The road leading to the Thousand Buddha Temple is a series of stairs that stretch as far as the eye can step of the stairs made of bluestone slabs is engraved with the name of the donor. Among them, there are families that are connected in several sections, and there are also brothers from the same clan and neighbors from the same village that are connected in more than ten sections. The names on these stone steps have become blurred, but the steps remain here forever and are firmly stepped on by Yin Xiu and his companions. "Brother, if a person has money, why doesn't he save it, or spend it on eating, drinking, or drinking, but use it to do good deeds?" Walking up these long steps, the white peacock had this question in mind. "Your question really stumps me." Yin Xiu smiled and said, "You know, I am rarely rich enough to do good deeds and accumulate merits." "So what? What are you going to do if you have this money?" the white peacock continued to ask. "It doesn't matter what you do, but I won't do anything like donating a staircase or building a memorial archway." Yin Xiu scratched his face, "Because I really don't care about leaving something behind after I die, especially when it's just a dead object."
He stepped on the mossy stone steps. "Can you leave a memorial by carving your name on a stone?" After listening to Yin Xiu's words, Bai Kongque seemed to be thinking about something. "What about you, sister?" She asked Ma Xiaoyu again. Ma Xiaoyu touched her ear and said, "You mean doing good deeds? When we were in Malaysia, we provided free porridge and medicine, and helped nearby villages to exorcise evil spirits. Does catching ghosts count?" "Of course it is, but it's not quite right." Bai Kongque continued to emphasize: "I mean, for example, building a statue for the founder and sculpting a golden body for the Buddha? There are always some rich men who spread their love, and there are always poor people who make great wishes and do these things." "Do you think the ancestor will be happy if we make a golden statue?" Ma Xiaoyu blinked. "Well……" Bai Kongque lowered his head and thought for a long time, and finally said helplessly: "I am not the ancestor, how should I know?" "That's not right." Yin Xiu interrupted, "You made a golden statue for Him, but you don't know whether the Grand Master would be happy or not. Isn't this just satisfying your own hobby? Therefore, I think that if there is something that makes you happy, just do it and don’t think about merit or fortune. This is the most comfortable way.” "So, casting a golden body, donating a door, and a stone step can't make you happy, right?" asked the White Peacock. Ma Xiaoyu and Yin Xiu nodded at the same time. "That's it." The white peacock held up his chin and said, "But I often think that when I get rich one day and find a big gold mountain, the first thing I will do is to build a stone bridge made of granite at the entrance of our village. I would be happy if three carriages could pass side by side, with room for people to walk beside them." "If you like, just do it."
Yin Xiu smiled, "Should we write your name on this bridge? Why is it called Peacock Bridge?" "That's not necessary." The white peacock shook its head, looking quite playful. "You can call it anything you want, and it doesn't matter whether you know I paid for it or not. I'm no more concerned with leaving anything behind than you, my brothers." "I have to say, you are no longer the same as before." Yin Xiu was not praising her, but this made White Peacock happy. She swayed her hands as she walked, completely forgetting the hardship of climbing the mountain. The three of them were chatting, gossiping, and discussing their own views and ideas, and before they knew it, they had entered a thick fog. It was not until he almost crashed into a wall of fog that Yin Xiu came to his senses. It is no longer early morning, when dew is just hanging on the grass leaves, but there is still such a thick fog. Moreover, due to the severe drought caused by Hanba, such thick fog is rarely seen nowadays. Yin Xiu took out a piece of talisman paper, burned it on his fingers, and walked in front to illuminate the surroundings. The white peacock followed behind. Although the firelight looked warm, a layer of fine goose bumps appeared on her neck, making her shrink her neck involuntarily. Ma Xiaoyu held the tricolor ruler in his sleeve, with flames lighting up his hands, and he was fully alert to what was behind him. "Keep talking." "What?" The white peacock was stunned. "I said keep talking." Yin Xiu said in a relaxed tone, "If we stop suddenly, the atmosphere will become weird and it will seem like we are very nervous." "But I just feel nervous." White Peacock grasped his sleeves tightly, "I always feel like there is something watching us in the mist." "Where are you looking at?" "Where are you looking at me?" White Peacock thought for a moment and said, "I feel like they are looking at my thighs, and also at my buttocks, and they are staring at me all the time. But my brother was walking in front of me, not behind me, so I shouldn’t have this feeling.” "..." Facing Ma Xiaoyu's eyes, Yin Xiu spread his hands, indicating that he had never had such evil thoughts. However, Ma Xiaoyu and Bai Kongque certainly didn't believe it. After saying this, no matter what Yin Xiu and Ma Xiaoyu thought, White Peacock felt a lot more relaxed, and the previous tension disappeared. Until suddenly a vague black shadow flashed on the mountain road ahead.
