From a refugee to a martial artist

Chapter 152 I only know castration

"The lights dimly illuminate the darkness, a ray of Buddha's light saves all living beings. It turns out that everything is illusory, and practice lies only in the heart."

When Jinghe saw the eternal lamp light up, he slowly recited a verse.

The mountain rain has stopped, the sun is rising, and the wind is slightly cool.

As the vice president of the Laobiekeng Poetry Society, Meng Yuan naturally looked down on these monks who recited verses even when taking a shit, and he also hummed, "The morning glow reflects the rising sun, and the Buddhist shells accompany the breeze."

Although the voice was small, it had fallen into Mingyue's ears. She frowned slightly, as if she was disgusted.

Na Jinghe continued to recite the Buddhist scriptures, and the people on the top of the mountain sat cross-legged and listened quietly.

Meng Yuan did not dare to be careless. He held the sword across his knees and kept unleashing his Burning Heart Magical Power.

After an unknown amount of time, Meng Yuan felt drowsy, as if he had fallen into an endless and desolate place.

After a long time, Meng Yuan felt someone patting his shoulder and calling his name in his ear.

When I opened my eyes, it was Gong Zihua.

"You..." Meng Yuan looked around and saw that the top of the mountain was in a mess and covered with blood.

Mingyue was sitting cross-legged on the side, his body covered in blood, obviously having experienced a great battle.

There were also a dozen or so colleagues from the Demon Suppression Division cleaning up the battlefield. Li Jinyun and others were talking to a middle-aged man, and Zhang Guinian was not qualified to get close to them.

"Is it over?" Meng Yuan asked blankly.

"That's right." Gong Zihua sighed, "A fifth-rank warrior is truly unstoppable." He helped Meng Yuan up and said helplessly, "It's a pity that you were deceived and didn't join the battle. Miss Mingyue was seriously injured in order to protect you."

Meng Yuan hurried to look at Mingyue and greeted her softly, but she remained silent and looked very cold.

There was no way. He didn't get any credit. Although Meng Yuan was disappointed, at least he didn't lose his life.

"Did Elder Huanri stay?" Meng Yuan asked.

"We've found it, but it's not something we can get involved in." Gong Zihua said in a low voice.

In this case, Meng Yuan did not ask any more questions and helped clean up the Hulu Mountain battlefield. He was busy for five or six days before returning.

He went all the way back to Songhe Mansion, hoping to see the third young lady but failed.

But Xiangling came to the door.

"Little gelder, the more I read, the more I feel that poetry is a minor art. You only know a few lines of poetry, and they are doggerel poems without rhythm or artistic conception. They are really boring!" Xiangling said seriously, "I want to go to the capital with Aunt Mingyue. There are real great scholars there!"

Meng Yuan was reluctant to let Xiang Ling go, so he said, "But you are the president of the Laobiekeng Poetry Society. How can the poetry society continue without you?"

"Alas, the Laobiekeng Poetry Society was just a mistake I made when I was young. Don't mention it again." Xiangling said.

"So when will we meet again?"

"We'll see each other again when I become a great scholar!"

People say that separation in life is heavier than separation in death. I don’t know when we will see each other again. After all, Xiangling is a country bumpkin, and it is almost impossible for her to become a great scholar.

Meng Yuan wanted to go and see him off, but Mingyue wouldn't let him, so he could only wait secretly outside the city, but still didn't see anyone.

"Qingqing is pregnant!" Two days later, Nie Yannian came to the door and asked, "Do you know which bastard did it?"

"It's me." Meng Yuan said, "Prepare for the wedding."

"Okay." Nie Yannian agreed happily immediately.

But seven months later, Nie Qingqing died of complications during childbirth.

"I've always been worried that Qingqing would kill you, but I didn't expect that you would kill her first." Nie Yannian had a head full of white hair and suddenly looked thirty years older.

Meng Yuan just felt that life was meaningless.

Before she could even wipe away her grief, Ying Rushi came rushing over, "Jiang Tang is valued by my master, who said she has a heart for Taoism and has accepted her as his personal disciple. She has been taken away. Don't look for her, you won't find her..."

In just one day, the two women Meng Yuan cared about most died and were separated from each other.

Meng Yuan was at a loss and tried to drown his sorrows in alcohol, which only made him even more sorrowful.

Nie Yannian and Zhang Guinian tried to persuade Meng Yuan to remarry but failed. From then on, Meng Yuan devoted himself to the garrison, but he could not practice martial arts, had no one to help him, worked hard but achieved nothing, and was not promoted for many years.

