Chapter 192

On the loess official road, the tree bark had all been eaten.

Amidst the flying dust and sand, a monk around thirty years old and a warrior with a bow and sword walked over together.

"The autumn atmosphere here is much heavier than in other places."

The monk looked left and right and sighed.

Seemingly sighing at the autumn scenery, his words were full of pity.

"How does the Dharma Master intend to eliminate that Green Seedling God?" The warrior naturally understood his meaning and asked.

"Sigh..."

The monk shook his head:

"I don't know when that Green Seedling God appeared, but just from the fact that it could cut off the green seedlings for a season in two counties with its own power, its cultivation must not be shallow. In my humble opinion, the famine in Mingxia County many years ago was probably also caused by this Green Seedling God. This kind of demon, having eaten the sincere incense of several counties for years, is not something my abilities can eliminate."

"Can't the Dharma Master invite a Bodhisattva to help?"

"No, no." The monk still shook his head. "The affairs of gods and Buddhas are as complex as human affairs. I cannot invite the power of Bodhisattvas and Buddhas, just as many well-meaning people clearly know about the famine here but cannot persuade the imperial court to send people to provide vigorous aid."

"Do those gods not care?"

"Perhaps the time has not yet come."

"The time has not yet come?"

"The time has not yet come." The monk repeated. "Perhaps if we come to manage it in advance, we will only incur their displeasure."

"..."

The warrior was silent for a moment, seemingly understanding, and couldn't help but cup his hands and say:

"The Dharma Master is righteous."

"Amitabha." The monk put his hands together. "I am a monk, so naturally I am not afraid of these things; I just hope not to implicate Lord Pan."

"Pan is just a warrior, alone and with nothing to fear." The warrior was equally carefree.

"Thank you, Lord Pan."

"Does the Dharma Master already have a brilliant plan to eliminate the demon?"

The warrior heard some meaning in his tone again.

"Although I consider my abilities to be not shallow, such an evil god has its own means of survival, and it is mostly difficult to eliminate it. However, relying on the name of the 'Gathering Ju Ju Xian Fu', I might be able to bluff it or even drive it away from here, at least making it dare not cause chaos again. Then I will lobby the local county officials to open the granaries to distribute grain and help the people, and first survive this disaster." The monk explained. "The most urgent task here and now is these people suffering from famine."

"That makes sense."

The warrior walked while vigilantly looking around, thinking at the same time.

For this matter, it's a small matter for the Dharma Master to tell a lie, and borrowing the name of the Gathering Ju Ju Xian Fu casually, with the scattered nature of the Gathering Ju Ju Xian Fu, probably not many people care. However, the immortals in heaven clearly have the intention of using this Green Seedling God to manifest their divine power; if they intervene in advance, they might be remembered for it.

Lobbying the local county officials is also not easy.

Just as the two walked not far into Langfeng County, their footsteps suddenly stopped, and they looked ahead.

They saw that in front of a few houses, there were government runners in black clothes leading mules and horses, with grain loaded on the mules and horses, giving grain to each family, and the people in the houses came out one after another to thank them.

Besides the runners, there seemed to be some retainers.

Both of them were stunned and looked at each other.

After asking, they found out that it was indeed the county official and the wealthy and powerful people in the city joining forces to open the granaries and distribute grain to help the people.

The two were even more surprised.

Wasn't it said that the local county official was inactive and the rice and flour merchants in the city were hoarding goods and selling grain at high prices?

Why is it different from what they heard?

It just so happened that a temple appeared on the horizon ahead, which was the temple of the Green Seedling God.

The two went in and saw that the statue of the Green Seedling God in the temple had been pushed over at some point, broken into two pieces, and covered with many fresh flowers, which were already a bit wilted but not yet dead.

The warrior poked the statue with his sword hilt; the statue had actually become very brittle, like tofu, and shattered with a light touch.

"This is..."

The two were even more surprised and puzzled.

"Dharma Master, be careful, I'll go ask." After the warrior said this, he left.

After a long time, the warrior returned.

When he returned, his eyes were wide open, as if he had heard something incredible.

"Dharma Master! I'm afraid we've made a wasted trip!"

"Why?"

"Just a few days ago, the Green Seedling God was already eliminated by an immortal. The immortal eliminated the Green Seedling God in the cave temple at the foot of Mount Lang. That day, the Green Seedling God's three statues in the three temples of Langfeng County, and it is said that the statues in the temples of several other counties, were all covered in flowers."

"Covered in flowers? Which immortal?"

"The Eastern Qing Hua Di!"

"The Eastern Qing Hua Di? Is it the one in the poem?"

"It should be."

"This Emperor's divine duty is not in eliminating demons! Moreover, his incense has long been not prosperous, and this is not his Daoist temple. Why would he come here to eliminate demons at this time?" The monk seemed to be talking to himself, but it could be heard that he was a knowledgeable person. "However, this flower-blooming supernatural power seems to be the work of the Eastern Qing Hua Di."

"Oh right, the immortal also left a few lines of words on the stone wall of the cave temple!"

