Chapter 2 Benefiting oneself at the expense of others
"Fart!" The stooped father Liu stood up suddenly, picked up the iron fork and stepped out of the door. He said angrily: "Jiang Laosi, you want to bully others, confuse right and wrong, and step on my Liu family's head. There is no door! You little bastards from the Jiang family, any of you are unconvinced, come and try this iron fork!" Liu Dazhu hurriedly supported his father, grabbed the iron fork, and said: "Dad, let me do it! Our old Liu There¡¯s not a single coward in the family!¡±
The person there was so knowledgeable that he hurriedly stepped back and screamed: "It's against you, it's against you! You are so obsessed that you dare to harbor suspects. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, you should be punished together. I'll tie up a few of them!" The group of young men agreed with a loud voice, showed their hidden sticks, and were eager to try.
At this moment, six or seven young and strong villagers came to the left and right sides, holding hoes and sticks in their hands. They shouted loudly: "People named Jiang, do you want to be shameless and beat one of dozens of them?" ?" "My dear, who is afraid of who in a fight!" Although they were smaller in number, their momentum was stronger than the other's. When they approached in large strides, the Jiang family members who were blocking the door had to take the initiative to retreat.
Liu Dazhu greeted happily: "Sixth uncle, tenth uncle, second brother, fifth brother, eighth brother, thirteenth brother, sixteenth brother, you are all here!" The villagers who came later greeted Mr. Liu one after another, and they were all Liu Dazhu. Descendants of this lineage.
In the blink of an eye, a confrontation between the Jiang family and the Liu family formed outside the small courtyard.
The leader there never expected that Liu Dazhu would be so protective of a stranger he had met. Seeing that the situation was getting out of control and was about to turn into a melee between Jiang and Liu, he shouted with a livid face: "Dazhu, for a stranger, you have to fight with the villagers." Are we falling out? Could it be that he promised you some benefit? Don¡¯t be stupid, be careful to be deceived!"
Hu Xiaotian patted Liu Dazhu on the shoulder, squeezed to the front, and said with cupped hands: "Chief, I am a scholar from Lanzhou Prefecture. I was originally going to the capital to take the official examination. I accidentally fell into the water and drifted here, disturbing all the villagers. Don't blame me. "He simply stood there, calm as a mountain, without anger or authority, especially when he glanced over with a pair of eyes as cold as lightning, where Chang and everyone in the Jiang family felt a chill in their hearts, and actually had the urge to bend their knees and kneel down. He has practiced the World-Destroying Overlord Technique for many years, and if he lets out a little bit of domineering energy, how can ordinary villagers be able to withstand it?
After all, the mayor there has seen a lot of the world, and his official authority is so serious that he is even better than the county magistrate! Immediately, he felt timid and his voice suddenly dropped an octave: "Ahem, you said you are a scholar and you want to go to the capital to be an official? What proof is there?" The Jiang family is not stupid. It would be nice to see the county magistrate for the rest of their lives. What's more, meeting a Beijing official? Since ancient times, people have not fought with officials. Who dares to use violence against Beijing officials? Without waiting for instructions from the chief, each of them quickly put away their sticks, panicking and just wanting to run away.
Hu Xiaotian smiled and said: "Hu's identity certificate is kept by the accompanying guards and is in Kaifeng Mansion. If Chief Jiang refuses to believe it, please come with me to Kaifeng and I will not disappoint you."
How could the leader have the courage to go to Kaifeng Mansion to investigate, so he walked down the slope and said: "Since you said you have identification, I believe you for once. If something goes wrong in the future and I can't find you, I will settle the score with Liu Dazhu! Let's go ."
Hu Xiaotian said: "Wait a minute! Li Chang, there was a sudden flood last night, and many drowned livestock and unknown corpses were piled up in the shallow bay ahead. Please organize the villagers to clean up and bury them immediately. The weather is hot at this time, and the corpses After decay, it turns into corpse poison and pollutes water sources. Once a plague breaks out, the elderly and children will easily die."
As soon as the words fell, both the young and middle-aged men of the Jiang family and the Liu family were horrified and started talking among themselves.
Father Liu said: "Master Xiu Cai is an extraordinary person, and what he said must make sense. Jiang Laosi, why don't you gather people? If your Jiang family is afraid of getting the bad luck of a dead person, I, the Liu family, will send someone to help!"
The chief there was unambiguous and said loudly: "Every household in the village has a man, bring a hoe and shovel, and gather at the bend of the river. If any family does not work hard, an account will be recorded at the end of the year." Everyone agreed in confusion, and there were Some turned back to their homes to get their tools, and some went directly to the river bend.
