Chapter 44: Taoist Fool's Forest of Laughter

  Yun Zhen is not a person who likes to kill people, or rather he has never killed anyone, whether in the past or now he still thinks that killing people is a sin.

  A single angry outburst from a common man can bring down two corpses, with blood flowing for five steps. Yun Zheng himself acknowledges that he is not an ordinary man, but the arbitrary actions of the Five Gorges monks have indeed stirred up his murderous intentions. He had come to this ghostly place in a daze, and the person closest to him was none other than Yun Er. To him, Yun Er was like a vital artery; how could he be swayed by a single phrase from someone with a wise root? This is not only an insult to Yun Er, but also an insult to himself.

  Buddhist theory deviates from China's traditional moral concepts. For example, Buddhism holds that a person is the son of his parents not because he was born to them, but because in his previous life he accumulated virtues and did no evil deeds, thereby receiving retribution. In contrast, Chinese traditional morality emphasizes filial piety. This conflict naturally hindered the spread of Buddhism. Monks therefore had to find ways to adapt; they sought adaptable ideas and justifications from Buddhist scriptures. For example, the "Buddhist Scripture on Filial Piety" translated by Dharmarak?a during the Western Jin Dynasty was viewed as a Buddhist scripture on filial piety.

  Yun Er's nature was originally cold and distant due to his family background, but through his own efforts over time, he has returned to his innocent childhood self. Yun Zheng believes that as long as Yun Er can grow up healthily and safely this time, he will definitely become an outstanding person.

  Now that the monk has merged with me and can't be distinguished from me, he's about to take me back to his original world. How could Yun Zheng agree to this?

  "Don't you have a good impression of Buddhism?" "Wu Gou accepted the garland, put it around his neck, thinking that this was Yun Zheng's heart fragrance."

  "I actually don't have any bad feelings towards Buddhism, I just have bad feelings towards you." Yun Zheng replied calmly.

  "Why did you want your younger brother to become a monk? You should know that I had no ill intentions. Your younger brother is innocent and wise, and once he cultivates Buddhism, it won't be difficult for him to become a great virtuous monk of his generation. In the words of your secular family, it's also a good way to live. Why are you unwilling, and instead harbor murderous intentions?"

  Yun Zheng couldn't answer, nor did he dare to answer. He couldn't tell Wugou and the monks that at that moment, he had a fit of hysteria, just like an old widow watching someone take away her child, filled with anger and despair. Even now, thinking about it still fills him with intense hatred for Wugou.

  After all, he couldn't bear to be ruthless, and just as the white sap of the Daphne bholua was about to fall into his wine bowl, he sighed, walked forward, and threw the flower garland on Wugou's neck far down the cliff. He picked up the bowl of wine, drank it in one gulp, and then bowed to Wugou before preparing to head down the mountain.

  "You still haven't succeeded, you have a soft heart like a woman. Although today was your closest attempt at success, I won't give you the letter of recommendation yet. Let's wait until next year and see if you've made any progress." The monk Wugou sat there with a big smile on his face, looking like a Buddha, and burst out laughing as if he didn't care about what had just happened.

  Xiao Wu Gen politely bid farewell and left with those people, while Yun Zheng deliberately stayed behind and said to Wu Gou: "If you don't have any ideas about my brother, I can come visit you once or twice when I'm free and tell you some new and interesting things that you've never heard before."

  "If it's a story like 'The White Snake', I'll be delighted."

  "That doesn't count, it's just nonsense I made up. Next time I'll tell you something even more wonderful." With that, he bowed again and left the White Cloud Temple.

  Out of the temple, those people didn't wait for him. Seeing that Xiao Wugeng's mule was about to gallop to the mountain pass, Yun Zheng didn't chase after them, but instead drove the ox cart onto a fork in the road. There were many stone carvings here, and the scenery should be pretty good.

  Yun Er collapsed into the bamboo basket, snoring loudly. This kid had drunk too much wine earlier. It wasn't until they arrived at Yun Zheng that he felt a sense of safety. Killing the monk was just his own test, and the whole purpose was to probe the bottom line of the monk and the Taoist priest. As a sensitive person, from the moment he put the flower garland on the monk, he had not felt comfortable all over his body, just like being stared at by a leopard last time.

  Fortunately, the monk is a good person. Although he sells his own funeral oration as a commodity and has been selling it for several years, considering the principle of "one is willing to hit, and the other is willing to be hit", it doesn't feel so despicable.

  The person staring at himself is absolutely that smiling Taoist, a jar of rice wine can be drunk without any problem, this kind of person who soaks in wine will get drunk? Snoring is not professional at all, how can he stop snoring when giving the flower ring to Wugou?

  After walking for a while, Yun Zheng suddenly realized that he was actually walking on the five-foot path. The old cow's hooves were perfectly treading in the shallow hoof prints one by one, and the wheels of the cart were also running smoothly in the grooves. Not only did people feel extremely comfortable, but even the old cow let out two relaxed moos, startling countless sparrows into flight.

  They say that the Bird Song Mountain is even more secluded, this statement is not false at all. Just now I barely went through a twist and turn, at this time I should enjoy the feeling of the empty mountain after the new rain.

  However, things in this world are often not as one wishes. A Taoist priest sat in the middle of the road and asked Yun Zheng: "If I hadn't discovered your sinister intentions, would you really have poisoned Wugou?"

  "No. I just wanted to get Master Wu's letter of recommendation and didn't mean to harm anyone or take their life."

  "That's saying you're ready to get rid of the Five Valleys, kid. I've never met someone like you before. Don't make a wrong move, or I'll definitely take your head off."

  "Is Dao Chang a sword immortal in Shu Mountain?" Yun Zheng intentionally widened his eyes, curiously asking Xiao Lin the Taoist.

  "No! Right, you also think there's a sword immortal in Shu Mountain?"

  "That's natural, I also heard that there is a Drunken Sword Immortal who is extremely formidable. He once drank eighteen jars of fine wine in one breath and his belly didn't swell at all. When the enemy came, he could even spit out wine to defend against them."

  "Nonsense! How can a person's belly possibly hold eighteen jars of fine wine."

  "So others are sword immortals, but you're not." Yun Zheng looked at Xiao Lin Daoist with disdain, this guy had a pair of ears that loved to listen to gossip, and was probably one of those people with strange habits.

  Lao Dao has already cleared the way, Yun Zheng hurriedly drove the ox cart to continue on the road. Along this stone slab road, he could return to Dou Sha Guan. The article on the mountain still needs to be read twice more, and Tang people's Fei Bai Tie is not common.

  The ox cart sank, and only saw Laughing Forest Old Dao sitting on the cart shaft with his butt, turning his head to ask Yun Zheng: "What else have you heard about the Sword Immortal?"

  "There hasn't been any news recently, but it's said that something called the Five Ghosts White Bone Drum has appeared, and everyone is fighting for it. Hurry up and go, don't be late." Yun Zheng urged Xiao Lin Daoist to leave repeatedly.