The water and land puja enters the fifth evening in an orderly manner from exhaustion.

After the four saints and six mortals in the upper and lower halls have been devoutly offered, Baotong will bathe the Buddha statue on the fourth watch day on the sixth day.

The monks, the pleaser, the vena and the deacons are making preparations for the bathing of the Buddha in an orderly manner.

Bathing in the Buddha is a very important part of the water and land puja.

The soup used to bathe the Buddha is soaked in water for a day and night with more than a dozen spices such as red sandalwood, tamoro incense, jataman, white sandalwood, agarwood, musk, etc., and precipitates to remove impurities to obtain fragrant soup.

The statue of Shakyamuni Buddha is enshrined in advance in the Garan Hall. At the beginning of the Buddha bath, the monks will use a solemn ceremony to invite the Buddha statue to the inner altar hall, place it in a fragrant soup basin, and then start bathing the Buddha.

The Bee Eagle was in high spirits and sang all the way, as if it knew where it was going to fly, and the stone followed closely behind.

The Medicine Master's Hall was empty, and the Bee Eagle plunged into it.

"Hehe, you really know how to pick a place, how do you know that there is no one here?"

The bee hawk ignored the stone and circled around a copper basin about the size of a bathtub.

"What's the treasure here?" The stone approached the copper basin, and the aroma was more fragrant than any girl he had ever smelled, and the spices he had smoked.

Why is this basin of water so fragrant, isn't it for a girl's bath? No, what girl would bathe in the monastery!

The stone held out a finger and was about to put it into the basin when a panicked voice came from behind him.

"Don't blaspheme, don't blaspheme!"

The stone withdrew his finger and turned his head to look. A little monk hurriedly walked into the hall with a white face.

"Stone, it's you! Don't make a fuss during the land and water puja, or the mage won't be able to spare us if something goes wrong. The little monk pushed the stone and didn't let him stay in the Medicine Master Hall, and he still regarded the stone as the little demon king before.

"I know, I know, I'm just looking!"

"Nothing to see, let's get out!"

"Don't push me!"

The bee eagle seemed reluctant to leave the Medicine Master Hall, and spread its huge wings to greet the little monk's face.

"Ouch!" The little monk leaned over to dodge and shouted, "Don't overturn the fragrant soup pot!" ”

"What are you doing!" Behind a majestic voice appeared a expected, unsmiling face.

"Prison, prison, little monk ......"

"Shut up, get out, get to work!" It is the prerogative of the prison to not let others finish speaking, or even to let others speak, and it seems that it is also his habit.

On the way out, the little monk collided with the stone in a panic, his shoulder was almost scratched by the claws of the bee eagle, his head hit the door frame, and he almost tripped over the threshold under his feet, and finally got out of the Medicine Master Hall with all kinds of bumps.

"Why are you again?" The sharp light in the prison's eyes seemed to attempt to split the stone in half.

"Me?" The stone pointed to himself, and he didn't understand why the prison said it was him again.

"What time is it, you know?"

"I know ......"

"Land and water puja! The emperor is also there! The prison court specially emphasized the "emperor".

In fact, he didn't need to do more, in the eyes of the stone, the power of the prison was no less than that of the emperor.

Stone was going to stop talking, and even if he didn't, the prison wouldn't let him say a word more.

"Get out, don't go into the temple to trick or treat!"

"Yes, Prison." Stone's nose snorted softly with contempt that only he could hear, and when he turned around, he rolled his eyes, and as soon as he left the gaze of the prison, he shook his hands and strutted with his head high.

The bee hawk makes a high-pitched chirp.

The prison was the most annoying person Shi had ever seen, speaking harsher than his father, and his eyes were more vicious than Nong Qingyun.

He is the opposite of Baotong's kindness and cordiality, just like there must always be black faces and white faces on the stage.

Darkness once again descended on Xuanyuan Temple, and the light of the Buddha at the Water and Land Festival did not stop it from dancing around Xuanyuan Temple.

Darkness breeds evil spirits. They crept into the temple and changed their appearance to make waves.

A dark figure appeared in the Medicine Master's Hall, he poured the fragrant soup in the fragrant soup pot out of the window, poured a bucket of water from the incense soup kitchen, and then left with the empty bucket, silent like a gust of wind.

As soon as the ugly time arrived, the temple began to get busy. The two monks yawned and carried the pot of fragrant soup from the medicine hall to the main hall, and placed two copper spoons beside it.

Before the bell stopped, Baotong, the prison guard, the capital eunuch, Zhu Yuanzhang, and twenty or thirty monks had already stood in order and bowed three times.

After they got up, the monks skillfully performed their duties, leading the way, striking the chime, and traying the tray.

The four core figures of the inner altar who communicated with the four saints and six mortals followed the leading monks.

Everyone recited "Nam Mu Master Shakyamuni Buddha" and came all the way to the Garan Hall.

After entering the hall, Baotong twisted incense, bowed to the Buddha statue three times, and invited the Buddha statue to come out.

The group recited "Nan Wu Master Shakyamuni Buddha" and returned the same way and came to the main hall.

Baotong put the statue of Shakyamuni into the pot of incense soup, and Vina sang "Praise of the incense". Then, Baotong twisted a stick of incense, and a trace of uneasiness flashed between his eyebrows.

