Chapter 022 Master and Disciple
Leshan is located in Meishan County, south of Chengdu in Sichuan Province, and is under the jurisdiction of Longyou County, the county seat.
The famous Mount Emei also belonged to Meishan County during this era.
Buddhism flourished in Shu, with many famous temples and eminent monks. Mount Emei is known as the place of practice for Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, monks built temples on Mount Emei. Today, there are more than a hundred temples on Mount Emei, which are very popular.
Even the famous Master Xuanzang will come to Shuzhong for further study in two years.
When watching The Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty in his previous life, Ni Kun had speculated that the reason why Jie Hui of Duzun Fort betrayed his sworn brother and relative-in-law Song Que and threw himself into the arms of Li Tang was probably that Shi Feixuan's lobbying and the friendship with Fan Qinghui were just superficial.
The deeper reason is probably that the Buddhist influence in Shu is too great, while the Song family in Lingnan is out of reach of Shu.
In this world, Buddhism is not a fat sheep.
On the surface, he is harmless and does not fight with the world. He only sends out Cihang Jingzhai to fight against the Demon Sect. At most, the four great monks will symbolically hunt down Shi Zhixuan. In fact, he not only has money and food, but also countless martial monks, many masters, and innumerable folk believers, so his fighting power is very strong.
What is a mere Duzun Castle compared to the huge Buddhist forces in Shu?
Of course, Du Zun Castle is now doomed , destroyed by the suddenly appearing Tang Sect, which was then driven out by Song Que.
Once Duzun Fortress was destroyed, the Song clan’s influence over Shuzhong dropped to its lowest point.
Even though Tian Dao Song Que decisively drove out the Tang Clan, his strength and ruthlessness once terrified the Bashu martial arts community, but this deterrent power will gradually disappear with the passage of time.
The Buddhist sect, which already had great potential power, further expanded its influence in Bashu due to the appearance of the "Leshan Giant Buddha".
Nowadays, in Longyou County where Leshan is located, countless believers come every day to worship the giant Buddha.
There were not only monks, nuns and believers from Bashu, but also eminent monks from other places and even wealthy believers who came from thousands of miles away.
During this period, the streets of Longyou County are filled with monks and nuns, and those who have not shaved their heads are mostly Buddhist believers.
For a time, the incense supply in Longyou County was in short supply, and the inns and brothels were packed day and night.
What? Buddhists shouldn't live in brothels?
What a joke! Are they here to visit the cellar?
They are here to worship the "Goddess of Music".
Because there were too many monks, nuns and believers, those who wanted to worship the giant Buddha had to queue up - the giant Buddha statue was sitting with its back to the mountain, surrounded by mountains on three sides, and facing the river. At that time, there was no towering plank road, and there was not a single mountain road among the surrounding mountains. If one wanted to worship the giant Buddha, they could only take a boat to the foot of the giant Buddha, or worship the Buddha statue from a distance on the river.
There were not so many ships in Longyou County at the time.
If you want to go and worship Buddha, you have to make a reservation in advance and queue up to rent a boat.
However, Buddhism is now mobilizing manpower and materials to urgently dig mountain roads, build cableways and plank roads, and even prepare to level the mountains and build temples on the mountains on both sides of the Buddha statue to facilitate visits by fellow Buddhists and believers.
But these projects obviously cannot be completed in a short period of time.
It was evening.
In Longyou County, on the third floor of a restaurant facing the street, a young girl in a yellow dress and a veil on her face was leaning against the window. Her beautiful eyes, as deep and clear as the night sky, were looking at an unremarkable old monk in gray clothes who was begging for alms on the street below.
"The current guardian of Buddhism, Master Zhenyan?" the girl in the yellow skirt whispered.
"Don't look at it, 呂儿."
Sitting by the window, a woman in a white dress, with her hair tied up high and her face covered with a thick white veil, and a mysterious and elegant temperament, said calmly:
"Old Man Zhenyan has studied the nine-character mantra of Buddhism. His mind is clear and his spiritual perception is sharp. If you look at him a few more times, he will know you are there."
The girl in the yellow skirt chuckled:
"So what if he knows? Will old Zhenyan bully the weak and break the agreement between the Saint Sect and the Buddhist Sect?"