"What words?"

"Good and evil have their own retribution, the evil god caused chaos and harmed the region, now it has been removed to warn future generations, in acting and being a person, one must have a scale in one's heart." The warrior recalled and repeated. "The local county official and the wealthy people in the city heard that the immortal personally descended to earth to eliminate the demon and left such a line of words. In their hearts, they were both afraid that their evil deeds would be remembered by the immortal and wanted to do some good deeds to accumulate some merit, which is why they changed their nature."

"No wonder..."

The monk showed a thoughtful expression, still feeling strange, and continued to ask: "Are there any other rumors?"

"Other rumors? Oh, there is one!" The warrior said. "It is said that a few days earlier, several immortal experts came here and distributed famine-relief pills everywhere; eating one could keep a person from being hungry for a day."

"Immortal experts... famine-relief pills..."

"What's wrong? Dharma Master?"

"..."

The monk didn't speak, but stood by the road and closed his eyes.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and had already made his own judgment: "The immortals who truly govern this place are unwilling to take action, so where did the Eastern Qing Hua Di come from to eliminate the demon? This matter is because there are true experts here!"

"Does the Dharma Master mean it's man-made?"

"It's just my guess."

"Hiss..."

The warrior couldn't help but gasp.

When this Dharma Master was still on the road, he had already told him how difficult it was to eliminate such an evil god whose temple statues were spread across several counties, and just now he also said that he couldn't eliminate the evil god and could only intimidate it, while persuading the county official to temporarily alleviate the famine here. He didn't expect that in a turn of the head, an expert had eliminated this evil god.

And he used a more clever method, making the local county official and the wealthy and powerful people voluntarily open the granaries to distribute grain and help the disaster victims.

Where did this expert come from?

"Whether it's true or false, we'll know if we visit. If there are such experts, it's natural that we should go and visit." The monk said. "Lord Pan, this is what you are good at."

"Leave it to me!"

The two continued to walk forward.

The morning sunlight just spilled down, the red and yellow colorful forest was half-immersed in the morning mist, and the morning light cast shadows on the ground. The Daoist temple was hidden in this morning mist and colorful forest.

Lin Jue sat in meditation on a prayer mat, calming his heart and practicing.

Behind him, the junior sister was playing and talking with the colorful raccoon and the fox.

I don't know why, perhaps because the cultivation had reached a certain level, ever since the Green Seedling God was eliminated, Fuyao had grown another tail.

Now it already had three.

It's just that in most cases, it still turned into the appearance of an ordinary white fox, with one tail, a little bigger than a cat, so as not to scare people. Only when it was alone in a room with Lin Jue, and it felt bored, would it turn into its original size and appearance, and change back after a while.

No one knew what it was thinking.

"Fuyao is younger than you, and started practicing on the mountain later than you, but now Fuyao can speak, and you still can't."

"Meow~"

The colorful raccoon meowed softly.

The fox beside it saw this and followed suit:

"Meow~"

"Eh? That's right, Fuyao, since you can already speak human language, why do you always not speak human language?"

"Ying?"

"I'm asking you?"

"..."

The fox tilted its head and stared at her, its eyes clear, and after pondering for a moment, it said crisply: "You also learn to meow like a fox, why do you never learn to meow like a fox?"

"Eh?"

The junior sister was suddenly startled.

The fox raised its head to imitate her and said "eh" again.

Lin Jue, who was meditating with his eyes closed under the pear blossoms of the dead tree nearby, had a smile on his lips; it seemed his cultivation was not very focused either.

Just at this moment, the fox seemed to hear some movement and turned its head to look outside the door.

Before long, there were footsteps outside the door.

"Knock knock..."

In this desolate mountain and wild ridge, someone was actually knocking on the door.

Lin Jue opened his eyes, and the junior sister also felt puzzled, went to open the door, and picked up the long sword on the table.

"Creak..."

The wooden door was in disrepair, and the sound was sour.

Standing outside the door were actually a gray-robed monk and a warrior with a bow and sword.

The junior sister first looked at the monk, then at the warrior and the weapon hanging at his waist. Behind her appeared a fox and a colorful raccoon, one on the left and one on the right, also staring at the two people outside the door.

"Amitabha."

The monk said a Buddhist name and smiled: "My Dharma name is Yun Chan, and I have come to visit the experts."

The warrior also cupped his hands and said: "I am Pan Jing."

The junior sister looked them over and saw that the monk's face was friendly, his expression gentle, and even faintly respectful. The warrior was a bit puzzled and didn't reach out to touch his weapon, so she relaxed a little.

"You..."

"Oh, it's a bit presumptuous to come to the door rashly, and I haven't stated the reason yet." Dharma Master Yun Chan said, "We came from the capital, heard that there was an evil god and famine here, and wanted to help, but didn't expect that the evil god and famine here had already been wiped out by experts. I also heard that several immortal experts had arrived in the vicinity, so I felt admiration in my heart. After several inquiries and guesses, I found my way here."

