Volume 1 The First Journey into the Rivers and Lakes Chapter 71 Where are the Ten Prefectures Going?
The West Desert is also the West Desert. As one of the ten states in the world, the name of the desolate land is called Lingzhou. Where did Lingzhou get its name? It is only because there are four spiritual temples in the Western Desert. The mountains are not high, but the immortals are spiritual. The water is not deep, and if there is a dragon, it will be spiritual. The temple is not in the macro, there is a Buddha and a spirit. Hanshan Temple, Hongfa Temple, Hanging Temple, and Lingyin Temple are four famous temples in the world, all of which are in the Western Desert. Gather spiritual energy and have water sources, and disperse spiritual energy and have pasture. There are thousands of miles of sand here, and there are not many pastures. It's just that people have sinned too much and don't want to repent. This is what the four monasteries say about supervising the ruling herdsmen. Therefore, eight or nine out of ten herdsmen believe in Buddhism, and nine out of ten herdsmen are Buddhists.
Monks are particular about desirelessness, but they also have to show sincerity to the Buddha. The Buddha suffered a lot during his lifetime, just to spend all living beings and shine on the desolate land. Then he deserves to be admired by all people after his death. So the gorgeous and solemn temple was raised, and the golden Buddha statue was cast and fell to the ground. When asked about the cause, the reply was that the sin was too serious, and it was not caused by chance and could not be sought from the Buddha. He also asked why it was a chance. Answer: Don't say, don't say. Therefore, you need to knock on the door to enter the Buddha, and the door is open to enter, which is the opportunity to come. If you are closed, please leave on your own.
In the desolate western desert, there is not half a field. Often, it can only survive by occupying pastures and water. There will be fights among people, and over time, there will be forces. When power arises, all strata emerge. Buddhas, monks, ranchers, horses, cattle, herdsmen, and slaves are strictly hierarchical.
Wei Jing drove the carriage, looking at the boundless desert, and faintly saw one or two long Bai Lian. He knew it was a river that the herders valued as a source of water. And the tents next to Bai Lian were like a few buttons, firmly blocking Bai Lian. Wei Jingbian set up a carriage and rushed to one of them. The horses needed water, and he needed to wash his face from the mistreatment of the sand.
He had seen some tools, and he had learned some of them in the days he had been in the desert. This is what is used to pan for gold in the sand. There were shovels, hoes, etc., and there were not only rust stains on them, but also some blackened blood stains on the handles.
Horses will also choose to stay away from this smelly place when they drink water. Wei Jingbian knew that this was the stench emitted by the decomposing corpse. Sure enough, there were some visible white bones and some tattered strips of coarse cloth hidden in the grass not far away.
The prince will not dismount. Wei Jingbian didn't ask, patted the horse's buttocks, then took the horses back, put the frame firmly down, and the four horses were in place one by one, and they started a new journey. It didn't take long for a few strange bird calls to come from behind him, and without looking back, Wei Jingbian could guess that those were just birds pecking at carrion.
The desert is not full of sand, otherwise Wei Jingbian's fairly fair face will be completely ruined. Where there is a water source and a lawn, it is a small village or pasture. The moonlight was getting brighter, and the pale yellow flames from the night firelight were even more eye-catching. Wei Jingbian was lucky to see people singing and dancing in a circle around the bonfire. This ritual can only be seen by herders who seek equality in life. The gray and white tents are scattered with each other, without any rules to speak of, like small chess pieces accidentally scattered on the ground by a child.
Here, the herdsmen are equipped with a large scimitar with an exaggerated arc, and women and children are equipped with self-defense objects, such as knives and daggers. They wanted to protect their lives and their sacred property, and these swordsmen who could kill became a necessity. There were also several tables around the campfire, and some of the men were drinking and chatting. They held silver cups in one hand, and grabbed meat with the other, gulping it down. Their dirty trouser legs and rolled up yellowed sleeves show the tiredness of the day. The women greet the children.
Wei Jingbian's heart was light, and after getting out of the carriage, he folded his hands and walked into the crowd familiarly. In a few moments, he didn't spend much on the night's resting place. The prince in the carriage does not have to live in these crowds, but the huge carriage is always easy to be disturbed when it stops in the wilderness at night. Ever since they came from Hanshan Temple, they have been stared at. After killing dozens of robbers in one night, after being a little tired, Wei Jingbian began to ask Gongzi's opinion. They decided that they had to find a ranch to live in, and it was much better.
The life of the herdsmen is always colorful, their faces are full of joy, and the enthusiasm that naturally exudes is infecting Wei Jingbian, if it is not for the task, Wei Jingbian may also have a big drink, and then join the happy crowd. Happy hours always go very quickly, and just as the campfire dance is about to end, an uninvited guest arrives.
