Searching for the best path, starting from Renjia Town

Chapter 23: All of them are people with a connection to Buddha

On the third day after sailing, the Manta entered the Zhejiang port, with passengers getting on and off, and stayed at anchor for four hours.

Passengers heading to Jiangsu remain on board, waiting for the ship to depart.

This is an old ship that was discarded by a foreign country. The cabin is small, and when there is nothing to do, everyone relaxes on the deck.

"It's so boring."

"Yeah, I hope you can get there soon."

Lying on the railing of the ship, looking at the land not far away, Qiu Sheng and Wencai looked listless.

Not only was the space on the boat small, but there was also little entertainment. Once the novelty wore off, the two of them became impatient after only two or three days.

Li Kunshan was alright, having lived two lives, after all. While he could be naughty at times, he was much more composed than Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai. It was just that the boat was cramped, so it was a shame he couldn't practice, wasting a few days.

As for Uncle Jiu, he got a pair of sunglasses from somewhere and was enjoying sunbathing leisurely like the foreigners in the magazines.

“Ouch~ Ouch~!”

There were still two or three hours before the anchor was raised, and there was a sudden commotion among the crowd on the deck not far away.

“It’s exciting!”

"Go over and have a look!"

Qiu Sheng and Wencai's eyes lit up immediately, and they pulled Li Kunshan and ran over.

Squeezing into the crowd, I saw a young man who looked to be in his twenties lying on the deck, rolling around and wailing, holding his stomach.

When you are out, it is better to have less trouble than more. Many people surrounded him but no one came forward.

"Amitabha."

Seeing that the young man was sweating from the pain, a Buddhist chant was heard, and an old monk wearing a coarse monk's robe and with a kind face came out.

He walked straight up to the young man, helped him up, examined him, and asked a question.

"Does the donor have severe abdominal pain?"

"Yes, my stomach hurts."

The strong young man responded with a sound of pain.

The old monk nodded slightly and continued.

"In my opinion, this isn't a new illness, but an old one."

"Master, you're right. This has been a problem for over ten years."

"Haha, it's okay, it's okay."

The old monk smiled and took out a plaster from his arms.

"I have a medicine that cures all kinds of pain. It's not only effective immediately, but it's guaranteed to eliminate the problem completely."

After saying this, the old monk heated up the plaster, applied it on the young man's belly button with a "pop", and then rubbed and massaged it to help dissolve the medicinal power.

"Huh? It doesn't hurt anymore!"

In less than a minute, the young man who had been in excruciating pain just now actually recovered.

He stood up and jumped up and down, without any abnormality.

"Thank you, Master!"

The young man's face was full of joy and he quickly thanked the old monk.

"You saved my life!"

"My Buddha is compassionate and saves all living beings. It is nothing."

"Master, how much is this medicine? I'll give it to you."

"Since we are saving all sentient beings, why bother talking about money?"

The old monk smiled, then took out a large bag of plaster from his arms and said to everyone on the deck.

"I am a monk from Lingyin Temple. I travel around to accumulate merit. I still have some of this ointment. If anyone wants it, it's free. Just come and get it."

"for free?"

Qiu Sheng and Wencai, who were just surprised by the effect of the plaster, couldn't help but brighten up when they heard that it was free. There was no need to be polite and they immediately stepped forward to get the plaster.

Not to mention a panacea, even if it's a piece of broken stone, it's free, so why not take it?

All of a sudden, the surrounding passengers came forward to get the plaster.

"This piece is for you."

Qiu Sheng and Wencai came back. Wencai took two more stickers and handed one of them to Li Kunshan with a smile.

Li Kunshan took it and looked at it, with a slight sneer on his face.

"Dear donors."

After spreading the plaster, the old monk spoke again.

"It takes a hundred years of practice to be able to cross the river together. You are all people with a connection to Buddhism. If you can donate some money for incense at this time, it will be of immeasurable merit, which can ensure the safety of your home and the continuation of blessings."

"Incense money?"

"What? You still need money."

"No, the plaster is indeed free. The incense money is for offering to the Buddha."

The old monk took out a bowl from somewhere, still smiling.

"This elixir was given to us for free, and now we can pray to the Buddha for blessings. This is a double blessing. What else can we say?"

The young man who had just had a stomachache shouted to everyone, took out a silver dollar and put it into the old monk's bowl.

The old monk bowed slightly, holding the bowl in one hand and saluting with the other.

"Then donate some."

"Ah? I shouldn't have done that if I had known."

