaped by luck, when the wind and sand dissipated, they would not be able to distinguish east from west, north from south, and finally could only die of exhaustion in the desert without being able to get out.

It is said that the most miserable one among them fell down less than a mile from the edge of the desert, and when he was discovered, he had already been gnawed badly by snakes and insects.

Even though it is so dangerous, there are still people rushing into the desert one after another. After all, not everyone is born to be a good family.

The middle-aged man and his party were lucky. Although there was a sandstorm on this trip, but because of the help of an expert, although a lot of goods were lost, at least these lives and camels were saved.

……

"Engong, there is Pulanjang in front of you, and after that, you will be Xichi."

The middle-aged man turned to the young monk riding a camel and said.

The young monk looked only twelve or thirteen years old, but he was wearing a brocade orchid cassock that only eminent monks were qualified to wear.

At first, the middle-aged man was a little surprised when he heard that the young monk was going to Xichi. A child of his age has never even left the town.

It was only later that I found out that this young master was going to Xichibizhen Temple.The middle-aged man has traveled all over the world for so many years, so he has heard of this largest temple in Xichi. In these years, he often meets monks from the Central Plains who go to Bizhen Temple to ask Zen, but most of them are adults, as young as they are in front of them. Yes, it's the first time I've encountered it.

Although the middle-aged man does not believe in Buddhism, he has been somewhat affected by going back and forth to Pulangjang all the year round. After a little thought, he agreed to the young monk's request to go with him. Silk Road.

When the group walked halfway, they suddenly found that the sky had changed drastically.The middle-aged man had been walking in the desert for so many years, so he naturally knew that this was a sign of a sandstorm, so he immediately asked everyone to form a circle with the camels, and several people hid in the middle with their goods.

This time the storm was more violent than ever before, even the camels that had been walking in the desert all year round couldn't stand it, struggling to get up one by one and trying to escape.

The middle-aged man held on to the reins desperately, knowing in his heart that if the camel ran away, they would all have to ride here.

Even though a few people tried their best, the wind and sand were still getting bigger and bigger, so big that they couldn't open their eyes.

The time lasted for about a quarter of an hour, and a young man who was taking the goods for the first time finally couldn't bear it, and broke free from the rein in his hand, and the three camels also stood up.

The middle-aged businessman wanted to step forward to grab the reins, but unexpectedly the three camels moved extremely fast and ran straight to the distance, a huge gap suddenly appeared in the encirclement that was already leaking everywhere.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man sighed, I am afraid that this time he will be planted here.

At this moment, the young monk who had been sitting in the center suddenly stood up and rushed out. The moment he rushed out, the brocade cassock studded with pearls and jade fell off his body. .

The little monk picked up the cassock with both hands and spun it quickly.

The cassock, which was supposed to move in the wind, was not blown away, but was spun by the little monk, like a wall, blocking the raging storm.

Afterwards, under the horrified eyes of the middle-aged businessman, the cassock grew bigger and bigger. Not only did it successfully block the gap, but it even blocked the people and camels behind, quite like a posture that blocks the sky and the sun.

……

The wind and sand came and went faster, within a quarter of an hour, the howling wind stopped abruptly, and when the little monk put away his cassock again, the yellow sand in the sky had long since disappeared, and the sky returned to a blue sky.

If a middle-aged businessman sees a true god, there really is a Buddha in this world!
At that moment, he made up his mind that after returning home, he must set up a Buddha statue at home and fast every day to worship.

After finishing all this, the little monk put his cassock on his body again, took out a string of pure white rosary beads from his bosom, lowered his eyebrows, and recited the mantra for the camels buried in the storm.

……

"Benefactor Wei, you don't have to be so polite. A monk should take care of the world. Saving a life is better than building a seven-level pagoda. This is also part of the poor monk's practice."

Faced with the man surnamed Wei calling him "Engong" again and again, the little monk really couldn't bear it.

"What's the matter, little master, you really saved our lives, and Wei should express his gratitude.

By the way, there are businessmen I know well in Xichi, and I will ask them to pick you up for a while. "

"O Amitabha, there is a benefactor, Lao Wei."

