Sword from the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 29 Eastern Sui Dynasty
Taoist Mu muttered, "Golden Cicada?"

The moonlight was dim, and seeing Zhou Yi smiling, Mu Dao Ren felt as if he had suffered a great loss in silence.

"However, the word 'Tianpeng' is indeed very powerful."

He thought to himself and was quite satisfied with the title.

Taoist Mu put on his monk's robe with some disdain, tightened the sleeves and waistband, and tried to put on his Vairocana hat. Zhou Yi reached out to stop him:
"No, we haven't taken the tonsure yet, so wearing this Vimalakirti hat wouldn't look out of place. Even if there are monks from the Western Regions, they wouldn't dress like us."

"What should we do then?" The short and fat Taoist threw the Vimalakirti hat away.

Zhou Yi asked, "What is the nature of tomorrow's Dharma Assembly?"

"It's not very solemn, but it's almost a grand ceremony. Anyone who is a monk or a lay Buddhist can participate."

Taoist Mu added, "I think there are a lot of people here."

Zhou Yi's eyebrows are relaxed:

"That's good. We can just find a travel bag and carry it on our backs. If anyone asks, we can say we are wandering monks from Kucha. That's not right. We practice Buddhism with our hair uncut, so we should call ourselves wandering lay Buddhists. Our excuse is that we are seeking an opportunity to learn Buddhism."

Shan Xiongxin and Mu Dao Ren nodded happily.

They also felt it was appropriate.

The three of them each wore a set of monk's uniform and walked out of the monk's room of Qing'an Temple.

I looked for a place to rest near the temple and found a very remote woodshed to spend the night there.

It was just right to get some dust on my body, making me look tired and exhausted.

Taoist Mu took out a Buddhist scripture with a torn cover from somewhere and handed it to Zhou Yi.

"What I just found in that room is all a bunch of random Buddhist terms. I'm dizzy reading them, so feel free to flip through them. If the monks say something profound about Zen, you can probably respond with a few words."

"If someone asks about it tomorrow, we won't say anything. You can handle it."

After Mu Dao Ren finished speaking, he leaned against a dirt wall to rest without waiting for Zhou Yi to refute.

He has a tendency to tank.

Taoist Mu made a great discovery. He had been staying with a certain Heavenly Master these days, and it seemed that he didn't have to use his brain much.

I used to have a lot of things to worry about, but now I feel like I have a lot of free time.

However, before he discovered it, Lao Dan had already discovered it.

Shan Xiongxin had already been lying on the dry firewood nearby.

Zhou Yi took the nameless Buddhist scripture to the candle and flipped through it. It was not a martial arts secret book.

He was very attentive and had a good brain. After reading it a few times, he memorized a lot of Buddhist sayings.

At night, around three o'clock.

The three people who were not asleep suddenly woke up.

"what happened?"

Taoist Mu and Shan Xiongxin asked at the same time. Zhou Yi pointed towards Qing'an Temple and said, "There's movement inside the temple."

Faintly, it seemed as if a mysterious black shadow was seen leaping out of the temple.

The three of them remained quiet and listened attentively with all their might.

There was indeed chaos in Qing'an Temple.

However, the noise died down in less than half an incense stick of time.

"It doesn't seem like a big deal."

"Could it be that you discovered that your monk's robes were missing?"

Zhou Yi calmly replied:

"Impossible. Those robes don't belong to Qing'an Temple. They're mixed in with so much other stuff and hard to spot. Even if they were found, it's impossible to make such a fuss over a few robes in the middle of the night."

The three of them listened for a while and were relieved when they saw that the temple had become completely quiet.

If there is a major change, they will not be able to act according to the plan.

The next day, dawn.

Before the morning mist dissipated, the morning bell of Qing'an Temple rang.

Monks continued to flock to the temple gate. Although there were many soldiers from the Yingyang Army in the city, they did not harm them at all and the Dharma Assembly was not affected.

At the turn of the Chen and Si periods, Zhou Yi and the other two decided to enter the temple through the main gate when there were many people around.

The morning light shines down, and monks from afar come in droves.

There were thin monks carrying bamboo hats and scripture boxes, and there were also monks with big faces and fat ears.

Zhou Yi also saw some dusty foreign monks wearing straw sandals and leading a skinny horse.

Buddhist laypeople near Fule also stopped in front of the main gate to greet the familiar novice monks.

The three of them looked at each other, and felt that their current attire was not eye-catching, so they walked out of the side alley leisurely, ready to blend in.

It is about ten feet outside the temple.

Suddenly, a man came towards them, walking against the monks.

He walked through the slightly crowded crowd, his pace not slowing down, but strangely, he was not blocked by anything.

