Since Chu Xuanming and Ishihara encountered a waterfall and entered the dense forest, it was difficult to catch a hare because of the dense forest and deep grass, and for several days, they could only rely on picking some wild fruits to satisfy their hunger. On this day, I walked until noon, and suddenly saw a decaying courtyard not far away, with green smoke curling in the courtyard, and a smell of meat came to my face.

Chu Xuanming and Yun Shaoqing smelled the aroma of meat, and they felt that it was someone doing the Heavenly Palace Immortal Banquet, and their stomachs were even more growling, and the starved Venus turned into a fat roast duck, scurrying around them. The two of them didn't care about anything else, shook off their thighs, and ran in the direction of the small courtyard.

Although Ishihara was obese, he left Chu Xuanming, who had always been smart, behind at this time, and walked to the temple gate first. The temple door suddenly creaked, and a corner was opened, and the two of them couldn't help but stop when they saw that it seemed to be someone.

Seeing a person drill out of the door, this person is about six feet tall, with a wide body, shaved his head and brushed the dust, wearing a Taoist robe with Buddhist beads on his chest, his hands folded but preaching a trumpet, and a sound of immeasurable Tianzun exited, and he made a joke in the dust: "Ah, rare guests, donor, please come inside." ”

Chu Xuanming and the two were wondering to themselves, and a small bald head poked out of the knocker of the temple gate, about eight or nine years old, with a small bald head, a bright head and a round face, black and white eyes, and his eyes swept towards Chu Xuanming and the two, and his body had flashed out of the door, and he shouted at the big bald head:

"Hey, I said how you ran faster than a rabbit, and you dared to love a living person. ”

After the little bald head finished speaking, he turned to Chu Xuanming and said playfully: "Are the two donors staying in the hotel or playing sharp? We have two thatched huts, if the two of you live in one together, or, still, alas-" Before the words were finished, the man had already laughed, and the little bald head was already embarrassed in the end, and when he saw the big monk laughing, he suddenly leaned over and grabbed the ground and laughed.

Chu Xuanming saw that these two people described their behavior like this, they were not monks, and they spoke like hotel guys. couldn't help but be laughed, held back his hunger, bowed down to the big bald head and said, "Take the liberty of asking, is the master a monk or a Taoist?"

I only heard the big bald head reply: "Ha, monks, Taoists, Taoists, monks, if you say what you say, just call me a monk, call me a monk and call me a Taoist, if you ask with your heart, I enter the Buddha from the Tao, cultivate the Tao to serve the Buddha's heart, hold the Buddha's wish to cultivate the Tao, the jade of the Tao, the Buddha of all Buddhas, the Tao is the Buddha, the Buddha is the Tao." What do you think the donor should call me?"

Chu Xuanming had only heard of how monks and Taoist priests dressed up, but he had never seen a real monk or Taoist, let alone what the law and Buddhism were, so he was confused, knowing that he was too shallow to enter the world and knew too few things, so he had to say shyly:

"Although I don't understand, but I feel that although the master is dressed differently, it is not as conspicuous as the bald head, and at the beginning of the question, I inadvertently called the master as the master, and the kid took the liberty to think that since this is the case, it is more appropriate to call the master. ”

After listening to this, the "master" showed a look of appreciation, and just wanted to speak, only to hear the little bald head grab the white and say: "Haha, 'call the master to be the master', the donor's words are really wonderful!" and then looked at the "big bald head", and then said: "Your words are the master, but the Buddha heart, the Tao has no Buddha heart, I think the donor is asking the expression, just want to know how to call it, but your "master" answers the question you didn't ask. I didn't feel the profundity of the master, but I saw the master's artificiality. ”

After listening to the last sentence, Chu Xuanming and the others both felt that the little bald head was too heavy, and they saw that the "master" did not take it as a pestle, and said freely: "The words of the little master are really spring thunder, I haven't seen anyone for a long time, I am very bored, I say a few more words, but I have a heart and no intention, I committed a greedy precept, and I ended up in a good place." After speaking, he smiled slightly, and said to Chu Xuanming and the others, and said: "The benefactor is good, I have now entered the Buddha family to practice Buddhism, and I have obtained the Dharma name Cause and Effect, and I am called the Cause and Effect Monk," and pointed to the little bald head, "This is my little apprentice, and the Dharma name is the cause." ”

Chu Xuanming and the two heard that the two bald heads were in a master-apprentice relationship, but because of the words and deeds of the little master, they had no respect and humility between master and apprentice, and they were curious and wanted to ask but knew that it was their own business, and they were ashamed to speak.

The master of cause and effect seemed to see through the thoughts of the two, and said: "The two donors are not surprised, our master and apprentice are also teachers and friends, only in the Dharma, never distinguish between dignity and inferiority, and the relationship between master and apprentice is even more superficial. If there were Buddhas before they came into the world, and there were Taoist friends before the Three Pure Paths, if they always had to perform the full number of rituals, wouldn't they be ashamed of the teachers of the past......"

Seeing that the master was going to continue, the little monk couldn't help but sneer: "The names of the two donors haven't been known yet, so you are rambling endlessly, looking at their faces, they must be very hungry, come with me to the courtyard to eat some food." ”

"Yes, yes, yes. ”

Hearing the meal, Ishihara fell out of the corner of his mouth with a long string of halas, he hurriedly covered his mouth and stopped talking, how could there be time for the big monk to say that the sky was falling, and a cigarette followed the little master into the inner courtyard, Chu Xuanming had to report the names of the two and followed Ishihara into the courtyard.

