Previously, I was still watching the confrontation between the gray-robed monk and the fortune teller, but in the blink of an eye, the situation changed drastically. Many people, who were not sure whether they were hurt by the monk's words or for other reasons, were furious and threw the medicine soup in their hands at the monk. Mingxin was stunned for a moment, and then he almost jumped up from the bricks, spread his hands, stopped these people, and shouted:

"Ah, everyone, calm down."

“Calm down, calm down…”

"Don't hurt anyone, and don't throw away the medicine. We collected it with great difficulty."

"Ahhh, I can't stop you, Uncle Qi, Uncle Qi..."

"Uncle Qi stepped on my toes!"

The young Taoist lowered his eyes and formed the [Fearlessness Seal] with his hands.

Sweep the surroundings with the clarity of my own spiritual nature and imprint his heart with my heart.

But the young man felt it at this moment.

The real emotion that remains in the hearts of these furious and extremely angry people is not anger.

But it is [fear].

[Fear] Knowing the truth, or fearing that his offerings to the Buddha would not give him everything he desired, the monk broke the beautiful world that everyone had woven, so he was [extremely shocked and angry], using anger to cover up the most real, subtle emotions that he might not even be aware of.

Qi Wuhuo's spirit flowed through, and the emotions in everyone's hearts were diluted, and they returned to peace.

The young Taoist Mingxin, who was trying hard to hold back the others, suddenly felt a loosening in front of him. Everyone no longer had the energy to charge forward angrily. They looked at each other, and after a while, they were all dispersed. The medicine shed became empty in an instant, in stark contrast to the previous quarrel. Some non-Buddhist people went to get some cleaner clothes and asked the monk to change into them. The latter thanked him and took the clothes with both hands.

Still helping to treat other people.

His expression and posture did not change at all.

The young Taoist was performing acupuncture on someone else. He did not look at the monk, but only asked, "Master, are you inspired?"

The gray-robed monk brought the medicine and said gently, "The Buddhist teachings are spread all over the world through the thirteen meridians, but... there are many attachments and many troubles. Not everyone can cut off the five aggregates and eight sufferings. Everyone must have their own desires and cravings. Practicing the Dharma will help one to introspect and maintain peace to a certain extent, but there will definitely be subtle desires."

“So we use the activity of self-indulgence to reflect on these desires.”

With a hint of a smile, he said, "In fact, [Self-Reflection] is not only about looking inward at oneself, but also looking at the desires in other people's hearts."

"To achieve this is to be able to read other people's minds. On that day, everyone will open up and see if the other person's mind is confused or has desires. Then, they will discuss and comment with a smile, helping others and letting others help them discover their own thoughts that they have not noticed, so as to help their practice. They may even joke and tease each other or laugh at their own problems, and in the end, everyone will laugh."

“It’s very good.”

"But later, Buddhism became more and more widespread, and more and more people joined."

"Everyone has subtle desires. Desires are only a tiny bit, but the more people there are, the more these subtle desires gather, like an undercurrent, like a whirlpool, and eventually the entire river will be pulled up... and there will be no peace. But at this time, the monks who noticed this wanted to stop it, but it was too late. There will always be people with desires who accept more disciples."

"If the master cannot be liberated, how can the disciple's cultivation reach a certain level? He will certainly not be able to attain peace. If the cycle continues, the problem will only grow larger and larger, like a rolling stone falling from the top of a mountain. The more powerful it is, the more it cannot be stopped."

“There is nothing wrong with practicing the Dharma, but if the Dharma is passed on to people, and people gather together to form a school, and there are even sects within the school, then it is no longer Buddhism.”

After the monk finished boiling the medicine, he staggered to his feet, said goodbye and left. Finally, he sighed with pity:

"Buddha, Tathagata, the World Honored One."

"Where are you?"

"Only you can solve this situation."

The young Taoist Mingxin and Qi Wuhuo were tidying up the medicine stove. It was already sunset. The young Taoist, carrying a medicine basket woven from bamboo, watched the monk go away and said, "He is in a bad mood. He must have seen that [self-something], right? It's just like me. After eating sweet cakes, I can't even eat steamed bread."

"So he should be more uncomfortable and persistent than others, right?"

The young Taoist nodded and said, "Does Mingxin know what he is talking about?"

The young Taoist Mingxin nodded and said, "I know."

"When there are too many people, there will be a lot of troubles."

He took out the osmanthus cake that the young Taoist had given him and stuffed it into his mouth.

The sun is setting.

There was no need to see others, so she just stepped on the small puddles with her cloud shoes, splashing up a handful of shallow water.

The splashes of water look beautiful in the sunset.

The young Taoist Mingxin said as he jumped in the puddles, "As far as I know, although there are big Taoist temples, there are also many with only three or five people. Buddhist temples are the opposite of us, and there are also many with only a few people. But such temples are ridiculed as [wild Zen], without Dharma lineage."

