The Word of Heaven

Chapter 240 Old events from those days
According to the records written by historians of the Qin Dynasty and even other countries in the world, Qingjing Temple's position in the Xuandu decisive battle remained consistent and did not change at all.

The words "Master" and "betrayal" have nothing to do with each other.

Today, when the Tiandao Sect was forced to close the mountain, the Qingjing Temple has been silently holding on for a hundred years with its own strength, single-handedly supporting the Taoist reputation so that it would not disappear in the long river of time.

From this perspective, the master of the temple has become an important figure that cannot be avoided in the history of Taoism and deserves to be highlighted in great detail.

This is a fact recognized by the entire world.

No matter who you are, when you hear this sentence, you will think it is nonsense, and you will think it is the most annoying and stupid conspiracy theory, which is not worth paying attention to.

However, these words came from the mouth of His Majesty the Emperor.

Then this must be the truth.

It's just unknown.

Hearing this, Dao Xiu once again fell into memories of the past.

His gaze passed over the green tiles outside the pavilion and fell on the cold night sky in the distance. After a long silence, he said, "That was indeed the last moment."

His Majesty the Emperor said calmly: "After all, he was dead before that."

"If he hadn't died, there wouldn't have been that betrayal."

At this point, Dao Xiu suddenly changed the subject: "But the Master's position has never really changed."

"Yes."

His Majesty the Emperor smiled and added casually: "First it was the Qingjing Temple, then the Dao Sect."

Dao Xiu didn't say anything.

At this time, His Majesty the Emperor suddenly asked, "If you were in the position of the abbot back then, what would you choose?"

Dao Xiu was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I'm not the one who made this choice."

His Majesty the Emperor raised his eyebrows slightly, thinking that this sentence was quite interesting, and said with a smile: "Is this something you wrote for him?"

The “he” in the words is of course the Taoist master.

"Or else?"

Dao Xiu smiled back and said, "We are both number one, but his number one is the number one in the world, while I am slightly inferior and can only be the number one in Zen Buddhism."

His Majesty the Emperor was somewhat emotional and asked casually, "How confident are you this time?"

Hearing this, Dao Xiu's smile did not fade away. He thought for a moment and said, "Not much, actually. About 50%."

Then he looked away, looked at his old friend standing next to him, and asked curiously, "Your Majesty, what about you?"

His Majesty the Emperor did not answer the question directly, but only said: "I think I am stronger than he was back then."

Dao Xiu sighed.

“Then this time it’s really difficult.”

The monk chanted a Buddhist name, and the smile on his face became a little more bitter.

His Majesty the Emperor consoled him and said, “When you think about it this way, isn’t this more similar to the situation a hundred years ago?”

No matter how you listen to it, as long as you really consider the current positions and intentions of the two people, it will make people feel absurd.

However, what is interesting is that Daoxiu did not find it strange at all and accepted this sentence as a matter of course.

"But there will never be a second leaf the same as the other in this world."

He shook his head and said, "There is nothing new under the sun, but that doesn't mean that old things can be repeated."

It was quiet under the pavilion.

The moonlight flows on the bluestone slabs, illuminating the traces left by wind, rain, frost and snow over the past hundred years. Those abrupt and uneven traces are like the traces left after the secret conflict between the Qin Dynasty and Zen Buddhism, silently narrating the man-eating undercurrents of the past hundred years.

These real and objective past events will not disappear because of the relationship between two people.

"How much time do you have?"

The Emperor's voice sounded again.

Dao Xiu spoke in a casual and calm tone, "About a few decades."

This is certainly not a normal thing.

Even practitioners at the Guiyi realm can linger for three hundred years.

Logically speaking, Daoxiu's spirit and soul at this time have not been defeated by the years, and should be at the peak of his life, with the possibility of taking one step further and becoming a Buddha on earth.

Yet he said so anyway.

"It's just two morning and evening bells."

Dao Xiu's voice was full of sighs.

His Majesty the Emperor was silent for a moment, then took over the conversation and said, "More than three hundred years have gone to waste."

Dao Xiu was a little sad and said, "Time waits for no one."