Those who have crossed paths with him seem to be unaware of this person's existence.

The moment this person approached and looked towards them.

Zhou Yi, Mu Dao Ren, and Shan Xiongxin suddenly stopped in their tracks. It was like an instinctive reaction.

Perhaps it was the morning light that stung their eyes, but the three of them felt their pupils blur. When they looked again, the person was right in front of them.

This man was dressed in Confucian clothing and a brocade robe. He had a tall and straight figure, exuding the temperament of a scholar. His temples were slightly gray, showing the vicissitudes of time.

His eyes casually swept over the three of them, as if he was interested, and asked:

"Where are you from?"

Zhou Yi calmed down, knowing that he had to hide his identity, and replied calmly:
"We are wandering Buddhists from the Western Regions, following the Fur Road to the Eastern Land of the Sui Dynasty in search of the Buddhist path."

On the contrary, Tiangang's words made the middle-aged man smile.

"Interesting, which one is it from the Western Regions?"

"Kucha."

The middle-aged man asked with a smile, "Buddhism has already replaced the Shamanism and Zoroastrianism of Kucha and is now flourishing. Why did it come to the East?"

Shan Xiongxin and Mu Dao Ren were a little nervous.

broken!

There is a blind spot in knowledge and I can hardly understand it.

The two looked at Zhou Yi and could only place their hopes on him.

The Zoroastrianism that the other party mentioned was the Zoroastrianism that was introduced from Persia.

Zhou Yi knew he had met an expert. Fortunately, he had already made up his mind and responded calmly:
"We once conversed with a Zen master at Queli Temple. He taught us to journey far, to escape from delusion and seek the Dharma in distant lands. Thus, we journeyed through many hardships and finally arrived at the Great Sui Dynasty in the East."

Zhou Yi's face was solemn when he spoke, and the middle-aged man stared at him intently for a few breaths.

“Vanity.”

"Get out of delusion. Coincidentally, I seem to be in delusion right now. Can you find a way for me to find a connection?"

As he spoke, his expression remained unchanged, but there was a coldness in the depths of his eyes.

Zhou Yi's heartbeat quickened: "Please speak."

The middle-aged man raised his head slightly and asked a rather strange question.

"In this world, the strong prey on the weak, and even bones can be used to build thrones. Has this Zen master ever told you that power accumulated through killing can intimidate the world, or will it also become illusory?"

Zhou Yi thought of the Buddhist scriptures he had read last night and said something random:
“Zen Buddhism said.”

"All appearances are false. Clinging to power built through killing is like building a tower of sand; it will eventually collapse. When the donor realizes all things, there is no falsehood."

"Wukong, you called me Wukong?"

The middle-aged man smiled foolishly: "What a great Wukong. What's your name?"

Zhou Yi clasped his hands together: "Golden Cicada."

The middle-aged man nodded:
"Okay, I'll go to Queli Temple."

After saying this, he left the three of them without even looking back.

After he disappeared into the crowd, the short and fat Taoist priest praised him generously: "Jin Chan, you win. Your ability in talking nonsense far exceeds that of the Taoist master."

Shan Xiongxin corrected:

"Master Mu, this is called quick wit!"

He added, "The throne is piled with bones. This man looks like a scholar, but the murderous intent and ambition within him are unexpected."

Taoist Mu had seen through it long ago: "There are all kinds of people in this world, so it's nothing to be surprised about."

Zhou Yi looked at the direction where the middle-aged man had just disappeared and wiped the sweat from his forehead that had appeared at some point.

This person inexplicably felt very dangerous.

"Let's go, let's go into the temple first."

The three men mixed into the crowd and arrived near the temple gate, where they reported their identities to the young monk guarding there.

Hearing that they were wandering lay Buddhists who came from the vicinity of Queli Temple in Kucha, the young monk did not suspect anything.

An old monk clasped his hands together and looked at them with narrowed eyes for a while.

The three men felt guilty and nervous.

The old monk suddenly smiled and said, "It is a Buddhist destiny that you have come here. Please come into the courtyard and have some vegetarian food."

The little monk led the way in front.

After passing the front hall, which was the busiest place, Zhou Yi asked him, "Why are there so many monks on duty during this Dharma gathering?"

The little monk didn't have any scheming, and replied as soon as he was asked:
"Someone broke into the Sutra Library last night, so the abbot assigned more guards. Therefore, the monks in the temple gathered together to guard against any disturbance."

The three of them nodded secretly, no wonder there was a commotion last night.

Since it had nothing to do with the monk's robes, their concerns were somewhat alleviated.
But did not expect,

The young monk added with a slight tremor in his voice, which made the three people's hair stand on end.
……

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(End of this chapter)