The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 224 Clothing for All People (4k)

Watching the old general's departing figure, the subordinate finally breathed a sigh of relief and raised his hand to touch the back of his neck.

His face appeared calm and composed, but a fine layer of cold sweat had already seeped onto the back of his neck. He looked at his sweat-dampened palms, shook his head, and sighed softly:

"These days, nothing is easy to do."

Fortunately, he had some quick wit.

Otherwise, I really don't know how to handle the situation.
-
Du Yuan had already walked up to the old man. The old man was intently studying the plane in his hand, looking as if he were examining some rare treasure.

He had only seen this object from afar before, and when he stood aside watching it, he always thought it was just a simple task. But when he actually held it in his hands, he realized that there were many intricacies involved, and it was by no means as easy as it looked.

"Are you still adapting?"

Upon hearing this voice, the old man hurriedly looked up at Du Yuan, cupped his hands in greeting, and said:

"Okay, all is well. But are you sure there are no problems?"

He thought he was dead, but when he opened his eyes again, he found himself inexplicably in this place.

After a moment's thought, he knew that it must have been the Immortal Lord who had intervened.

This incident had always troubled him, a mixture of relief at surviving and deep concern about the state of affairs.

Du Yuan smiled and said:
"I think the old gentleman himself must have noticed that things are quite different now?"

The old man nodded and smiled, saying:
"I have indeed figured out something about it."

After arriving here, he noticed that although he could still eat grains, he would not feel hungry or thirsty even if he did not eat or drink.

At first, I thought it had become a ghost, but then I noticed that I was standing perfectly fine under the bright sun.

He even discovered that he could absorb the incense offerings and feel extremely comfortable!

Du Yuan sat down next to the old man, gazing at the temple that was beginning to take shape, and slowly said, "I plan to call this temple the 'Temple of Living Type,' and I will entrust it to you, sir, to take care of from now on."

I wanted to say something to the old man.

Du Yuan shook her head, interrupting him:

"Please don't rush. I haven't finished speaking yet!"

Upon hearing this, the old man chuckled awkwardly and left in silence.

Listen to Du Yuan slowly say:

"The Taoist leader in the Southwest, Su Hui, the abbot of Guanzhen Mountain, has passed away. This is a conclusion personally approved by the current emperor."

"As for the General Yingtian who caused such chaos in the southwest, he has already perished. This was witnessed by me and hundreds of thousands of others. His body is still buried in the General's Tomb!"

Du Yuan's gaze returned to the old man, and she looked at him with a smile, saying:

"So now, the person in this temple is just a temple keeper who has achieved some success due to a few strokes of luck. No matter how you look at it, that matter in the southwest has nothing to do with you anymore."

The old man smiled and nodded, saying:
"Since you've said so, then this old Taoist priest—no, this humble old man—will stay here in peace and pray for the fallen civilians and soldiers!"

The old man is very satisfied with his current situation.

This would both stop the fighting in the southwest and allow him to properly pray for the people who died there.

The only thing that bothered him was that he had personally witnessed 'himself' being carried and buried in the general's tomb by countless people.

The day after General Yingtian died, the rebel army organized a funeral for him that, though hastily arranged, was still grand.

The local people also spontaneously came to see him off.

The scene was incredibly grand!

In the end, the body of General Yingtian was buried on a high mountain.

They said that this would allow the general to see the southwest slowly recovering its vitality.

Du Yuan nodded in agreement.

"If you are satisfied, that would be wonderful. However, I must tell you something."

The old man quickly said:

"Please speak, I'm listening!"

Du Yuan pointed in the direction of the general's tomb and said:

"It's best if you don't go to the General's Tomb. After all, although I have severed the karmic ties there for you, it's not impossible to continue them."

Du Yuan considered directly granting the old man a formal title, but ultimately abandoned the idea.

Because after being officially recognized, it seemed that he was given a divine position and a reliance, but in reality, he was bound back to the cause and effect of the world.

Now, he lives a carefree life as a temple keeper, nourished by incense offerings, free from power and conflict, thus escaping the immense karma of this world.

Once officially recognized and given a divine position, one is not only subject to the rules of heaven and earth, but also bound by the prayers of believers. However, these are all minor matters.

What truly matters is that by then, the resentful spirits of the dead from the old stories of the Southwest, and the gaze of the imperial court, will likely seek them out again through this title.

In that case, it would be better to just "live" like this, without restraint, guarding this temple, guarding those lost souls, and guarding his new life where he had truly severed all past grievances.

After all, both Du Yuan and the old man knew that what the old man wanted now was just this little bit of peace and stability.

