Chapter 96 How can I feel at peace? Tao Tie then discovered that a statue of a god had been erected in the mountain temple. Moreover, the incense is very strong, and all kinds of offerings such as candles, fruits, incense paper, etc. are available. This comparison of details can well reflect the extremely simple belief in gods of the villagers in Dayongtian Dynasty. Spirit, I believe. If it doesn’t work, I don’t believe it. If I believe in you but you don’t bless me, what else can I believe in? It is better for yourself, your family or your clan to practice hard! Shaking his head and smiling, Tao Tie stopped observing and sighing, and came to the big banyan tree at the entrance of Chang'an Village and revealed his figure. Then he walked slowly towards the village, with a clear goal, heading straight for An Weng's home. As the sky gradually darkened, there was a fiery sunset glow in the west.
The moon has come out, but it is missing a part of its shape and is completely white, hanging on the side of the sky. At this time, Chang'an Village should be filled with smoke and the aroma of rice. But now there is not much movement. Almost all the people in Chang'an Village gathered inside and outside An Weng's house. The room cannot accommodate many people, nor should there be too many people standing in it, as they would take away the sunlight and air. The villagers spontaneously stood in rows in and outside An Weng's yard, quiet and solemn. They don't look like farmers digging for food in the fields, but more like soldiers. An Weng's soldiers. Tao Tie's arrival attracted everyone's attention but did not cause any commotion. Most of the villagers just glanced at the monster catcher who had come to the village some time ago to do monster catching missions and was now the inspector of the Immortal God Division of Liuxian County. Some didn't even glance. The most important thing at this moment is to see An Weng off. We’ll talk about other things at another time. Instead, the head of Chang'an Village came forward and said politely, "Mr. Tao, thank you for coming to see Mr. An off. Mr. An said that if you don't mind his mean words, please come into the room and talk." "Ah." Tao Tie responded indifferently and followed the head of the village into An Weng's room. With just one glance, Tao Tie could tell that Mr. An, who was leaning against the head of the bed, with white hair, a youthful face, a ruddy complexion, and a spirited spirit, was indeed about to die. Medicine is useless, and magic is useless. Such was An Weng's fate.
Du Bo, dressed as a hunter again, stood in front of An Weng's bed. When he saw Tao Tie coming in, he immediately called him "Master". Tao Tie raised his left hand in advance, indicating that Du Bo did not need to be polite at this time and place. He sat on the stool beside the bed and said kindly: "An Weng, you wanted to see me, is there anything you want to tell me?" An Weng replied calmly: "Mr. Tao, I am sorry to ask you to come in because I want to ask you a question." "Excuse me." Tao Tie nodded slightly. An Weng asked, "Mr. Tao, I heard what you said to the monk in Wuwei Village, Liuhe Lianhuanwu, and what you did to those water bandits. It seems that you are very disgusted with the saying 'Put down the butcher knife and become a Buddha on the spot', and even hate it. I want to know, in your opinion, people who have done wrong and evil things have no chance to start a new life even if they repent and reform themselves?" Tao Tie said seriously: "I have never thought about it this way." Having clearly expressed his position, Tao Tie elaborated: “I believe that if a person does something wrong or evil, whether intentionally or unintentionally, he or she should be punished. It can be the law, morality, or human heart. It would be best if you truly repent and want to start a new life. Because from now on there will be one less evil person, one who has gone astray, in the world, and one more good person, one who has walked the right path. What I hate is the idea of 'becoming a Buddha' and..." Tao Tie paused for a moment and emphasized: "As for those evildoers who have been converted by Buddhism, they only need to worship Buddha with piety to eliminate their sins! If the victims whose families have been destroyed by those evildoers go to seek revenge, Buddhism will desperately protect the evildoers, and even turn around and blame the victims, or even treat the victims as demons and beat them to death, which is a shameless act!" After listening to Tao Tie's words, An Weng seemed to be thinking about something, and then asked: "So in Mr. Tao's view, evil is evil, and good is good. There is no distinction between intentional and unintentional, and there is no saying that good and evil offset each other. No matter how many good deeds you do, it cannot cover up the fact that you have done evil." Tao Tie nodded, and then said: "In my opinion, if a good person does good things all his life and then does something wrong or bad, it should not be exaggerated or stigmatized, nor should it be left unresolved. Just do what you have to do. Punish according to the law and morality. Similarly, if a wicked person has done one, several, or even many wrong or evil things, and then one day he suddenly realizes his mistake and starts to do good deeds, he cannot cover up his past mistakes and escape the punishment he deserves by saying that he is now a good person. An Weng also nodded: "Thank you Mr. Tao for telling me this." "You're welcome." Tao Tie responded and stood up to make way for the underworld messenger from the City God of Liuxian County who had just arrived. The statues of Taoist Yu Fan were all being demolished, proving that he had been stripped of his status as the God of Land in the Eight Immortals Village. Before the new God of Land took office, the land underworld of Baxian Township could not function properly, and its powers naturally had to be temporarily replaced by the City God underworld of Liuxian County. "Meet the Metropolitan Inspector." The ghost messenger was very polite. He greeted Tao Tie first, then came to An Weng and reminded him, "You still have a little time left. If you have any last words, hurry up and say them." "Thank you, Yincha." An Weng thanked him and looked at the recently elected headman. "After I die, don't bury me with great ceremony. Burn my body into ashes and scatter them under the big banyan tree at the entrance of the village."
