Xu Zhizheng was talking to the Shaolin Sanjue, and suddenly heard a rapid and crisp bell from outside the hall. Zhixin said to the abbot: "Senior Brother Abbot, according to your decree, the disciples have been gathered!"

The sincere abbot smiled and said: "Three donors, junior brothers, we don't have to fight in front of the Buddha! You still go to the martial arts arena with the old man and listen to the opinions of the disciples of the whole temple!"

Zhiqing said: "Amitabha! It should have been like this a long time ago, our Shaolin Temple has not held such an uncovered conference for a long time, and it is necessary to convene the whole temple to discuss and debate things like this!"

Zhide, Zhixin, Zhimei, Zhijing and others listened and nodded yes.

Xu Zhi and the three of them followed the Shaolin Three Uniques and came to the martial arts arena in the east chamber of the Shaolin Temple, and saw that this martial arts training ground was very open, hundreds of steps wide, which could accommodate nearly 1,000 monks, and there was a high platform dozens of steps wide in the middle.

Xu Zhi looked around, and saw that there were less than 200 monks in the audience, all of them had yellow muscles and thin muscles, and their limbs were swollen, but their expressions were very peaceful, some monks were hungry and weak, and they were unstable on their feet, so they had to lean on each other, and a small number of monks simply ignored etiquette and sat cross-legged on the ground.

The abbot of Zhicheng led the monks of Zhide, Zhixin, Zhiqing, Jing, and Zhimei to ascend the high platform. Xu Zhi, An Jingsi and Xue Atan didn't dare to take the stage, so they had to stand under the stage with all the disciples. When the monks in the audience saw the abbot coming, they all stood up and greeted him. The sincere abbot waved his hand to the stage, signaling that everyone did not have to salute.

The sincere abbot waved his hand to let the monks sit on the ground, and the monks hesitated for a moment and sat down one after another. The sincere abbot said slowly: "Amitabha, the bell ringing today to gather everyone is to discuss with everyone and decide together a major event related to the life and death of my Shaolin!"

There were bursts of exclamations from the audience, "A matter of life and death?", "No wonder there has been a shortage of food and clothing in the temple recently!", "Yes! No wonder many brothers and sisters have gone down the mountain!". Zhicheng waved his hand to the monks, and took the lead in reciting a sentence "Amitabha, sins and sins!", and the monks in the audience followed along: "Amitabha", and they all looked at the abbot on the stage in surprise.

The abbot of Zhicheng put his hands together, and recited a Buddhist mantra again, before he said: "The monks don't speak, the old man has a thing that has been hidden from everyone, and he is really ashamed! Everyone may not know, at present, there is no rice grain in my Shaolin Temple, and there are strong enemies besieged outside, originally our monks should jump out of the Three Realms, not in the Five Elements, and devote themselves to the Buddha, and have no quarrel with the world, but the court is corrupt, the officers and soldiers are rampant, constantly harassing the peace of the temple, and robbing the rice and grain of my fiefdom, causing hundreds of monks in our temple to starve and starve all over the ground. What a sin!"

As soon as the abbot's words were finished, there was a burst of surprised discussion from the audience: "When did our Shaolin Temple be besieged by the imperial army?" Now there is no rice and grain inside, and there are strong enemies outside, which is really a dilemma inside and outside!", "Abbot, how can that be good?"

The abbot of Zhicheng stopped the discussion under the stage, and continued: "Although Lao Gao is the abbot of this temple, but Shaolin's hundreds of years of foundation has been inherited, and it should not be destroyed in the hands of Lao Gao, Lao Gao also discussed with several first seats, this matter is very important, Lao Gao does not dare to act arbitrarily, and now the big trouble is at the head, Lao Gao only the opinions of the monks are followed, all monks are equal regardless of their seniority and position, and please express your own opinions!"

As soon as the abbot's words were finished, the monk in the middle of the audience stood up and shouted: "The abbot and the two first seats are on the top, although the disciples are monks, they are also flesh and blood, and the ants are still stealing life, and we are also born of the essence and blood of our parents, how can we not care about our own lives!

