I was forced to cultivate immortality when I just wanted to lie down

Chapter 174 Paper Temple, Blind Monk

Several major events have recently occurred in Tianjin.

One thing is that two new county magistrates have arrived in Wanshou and Linjiang counties.

One incident involved a fire at a grain storage warehouse in Tianjin. It is said that in addition to the relief warehouse that had been emptied by rats and burned down, the grain in other warehouses was also affected.

Burning down a grain storage warehouse is a serious crime, and the prefect of Tianjin would inevitably be held responsible. But strangely enough, after the warehouse was burned down, apart from the grain official who neglected his duties being dismissed and punished, the prefect of Tianjin, Wang, was completely unharmed!

In the coroner's shop, Xu Qing was stunned for a long time after listening to Huang Xiaoliu's report.

He and Gu Zixu went to set fire to the grain storage warehouse, but they didn't burn the other warehouses. The relief warehouse was isolated from the other warehouses by fire lanes, so it couldn't be affected.

Losing a thousand but reporting ten thousand – this is clearly someone exaggerating their losses!

Xu Qing slapped his thigh, regretting that he should have burned down the entire grain storage warehouse!

However, he was just thinking about it. The granary's reserves were more than a million shi (a unit of dry measure). He could barely eat all the food in the relief granary alone. If he really stole that much grain, he would probably have to expand his rat-house several more streets outside the well street to make it possible.

Seeing the change in the sect leader's expression, Huang Xiaoliu had no idea what had happened.

Xu Qing's theft of grain was so secretive that apart from Xuan Yu and the Gray Immortal of Feng Shui Hall, no one else heard a word about it.

No matter how much Ren Huang Xiaoliu thought about it, he could never have imagined that there were hundreds of thousands of bushels of grain stored right under his feet.

"Sect Leader, there is one more thing. After hearing that Wanshou County was going to increase its population, many of the refugees who fled here came here."

“Our county doesn’t have a large population shortage, but we haven’t received that many disaster victims.”

Xu Qing's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "Approximately how many refugees are there?"

"According to the yamen runners patrolling the streets, there are nearly 100,000 displaced people in Wanshou Township, and about 20,000 in our county."

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Xu Qing was silent for a moment, then said, "Continue to have the spirits of the hall investigate. If there aren't enough people, go back to Huangtiao Mountain and bring your brothers and sisters into the hall."

"Remember, the people who teach in the hall must be chosen from those of upright character. Do not recruit those who are unruly or dishonest."

After saying that, Xu Qing drew five thousand incense sticks from the Cat Immortal Hall's Dharma Realm and threw them over in front of Huang Xiaoliu.

Huang Xiaoliu had never seen so much incense before. Even if his great-grandfather, Huang Laoxu, saved up for a whole year, he probably wouldn't have this much incense.

Although it was somewhat dishonest to run back to Huangtiao Mountain to undermine his own great-grandfather, Huang Xiaoliu felt that it would be better to switch sides and live a life of luxury with the sect leader than to let his brothers and sisters suffer with their great-grandfather.

Later that evening, two old men and a tall woman wearing a veil and a black veil appeared on Jingxia Street.

"Old Gu, the number of refugees in Tianjin is still not enough. I need you to spread the word along the road to Yaozhou that Wanshou Township has been promoted to a county seat and is planning to open its granaries to distribute grain and attract refugees to the county to increase its population."

With a pill for old age under his tongue, Xu Qing spoke in a muffled voice, as if he were chewing on glutinous rice cake.

Gu Zixu didn't understand Xu Qing's intentions, but he still agreed.

With no one to control the displaced people, spreading rumors was not difficult for them.

After sending Gu Zixu away, Xu Qing took Xuan Yu, who was possessing Sun Erniang, and arrived at Wanshou Township.

A zombie and a cat, disguised as grandfather and granddaughter, strolled slowly along the official road. During their journey, they encountered many emaciated refugees carrying pots and pans.

Besides the refugees who escaped death, there were also unfortunate people who starved or died of disease on the roadside.

Xu Qing has a professional habit: he can't stand seeing corpses lying in the wilderness or being devoured by animals and wild dogs. So, along the way, he went back to his old profession and began to perform rites and bury those unfortunate people.

Gradually, legends about the "White-Eyebrowed Benevolent Man" began to circulate among the disaster victims near Wanshou County.

Xu Qing has many feelings about the journey so far.

Faced with hunger, the darker aspects of human nature that are usually hidden beneath the skin are all unleashed.

He had met truly good people, but they were very few in number.

Perhaps there have been many such experiences, but after going through countless trials and tribulations, even the kindest person will build up a protective barrier for survival.

They dug a pit to bury the person and chanted scriptures to help them pass on.

Although they were all emaciated disaster victims, when Xu Qing performed rituals to help those who had died of hunger to find peace, the rewards he received were mostly items like fasting pills, health-preserving powders, and qi-boosting pills.

