【Cang Qiao】Bodhi

"Get up." Cang Yue Guming nodded, and swept away a fallen leaf with his tail.

With permission, the young man stood up slowly, he turned around, and gave Qiao Rulai a fist-cup salute:

"Happy in the downwind, Ximiao Tiejun Guard Commander, nice to meet you."

"Just call me Qiao Tathagata." Qiao Rulai returned a Buddhist salute to the other party, gathered up the monk's clothes and sat back on the rattan chair. He watched Feng Xiaoyao find a stone bench and sat down, and asked, "This strong man Feng Xiaoyao, Why come here this time?"

"Ah..." Seeing the dignified and solemn look of the other party, Feng Xiaoyao touched his head uncomfortably. He looked at Cang Yue Guming who was squatting at Qiao Tathagata's feet, and said:

"Qiao Tathagata, it's not the first time you've met me, so you don't have to be so... um... cautious?"

"?"

Qiao Tathagata widened her eyes slightly, showing a puzzled expression.Seeing this, Cang Yue Guming sighed, and said: "He is the clouded leopard that Yinyan and Jian Wuji bought for 20 taels of silver that day."

"What?! Only 20 taels?" Feng Xiaoyao also widened his eyes, looking at Cang Yue Guming with an incredulous expression, "Your Majesty, don't fool me! Why am I only worth 20 taels?!"

Cang Yue Guming glanced at Feng Xiaoyao, but didn't answer, the old god was lying on the ground on the hem of Qiao Rulai's clothes, his tail was still wagging, and he didn't care.

"20 taels is the money for that big pot of wine." The corners of Qiao Rulai's mouth were slightly curved, and the upward arc eased the serious expression on his face. He bent down and rubbed the pair of silver-gray wolf ears. Sit down and look at the stunned person opposite: "Are you here to find him?"

"He" refers to Cang Yue Guming.

Feng Xiaoyao looked at the gentle and obedient look of the king, and he didn't feel relieved for a moment. He subconsciously untied the flagon at his waist, uncorked it and took a sip of wine.The pungent wine flowed down his throat, which made his slightly dazed consciousness clearer, then he put away the jug, straightened his sitting posture, and said seriously:

"Yes, the king asked his ministers to investigate a few days ago, and he has found some clues. The minister found out..."

■

After Feng Xiaoyao finished explaining all the information he found, the two of them fell into a long silence.Qiao Tathagata only felt that this matter was very involved, and she needed to wait for Shi Yanwen to come back before discussing it with her.Seeing that Feng Xiaoyao came here to find Cang Yue Guming, and during the conversation, he also learned that he had not found a fixed residence, so he asked his servants to clean up a guest room and arranged for Feng Xiaoyao to stay temporarily.

Feng Xiaoyao looked at the way Qiao Rulai arranged for the servants to tidy up the guest room—clean and neat, swift and resolute, without messing about, this posture, very much like the head of the family.He slowly moved to Cang Yue Gu Ming's side, lowered his voice, and asked in a low voice:

"My lord, is this the future queen of Xi Miao?"

Cang Yue Guming's body froze for a moment, then he turned his head slowly, his blue eyes stared blankly at Feng Xiaoyao, without saying a word.

Feng Xiaoyao felt another layer of chilly sweat on the back of his neck, shrunk his shoulders, and followed Qiao Rulai to the guest room slowly.

Qiao Rulai arranged for Feng Xiaoyao to live in the guest room, and Xueshan Yinyan and Jian Wuji returned to Zhengqi Villa with a few jars of wine.

Feng Xiaoyao is a leopard demon, and the wine worm in his stomach has naturally become a fine one, and he can detect the existence of wine from a long distance.He has a forthright and free-spirited personality, is informal and interesting in conversation, and soon became friends with Yinyan and Jian Wuji. The three of them set up a wine bowl in the yard, drinking and getting to know each other, talking and laughing happily.

Qiao Rulai saw the three people talking happily, smiled and declined their request to invite him to have a drink together, and asked the servants to let them take care of them, while he picked up some books and sat on the porch, waiting for Shi Yanwen to come back. He looked aimlessly at the classics and historical documents in his hand.

When Shi Yanwen returned to Zhengqi Villa, it was almost dusk.

