Chapter 6: VI. One Pagoda, One Bell, One Lin Muyu

VI. One Pagoda, One Bell, One Lin Muyu

Two days ago.

"He's gone, stop staring like a fool."

"Ah."

"If you can't bear to part with him, then hurry up and chase after him, don't be wishy-washy."

"Ah."

"You're not chasing, and you're not moving, just standing there staring blankly, what are you trying to do? Exhaust me to death?"

"Ah..."

"What, you're asking me, is he really okay? Heh, little girl, you can question my character, but don't question my medical skills. The kid's injuries have already healed, he just had some short-term amnesia when he first woke up. Seeing some familiar things will restore him. Just now, I was just accompanying the crazy monk to tease him..."

"Ah..."

"What, you mean you only came to find me because you were close?"

"..."

The air in the underground palace was quiet for a while.

"Hmph! Then next time something happens, go find those Jiang Yuqing Daoists from Gezao Mountain to beg for Golden Elixir, see if they are willing to give it to you. And I don't like the Daoist lineage of scholars either. If you come to beg me for this kid again... heh, do you know what the broken mural on the wall behind me is about?"

"Forget it, asking is in vain. This is a Buddha-birth painting, telling the story of 'King Kuaimu giving his eyes' in the "Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish." You definitely haven't heard of it, but if there is a next time, you will understand."

"I don't save the world by practicing medicine, I only do business, I don't talk about feelings, one thing for one life, no deception."

"This time I'm making an exception to return your favor, if you let me save him again, I want your pair of eyes."

The old Daoist covered in poisonous sores waved his wide sleeves and sneered, but he immediately saw the mute girl with a sword on her back, who was standing in the center of the underground palace looking up, nod without hesitation.

Her nine fingers were tightly clutching a sheepskin water bag that had been drunk by someone, like a lock that could never be unlocked. This pair of clear eyes, into which white clouds were slowly flowing, looked through the autumn water, but the blue sky the size of a well mouth was still empty and no one looked back.

"I hate scholars even more."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong felt as if he had come to the front of the Nantian Gate, standing above the sea of clouds in the clear sky for ten thousand miles.

Looking around, everything was surging white-gold clouds and mist, as dense as clouds and as ethereal as mist.

Deep in the clouds and mist, a golden sun seemed to be hidden, making the entire sea of clouds present a gradient of white, pale gold, and gold from near to far, from shallow to deep.

And what attracted Magistrate Ouyang Rong's attention the most was an ancient pagoda covered in historical dust, half-hidden and half-revealed by golden clouds and mist in the very center of his vision, with two purple-gold characters written on the plaque—Merit.

The gate opened wide at this moment, and Magistrate Ouyang Rong was a bit expectant, entering with his spirit. However, the scene that met his eyes was very simple, the layout of "one bell and one wooden fish" that he was familiar with.

That's all.

Other than that, there was nothing extra, all filled with white mist.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong tried hard to compare it with the Merit Tower APP that cut corners in his memory.

It couldn't be said to be exactly the same, it could only be said to be completely identical.

Just like the "one bell and one wooden fish" inside the ancient pagoda, which was just as ordinary as the textures that the programmer found from somewhere to make up the numbers in the small application.

"Good heavens, it's so magnificent outside the pagoda, but it's just casually patched up inside. Outsourced golden finger, right? Be careful of the Buddha deducting your merit!" Magistrate Ouyang Rong muttered.

"But it's also possible. The Merit Tower in Donglin Temple that I didn't see with my own eyes that day was probably just as ordinary inside... It's just that I don't know if this Blessing Bell is as efficacious as the rumors say, and if ringing it can really make wishes come true and receive blessings... Doesn't that mean I have hope of going home?"

Magistrate Ouyang Rong's gaze was deeply attracted, and he looked up at this bronze ancient bell.

And the latter was as silent as if it had been unchanged since ancient times. Suddenly, a fragmented message thought came to him.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong was stunned, stood still for a while, and quickly digested this divine thought. He lowered his head and pondered.

This bell is the core of the entire Merit Tower... When it perceives a certain approaching "causal connection," it can consume stored merit points, ring the bell once, capture this ethereal and easily missed "causal connection," and allow him to immediately obtain a blessing.

Depending on the size of the blessing obtained, the required merit points are also different. Naturally, the better the blessing, the more merit points it consumes.