"Yes, An Weng." The head of the village had a sad look in his eyes, but his voice was still steady. An Weng looked at Du Bo and said, "You grew up under my watch. Later, I joined the army and guarded the border in the northern border for more than 20 years. When I came back, you had missed a lot of development. Fortunately, you have this fate in your life. You still have the opportunity to practice in your old age. You must seize it well, hold on tightly, and don't let it down." As he spoke, An Weng's ruddy face quickly turned pale and he became listless. The time for a last gasp has passed and the end has come. An Weng took a strong breath and said, "Practicing martial arts requires resources. After I die, the land under my name will become the public land of the village, and the house will be used as a school. The rules have been set, and all the floating wealth will be given to you. I hope you will practice martial arts well and protect the village in the future." After saying this, An Weng looked up at the rooftop, his eyes were unfocused, his lips trembled a few times, and an expression that seemed neither smiling nor crying appeared on his face: "Life lasts for decades until death, and we thought we understood everything, but in fact, we don't. It's wrong, it's wrong! I'm sorry!" As soon as he finished speaking, he died. The ghost took out the soul-binding chain in his hand, bound An Weng's soul, bowed to Tao Tie, and left immediately. Du Bo lowered his head sadly. The head of the village, who had been mentally prepared, went outside and called people in to wash An Weng's body and change his shroud. As an outsider, it was inappropriate for Tao Tie to be present at this time, so he walked out of the house, walked out of Chang'an Village, and on a whim walked towards the Baxian Mountain. Not long after entering the mountain, a breeze began to blow. Following the wind, Tao Tie came to the large bluestone where Du Bo had brought him once. The mountain god of the Eight Immortals Mountain, wearing a blue robe with gold embellishments, stood on a large bluestone with his back to Tao Tie. He spoke softly and indifferently, "An Changshun killed four people here." Tao Tie listened quietly. "It rained for a long time that year, and the grain harvest in the three southwestern states was poor. The Celestial Empire wanted to provide relief, but the relief grain was always difficult to transport. Later, several officials were demoted, several gods were killed, and some people were killed before the grain was sent in. But before the food was delivered, many people were already starving. When a person is hungry for a long time, he tends to have bad thoughts. These people had some power but not much. They did not dare to offend the government, nor could they rob the big families, so they turned their attention to the common people in the countryside. During that short period of time, there were riots everywhere in the three southwestern states. The same is true for Liuxian County, and Baxian Township is no exception. Four men broke into Chang'an Village with knives, knocked down all the people in the village who had some fighting power, and demanded food. An Changshun was quite young at that time, and his mind was quick. He used some tricks to lure the four people here, and then gave them some water laced with drugs, thus tricking them. Then he raised his knife and killed one person after another, blood splattering on the bluestone. After burying the body, they found out that these four robbers, who did not kill and had no sense of defense, were actually stealing food for a group of helpless orphans. An Changshun was very young at that time. Legally speaking, he killed four people, which was not his fault, but a meritorious service.
