Chapter 232: Master feeds, sixteen prophecies

On the official road, without exception, they are all people in a hurry.

These people run around, and when they are in a hurry, they gnaw on the big pancakes hanging from their waists, or the cold buns wrapped in cloth bags. If they are in good condition, they might be able to eat a mouthful of salty pickles.

Even if they arrive at a wild shop on the road, they will ask for a bowl of noodle soup at most, and that's it!

Like the tea stalls and tea sheds on the official road, the miscellaneous grain tea soup they cook can already be considered arrogant food.

To put it bluntly, the two legs of the traveler are the wheels of the car. No matter if it is sorghum rice, corn flour, or thin soup porridge, rotten rice grains, as long as they can fill their stomachs, it is a great creation. Who would have the mind to be greedy for fat chicken and tender goose?

But the person Xu Qing met at the tea stall really didn't eat meat, and didn't drink wine.

Crucially, he is still a monk who has received precepts!

Who would be willing to pay attention to such an absurd, crazy person?

If it were usual, Xu Qing wouldn't pay attention either. He had seen a greedy and lying fat monk today, and even if this ragged monk pestered him again, he shouldn't have promised the other party to give wine and meat.

But why did Xu Qing insist on going against his heart and paying attention to this monk?

This matter, it has to start from when he first entered the tea shed...

When Xu Qing first entered the tea shed and ordered the waiter to help take care of the horse, he had inadvertently seen a bird startled and hit the tea shed sign.

The bird tumbled on the ground, rolling and rolling, and finally rolled to the middle of the road.

None of the passersby cared. If left alone, perhaps the next moment it would be trampled to death, or crushed to death by the wheels.

When Xuanyu saw the bird, its eyes didn't move away. When the bird tumbled to the middle of the road, it pulled Xu Qing's sleeve.

Xu Qing followed Xuanyu's gaze and saw the bird.

"Do you want to catch that bird?"

"Not catch, but save it."

"Save?" Xu Qing looked at the little girl beside him in surprise. This was the first time he heard a cat say such words.

"You said that we should cherish this trip to Mount Yunmeng. We might not be able to come back, but if this bird is saved, it can continue to fly."

"..."

His "cherish" didn't mean they couldn't come back!

Xu Qing was about to say something, but found that there were other carriages and horses coming from not far away, so he temporarily put away his thoughts and let Xuanyu walk out of the tea shop to save the bird.

But at this moment, outside the tea shed, a ragged monk who was resting against the corner of the wall suddenly jumped up and arrived in the middle of the road before Xuanyu.

The monk hugged the gray-gray thing, and with his hands full of gray dirt, carefully removed the dust from the bird ball.

At this time, the bird ball was obviously frightened, its little chest was pumping like a bellows, and its mouth that was breathing violently didn't close.

"Oh! Poor bird, you are from the sky, how can you fall to this ground full of dust? Go, go, this is not a place for you to stay."

It's strange to say, after the bird was stroked by the poor monk in his arms, the chest that was breathing violently really calmed down!

The monk reached out and threw it into the sky, and the injured bird flapped its wings and flew away without a shadow!

Xu Qing saw it clearly and heard it clearly. He felt that this monk was unusual at that time, at least he was someone with some kindness and understood some Buddhist principles.

Therefore, when the ragged monk asked him for wine and meat, he didn't refuse.

This matter was also a coincidence. Where would there be wine and meat in the tea stall? Even the passing pedestrians mostly had some big pancakes and buns on them.

Only Xu Qing brought some wine and meat with him when he came out of the banquet scene.

So this scene appeared in front of the tea stall—

A ragged poor monk with a cassock full of patches sat down on the tea table.

Sitting in front of the monk was a young man with neat clothes and a little girl who looked like she was carved from pink jade.

The monk held the broken-winged whole chicken in one hand and ate it, and the other hand reached into the broken-mouthed monk shoe on the long bench, picking at the toes.

Not to mention Xu Qing and Xuanyu, even other guests at the tea stall were attracted by their eyes.

Among these people, there were those who frowned in disgust, those who shook their heads and laughed, and those who said ugly things in their mouths, but the ragged monk ignored them and still ate comfortably.

"He seems very hungry." Xuanyu observed the monk in front of him.

"Immortal Xu..." The words reached his lips, and Xuanyu suddenly remembered Xu Qing's instructions before leaving—don't call each other immortals when traveling outside.

So it stopped, and instead said: "Your crooked-neck little phoenix is almost eaten by him. If you are hungry later, Xuanyu can give you my little fish."