Twenty years passed in the blink of an eye. Nie Zhang grew old, and Meng Yuan was injured and had to go home to recuperate.

"Rivers always flow into the sea, but life's aspirations are often difficult to achieve. Is this the only way I can live my life? Life is difficult, and there are countless people suffering in the world. Can I save them?"

From then on, Meng Yuan gave up military affairs and devoted himself to literature. He spent his whole life studying classics, wrote down good plans to save the country, and came to the capital, intending to find someone to submit to him. This could be regarded as a small contribution he made for the world in his life.

However, no one appreciated him after he repeatedly sought to see him. It was true that he had the support of his father and brother, but after so many years, people no longer recognized his kindness!
"Don't look down on the poor young man! Things change over time! If Qing Kingdom doesn't recognize great talents, I will go somewhere else!"

Meng Yuan gritted his teeth and headed for the neighboring small country of Yu.

He presented a ten-thousand-word letter to the emperor, which was valued by the king and he was immediately appointed as prime minister.

Meng Yuan worked hard for ten years to reform the civil service, enrich the country and strengthen the army. The State of Yu was in chaos, the king was rebelled against by the prince, and Meng Yuan was thrown into prison.

Relying on his martial arts skills, Meng Yuan escaped by force, then disguised himself and hid all the way back to Qing Kingdom, and finally saw Songhe Prefecture along the Canglang River.

"You're not as good as before. Let me get you some medicine." Ying Ru tried it briefly, but was not very satisfied.

"I haven't been back for a few years. It seems that Qing Kingdom has changed a lot. Everyone is rich and the people are healthy. It's like a world of great harmony. Is it a holy monarch?" Meng Yuan asked.

"A saint has come to the world." Ying Rushi had a look of reverence on his face. "You will know if you go outside the city and take a look."

After hearing this, Meng Yuan remembered that Datou Mountain was in the west of the city, so he headed for the west gate. Not long after he walked, he saw many Confucian scholars hurriedly and excitedly leaving the city.

"Excuse me, what happened outside the city?" Meng Yuan, leaning on a wooden stick, pulled a fat scholar and asked.

"You don't even know this?" The fat scholar blushed and said excitedly, "Xiangzi is here to give a lecture!"

"Xiangzi? Who is Xiangzi?" Anyone who can be called "Zi" should have some ability, but Meng Yuan had never heard of it.

"You don't even know Xiangzi?" The fat scholar frowned. "Xiangzi is a great scholar of the time, a saint who appears once every five hundred years! The prosperity of my Qing Kingdom is all due to Xiangzi!"

"Xiang Zi's contribution?" Meng Yuan was at a loss, and then asked: "What theories and ideas does Xiang Zi have for governing a country?"

"Xiangzi once said: Governing a big country is like boiling an egg!" said the fat scholar.

"Governing a big country is like boiling an egg?" Meng Yuan was even more confused. "Isn't governing a big country like cooking a small fish?"

"Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish? What kind of nonsense is this from an old man in the countryside?" The fat scholar said disdainfully, "Cooking a small fish is so simple. Just keep an eye on the heat and you'll know if it's cooked. But can you tell clearly in a moment when governing a big country?"

The fat scholar made a very good point, "So governing a big country is like boiling an egg! Because you don't know whether the eggshell is cooked or not! Xiangzi said that the eggshell is the civil and military officials and clerks, the egg white looks beautiful but tasteless, it is the aristocratic families and the powerful, and the real people's hearts and minds are the egg yolk!"

Meng Yuan scratched his head, feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what was wrong. He also felt that it made some sense, but it didn't make a lot of sense.

However, Xiangzi was able to bring prosperity to the Kingdom of Qing with this idea, so she must have really figured out how to boil eggs.

"Is this Xiangzi preaching outside the city?" Meng Yuan asked.

"Yes! If you can have good ideas, Xiangzi will definitely allow you to enter Laobiekeng Academy!" said the fat scholar.

"Laobekeng Academy?" Meng Yuan leaned on his cane. "May I ask Xiangzi's name?"

"You don't even know this? The single name of Xiangzi is Ling! It's because water chestnuts grow in water, and water can carry water chestnuts, and can also cover them!" After the fat scholar said this, he left in a hurry.

Meng Yuan dropped his wooden stick, and for a moment he felt the vastness of the world.

Looking back now, I am in my twilight years and sick, having experienced countless hardships, and in the end I have no family or relatives. I have just wasted my life, and now I am old.

Birth, aging, illness and death are needless to say, and resentment, hatred, and separation are also common. In the second half of his life, he spent all his energy to come up with a policy to revitalize the country, but it was not as good as Xiangling's casual boiled egg theory, which was the biggest unattainable thing.