"In many temples, there are dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of monks. If there is sweet-scented osmanthus cake, it is definitely not possible for everyone to get one. If you don't get one once, it's okay, but if it happens twice, you will be a little sad. If the people who get sweet-scented osmanthus cake every time praise you in front of you--"

"Ah, the osmanthus cake is so sweet, ah, the osmanthus cake is so delicious!"

"Then you must want to take out something to hit this guy."

The young Taoist Mingxin clenched his hands, gnashed his teeth and waved them, then said seriously:

"So there would be quarrels, and then there would be a fight, and in the end everyone would be fighting over the osmanthus cake."

“Those who have tasted sweet-scented osmanthus cake want to taste it again next time.”

"If you can't get some, contact others and tell them we can grab some osmanthus cake together next time."

"No one likes to read books anymore."

"So in the end, it will become a place that exists only for eating osmanthus cakes. No one will read the scriptures that were originally gathered here. So is this a temple for studying scriptures? Or is it a temple for eating osmanthus cakes? They have all changed, so the monk will feel uncomfortable, right?"

“He’s the kind of guy who wants to go back to his original state of just reading the scriptures.”

“It’s so difficult.”

“There are places like this in Taoism.”

"Too many people is not good. It's better to have an old Taoist priest and a young Taoist priest. I will also find a young Taoist priest in the future."

The little Taoist priest muttered.

The young Taoist thought of the Yellow Millet Dream, reached out and touched the young Taoist's head, and said, "Well said."

"What else do you want to eat today? Uncle Shi will buy it for you."

So the little Taoist's eyes lit up, "Okay!"

He jumped a little too high and stepped into a puddle, splashing a lot of water. The hem of his Taoist robe was soaked, and the sweet-scented osmanthus cake in his hand was dirty by the rain. He was annoyed for a moment, and then he couldn't help laughing. He pulled Qi Wuhuo's sleeve and said, "Uncle Master, look, I just made such a big splash."

"Am I awesome?!"

The young Taoist couldn't help but chuckle.

"sharp!"

The two Taoist priests, who were not very old, walked forward and bought some things needed in the Taoist temple, and also bought some candied haws for the young Taoist priest.

Qi Wuhuo picked medicinal herbs from the mountains and sold them, so even though he was not well off, he still had enough money to buy food.

So the little Taoist became happy again.

When I was young, it always seemed to be like this.

The young Taoist thought.

He himself is the same.

After they finished shopping, it was getting dark. But when they returned, the young prince was waiting for them there. He lit two oil lamps and sat on the bricks, with his chin propped up by one hand, in a daze. When he saw the two Taoists, he smiled, jumped down, patted the dirt, and said, "You two have kept me waiting for so long. Come on, the food is ready."

"But it's just the leftover meat porridge from today."

"Please don't be disgusted."

He invited Qi Wuhuo and Mingxin to sit down and brought out the meat porridge, which was sprinkled with hot shredded ginger.

There was also a serving of cold-mixed shepherd's purse. It was more generous to have this kind of spring green vegetable at this time than ordinary meat. The shepherd's purse was blanched, chopped, and mixed with diced tofu. Finely chopped ginger was added and mixed with sesame paste, vinegar and so on. The taste was refreshing and it was best eaten with porridge. There was only an ordinary porridge shed around, with wooden boards to block the wind. Although the Central Plains was not as cold as the northernmost part, the winter was not pleasant either.

A brass stove was lit.

We entertained and chatted with each other while smiling.

But every three or five sentences, he would say "my sister", "my sister". The young Taoist's mind was as clear as a calm lake, and he didn't care. But the little Taoist was different. He finished his porridge, rolled his eyes, and asked curiously: "Well, Erlang, you are the second child in the family, so your sister is the eldest sister?"

"Then should other people call her 'Auntie'?"

The young prince said, "According to custom, this is how we should address him."

The custom at that time was to call a male in the family by his or her rank plus "Lang", and a female by her or her rank plus "Niang". There was no mistake in calling them that. There were nicknames such as "Sanlang" or "Gongsun Daniang", which meant the eldest daughter in the family. However, when people met strangers on the street and wanted to chat them up, they didn't know their names or their rank in the family.

So I could only bow and say, "My dear."

If it was a frivolous girl in Pingkangfang, she would call out, "My dear young man, please stay."

Or when men with oily hair and powdered faces approach girls on the street, they often start with this:

"Young lady, are you free today?"

It is all like this, so there is nothing wrong with calling him the little Taoist priest.

But the young prince just frowned and said, "But I always feel that it's too vulgar for you to call me sister like this."

"How can you call me sister like other people?"

Ming Xin asked: "What kind of person is your sister?"

The young prince looked at the two Taoists warily. He had chestnuts freshly harvested in winter in his hand, which he threw into the stove. There was a crackling sound. He hesitated for a moment, then looked at the young Taoist priest in front of him with suspicion and wariness, and said, "You have a lot of rules in Lianyang Temple. You can't get married, right?"