Qiao Rulai was the first to see Shi Yanwen. When he heard the notification from the porter, he put down the scroll and walked quickly to the gate.The news that Feng Xiaoyao brought today really surprised him, and he couldn't wait to tell his father about it.

But when Qiao Rulai rushed to the concierge, what she saw was Shi Yanwen's tired face.When he saw Qiao Tathagata, the first thing he said was:

"Jingzhong, something happened in this town."

■

Shi Yanwen was invited to a neighboring town as a guest, and when he came back, he passed by the town at the foot of Longquan Temple Mountain. Thinking of the small disturbance in the wine shop a few days ago, he thought about going to take care of it.Unexpectedly, when he entered the town, what he saw was a desolate scene full of people.

There are so many shops, there are no peddlers, and there is only one place in the whole town that is slightly crowded.Shi Yanwen rushed there and found that it was the only clinic in the town that practiced medicine and prescribed medicine, and the scene inside surprised him——

In the past, the slightly deserted medical hall was filled with people, most of them were young women, with a haggard look and a sluggish look, all of them looked weak and terminally ill.The relatives and family members who accompanied them also looked weak and decrepit, but compared with those women seeking medical treatment, they were much better.

If it is a natural disaster and plague, it is too weird. I have not heard of any kind of epidemic that women are more serious than men; Drinking it is poisonous water, and the truth that the toxicity of a man's drinking will disappear.

What concerned Shi Yanwen the most was the age of these women.

Although these people who seek medical treatment are discolored due to their frail bodies, it can be vaguely discerned that these women are mostly in their twenties, at most not more than [-], there are old people, but they are very rare.

Perhaps it is because women love beauty, especially young women. Even if they come to seek medical treatment, these women have a bright red flower on their buns.Dark clouds surround the temples, although the hair is haggard due to physical weakness and is no longer black and shiny, but it still sets off the vermilion flowers on the temples, which is gorgeous and captivating.

The mayor recognized Shi Yanwen, he knelt down crying and begged Shi Yanwen for help, saying that in recent days, most of the women in the town have been like this, and many of them have died, if this continues, the town may really be over.

In this way, Shi Yanwen stayed in the town for a long time, found some clues, and didn't come back until the sun went down.

"Those women have all been incensed at Longquan Temple." Shi Yanwen took a cup of tea from Qiao Rulai and moistened her lips, "Yanwen also felt that the red flowers in the hair of those women were different, but I don't know what kind flowers."

"That's a Sala flower." Feng Xiaoyao leaned against the carved wooden door, folded his hands on his chest, "I came here to look for the king...Qiao Tathagata is also because of this incident, and this incident does not only affect what Shi Junzi saw. A town."

He kicked on one foot, straightened his body, dusted his black cloak with his hands, and then said: "I have no other hobbies, but I like to search for drinks in various places. Recently, I have passed through many towns , There are also some places where women are physically weak and weak, but it is not as serious as Shi Junzi said."

Feng Xiaoyao took a sip from the jug, wiped his mouth, and continued: "They also wear a red flower on their heads. I was curious, so I asked someone to ask. Found it at the door."

"That's right." Shi Yanwen nodded, "The information Yanwen got is the same, but there is another point. The family members of those women said that since they had this red flower at home, the whole family seemed to have received some kind of blessing, and the merchant's business went smoothly. , the writing of the book is like a god, it can be said that everything is going well, the villagers regard this flower as the blessing of the Buddha, and no one doubts it. But Yanwen sees that this matter is different..."

"Junzi Shi wants to say that there must be demons when things are abnormal, let alone such a big thing." Feng Xiaoyao nodded, "I agree, this is not unusual. As far as I know, most of Sala are white flowers, and Within a radius of dozens of miles, there is only one place where Sala trees grow and red Sala flowers grow, and that place is—”

"Longquan Temple."

■

The matter was of great importance, Shi Yanwen, Qiao Tathagata, Xueshan Yinyan, Jian Wuji, Feng Xiaoyao and Cang Yue Guming rushed to the town at the foot of Longquan Temple the next day.

Even though they had heard Shi Yanwen's narration, Qiao Rulai and the others were still beyond surprised when they saw the scene in the town.

——There are dead on the way, lamenting everywhere.The shape is broken and the bones are standing, and the empty street is wandering.