Being high above others is what most people desire, but it is certainly not what everyone desires.

The old man's gaze followed the general's tomb, and after gazing at it for a moment, he cupped his hands and said:
"Don't worry, this old man will remember it!"

Seeing that the old man remembered it, Du Yuan pointed to the Dragon-Locking Well and said slowly:
“I am placing this temple here with you not only to fulfill your wish, but also because this place holds immense karmic significance. It is most appropriate for you to guard it.”

The old man became increasingly concerned and hurriedly asked:

"Could it be that the Dragon King is really imprisoned in that well?"

Du Yuan's gaze also fell on the well: "Yes, that's right. There is indeed a real dragon trapped in here, with extraordinary cultivation. It was imprisoned here because it committed a great mistake in the past."

"When I passed by this place, I gave it some pointers. As for whether it can be enlightened, I can't say for sure. I'm not worried that it can break free on its own, but I'm afraid that there are others watching this place, wanting to take advantage of the opportunity."

Du Yuan was confident that before the black dragon attained enlightenment, it would never be able to break free of the cage he had set up, nor did he believe that anyone else could help it break free. This wasn't Du Yuan's confidence bordering on arrogance; he didn't think he was now invincible.

Instead, he believed that if he could break through, he didn't need to pay attention to the black dragon.

What truly worried him was the possibility that some undeterred individuals might imitate the previous group and attempt to break the seal again. Even if they managed to break the seal, how many more people would die in vain?
Therefore, Du Yuan placed this living-type temple, which also carries profound karmic significance, here.

If the black dragon can attain enlightenment, then the old man can likely form a good relationship with him.

If not, then the old man's presence here is a safety net. It lets Pang Yu know that this place is difficult to approach—this Taoist priest not only remembers, but has also specifically arranged for someone to watch over him!

The old man was also solemn:

"Don't worry, I'll definitely keep a close eye on things! But what if something goes wrong and I can't handle it? What should I do then?"

They imprisoned a real dragon, and even had an immortal specially place him here.

The old man felt he should ask a few more questions.

Du Yuan laughed:

"Simple. When the time comes, just tell them that you are here to watch over the Dragon-Locking Well on the orders of Lihentian and Doushuai Palace." In the past few days, Du Yuan had vaguely realized that the banner she was using seemed to be very effective!
"And if that doesn't work, remember to tell them that I hid the treasure to open the Dragon-Locking Well in the General's Tomb. And only you know how to get it and how to use it!"

The old man nodded blankly, then asked:
So, is it really inside?

Du Yuan laughed:

"There's nothing in the general's tomb, of course, but if you go there, you can retrieve your share of karma and incense offerings. I imagine that, even if you can't defeat the enemy, you should be able to protect yourself!"

General Yingtian is dead, but his memorial tablets have been quietly erected in various parts of the southwest.

Countless offerings and prayers have been placed upon it!
If he wasn't even afraid of himself, a Taoist priest, or the banner of the Tushita Palace, then he would definitely have to find a way to save the old man's life first.

"At the same time, remember that as long as you shout 'Go to Tushita Palace' three times, I will know."

The old man carefully wrote down everything Du Yuan told him.

Then, the old man looked at the temple and said:
"You ordered the construction of this 'living type temple,' so why don't you leave a message?"

Du Yuan also turned around, and then smiled:
"Hmm, alright then, this humble Taoist will shamelessly leave a few words!"

"Oh, that's wonderful! I'll go get you some writing materials!"

The calligraphy of immortals is extremely rare!

Before long, the old man brought out writing materials. The rebel generals and the old general and his entourage also gathered around.

Everyone craned their necks to look. They all wanted to know what kind of calligraphy the immortal sage intended to leave for this temple.

This put Du Yuan under some pressure.

He thought to himself, "I can't afford to make a fool of myself at this time."

After pondering for a long time, Du Yuan picked up her brush and wrote a couplet.

Left side—The pine tree remains pine.

Write on the right—to see the truth.

It's too short; as a couplet, the number of characters is too few, lacking the charm of elaborate descriptions and the structure of traditional couplets.

So this two-on-one situation caused the onlookers to murmur amongst themselves.

But after a moment, the more they looked at it, the more they felt that it was full of flavor and extremely refined!

The southwest was originally a place where Taoism flourished, and in terms of prestige, only Hansong Mountain and Guanzhen Mountain could be considered the best. However, when faced with the great calamity that swept through the southwest, the two mountains acted in completely different ways.

Hansong Mountain possesses mountains of grain, yet he stubbornly refuses to open his granaries to help the people, and even takes advantage of famine years to exploit the people.

