At first, the old woman only shed tears and did not speak. Later, there were more and more people around, and the old woman even cried and complained. It turned out that more than ten miles outside the south gate, there was a carpenter surnamed Zhang, because of his ordinary craftsmanship, not many people hired him to make woodware. Carpenter Zhang has only one old mother, who is sixty or seventy years old, and has no wife or children. Although Carpenter Zhang can't be filial to his mother on weekdays, the neighbors on the left and right haven't seen him disobedient. ”

This year, because of the poor harvest in the fields, fewer people hired carpenters to do the work, and Zhang Carpenter gradually became unable to support his mother. Somehow, Carpenter Zhang suddenly became vicious, and thought to himself: If it weren't for the fact that I was stumbling over this old mother, I could go all over the world alone, and I would still be afraid that I would have no food to eat? Why don't I buy some arsenic frost, poison my old mother, and go out alone? Carpenter Zhang came up with this idea, so he ran to the pharmacy, said that he wanted to poison the mouse, and bought a pack of arsenic and frost. ”

"Then he went to an acquaintance's house and borrowed two liters of rice, brought it home to his mother, and said, 'Today, your old man can cook and eat by himself.' I still have something to do to go out, and I won't be able to go home until night. There is also a bag of good things here, and after the rice is cooked, I mix this bag of things in the rice, and the rice is very delicious, and I don't need any food, and I can eat it for a few days without hunger. His mother believed and received it with joy. Carpenter Zhang then walked out.

"His mother was just about to wash rice and cook rice, when she suddenly heard someone outside chanting aloud, 'Amitabha.' When Zhang's mother walked out to look, she saw an old monk, tall, wearing a big red robe, holding a purple bowl in his left hand, holding a deadwood Zen staff in his right hand, and a gray-faced leather robe hanging on his right arm, standing at the gate and saying to Zhang's mother: "The old monk is a special monk who has come to the mansion to make a fate, but I am not white, as long as I can give me ten strings of money, my leather robe will stay here." Zhang's mother said: "Poor, pitiful! My family doesn't even have food, where did I get the ten strings of money, please go to another family." ’”

The old monk said: "There are no ten strings of money, and less will be made." Mother Zhang said: "My family doesn't have a copper coin, what can I give to the master?" The old monk said: "There is really no money, and rice can be used." 'Mother Zhang's mother:

'I only have two litres of rice at home, and my son just brought it back. The old monk said: "Even if it is two liters of rice, I don't need this leather robe, stay here, and wear it for your son!" Zhang's mother was very happy when she saw that two liters of rice could be exchanged for a leather robe, and gave the two liters of rice brought back by Carpenter Zhang to the old monk, and the old monk took the rice, left the leather robe, and knocked on the bowl. Zhang's mother couldn't cook rice because she had no rice, so she could only starve and wait for her son to come back. ”

"Carpenter Zhang didn't come back until night, thinking that his mother had already eaten arsenic and died, and planned to go home to collect the body, but when he entered the door and saw that his mother was still sitting and had never died, he couldn't help but rush in his heart, and hurriedly asked: 'Didn't the bag of good things I brought back during the day be mixed with rice and eaten?'

"Mother Zhang also said happily: 'Don't mention that bag of good things. Since you left, I have been starving until now, and I have not eaten a single grain of food. Then he described the situation of the monk's coming to turn into a fate: "The leather robe is now on the bed, you pick it up and take it to the city tomorrow to sell, and you will definitely be able to sell it for more copper coins." ’”

When Carpenter Zhang heard that two liters of rice had been replaced by a leather robe, he couldn't help but rejoice. He took up the robe and looked at it a few times, and said, 'I have lived to be forty years old, and I have never worn a leather robe, so I will try it on.' As he spoke, he put the leather robe on his back, but as soon as the leather robe was put on, Carpenter Zhang couldn't stand on his feet, and his body fell to the ground involuntarily, and his mouth was itching and crying out in pain, and in an instant, his whole body had become a scalper. ”

"Only the face has not changed, and the mouth can still speak. This frightened Zhang's mother into a painful cry, and Zhang's carpenter personally confessed to Zhang's mother about buying arsenic, and then said: "This is a punishment from heaven, borrowing me, a disobedient son, to warn the world of unfilial piety for the son of man." My mother has only one son, me, and now that I have become a cow and have no house to support my mother, my mother can take me to the city to beg for money."

