This is what an immortal should be like

Chapter 163: Good vs. Evil
Shen Qingyou was still in a daze when the jailer yelled over there.

"What? Don't you want to leave? Can you leave?"

Shen Qingyou immediately stood up with his hands on the wall, dragging his injured leg and limping forward while gritting his teeth.

"I can walk!"

The voice is still hoarse, but the pronunciation is accurate.

Shen Qingyou walked all the way to the cell door without anyone's support. He moved on his own, and the people outside just watched him.

Yin Kuangzhi looked at Shen Qingyou's limping leg. There was obviously pus and blood on his calf. It seemed that even if he was not dead, his physical condition was very poor. He looked at him carefully for a few times, but compared to before, Shen Qingyou now looked almost like a human being. Perhaps the only better thing was that his hair had grown longer.

Shen Qingyou's hair grows much faster than others. Before, her hair was just below her ears, but in just over two months, some of the hair at the back has actually spread to just below her shoulders. Of course, her hair has not only grown longer, but there are also a lot of white hairs.

When they got outside, Shen Qingyou first imitated the ancient people's way of greeting and saluted Yin Kuangzhi and the old monk.

"Thank you, sir. Thank you, Master!"

In fact, Shen Qingyou had known for a long time that there was such an old monk sitting there. It was the person who had been sharing food with him who told him about it, but he did not expect that it would be him who saved him.

"Amitabha, well done! The donor was mistaken for someone from Foguang Temple. This old monk is only paying off some of the sins of Foguang Temple. The donor doesn't owe me anything!"

Yin Kuangzhi nodded.

"Then let's go. This man has difficulty moving, so help him."

"Yes!"

A yamen runner came to the side to support Shen Qingyou, and he didn't mind the unpleasant smell on his body. Shen Qingyou had just cleaned his leg injury, and he was weak at the moment, so he could use the force to move forward, but he didn't dare to really let go.

Both cells were locked again by the jailers and the crowd was about to leave.

But at this time, someone in the cell where the old monk was originally imprisoned finally couldn't bear it anymore. He rushed to the fence and shouted.

"No—why didn't you save me? Why didn't you save me?—Master, please save me too. I'm the only one doing good deeds.—Brother, Brother Shen—you promised, you promised to save me when you could get out—Brother—"

Shen Qingyou just followed the yamen runner, and only looked back at the beginning, and then never looked back again. He looked at the old monk in front of him, but saw that the other party ignored him.

The old monk did not speak, but Shen Qingyou knew very well that he had no right to speak at all. Moreover, even if he left this time, it was still unclear whether he would be released.

Yin Kuangzhi didn't seem to care what the people behind him were shouting, and he didn't ask much about why the monk called Shen Qingyou "Senior Brother".

Even if Shen Qingyou is really a remnant of Foguang Temple, he has already promised Master Mo Ke, so he can be released.
-
Yin Kuangzhi really kept his word and released the people as he said. He just asked Shen Qingyou another simple question and then sent someone to send him and the old monk to the former site of Wanzhang Foguang Temple.

After all, it was Shen Qingyou who was protected by Zen Master Mo Ke, and Yin Kuangzhi thought that he wanted to convert the other party.

After the hired yamen runners left, only the old monk and Shen Qingyou were left at the old site of Foguang Temple.

After the government sealed off Foguang Temple, it was not only looted by the government, but also visited by countless people over the past six months, including the initial bold thieves and the nearby people who followed suit.

The entire Foguang Temple is now bare. The bronze statue that cost a lot of money has long been destroyed and melted. Only some clay and wooden sculptures are left in the temple. In addition, most of the incense tables are gone, and even part of the courtyard wall and a few houses have been demolished, and the bricks and tiles have been taken away.

The two of them walked around the entire Foguang Temple. Despite his disabled leg, Shen Qingyou insisted on accompanying the old monk and just found a wooden stick as a crutch.

It is no exaggeration to say that Foguang Temple is in a mess at this moment.

But compared to the Xiangyang dungeon, this place is much better and quiet.

In the center of the Erxiang Hall, the pit left behind was still there. The old monk stopped here and looked at the person who was following him silently.

"I have to start from scratch. I don't have the money to hire anyone, and I'm old and frail. Mr. Shen, please help me clean up the temple and make it tidy. That would be a way of repaying me. How do you think?"

"it is good!"

Shen Qingyou didn't say anything else, and this marked the beginning of his life in the temple.

However, even at this point, Shen Qingyou had no intention of becoming a monk. He just settled down in the temple temporarily and helped the old monk clean up the temple inside and outside. The latter never said anything about wanting him to become a monk.

On this day, Shen Qingyou took down the plaque of Wanzhang Foguang Temple, knocked off the first two words and hung it up again. According to the old monk's intention, this would return to the original name of the temple.

After a period of time, Shen Qingyou also really understood some of the history of Foguang Temple.

The temple has a long history, but it was occupied by the Hu Dynasty many years ago. Everything changed in those years. The old monks were forced to leave, but the scale of Foguang Temple became larger.

After the Battle of Feishui, the Jin Dynasty recaptured Xiangyang, but Foguang Temple retained its appearance as it did during the time of Hu occupation.

Of course, Shen Qingyou also knew about the chaos in the Wanzhang Foguang Temple. Although he only knew part of it, it made him understand why the brothel madam was afraid of him because he was mistaken for a demon monk.

