【Cang Qiao】Bodhi

"It's been a while since I traveled down the mountain, but Bodhizi hasn't shown any abnormalities..."

Qiao Tathagata sighed slightly, picked up the tea bowl, and took a sip of coarse tea.The tea soup is slightly bitter and doesn't have a particularly mellow taste, but fortunately it can quench his thirst, and he likes it very much.

During the period of traveling down the mountain, he went back to Zhengqi Villa.Shi Yanwen was overjoyed to see his beloved son come home, and put aside most of the foreign affairs, and accompanied Qiao Tathagata to chat and play chess, and debate Buddhism with each other, which was a joyous experience.The family reunited for a long time, and Qiao Tathagata also enjoyed a good time with his family. However, he has long-standing responsibilities in his life this time, and it is not suitable for a long time. Therefore, after thinking twice, he still bid farewell to his family and continued to go out to find opportunities related to Bodhi. .

His farewell was sudden, but it seemed to be expected by Shi Yanwen.He was afraid that the beautiful Tathagata would be hindered by those yellow and white things outside, so he stuffed enough money for his son before he left.

But Qiao Tathagata has been a monk for more than ten years, and she has long been used to the hard life, and everything is simple when traveling, so he spent the money on the wolf beside him, for example——

Buy roast chicken.

Cang Yue Guming was gnawing on the roast chicken at the moment, eating the chicken with a cautious and elegant manner that would not stain the fur, leaving no trace of meat on the bones.After eating all of them, he licked the soles of his paws with his tongue, and then licked his mouth, then raised his head, put on an innocent and pitiful look, blinked twice, and suppressed a heartbeat road:

- a little salty.

"..."

——Is it only after you’ve finished eating? ?

Qiao Rulai lowered her head angrily, but met Cang Yue's lonely eyes.Those eyes are extremely beautiful, and at this moment they are even softer, with a bit of flattery in the deep blue, which makes people unable to bear the slightest resentment.Qiao Rulai lowered his eyebrows and smiled at his appearance, stretched out his hand helplessly, and tapped a brain on the wolf's head, then put the copper money on the wooden table of the tea stall, and continued with the innocent-looking wolf beast. Forward.

After one person and one wolf passed through a short forest, Cang Yue Guming suddenly raised his ears and looked around, as if he had sensed something.He trotted two steps, passed half an inch in front of Qiao Tathagata, with his wolf tail around the young man's legs, and said in a low voice: "Qiao Tathagata, this place should be close to the meeting place between human and devil worlds, the devilish energy is getting stronger, so be careful. "

"Okay." Qiao Rulai nodded, took out a bamboo tube, unplugged it and passed it down, "It's not that the roast chicken is salty, do you want some water?"

Cang Yue Guming took a look at the shiny and moist spout, and subconsciously wanted to nod, but just when his jaw was about to drop, he seemed to remember something, so he swallowed hard, turned his head away, and sighed. Mentally replied: "No need, I'm not very thirsty."

——That bamboo tube... Qiao Rulai has been using it for drinking water, if he drank it himself, wouldn't it be...

He kept this self-talk in his heart, not daring to let it out.

Cang Yue Guming spoke firmly, without any hesitation, Qiao Tathagata responded when she saw him like this, stuffed the bamboo tube and put it back in the bag.But just after he packed his things properly, he heard something, it seemed to be a quarrel, and it seemed to be mixed with the clinking of tables, chairs and utensils, the noise was very clear in the silence of the mountain forest.

——If something really happened...

Thinking like this, Qiao Tathagata lowered her head slightly and called out, "Canglang."

"It should be in the town ahead." Cang Yue Gu Ming tried his best to listen carefully, "Go if you want, I will accompany you."

Qiao Tathagata nodded, clasped the beads tightly in her hand, and walked towards the source of the sound.

■

"Dang Shen Mie! Are you going to stop me today!"

There was a loud drink.I saw a woman holding a sawtooth double ring and questioning the man in front of her loudly.The man had ox horns, and his long purple, red and white hair was scattered behind his back. He had a fierce appearance and a ruthless expression.Although he had a ferocious look on his face, he was protecting a woman in red behind him, acting like a guardian.Facing the person in front of him, not only did he not retreat at all, but he took a step forward and said firmly, "No one can touch the person who wants to be protected! Including you, Man Xieyin!"

"You!" The woman was out of breath, her emotional turmoil caused demonic energy to overflow, affecting the double rings in her hands, causing them to make a fine and ear-piercing ringing sound. The smoke and dust are everywhere, which seems to be the harbinger of the next round of fighting.

Dangshenmie didn't say another word, he just held his breath in his hands and stared at the other party with a look of full vigilance.