The woman in white said calmly:
"Old Zhenyan will not bully the weak. But since he is here, the current successor of Cihang Jingzhai, Shi Feixuan, must be nearby. You have only just completed the sixteenth level of the Heavenly Demon Secret, and have not yet reached the seventeenth level. If you duel with Shi Feixuan now, you are not sure of winning. It is better not to provoke a fight easily.
"Besides, the streets here are full of Buddhist masters, or so-called white-path warriors who are friendly with Buddhism. If you reveal your identity and someone calls you out, those so-called white-path warriors will not hesitate to use their numbers to bully the few."
The girl in the yellow skirt giggled and said, "With Master here, there is nothing to be afraid of even if the old man Zhenyan takes action himself."
The woman in white said, "I'm not afraid, but it's still a bit troublesome. We're here just to find out what's so strange about the so-called Buddha's manifestation. There's no point in getting into trouble unless it's necessary."
The girl in the yellow skirt nodded, and suddenly exclaimed:
"Hey, isn't that Uncle Wen? Why is she here too?"
"Cai Ting?" The woman in white turned her head and glanced out the window, and saw a graceful woman with hip-length hair, wearing a colorful Sichuan brocade dress and a gauze scarf on her face, walking slowly from the other end of the long street.
Next to the woman walked a boy of about sixteen or seventeen. The boy wore brocade clothes and jade belt, and had his hair tied up with a golden crown. He had his hands behind his back, and he had an upright figure, fair skin, a handsome appearance, and a calm demeanor, looking like a prince.
The girl in the yellow skirt looked at the two people who were gradually walking towards the bottom of the restaurant and smiled softly:
"Uncle Wen, where did this noble family young man come from? Look at how arrogant he is. I'm afraid he doesn't even know that he has fallen into the tiger's mouth."
The woman in white frowned slightly, with a hint of doubt in her eyes:
"Your uncle Wen looks a little strange..."
The girl in the yellow skirt asked, "What's wrong?"
The woman in white said, "Have you not figured it out, Xian'er? Your uncle Wen has always lagged behind that young man by half a body length, and his expression is quite cautious..."
Just as he said this, the young man in brocade clothes raised his hand and pointed to a street stall. The woman in colorful clothes immediately walked to the stall, took out copper coins from her purse, bought a candy man, and handed it to the young man with both hands with lowered eyebrows.
The young man in brocade clothes took the candy man, took a bite nonchalantly, and walked forward with a swagger. The woman in colorful clothes followed him closely, with an expression and attitude like a servant.
A hint of surprise flashed across the beautiful eyes of the girl in the yellow skirt:
"This... what's going on with Master Wen... is he playing some kind of trick? Or is that young master too powerful, so Master Wen is using a trick? Give first before you take?"
The woman in white frowned and shook her head: "It doesn't look like..."
After a moment of silence, the woman in white said:
"Xian'er, go and take a look. If you think that Master Wen is just playing around, you don't have to care. If she is trapped, don't act rashly. Come back and report to me."
The girl in the yellow skirt blinked: "But that young man doesn't seem to have any martial arts skills..."
The woman in white said: "Don't be careless. You can hide your true energy in the 'Life and Death Acupoint' to make yourself look like a weak woman with no martial arts skills. How do you know that young man doesn't have similar means?
"Although your uncle Wen specializes in charm and magic, and is not good at fighting and killing, she has practiced for many years after all. In terms of skills alone, she is not much inferior to you. If she is really controlled by that young man, you will probably not get any benefit if you act rashly.
"You need to know that in the martial arts world, there are many talented people. Especially since 20 years ago, the situation has become increasingly complicated, and there are always inexplicable masters, such as the Moon Worshiper, the Four Heroes, Guan Qi, Ye Gucheng, etc., who suddenly appear out of nowhere.
"The world today is no longer as simple as it was when our Saint Sect and the Buddhist Sect were in confrontation. Even I, your teacher, cannot say that I know everything about the martial arts world. You are new to the martial arts world and lack experience. You need to be extra cautious."
The girl in the yellow skirt nodded slightly and said obediently:
"I know, Master! Don't worry, I won't act rashly."
After saying this, she gracefully left the window, walked out of the private room, went down the stairs obediently, and left the young man in brocade clothes and the woman in colorful clothes behind in the distance.
