Chapter 13: Buddha's Accomplice
When Li Yanmo left Luoyang Town, he happened to meet a group of merchants who were returning in a panic. Their horses were lost, the mud on their shoes had been frozen, and their faces were pale, as if they had just returned from the gates of hell.
Li Yanmo immediately stepped forward to inquire, and used his own heat to warm up the frightened vendors, who then told his story.
It turned out that they tried to take a shortcut and took a road that passed a Taoist temple, thinking that they might be able to avoid the tiger monster by borrowing the power of the Three Pure Ones clay statues in the temple. However, they did not expect that the tiger monster would directly occupy the Taoist temple. They lost all their goods and barely managed to run back, but another group of people who came from Risheng City were not so lucky.
Even the person was taken away on the spot as a carriage, and he must have become food for the tiger monster.
When the vendors heard that Li Yanmo wanted to get rid of the tiger demon, they were all shocked and hurriedly tried to persuade him.
Some said that the tiger monster had a big belly and a round waist, just like a tiger general. Others said that the tiger monster had teeth as sharp as axes and used a tree as thick as a bowl to pick its teeth.
These are not so complicated, but when a wine merchant began to describe it, Li Yanmo felt that the problem was not simple.
"That tiger demon is very evil! It wears a monk's robe, holds a demon-subduing stick, and says 'Shan Zai' all the time!"
As soon as the wine merchant finished his description, the other vendors became unhappy.
"Nonsense! How dare a demon wear a monk's robe?"
"You must have drunk too much! You saw it wrong!"
"That's right, you reek of alcohol now!"
Li Yanmo sniffed and found that the wine merchant indeed smelled of alcohol.
The wine merchant blushed, "I didn't drink! The tiger demon broke a few jars of wine, and I accidentally fell into them!"
Seeing the vendors arguing non-stop, Li Yanmo retracted the heat he was emitting. A gust of cold wind blew down, and the vendors calmed down instantly, rubbing their arms and going back home.
Li Yanmo looked at the legs and feet of the vendors and then followed the footprints on the ground.
After running for more than ten miles, Li Yanmo finally saw the Taoist temple that the merchant mentioned.
This Taoist temple had long been abandoned and was in a dilapidated state, with both sides buried in snow, but the main entrance was clean and even had small flowers growing on it. As soon as Li Yanmo approached the door, he heard a strong voice.
"When Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva practiced the profound Prajna Paramita, he saw that the five aggregates were empty and was able to overcome all sufferings—"
Inside the Taoist temple, the altar where there should have been a row of clay elephants of the Three Pure Ones was occupied by a tiger demon wearing a cassock with Buddhist beads hanging around its neck. Under the altar, a group of people were kneeling on cushions with their hands clasped together, like devout believers, but their trembling shoulders revealed their true thoughts.
And the one who was chanting the scriptures was the tiger demon.
Every time the tiger demon recited a sentence, the person on the cushion would follow suit.
As if his mouth was dry from chanting sutras, the tiger demon raised his hand sideways and grabbed a squeaking piglet, put it to his mouth and squeezed it hard. The piglet was crushed like jelly. The tiger demon stretched out his tongue and licked it hard, then rolled all the blood mud into his mouth.
The people kneeling on the cushions chanting scriptures trembled all, and chanted louder and more devoutly, for fear that the tiger demon would be displeased and crush them like piglets.
Li Yanmo narrowed his eyes and found that every person on the cushion was emitting a wisp of gold mixed with black. As those people chanted diligently, the strange energy gathered on the tiger demon and established some kind of connection with the tiger demon.
Being an accomplice to the tiger? Is this tiger demon refining accomplices? !
Li Yanmo guessed a possibility, but when he thought about the tiger demon using Buddhist teachings to refine ghosts in the Taoist temple, Li Yanmo felt strange.
"Donor, if you also want to understand the mysteries of Buddhism, why don't you take a closer look?"
At this moment, the tiger demon suddenly raised his head, as if smiling.
Seeing that the other party had discovered his whereabouts, Li Yanmo did not hide anymore, but walked out openly.
"This is the first time I've seen a monk drinking and eating meat."
Li Yanmo glanced at one side of the altar, where there were several jars with the word "wine" on them.
"Donor, have you ever heard that wine and meat pass through the intestines, but the Buddha remains in the heart."
The tiger demon shook his head, stood up, and with his right hand, he grabbed a stick that was stained with evil spirit.
"Donor, you seem to be a Taoist. You came here to disturb me from saving all living beings. Are you trying to stir up a dispute between Taoism and Buddhism?"
It is clearly a tiger monster, but it speaks in a very complicated way. If it weren't for the blood and flesh on the corners of its mouth, it would really look like a high monk.
But this set of tricks seemed to really work. Li Yanmo could feel that there was a force pressing on his shoulders. If he could not refute the tiger demon with words, it seemed that he would always be affected by this force.
The tiger demon saw Li Yanmo's puzzled expression and immediately understood the situation. He stroked his tiger whiskers proudly and asked, "Is this your first time out of the mountain, benefactor?"
Li Yanmo didn't say anything, so the tiger demon took it as it was and continued talking like a kind teacher.
"The righteousness of heaven and earth is everywhere, and every word and action can mobilize this righteousness of heaven and earth. As the saying goes, evil cannot defeat good. Once you enter the evil path, you will naturally be suppressed by the righteousness of heaven and earth--"
At this time, a squinty-eyed young man who was kneeling on the mat suddenly clenched his fists, stood up as if he had made up his mind, and shouted in the direction of Li Yanmo, "This Immortal! You can't listen to him anymore! He wants to teach you and let the righteousness of heaven and earth suppress your cultivation!"
The tiger demon did not get angry when the squinty-eyed young man shouted like that. Instead, the couple on both sides of the young man, who looked somewhat similar to him, changed their expressions drastically. One of them held the young man down, and the other kowtowed towards the tiger demon.
"Tiger Arhat, my son was just confused for a moment!"
The tiger demon raised his hand and waved, "It's okay, Buddha has mercy on me--"
Li Yanmo seemed to be thinking, "So that's how it is. If I receive your kindness but then attack you, my heart will inevitably be infected with evil spirits and suppressed by the righteousness of heaven and earth."
"And beasts like you have no bottom line and don't even think they are doing evil."
The tiger demon's expression changed slightly, and a hint of anger flashed in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. "Well, if the donor believes that I am doing evil, you can call them. If any of them are willing to go with you, I will never stop them."
As the tiger demon said this, he generously moved aside.
But those who were kneeling on the cushions dared not move. They knelt down in the direction of the tiger demon, crying and laughing. The young man's parents were particularly excited.
"Donor, it seems that you have come to the wrong place."
Li Yanmo didn't say anything, his eyes gradually turned red. Seeing this, the tiger demon first glanced at Li Yanmo's hands, and seeing that there was no sign of any magic spell, he became complacent.
What it likes to watch most is those chivalrous monks being speechless by it, and being suppressed by the righteousness of heaven and earth, unable to exert their true strength.
"Are you so angry, benefactor? It seems that you haven't cultivated well enough. Otherwise, why don't you sit here and chant with me--"
Before the tiger demon finished his words, two beams of burning red light pierced through its throat, leaving two charred holes on the wall.
Li Yanmo raised his hand to wipe away the white smoke from his eyes and said coldly.
"I'm too lazy to reason with you. You don't deserve to hear it."
The righteous energy of heaven and earth that suppressed Li Yanmo disappeared in an instant.
(End of this chapter)
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