The two sides were in a stalemate for a while, and finally the woman named Man Xieyin restrained herself.She glared at the man opposite, Shuanghuan retracted, and shouted angrily: "Forgive her this time, next time, I won't be so lucky!" The soldiers will leave here, leaving a mess.

"Thank you, Abi Zun." Shi Shiran, a woman in red, bowed to the man, her eyebrows were lowered, her expression was gentle, and she had the demeanor of a peerless beauty.When Dang Shen Mie turned around, he saw the beautiful woman like Xu, and his fierce and violent face was also stained with a bit of tenderness.The emotion in his eyes was changing, and the words in his mouth wanted to speak, but after hesitating a few times, he finally squeezed out a sentence: "Lian Hongmei, Meixiangwu is protected by me, and I will definitely not let others come here to make trouble."

Lian Hongmei responded with a smile, her phoenix eyes were half down, unable to see the light and shadow in them.She straightened up, and just as she saw Qiao Rulai walking in from the outside, she raised her hand to straighten the slightly messy hair on her sideburns, and said in a higher voice: "My guest, I'm sorry, something happened in Meixiangwu today, so I'm sorry." Closed."

"It's nothing." Qiao Tathagata gave the Buddhist ceremony to the woman, glanced at Dang Shen Mie who was standing aside, and smiled warmly, "Qiao Tathagata wandered here just to ask for a drink."

——Didn’t you just drink tea?

As soon as Cang Yue Guming passed such a sentence, he felt a slight kick on his abdomen, but when he looked up, he only saw Qiao Tathagata's upright and serious side face, and his unretracted foot.He knew that it was his teasing that made Qiao Tathagata dissatisfied, but he also knew that the other party would not be really annoyed by it, so he boldly patted the young man's leg with his tail, then turned his head away slightly, From the corner of his eye, he looked at Dang Shen Mie who was standing aside.

"So that's the case, that's naturally possible." Lian Hongmei smiled sweetly, turned sideways and knelt again towards Dang Shenmie, and said softly: "The visitor is a guest, A Bi Zun, Lian Hongmei wants to receive this person Master, I'm sorry. Thank you again, Abi Zun, for your help."

Dang Shen Mie responded and walked out the door.When he passed by Cang Yue Gu Ming's side, he paused, his eyes met for a moment, and then strode away.

Qiao Rulai drank the cup of fragrant tea that Lian Hongmei had treated him to, and then helped Lian Hongmei clean up the messy hall as a repayment for the glass of water.Seeing that it was getting late, Lian Hongmei greeted Qiao Tathagata to rest at Meixiangwu tonight.

Xu was because of Qiao Tathagata's handsome appearance and generous conversation, and Lian Hongmei had a good chat with him, so she invited him to stay for a longer period of time, but Qiao Tathagata couldn't refuse, so she had no choice but to agree.Meixiangwu is elegantly furnished, and the food is good. The proprietress, Lian Hongmei, is also a delicate person. Seeing that Qiao Rulai is dressed as a monk, she arranged for him to live in a relatively quiet place.

Meixiangwu is good everywhere, but there are more girls, and the smell of makeup is heavier, which is not a problem for Qiao Tathagata, but Cang Yue is lonely and sneezes every day, and there is no time to stop.

■

After living there for a while, Qiao Rulai discovered that Meixiangwu is not as simple as it seems.

On the surface, Meixiangwu is just an ordinary wine shop, but in fact it is indeed one of the strongholds against the demon organization.Because the local area is at the junction of humans and demons, there is frequent communication, and people from the demon clan often come to the town to show off their power, smash and loot, and the villagers are miserable.However, because of the huge gap in strength between the human race and the demon race, the result of a single resistance is often invaded or even massacred by the demon race, so some people stepped forward to establish an anti-demon organization under the ground, and spread their strongholds in the town. Meixiangwu is one of them one.

Meixiangwu is not only special as a restaurant, but the owner, Lian Hongmei, is also a strange woman.After the death of her husband and son, she supported the entire store alone, and even took in a single woman who was living outside to help work in Meixiangwu.She is good at dancing with long sleeves, and she is very resourceful, making Meixiangwu a legal business place under the protection of the demons. She is very active in receiving guests from both human and demon races, and passing information to the anti-demon organization at the same time.

However, the fire will eventually burn the paper, and things will be revealed.Several attempts by the demon world to capture the leaders of the anti-demon organization in Meixiangwu all failed, which made the demons suspicious of Meixiangwu.In addition, one of the three gods in the kingdom of Shura of the Demon Race - Navazun Man Xieyin has a lot of prejudice against Lian Hongmei, and has come to test the scene again and again, and the situation of Meixiangwu and Lian Hongmei has also become dangerous stand up.

Among the demons who come and go, Abi Zun Dang Shen Mie is a very special existence.