"Good!" Xu Qing accepted Xuanyu's feeding.

"Now the monk shouldn't starve to death."

Xuanyu said happily: "The monk saved the bird, the bird can continue to fly, we saved the monk, the monk can continue to beg for food everywhere. Even if we are not here one day, the monk can still live for us."

"..."

Xu Qing felt his eyelids jump. Why is this cat so pessimistic?

I think it should be the old thing of losing a life before that is still affecting it.

Xu Qing couldn't comfort Xuanyu, because the source of fear was not eliminated, so this fear would always exist.

The zombie and the cat were playing dumb, saying some whispers that only they could understand, but when the ragged monk heard the little girl say that he was a monk begging for food everywhere, he couldn't sit still.

"Amitabha, how can a monk's business be called begging for food? It must be called alms. Does the little donor want to know what alms means?"

Before Xuanyu could speak, the monk continued: "The so-called alms is to form a connection with all living beings, and to pass on Buddhist teachings and accumulate merit between each other."

"Only those who eat for free are begging for food."

After the monk finished saying these things, he put the chicken bones in his hand into his sleeve like a treasure, then stood up, carrying the wine pot, and said with drunken eyes: "The poor monk only asks for alms, not for food."

After saying this, the monk looked down at Xu Qing who was still sitting at the table, and said meaningfully: "It is a good thing that the donor has the heart to seek the Dao, but you must know that this road is also very dangerous."

"In the past, there were Buddhist disciples who sought the true transmission of wonderful methods, experienced nine lives of hardship, and suffered more than ten years of wind and rain disasters, only then could they see the true meaning."

"Those who seek the Dao in the Xuan Gate are also the same. How many people have gone through thousands of hardships, and in the end, it is all a waste of time. Even if they really join the Xuan Gate, I am afraid that in the end, it is just a dream and bubble."

"Just like the poor monk, after practicing and practicing, there is always an hunger in this heart that cannot be solved, and a thirst that cannot be stopped."

Xu Qing looked at the monk in front of him. The other party was clearly talking about something else.

When did he reveal his intention to seek the Dao outside? Only when he mentioned this at the wedding banquet at the Shang mansion, with the Zen Master of Cizhao Temple and the Master of Ruyi Temple.

Moreover, his "seeking the Dao" was just to test Daoist Bai Yun's rhetoric, not really to seek immortals and visit the Dao here.

Now that the monk in front of him

"Elder, where is your sect's mountain gate?" Xu Qing asked suddenly.

The disheveled monk lifted his wine gourd and took a swig, then, without a hint of seriousness, laughed and said, "A hero does not ask about his origins; this monk has no home or sect. If you, benefactor, wish to seek the Dao at my mountain gate, I'm afraid that won't be possible!"

Xu Qing raised an eyebrow and said, "This won't do, that won't do, and yet you claim your begging for alms isn't just freeloading?" The monk was not annoyed by this; he just chuckled drunkenly, "I am too drunk to walk, and I fear I won't make it back to my dwelling before dark. If you have a kind heart, benefactor, could you lend this monk your horse?"

This was truly taking a mile after being given an inch!

Xu Qing shook his head and said, "The horse was borrowed from a friend and must be returned; I cannot give it to anyone else. If you aren't afraid of being late, I could speak to the owner of this tea stall and ask him to show you some leniency and make things convenient for you."

"That won't work, benefactor. I am loathed by dogs and people alike. The old shopkeeper won't even let me into his tea shed, so why would he listen to you and make things convenient for me?"

"How about this?" Xu Qing silently took out a piece of silver and placed it on the table.

"."

The monk, who had been squinting his eyes the whole time, suddenly sobered up for a moment.

"You truly understand human nature, benefactor."

The monk sighed and said, "Very well. Although I cannot ride your horse, I do know a thing or two about judging horses. Would you be willing to let me take a look?"

Xu Qing felt a stir in his heart upon hearing this, but he said calmly, "Please go ahead, Elder."

The tea shed was not large, and the horse was tied to a hitching post on the east side; Xu Qing and Xuanyu could see everything happening over there while remaining seated.

The horse possessed some human-like intuition. Having suffered at the monk's hands earlier, it became very restless when it saw the bald man approaching again, kicking its hooves and baring its teeth, looking as if it wanted to say, "Don't touch me."

"Oh horse, little horse, I am here to help you avert disaster. Do not be like that shopkeeper and judge people by their appearance."

Beside them, the tea stall owner, who had been watching the monk's every move, turned dark in the face.

However, after hearing the monk's words, the horse actually calmed down!