His Majesty the Emperor said: "So we should do what we should do."

After saying this, he took out a pot of wine from somewhere and handed it over.

Dao Xiu took it calmly.

Since the Zen Buddhism had committed such a horrific murder, the Qin Dynasty no longer had any reason to force him to stay in the capital, and his return was inevitable.

His Majesty the Emperor is well aware of this, which is why he came to visit him tonight under the moonlight, to chat with him about past and present events, and then to drink with him.

The relationship built over more than a hundred years has meant that they are more than just allies with intertwined interests.

Tonight will be the last time the two meet as friends.

When we meet again, we will no longer be the same.

It's worth a drink for that.

What’s wrong with breaking the rules?
Slightly tipsy, the two most remarkable men alive today began to chat.

From the south to the north, from the sun to the moon, those interesting stories recorded in history books, the interesting anecdotes in Buddhist scriptures, and even the ancient legends recorded in Taoist scriptures...even the girl I liked when I was young, the bright skirt left in old memories, all of these are taboo-free.

Until the sun rose again, and the black and white chess pieces on the chessboard were wetted by the spilled wine and filled with warm light... this conversation that only the two of them knew about was truly over.

Just like the betrayal of the temple master after the Taoist master's death, it has never been known to the world.

……

……

A few days later, Master Daoxiu left the capital with the farewell of the officials in the Qin court and started his journey back to Cihang Temple.

With the departure of the monks, the autumn wind came quietly, and the capital was no longer filled with the atmosphere of mourning. Her Royal Highness the Princess was still remembered by people, but life always had to move forward, because no one could keep time in place and wait.

In this extremely short period of time, the Tianming Sect once again clashed with other temples headed by the Cihang Temple. Both sides suffered casualties, and the former was of course at a disadvantage.

According to the new rumor, people learned that the elders of the Tianming Sect were extremely dissatisfied with the new leader, especially since he never showed up and always left things to the woman to handle.

The so-called rumors, of course, come from within the Tianming Sect.

The purpose is nothing but to draw a clear line.

As expected, after this rumor spread, Zen Buddhism's attitude softened.

It is said that the two sides have had several quite formal talks in private, exchanged views in a fairly full and in-depth manner, and have reached consensus on certain issues. Perhaps after some time, they will be able to put aside their differences and ease the current tensions.

However, this could not truly solve the problem, because what Cihang Temple hoped to obtain was not something that the elders of Tianming Sect sitting at the negotiating table could give.

It was for this reason that Master Daoxiu, who returned to Cihang Temple, never met with the elders of the Tianming Sect.

The reason why Cihang Temple was willing to let things get to this point was not complicated. It was to make sure that the new leader of the Tianming Sect had no place to hide and was forced to be exposed to the light of day.

At the same time, there was also great movement in the north.

The abbess of Changle Temple personally visited Yishui and had a long conversation with the old man in the wheelchair all night long, and left at noon the next day.

Everyone knows what they said that night, but no one knows what they said exactly.

This conversation, known to the world, is likely to become another secret in the history books.

The atmosphere in the world is becoming increasingly tense.

The future is tied to a few people. Peace becomes their private property, and their decisions and thoughts will directly determine the life and death of millions or even tens of millions of people.

No one likes this kind of thing, but no one has the right to refuse.

If you fail to achieve enlightenment in time, you will ultimately be powerless to change the situation in the world.

However, there is always a place in this world like a stubborn stone in a river, which can remain unchanged in the rapids.

For example, Tiandao Sect.

No one knew that the master of the temple floated down the mountain early one morning and reached Xuandu again in one day. It was very clear what the purpose of this trip was.

——Morning and evening bells.

The Tiandao Sect has not become a graveyard, there are still people on the mountain, but there is no answer that the master wants.

Perhaps it was a coincidence that during the time when the master of the temple was away, a letter was delivered to Qingjing Temple and landed outside the door of Chu Jun's cave.

The letter came from Yuangou Temple.

It was written by an old acquaintance of hers.

In these turbulent times, no one cares about the stories of the two younger generations.