It was a little monk with no shoes and only a robe on his upper body. He is very young. Although these herdsmen are wandering on the edge of the Western Desert, they also know that if they are monks, they are people they cannot afford to offend. As soon as the monks stepped into the tribe, they enjoyed the prostrations of these fanatical believers and the kisses of some of them. These kisses, naturally, are not cheek kisses, but instep kisses. Although the monk had been on the road for a day, his feet still looked extremely clean. His face was slightly yellow, but his feet were unusually white. The believers are accustomed to this, and not only do they express this action as extremely calm and natural, but even more, the smile on their faces seems to be a kind of enjoyment, a kind of glory. The monk didn't say much, but pointed to a tent to rest and stay, and strolled in. The native-born herders did not know the rules, and they enthusiastically brought wine, fresh goat's milk, meat and, of course, some jewelry, to the tent. The people who went to serve were naturally the two most beautiful and beautiful girls in the tribe.
After spending the night peacefully, the girls walked out of the tent with smiles on their faces. It's the rule. The rules set by the monks are also the rules set by the Buddha.
Before leaving, Wei Jingbian exchanged some meat and wine from the herdsmen, and some of the treasures he had from the robbers were not distressed to spend. The herdsmen saw off the extravagant stranger, and looked at the carriage drawn by the four horses, and the herdsmen waved their hands one after another, and the smiles on their faces were quite sincere. Wei Jingbian left this place, the grassland here is fertile, and there are many water sources, but how long can the herdsmen live here? Under the oppression of monks, robbers, and layers, this is a difficult problem that the herdsmen have to face.
Wei Jingbian found another lake, he began to understand the purpose of the prince brought him, he has excellent vision, and his luck is not bad, he can always find a water source. Of course, he can only say these words in his heart. The prince may not pay attention to him. He came to the green lake, and across the lake he saw a group of men feeding the horses and resting. Some nibbled on jerky and drank wine or water. After a while, two or three men noticed this, Wei Jingbian was not afraid, he was not slow, but he had to fill several large bags of water before leaving, which took a lot of time. His hands kept moving, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw four or five of the group, skirting the lake and walking towards the carriage. But as soon as they were halfway there, some of them shouted words that Wei Jingbian didn't understand, and then retreated. This time, it was a retreat that ran away. He turned his head to look in the direction that the four or five people were looking, and found that it was the monk from last night, who was standing on top of the sand dune at this time. Turning around, the group of suspected robbers got on their horses and left this place of right and wrong quickly, so fast that Wei Jingbian chuckled.
The monk does not speak, does not move, and standing here, he is already a plague-like existence. In this Lingzhou, the status of monks is outrageous. The robbers were not believers, but they were also afraid of the Buddha, and even more afraid of the Buddha's spokesman in the world. The monks killed people, but they were much more fierce than they were.
Wei Jingbian didn't look at the plague-like existence, and put the water bladder that had been filled with water on top of the carriage, which had a hidden compartment in front of the carriage and was cleverly designed to put down several bags of water and some wine and meat. The prince didn't speak, so he didn't need to pay attention to the monk. Because Gongzi doesn't believe in Buddhism, he doesn't believe in Buddhism either. As for the spokesperson of the Buddha, what kind of thing is that to him?
"Amitabha, donor, please stay. The monk spoke for the first time.
Wei Jing asked, "What's the matter?" This didn't sound very respectful, and even a little impatient.
The monk saw that there was no movement in the carriage, and there was no sound coming out, knowing that Wei Jing outside the carriage could also represent the person's attitude, and said, "Dare to ask why you passed through the gate of my Hanshan Temple and didn't enter?"
This is not a question, but a reprimand.
Wei Jingbian understood that the posture of this little monk was clearly blaming him for why Wei Jingbian did not respect them Hanshan Temple, and even more so reprimanded them, why did he dare not respect the Buddha.
Wei Jing said with a smile: "The opportunity has not arrived, and you will not enter the cold mountain." He changed his fear of entering the cold mountain to not entering the cold mountain, so as to make himself not weak. According to his assumption, once he said that he didn't dare, I was afraid that the monk would dare to ask anything. Besides, what the prince said and listened to himself that day, I'm afraid it will be even tougher. "Hanshan Temple is small, not worth entering. He just changed a few words, changed his words.
"Is it because the opportunity has not yet arrived, or is there a ghost in my heart and I dare not enter?" the monk said coldly.
Wei Jingbian smiled slightly, glad that he didn't say anything just now and didn't dare to enter, otherwise he would be told by this monk again. But now it doesn't make a difference whether you change it or not, and it is still figured out by the monk that "there is a ghost in my heart and I dare not enter". In that case, why should he be polite?
He smiled contemptuously: "If the opportunity has not arrived, the opportunity has not arrived." If you don't enter the temple, there are ghosts, then I don't know how many ghosts there are in the ten states in the world? If you really have the ability in Hanshan Temple, why don't you ask them why they don't enter Hanshan Temple? Besides, if you really have the ability in Hanshan Temple, how can you be willing to live in seclusion on the edge of this desolate desert? If you really have the ability in this ten states in the world, why can't you go?"
The ten states in the world are so big that you can't go anywhere. These words have completely offended this monk to death. Hanshan Temple lives in the desert, and even the four major temples live in the desert, and these stories cannot be passed on.