The little monk recited the Buddha's name, just like an ordinary novice monk.

……

The closer they were to Prarang, the more people they saw. Most of them were camel caravans coming from all directions for trade. The scale varied. The smallest was only three or two people. There are nearly a hundred camels in the big one, and all kinds of goods are hung on the humps, which is simply dazzling.

The businessman surnamed Wei sighed when he saw this, and said with a little regret:

"A lot of goods were lost during this trip, and three camels were also lost. Although we won't lose money, it's a waste of time.

But thanks to the little master's help, I was able to save my life. "

The little monk clasped his hands together and said calmly:
"People in the world are chasing profit, and they don't know what they are looking for all their lives. It is really sad that they can only see their true self every time they are dying."

Middle-aged people have also read books, and they also have a little understanding of the Buddhist teachings of abandoning external objects and cultivating the heart.But as an ordinary person, the temple of the five internal organs always needs to be filled with grains, so he can only work hard for a lifetime, and may only find time to think about the road of life before he dies.

Thinking of this, the middle-aged man couldn't help but shook his head with a wry smile. The purity of the six roots of Buddhism is really beyond the reach of ordinary people.

……

The curfew system of the dynasty was strict. Once the time of Haishi passed, no one was allowed to go out privately. Because of this, the capital city at night was extraordinarily quiet.

The moon was dark and the wind was raging, and the school lieutenant Wang San was leading a dozen soldiers to guard the north gate of the capital.

Originally, with his rank, there was no need to come in person at all, but this afternoon, for some reason, my old man had to let him guard the north gate in person. He had spoken in person, and he could only do it honestly.

At the same time, a group of people hurried northward on the Jingshi trail. The trail was pitch black, only illuminated by the faint moonlight. Even so, the group still had no intention of lighting the torches.

This team of stealthy men and horses seemed to have known the patrol route of Jing Huwei for a long time, and they could always bypass the patrolling officers and soldiers. In order to reduce the noise, they even wrapped the horseshoes in white cloth.

"Master, the city gate is not far ahead."

One of them said it to the other, who just gave a simple "hmm".

……

Wang San was so sleepy that his eyelids were battling, when suddenly an evil wind blew by, bringing a few grains of sand into his eyes.

When he was cursing and rubbing his eyes, he heard the voice of his subordinates from the side:

"Stop, who the hell!"

Wang San heard the sound and looked towards the south, only to see a group of people rushing towards this direction, this was the first time he encountered such a situation, but he didn't panic, he directly drew his official knife and pointed it in the direction of the coming people.

Seeing this, several people on the opposite side quickly stopped their horses, and the leader got off the horse and came to Wang San.

The person who came was wearing a black cloak and a hood, so he couldn't see the exact appearance at all.

Wang San concentrated on staring at the other party until he took off his hood, then he said with a face full of shock:
"Father? What are you doing this late at night?"

"Don't ask so many questions, just open the door."

Wang Xishan ordered directly.

Wang San was troubled when he heard the words, glanced at the mysterious man behind his father who was also covered with a hood, and asked:

"Father, who is that man, why did you leave the city at night?"

Wang Xishan had a serious expression, "Don't ask if you shouldn't ask, just open the door."

"If you don't make it clear today, I really can't open this door." Wang San seemed to smell something, and frowned and confronted his father.

"Little brat, do you dare to disobey what you say when you become a father?"

Just as Wang Xishan was about to get angry, he heard someone behind him say:

"Wang Shilang, it's okay to tell him, after all, this matter concerns your entire Wang family."

"Yes……"

Facing this mysterious man, Wang Xishan, who is the Minister of the Ministry of War, was obviously very apprehensive. He leaned close to Wang San and whispered something in Wang San's ear.

After Wang San heard the truth, he couldn't help opening his eyes wide, and stammered:

"Father, this... this is a matter of losing your head, how can you..."

Before Wang San could finish speaking, the father slapped his youngest son on the face and reprimanded him:
"You son of a bitch, what do you know? If the prince hadn't rescued him back then, where would our Wang family be today?"