When Meng Yuan was confused and at a loss, he suddenly saw someone walking up to him.

I saw a monk with big buck teeth, wearing tattered robes, like an ascetic, who said kindly: "You have experienced the seven sufferings of life, so you can feel it."

"Everyone knows that being an immortal is good, but they cannot forget fame and fortune! Where are the generals and ministers of the past and present? Their graves are covered with grass." Meng Yuan said.

"Good." Big Teeth said with a smile.

"Goodness!" Meng Yuan pointed at the huge crowd outside the city. "I would rather believe that Xiangling can rule the country than believe that this is an illusion. How could Xiangling leave me? How could there be no news from Jiang Tang?"

Meng Yuan grabbed Dabanya's head, but didn't grab his hair, and started to fight with Dabanya, "This is not a Taoist meeting, it's a Buddha worship meeting where people have to shave their heads!"

The man with big buck teeth left immediately and Meng Yuan did not chase him. At this moment he finally remembered that his heart was still burning with anger.

There is fire in my heart, and all distracting thoughts slowly fade away.

When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was still on the top of Hulu Mountain.

Jinghe stood on one foot on the staff, his face extremely pale, his eyes still closed, and he didn't even look at himself.

Meng Yuan stood up, drew his knife, glanced at Mingyue who was bearing pain on her face, and then looked into the distance.

I saw everyone sitting cross-legged with their eyes closed, except for a bald old monk standing in the crowd, who was Master Ku Rong.

The Great Master Ku Rong held a Zen staff in his hand. He took a step back and smashed a person's head with the staff. More than a dozen people had already died.

"What's your name?" Master Kurong asked happily when he saw Meng Yuan waking up, but he still stepped back and knocked on the man's head.

"Meng Feiyuan." Meng Yuan stood up and helped burn the body, and did not forget to ask: "Old Zen Master took a step back and killed one person, why is that?"

"Plant the fields with green seedlings, and when you look down you will see the sky in the water. A pure heart is the way, and taking a step back actually means moving forward." The Bodhisattva Kuruo smiled kindly.

"Great! So the Zen master was planting rice!" Meng Yuan burned five or six corpses in a row and asked again: "Zen master, how can we awaken people who have fallen into the seven sufferings?"

“It cannot be awakened. This lamp is always on, and the Buddha’s light shines everywhere, as if the Buddha himself is present.” Master Kuruo stopped.

"What is the origin of the eternal lamp?" Meng Yuan asked.

"When I, the Western Pure Land Buddha, attained the Bodhisattva status, this eternal lamp was by my side. The Buddha's light is always bright, guiding the way forward, and the Buddha's heart will not be lost." Master Kuruo smiled.

"Why did the eternal lamp end up here?" Meng Yuan asked again.

"There were seven evil rats in the place where my Buddha was meditating. The oldest one among them was the Green Rat. The Green Rat stole the Ever-Bright Lamp and escaped all the way here."

"Really? I don't believe it." Meng Yuan smiled. "I am a seventh-rank warrior. I can see clearly even the mayflies and ants in front of me. The Buddha of Freedom is a second-rank great power who has attained the status of a bodhisattva. How could his treasure be stolen by a mouse?"

Meng Yuan understood and said, "It can be seen that this Buddha of Freedom is not at ease and can only use the mouse's hand to do things."

"Amitabha, the young donor is very insightful." The Bodhisattva Kurong was very happy. "There are too many foolish men and women in the secular world. My Buddhist sect needs talents like you! Are you willing to join my Buddhist sect?"

"I am just a butcher of pigs and sheep, how dare I enter the door of emptiness of nature?" Meng Yuan said.

"You are too humble. Do you understand my Buddhist knowledge?" Master Kuruo asked expectantly.

"Not to mention Buddhism, I have not even studied Confucianism or Taoism." Meng Yuan smiled.

"You don't understand the three classics, but since you can come here, I think you have some knowledge!" Master Kurong laughed non-stop, "Qing country was established by military force, first resting the people, and then Confucianism on the outside and law on the inside. Now the country has been in existence for 500 years, and disasters are everywhere. There are witches and barbarians in the north and monsters in the south. It can be seen that Confucianism and Taoism cannot save the people of the world! Only when I revive my Buddhist country can there be a prosperous and blissful era! The trend is surging, do you know?"

"I was born a castrator. I don't understand the general situation in the world. I only know how to castrate." Meng Yuan stood in front of Mingyue.

(End of this chapter)