Another monk complained bitterly: "Abbot, we eat wild vegetables and fruits every day, and we haven't smelled the aroma of porridge for a month, so how can I have the strength to chant and worship the Buddha? If there is no way to live, I would rather take off this robe and go down the mountain to return to the world!" As soon as he finished speaking, several monks echoed the hustle and bustle.

Xu Zhi saw a young monk next to him standing up, this person was the eldest disciple of Zhide Zen Master, only to see him say: "Master Abbot, the two masters of Dharma Hall and Luohan Hall, you may not know, our monk monks have recently left a few more, they really can't bear the taste of being starved to death, and now even the thirteen stick monks of Luohan Hall are less than ten people left!

Before he finished speaking, the dust beside him interjected: "Isn't it possible that the thirteen stick monks can't be gathered, and there are also many disciples in the Dharma Hall, so in the past, our Shaolin will not last long, if we are not trapped to death, we will be attacked by the imperial court, how is this good?"

After finishing speaking, Li Yin interrupted: "Lichen, you are still the senior brother of Luohan Hall, do you have a little blood? How can you be good? If you want me to see, both horizontal and vertical are a death, it is better for everyone to take the initiative to fight out of the encirclement and solve the trap of Shaolin!"

His words won a lot of applause from the audience, and he obviously said what the monks didn't dare to say.

Zhixin listened to the words of the cause, and he was also in a mood, and he said to the abbot: "Senior brother abbot, you have also heard, we can't sit still, we must turn passive into active, the most important thing at the moment is to solve the problem of food shortage in Shaolin Temple! Save the lives of thousands of living beings in the temple!"

Zhide also persuaded: "Senior Brother Abbot! What Zhixin Senior Brother said is reasonable! We must not only solve the problem of eating in the whole temple, but also reorganize the warrior monks of Shaolin who protect the temple, rebuild the thirteen stick monks and the eighteen Arhat array, stabilize the people's hearts, and reorganize the reputation of Shaolin!"

Zhiqing, Zhijing, and Zhimei also persuaded: "Now the whole temple has the same hatred, and I also ask the abbot to obey the wishes of the monks!"

The sincere abbot listened to the words of the monks, knew that the human heart was available, and no longer hesitated in his heart, and said loudly: "Your opinions, the old man has heard clearly, we Shaolin have been supporting justice since ancient times, and now the world is dark, the officers and soldiers are rampant, and the people are hot, and our Shaolin Temple can not stay out of the world, only by subduing demons and eliminating demons can we save the world, my Shaolin disciples do not hesitate to burn jade, but also to break the dilemma set by the imperial court for us, and reorganize the righteous spirit of Shaolin!"

The abbot of Zhicheng repeatedly listened to the introduction of the Zhixin Zen Master and Xu Zhi to the officers and soldiers stationed under the mountain, and carefully discussed with several senior monks on the stage, and continued: "From today on, my Shaolin monks must guard their own gates, and cannot let the villains take advantage of the void to enter and spy on the reality; there is also a melon and fruit field in the back mountain under the control of our temple, and our monks have no desire or desire, these melons and fruits should be able to last for a period of time, during this time, we must find a way to recapture the fiefdom under the mountain as soon as possible and get food. In order to stimulate the fighting spirit of the whole temple not to be afraid of evil, a ring competition was held in the martial arts field a month later, and the monks of the temple were rebuilt to strengthen the defense of the temple!"

After the sincere abbot finished speaking, the audience cheered. Seeing that the abbot was high-spirited and determined to fight, all the monks swept away the gloom in their hearts, thinking that as long as the whole temple worked together, it would not be far from breaking the dilemma of internal and external troubles and restoring the reputation of Shaolin.

In addition, Xu Zhi, Xue Atan and An Jingsi settled down in Shaolin Temple, and the abbot let them live in the wing room of the outer courtyard of Shaolin Temple with the monks of the Guardian Academy, these monks are the disciples of the high-ranking monks such as Zhicheng, Zhide, Zhixin, and Zhiqing, and are divided into two factions, namely the Dharma Academy and the Luohan Hall, which are managed and dispatched by the first Zhide of the Dharma Academy and the first Zhixin of the Luohan Hall.