Yin Xiu stopped and placed his hand on the Izumi Ichimonji hanging at his waist. The white peacock also held down the knife. “Is it a zombie?” "Not like." Ma Xiaoyu twitched her nose, "I don't smell any zombies." "what is that?" The white peacock hunched his body, feeling his calves a little stiff. "I don't think he's a bandit, but rather some kind of animal." Hey! With a roar, a huge shadow came crashing towards them like a locomotive, and a cold light flashed. Yin Xiu took a step forward, and in the blink of an eye he had already moved far up the stairs and collided with the shadow. Giant ape! Yin Xiu saw a giant monkey like the one in Changbai Mountain. "You're welcome and safe!" The long sword was unsheathed, and the Izumi Ichimonji collided with the Guandao, splashing sparks. The giant ape was struggling with Yin Xiu, but was knocked over by Yin Xiu's sword. It flew backwards and fell on the steps, crushing countless stone slabs. Yin Xiu did not chase after him, but slid to the side first. Behind him, another giant ape holding a spear stabbed the place where he had originally stood, causing gravel to fly everywhere. Ma Xiaoyu turned around. Behind her, the giant ape was leaping and roaring, scurrying up and down the steps, approaching quickly. Fire! Smoke was rising from Yin Xiu's hand. When he pulled his hand out of the thick smoke, Izumi Ichimonji had turned into the Chaofeng Sword, blazing with flames! To deal with these hairy beasts and monsters, the famous sword Chaofeng, which is attached with flames, is the real weapon. He jumped high and used his strength to spin in the air, controlling the sword with his body and using the sword to lead him. Like a tornado, flames and strong winds tore through the thick fog and illuminated the steps. In the blink of an eye, four or five giant apes were stabbed by the sword, flames engulfed their bodies, and they let out shrill screams. Taking advantage of this gap, Ma Xiaoyu and Bai Kongque took action respectively, using the talismans and blowguns in their hands to hit the monkeys, injuring them one after another. Yin Xiu looked around and saw more monkeys jumping around and surrounding them. "go!" Swinging the Chaofeng Sword, Yin Xiu chopped off the head of a giant ape and stabbed forward without hesitation. The piece of ragdoll worm that crawled out of the giant ape's body was also cut in half by Yin Xiu. Gigantopithecus looks like the monkeys of Changbai Mountain, and indeed its fur color and skeleton seem to be different. The giant apes in Changbai Mountain have pure hair that glows faintly. Although the monkeys here are also white, their fur is darker. If this is just a regional difference, then the appearance of the ragdoll worm further confirms Yin Xiu's point of view.