The corpses of those who died from disease or epidemics were mostly medicines and remedies for curing diseases and epidemics, such as herbal pills, cooling powders, and epidemic-removing talismans.

Xu Qing wandered around Wanshou Township for a long time. After collecting most of the corpses he encountered along the way, he put on a human skin mask and became an 'old immortal' who helped people.

The human skin mask was obtained from Bai Luo, a protector of the Tianxin Sect. That protector had once wiped out his entire family. Although he had a human face, he had a face that could change in many ways.

Xu Qing wore a human skin mask, transforming into a kind-looking doctor, and claimed to be an old man with beard and eyebrows living in Lingtai Mountain.

In spiritual practice, "Lingtai" refers to a state of mind or spirit, while in secular life it means an altar or mourning hall.

Xu Qing disguised himself as an old man on the verge of death, but what he did was to help people in need.

It's hard for someone with such a striking contrast between appearance and behavior not to leave an impression!
In mid-October, Xu Qing, who had been traveling in Wanshou Township for half a month, finally stopped.

Before him lay an abandoned temple with crumbling walls, its rubble now reduced to rubble, slowly eroding away in the winter wind.

“Immortal Xuanyu, what do you think of using this temple as our altar for helping the world and giving alms?”

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Looking at the pile of rubble before her, so dilapidated that it bore no resemblance to a temple, the tall woman, wearing a veil and her face covered by a black gauze, fell completely silent.

"Xuan Yu isn't saying anything, so he must also think this place is nice, right?"

A cloud of black demonic mist emerged from Sun Erniang's body, and a black cat suddenly appeared on the pile of rubble.

The black cat looked at Xu Qing, who resembled an old man, and spoke in human language: "When I was traveling, the eaves of the houses I stayed in could at least keep out the rain. There isn't even an eave here to keep out the rain, so how can it be used as a Taoist temple?"

Living under the eaves, wandering among the clouds?

Are you sure you're wandering in the clouds, and not just drifting through life?

Xu Qing pondered for a moment, and realized that the place in front of him did indeed seem a bit dilapidated.

But it's not a big problem.

Xu Qing took out paper from the landscape painting and casually began to make paper houses. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a paper house three feet wide and two feet high appeared in his hands.

Holding up the paper temple with one hand and making a hand seal with the other, Xu Qing chanted the Transformation Incantation. Then, he exhaled a breath of yin energy, and the paper temple swelled up in the wind, floating gracefully to the ground in front of the ruins. In the blink of an eye, when Xuan Yu looked again, he saw that the small paper temple had actually transformed into a temple.

"What kind of magic is this?" the cat asked in shock.

"Want to learn?" Xu Qing raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "I'll teach you later."

The "Paper Making to Reality" technique was a reward Xu Qing received in Wanshou Township for his spiritual practice; this technique originated from a blind monk.

The blind monk's Buddhist name was Yu Mu (Foolish Eyes), and everyone in the temple called him Yu Mu Monk. Although he had become a monk, he was inseparable from wine and meat. Every time the abbot of the temple tried to admonish him, he would say:
"I'm blind, I can't see anything, how would I know that this gourd contains wine and this oiled paper wraps meat?"

"To me, it tastes no different from dried radish and leftover tea."

Later, when Yaozhou was flooded, the river overflowed its gates, and the tide inundated two prefectures and sixteen counties, the foolish monk sat in front of the main hall, drinking wine and laughing foolishly.

Before his eyes, the abbots and elders disregarded the safety of their disciples and monks, focusing only on grabbing gold, silver, and valuables while fleeing for their own lives.

After the abbots and elders rode out of the temple on horseback and in carriages, the foolish monk took out a piece of paper, folded it into the shape of a small boat, and after he recited the incantation and exhaled a breath of alcohol, the three-inch-long boat swelled in the wind and transformed into a large boat that could carry twenty people.

There were exactly twenty monks and novices in the temple who hadn't managed to escape.

As the floodwaters rose and the boats floated, some urged them to set off quickly. But the foolish monk spoke up, saying, "This boat can only carry twenty people at a time. If there is even one more, it will sink. Now, including you and me, there are twenty-one people in total. If there is one more person, this boat cannot sail!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd pushed and shoved, but no one was willing to get down.

The foolish monk sighed and waved his hand, saying, "Very well, you may go by boat yourselves. Since you don't want to stay, then I, the monk, will stay."

As the saying goes, geniuses are often eccentric, and the world blindly follows them.

The monks in the temple usually prided themselves on their purity and followed only the abbot's lead. The foolish monk was not one of them, and now that the other party had abandoned the ship, not one of the monks tried to stop him.

The poem in "Choubi Post Station" says: "Following the crowd is not without skill, but deceiving the lonely is utterly unethical."

This means that people tend to bully those who are unique, while those who are talented and ambitious are often ostracized for not following the crowd.

The foolish monk watched the boats depart, and from then on, he traveled alone from Yaozhou all the way to Tianjin.