Every time he came, it was when Meixiangwu and Lianhongmei were in the most danger.He helped her fend off countless times of provocations by the lord master, and also helped her protect the girl in Meixiangwu from being bullied by the demons, and he also helped her quell countless investigations by demon soldiers.As long as Lianhongmei and Meixiangwu are in danger, Dang Shen Mie will appear, and after suppressing those threats with thunderous means, he will leave, coming without words, and leaving without words, as if the purpose of his appearance here is to Protect Lian Hongmei and Meixiangwu, which she relies on for survival.

Others could clearly see his thoughts.

■

"—he likes the proprietress."

Cang Yue Guming sneezed again, and lay back on the bed sleepily, even the tail that usually likes to swing back and forth was drooping by the bed, hanging down, limp, looking very pitiful.

There was no way, the smell of powder was too irritating, the wolf's nose was too sensitive, and the majestic Ximiao Wolf King couldn't escape this disaster, he retreated steadily, lying on the bed, unable to move.

"Still uncomfortable?" Qiao Rulai closed the book at hand, turned her head to look at Cang Yue Guming who was paralyzed on the bed, walked over and sat by the bed, and rubbed his back distressedly, "A few days ago Bodhizi came back again. There is something strange, could it be because of these two people..."

Ever since the two of them stayed in Meixiangwu, Cang Yue Guming had been in this uneasy appearance, and Qiao Rulai thought about throwing off Lian Hongmei's persuasion and changing to another place to stay.But a few days ago, the bodhi seed in her bosom started to get hot, which seemed to be an omen, so Qiao Tathagata and the others had no choice but to stay here and wait for the change, but... it hurt Cang Yue Guming's nose.

"Who is that Abi Zun with ox horns obviously a demon." Cang Yue Guming was rubbed more comfortably, and turned slightly to let Qiao Rulai rub his chest, narrowed his eyes, and said lazily: "And He is still one of the three Demon Realms, and his strength should not be underestimated. In short, you have to be careful and stay away from him."

"The strength is not bad..." Qiao Rulai blinked, and rubbed her palm a little more, and at the same time stretched out her other hand, rubbing the soft fur behind the wolf's ear with her fingertips, and leaned towards him. In his ear, he asked softly: "Compared with Canglang, who is stronger?"

Cang Yue Guming moved his ears habitually, closed his eyes, and did not speak.

——The lonely king is the king of Ximiao in the demon world, and he is completely incomparable with the lonely king.

He slandered, but didn't dare to say it out.

He has been carefully concealing his real name and identity, and just wants to stay by his side simply as a "blue wolf".He misses the short and innocent time thousands of years ago, and he also yearns for the shortness of time in this life.

He let go of everything, and only hoped to accompany him through the vicissitudes of the world with his original appearance, and experience the sufferings and loves of the world. In front of him, he is not the wolf king of the demon world, but just accompanies him for more than [-] years. The wolf demon Canglang.

He wanted to accompany him in a smooth life, carefree, even if it was just the ancient Buddha's green lamp, it was the most ordinary and beautiful bliss in the world.

but--

The fate of the world has been opened, and the cause and effect have come.

How long can this day last...

Thinking of this, Cang Yue Guming sighed slightly, suppressed the melancholy and suddenness in his heart, opened his eyes, put on a flattering expression, rubbed his head against Qiao Tathagata's palm, and said: "I I want to eat roast chicken."

"..."

Cang Yue Guming wanted to eat roast chicken, so Qiao Rulai could only buy it for him.He closed the door of the room, and when he went downstairs, he saw Lian Hongmei sitting by the window, resting her chin on one hand, looking at the busy street, wondering what she was thinking.

Lianhongmei is extremely beautiful, with phoenix eyes, willow-leaf eyebrows, white wrists like snow, and slender fingers. Wrapped in a red dress, she looks even more delicate and slender.People in the world say, "There is no beauty in a thousand years, and a beautiful woman is beautiful." If you think about it, it should be the appearance of the woman in front of you.

But at this moment, she had a worried expression on her face, her eyebrows and eyes were half gloomy, and she seemed to have something in her heart, but she couldn't express it.

Seeing her like this, Qiao Rulai stopped, turned to walk to the window, gathered her sleeves and sat on the opposite side of Lian Hongmei, bowed with one hand, and said Amitabha.

"Pretty Tathagata." Lian Hongmei came back to her senses, reached for a brand new white porcelain cup, poured a cup of warm tea, pushed it over, and said, "You have something to tell me."

The words are clear, the tone is sure, there is no question, and the plan is in the chest.

"Yes." Qiao Rulai nodded, took the teacup, looked at Lian Hongmei's sad eyes, "The proprietress has something on her mind."

He took a sip of the tea, the tea leaves were of the highest quality, with a lingering fragrance on his lips and teeth, and the tip of his tongue was slightly sweet, but suddenly turned bitter, just like some feelings, which taste sweet at first, and then become boundless bitter.Qiao Tathagata swallowed the tea and said softly, "Is it because of that Abi Venerable?"