When people come and go, they are all weak and weak.Those who used to be healthy, energetic, and able to run and jump seemed to have been emptied of their bodies overnight, and the whole town was shrouded in a strange atmosphere, which made people feel an indescribable feeling in vain. Weird and disturbing.

The mayor's body also appears to be affected.The originally hale and hearty old man was also weak and disfigured at this time, his eye sockets were sunken, his eyes were chaotic and lifeless, and he was trembling when he walked. He tried to hold Shi Yanwen's wrist with his hands like chicken feet, but his mouth still couldn't help it. "Shi Junzi, save the town" is repeated in the place of residence.This situation is worrying.

The situation of the villagers is too serious and urgently needs manpower to help resettle them. However, the situation on the mountain still needs to be resolved. How to arrange manpower is not an easy task.Shi Yanwen could only comfort the mayor while thinking about countermeasures.

Qiao Tathagata once went to the back mountain with Cang Yue Guming, and saw the double Sala tree with red flowers.Seeing that Shi Yanwen was in a dilemma, he took the initiative to ask Ying, and asked Shi Yanwen, Yinyan, and Jian Wuji to stay in the town to help, while he and Cang Yue Guming went to the back mountain of Longquan Temple to find out if there were any differences in the red flowers.

Shi Yanwen agreed, and at the same time, he asked Feng Xiaoyao to accompany Qiao Rulai to investigate Longquan Temple, so that if something happened, they could take care of each other.

Feng Xiaoyao was thinking about how to open his mouth and accompany him up the mountain, but when he saw Shi Yanwen open his mouth, he readily agreed and followed Qiao Tathagata and Cang Yue Guming to the mountain.

When Qiao Tathagata and his party arrived at Longquan Temple, they felt an extremely strong fragrance of flowers blowing in their face. The fragrance could not be called fresh, but had an overly sweet and dense feeling, which made Qiao Tathagata frown.The monks in the temple also seemed to be affected by the vision, their faces were pale, and they all looked weak and weak. It's just that the monks in Longquan Temple all practice Buddhism, meditate, and recite mantras, and they look better than ordinary people at the foot of the mountain.

The fragrance of flowers is sweet and greasy, but Cang Yue Guming and Feng Xiaoyao are keenly aware of a trace of unusual breath in this disturbing sweet fragrance - dark and heavy, not like aura, but also very different from evil spirit, what I want to say should be……

magic.

Feng Xiaoyao silently pulled out the short blade attached to the back of his waist. The blade was facing outwards, and he held it in his hand. He didn't look back, his eyes were fixed on the path leading to the back mountain, and he said:

"Your Majesty, I will explore the way first."

It's just that he didn't even take a step, but he felt a burst of demonic power rising into the air beside him, and the next moment, he saw a purple-black royal robe come into view.

The figure was tall and straight, and the demonic aura was still there, causing the felt hairs on the back of his head to sway endlessly.The man turned half of his face, revealing a blue eye, his voice was deep and authoritative:

"No. The commander stayed in the temple to take care of the affected monks. This back mountain, the lonely king himself walked through it."

"But Your Majesty..."

"Captain, this is the king's order." Cang Yue Guming turned his head, no longer looking at Feng Xiaoyao, "Please."

Feng Xiaoyao stared at Cang Yue Guming's back, glanced at the monks around him, knelt down on one knee as if determined, and replied:

"Yes, the minister takes orders."

In just four words, loyal and resolute, it is the iron bones of loyalty to the king's order, and the sincerity of every injustice.

After Feng Xiaoyao left, Cang Yue Guming stepped on the bamboo plank road leading to the back mountain, stretched out a hand to Qiao Rulai, and looked at him quietly, without saying a word.

Qiao Rulai saw Cang Yue Guming reaching out to him, hesitated for a while, and finally chose to put his hand into the opponent's palm.He took half a step forward, stood side by side with Cang Yue Guming, smiled warmly, his golden eyes were full of firmness and trust:

"Well, let's go."

Cang Yue Guming smiled, put his five fingers together, and took Qiao Tathagata's hand into his, and the two of them went to the back mountain together to the two Sala trees.

■

It used to be a pure place of Buddhism, but now it is the pass of Abi Hell.

Qiao Tathagata sees the Sala Twin Trees again, but she can hardly recognize its original appearance.