So naturally no one cared about the letter.

……

……

"The letter to Chu Jun has been sent to Qingjing Temple. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

The Immaculate Monk's voice was very low, but his expression was upright and his eyes swept around casually.

This is a tea garden outside Yuangou Temple. The tea produced here is extremely famous in the world. It is very beneficial for spiritual practice and can calm the mind.

The only problem is that this tea is so expensive that even the dignitaries in the imperial court have to pay a price for it, and the annual output is extremely limited. For this reason, many people suspect that the monks of Yuangou Temple are deliberately reducing production and raising prices, but there is still no evidence.

In recent days, Gu Zhuo has been living in this tea garden and eating vegetarian food.

This was of course arranged by the Immaculate Monk.

"Gone."

Gu Zhuo walked on the muddy ground, his eyes falling on the tea leaves from time to time, his expression focused.

No matter how you look at it, he looked like a tea farmer at this time, and there was nothing wrong with him.

The Immortal Monk coughed and asked, "Do you feel that I am different?"

Gu Zhuo thought for a while, looked at him seriously and said, "You've grown taller."

"you……"

Upon hearing this, the Immaculate Monk became furious and subconsciously wanted to refute.

However, when the words came to his lips, the little monk swallowed them back, his expression inexplicably calm, and said with a smile: "You are no different from before, you are still the same height."

How could Gu Zhuo not see what he was thinking? He looked at him with some pity, thinking that you will never be able to beat Chu Jun in this life.

——With Chu Jun's personality, he would certainly not hesitate to mock before a fight. As long as he says the word "short", the monk Wuque will undoubtedly be in a state of confusion. How can he fight?
"Come to think of it, I do have to thank you."

The monk Wugui raised his head and glanced at Gu Zhuo, then changed the subject very naturally and said, "Yuangui Temple is a place that really suits me very well."

Hearing this, Gu Zhuo's mood became good and he said, "That's good."

The Wuque monk suddenly sighed.

"You know, I've had really good luck since I was a kid. I picked up money from the ground, dug out my skills from a cave, and was particularly pleasing to the eyes of my seniors. I've had so many adventures that I've forgotten most of them..."

The little monk touched his smooth head, looked at the magnificent temple not far away, and said with emotion: "So, when the summer festival ended, I was actually very anxious. It was not because of anything, but because I thought that I would have to stay in the temple and practice diligently in the future. Wouldn't it be a waste of my luck?"

Gu Zhuo smiled and said nothing.

“So I really thank you!”

The Wugui monk retracted his gaze, gave Gu Zhuo a thumbs up, and said sincerely: "If you hadn't asked me to come to Yuangou Temple, I wouldn't have known that there was a place like Yuangou Temple in the world that focused on business, and that it could fully utilize my talent for making people friendly."

Yes, just as the little monk said.

Yuangou Temple is one of the ancestral temples of Zen Buddhism today. The biggest difference between it and Cihang Temple is that the monks in the temple are particularly down-to-earth.

From selling tea to conducting religious ceremonies, from lending to explaining scriptures... no one in Yuangou Temple, from top to bottom, is tired of the smell of money.

From this perspective, the monks living here should be greedy for money. However, what is interesting is that they are extremely generous and spare no effort when rescuing ordinary people, which shows that they treat money as dirt.

Therefore, no matter what time of the year, there will always be an endless queue outside the temple gate, and those people are patients coming from all over the world.

Over a long period of time, Yuangou Temple has become the world's number one medical holy land, but the monks in the temple rarely travel far away.

Someone once asked the abbot of Yuangou Temple why he had to stay in this small place. The answer he got was very rough and direct, and it was difficult to taste any profound Zen meaning.

The answer is just two words.

——No money.

……

……

What is unique is that these two completely different attitudes appear in the same group of people.

The Immaculate Monk is just such a person.

Otherwise he wouldn't be Gu Zhuo's friend.

The two walked around the tea garden, and after making sure there were no problems, they found a tea shed and sat down.

The afternoon sun shines through the branches on the wooden frame and falls on my body in bits and pieces. The autumn heat is no longer so fierce.