Butcher Jiang and Heizi, who were mixed in the crowd, looked at each other and sweated profusely. They were in such a hurry when they escaped just now that the butcher's knife, trolley, fishing nets, etc. were all left on the river beach and they have not yet turned back to pick them up. Quan heard that Liu Dazhu picked up a scholar who fell into the water and survived, and guessed that the so-called "fraudulent corpse" was not the real corpse resurrected, so he figured out that his surname was coming to cause trouble, and tried to drive away the only insider to cover up their massacre. The secret of wealth. Unexpectedly, things took a turn for the worse. The other party resolved the crisis with just a few words and asked the villagers to go to the river bend to bury the body - the incriminating evidence was still there! As long as the villagers are not blind, can't they guess who did the scandal? They raised their eyes and met Hu Xiaotian's eyes as cold as daggers. They couldn't help but feel chilled. What a scholar who kills without blood!
What happened next was just as Hu Xiaotian expected. The villagers who went to the river bend to bury the body found most of the carrion of carrion, andKnives, fishing nets, etc. left nearby. Someone recognized that the butcher's knife was the one used by Butcher Chiang to remove bones and chop meat every day, which immediately caused an uproar. It turned out that Butcher Chiang was secretly doing such a useless business, harvesting carrion for sale, and harming the people of the same village! The angry villagers immediately turned around and destroyed the butcher shop, but Butcher Chiang saw the opportunity quickly and fled Baliwan Village early and disappeared without a trace. Several idle men who were friends with him on weekdays unfortunately became scapegoats and were beaten up by everyone.
When Liu Dazhu returned home, he was still indignant. He talked about butcher Chiang¡¯s evil heart and cursed endlessly. God knows how much of the sausages and bacon he bought on weekdays were made from dead pigs and chickens fished out of the river? This butcher Jiang, for the sake of a few stinky money, harmed others and benefited himself, which was a heinous crime. Maybe she couldn't give birth to a second baby because she regularly bought meat from the butcher Chiang. After learning from this painful experience, it seems that in the future, except for those grown at home, we can no longer trust those grown by other families.
The next day happened to be the market day. Liu Dazhu carried dozens of pairs of straw sandals knitted by his wife and went out to the market before dawn. Hu Xiaotian followed him on the road to Qixian County, which is more than 20 miles away. He was now penniless. Whether he wanted to convey news to Song Qian and others, or go directly to the capital, he had to try to get in touch with the members of the Demon Cult first. If there is no secret stronghold of the Demon Sect in Qixian County, we will have to rush to other cities to find it.
There are many willows in Qixian County. It was called Qi State in ancient times. Yongqiu County was established in Qin Dynasty and was renamed Qixian County in the Five Dynasties. There are many famous people here, such as Yi Yin, the famous Prime Minister of the Shang Dynasty, Li Shiqi, the counselor of the Han Dynasty, Cai Yong and Cai Wenji of the Eastern Han Dynasty, etc. The county seat is the ancient city of Yongqiu. There are historical sites such as the Confucius Temple, Wenchang Temple, and Qizheng Tower in the city. It is densely populated and lined with shops.
After entering the city, Hu Xiaotian separated from Liu Dazhu and went to Dongmen Street, Beimen Street and other places where people come and go, and quietly used charcoal to draw the demon sect's contact sign on the wall. After waiting for an hour, I went back and checked each one one by one. The result was disappointing, and there was no response code. Hu Xiaotian knew that the disciples of the Demon Cult were cautious and might not make any move in broad daylight, so he decided to check again tomorrow, so he turned back to the market and met Liu Dazhu.
Kankan walked to the edge of the market when he suddenly heard several gongs and a huge crowd of people, men, women, old and young, crowded towards an ancient locust tree. Hu Xiaotian was confused and heard someone beside him saying excitedly: "Master Hongyuan is going to cast a spell again!" "I wonder if the master will give away the divine water today?" "The divine water can cure all diseases and prolong life. It's not easy to get it. You have to grab it. A good seat near the front." Hu Xiaotian frowned, where in the world is there a magical water that can cure all diseases? Could it be charlatans selling fake medicines? I was stunned for a moment, and I was pushed by the crowd for more than 20 steps before I couldn't walk anymore. The surroundings were so crowded.
I saw a wooden platform half a man high built under the locust tree, five feet long and one foot and a half wide. Standing on the platform were two bald monks, both with red faces, white and fat. The person on the left is holding a gong, and the person on the right is holding a wooden fish. There is a wooden box beside him. On the front of the box is a piece of red paper with the four characters "Buddha Bless" written on it. The wooden platform is surrounded by a blue curtain behind it, and there are four young monks guarding the outside to prevent other people from approaching. It is very mysterious.
When most of the audience stood still, the monk holding a wooden fish on the stage began to chant sutras loudly. He hummed loudly and did not know what sutras he was reciting, which made people's heads swell. After the chanting, the gong rang loudly, "Namo Amitabha, please ask Master Hongyuan, the Vajra Protector, Monk Shi Neng, to show his magical powers!"