But he couldn't accept in his heart that he had killed a good person by mistake and thought he had done something wrong. In fact, everyone just wants to survive, there is no right or wrong. " After the mountain god of Baxian Mountain finished telling a story, he turned around and looked at Tao Tie: "What do you think, Mr. Tao?" Tao Tie was silent for a moment, then asked, "Did the mountain god call me here just to talk about this?" The mountain god said, "Please Mr. Tao, please help me solve this puzzle first." Tao Tie replied: "It's all over now, and both sides have paid the price for their actions." The mountain god smiled and said, "Mr. Tao, you are avoiding the topic. Don't you want to talk about it?" "No." Tao Tie shook his head and said seriously, "It's just that I don't know the whole story. I only heard what the mountain god's family said. How dare I make a rash judgment?" "I see." The mountain god looked as if he had suddenly realized something, and then he changed the subject and talked about business. "I invited Mr. Tao here because I want to ask him to go to the underworld of the City God of Liuxian County and recommend An Changshun so that his soul will not be registered as a ghost so early." Tao Tie instantly understood what the mountain god wanted to do, but he was just confused: "Why me?" The mountain god did not hide it and replied directly: "Because Mr. Tao's teacher is the sword fairy, and because Ke Chenghuang still owes Mr. Tao some favors." Tao Tie asked again: "Why should I do this? I have no relationship with An Changshun, let alone a relative by marriage. Even if I have to use public power for private affairs, there is no reason to do this." The mountain god raised his hand and took something: "I want to make a deal with Mr. Tao. As long as Mr. Tao agrees to my request, I will give this thing to Mr. Tao." Tao Tie looked up. The mountain god held in his hand a piece of thousand-year-old lightning-struck jujube wood that was as thick as a palm and more than three feet long. This kind of spiritual material is top-notch whether it is used to make talismans or to refine magic swords. 【Knowing Everything】 is triggered. With just one glance, Tao Tie knew that the grade of this piece of thousand-year-old lightning-struck jujube wood was actually at the top earth grade. It is truly a rare treasure. However, no reward without merit. Even if Tao Tie agreed to recommend An Weng to the underworld of the City God of Liuxian County, what he had done was not worthy of the reward. So Tao Tie said, "The mountain god is very generous, but I dare not accept it. It is too expensive." The mountain god was not surprised by this and said calmly: "Strictly speaking, Baxian Mountain is the remnant of Dadong Mountain. Now the position of Dadong Mountain God is vacant. If the Heavenly Dynasty is unwilling to release the Lord of the Mansion, or has other arrangements for the Lord of the Mansion, I will be qualified to participate in the competition for the position of Dadong Mountain God. Therefore, this piece of jujube wood is two transactions." "Which two?" "One is to ask Mr. Tao to recommend An Changshun to the underworld of Liuxian County City God; The other thing is to ask Mr. Tao to help me when he has enough ability and the opportunity is right.
Of course, I know that this involves the position of the mountain god of Dadong Mountain, and this piece of jujube wood is far from enough, so it is only a deposit, and I will give you a generous reward later." After listening to the words of the mountain god, Tao Tie thought for a while. The mountain god waited quietly. Finally, Tao Tie nodded: "Okay, I agree." The mountain god immediately handed the thousand-year-old lightning-struck jujube wood to Tao Tie. Tao Tie collected the jujube wood, then took out the communication terminal, called up a template of the contract between man and god, made some modifications on the spot, and showed it to the mountain god. The mountain god said calmly: "I trust Mr. Tao, there is no need for a contract." Tao Tie insisted: "A man cannot stand without trust, so it is better to sign a contract, which is good for both parties." "If you say so..." The mountain god thought about it for a while and agreed, "Then let's do it." After saying this, the mountain god put his mark on the contract that Tao Tie had modified. The same is true for Tao Tie. The contract is made in four copies. One copy for Tao Tie, one copy for the mountain god, one copy for heaven and earth, and one copy for the officials of the Celestial Empire kept on file. After the contract is signed, Tao Tie and the mountain god must fulfill the terms of the contract truthfully. Heaven and earth are witnesses, and the Celestial Empire is supervising. If there is any violation, both Heaven and Earth and the Celestial Empire will punish. The constraints are very high. After putting away the jujube wood and the communication terminal, Tao Tie bowed and said, "I came here when I was excited, and I will leave when I am exhausted. Goodbye, and we will meet again if we are lucky." After saying this, Tao Tie strode down the mountain without looking back. After leaving the foot of the mountain, it turned into a wisp of breeze and went towards the county town. Soon, they arrived at the city gate, passed the security check according to the rules, and entered the city, heading straight to the City God's underworld. After some briefing, Tao Tie met the City God Ke Youqiu in the underworld. After greeting each other, Tao Tie got straight to the point: "To be honest with you, City God Ke, I came here on behalf of the mountain god of Baxian Mountain to recommend An Changshun. I ask City God Ke to allow An Changshun's soul to stay for a few more days and not be included in the ghost register for the time being." "Oh?" Upon hearing this, Ke Cheng Huang stroked his beard and immediately said with a smile, "It seems that I will have another colleague." As he spoke, Ke Cheng Huang's smile widened: "For such a small matter, why bother Daoist Brother Tao to come here in person? Just send a message to me." Tao Tie avoided answering and just bowed: "Thank you, City God Ke, for your help."
"Haha, no problem. Brother Tao is too polite. Very polite." Ke Chenghuang hurried forward and pretended to help Tao Tie, who was really bowing down, up. Then he skipped the topic and asked a little abruptly, "I wonder if Fellow Daoist Tao has heard about the incident in which Yu Kouzhong and Yu Zhuo surrendered to Governor Liu this morning?" (End of this chapter)