The word "not pine" is so apt; it hits the nail on the head. The pine tree itself symbolizes resilience and defying snow, perfectly aligning with the Taoist temple's aspiration to embody the spirit of the tree in its name. Yet, they failed miserably in the disaster relief effort.

However, Guan Zhenshan directly dispersed all its resources, striving to protect the surrounding people without expecting any reward.

Isn't this also a way of "seeing the truth" and contemplating one's true nature? In the midst of disaster, we see compassion, responsibility, and the true meaning of Taoism in saving people and helping the world. It can be said that name and reality are perfectly integrated!
After much thought, there really isn't a couplet more suitable for this movable type temple than this one.

"Okay, okay!"

"That's right, wonderful, wonderful!"

"Those fake Taoist priests from Cold Pine Mountain will have to leave their infamy behind!"

Seeing everyone praising her highly, Du Yuan was extremely satisfied.

At least I didn't embarrass myself!

"Since everyone agrees, let's hang it up once the temple is built."

The old man cupped his hands and smiled:

"Don't worry, I will definitely keep your calligraphy safe and sound, and hang it up the day it's repaired! With your calligraphy here, I think I'll be able to sleep much more soundly from now on!"

Upon hearing this, everyone around was filled with envy.

It really is!
Even ordinary families, let alone wealthy and powerful households, will hang couplets on their doors and paste door gods on their doors, hoping for protection for their homes.

But now this little temple has received a piece of calligraphy from an immortal!
It’s so irritating that people are so different from each other!

Meanwhile, in the mountains and fields of Qingzhou, a group of young noblemen who were staring intently at the roof tiles of the small house in front of them all sneezed several times.

Then he looked around suspiciously.

What's going on? Is this?

Before they could think it through, they all lit up and rushed back to the homeowner as soon as they saw him return.

Those were roof tiles that had been replaced by the temple. The family had given them a strict order: they had to get one back.

It was clear that the homeowner, who usually had everyone vying to curry favor with these young noblemen, had fled into the house as if he had seen a plague god, leaving them all turned away.

Just kidding. How can we let outsiders take away the karmic connections accumulated over generations?
If he really dies, he might not even be able to be buried in the ancestral grave!
-
At the Southwest Locked Dragon Well, the black dragon at the bottom of the well kept muttering to itself, "Why is it getting more and more lively up here?"

Does it remember that this place wasn't a desolate wilderness?

After muttering a few words, he obediently lowered his head and began to carve the methods that Du Yuan had told him onto the rock wall.

He wanted to emulate his predecessors in order to subdue his restless mind.

He could feel that he had already touched the threshold of success!
But he only managed to carve one character with his claws.

He looked up at the ceiling with a start.

He used to be able to 'see' things outside. But as the seal became the Daoist's, he couldn't see anything anymore.

I can only vaguely sense some of the images.

This is for the best, as it allows him to calm down, subdue his wandering thoughts, and escape his predicament sooner.

But now, he only felt that something extraordinary had been handed over to an extraordinary person.

So much so that even he, hidden deep within this place, felt suffocated by the pressure.
-
Above the Dragon-Locking Well, Du Yuan, who had left behind the couplet, had already bid farewell to everyone:
"Gentlemen, now that this matter is settled, I should depart. After all, the severe drought in the southwest has not been completely resolved! I must hurry to deal with this matter!"

Seeing that it was such an important matter, the others naturally dared not dissuade them, and thus they all bowed respectfully.
"Thank you, Immortal Master, for remembering the people of the Southwest!"

Du Yuan waved her hand, about to turn and leave, but was blocked by a group of rebel soldiers who had rushed over upon hearing the news. They surrounded her tightly and refused to give way.

Seeing this, the rebel general was about to shout to stop them when he suddenly heard a series of urgent shouts coming from the rear of the ranks:
"It's here! It's here! It's been delivered!"

Upon hearing this, the rebel soldiers cheered and quickly made way for them.

Before long, the centurion arrived carrying a Taoist robe made of various pieces of cloth.

Upon reaching Du Yuan, he knelt down, holding the Taoist robe, and said:
“My lord, we are a bunch of uncouth people and have nothing of value to offer, so we took down that big banner and asked the villagers to make this Taoist robe for you. Please accept it!”

The remaining rebel soldiers also knelt down and shouted in unison:
"Just accept it!"

Du Yuan was utterly shocked when she picked up the Taoist robe, which was made from the clothes of countless ordinary people, and shook it open.

Holy crap, Buddhists consider patchwork robes to be a priceless treasure.

What is this "Ten Thousand People's Clothing"?
(End of this chapter)