As soon as the curtain was lifted, three young monks carried the brazier and the oil pan onto the wooden platform, placed the oil pan on the brazier and then stepped away. The charcoal fire was raging, oily smoke soon appeared in the oil pan, and bubbles rolled. A monk with bare arms jumped onto the wooden platform and without hesitation put his arms into the hot oil pan. The hot oil covered his arms and a puff of white smoke suddenly appeared.
The people in the audience all exclaimed in surprise, and there was a buzz.
The monk¡¯s arms were immersed in the oil pan, seemingly unaware of it, with a calm look on his face. After a while, he slowly lifted himself off the oil surface. The little novice monk next to him had already taken a towel and rushed to wipe off the oil stains for him. However, he saw that his arms were intact and no different from ordinary people.
Everyone exclaimed again, this time with heartfelt admiration. The applause was like thunder, and the cheers became louder and louder.
Immediately afterwards, Dharma protector Veda performed the magical power of invulnerability, Dharma protector Jialan performed the magical power of making wind and rain, and Dharma protector Maitreya performed the magical power of retrieving objects from the air. Each performance aroused cheers and applause from the audience, and many fanatical believers were even excited. Have to cry.
The four guardians have all appeared on stage, standing solemnly on both sides of the wooden platform. But when you hear the sound of gongs, the sound of wooden fish, and the chanting of sutras, flags and flags are fluttering, and the treasure canopy is lifted into the sky. Two rows of novice monks slowly come onto the stage holding pure bottles, Buddha dust, Buddhist scriptures, lotus flowers, tin sticks and other objects in their hands, with solemn expressions and floating out. dust. All the sounds on the stage suddenly stopped at the same time, and the people below the stage also stopped breathing. A pindrop could be heard on the scene. Suddenly, I heard a solemn Buddha's call, "Amitabha". The sound shook people's hearts and rolled like thunder, fully demonstrating the supreme majesty of Buddhism. Fo Yin FangAs the curtain fell, a bright light suddenly appeared in the curtain, and the smoke rose. A monk wearing cassocks and hand seals was sitting cross-legged on the smoke. He seemed to be lifted up by an invisible and mysterious force and slowly floated up to the wooden platform. .
"It's Master Hongyuan!" "Oh my God, Master Hongyuan is flying!" Everyone was stunned by Master Hongyuan's magical power. Some people couldn't help but kneel down and kowtow, thanking the Buddha for his appearance.
Master Hongyuan stepped onto the stage, clasped his palms together, bowed to the west sky, and said loudly: "My Buddha is compassionate and saves all living beings. There is much suffering in the world, and there is reincarnation in the Pure Land. If you want to escape from the boundless sea of ??suffering, you must wholeheartedly worship the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. , pray for the light of the Buddha to come, so as to avoid suffering in the next life. Dear donors, our Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect is a sect founded by Sakyamuni Buddha himself. It is a sect that saves people from fire and water and avoids the suffering of all living beings. We accept believers without having to lose their hair. You can become a disciple by being tonsured. Those who believe in me will enjoy eternal wealth and glory in the next life, live a long life, and have descendants. If you worship the Buddha sincerely and move the Buddha, I can also use the Buddha's light initiation** to wash away the dirt on the devout disciples. , teach him the magical powers of Buddhism, strengthen his body, and never get sick. Our Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect enters the world to practice, and it is about fate. Those who are destined can share the glory of Buddhism and be blessed by Buddha. We will not stay in the precious land for long. If you want to get started, please go to Yuntian Temple. Don¡¯t wait if it¡¯s late.¡±
After Master Hongyuan finished speaking, two young novice monks carried a tank of water to the stage. Master Hongyuan took out a few runes from his sleeve robe, murmured something in his mouth, raised his hand, and the runes floated into the air, with a flash of golden light, spewing out golden flames, and burned on their own. Everyone exclaimed and jumped again. When they saw the ashes of the talisman falling into the water tank, they suddenly became excited and rushed forward: "Sacred water!" "Master, give me the sacred water!"
The four guardians and other monks have already had experience in dealing with it, how to appease the crazy people, how to line up in an orderly manner, how to receive the sacred water, in an orderly manner, busy and not chaotic. In an almost crazy atmosphere, Master Hongyuan stepped off the stage and disappeared without knowing when.
Hu Xiaotian noticed that everyone who came to the stage to receive the divine water had to put copper coins into the big box with the words "Buddha Blessing" on it. The jingle of coins against each other was so harsh that everyone took it for granted and no one raised any objection. Hu Xiaotian was angry and funny. Where did this Buddhist scum come from? He used all kinds of tricks to confuse the people and defraud them of money, but the local government ignored him? Or is he secretly colluding with this group of swindlers to share the stolen goods?
