Chapter 364: The Old Taoist Priest and the Tall Monk

After standing at the gate of the Taoist temple for a long time, Qingyang remembered that when he left, Taoist Songhe once said that he might go to find Monk Kongji when he was tired, and maybe he would move to Monk Kongji's place to retire. It would be better to look for him at Qinglong Temple first.

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

Qingyang spent another day and night to come to the foot of Qinglong Mountain. From the foot of the mountain, the wide stone steps lead all the way to the top of the mountain. This one alone is far better than Xiping Temple. On the top of the mountain, an ancient temple is built along the mountain, hidden among the towering ancient trees. It looks quiet and imposing, solemn and magnificent.

Qinglong Temple is not as remote and uninhabited as Xiping Temple. There are often pilgrims coming here to burn incense and fulfill their vows. People often go up the mountain on the main road, so the main gate is open and people can come and go as they please.

However, Qingyang did not go through the main gate, but turned a small road and walked around for a while. He saw a side door next to the temple from a distance. When he was a child, Qingyang and his master came to find the old monk Kongji, and they walked this way at that time.

Just as Qingyang was about to go forward, he found that someone had taken the lead. A young man suddenly rushed a few steps, rushed to the side door, and swung his fist and hit it hard. The young man was about thirty years old, wearing a half-new silk shirt, with a slick look in his eyes, and he didn't look like a good person.

After waiting for a few seconds and seeing no movement from inside, the man banged on the door again and said, "Old liar, open the door, if you have the ability to cheat money, you have the ability to open the door, don't hide in there without making a sound, I know you are at home, bah, open the door, open the door, open the door!"

With such a big commotion, there was finally a reaction from inside, and soon, the side door opened, and a tall monk bent over and came out from the side door. The monk was stout and almost taller than the door. He stood there like an iron tower, looking down at the young man in front of him, clasping his palms together, and said in a muffled voice: "Amitabha, who are you 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 my money. Don't cover up for him. 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, and his face suddenly became very ugly. He said in a muffled voice: "Wait, I'll go find him."

The tall monk turned and left, and soon came out with an old Taoist priest. From a distance, the old Taoist priest was thin, with white hair and beard, and his back was slightly hunched. He wore a tattered Taoist robe and walked like an old man.

But when he looked closer, the old Taoist priest had a ruddy complexion, his eyes were full of energy, 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 was immediately furious, rushed forward and shouted: "It's you, old liar, I found you, return my money."

The old Taoist priest narrowed his eyes, pretended to be drunk, and said: "What money?"

Seeing the old Taoist priest pretending to be confused, the young man said angrily: "What money? 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 woman you like, she will follow me obediently. As a result, I tried it and not only did it not work, but I was also hurt. The man was beaten up and had to stay in bed for half a month before he recovered. You have to pay me the money and medical expenses. "

The old Taoist smiled and said, "I have said that sincerity and righteousness are effective. Your heart is neither sincere nor righteous, so of course it is not effective. How can you blame me?"

The young man was a playboy. Some time ago, he saw a woman who came to the mountain to worship at Qinglong Temple. So he suddenly had evil thoughts and wanted to use force secretly. As a result, he met this old Taoist priest somehow and was ruined by this old Taoist priest.

The young man wanted to beat the old Taoist priest, but he was fooled by the old Taoist priest. Not only did he let go of his previous grudges, but he also spent five taels of silver to buy him a peach blossom talisman. After returning, the young man took the peach blossom talisman to experiment, but not only did it fail, but he was also caught and beaten by the woman's family. At this time, he realized that he had been deceived, so he came to get back in anger.

Seeing that the old Taoist priest was using the same excuse to deceive him, the young man was furious and said, "Do you think I'm really a fool? What do you mean by sincere and upright? It's all nonsense. I think you're a big liar. Pay me back quickly."

The old Taoist priest leaned against the door frame of the side door, spread his hands, and said, "But I bought all the wine with the silver. How can I pay you back without silver?"

Before the young man spoke, the tall monk next to him spoke first, complaining, "Amitabha, senior, you are 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 statues. Your master doesn't even bother to manage the master. How can a little monk like you manage them?"

Hearing the old Taoist priest's words of blasphemy against the Buddha, the tall monk was terrified and dared not say anything more. He quickly stepped aside, clasped his hands together, and kept muttering his sins, asking the Buddha for forgiveness.

The young man finally found an opportunity to speak and said, "I don't care. Anyway, you must return the money to me, including the medical expenses, a total of ten taels. If you don't return it to me today, I will report it to the police."

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.