Embers Ad Infinitum

Although Chang Haijiang has been stationed in the ice field all year round, he was born in the "Salvation Army" and rose to the middle level. He has a certain understanding of all aspects of the situation. He has also met several monks and knows how to deal with the people in front of him.

He asked kindly:

"A few Zen masters, want to change something?"

The old Red Bank man replied calmly:

"Some brown bread instead."

"No." Chang Haijiang shook his head, "There are cereals of the same value, do you want them?"

The old Hong'an man thought for a while and said:

"That's fine."

He immediately took off a small cloth bag hanging on his waist and took out a gold piece from it:

"Is this enough?"

Chang Haijiang took it, weighed it, and distinguished it for a while:

"I can exchange for almost a hundred. Well, I won't be able to take out so many for a while. There are only thirty or so left in the kitchen... Zen Master, would you like to exchange for some other supplies, or wait for the kitchen to steam new ones? ?”

The old Hong'an man did not hesitate:

"I just want cereals and steamed buns. We can wait."

"Okay." Chang Haijiang did not persuade.

The old Hong'an man then led the group of dusty gray-robed monks wearing patched clothes to the door and found a place to sit on the ground.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of them.

That was Shang Jianyao holding the "Six Senses Pearl".

Jiang Baimian couldn't hold him back.

Shang Jianyao followed and sat on the ground, his posture was a bit awkward.

He put his hands together and said:

"Namo Ayodoro Sanyao Sanbodhi, Poor Monk Pudu, how do you call them?"

The old Hong'an man responded with the same courtesy:

"Namo Ayodoro Samyak Sambodhi, poor monk Palanga."

"Are you from the 'Crystal Consciousness Sect'?" Shang Jianyao asked curiously.

Obviously, this is not a "monastic order". They have not abandoned the body, achieved enlightenment through technology, and ascended mechanically.

Palanga shook his head:

"We are from the 'Ascetic Ministry'."

"'Ministry of Asceticism'?" Shang Jianyao made a confused voice.

He hadn't heard of it.

"We focus on asceticism in order to temper our will, improve ourselves, and finally transcend." Palanga explained concisely and concisely, without lengthy speeches.

He turned to ask:

"I wonder where the mage is from?"

"Monk order." Shang Jianyao answered without hesitation.

Seeing the surprised expressions on the faces of Palanga and other monks, with "disbelief" written all over them, he added:

“But they and I eventually parted ways over our different understandings of Zen’s true nature.”

As he spoke, he sighed, looking like an enlightened monk.

After explaining, Shang Jianyao answered Palanga's question again:

"I am not a member of any monk group. Because I have had contact with different monks, read some scriptures, and gained some fate, I chose this path, Namo Ayodoro Samyak Sambodhi."

It was as true as what he said... Jiang Baimian, who was standing by the door, didn't want to recognize this guy as his companion.

However, in essence, Shang Jianyao did not lie. Zen Master Pudu was indeed such a "person".

Palanga looked Shang Jianyao up and down.

His eyes glanced at the string of rosary beads in the other person's hand and suddenly froze.

"Namo Ayodoro Samyak Sambodhi." Palanga once again clasped his hands together and whispered the name of the Buddha.

He didn't ask any more questions.

Shang Jianyao looked at the monks around him curiously:

"Why don't they talk?"

Yes, that's too polite...strict discipline? Jiang Baimian felt something was wrong just now.

The group of monks only listened but did not speak, and did not participate in the conversation between Palanga and Shang Jianyao at all.

Normally, when the name "Monk Order" was mentioned in Shang Jian Yao Newspaper, more or less some of them would question it.

Palanga did not lie and answered calmly:

“The monks in our ‘Ascetic Ministry’ have been practicing closed-mouth meditation for at least twenty years.”

"Oh oh oh." Shang Jianyao said "I understand" on his face, "Master, you have been practicing for twenty years?"

Palanga nodded:

"I have been practicing closed-mouth meditation for twenty years, and I have been speaking for another twenty years. I am currently practicing closed-mouth meditation for the second time."

"Then, why can you speak now?" Shang Jianyao did not hide his curiosity.

Palanga's expression suddenly became slightly dazed:

"Failed, I broke my own silence."

"How could such a thing happen?" Pudu Zen Master Shang Jianyao looked concerned.

Palanga lowered his head, clasped his hands together, and then pronounced the name of the Buddha:

"Namo Ayodoro Samyak Sambodhi, the omen has appeared, and the great calamity is coming."

