Chapter 51: Late

051 Late

The ninth day is a good day to travel.

Xiang Jiannan followed his master into the carriage early in the morning. He did not wake up until the carriage started. He could not sleep in bed last night. He held the scriptures in his hands and stayed up until dawn. When his master knocked on the door and called him, he realized that everything was ready.

He was holding only a whisk in his hand and looked very tragic, as if he was going to a meeting alone. As soon as the gate of the temple opened, he got directly into the carriage.

"Isn't this driver from Ping'an Town?"

When he got on the car, he felt that the driver looked unfamiliar. As the vehicle began to shake, Xiang Jiannan said calmly.

He did a lot of preparatory work in the past few days. Although there was no substantial improvement, he accumulated a lot of confidence. The waiting time is often quite painful, but when the day to attend the Lotus Sutra Conference really came, he felt calm instead.

"Somewhere else, have breakfast in the city."

Gao Yuan was not in a very good mood to chat with Xiang Jiannan, so he quickly closed his eyes, just like he usually did in the incense hall. Soon he entered a state of meditation. This time he was obviously in a deeper state than before, and snoring could be heard from his nose from time to time.

I didn’t sleep well either.

At this time, he was already very energetic. Feeling the breeze coming in from outside the curtain, Xiang Jiannan tried his best not to disturb his master. The temperature during this period of time was still very pleasant. After a few hours, the torment would begin.

At that time, they were almost reaching the county town.

Just after entering the city gate under the scorching sun, Xiang Jiannan saw that his master had woken up at some point. He was rarely seen holding his chin in his hand as if thinking, and his tone was very melancholy when he spoke: "What should I do?"

Needless to say, I was definitely scared by the bald heads I saw everywhere.

“Will the Lotus Sutra Conference be so lively every year?”

As soon as he entered the city, he found that the number of monks was a bit exaggerated. Xiang Jiannan had never expected that the appeal of the Lotus Sutra Conference would be so great. Looking around, monks had become the protagonists of the county, and they were constantly coming and going in the streets, chatting and interacting with vendors and civilians. The colorful monk robes were dazzling.

"It's quite lively. It has attracted all the monks from nearby."

After entering the county town, the carriage slowed down dramatically. Gao Yuan took this opportunity to give his apprentice extra lessons: "Previous Lotus Sutra Conferences were rarely like today. This time, it's different."

"What's the difference? It can't be because of the two of us."

Most of what he knew about the Lotus Sutra Assembly came from his master. Xiang Jiannan drew the curtain and concentrated on asking Gao Yuan for advice.

The Lotus Sutra Conference he knew was just a feast for the monks. In the beginning, there were other practitioners participating. But after it was held a few times, it was just the monks playing by themselves. It was said that this was because the arrangements later were too unreasonable. Other practitioners who participated in the Lotus Sutra Conference were either killed or injured at any time, which chilled the morale of the practitioners.

Therefore, in my own mind, the Lotus Sutra Assembly was dangerous. There were also rumors about these things in the market, but they sounded even more bizarre than what the master said. They were passed down from generation to generation, and there were all kinds of stories. Most of the laymen just listened to them for fun, and after a long time, they still worshipped that group of monks.

"Based on the current situation, it's almost certain."

He leaned out and shouted to the coachman, Gao Yuan, asking him to find a place to stop the car in front. The voice was not loud, but it attracted the attention of a group of monks. When Xiang Jiannan also leaned his head out of the carriage, he found that he and his master had already become the focus.

Compared with the monks all over the streets, they seemed more ostentatious in Taoist costumes.

"You don't have to come down. I'll buy something for you."

Enjoying the monks' gaze, Gao Yuan held his head high and chest out, showing the extraordinary mental outlook of a Taoist priest in Ping'an Temple. Hearing the whispers around him getting louder, he bought something and immediately set his eyes on a fat monk.

"What are you looking at? I am the master of Ping An Temple, Gao Yu'an!"

With just one sentence, the whole street fell silent. The fat monk simply nodded. He seemed puzzled and didn't say anything in the end. His smile looked very stiff.