Xu Qing had sharp ears; even sitting some distance away, he heard every word the monk muttered.

Sure enough, just as he had suspected, this monk knew something!

The mad monk reached out with his greasy hand and stroked the tall horse for a long while, finally stopping at its right hindquarters, where he let out a cry of surprise.

There were traces of a Buddhist talisman burn on the horse's rump; although it had been cleaned, the scent of incense remained.

The monk leaned in close to the horse's rear to sniff, then immediately waved his hand to fan the air, as if the smell were even more foul than the one on his own body, which hadn't been washed in over a decade.

"Oh no! Had I known, I shouldn't have come begging for alms..."

The monk muttered, but a moment later, he was back to his grinning, shameless self.

"Your horse is excellent, benefactor. One look and I can tell the young benefactor has taken good care of it." The mad monk assumed the talisman had been removed by Xuanyu, and while praising the horse's health, his gaze couldn't help but linger on her.

"What do you mean by that, Elder?" Xu Qing, who had been indifferent until now, suddenly sat up straight, his eyes clearly guarded as he looked at the monk.

"You need not fear me, benefactor. Although this young benefactor is no ordinary person, her heart is purer than many others. Look at those birds flying by; among so many people here, only she has them in her eyes. It shows that all things in the world possess Zen nature."

Once these words were spoken, Xu Qing knew the monk had seen through Xuanyu's uniqueness. He hadn't felt much threat from the man before, but now it seemed this monk possessed skills he knew nothing about.

Xu Qing carefully observed the disheveled monk. Perhaps he had opened the "Broad-Eyed Insight" among the Nine Insights, which would explain his keen vision. Of course, it was also possible he practiced other arts capable of distinguishing good from evil or seeing yin and yang.

But if you said the monk was powerful, he had failed to realize from start to finish that Xu Qing was the greatest evil spirit in the tea stall.

Yet if you said he wasn't powerful, he had managed to see the anomaly in the young girl protected by Xu Qing.

For the sake of caution, Xu Qing decided to set off early to avoid this strange monk.

However, the monk became anxious.

"Slow down, benefactor, slow down!"

The mad monk grabbed the reins, blocking Xu Qing's path, his tone even carrying a hint of ingratiation:

"I won't eat your wine and meat for nothing. I may not have done a good job with the horse, but I have other abilities."

"It was just a meal of wine and meat; I don't need you to repay me. If you just move aside and let me leave, that will be a good deed done."

The monk still refused to let go.

"How about this? I have sixteen words for you, benefactor. Once you hear them, I will stop pestering you."

Xu Qing stopped and forced himself to listen to the monk's rambling.

He wanted to see what the man was really up to.

He heard the monk say: "Benefactor, remember this—avoid temples, retreat from Daoist shrines; part the clouds and mist, and you shall see the bright moon."

"Benefactor, your Dao lies within that bright moon!"

Xu Qing found this strange and asked, "What does this mean?"

"Cannot be said, cannot be said. You only need to remember these sixteen words, benefactor. They will surely be fulfilled in the future. When that time comes, please act accordingly, and you shall turn danger into safety."

As the mad monk spoke, he reached out with his mud-stained hand, wanting to grab Xu Qing's hand and pat the back of it, but Xu Qing pulled the reins and used the horse's neck to block the monk's dirty hand.

The monk didn't mind, instead taking the opportunity to stroke the horse's mane; it was clear his skin was thick to a certain degree.

After delivering the prophecy, the mad monk returned the empty wine gourd and went on his way toward the Fucheng of Qianzhou, singing a popular folk tune.

Xu Qing recalled the incantations mentioned by Zen Master Jinghai, and combined with the prophecy from the mad monk, the latter's words seemed like a method of resolution.

Could it be that, just as the mad monk said, there was a "Dao affinity" waiting for him?

Thinking of this, Xu Qing felt the monk before him was even more extraordinary.

"May I ask for your name and dharma title, Elder?"

Xu Qing asked from a distance.

"This poor monk is known as Xinyuan!"

Xinyuan?

Xu Qing silently noted the name. As for whether they would meet again and what the circumstances might be, that remained to be seen.

As for Xu Qing, after the monk Xinyuan left, he took Xuanyu and traveled without stopping, heading straight for Mount Yunmeng.

The zombie and the cat, having finished their leisure, no longer stopped for the scenery and traveled quite fast.

Except for feeding the horse and giving it time to rest, Xu Qing did not stop for two consecutive days.

By the morning of the third day, when the mist was thin and hazy, Xu Qing, traveling along the mountain path, suddenly saw a temple appear before him.

(End of chapter)