The types of blessing fruits are particularly wide. In the fragmented information, some were briefly listed. Besides the strange treasures and sudden enlightenment of peerless skills that he expected, there were actually peach blossom blessings that could bump into peach blossom luck and harvest the favor and favor of beauties... This bell is a bit wrong. However, the merit tower in the temple in his previous life seemed to really serve the vast number of benefactors, and there were also items like praying for marriage, so it made sense.

Besides that, there was also a blessing to ward off disasters and block misfortunes, and one to offset karma. The former sounded quite good and could save his dog life at a critical moment.

But the latter "offset karma," Magistrate Ouyang Rong frowned slightly. What does this karma refer to? Is it committing sins? What kind of things are they, like violating human relations, killing teachers and destroying ancestors, or filial piety changing quality? Then he absolutely couldn't use it. He is a gentleman who guards his integrity! This one is a bit redundant. The Buddha is really too... doesn't understand him too well...

After Magistrate Ouyang Rong roughly understood the message, he found that this "blessing fruit" was actually a kind of wish-fulfillment in a sense, but it required a direct or indirect cause from the outside world, like "element detection" to wake up the Blessing Bell, and then he could exchange it with merit points!

"Then where does the merit come from... Right, tap the wooden fish!"

Magistrate Ouyang Rong's spirit was lifted, eager to try.

"It's broken, so be it. As long as it can be tapped, I will definitely tap it honestly this time."

However, when he walked close to the wooden fish full of expectation and took a look.

"I'm going, why is it still in a banned state?!"

Looking at the small wooden fish marked with a red cross, Magistrate Ouyang Rong's eyes went black, and he almost didn't get sent away.

He took a deep breath, confirmed it several times, and finally barely accepted this reality.

He had a straight face.

Banned forever, right? Even if I reincarnated and changed my account, it's still banned, right? You're going against me, right? Tell me, can't you afford to lose?

"I thought no one in this world could wait for me forever, but I didn't expect to miss you—the banned wooden fish."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong sighed, feeling that the Buddha was a bit too narrow-minded.

What made him even more indignant was why the large wave of merit points he had ground before didn't come with him?

So this is deducting illegal income? Could it be that he squeezed the Buddha to second place that night? Or is the current merit count inheriting the him of this world?

Magistrate Ouyang Rong glanced at the small seal script in blue and gold above the banned small wooden fish:

【Merit: 101】

"Eh, I have done good all my life, a gentleman, how could I end up in this situation?"

However, he was not a person who complained about heaven and others, and quickly cheered up again.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong nodded: "But think about it carefully, the original body could rush to Longcheng County all the way... it's not bad that he left me this much, I should be glad it's not negative... Speaking of which, can merit points be negative? Will it cause bad luck?"

He smiled.

"Calm down, calm down, heaven will not cut off all paths..."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong circled the wooden fish in the pagoda a few times, looked at the empty and bright white space around him, and suddenly, he seemed to have remembered something and raised his head:

"Since I can't move my hand to tap it because of the ban, then where did the wooden fish sound in Sanhui Institute just now come from? The Merit Tower was also awakened at that time... it seems that the merit points increased.

"And what was I doing at that time? Being... not chest, it was easing the tense doctor-patient relationship, saving Xiufa and the Abbot."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong suddenly realized: "I understand, it's very simple, do good and accumulate 'virtue'!"

————

(PS: A small explanation, this golden finger is not a system, and I don't really like systems.

Those familiar with Xiao Rong's previous book should know that Xiao Rong is a paranoid about logic and details, so even the golden finger must be explainable by the worldview, which will be revealed in the later plot. Not blowing Buddhism, just borrowing elements, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism are all written equally.

If you have to describe it, the golden finger is a similar existence to the gray fog in Lord of the Mysteries.) ===== CHAPTER 7 =====

(PS: A small explanation: this "golden finger" is not a system; personally, I don't really like systems.

Those familiar with Xiao Rong's previous book should know that Xiao Rong is a fanatic for logic and details, so even the golden finger must be explainable within the worldview, which will be revealed in the later stages of the plot. This is not a Buddhist-worshiping story; I am just borrowing a few elements, and I will write about Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism equally.

If I had to describe it, that golden finger is a presence similar to the gray fog in *Lord of the Mysteries*.)