Upon entering Yunji Temple, you are greeted by a large square with two side halls on the left and right, and the main hall in the center. Here, the flow of people begins to separate: those who want to offer incense and worship Buddha go to one side, and those who don't go to offer incense go to the other side.
Hua Tuo and Wang Yao are immortals, so naturally they wouldn't offer incense. But Hui Shuo, although a fake monk, still insisted on offering incense. He grabbed Wang Yao and demanded money from him.
"Hurry up, hurry up, keep up!" A monk kept urging him on. Wang Yao cursed Hui Shuo in his heart for being cunning, but the monks in the temple were urging him too hard, and he couldn't negotiate with Hui Shuo. He could only take out a hundred-yuan bill from his Qiankun and hand it to Hui Shuo.
Hui Shuo looked at the bill, his eyes widened, and he shook his head repeatedly.
"Damn it, 100 yuan isn't enough to burn incense?" Wang Yao glared at him.
"I have some here, take it quickly." To everyone's surprise, Hua Tuo pulled out a wad of banknotes and handed them to Hui Shuo. Hui Shuo accepted the banknotes without ceremony and happily followed the flow of people offering incense.
"How much did you give him?" Wang Yao asked Hua Tuo.
“A few hundred yuan, I don’t know. I’m telling you, this isn’t right of you. It’s a good thing that you’re keeping the money for your son so he doesn’t squander it, but people come here to burn incense for a proper purpose. It’s not your money they’re using, so why are you being so stingy?” Hua Tuo scolded Wang Yao.
"This... I'm not going to give him 100 yuan? How much can you spend on burning incense?" Wang Yao stared, feeling very puzzled.
"100 yuan? Do you think the Bodhisattva is a beggar?" Hua Tuo cursed. "Did you see that tall incense stick? Do you think you can afford 100 yuan for just one stick? There should be at least 100 yuan in the donation box, right? After all, Hui Shuo came from Caidu. Isn't it normal for him to offer more here?"
Upon closer inspection, Wang Yao finally understood. It turned out that the temple provided three thin incense sticks for free, but those who wanted to buy insurance had to ask for high-grade incense. High-grade incense was divided into several grades, with the largest one being almost as big as a cannon. Not to mention a hundred, even a thousand might not be enough to get one stick.
The group of people burning incense, led by a monk, went directly to the Mahavira Hall while chanting. They first selected incense, and then went to the Mahavira Hall in turn to kowtow to the Bodhisattva. After kowtowing, another monk led them into the Mahavira Hall.
Wang Yao and Hua Tuo's group, who didn't offer incense, were also led by a monk as they walked along the right-hand side halls, visiting each one in turn. Wang Yao noticed another group of people emerging from the left-hand side hall, heading straight for the side gate leading out of Yunji Temple, presumably having finished their tour.
"The lottery is free, and there will be a high monk explaining it later." Wang Yao entered the side hall, and before he could even see who the Bodhisattva enshrined in the side hall was, a monk kept calling out. He saw a row of small tables on the right side of the exit in front of the side hall, and each table had several divination sticks.
On the left sat a row of old monks who exchanged the tourists' drawn lots for slips of paper. The tourists who received the slips of paper then filed out from the exit in front.
Hearing that the lottery was free, tourists simply considered it a perk of visiting Yunji Temple, and one by one they shook the lottery tube and drew lots.
"Bring it here, bring it here!" The old monk beside him kept urging. Wang Yao and Hua Tuo followed suit and drew lots. When Wang Yao looked at the lot, he saw that the top of the lot had numbers written in black paint and the bottom had two red characters "Superior". Wow, he actually drew a superior lot without realizing it.
Wang Yao happily handed the fortune stick to the old monk. The old monk took the fortune stick, glanced at it briefly, and then handed him a piece of paper.
Wang Yao took the paper and saw a poem written on it: "What is destined to be yours will be yours, and what is not, you cannot force. Aspire to great heights from humble beginnings, and find freedom on the other side of the world. In the vast sea of humanity, the profound laws remain, and extraordinary people await your planning everywhere. You must eventually reach that mountain peak, where the most romantic place is where the willows are dark and the flowers are bright."
After looking for a while, Wang Yao still didn't understand what it meant. At this moment, the people behind him were urging him on, so he had no choice but to hurriedly leave the side hall through the exit in front of him with Hua Tuo.
"Hey! What did you draw? I got the best one!" Wang Yao hurriedly showed off to Hua Tuo.
“Even the labor and capital are top-notch.” Hua Tuo glanced at Wang Yao disdainfully.
Emerging from the side hall, a wooden corridor led Wang Yao's group around the main hall and into the second courtyard.
"This is the Guanyin Hall. Those who want to offer incense, please go this way!" another monk shouted from the side. Another group of people split off from the queue. Wang Yao and Hua Tuo continued forward, but this time they did not enter through the side halls on either side. Instead, they went directly up the right-hand corridor in the courtyard and went around the main hall to the back.
Further on were the Ksitigarbha Hall, the Garan Hall, and the Heavenly King Hall. As they walked, Wang Yao's group dwindled in size. Wang Yao and Hua Tuo grew increasingly uneasy, as if they were the only two heretics in Yunji Temple who didn't even kneel before a single Bodhisattva—it was utterly rebellious.
However, the monk who led the way did not say anything idle. Instead, he led them to the Arhat Hall. After passing the Arhat Hall, they saw a large courtyard with rows of small red houses. At a glance, there seemed to be at least twenty or thirty such houses.
"The fortune-telling room is just ahead. There are eminent monks who will interpret your fortunes. After you have your fortunes interpreted here, walk out from there."
The monk pointed and said. Wang Yao looked and saw that many people came out of the divination room, but they did not follow the route the monk had given them. Instead, they circled around towards the Arhat Hall. No monk said anything to them. Wang Yao and Hua Tuo did not enter the Arhat Hall and did not know what was inside.
They saw that many of the people who came out of the Arhat Hall were going to the fortune-telling room. The two of them were curious and each chose the nearest fortune-telling room and went inside.
The fortune-telling room was extremely dark, filled with the acrid smell of cigarette smoke, and a few candle flames flickered. The room was furnished much like a doctor's office in a hospital, with a table on each side, two high-ranking monks sitting behind the tables, and a chair in front of each table.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com