Mingxin nodded repeatedly: "The little Taoist is from Lianyang Temple."

"The founder was taught by Lu Zu, and the rules are very strict."

"Ha, then there's nothing to worry about."

So the young prince was relieved and became enthusiastic, saying: "My sister is the most beautiful and intelligent person in the world. She is really beautiful and unparalleled. Only the elder sister of the Cui family can compare with her in appearance. But the elder sister of the Cui family is too fierce. She is not like my elder sister, who is smart and calm..."

It seemed that the young prince rarely found a safe partner to show off his sister to.

The young Taoist Mingxin ate the meat porridge in small sips, his eyes wide open.

oh oh.

So that's it. So that's it.

This guy is indeed a little guy who only knows how to follow his sister.

She looks older than me, but she is not as mature as me.

The young Taoist thought proudly.

He licked his lips and recalled the candied haws that Uncle Qi had just bought for him. They were so delicious.

But the young prince couldn't help but say, "It's a pity, although my sister is good in many ways, she has the highest demands on me. Every day, she asks me to aim to become a great master who is unrivaled in the world. She wants me to do this and that, and do this and that. When the master was young, he did this and that. Oh, it's too tiring, too tiring."

The young Taoist priest widened his eyes.

It can be seen that although the young prince spoke bitterly, his face was full of pride. He was clearly showing off that his sister was strict with him and that he also had such talent.

So the little Taoist priest said unconvincedly: "I, I!"

"My master always asks me to compete with Uncle Qi!"

The young prince saw the young Taoist priest next to him and said, "The Taoist priest is very good!"

He raised his chin slightly and said, "But, my sister said that the teacher is the best in the court!"

"In this world, there is no one better than the Grand Master, Master!"

The young Taoist said, "But Master also said that Master Uncle is on the most difficult and best path. He has all three talents. Even those famous Taoist priests with the innate Qi cannot compare to Master Uncle's foundation. In the future, Master Uncle will be called a real person, and he will be able to establish a sect!"

The young prince put his palm on the table and said:

"My sister said that if that teacher were to pursue a career in politics and study literature, he would have the potential to become the most famous scholar in the world."

"If he concentrates on playing the zither, he can even make the most beautiful woman in the world bow down to him."

He added the latter sentence himself.

Young people always feel that this is how one should behave like a famous person.

The young Taoist Mingxin was dazed.

Look at Uncle Qi next to him.

I thought about it, if my uncle played the piano and was surrounded by a bunch of beauties, he would probably play the piano quietly and ignore those beauties, right?

But it seems that a lot of beauties like my uncle, huh!

In that case, who is the beauty?

Then he could only say: "Master uncle's food is delicious."

"It can also cure diseases and save lives."

The young prince said: "Cure illness and save lives..."

He sighed and said, "To have such a thought, one is already a first-rate celebrity."

He scratched his head and laughed at himself: "Ah, why are we fighting over it?"

The young Taoist priest said seriously: "Yes, why are you fighting for it?"

"You're obviously very tired, Master is too strong."

"It's very tiring, and my uncle is also very powerful."

The young prince, who was about fifteen or sixteen years old, stared at the young Taoist priest, and they both laughed.

The young Taoist priest next to him had calm eyes. He just sat in front of the stove and looked at the roasting chestnuts in the stove seriously.

There were crackling sounds in the stove, and a few chestnuts thrown in earlier popped out. The chestnuts had cracked their shells. The young Taoist put the cooked chestnuts in his hands and tossed them back and forth, blowing on them to cool them down. Then he peeled the skin and threw them into his mouth. They tasted extremely sweet. He noticed Mingxin and the young prince's gazes and smiled slightly, "Would you like some roasted chestnuts?"

Both of them felt that arguing was meaningless and felt dejected.

The young Taoist opened his palms and separated the ripe chestnuts.

The prince muttered, "I have eaten everything..."

He grabbed the chestnut from the young Taoist's palm, threw it into his mouth and chewed it.

In winter, when no one comes in at night, eating like this is not a delicacy, but it is a rare pleasure for young people.

After eating the chestnuts, it was already night, so the young Taoist picked up the little Taoist priest with a round belly, said goodbye and left. The sky was full of stars, and they were covered with night dew. There were small hills in the city, and they went up the hills to enter the temple. The young prince opened his eyes slightly, restrained his smile, and said: "Monks are naturally romantic. Those two are very powerful. They should be able to achieve true cultivation."

He stretched and said, "I'm back."

Then there was a human voice responding in the darkness.

He stood up and walked back leisurely, then took the carriage for about three incense sticks of time before he stopped in front of a large mansion with many entrances and exits. After getting off the carriage, he changed his clothes and rinsed his mouth with tea to get rid of the odor of the meat porridge and ginger ribbons he had just eaten. He also blew several times at his subordinates to make sure there was no odor in his mouth. Then he opened the door with a smile on his face.

"I'm back."

"Sister Qiongyu."