Since this was the case, others, either thinking it made sense or feeling embarrassed, also started to contribute, some giving a dollar or two, some a few coins, it didn't matter how much.

Qiu Sheng took out a silver dollar from his pocket, and Wencai frowned and took out two cents.

As for Li Kunshan, he simply ignored the old monk and had no intention of paying.

The old monk walked past him, smiled and said nothing.

"Amitabha."

After collecting the money, the old monk chanted the Buddha's name and bowed to the crowd. "If I could earn so much money just by chanting Amitabha, I would have become a monk earlier."

Wencai looked unhappy and muttered a few words.

Unexpectedly, the old monk walked straight towards him. Wencai couldn't help but panic and quickly hid behind Li Kunshan.

"This benefactor."

The old monk did not argue with him, but walked straight up to Qiu Sheng and said with a smile.

"The plaster is ready to use."

"Not yet, don't worry."

"Haha, this plaster works best with my massage technique. Why don't you put it on now and I'll help you massage it."

"OK."

When Qiu Sheng heard that there was also massage, he looked happy, but then he looked wary.

"A massage won't cost money, will it?"

"Not a penny."

"That's fine."

Qiu Sheng was relieved and put the plaster on his shoulder.

Immediately afterwards, the old monk stretched out his hand and was about to give Qiu Sheng a massage.

Pa~!

At this moment, a big hand suddenly reached out from the side and grabbed the old monk's wrist.

Everyone looked up and saw Uncle Jiu coming over without them noticing.

"This master."

Uncle Jiu looked at the old monk and said indifferently.

"It's not easy being out and about, so don't make it hard on each other."

"...Hehe, then I won't bother you anymore."

The old monk paused for a moment, then smiled, said something, and turned away.

"Master?"

Qiu Sheng and Wencai looked at Uncle Jiu with confusion.

"Two idiots!"

Uncle Jiu snorted coldly, looking very disappointed in himself.

Qiu Sheng and Wencai scratched their heads, confused. What did they do wrong?

And why are they only scolding them this time and not Li Kunshan?

Turning to look at Li Kunshan, Li Kunshan smiled and spread his hands.

The old monk left and found a middle-aged man, and gave him a massage to release the medicinal effects.

Seeing the middle-aged man enjoying himself, Qiu Sheng sighed. He could have enjoyed it too, but it was interrupted by his master.

After pressing for a while, the old monk suddenly felt a stomachache and temporarily left the deck to go to the toilet.

After a long time, he still didn't come back. Maybe he had diarrhea, so no one paid much attention. As the boat was about to leave, the middle-aged man who had just given the massage suddenly shouted loudly.

"My money is lost! Has anyone seen my purse? There are more than thirty silver dollars in it!"

"The money is lost?"

There was a commotion on the deck. Could there be a thief on the ship?

"That monk!"

Qiu Sheng opened his eyes wide and suddenly reacted.

"That monk must have stolen the man's money while he was having a massage!"

"At least I'm not stupid enough to die."

Uncle Jiu snorted and rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"The monk was originally going to give me a massage, so doesn't that mean..."

Qiu Sheng suddenly realized what was going on, and then scratched his head embarrassedly.

"Thank goodness Master saw through his trick, otherwise my money would have been stolen."

"When you go out, be careful."

Uncle Jiu nodded and took the opportunity to teach.

"That young man and the fake monk worked in unison. They first offered to treat you, then asked for money. In reality, they wanted to see who had more money and where you kept it. Once they had their eye on it, they'd pretend to give you a massage and steal the money."

"It's actually like this!"

It turned out that the young man who had a stomachache before was also in cahoots with the old monk.

After listening to what Uncle Jiu said, Qiu Sheng and Wencai were both shocked.

Looking at Li Kunshan next to him, he seemed to have known it for a long time, which made him annoyed.

"Great! You saw through it a long time ago!"

"You thought everyone else was as dumb as you!"

“Master, since you knew this, why didn’t you remind the middle-aged man and let the old monk steal his money?”

"Destroying someone's financial resources is like killing their parents. When you're out and about, it's better to have less trouble than more."

Uncle Jiu gave a few more instructions, then looked at the middle-aged man who lost the money and said.

"Besides, everything has its cause and effect. He can't keep the money anyway, so it's better to lose it to avoid disaster. Although he lost money, it helped him avoid disaster."

"so."

The three brothers nodded, seeming to be thinking about something.

Woo~woo~!

As the whistle sounded, the Manta weighed anchor again and headed straight for Jiangsu.

(End of this chapter)