Thirteenth month of death

Chapter 49: All Left to the Mountain Wind
After Master Du Nan accidentally destroyed Taoist Qi Yun's method of concealing the truth, he realized that he had made a serious mistake, so he died to atone for his sin, and then used his physical body to save all living beings, eliminating the cause and effect of Taoist Qi Yun's formation sucking the lifespan of the people.

That year, Taoist Chang Qing listened to Taoist Chang Jing's words and cut off pieces of Du Nan's flesh and blood, cooked them into a pot and gave it to all the villagers in Wanshou Village whose lifespans were taken away, whose souls were trapped, and who were neither alive nor dead. It really cured everyone's "illness".

The villagers did not know the cause and effect, but Taoist Chang Ming was moved, so he built a temple for Master Du Nan in a place in the village, named the White Bone Temple.

The bones left after Master Du Nan's flesh was removed were enshrined in this temple.

The temple had a strange origin and its name did not sound righteous. The people were terrified and thought it was an evil temple and wanted to destroy it.

It was only because Taoist Chang Ming secretly sent people to guard the temple that the temple was saved.

But as time went by, due to the emergence of the Ascension Society, Qiyun Mountain took over Wanshou Village. Wanshou Village grew stronger and stronger, and every inch of land there was worth a lot of money.

One day, the village head and elders of Wanshou Village gathered all the villagers and said, "Wanshou Village is now blessed with a long and prosperous life, and we are destined to be prosperous and prosperous. The Bone Temple is truly ominous. If outsiders come, they will think that Wanshou Village is spreading rumors, deceiving others, and harboring evil. This temple must not be allowed to remain! Go today and demolish the temple and destroy the bones. He has the right to use the land."

After hearing this, the villagers all agreed with it, but were stopped by a Taoist priest sent by Taoist Chang Ming from Qiyun Mountain.

The village elder came out, leaning on his cane, and asked, "Young Taoist priest, why can't the bone temple be demolished?"

The young Taoist priest was an insider. He knew that if he didn't explain things clearly today, the temple would be demolished by the people of Wanshou Village sooner or later.

He glanced at everyone and asked, "Do you remember a few years ago when Wanshou Village was filled with evil spirits and everyone's life was worse than death?"

"Of course I remember. What does this have to do with this temple?" The elder stomped his cane in dissatisfaction.

The young Taoist priest naturally couldn't say that his master's formation had been secretly modified to absorb lifespan, a sinister formation that harmed the harmony of nature. He only picked up what he could say, roughly saying, "A few years ago, a monk passed by your village and saw the gloomy aura that filled the area, making life worse than death. He couldn't bear it, so he threw himself into the iron pot and cooked himself into a pot of meat."

"That monk has practiced Buddhism since childhood and possesses Buddha nature. Eating his flesh and blood can expel the dead energy in your body and dispel the evil spirits in the village. Do you remember the last time you ate meat? It was after that time that Wanshou Village came back to life, and you are where you are today."

"This Bone Temple was built for that monk. The bones enshrined in the temple are the monk's remains. The monk has done you a great favor. Why are you still going to destroy his temple?"

After these words, everyone fell silent.

Even the elder with the toughest attitude shook his head and turned away.

However, money can move people's hearts.

The monk’s kindness was indeed kindness, but time passed, one year, two years, three years... until now, it has been more than ten years.

The ignorant children back then have grown up, and Wanshou Village is becoming more and more prosperous.

There are all kinds of shops everywhere, which is no less than that in big towns.

In this situation, the bone temple located in the center of the village becomes more and more eye-catching.

This time, no one cared.

No one could persuade him.

If the elders in the family refused to allow it, the younger generation would issue a warning: "Whoever removes a brick from the Bone Temple will receive one ounce of silver!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the villagers of Wanshou Village, especially the younger generation, rushed to the White Bone Temple. Once the crowds were large enough, they dared to smash anything, whether it was relics from previous dynasties or statues of saints. They had no memory of what happened back then. A mere skeleton, even though the person was dead, had occupied a prime location and been worshipped for so many years. That was enough.

When the group entered the temple, they saw the old monk's skeleton, which was sitting cross-legged high on the altar. It did not look intimidating at all, but rather solemn and dignified.

However, a skeleton, no matter how majestic it looks, is not as beautiful as a piece of silver.

Someone immediately stepped forward, tore off the old monk's Buddha bones, and threw them to the ground.

Crowds of people came and went, and during the process of dismantling the bone temple, it was common for the old monk's Buddhist bones to be kicked or stepped on occasionally.