A tank of "sacred water" was sold out, and people who were still interested in it, encouraged by caring people, rushed to Yuntian Temple again, scrambling for the first place. Only a few novice monks were left to clean up the mess. They smiled and pointed at everyone, without the slightest self-discipline of Buddhist disciples.
Hu Xiaotian was about to walk away when he suddenly saw a beaming Liu Dazhu emerging from the crowd and hurriedly waving: "Dazhu, I'm here!" Liu Dazhu ran over excitedly and danced: "Hu Xiucai, if you don't miss me, As for meeting you, I really want to go with them to Yuntian Temple to see the excitement. Xiucai, did you just see the magical powers exerted by Master Hongyuan and the four guardians? Oh my god, it¡¯s so amazing, I haven¡¯t even thought about it. There are people in the world who have such ability." Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said: "Dazhu, the most important Buddhist inheritance in Buddhism, understands the scriptures clearly, practices hard, and proves cause and effect. How can he be like a charlatan sorcerer and amass money? Most of these so-called masters are not true monks. , you'd better not believe it. Otherwise, you will be defrauded of all your money by them in the end, and it will be too late to regret it." Liu Dazhu opened his mouth wide and said: "Hu Xiucai, you said they are fake monks? No, right? I just spent money. Forty coins, I asked for a bottle of divine water." Hu Xiaohaotian frowned: "What do you want the divine water for?" Liu Dazhu whispered: "My father's old problem of coughing has not improved, and I don't have money to hire a doctor. To cure the disease, he thought that after asking for the divine water, he could get rid of the root cause of the disease. Xiucai, does this divine water have any effect?" Hu Xiaotian said: "Dazhu, I know you are a filial son. But think about it. The piece of talisman paper turned into ashes and merged into the water. How could this ordinary water turn into divine water? Has it been enlightened by the Buddha? Has it been touched by the palm of a Bodhisattva? Even if it has a little bit of magic power, a big If the water in the vat is divided among hundreds of people, can it bring hundreds of people back to life at the same time? If this bottle of water is so magical, let alone spending forty cents, you can't even buy it for forty taels of silver!" Liu Dazhu said again Frustrated and angry, he stamped his feet and said: "What can I do? I sold twenty pairs of shoes to get forty cents, and now it's all in vain." Hu Xiaotian smiled slightly and said: "Don't worry, I will do it. I'll get it back for you." Liu Dazhu said half-believingly: "Hu Xiucai, do you want to reason with them? They have many people and big fists, and I'm afraid that you, a gentle man, will suffer." Hu Xiaotian said: "You don't need to speak loudly to be reasonable. There are many people. It may not be an advantage. Just wait and see."
Seeing that it was getting late, the two of them walked out of the city. Crossing the street, I saw six or seven drunken men walking out of a small restaurant on the side of the road, with their chests exposed and most of their chests and arms covered with tattoos. They were chatting and laughing loudly, and everyone who saw them hurriedly ran away. As soon as the two parties met, a drunk man suddenly shouted:"Liu Dazhu, you damn scholar, how dare you sneak into the city?!" As the saying goes, enemies meet on a narrow road, but this man turned out to be the butcher Chiang who fled with his tail between his legs.
Liu Dazhu secretly thought that it was not good, and took a step forward to block Hu Xiaotian, and said angrily: "Butcher Jiang, what do you want? If you have the guts to go back to the village and settle the scandal you have done, do you want to hide in the city and drink and be a coward?" A good dog stays out of the way, get out of the way!¡±
Butcher Jiang¡¯s face turned red and he pointed at the two men and shouted: ¡°Brother Dahu, these two guys are the ones who have cut off my financial resources and made me unable to return home. We happened to bump into each other today, don¡¯t let them go!¡±
That group of scoundrels were the most trouble-making. They dispersed with a crash and blocked the way. They all rolled up their sleeves and showed a fierce look in their eyes. The big man with the tiger tattoo on his chest chuckled and said: "Boy, I am Cai Dahu, the deputy gang leader of the Sihai Gang. I cover half of the county and have hundreds of brothers who can fight and kill. If you are wise, kowtow to my cousin. Admit your mistake, otherwise you won¡¯t be able to walk straight out of the city gate!¡±
Liu Dazhu frowned and said, "I'm kneeling on my knees in front of my father and my mother. Who is Jiang the Butcher? If you want to fight, I'm not afraid!"
Cai Dahu sneered and said: "I know there is a custom of martial arts training in your village, but how can you, a country boy, do anything good?" With a wink, the two scoundrels on the left and right pulled out the hidden daggers, and without saying a word, they fiercely He stabbed Liu Dazhu.