Tianjin is a wonderful place, a land of outstanding people and beautiful scenery. The master of Baishui Temple in Tianjin Prefecture is renowned throughout the prefecture. Every prefect and past official has visited Baishui Temple to offer incense and pay homage.

The foolish monk had long admired the name of Baishui Temple. The first thing he did upon arriving in Tianjin was to seek refuge there, even if it was just to hang his name there. It would be better than wandering around without being able to find any connections.

Upon arriving at Baishui Temple, the abbot asked, "What do you know? How much do you understand about Buddhist scriptures and Zen principles?"

What? You don't understand Buddhist scriptures or Zen principles? Have you wasted your life at your age?
The foolish monk was speechless.

The fat, big-eared abbot's eyes lit up when he saw the foolish monk remain silent.

"Well then, this humble monk sees that you are quite good-looking and resemble a high-ranking monk. If you are willing, this humble monk will help you tidy up your appearance. From now on, you won't need to say a word. Just sit there and when worshippers ask you questions, just nod or shake your head. They will naturally put their incense money into the donation box and praise you as a high-ranking monk with great wisdom and power!"

Isn't this a lie?!

The foolish monk shook his head and waved his hands, indicating that he was not that kind of person.

"What can you do? Our temple doesn't keep idle monks!"

The foolish monk sighed and simply took out a piece of paper and folded it.

After folding the paper, the monk said, "I can turn this paper carriage into a real carriage."

Having said that, the foolish monk exhaled, and the wooden frame and shafts, resembling the carriage of a real cart, appeared right in front of the abbot.

That's quite a skill! It's practically a magic trick used to swindle money and showcase Buddhist teachings!
When the time comes, if you fold a Buddha statue and blow on it, the amount of incense money will fill the entire hall!

The abbot's eyes shone with golden light, as if he were about to become a Buddha.

The foolish monk received unprecedented respect. If he wanted wine, the abbot would have it brought to him; if he wanted meat, he would have the temple's servants buy it for him.

It's just that the foolish monk is too old and no longer interested in female benefactors; otherwise, the abbot would have insisted on removing the other senior monks so that the foolish monk could fulfill the wishes of those female benefactors who wanted to have children.

After fooling the ignorant monk for a month or so, the abbot of Baishui Temple finally couldn't help but ask him to teach him the Buddhist teachings on making paper offerings come true.

Yu Mu shook his head and refused, saying that he found Baishui Temple boring and wanted to leave Tianjin to become a monk in another place.

Upon hearing this, the supervisor's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot!

I've treated you with the utmost respect for so long, and in the end you want to leave without leaving anything behind? There's no such thing as a free lunch!

That night, the abbot added a condiment to the newly delivered wine. The foolish monk, who was addicted to wine, forgot everything else as soon as he heard that it was the Divine Intoxication from the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

The only problem is that the taste of this wine is a bit strange, maybe it's the unique flavor of Shenxianzui. Also, this wine is really strong!

He had only taken a few sips when he felt dizzy and disoriented.

Clang! The wine pot fell to the ground.

When the foolish monk opened his eyes, he found himself locked in a dungeon. The old monk tried to move, but found that his chest hurt terribly. He reached out to touch it.

It turned out that someone had pierced his collarbone with a meat hook!
Upon seeing the foolish monk awaken, the abbot began to interrogate him about the secrets of the paper-making technique.

"Who are paper effigies made for? The dead! They're made by blowing out yin energy. Where would the living get yin energy? I, a monk, drink alcohol and eat meat because yin energy harms the body, so I use the essence of grain to suppress it."

"This technique is a Yin magic, and learning it will bring retribution. Look at my eyes, they were blinded by learning this stuff!"

The abbot ignored all the nonsense and was determined to seize the Dharma.

Seeing that reasoning was useless, the foolish monk changed his approach.

"If you want to learn, you need to bring some paper. How can I teach you without paper?"

When the abbot brought the paper, the foolish monk picked it up and, in front of several senior monks, began to construct a courtyard.

A breath of yin energy blew out, and black blood shot from the eyes of the foolish monk. The three-foot square courtyard then expanded rapidly, instantly filling the entire dungeon.

The abbot and several monks were pushed aside by the courtyard and couldn't find their way for a while. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the foolish monk forcefully pulled out the iron hook from his collarbone and then opened the overlapping doors of the courtyard with practiced ease. When the last door opened, the foolish monk was already outside the prison gate.

Ignoring the sounds of the abbot and several monks tearing paper in the dungeon, the foolish monk stumbled down the passageway. Along the way, he heard sounds of men and women making merry coming from other parts of the dungeon. Although he couldn't see them, he could imagine what the monks were doing.

After escaping from Baishui Temple, the foolish monk's breath grew weaker and weaker. He wanted to take out his wine gourd to drink, but found that the gourd had disappeared.

As evening approached and the sun began to set, the fiery red glow of the sunset fell upon the dirt roads of Wanshou County.

The foolish monk lay under the big tree, holding a paper bird that had just been folded in half, and he was already lifeless.

(End of this chapter)