It was not until the White Bone Temple collapsed and turned into ruins, with broken bricks and tiles everywhere and the old monk's bones buried, that everyone returned home.

That night, under the bright moonlight, among the ruins of the White Bone Temple, a skeleton dug away the rubble that was pressing on it and slowly climbed up. Black air was wrapped around it, which was very frightening. The skeleton stood among the ruins for a long time, sighed, and then ran as fast as the wind, heading straight towards the villagers.

It took advantage of the moonlight to arrive at the door of a house, broke through the door without any hindrance, and broke into the room. As its skeletal arms rose and fell, blood flowed all over the floor, and the people in the room died instantly.

The skeleton walked out of the room. The pure white Buddha bones had turned bloody, with drops of blood still dripping from the white finger bones.

The moon is bright and the scene is picturesque.

A blood-stained skeleton looked up at the moon, its murderous intent lingering, and it ran towards another house.

It was originally the remains of an old monk, with only Buddha nature but no Buddha heart.

It is like a mirror; it treats sentient beings the same way they treat it.

It was not until the massacre alarmed Qiyun Mountain that Taoist Chang Ming took personal action, sealed the old monk's bones, and buried them elsewhere that the disaster gradually subsided.

Taoist Chang Ming didn't know that the old monk's bones had revived their spirit in the bloody massacre, attached themselves to the bones, and became the body of a ghost.

The sight of living beings with bones is not uncommon.

Some souls have died, but they still carry the mother's instincts, traveling thousands of miles just for an orphan girl. Naturally, there are still Buddha natures, but whether they are good or evil depends entirely on the thoughts of sentient beings.

……

Monk Du Nan finished his story, smiled, and looked at everyone:

"Dear donors, may I ask...is this a Buddha or a demon?"

No one responded to him. Monk Du Nan laughed heartily, his white robe dancing wildly in the wind. "I have practiced Buddhism all my life, but I cannot have a good end."

"Now that Heaven has shown mercy and allowed me to regain my spiritual wisdom, why can't I take away the immortal heart and live freely?"

"My dear donors, is that right or wrong?"

Li Daosheng remained silent.

The immortal's heart is broken and he doesn't have much time left.

The strange phenomenon of the way of heaven in the sky also froze on the spot. When the immortal heart completely collapsed, the strange phenomenon of the way of heaven completely disappeared.

The mountain breeze lingers and raindrops fall.

The broken walls, dead trees and rubble all around silently told of the tragedy of this chaos.

Only the four large gilded characters on the tilted plaque in front of the Ancestral Hall - Tao follows nature - vaguely reveal the prosperity of the past.

The strange creature twisted its huge body and suddenly fell from a high altitude, hitting the valley and no longer had any special power.

It let out a mournful howl, knowing that its life would not last long.

Li Daosheng put the sword back into its sheath, the wind and drizzle blew by, and the smoke and dust dissipated.

The wind withdrew the wind wall and Ren Ou put away his spear.

Monk Du Nan, with immortal light emanating from his chest, walked step by step towards the ruins of Qiyun.

Everyone was nervous and stared at his back.

The rain is slightly cool and the mountain wind is chilly.

The scattered immortal power restores the vitality of Qiyun Mountain.

The wrinkled scroll was spread out again, and the lost colors spread out again.

Monk Du Nan stopped and stood among the ruins.

He raised his head, looked at the sky where it was drizzling, and suddenly stumbled.

He turned around and scared everyone again, but his eyes fell on Li Daosheng.

This is what a young monk looks like.

As the wind and rain passed, his expression changed.

In an instant, he transformed into the appearance of Master Du Nan with long white eyebrows.

"Tao, Buddha..."

"Amitabha……"

With a sigh, Master Du Nan's appearance turned into that of Taoist Qi Yun again.

"I am...wrong."

A corpse lay facing the sky among the ruins of Qiyun Mountain, its immortal spirit completely gone.

"Little Taoist friend, don't forget who you are..."

A voice suddenly appeared in Li Daosheng's ears.

He was stunned and didn't know what it meant.

The corpses in the ruins and the strange sights in the valley have turned into ashes and returned to heaven and earth by this mountain rain.

At the last moment, the face of Taoist Qi Yun appeared. Perhaps when Monk Du Nan stole Taoist Qi Yun's immortal heart and put it into his own body, there was no difference between the Buddha and the Tao.

Li Daosheng suddenly wondered, this strange phenomenon in the sky, was it actually a monster that looked weird and danced in the sky?
He is still the monk in white robes, walking among the people.

　The story is adapted from the folk legend "The Monk's Bones Transform into a Demon", which will be seen in the next volume.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)