After Wang Xishan finished speaking, he told the rest of the guards:
"What are you still doing, open the door quickly."

A dozen or so soldiers saw that their parents and officials had to be honestly slapped in the face, so naturally they didn't dare to neglect, and hurriedly went to lift the door bolt.

At this moment, with a "chuckle", Wang San pulled out the official knife at his waist, his eyes were red and he said:
"I see who dares to move?"

After finishing speaking, he pointed to the mysterious person on the opposite side, and said loudly:
"This person is the traitor king Bingde, let's go together and take them down for me!"

"Rebel!"

Wang Xishan was so angry that he trembled. He looked at his son opposite. In the past, he let him be stubborn, but at this critical moment, he didn't expect him to dare to disobey his orders.

Wang San frowned and looked at his father, and said in a deep voice:
"Father, I can't let you take the lives of our whole family."

After speaking, he directed to his subordinates:

"What are you doing in a daze, the opportunity to get promoted and make a fortune is right in front of you, do you want me to teach you how to do it?"

As soon as Wang San finished speaking, he saw the man on the opposite side take off his cloak, revealing his true face and saying:
"Wang Shilang, is this what you mean by foolproof?"

Wang Xishan shuddered when he heard the words, he knew this man too well, and it was obvious that the other party had murderous intentions when he said this.

Thinking of this, Wang Xishan was about to raise his hand to slap his own son again, but at this moment, the surroundings suddenly burst into flames, and hordes of Jing Huwei rushed over here.

"This……"

Wang Xishan panicked for a moment, and was directly pressed to the ground by two Jing guards, and the rest were surrounded by hundreds of soldiers who arrived.

"It seems that you are already prepared."

Wang Bingde looked around and said in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty has an order, please follow us back to the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice."

A person dressed as a thousand households stood up.

Wang Bingde turned his head to look at the man, and said calmly:
"What if I don't?"

"If the prince disobeys the order and disrespects it, we can rectify the law on the spot."

Saying that, thousands of Jing guards and guards all stepped forward.

Surrounded by Wang Bingde, he still didn't panic, he bowed slightly to an old man beside him and said:
"Senior Ye please show your sword."

After Wang Bingde finished speaking, he saw an old man walking out of the team. The old man was more than seventy years old, with a thin figure and a broken sword on his waist.

……

Seeing the old man walking out, Wang San couldn't help shrinking his pupils, and immediately shouted to the surroundings: "Everyone back off!"

The infantry captain who usually looked down on him as the gatekeeper captain the most, waved his hand without hesitation when he heard the words, "Stand back!"

The encirclement circle composed of thousands of people instantly widened, leaving a large area.

Wang San squinted at the old man, then drew out the official knife in his hand, threw the scabbard aside and said:
"Old man, do you really think there are no masters in the capital?"

Wang Xishan, who was tied up by the soldiers, was shocked when he saw this. Is this still his lazy son?

……

The old man didn't say much, he directly pulled out the sword from his waist, and then swept it up.

People around only felt a flash before their eyes, and the two had already collided with each other, and sparks flew everywhere when the swords collided.

"At such a young age, it is not easy to have this saber technique."

The old man took the initiative to speak.

"Heh, it's more than enough to kill you old bastard." Wang San was not polite, and scolded directly.

The old man was not sullen when he heard the words, and continued to say:

"Didn't your family teach you to speak well?"

"My father is over there, why don't you talk about how to teach your son?"

"Ah!"

The old man stopped talking nonsense and swung his sword directly to force the opponent back.

In terms of arm strength, he was naturally inferior to the young Wang San, but in terms of swordsmanship, he was more than a dozen blocks ahead of him.

The old man changed his left hand to his right hand, and then quickly attacked again. Seeing this, Wang San quickly raised his hand to block, but the opponent's sword came out extremely fast, and the angle was extremely tricky, and there was no room for him to breathe. Within a few breaths, many wounds were added to Wang San's body.

After slashing the old man away with a knife, Wang San finally couldn't bear it anymore and shouted loudly:
"Si Snake, I'm about to be hacked to death by this old man, why don't you come out?"

(End of this chapter)