While speaking, Lin Jue also arrived at the door, and the Second Third Third Shixiong and Third Third Third Shixiong also came out.

"Since you are guests, please come in."

Several people welcomed the two into the Daoist temple.

At this time, although the Daoist temple was still a bit dilapidated and old, it had already been cleaned and tidied up by the junior sister, and there were even brand-new stone tables and stone stools in the courtyard, which could barely be used to entertain guests.

However, walking into the Daoist temple, the first thing the two saw was the dead tree in the courtyard covered with pear blossoms.

How can a dead tree bloom?

It is already autumn, so where do spring flowers come from?

The two couldn't help but look at each other.

The monk smiled slightly, everything was self-evident.

The warrior's doubts disappeared, and he also became respectful.

"The Daoist truly has immortal methods, a Bodhisattva's heart, and great wisdom." The monk walked in and said, as if he had really met an expert, his posture very low. "I wonder if I am lucky enough to know the names of the Daoists?"

"I am Yan Xuan Yi."

"Li Miaolin."

"Lin Jue."

"Liu Qingyao."

Several people reported their names and looked at him with frowns.

"Why did the Dharma Master come? And how did you find us here?" The Third Third Third Shixiong asked.

"I am Yun Chan, originally practicing at Xuanbi Temple in Jinzhou, later moved to the capital, and now I am staying at the Gathering Ju Ju Xian Fu, often doing things like eliminating demons, driving away evil, and transcending dead souls for the people of the capital. Some time ago, I heard that there was an evil god and famine here, and no one had asked about it for a long time, and no immortals had eliminated the demon, so I came to see it privately. Although my magic power is far from enough to eliminate the evil god, I also wanted to do my best. I didn't expect that there would be such experts here who had already eliminated the Green Seedling God."

Dharma Master Yun Chan faced them and explained his previous words in more detail:

"I didn't come for any other reason, I just admire you all in my heart and want to visit you to express my respect."

"This place is very remote."

"Although your temple is remote, the famine-relief pills you distributed were all in this vicinity, plus this Daoist temple has long been recorded in the county government, so I boldly guessed that the experts were here." The monk smiled. "It seems I didn't guess wrong."

"The Dharma Master has great wisdom."

"I cannot be compared with you Daoists."

"Since your Gathering Ju Ju Xian Fu knew that there was an evil god and famine here, and you are all in Qinzhou, why didn't you come earlier and send more people?" The Third Third Third Shixiong asked again.

"This..."

The monk was a bit embarrassed and sighed helplessly.

"Let me answer for the Dharma Master." The warrior beside the monk spoke. "First, the Gathering Ju Ju Xian Fu is mostly composed of wandering sorcerers; it has been a little better in recent years, but there are not many people with real skills, and not many people have the courage to provoke an evil god that can cause a famine. Second, the capital and its surroundings have not been peaceful recently, and there are many things. Finally, the imperial court and the immortals don't want to manage the affairs here that much."

Lin Jue listened to their chat, but was thinking about the three words "Gathering Ju Ju Xian Fu".

The first time he heard this name was when he had just left home to seek immortals and met a strange monkey, and the warrior named Luo Seng told him.

It is said to be a place that gathers strange people and scholars from all over the world, as well as high-ranking monks and Daoists, and eats imperial grain.

"I've heard of this place too. I heard that in the early years of this dynasty, it was a place where strange people and scholars gathered. I didn't expect it to have fallen to this point." The Third Third Third Shixiong said. "However, the Dharma Master is a person of pure cultivation; why don't you stay in those temples in the capital and run to the Gathering Ju Ju Xian Fu to do what?"

"It's not easy to live in the capital." The monk was helpless. "Moreover, not everyone in the Gathering Ju Ju Xian Fu is so unbearable. There are also people who practice and cultivate their hearts to settle down there, and strange people with various skills and spells are looking for their own fortune there. It's more comfortable for me to stay there than in a temple. Usually, doing some demon-eliminating and evil-driving things can also get a generous allowance."

"So that's it." The Third Third Third Shixiong laughed. "We are also going to the capital, so in the Dharma Master's opinion, how about we go and play too?"

"You Daoists have high magic power and are true masters of the Dao. If you go to the Gathering Ju Ju Xian Fu, it will definitely be the glory of the Gathering Ju Ju Xian Fu and a blessing for the people of the capital." The monk said immediately.

"The Gathering Ju Ju Xian Fu is not easy to enter, but with your skills, it's naturally not difficult. As long as you enter the Gathering Ju Ju Xian Fu, no matter how big the capital is, you will have a place to stay." The warrior also said beside him. "And even if you don't do anything every month, there is an allowance."

"Isn't that a parasite?"

"..."

"How many people does the Gathering Ju Ju Xian Fu support now?"

"Thousands of strange people and scholars."

"How many have real skills?"

"Hard to say."

"Tsk..."

The Third Third Third Shixiong clicked his tongue and turned to look around.

Lin Jue and the junior sister could both see what he meant—

If this imperial court doesn't finish, who will?