"How long do you plan to stay here?"

The young monk poured himself a cup of tea, took some fruits and placed them on the table, and said in a low voice: "The elders in the temple are all experienced businessmen, and there is not an idiot among them. I can't keep it a secret for you forever."

Gu Zhuo was somewhat speechless, thinking that the word "idiot" was too respectful to his teacher, and said, "On the day when the dust settles."

Hearing this, Wugui monk's face suddenly showed sorrow, and he said, "This is really difficult to deal with."

Just arranging Gu Zhuo into the tea garden had already consumed a huge amount of his effort, so it would be difficult to keep him hiding.

"But you are lucky. The new leader of the Tianming Cult caused such a big incident. Now not so many people are watching you. Otherwise, this matter would be even more difficult to handle."

"what are you thinking?"

"What do I think? Death is definitely not a good thing, but it is inevitable that people will die in this kind of situation. It's pointless to argue about right and wrong. It's obviously all about profit."

"That's a little too much of a statement to disown the enemy."

"Tsk, even though we are all Zen Buddhists, no one feels that they are the same kind of people."

"rational."

"Let me give you an example. Let's not talk about the messy factions in the court. Let's just talk about the Taoist sects. Can the Tiandao Sect and the Qingjing Temple be the same thing? One seeks to follow the will of heaven, and the other seeks to transform the world with the Tao. It's normal to dislike them."

Gu Zhuo didn't respond. He picked up a cucumber at random and took two bites. It was very crisp.

The Immortal Monk was excited and continued, "I had nothing to do before, so I spent a long time in the Sutra Library in the temple, flipping through all the books that recorded things that happened a hundred years ago, and I came up with an idea."

Gu Zhuo asked: "What idea?"

"The reason why the Dao Sect was defeated back then was not because of anything else, but because of the Demon Lord."

The Immortal Monk raised his eyebrows and said proudly, "If there hadn't been the Demon Lord, I don't think the Dao Sect would have fought so hard. If there hadn't been any internal fighting, how could the things that happened later have happened?"

"I've seen such ridiculous things in those books that you'd think I was making them up to deceive you."

"For example, when the Dao Sect and the Qin Dynasty had already started a war, there was a stalemate on the battlefield. The Tiandao Sect happened to have spare strength at the time, so they sent people over. Logically, they should have won that battle, but in the end they were defeated miserably because the other sects were deliberately stalemate and demanded military funds. As a result, the people from the Tiandao Sect came, and the people from those sects were afraid that the matter would be discovered, so they directly killed the people."

The young monk cleared his throat and said seriously, "What happened next? Those people even said that the situation was improving, but it was the people from the Tiandao Sect who came and made random orders, trying to steal the credit, and ended up messing things up."

After hearing this old story, Gu Zhuo said nothing more.

The Immortal Monk did not notice his expression and continued, "Why did they do this? Of course, it was because the Tiandao Sect was too strong. I read in the book that even Qingjing Temple hoped that the Tiandao Sect would lose a few more people at that time."

Gu Zhuo took a sip of cold tea, feeling the chill, and remained silent.

The little monk was still muttering, his voice full of sarcasm, disdain and mockery.

"There are more than one or two incidents like this, and they are not just targeting the Tiandao Sect. Everyone is trying to hinder each other. How do you say that... Yes, it is better to nurture the enemy."

“You ask them why they dare to do this?”

"Why else? Isn't it because you feel that you will definitely win? I always feel that the outcome of the war is not determined by their life or death, but by the victory or defeat of the Yuhua."

“Who knew that we would lose miserably in the end.”

"If you ask me, the Demon Lord doesn't deserve the word Demon."

"If he was really a demon, he would have simply killed all the disobedient people at that time. The Qin Dynasty would not have survived until the day of the decisive battle. How could he have ended up dead?"

The autumn sun is strong.

It was slightly cool under the tea shed.

Gu Zhuo put down the cup of tea, a gentle smile appeared on the corner of his lips, and he said with emotion: "I never realized that you had such thoughts before."

(End of this chapter)