Zhide Zen Master also has to assist the abbot in the temple on weekdays to be busy with many secular affairs such as civil construction, meditation, welcoming guests, and worshipping Buddha, so he neglects to manage the disciples of the Dharma Academy.

Because although he is fair and honest, he is short-tempered, and often disagrees with his junior brothers, so he scolds and blames him, so his junior brothers and disciples are all respectful of him. The second senior brother is older, has a gentle temperament, and treats people with humility and courtesy, so these disciples are very afraid of the cause, but they are closer to the second senior brother Likong.

This time, Shaolin lacked food and clothing, and several disciples of the Dharma Hall didn't know what the reason was, so they first made a noise and clamored to leave the Shaolin Temple to return to the world. Because he couldn't stop it, he had to ask the empty to help persuade him, but he couldn't do anything about it, and the eleven disciples defected to three people, but the senior brother of the Luohan Hall was very methodical, and none of the eleven junior disciples defected, which also made the Zhide Zen master lose face in front of the abbot. Therefore, the Zhide Zen Master turned on a tiger face and became more and more harsh on his disciples.

Xu Zhi, Xue Atan, and An Jingsi saw that there were many people in Luohan Hall, so it was inconvenient to disturb them. I had to live with the seven disciples of the Dharma Academy, who knew the cause, emptiness, look, smell, anger, ignorance, and reversal.

That night, because of the boredom in his heart, he didn't pay much attention to Xu Zhi and the three of them, but the second senior brother was very attentive, and surrounded the three of them to ask this and that, some talked and laughed, and they were very affectionate.

Xu Zhi thanked him: "Thanks to the abbot and all the senior brothers for taking me in, the three of us brothers have a fixed place to live in Shaolin!

Because he was lazily half lying on the bed, he finally snorted: "It's easy to say!"

He was the youngest of several disciples, similar to An Jingsi. He saw that An Jingsi was a little shy in front of everyone and didn't speak much, so he hurriedly ran to An Jingsi's side and said, "Little donor, you also came from outside with them, my name is Dian, what's your name?", An Jingsi told Diansi happily, and the two children went to play without any scruples.

He sat down beside Xu Zhi and asked, "Master Xu, are you from Jinshan Temple in the south of the Yangtze River?" I heard that you have come to Shaolin Temple with great difficulty, but the abbot and Zhixin Zen Master do not want to take you in?"

Xu Zhi replied: "Yes, the three of us brothers walked a long way to come to the Shaolin Temple, but we didn't expect to be close to the mountain gate, and there were some misunderstandings with the Zhixin Zen Master and the Lichen Master in the melon field and plum! We are not Shaolin disciples, and it is understandable that the abbot will not take us in!"

After hearing this, he sighed: "I see, we thought that you had stolen a few melons and fruits in the melon field, offended Master Zhixin, and he deliberately wanted to declare a personal vendetta?"

Wen also leaned over and interjected: "Not only is it a foolish junior brother, but I and a few senior brothers heard the news, and we also felt that this dust was too unkind, and we were secretly indignant for you?"

Xu Zhi and Xue Atan hurriedly expressed their gratitude.

As soon as he heard Chen's name, he suddenly became interested, jumped up from the bed, and asked, "Master Xu, what kind of misunderstanding happened between you and Chen?"

Xue Atan saw the senior brother asking, and immediately became interested, and he deliberately added how Zhixin and Lichen slandered them for stealing, and how they started to do it without saying a word.

Because the person is very upright, he scolded: "This Lichen is the senior brother of the Luohan Hall, relying on the favor of the abbot and the first seat, and he is too reckless, even the master of Zhixin is too gullible to believe him!"

Likong continued: "Who says it's not? This Lichen is not as upright as our senior brother, he has done some shady things, and now not only those fools in the Luohan Hall, but also the abbot has been deceived by his disguise!"

Although Wangwang is the third senior brother, he has no opinions, and he has always looked forward to the senior brother and the second senior brother, and hurriedly echoed: "What the second senior brother said is that no matter how I look at the dust, I am not as straightforward and reasonable as our senior brother!"