"Great catastrophe? What great catastrophe?" Shang Jianyao held the "Six Senses Pearl" in one hand and raised his other hand to his chest.

Palanga closed her mouth and said nothing, as if she had returned to the state when practicing closed mouth meditation.

Zen Master Pudu was gentle and compassionate, not caring about himself. He gave up questioning and stood up slowly.

After passing Jiang Baimian and returning to the resting point, he put the "Six Senses Pearl" back into his tactical backpack.

Jiang Baimian said nothing, and followed Shang Jianyao, who had switched to an unknown personality, back to his original position and sat down.

Bai Chen and Long Yuehong looked up at them and then cast their eyes on the dining table.

Chang Haijiang had already brought over a large bowl of dried meat and a large plate of yellow steamed buns.

For such a group of monks to come to the ice field, could they also be going... As soon as Long Yuehong had this thought, he forcibly shifted his attention to the plate of game.

He knew that in the field of "Bodhi" there were abilities such as "connection with other minds" and "connection with heavenly ears". When the distance between the two parties was less than ten meters, it was neither convenient for him or others to discuss it, nor did they dare to think about it.

While the "Jiu Tiao Group" ate the dried meat, Chang Haijiang successively brought grilled venison with onions, smoked Bei'an Lake fish, pickled cucumbers, mixed vegetables and steamed minced meat patties.

The soup is a variation of cabbage soup, slightly sweet.

"The smell of venison is a bit strong, but luckily it's roasted." Long Yuehong asked herself to focus entirely on the food while eating.

"This is obviously not artificially selected and raised, but caught in the wild." Jiang Baimian also commented.

In this season, there are many wild animals in the area to the south, which was later "annexed" by the ice sheet.

"Woohoo." Shang Jianyao stuffed his mouth full of food.

Bai Chen nodded:

"The pickles are surprisingly good."

It is very anti-greasy and can neutralize the fishy smell.

In general, after running around in the wilderness for many days, the "Old Tune Team" had a fairly satisfying meal.

After looking at the scene where the cups and plates were empty, Jiang Baimian stood up and said:

"Go back to the parking lot, we can't leave Lao Ge there alone."

"Okay." Shang Jianyao responded very positively.

Bai Chen and Long Yuehong probably guessed what Jiang Baimian meant:

I don’t know if these monks have “other minds”, so it’s better to stay away from them.

——Jiang Baimian also said before that he would take today as a day off. He would open two rooms here and sleep on a spacious bed. Long Yuehong had a little bit of expectation.

After returning to his jeep in the parking lot, Jiang Baimian simply gave instructions:

"Normal night duty, rotation."

She did not discuss those ascetics with her team members, fearing that they might have "clairvoyance".

It doesn’t matter what you write, “clairvoyance” also really exists in this world.

However, there is a distance of dozens of meters between the parking lot and the house at the rest stop. With the characteristics of "other minds", even if there are awakened ones at the "spiritual corridor" level among Palanga and other ascetics and have acquired this ability, There is a high probability that the voices of the humans here will not be heard.

The previous mechanical monk's purification method was considered powerful in the "Sea of ​​Origin", but it could only vaguely "hear" some keywords within two or three meters.

Taking into account the improvement in different directions, after entering the "soul corridor", the awakened person can roughly "hear" a person's inner thoughts clearly within seven or eight meters, which is quite good. Even if it is explored to the depths, it is difficult to make a qualitative change.

Of course, this is the empirical inference of Shang Jianyao, Jiang Baimian and others, and "Pangaea Biology" did not give precise data.

Based on this, Jiang Baimian's thoughts were slightly indulgent:

"A group of monks came to the ice field, probably heading for Taicheng...

“If you are simply practicing asceticism to attain enlightenment, you can definitely choose to come in winter…

"Moreover, they also collected some gold along the way to exchange for supplies. They obviously didn't want to waste too much time on replenishing food..."

For a moment, Jiang Baimian didn't know whether to slow down and wait for the group of ascetics to visit the holy land before arriving in Taicheng, or to get ahead of them to avoid any accidents.

At this time, Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and Gnawa were also immersed in their own thoughts.

…………

The next day, the "old transfer team" replenished supplies with the remaining bills, and Bai Chen drove the car, leaving the rest stop and continuing to the northeast.

Seven or eight minutes later, Shang Jianyao found a group of monks in Palanga wearing dusty patched clothes walking silently by the roadside.

He suddenly pressed down the car window and asked loudly:

"What exactly does the great calamity mean?"

Palanga ignored him, lowered his head slightly, clasped his hands, and walked forward step by step.