MTL - Denghuaxiao

Chapter 44: Bribing the Gods

Wan'en Temple is a century-old temple that has experienced two dynasties.

Nowadays, the Wan'en Temple in Liang Dynasty worships orthodox gods, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and it is bustling every year on the first day of April. But a hundred years ago, Wan'en Temple was originally just a wild temple.

It is said that hundreds of years ago, there was a farmer's family who was brutally killed by robbers. All ten members of the family were killed. Only the youngest son of the farmer's family escaped with his servants.

The servant died halfway through the journey, leaving only a child of five or six years old. On the way to exile, he passed by a ruined temple. He was hungry and exhausted. He was on the verge of death. When he looked up, he saw that there was an unknown statue of a **** enshrined in the ruined temple. , then he fell down and worshiped, hoping that the gods and Buddhas in the temple could open their eyes and realize the suffering of the world, so that the evildoers would be rewarded.

The child died soon after praying. A few days later, the gangster was caught by the police. Some people said that the gods and Buddhas in this ruined temple were extremely efficacious, and wealthy businessmen paid for the statues to be regilded with gold, and a larger temple was built nearby.

 This is the predecessor of Wan'en Temple.

Wan'en Temple is very popular, but this legend is just a rumor to add a mythical color. However, there is indeed an abandoned side hall in the temple, and there is a dilapidated statue in the temple that is not worshiped.

According to the monks in the temple, this statue does not belong to the orthodox gods and Buddhas, but was left by the abbot of Wan'en Temple during the previous dynasty. Later, after the former dynasty was overthrown, Wan'en Temple was renovated. The statue was not easy to be destroyed for fear of disrespecting gods and Buddhas, but no one worshiped it. Gradually, that Dharma hall became abandoned. Monks often use this hall to pile up fish and turtles for release during ritual ceremonies.

 The rain at night was heavier than in the evening, and there were no traces of monks and pilgrims in the mountain temple. Only the lamps everywhere swayed in the Dharma Hall, dragging out elongated figures.

Two people stood in front of the abandoned side hall door.

Ke Chengxing wiped the water from his face and handed the poncho to Wanfu beside him.

Wanfu took it and sent the baggage to Ke Chengxing.

Ke Chengxing weighed the baggage and whispered to Wanfu: "Just wait for me outside."

Wanfu nodded, Ke Chengxing carried the baggage, pushed the door open a crack, and quietly entered the hall.

This Dharma Hall is very old and not as solemn or gorgeous as the Dharma Halls I saw in the temple before. Because no one had cleaned it for a long time, it gave off a rotten musty smell.

Ke Chengxing took two steps and almost tripped over something under his feet. Looking through the dim light, he could see clearly that the large and small water tanks and bamboo baskets in the hall were filled with turtles, turtles and loaches for release.

The smell of muddy water mixed with the stale musty smell is almost nauseating. The dharma lanterns in this hall were also lit very little, less than ten in total. They were barely able to illuminate, but they made the dharma hall look even more eerie and eerie.

A gust of cold wind blew, and Ke Chengxing couldn't help but shiver. He quickly quickened his pace, held back the fishy smell at the tip of his nose, and walked quickly to the statue at the front of the hall.

This is an abandoned statue, no one has worshiped it for a long time, and the colorful sculptures on it are scattered and mottled. He could vaguely see a man with a green face and red hair, looking calm and intimidating.

Ke Chengxing only glanced at it and then lowered his head, not daring to look up again.

After searching for a long time, he found an overturned niche at the foot of the statue. He quickly straightened it up, dragged over a torn futon, and knelt down upright.

 Finally, Ke Chengxing took out a handful of incense from his baggage and lit it with a stick.

 “Bodhisattva, Master, Immortal—”

He held the incense in his hand, kowtowed and begged: "Please save the little one, send a divine message to catch the female ghost, so that she will not cause harm to the world."

 Green mist curled up, and the gods and Buddhas closed their eyes and said nothing.

 Ke Chengxing is here to burn incense. I don’t know where Wanfu got it from. In Wan’en Temple, the Bodhisattva in each hall has the duties of the Bodhisattva in each hall. One hall is for marriage, one is for studies, one is for health, and the other is for wealth.

It may be in charge of heirs or officialdom, but only this abandoned side hall statue is in charge of catching ghosts.

 It’s just that no one worships this statue, and it is a relic from the previous dynasty. Pilgrims will not take the initiative to worship it, so as not to cause trouble. Wanfu then suggested that it would be better to wait until midnight and touch a few incense sticks in this side hall to let the gods and Buddhas know his sincerity, and they would receive his wishes.

Moreover, the Lu family’s ghost followed him all the way and led her into this temple. She might even be trapped by the gods and Buddhas and never be able to get out. In the meantime, he would be liberated and have no worries.

Wanfu said to him: "Sir, they say that the underworld is snobbish, and there is still a principle in the world of taking advantage of others. You can prepare more incense so that you can bribe the gods or the servants who are on errands."

Although Ke Chengxing thought this method was indescribably weird, he was also frightened by Lu's ghost now, so he sought medical treatment in a hurry, so he only hesitated slightly before agreeing to Wanfu's suggestion.

 That's why at midnight tonight, he secretly came to this temple to offer incense and candles.

Ke Chengxing did not ask Wanfu to follow him because the content of his offerings to gods and Buddhas could not be heard by outsiders.

He lit the incense, placed it in the Buddhist niche, bowed several times, took out some paper scraps, and burned them carefully in the iron basin.

The firelight reflected on his face, making his eyes look wild and frightened.

He seemed pitiful, but his words were vicious, and he just whispered in a low voice: "Master God, Master Bodhisattva, I burned incense today, and I also beg you to save the little one. The Lu family is very resentful and may kill other people for disaster. Please pray to Bodhisattva." It is also a meritorious deed for me to drive her away or save her."

He continued to talk nonsense, and became more courageous, and said: "Although this matter is a small mistake, but in terms of cause and effect, it is also the fault of the Taishi Mansion for bullying others. Mr. Lu and I were originally a loving couple, how come we are now in this situation?" The situation!"

Ke Chengxing’s eyes were a little dark.

That day in Fengle Tower, after he sobered up, he learned that Mr. Lu might have been insulted. He was so angry that he even wanted to kill the other person. Hearing that the other party had not left yet, Ke Chengxing came to the door aggressively and met the master's master.

The young master didn't even look at him, and was letting the maid adjust his belt in a daze. Seeing Ke Chengxing come to ask for an explanation, the servant next to him who looked like a butler stuffed him with a stack of banknotes.

Ke Chengxing naturally refused to give up, but the servants of the Taishi Mansion looked at him and said with a smile: "It's just a misunderstanding at the moment. Mr. Ke wants to make the matter bigger. The Taishi Mansion will just lose some face. Mr. Ke will be in Shengli in the future." I’m afraid it will be difficult to do business in Beijing.”

The housekeeper sighed and reminded him with concern: "Even if Mr. Ke doesn't think about himself, he must think about the old lady. The old lady is old. If this kind of thing spreads, the old lady may not be able to bear the blow. "

 Ke Chengxing was speechless.

Mrs. Ke only cares about the reputation of the Ke family. If she offends the Taishi Mansion now, the entire Shengjing business will ostracize the Ke family. How can it be better in the future?

Besides, they don’t dare to offend the Grand Master’s Mansion…

Ke Chengxing had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept it.

He got into such a disaster for no reason. Before he could think of what to do next, Mr. Lu woke up and started making trouble first.

 (End of this chapter)