The thatched hut in the courtyard is open and sitting, one in the east, one in the west, and one in the north, and the main room in the north has collapsed and dilapidated, and only the two huts in the east and west seem to be still habitable.

At this time, on the stone table in the middle of the courtyard, Ishihara and Chu Xuanming were tearing a roasted hare and eating seaweed.

"Good, well, good, delicious. ”

"Ishihara, slow down, hey, that thigh should be mine, I said, you, you have to grab the rabbit ass!"

"Hmm~, Shi Ye, my thighs and buttocks are so much fatter than yours, of course I have to eat more to make up for it. ”

Seeing that the rabbit bones were about to be eaten, the little monk said:

"Master, they're done eating, what are we going to eat?"

When Chu Xuanming and Ishihara heard this, they remembered that their masters hadn't eaten yet.

"Eat it all after eating, I've already opened the valley, and you are born not hungry if you don't eat, if you want to fight the tooth sacrifice, come back next time." ”

When Chu Xuanming heard the words of the master of cause and effect, he admired in his heart: The masters outside the world are really different!

The causal monk finished speaking lightly, but he heard a sound of "coo!" at his Adam's apple, and the sound was so loud that Chu Xuanming's admiration in his heart suddenly changed to exclamation: What a mouthful of saliva this is!

Chu Xuanming put down the food in his hand and asked the causal monk embarrassedly: "Bigu has heard it before, saying that it is possible to go without food all day long without hunger, is it really so magical?"

"Haha, nature is magical, but Bigu is only the beginning of cultivation. ”

Chu Xuanming thought of this, and felt that if he learned the method of opening the valley, even if he didn't know how to hunt, he would not worry about filling his stomach, and he would bow down and say:

"I beg the master to teach me the way of cultivation. ”

"Alas, the old man's words just now are only half of what he said, Bigu is just the beginning of cultivation, and it is also a moat of cultivation, or because of fate, or because of qualifications, or because of patience, there are many mortals, but there are many fewer people who have cultivated to the realm of Bigu, or there is still a starvation in the world. ”

"It's my fate to meet the master, and I will persevere in practicing the immortal method, but this is just this qualification-" Chu Xuanming looked at the master of cause and effect.

"The qualifications of the donor-" The master of cause and effect seemed to think of something, and suddenly shook his head and said: "Alas, I am not the destined master of the donor, and the old monk is powerless. ”

Chu Xuanming sighed silently when he heard the cause and effect answer. He also hoped that practicing the Dao Fa would be able to solve the mystery on his right hand, and it seemed that he might be suffering for the rest of his life.

"What's good about not eating, the food in the world is only fragrant when I'm hungry, and on that basis, I won't go to the Tao. Boom-" Ishihara finished and continued to suck on the fleshless bones.

When the causal monk heard this, he smiled and said: "Haha, what Master Shi said is reasonable, practicing Taoism is a lot more than many troubles of mortals, and it is not necessarily bad to be plain, I hope Master Shi can hold this thought for a long time, but is this hare——"

"Goo-dong!"

Ishihara heard the sound of the Adam's apple of the master of cause and effect, and suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, hurriedly buried his head lower, opened his mouth, and stuffed the remaining rabbit meat, including the belt bone.

The other three were dumbfounded: the bones are also swallowed, aren't they afraid of getting stuck?

night

Chu Xuanming lay on the bed, looking at the roof in a daze. It was the first time in a few days that he had a good rest, but it was the hardest night to sleep.

Chu Xuanming gently raised his right hand and looked at his palm, which had a long scar in the middle of his palm, which was the one who disrupted his life and broke everything beautiful a few days ago.

At this time, this scar, like an ugly bug lying in the palm of his hand, the candlelight flickering, the worm seems to be slowly wriggling, maybe one day, that strange eye will open up, let the world know that he is a disgusting monster.

Under the candlelight, the roof looked very low, which made him feel bored for a while, maybe this was the reason why he couldn't sleep. He got up, pushed the door open, and walked outside.

Under the faint moonlight, the hazy mist shrouded in the mountains and forests appeared, thin, wet, cold and sticky on the clothes.

Chu Xuanming walked out of the courtyard and saw a person standing on the dirt slope not far away, standing with his hands in his hands, and the person was standing quietly, letting the Buddha merge with the night.

When I got closer, it turned out to be Ishihara, but his chubby figure looked extremely serious.

"You can't sleep either?" Chu Xuanming stood behind him.

As if he hadn't heard it, a gust of wind came out, and the mist was gently blown away, making the woods appear even deeper.

Long.

"The vicissitudes of the sea, the world is changing, do you say?" Ishihara still stared into the depths of the woods, and the forest was watching the beautiful fairies in the mountains and forests.

The world is changing, yes, Chu Xuanming thought of the life that was normal a few days ago, and in the blink of an eye, he could no longer have it, the vicissitudes of life, but that's it.

"Tomorrow, you and I will build a bamboo raft and go eastward along the river, and in addition, keep your mind. Ishihara said softly.

Ishihara's words tonight were stranger and stranger, but Chu Xuanming didn't answer, and he didn't notice that Ishihara had disappeared into the night, because his every word touched his heart.

At this time, when it came to guarding his mind, he slowly raised his right hand again, because all the changes in life seemed to be inseparable from this strange scar, and all the remorse, pain, and sorrow were caused by it.

Guard his heart, but who will guard himself.

Suddenly, he felt so resentful, resentful of his father who left him, resentful of his mother who never woke up, and even, resentful of Ishihara, resentful of the old monk, resentful of everything. They have all abandoned themselves, and the only thing that accompanies them is the scars on their hands.

The scar, the ugly reptile, is slowly opening its eyes at this time......