The neat sound of chanting took wings, flew up to the eaves, rushed out of the roof, and pierced the sky, spreading the supreme reverence for the Buddha and the merits of cultivation between heaven and earth.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't concentrate anymore, and couldn't help but cast a puzzled look at Baotong, even though he knew that this was really disrespectful in front of the Buddha statue.

Baotong's face did not change, and he recited the scriptures wholeheartedly, without taking Zhu Yuanzhang's uneasiness in his eyes. In his mind, even if he offended the emperor, he could not desecrate the Holy Buddha.

After the Buddha horn sounded, Baotong began to bathe in the Buddha. He picked up the copper spoon next to the fragrant soup basin, scooped a spoonful of fragrant soup, and carefully poured it on the Buddha statue, from top to bottom, from left to right, without missing a single place.

He washed the Buddha statue twice in the same way.

The third time, Baotong used clean water to rinse off the residual fragrant soup before finally completing the rinsing.

During this time, the prison's brows became tighter and tighter, and the prisoner kept taking deep breaths, as if he realized that the air had lost the smell that it should have been.

After washing the Buddha statue, Baotong took a few drops of the fragrant soup water bathed in the Buddha statue and sprinkled it on his head.

The prison guard, the capital eunuch, Zhu Yuanzhang and other monks stepped forward in turn to take a little fragrant soup and sprinkle it on their heads.

More and more monks had puzzled expressions on their faces. The two monks carrying the incense soup basin were already sleepy at this time, and their faces were full of horror and trembling. A storm is coming.

The only calm treasure in the main hall used a clean cotton cloth to wipe off the water stains on the Buddha statue, and began to recite the "Bathing Image Merit Sutra".

The others chanted along, some with dusty thoughts, others so so absorbed that they completely forgot about Hongchen.

After the Buddha bathing ritual was over, Zhu Yuanzhang walked to a secluded place outside the hall to breathe in the air of the mortal world.

Li Shanchang, Hu Weiyong, and the four inner guards stepped forward, and they had already been waiting outside the palace in case the emperor summoned them.

During the water and land puja, the ministers who are qualified to come with Zhu Yuanzhang spend half of their time chanting sutras on the outer altar, and the other half of the time waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang outside the inner altar in turn.

The emperor will never be able to do without people by his side, no matter where he is.

"Your Majesty ......" Hu Weiyong wanted to speak and stopped, he found that Zhu Yuanzhang was upset, but he thought that Zhu Yuanzhang was accompanied by the Buddha and should not anger Long Yan, so he didn't dare to ask, just waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang to confide in his heart.

"Your Majesty, there is still an hour before he is released, do you want to go to the side hall to rest first?" Li Shanchang asked.

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth between the two locust trees.

"The emperor has something on his mind?" Li Shanchang asked again, he and Zhu Yuanzhang have been colleagues for more than ten years, and there is no need to shrink like Hu Weiyong.

"Tsk!" Zhu Yuanzhang looked up at the waning moon hidden in the dark clouds, and sighed heavily, "I'm afraid there is a bad omen." ”

"Huh?" Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong panicked and looked at each other.

"What?" Li Shanchang also looked at the gloomy solitary moon, but he did not grasp the slightest hint of confusion from it.

"The fragrant soup water for bathing the Buddha has no fragrance." Zhu Yuanzhang lowered his voice, as if he was afraid of alarming the unsuspecting Buddha.

"Your Majesty, the minister called the abbot to ask." When he needed to serve the emperor, Hu Weiyong always rushed to be the first.

"Don't ...... I am worried about being disrespectful to the Buddha. ”

"The minister just asks about the situation, not a reprimand. Maybe if he has a reasonable argument, the emperor doesn't have to worry about this matter anymore. Hu Weiyong's delicate and thoughtful mind is unmatched.

"It's fine." Zhu Yuanzhang sighed again.

Soon, Baotong, the capital eunuch, the prison courtyard, and the two monks who carried the incense soup pot all came to the shade of the leafy locust tree.

Bao informed Zhu Yuanzhang what he wanted to ask, so he brought all the monks related to bathing Buddha.

"Master, do you want to use fragrant soup water for this Buddha bath?" Hu Weiyong was very respectful.

"Yes, donor."

"Is this fragrant soup made with spices?"

"Yes, donor."

"If it's made with spices, it must have a fragrance, right?"

"Yes."

"Then why is the fragrant soup used to bathe the Buddha today not fragrant?"

The two monks were already kneeling on the ground, I don't know whether they were kneeling to the emperor or the Buddha, or maybe they were weak because of fear.

"Jingyun, Jingsheng, tell me what's going on?" Baotong asked the two monks.

"We ......," the two said in unison.

One of them gladly stopped when he found that he didn't use the language of the helpless organization like fragments.

"I don't know what's going on...... We ...... "another man is dying."

"Jingyun, don't panic, speak slowly! When you go to carry the fragrant soup basin, is it fragrant soup or pure water in the basin? "Although Baotong is majestic, he is extremely patient.

"It's ...... in the basin" Jingyun tried to remember, but he couldn't think of anything, because he was sleepy all night, and the people and Buddhas he saw, and the sound of chanting and wooden fish he heard were all like they appeared in a dream.

He looked at Jing Sheng, whose eyes were straight, and realized that he was alone.

Jingyun's memory didn't recover, but his logical thinking suddenly recovered due to fright.