He only noticed Gao Yuan because of other people's attention. With so many people around, he felt he was innocent.

The abbot of Ping An Temple? He doesn't look like a good person. Amitabha, I've never heard of him before.

"breakfast."

Holding the steaming hot pastries, Gao Yuan urged the carriage forward again. He ate while handing a portion to Xiang Jiannan. The latter had no appetite at the moment, so he took the pastries and then put them down immediately. When three familiar buildings appeared in his eyes, Xiang Jiannan became interested again. He saw that the three Taoist temples seemed to have changed. Compared with the last time he saw them, they no longer looked so desolate.

It is visible to the naked eye that the dirty and messy environment around the Taoist temple has been improved. After I left, did the Taoists inside figure it out?

"Should we visit those three Taoist temples first?"

After jumping off the carriage, Xiang Jiannan first asked his master, it was surprising to see so many monks on this street. There were only a few standing at the entrance of Baofo Temple. From a distance, they should be responsible for welcoming people.

There seemed to be no movement, and it seemed that there was still time.

"No."

He casually threw the oil paper used to wrap the cakes at his feet, Gao Yuan didn't even look at the three Taoist temples:

"Do you know when the Lotus Sutra Conference will begin?"

"have no idea."

"That's it, it's better to go in early."

"Master, you don't know either?"

"Why would a Taoist priest remember the things of a monk?"

It seems like we're here too early.

Please...you...collect_6Ⅰ9ⅠBookⅠBar (Six\\\Nine\\\Book\\\Bar!)

They walked as if they were in an empty place. Except for explaining their identities to the monks at the door when they came in, Xiang Jiannan and his master were ignored by everyone after entering the temple. The two of them wandered around in Baofo Temple based on their feelings, and only realized that something was wrong when they stopped.

They met so many monks, but no one noticed them. On such an important day, the Baofo Temple looked chaotic.

"Let's ask a monk."

Feeling that it was not a good idea to keep searching like this, Xiang Jiannan was also convinced by his master's confidence. Before entering the temple, he said that he was very familiar with Baofo Temple, but he ended up searching for a long time and still couldn't find the meeting place.

The scale of Baofo Temple is unusually large. Every time I walked into a place, I felt that it was very similar to what I had imagined. I walked around and changed the location more than a dozen times.

“It wasn’t like this before.”

Looking around, he was still confused. Gao Yuan reacted quickly this time. He stopped a monk who was passing by and asked him:

"Monk, is this Baofo Temple?"

"You two are from Ping An Temple, right?"

As if he already knew the identities of Xiang Jiannan and Gao Yuan, the monk who was held back smiled triumphantly: "Zen Master Liaokong was just talking about you guys, and you are here as expected."

"Where is he now?"

"In the Zen room."

"Take the Taoist priest to see him."

"You two are late now."

Leading Xiang Jiannan and Gao Yu'an deeper into the city, the monk who led the way started talking: "After the Buddhist exchange, the monks all went to the streets. We should be able to see them when we enter the city."

It's too late. Xiang Jiannan and Gao Yuan listened in silence, as if asking, "Why didn't you say it earlier?" Although they all knew that the Lotus Sutra Assembly would last for several days, they didn't expect that the first day would end so quickly. It seemed that they had nothing to do with the Buddhist teachings.

"I have just circled around you for more than ten times, waiting for you two to ask questions."

Xiang Gao and the other person were led to the door of a Zen room. The monk who led the way motioned for them to wait a moment. After they went in alone, they heard a lot of noise from inside, and soon he pushed the door open with a smile on his face.

"The Zen Master said that this year's Lotus Sutra Conference is different from previous ones. Please follow me to the side room to rest first."

"real?"

He just took the whisk and swept it suddenly. Gao Yuan's movements looked very slow. As the whisk in his hand gently slid past his eyes, Xiang Jiannan saw that the leading monk instantly turned into a pool of black water. Almost at the same time, Zen Master Liaokong walked out of the Zen room with a group of people.

(End of this chapter)