Lian Hongmei was taken aback for a moment, then lowered her eyes and did not answer.

"All dharmas are impermanent, all things are impermanent, and all conditions are also impermanent. Although Qiao Tathagata has not fully understood Zen and Buddhism, she also understands one thing..." Qiao Tathagata rubbed the smooth and white rim of the cup with her fingertips, "The matter of fate, The longer it drags on, the deeper the injury will be. Fate is a double-edged sword, hurting others and hurting yourself, boss lady, Qiao Tathagata has said it all, please think again."

After speaking, he saluted again, pushed the cup back to the center of the table, and went out to the direction of the market.

Lian Hongmei stared blankly at the cup, silent.

■

The peaceful days did not last long.

In an anti-payment campaign, Meixiangwu completely exposed the essence of its underground stronghold.Lian Hongmei made a decisive decision, immediately closed the door, dismissed the staff, and asked Qiao Rulai to escape through the secret passage of Meixiangwu with the girls, while she stayed behind.

That day, Lian Hongmei was sweating all over her face, but her expression was still as easy as before.She methodically commanded the staff to pry open the long-sealed escape tunnel, and watched the women enter it one by one.Qiao Rulai asked her, what would she do if she stayed?Lian Hongmei only smiled and answered him:

"Meixiangwu is my property, and I have the responsibility and obligation to guard it to the last moment. And..."

"You were right that day. So, I'm going to take a gamble."

"Gamble on whether my instigation will succeed."

Qiao Rulai wanted to say something else, but Lian Hongmei didn't give him a chance to continue asking questions. She pushed Qiao Rulai into the secret passage and closed the door behind her.

At the last moment before the door closed, what Qiao Rulai saw was Lian Hongmei's smile.

The vicissitudes of life are sad, but they are extremely beautiful.

After successfully escaping from the secret path, Qiao Rulai declined the girls' invitation to flee to other strongholds together, and instead stayed on the outskirts of the town, watching the news of Meixiangwu together with Cang Yue Guming.People who ran out of the town said that after they left, a fierce conflict broke out in Meixiangwu. Emperor Zun of the Shura Kingdom came out in person and drove to Meixiangwu with the three respected ones. In the bloody battle against the group of demons, their lives were hanging by a thread. In the end, the two escaped smoothly and disappeared without a trace.

This turn of events seemed unexpected, but also expected.

Qiao Tathagata found Dangshenmie and Lianhongmei under the guidance of Cangyue Guming and Bodhizi.The stone cave was quiet and quiet, so it should be an excellent hiding place, but when he arrived, he smelled a sudden thick to thick blood, and heard the sound of weapons entering his body.

Cold iron and ruthless, love and hate, this knife stabbed from the back, completely announced the most tragic ending of this love and cause and effect.

Lian Hongmei's voice was trembling, and her words were dejected. What he said, what she said, was an irreversible difference between human beings and devils, an untimely admiration and longing, and a sincere heart that could not be asked for——

"So... you really are..."

"I'm sorry... I can't... kill more people... You don't want to go with me, and you don't want to leave the devil world for me, so I... can't allow you to help the evildoers... continue to endanger the human race..."

"It turned out that after all, it was a dream of mine... That encounter under the plum blossoms in winter was, after all, a dream..."

"I'm sorry, I...have realized..."

"Then, will this knife make you remember me more? Lian Hongmei..."

The light and shadow of Bodhi floated into the sky.

——This one is a mirror image that can't be loved bitterly; this one is a cold-hearted love in a dilemma.

He dissected his heart and soul for her, and exalted his sincerity, just to protect her for the rest of her life in this world full of people and demons.

However, the flowers in the mirror and the moon in the water are just dreams after all. The mirror will be broken, the water will dry up, and the flowers and the moon will disappear.The pain in the body is not as good as the pain in the heart. This dream of love is finally shattered under the impact of reality.

She has wavered, been tempted, and made a decision.She didn't change her original intention, but her heart softened because of the demon guarding her. She hoped that he would help her get rid of that position and land that was hostile to others, but she also made up her mind because of his refusal.

She has her persistence, she has her protection, after all, she let this love end without a problem, take care of the word, and never say it again.

Can't ask for it, love goes hand in hand.The conflict between humans and demons is the cause, and the separation is the result. The cycle of cause and effect also ends without words.

Qiao Tathagata looked at the two Bodhisattvas who were separated, chasing after their figures, clasped his hands together, made a Buddha salute with his hands, closed his eyes and said softly——

Amitabha.

There are eight sufferings in life, and the second and sixth have karma.

The suffering of the worldly relationship and affection felt by these two bodhi seeds means——

Can't ask for it.