"If the watchers ask me where I come from, my mother can only hit me on the back with a branch, and I will naturally provide it to the people, but if they can't bear to beat me, they can't tell. Zhang's mother couldn't bear to take her son's cow out to beg for money, but she was hungry, so Zhang's carpenter cried and begged Zhang's mother to take it out, so as to slowly alleviate some of her sins. ”

Zhang's mother had to lead her into the city, and when she saw that there were more people gathered at the city gate, everyone interrogated the origin, and Zhang's mother lifted the branch and hit the cow a few times. Carpenter Zhang is really outspoken, and he told the truth in 1510. The people who listened didn't wait for Zhang's mother to speak, they all competed for money, and there were more than ten strings of money in a while. ”

Everyone heard that the monk who gave the leather robe was the old monk who treated Zhang Liu's sores, and they praised the old monk as a living Buddha, and couldn't help but be called a holy monk. Since then, the old monk has become a family member, and many people have made offerings with fragrant flowers. The words spoken by the old monk were heavier than the sound of the Holy Decree. ”

When the middle-aged man said this, Qin Shuo smiled and said, "This story is indeed bizarre, almost a ghost, no wonder Your Excellency hesitates", the middle-aged man suddenly made a respectful gesture to Qin Shuo: "Although it is a story told by the elders when I was a child, it has been handed down for many years, and there are inevitably some things that cannot be examined. However, if you look at the leopard in the tube, it can be seen that the Venerable Master was also a high-ranking monk back then, so there are stories that are almost like ghosts and gods handed down."

"Since Shaoxia studied under the elders, I naturally don't dare to slack off, but I searched for a day yesterday, and I only felt that this matter was very important, and I couldn't act in a hurry, and it was even more difficult to be involved in many ways. If the thieves are overwhelming, the two of them have just escaped from it, and it is impossible to say that it is now a situation of startling the snake, and we don't have to go to the Guanyin Temple anymore. ”

"And please wait here for the two young heroes, I will return to the gang first, explain the interests and disadvantages, and then inform the rest of the forces, lest they do anything useless, and when several families are combined into one, we will find two more"

The middle-aged man's voice fell, Qin Shuo lowered his head and groaned for a while, and then said, "That's fine", the middle-aged man couldn't help but show a hint of joy on his face when he saw Qin Shuo's answer, and then shouted at his subordinates and went straight away.

Seeing that this person was gone, Qin Shuo turned back to Jiang Wenlun and said, "I have been a seeker since I was a child. No matter how much fame and wealth I have, I don't have fate, and I don't take these things seriously. ”

"This time, in order to clean up the portal, but I also had to be in the limelight, what my senior brother did was very taboo, and he couldn't catch many disciples of the Jianghu faction to go back, if this matter can be done, the credit is not small. Your Excellency is young, from a famous family, and has practiced a good martial arts, and the future is limitless, but now that you are just starting out of the rivers and lakes, you also need to make some friendships with all parties, and this time Your Excellency will come forward and lead these feelings."

Jiang Wenlun said: "I admit that my brother saved my life, and my brother taught me what to do, and I will do it." As for the incident you just said, my brother is a high-minded person, and he doesn't look at it, although he is a layman, he has never taken these two things to heart. ”

"The name of the Jianghu is not something that a grass thatched corporal like me can indiscriminately fill. As for fame and fortune, and friendship between all parties, I am used to doing it alone, but I don't need it. And this time I was able to escape from this Guanyin Temple, all thanks to my brother's strength. ”

"When I was trapped in Guanyin Temple, I couldn't get out of danger, and if I didn't have my brother's help, I would have died in the hands of the monk at this time. I'm not shameless, why should I be greedy for my brother's merits and be my own opportunity?"

Qin Shuo laughed and said: "You have misunderstood the meaning of what I said, do you think I am humble to you? Although I only met you for the first time today, your temperament and actions are very compatible with me, and I have the heart to make friends with you." Since you and I are familiar at first sight, we don't need to be polite when we speak. ”

"You must know that people in the world have their own paths, different temperaments, and if they are not people on this road, they will delusionally seek things on this road, and these things will not come to him in the end. ”

"On the other hand, it should be the people on this road, who regard fame and fortune as a daunting path, and see wealth and money like enemies, and try their best to avoid it, but they can't avoid it. I know that I am not destined to say this to reassure you. ”

Jiang Wenlun shook his head slightly when he heard this, and said: "Having said that, but now that this Guanyin Temple has not been removed, it seems that there is no need to plan early if these words are rewarded for meritorious deeds in the future, even if I don't necessarily have a relationship with these things." ”

Qin Shuo shook his head and said with a smile: "I don't know that the reward for meritorious deeds is in the future, there is no need to think about it at this moment, and the right to reward meritorious deeds after being rescued cannot be privately granted by you and me, that's it, the reason is not much with you now, let's find a place to settle down, and wait for those fellow Jianghu to find it" Jiang Wenlun didn't allow it, so the two of them found a place to settle down, and waited for the Chiyang Gang to discuss with their forces, and then found and eradicated this Guanyin Temple with the two.

The two of them looked for a tea shop, which had not waited for half a day, and while they were talking, they suddenly saw a lame man named Hanako in front of them, with unkempt hair, mud on his face, tattered clothes on his body, and seven cloth bags under his shoulders. In his hand he was holding a crutch, which was made of something I don't know, and it was very thick and crooked, with a knot on the left and a bag on the right.

Although I couldn't tell what kind of tree it was, I could tell at a glance that the weight of the crutch was not light, and it was limping towards it. The places where the cane is lit are holes one by one, like ox feet stepping in the mud. Qin Shuo and Jiang Wenlun are both very human, and when they saw this called Huazi, they knew that the other party was not small, but they didn't know what the other party meant.