Xu Zhi and Xue Atan also took the opportunity to compliment the senior brother a lot, but because they were very useful after listening to it, they no longer regarded Xu Zhi and them as outsiders, as if they were senior brothers, and admonished: "Brother Xu, Brother Xue, the three of you are new to the city, and you don't know that there are many scary rules in this Shaolin Temple. Fortunately, you are not Shaolin disciples, but there are three things I hope you will keep in mind: first, it is forbidden to make loud noises during the period when the monks participate in meditation; second, the places where the monks practice martial arts, the Thousand Buddha Hall, the Baiyun Palace, and the martial arts field, are forbidden to enter without the permission of the abbot and several senior monks; and the third is that it is forbidden to drink alcohol and eat meat in the Shaolin Temple, as well as killing!"

Xu Zhi and Xue Atan hurriedly stood up, listened carefully, and said, "I respect the teachings of Senior Brother!"

Seeing it, he said with a smile: "Senior brother, why are you talking and talking, you become serious, just like the first seat of the Discipline Academy, Xu Zhi and they are guests when they first came, and besides, they are not Shaolin disciples, and now I tell them about the three hundred and eighty Shaolin precepts, isn't it to scare them away! Let's just say the third one, we can't even drink porridge now, and what do we say about drinking and eating meat, it's really out of place!"

Likong also persuaded: "Senior brother, what the third senior brother said is that Xu Zhi and they have just arrived, we still have to try to help them as much as possible, we can't let those people in Luohan Hall laugh at us for not knowing how to be hospitable!"

After listening to Wang's words, he was extremely unhappy in his heart, and reprimanded: "I'm still not your senior brother, I explain to Xu Zhi and them clearly the rules in the temple, and also let them avoid detours, what do you all think!

Seeing that Senior Brother was in a bad mood, he was afraid of arguing with him face to face, so he secretly gave him a look, looked at him, stood up and said, "Senior Brother remember Senior Brother's teachings, by the way, I almost forgot, Senior Brother Kong, we have to go to the back mountain to practice every night!"

After looking at it, he said goodbye to all the senior brothers, and went straight out with the air.

Xu Zhi saw that there was some estrangement between the senior brothers, so he didn't talk, but An Jingsi listened, ran from the side, and asked curiously: "Senior Brother Liwen, how can Senior Brother Likong be a half-way monk? What did he do, why did he come to Shaolin Temple to be a monk?"

Wen Wen replied: "I have to ask Senior Brother about this matter, we all started later than Second Senior Brother, and we don't know the reason!"

Xue Atan also said: "Senior Brother Liyin, you told us about Senior Brother Kong's past, we really want to hear it!"

Seeing that Xu Zhi and the three of them were all looking at him with curiosity, Zhi Wu said: "Although I am earlier than the empty entrance, but I also know nothing about his past, I only know that he was originally a wealthy businessman in Luoyang, and later took his family to be robbed by a group of officers and soldiers on the way through Dengfeng, as a result, his wife was separated, and his belongings were also looted, and he was seriously injured. He lived in the Shaolin Temple for a long time to heal, and finally under the influence of the Shaolin Three Uniques, he finally abandoned the wealth of the world and escaped into the empty door.

Xu Zhi sighed: "It turns out that the second senior brother's life experience is so miserable!"

He sighed: "It's really a lot of right and wrong to wear a robe, I'm not afraid of Xu Zhi's jokes, our senior brothers were not originally dedicated to the Buddha, but in troubled times, they couldn't help themselves, and escaped into Buddhism, and now this monk is almost unable to be, only follow me to the west of the Buddha to this road!"

Xu Zhi comforted: "Senior brother, don't be discouraged, my Buddha's compassion will definitely save all sentient beings in this world!"

Li Yin waved his hand and said, "Xu Zhi, let's not talk about these old things." By the way, the superintendent of the temple has instructed: you will go with us to fetch water outside the temple early tomorrow morning, then go to the firewood room to chop firewood, and go to clean the Tibetan Scripture Pavilion in the afternoon!"

Xu Zhi and the three of them agreed one by one.

Everyone chatted until midnight, and then they saw the empty and looked at the sky and came back tired. Seeing that it was late at night, he hurriedly beckoned everyone to rest early, and he would go to the temple early tomorrow morning to fetch water and chop wood.