The mouthparts and eyes of these ragdoll insects are also different from those of the Changbai Mountain species, appearing thicker and sharper. Especially their heads, which have a circle of tentacles that look like fleshy whiskers. The ragdoll worms that appeared on the dead snake in the previous village did not have such characteristics. Could this be a new variant, bred by that Miao man in the mountains? There was no time for them to think so much at this time. Yin Xiu swung his sword forward and turned back to shout to Ma Xiaoyu. "Is there any way to dispel the fog in front of us?" Ma Xiaoyu did not ask Yin Xiu the reason or what he was going to do. She just gave him an affirmative look and grabbed the talisman paper in her hand. "Dragon God's command, Wind God's magic, drive it away!" Ma Xiaoyu loosened the talisman paper, and a strong wind blew out in all directions with them as the center, shocking the monkeys and causing them to let out strange cries. Then, under Ma Xiaoyu's guidance, the airflow suddenly became gentle again, and the harsh wind noise disappeared. As her knuckles moved, the thick fog in front of Yin Xiu broke through, and the huge bluestone in the distance that was originally obscured by the thick fog became clearly visible. "Come!" Yin Xiu threw the Chaofeng Sword forward and at the same time hooked his finger. The Chaofeng Sword shattered into pieces and turned into a metal storm that covered the giant ape that was blocking the way. Flying iron and flowing fire! The giant ape was torn into pieces in an instant, and the ragdoll worm hiding inside was also chopped into pieces and mixed with the giant ape's flesh and blood, making it impossible to tell them apart. When Yin Xiu threw the sword, he activated his dragon power, stepped on the ground, turned around and jumped back, then grabbed Ma Xiaoyu and White Peacock with one hand each. Then he turned his head in the air, his eyes full of light. Time flies! When the thick fog gathered again, the figures of the three people had disappeared on the steps, leaving only the dazed monkey and a pile of rubble, blood and flesh. The white peacock couldn't stand steadily, and sat on the ground with one butt, frowning and baring its teeth. Ma Xiaoyu had long been accustomed to it. At this moment, she hugged Yin Xiu tightly and hid in his arms. Even after she had stood firmly, she still had no intention of letting go. Until the white peacock coughed dryly, "Big sister, my brother's magical power has been displayed. You can let him go." "is it?" Ma Xiaoyu slowly walked out of Yin Xiu's arms, not caring: "I thought it would happen again." "He doesn't have that much physical strength!" protested the white peacock. "You also know?" Ma Xiaoyu smiled and pulled the white peacock up from the ground. After breaking away from the siege of those monkeys, the atmosphere suddenly became relaxed again. However, Yin Xiu was still standing on the stone, looking forward.
"what happened?" After Ma Xiaoyu asked, she looked back and then she was also stunned. It turned out that the cliff where the large bluestone was located was wide, and opposite it was a part of the ancient Thousand Buddha Temple, which was no more than two hundred steps away from them. Before coming, they had never heard anyone mention the appearance and design of the Thousand Buddha Temple and thought it was just the size of an ordinary Buddhist temple. However, at this moment, just seeing a small Zen temple and the compassionate-looking Bodhisattva standing above the temple wall, one can't help but feel a sacred atmosphere that is different from anywhere else. "Thousand Buddha Temple?" The white peacock pointed forward and looked at Yin Xiu inquiringly. "I've never been here, how would I know?" Yin Xiu jumped down from the rock and gestured, "Keep going forward and take a look inside." When we got here, the thick fog seemed to have disappeared without a trace. They should be halfway up the mountain at the moment, surrounded by towering mountains of varying heights and undulating shapes. This Zen temple should be a remote place in the Thousand Buddha Temple, because it only has one room and it is not very big, while the other Zen temples are hidden among other hills. I think this should be something called a hall, a place for elders or certain monks to practice and meditate. Yin Xiu walked slowly forward and came to the gate of the Zen temple. There were no signs of fighting or fallen leaves outside the door, it just seemed quiet, as if no one had been here for a long time, yet it was not forgotten, but rather someone had carefully maintained it. Yin Xiu reached out and gently pushed the two closed doors. With a creak, the thin wooden door opened, which was not locked. The dilapidated and even rotten scene that they had imagined did not appear before them. Instead, there are clean stone steps, a spotless courtyard, a gurgling water path, a stone table and four stone benches. A quiet and remote small temple in the mountains is the most appropriate description Yin Xiu could think of. There are several big trees in the courtyard. The drought at the foot of the mountain seems not to have affected these towering trees which have been growing for who knows how many centuries. They are still lush and leafy, as if they are still aiming to reach the clouds. However, under such a tree canopy, there was not a single fallen leaf in the courtyard, which was surprising. Yin Xiu and Ma Xiaoyu looked around and found it hard to connect the peaceful scene here with the bloody massacre that the bandits had mentioned before. The bandits would not brag, because to them, there is no difference between killing all the monks in a temple and killing all the villagers in a village. They did not feel proud or honored just because they killed monks. Could it be that the bandits didn't notice this place and missed it? "Three donors, please come in and have a cup of bitter tea." As if the voice came from a dream, Yin Xiu turned his head.
I saw that in this yard, a young monk with a kind face and simple and clean clothes had appeared. Is this also a dream? Did they and the bandits have opposite dreams? (End of this chapter)