Whenever Shen Qingyou thought of all this, he always felt a sense of unreality.

After hanging up the plaque, Shen Qingyou carefully climbed down the wooden ladder he had made, then sat on the ground and gently rubbed his right leg. His leg injury had not healed yet, but it was much better than in the dungeon, although it still oozed pus every day.

At this moment, Shen Qingyou seemed to have noticed something and looked at the road outside the temple. This was a place where few people usually came, but today, a person was walking towards it.

The man was dressed in green and holding an oil-paper umbrella, as if shielding himself from the sun. A parasol? Shen Qingyou found the idea a bit amusing. Did people in ancient times also fear tanning?

The person who came was none other than Wuming. He walked to the door of the temple and glanced at Shen Qingyou. Now he had tidied up his appearance, with his hair simply tied back. His eye sockets were slightly deep and his face looked thinner, but it was still a face that was better than that of an ordinary person, and even had a bit more vicissitudes of life.

Shen Qingyou was also looking at the person who came. The person was holding an umbrella, and there was an indescribable sense of ethereal elegance, but it seemed that his face was blocked by the brim of the umbrella, so it was not very clear.

"Is Zen Master Mo Ke here?"

"In the first hall in the front yard."

Shen Qingyou answered briefly without asking who the visitor was. The man holding the umbrella just nodded and passed by him, heading straight for the hall.

The old monk was in the hall over there, holding a wet rag and wiping everything in the hall, including the wooden pillars. It was not until Wuming's deliberately concealed footsteps reached the outside of the hall that he frowned slightly and looked outside.

Sure enough, a stranger came. Shen Qingyou had a disabled leg and could not make such even footsteps.

"This donor, if you come to burn incense..."

"I'm not here to burn incense. I heard the master was here, so I came to see him!"

In fact, Wuming had been secretly observing this old monk for a long time, and only today did he actually show up and see him.

"Oh, I see. I wonder what brings you here to see me?"

While the old monk was asking questions, he also squatted down to wash the rag. He was just rubbing the cloth in his hands, but his eyes were always looking at Wuming. This person gave him a very special feeling.

When observing ordinary people, the old monk can often understand what kind of person they are at a glance, as if he can tell by looking at their face. However, when observing this person, he is completely bewildered, unable to tell whether he is good or bad, just like looking at a landscape or a crowd of people on the street.
Master!

This thought emerged in the old monk's mind, and he immediately understood that this was a true master who had come, higher than all the so-called masters he had seen in his decades of practice!

Wuming stood outside the temple holding an umbrella, just looking at the old monk calmly. The old monk's fate was obvious to him, and he seemed to be just an old monk with virtue.

But the fact that he appeared here today meant that Wuming had already made up his mind.

“Master, do you often feel like something is missing?”

The old monk thought for a moment, shook his head and smiled, shifting his gaze away from the man holding the umbrella and focusing on washing the rag.

"There are so many things that people in this world lack. They only lack what they want. What they want is what they lack. Even this Foguang Temple seems to lack everything, but in fact, for me, it is more than enough."

"Is it?"

The corners of the mouth under the nameless umbrella rose slightly.

"Master, you possess no desires and no requests, and your Buddhist teachings are profound. I also believe you possess no desires, but I'm not asking about these superficial aspects. Master, do you sometimes feel that you are incomplete?"

The old monk paused in washing the rag, then slowly raised his head to look at the man holding the umbrella, his expression changing slightly.

Feeling incomplete
Yes, from his youth and understanding to now, in his seventies, the old monk does occasionally feel that he is lacking. But he knows that this is due to his inadequate Buddhist teachings, his insufficient practice, his lack of merit, his inability to see through the world, his failure to let go, and his lack of enlightenment.
However, all these things just flashed through the old monk's mind, and there was not much ripple in his heart.

"Amitabha! Could it be that after my life of practice, the Buddha is finally coming to save me?"

He said this in a joking tone, but he didn't have any expectation or desire to be converted.

Wuming's expression returned to calm after hearing this. Although it seemed that he was answering a question that was not asked, he had actually told him the answer.

"That's what I said. By the way, Master, do you remember when you woke up?"

Upon hearing these words, the old monk's expression finally changed. This was a secret that only he knew, perhaps even the gods and Buddhas in heaven and earth knew it!
"Perhaps a few months ago. Venerable sir, do you know anything? Who am I?"

Wuming just looked at the old monk calmly.

"I'm not some Buddhist master, and I can't confirm who you are for now, but you'll find out sooner or later. Master, you're kind-hearted, and I hope you can keep your heart as before. I'll take my leave today!"

After saying this, Wuming turned and left. The old monk subconsciously wanted to say something but ultimately did not try to keep him.

Shen Qingyou came over with his homemade crutch and passed by Wuming again. He looked at the visitor leaving, and then looked at Master Mo Ke who seemed a little absent-minded. This was the first time that the old monk showed such a confused look.

"Master, who is he? What is he doing here?"

"I don't know, I don't know, you will know it later!"

The old monk said a few words and started cleaning the hall with a rag again.

On the other side, Wuming was holding an oil-paper umbrella and walking towards the outside of Foguang Temple, with a thoughtful look in his eyes under the umbrella.

After a brief chat with the old monk, especially the confusion he showed at the end, Wuming knew who the other person was.

"Good and evil fight each other. Mokajiedi"

The nameless man had not yet left Foguang Temple, but he had already gradually disappeared in the wind.

(End of this chapter)