Fragrance Returned

Entering the Dharma Hall, I saw an old monk in his seventies or eighties, maybe older, sitting cross-legged on the high platform in front of him. His face is wrinkled, his complexion is pink, his white beard hangs down to his chest, and he is wearing a red cassock. He looks particularly wise at first sight.

Master Mingyuan was preaching with his eyes closed. When Ding Xiang entered, he opened his eyes and glanced over there.

There were more than a hundred monks sitting in front, and three to four hundred lay people and pilgrims sitting outside. They lowered their heads and closed their eyes, with their palms facing up on their crossed legs, listening very carefully.

Under the guidance of the welcoming monk, Ding Zhuang and Ding Xiang sat on the two futons on the left side of the outermost corner. There were only a few people sitting in this row.

Neither the old nor the young could understand. One of them became drowsy while listening, while the other turned his little head around to watch the fun.

Ding Xiang was short and could only see the back of the person's head. She raised her butt and moved the futon so that she could see the old monk's profile over the shoulder of the person in front of her.

Only then did she realize that there was a young monk sitting behind the old monk. The young monk looked four or five years old. He was wearing gray robes and had a long string of rosary beads hanging around his neck. He lowered his head and listened attentively.

It's quite pitiful to become a monk at such a young age.

But being able to sit behind Master Mingyuan means that he has a high status, at least he is a direct disciple of the old monk. Being a direct disciple of Master Mingyuan, even though he is very fat, he is not that pitiful.

The little monk's head dropped lower and lower, and when it almost reached the ground and his whole body was about to fall down, he suddenly straightened up and raised his head. His eyes were still closed, his mouth was half-open, and a trace of silver flowed from the corner of his mouth.

This is falling asleep.

It’s really frustrating to have a child come to listen to Zen so early.

There was a hint of pity in Ding Xiang's eyes.

I saw the little monk's little head tilted back suddenly. When he thought he was about to fall, he straightened up, then lowered his head and continued to light up and down.

This child is like a roly-poly, so full of joy.

Ding Xiang burst out laughing, so scared that she quickly covered her mouth.

There was also a chuckle from the side.

Ding Xiang turned around and saw a beautiful girl of fourteen or fifteen years old, three empty futons away from her.

Suddenly, there was a snoring sound on the left, and the girl laughed again.

Ding Xiang turned her head, the snoring sound came from Ding Zhuang's mouth, and his beard was fluttering.

Ding Xiang quickly shook Ding Zhuang's arm and lowered her voice and said, "Master, wake up, I can't sleep."

Ding Zhuang woke up with a start and saw that it was the Dharma Hall. He quickly sat up straight and opened his eyes hard. After a while, his eyes closed again and he snored.

Lilac shook him awake again.

The little monk in front continued to nod a little bit in front, leaned back, and slept soundly.

The way the old and the young were dozing off made Ding Xiang and the girl laugh. After the two of them covered their mouths and laughed, they looked at each other and shared some funny things with each other.

The girl is very beautiful, with delicate eyebrows, bright eyes and white teeth, and two big dimples when she smiles. She looks very pleasing to the eye.

When Ding Xiang was watching the excitement and was not satisfied with the height of the stage, she didn't notice that another person was sitting on the futon on the far left. This person lowered his head to listen to Zen, but occasionally tilted his head slightly to the left.

This made Ding Xiang scared after that. Someone was paying close attention to her but she didn't see it. If it were an enemy and there was no one to protect him, grandpa and himself would suffer.

In her previous life, she didn't like children, but this life has completely changed. She forgot about it when she saw the cute little shota.

Finally, at the end of noon, Master Mingyuan finished his lecture.

The little monk and Ding Zhuang both woke up. The former disappeared in a blink of an eye, while the latter was in high spirits, as if he had just been spiritually cleansed.

Everyone stood up and left the Dharma hall.

As soon as the girl went out, she was surrounded by several women and girls. She even smiled and waved to Ding Xiang.

Ding Xiang also smiled and waved to her.

Looking again, he actually saw Zhu Zhan and Qin Hai walking out of the law hall. They seemed not to recognize Ding Xiang, and walked away talking and laughing.

Ding Xiang had long discovered that father and son Zhu Qian and Zhu Zhan would never leave Jiaodong at the same time. If Zhu Qian brings people out, Zhu Zhan will stay at home. When Zhu Zhan comes out, Zhu Qian will stay at home again.

After going to the dining hall to finish their meal, Dingxiang and the others walked out.

If no one comes to invite them, they will go to the Zen monastery where Master Mingyuan lives.

While he was hesitating, a young monk came towards him.

He put his hands together and said, "Amitabha, can the little donor's surname be Ding?"

It was the young monk sitting behind Master Mingyuan. The little monk has bright eyes, is white and fat, and is extremely beautiful and lovable.

Ding Xiang smiled and said, "My surname is Ding. However, the little master is much younger than me, so he shouldn't call me 'little donor'."

The little monk blushed. The master said "little donor" and he followed suit.

He quickly bowed and said, "The poor monk made a mistake. He should be called the female donor. The poor monk asked the female donor to move to the meditation room to discuss Zen."

Only small donors are invited, no old donors are invited.

Ding Zhuang, Ling'er, and Aunt Chai still went together.

This is the master's disciple. Maybe there will be a chance to meet him in the future, so we need to build a good relationship with him. Moreover, Lilac likes this child very much.

Ding Xiang asked, "Little Master's name?"

The young monk smiled and said, "The poor monk's Buddhist name is Hongyi."

Ding Xiang blurted out, "Oh, eminent monk."

Xiao Hong blushed and said modestly, "The poor monk's cultivation is still shallow and he dare not call himself a senior monk."

Aunt Ding loved him to death seeing how shy and serious he looked.

This is a little innocent person who has not been influenced by the world. He must not be able to withstand the temptation of a young lady.

She smiled more kindly, took off the purse tied around her waist, took out a glutinous rice date and put it into his mouth, and then put the whole purse into his hand.

"This is the glutinous rice and dates I made. It's so delicious."

Monk Hong originally wanted to refuse and not accept the bribe, but the special sweetness in his mouth made his eyes light up and he was reluctant to return the thing.

Ding Xiang smiled with satisfaction and held one of his hands familiarly, "I am a good person, my name is Ding Xiang. You can call me Donor Ding, or you can call me Sister Ding."

The little monk had the urge to cry.

It turns out that being held by someone is so sweet, as sweet as the dates in your mouth.

In all my life, no one has ever been so close to him. Whenever he sees other children being held and held by their parents, he becomes particularly envious.

He didn't know who had hugged him when he couldn't remember, but no one had hugged him since he remembered.

He asked the master, "Master, where are the disciple's father and mother?"

"Amitabha, monks have no parents, only good karma."

"Master, can you hug me?"

The master glanced at him, lowered his eyes and said, "Amitabha, you know your wrongs every day and correct yourself every day."

Then he left. After feeding him only steamed buns and pickles for three consecutive days, he no longer dared to say those stupid things.

Hong Yi's eyes were a little red and he was reluctant to take his hands out. Even if he was punished and had to eat steamed buns and pickles for ten days, he still wanted Sister Ding to hold her hand.

"Sister Ding" I only dared to call in my heart.