Although Tiantai Mountain is not high, Li Jing recalled the situation when he went up the mountain yesterday, and it seemed that it took more than an hour to climb from the foot of the mountain to the halfway point of the Tiantai Temple. According to this estimate, these two monks will need to start climbing the mountain at the latest at the third watch before dawn to climb to their position, so why should they climb the mountain in the middle of the night?

Thinking of this, Li Jing slowly walked out of the mountains and forests, came to the two monks, hugged his fists and asked with a smile: "I am not good at learning the arts, but the two monks are smiling, may I ask what the names of the two monks are called, are you going to visit friends in Tiantai Temple?" ”

The young monk who was called for the empowerment turned his head and glanced at his companion, and when he saw that he nodded at himself, Fang put one palm on his chest, recited the Buddha's name, and replied, "The poor monk has been practicing in Tiantai Temple. ”

Li Jing was taken aback at first when he heard the words of the empowerment and said that he had come from afar, and then he thought that he was speaking with a Guanzhong accent, and anyone could guess that he was not a local, so he replied strangely: "I was entrusted by someone to come to Tiantai Temple to see Master Zhiqi, but unfortunately the master did not return from the mountain, so I had to be allowed by the master of monology in the temple to stay in the temple for the time being, waiting for the master to return to the temple." This Master, do you know where Master Zhiqi went after he came down the mountain? If you are willing to tell each other, I am grateful. ”

Before the empowerment could be answered, his companion, a middle-aged monk who was about fifty years old, had already walked up to Li Jing with a smile and asked him, "Little benefactor, the poor monk and apprentice did meet the person you wanted to see two days ago, but I don't know who you were entrusted by to come to Tiantai Temple to see Zhiqi?" ”

Li Jing heard that the two of them had only met Zhiqi, and he was secretly happy, and he wanted to tell the monk the purpose of asking to see Zhiqi according to the truth, but after thinking about it, he immediately changed his words and asked: "Please forgive me for taking the liberty of being below, I don't know what this senior monk is called?" ”

"Since the little benefactor refuses to tell the poor monk the reason for coming here to ask for wisdom, please return to the temple with the poor monk to see the senior brother of Duyu." The middle-aged monk glanced at the empowerment and said to Li Jing with a smile on his face.

The empowerment understood, and immediately approached Li Jing's side, as if he couldn't be relieved of him, and wanted to escort him back to Tiantai Temple.

Li Jing was anxious to inquire about the whereabouts of Zhiqi from the mouth of the middle-aged monk, so as to find him as soon as possible, and handed over Yang Guang's handwritten letter to him. ”

"A noble person who is far away in Guangling?" The middle-aged monk raised his eyes and stared at Li Jing, and asked in a deep voice, "I don't know if the noble person the little donor said is surnamed Yang or Xiao?" ”

Before Li Jing was ordered to leave from Guangling, Yang Guang had told him that the princess Xiao E and Master Zhiqi had a friendship between master and apprentice, so when the middle-aged monk asked whether the nobleman who sent him here to see Master Zhiqi was surnamed Yang or Xiao, the first thing that came to mind was not to expose his true purpose of coming here in front of people he didn't know, so he replied casually: "The surname of the head of the family is Xiao, and for Master Zhiqi, he can be called an old man." ”

As soon as he said Xiao Zi, he suddenly saw the initiation monk standing beside him make a move, showing his skills in close quarters, and wanted to take him down. Li Jing was startled, and hurriedly jumped to the side, but he was able to avoid the fists and kicks of the empowerment, and lowered his face to shout at him and asked, "Why is the senior monk so rude?" ”

The middle-aged monk waved his hand to stop the initiation, stared at Li Jing with his eyes, and asked in a deep voice: "The little benefactor came to Tiantai Mountain this time, I'm afraid that he didn't want to see Zhiqi, but came to find Senior Brother Dujing, right?" Don't worry, as long as you tell the truth, the poor monk will not embarrass you. ”

Li Jing looked at the middle-aged monk in surprise, then looked at the empowerment standing aside and glared at him angrily, and replied inexplicably: "It is already very clear below, I am here to deliver a letter to Master Zhiqi on the order of the head of the family, and I don't know any Dujing monk at all. If the monk can't believe me, he can ask the master of the monologue. ”

"The poor monk is the wise man, the little donor, who is the head of the family you are talking about?" The middle-aged monk observed his words and looks, and saw that Li Jing did not speak like a lie, so he informed him of his true identity.

"You, the Master of Wisdom? What is the basis? Li Jing had seen a master of soliloquy who was commensurate with his brother yesterday, and he privately guessed that he might be younger than soligo, and there was not much difference, so at this time, when he heard this middle-aged monk claiming to be a master of soligo, he couldn't help but blurt out questions.

At this time, there are monks who got up early in the Tiantai Temple to sprinkle and sweep when they heard the movement on the mountain road outside the temple, and came out of the temple to inspect in twos and threes, and saw three people on the mountain road from a distance, that is, they ran over one after another, and saluted the middle-aged monks: "Welcome the abbot back to the temple." ”

"Is he really the Master of Wisdom?" This time, Li Jing was stunned, and asked the monks who were busy.

"This is not the place to speak, little donor, please follow the poor monk to the abbot of the temple to speak." The middle-aged monk nodded slightly at Li Jing and took the lead in walking towards Tiantai Temple.

The empowered monk and several monks who heard the movement and ran out of the temple to greet Zhiqi were half escorted, and half accompanied Li Jing to follow the middle-aged monk to the abbot of the temple, and the middle-aged monk ordered someone to invite the master of the monolingual, leaving the empowerment alone to detain Li Jing beside him, and asked him coldly: "Say, you came here to ask to see the poor monk, whose letter do you want to convey?" ”

Li Jing had heard the monks in the temple call the middle-aged monk the abbot when he was on the mountain road outside the temple, and he had already believed that he was Master Zhiqi himself, but because of this, he ordered the empowerment and others to escort him all the way back to the center of the temple, so he decided not to see the master of the monologue, and listened to him say that the middle-aged monk was Master Zhiqi, and never explained to him his true intentions, turned his face to the side, and ignored his inquiry.

"Although he is young, he is a righteous man who can keep his mouth shut and be loyal to others!" When the middle-aged monk saw Li Jing like this, he was not annoyed, but praised him, picked up a bowl of tea casually, and sipped it lightly.

After about a quarter of an hour, the master of monologue came to the abbot, and saw Li Jing in the room with his head held high, ignoring the middle-aged monk with an arrogant look, and monolingual couldn't help but laugh at him: "The little donor is very lucky, so he stayed in the temple for a night, and waited for the abbot." Didn't you say that there was a letter to be handed over to the abbot himself, and that he might as well take it out. ”

After listening to the words, Li Jing completely believed that the middle-aged monk in front of him was the master Zhiqi he wanted to see here, so he gave a deep salute to Zhiqi, hugged his fists and apologized: "There are no eyes and beads below, and I don't know the true body of the master, please don't blame the master." ”