Drunk Immortal Gourd

After standing at the door of the Taoist temple for a long time, Qingyang remembered that when he left, Taoist Songhe once said that when he got tired, he might go to see the old monk Kongji, or maybe move to the old monk Kongji to take care of himself. It’s better to go to Qinglong Temple to look for it first.

Although Qinglong Temple is located in Qinglong County under Xiping Prefecture, its scale is much larger than that of Xiping Temple on Songhe Old Road. Qinglong Temple is built on Qinglong Mountain next to the county town. The entire temple covers an area of ​​dozens of acres, has nearly a hundred monks, and has a certain influence in several surrounding prefectures.

Qingyang spent another day and night to reach the bottom of Qinglong Mountain. Starting from the foot of the mountain, there are wide stone steps leading to the top of the mountain. This one alone can throw Xipingguan thousands of miles away. On the top of the mountain, a simple temple was built against the mountain. It was hidden among the towering ancient trees. It looked peaceful and imposing, solemn and majestic.

Qinglong Temple is not as remote and inaccessible as Xipingguan. Pilgrims often come here to offer incense and fulfill their vows. People come up the mountain from time to time on the avenue, so the main door is open and you can come and go as you please.

However, Qingyang did not go through the main entrance. Instead, he turned around a small road and walked around for a while. From a distance, he saw a side entrance next to the temple. When he was a child, Qingyang and his master once came to see the old monk Kongji. This is where they walked. side.

Qingyang was about to step forward, but found that someone had arrived first. A young man suddenly took a few steps forward, rushed to the side door, raised his fist and hit it hard. This young man was about in his early thirties, wearing a new silk shirt, with an oily look in his eyes, and he didn't look like a kind person.

After waiting for a few seconds and seeing no movement inside, the man banged on the door a few more times and said, "Old liar, open the door. You have the ability to defraud money. You have the ability to open the door. Don't hide in there and keep silent. I know you’re at home, bah, open the door, open the door!”

There was finally a reaction to such a big movement. Not long after, the side door opened, and a tall monk bent down and came out of the side door. The monk was stout and almost taller than the door. He stood there like an iron tower. He lowered his head and looked at the young man in front of him. He clasped his palms together and said in a loud voice: "Amitabha, who is the donor looking for?"

The young man originally wanted to show off his power, but when he saw the tall monk, his momentum suddenly weakened by half, and he said: "I'm looking for an old Taoist priest. He cheated me of my money. Don't cover up. I saw him hiding here with my own eyes." ”

Hearing this person mention the old Taoist priest, the tall monk couldn't help but frown, his face suddenly became ugly, and he said in a low voice: "Just wait, I will find him."

The tall monk turned and left, and soon he came out with an old Taoist priest. Seen from a distance, the old Taoist priest is thin, with white beard and hair, and a slightly hunched back. He wears a worn Taoist robe and walks like an old man.

But looking closer, the old Taoist priest's face was ruddy, his eyes were restrained and energetic, and he had a faint smile on his face. He didn't look like an old man at all.

Seeing the old Taoist priest, the young man suddenly became angry. He rushed forward and shouted, "It's you, old liar. I've found you. Pay me back my money quickly."

The old Taoist priest narrowed his eyes, pretended to be drunk, and said, "What kind of silver?"

Seeing that the old Taoist priest was pretending to be confused, the young man said angrily: "What silver? I spent five taels of silver to buy the Peach Blossom Talisman from you. You said that if you use the Peach Blossom Talisman on the girl you like, she will follow me obediently. As a result, Not only was my attempt unsuccessful, but I was beaten so badly that I had to stay in bed for half a month to recover. You gave me money and medical expenses."

The old Taoist priest smiled and said: "I have already said that sincerity leads to spirituality, and a righteous heart leads to spirituality. If your heart is neither sincere nor upright, of course it will not work. How can you blame me?"

This young man is a prodigal. Some time ago, he fell in love with a woman who came to the mountain to offer incense at Qinglong Temple. Then he suddenly had evil thoughts and wanted to use force secretly. As a result, he met this old Taoist priest for some reason and was attracted by this old man. The Taoist priest ruined a good thing.

The young man wanted to beat up the old Taoist priest, but he was deceived by the old Taoist priest. Not only did he get rid of his old grudges, but he also spent five taels of silver to buy him a peach blossom charm. After returning home, the young man experimented with the Peach Blossom Talisman. Not only was it unsuccessful, but he was also caught and beaten by the woman's family members. Only then did he realize that he had been deceived, so he came to recover the situation in anger.

Seeing that the old Taoist priest was deceiving himself with the same rhetoric as before, the young man suddenly became furious and said: "Do you think I am really a fool? What kind of sincerity? It's all nonsense. I think you are a big liar. Please make amends immediately." my money.”

The old Taoist priest leaned against the door frame of the side door, spread out his hands, and said, "But I bought wine and drank the money. How can I pay you back if I don't have any money?"

Before the young man could speak, the tall monk next to him spoke first and complained: "Amitabha, senior, are you drinking in our temple again? You will anger the Buddha."

The old Taoist priest said nonchalantly: "Where is the Buddha? They are just a few clay bodies. Your master is too lazy to care about Master Guan. How can you, a little monk, take care of it?"

Hearing the old Taoist priest's blasphemous words about the Buddha, the tall monk was frightened and did not dare to say anything anymore. He quickly stepped aside, clasped his hands together, and kept muttering his sins and begging the Buddha for forgiveness.

The young man finally found a chance to speak and said: "I don't care, you have to pay me back the money anyway, plus the medical expenses, the total is ten taels. If you don't pay me back today, I will report it to the official."

The young man refused to give up, and the old Taoist priest had no choice but to touch his arms, and finally took out a jade ring and said: "I don't have any silver, but I do have a jade ring, which is worth more than fifty taels of silver. After deducting the ten taels, If you want more than forty taels from me, take it."

Seeing that the old Taoist priest was so easy to talk to, the young man couldn't believe it. He was also a knowledgeable person and could roughly estimate the value of the jade ring, so he knew that the old Taoist priest had not deceived him.

The young man originally thought it would be good to get his five taels of silver back, but he was just a lion. Unexpectedly, the other party agreed and he could get an extra five taels. How could he miss such a good thing? Unfortunately, after searching all over the body, only a dozen taels of silver were found, which was still far from the more than forty taels.

In desperation, the young man had no choice but to say: "Well, I don't have that much money with me. Can the old man wait a moment while I go down the mountain to get the silver..."

Before the young man finished speaking, he was interrupted by the old Taoist priest, saying: "The next trip to the mountain will take at least several hours. How can I have so much time to wait for you, Taoist Master? I won't wait until you are overdue."

Don’t wait until it’s expired? This is how to do? How could he let the money he finally obtained fly away? The young man was in a dilemma.