It was only a few days ago when I saw these two Sala for the first time. Qiao Tathagata remembered that the tree was tall and straight, with thick branches and dense leaves, covering the sky and the sun. The red and white interlacing is full of pleasing scenery.

But everything has changed.

The double Sala trees are still tall, even taller than when I saw them a few days ago, which seems to be about to pierce through the clouds and reach the sky.The branches and leaves are still luxuriant, but black spots appear from the tip of the leaves, and the color of the whole tree is suppressed, as if shrouded in a cloud.The wantonly stretched branches spread out even more, completely covering the open space, not even a ray of light could penetrate.Those flowers that were originally red and white, almost all turned into dense and bright red at this moment. The white flowers were hidden under the layers of red flowers, while the red flowers fell wantonly without wind. One layer, people can't see the color of the land at all.

Qiao Tathagata only felt that the sweet floral fragrance was stronger, and she felt dizzy for a while, and one of her feet accidentally stepped on the corner of the upturned plank road, and she was about to fall when she moved.

But his hand was still tightly held by Cang Yue Guming, Qiao Rulai only felt that he was falling into an embrace with the fragrance of green grass, the fresh smell of grass made the dizziness in his mind less, he raised his head, Looking at Cang Yue Guming showed a somewhat weak smile, said nothing, then helped the other party's hand to stand still.Unexpectedly, just as he got out of Cang Yue Guming's embrace, he heard an angry shout from the Sala tree:

"Wolf demon! Let go of Bodhizi!!"

I saw a figure flashing behind the thick trunk of Shuangshu, with red clothes, black hair, and pale skin.The man came step by step with the blood-colored petals. After getting closer, Qiao Rulai realized that the other party was a young man.

The man's face was full of murderous intent, his phoenix eyes stared angrily at Cang Yue Gu Ming, he noticed the hands they held, his brows and eyes froze, and the air around his body was turbulent, and he yelled angrily again:

"open!!"

Accompanied by the spread of the words, there was a sudden surge of strong devilish energy.The demonic energy was like a knife, and Qiao Rulai was caught in it, only to feel that the exposed skin was rubbed painfully, so she couldn't help raising her hand, covering half of her face with her wide sleeve, and squinting slightly to look at the person opposite.

The man was dressed in red like blood, and had black hair like ink, but his skin was lifeless and pale. His eyes were bulging, and his eyes were full of love. His nose was thin and his lips were thin. He had a beautiful appearance.It's just that the man's eyes should have been black, but they glowed reddish under the taint of anger, and there was a swastika on his brow, which was neither silver nor gold, but a strange dark red color.

The appearance was so beautiful, but Qiao Tathagata only felt a pain in his head, and those scenes that frequently appeared in dreams in recent days reappeared inappropriately at this time.He still couldn't recognize it, but he only felt a headache and a slight pain in his heart. For some reason, when he saw the man in front of him, a feeling similar to pity and pity emerged from the bottom of his heart.

Cang Yue's Gu Ming stimulated his demonic energy, and with his palms tightened, he protected Qiao Tathagata in a wide cloak.He gently rubbed the back of Qiao Tathagata's hand with his fingertips, said softly, "The Lonely King will not let you get hurt", then let go of his hand, using himself as a barrier in front of Qiao Tathagata, watching gradually The approaching man lowered his voice:

"You carry the Buddha's energy in your body. You are a demon, but you are not a demon. You know Bodhi, who are you?"

"Who am I?" The man giggled as if hearing the funniest joke in the world.His eyes were glued to Qiao Rulai's body, and he looked at the white figure guarded behind Cang Yue Guming with a bit of fanaticism and a bit of infatuation. The corner of his mouth curved, and he picked up a floating red sala from the air, and twirled it. The stamens are moved, and the juice is brought out, dyeing the fingertips bright red, like fire and blood.

"Bodhi son, don't you recognize me? I am the Sala Twin Trees—"

■

In the small town at the foot of the mountain, after Shi Yanwen ordered Yinyan to go to the medical clinic to help get some medicines to strengthen the foundation and nourish the vitality, he saw a man dressed in a foreign race walking towards him in the distance.

The visitor was tall and tall, wearing battle armor, walking steadily, with two horns protruding from the forehead on his head, and the hanging pearl and jade animal teeth gleamed coldly.Seeing Shi Yanwen, he folded his arms around his chest, nodded slightly, and asked:

"You, are Shi Yanwen?"