Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 529 Giving
Chenliu Town is a small town.

The town wasn't particularly wealthy, nor was it located near any major thoroughfares. The land was neither particularly good nor bad, and due to the surrounding mountains, there wasn't much arable land.

Overall, it's just an ordinary town, neither rich nor poor, the kind of place you see everywhere in this world.

but.

There's only one difference.

Ten miles from the town lies the famous 'Luohan Temple', renowned for miles around.

Unlike those sects that pretend to be gods and ghosts, it is said that there is a Buddha in this temple. Moreover, the monks in Luohan Temple are all compassionate. Not to mention, the taxes they collect are 60% less than those in other places. Whenever there are years of disaster or famine, the temple will also give large-scale donations to prevent too many people from starving to death.
In short, according to the townspeople of Chenliu Town, this monk can be summed up in three words.

—A true Bodhisattva.

"Young man, did you hear what I said clearly?"

Zhou You sat down in front of a tea stall, raised his head, and smiled at the rambling old man—who was also the stall owner.

"Thank you, sir. I understand now."

However, that business-like smile was clearly a charade, the stall owner said with a wave of his hand, dissatisfied.

"Young man, you need to be careful. I can talk to you about anything, but if you anger Buddha on your way up the mountain, you'll be punished!"

Zhou You paused abruptly as he sipped his tea with a smile.

"Sir, how do you know I want what's in the temple?"

However, the old man just rolled his eyes at him.

"If you're not going to offer incense, then what are you doing here? You can't be here just for fun, wandering around in this desolate wilderness, can you?"

Zhou You smiled but didn't reply. Instead, he looked towards the street.

Unlike the desolate scenery I had seen along the way, this town, though small, was unexpectedly prosperous. The doors of the shops along the street were wide open, and each one seemed to be doing brisk business. However, there were not many restaurants selling food or oil and salt; instead, they were all selling Buddhist items.

Buddha statues, shrines, paintings, stupas. Scriptures, rosaries, gemstones, incense, canopies, flags, lotus flowers.
Just looking around, I saw hundreds of different kinds of incense, and some vendors even lit samples to let the smoke rise into the sky.

One or two sticks of incense would be fine, but now there are hundreds of sticks of incense burning on this street—the smoke mixed with the sunlight, along with the magnificent Buddha statues, makes this place seem like a Buddhist kingdom on earth.

Zhou You, however, maintained his formulaic smile as he looked at the scene.

During this time, he also realized that the imperial court in this script was a mere formality, so the world was governed by various sects and factions—to put it simply, each sect was equivalent to a small country.

Some temples, like the Five Aggregates Temple of Zhouyou's family, are indifferent and rarely interfere with the affairs of the lower classes, merely collecting incense money and taxes. Others, however, manage their temples meticulously.
Just like this Luohan Temple, the people worship there day and night, and the incense burns continuously.

Tsk, where have I seen this kind of behavior before?
Zhou You shook his head, and seeing the tea stall owner's earnest expectation, he chuckled and flicked out another piece of silver.

"Alright, sir, bring me another pot of Maojian tea, and some side dishes if you have anything to fill my stomach. I've been traveling all this way, and I'm really tired of dry rations. By the way, do you have any meat?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhou You realized that his question was quite idiotic.

—This isn't Tantric Buddhism. How could someone who worships Buddhism to this extent possibly have any flesh?
Unexpectedly.

The tea stall owner immediately replied.

"Yes, young man, what kind of meat do you want? We have donkey meat, dog meat, pork, and chicken. Oh, and it seems Ma San next door caught a few wild ducks this morning. I can buy them for you if you want, but the price will be a bit higher."

Zhou You was stunned, and almost dropped his chopsticks.

"Sir, do you not abstain from meat here?"

"What's there to be afraid of?" The tea stall owner slapped his forehead halfway through his sentence. "I forgot, young man, you're new here, aren't you? Don't worry, our Luohan Temple believes in killing animals to protect life. Meat itself can be offered to Buddha, so we don't care about these things."

Another temple that has broken its vows?

Zhou You nodded but didn't say anything, only speaking to the tea stall owner.

"Then I'll trouble you to get some, sir. Oh, by the way, there's something else I'd like to ask you."

"Young man, you speak."

"Are those people also Buddhists?"

He pointed ahead.

Although the shops were bustling with activity and thriving, dozens of people were still scattered and squatting in the shadows of the corners on both sides of the road.

These people were barely clothed and unkempt; they looked more like refugees fleeing famine than people who had come to offer incense.

The tea stall owner glanced at it, a look of pity on his face.

"Young man, you must have heard that a sect not far away was destroyed not long ago, right?"

"I've heard of it, it's called the Gate of No Life, isn't it?"

The tea stall owner sighed.

"That's right, unlike our Luohan Temple, that was a bunch of disrespectful beasts. But even though they were beasts, they at least protected the area. Now that they're gone, the people under their rule naturally fled. And because of the temple's grace, quite a few of us have come here."

Zhou You suddenly asked.

"So, in the Buddha's mercy, didn't you think of offering any assistance?"

The tea stall owner burst out laughing.

"Without aid, young man, what you see wouldn't be just these few dozen scattered people, but hundreds of corpses that have starved to death. These are just the ones who weren't selected."

"Not selected? What does that mean?"

"Not being elected is not being elected. What else can it mean? It's nothing more than that."

But before he could finish speaking, for some reason, the tea stall owner's expression suddenly froze.

Then, the old man knelt down, trembling, and pressed his forehead firmly to the ground, performing the grand gesture of prostration.

What happened out of the blue?
Zhou You looked around and realized that, without him noticing, everyone except him was kneeling on the ground.

Shop owners, ordinary people, peddlers, pilgrims, and even ragged refugees all knelt down devoutly, softly chanting Buddhist scriptures.

On this vast street, he was the only one left kneeling.

The next moment, Zhou You seemed to sense something and looked up.

Then, he was stunned again.

He originally thought that since this godforsaken place had been brainwashed to this extent, the monks in Hanshan Temple must be like those of the Tantric sect, traveling with precious canopies, led by novices, and with flowers paving the way—in short, as pretentious as they wanted to be.

however.

What he saw were only a dozen or so monks dressed in white robes, without any gold or silver ornaments.

These monks walked barefoot on the road with their backs slightly bent, letting the sharp stones scrape their feet. Except for a few people in the middle carrying a large boiling pot, the rest of them had their hands clasped together and were devoutly chanting scriptures.

At each place they passed, someone would laboriously straighten their upper body, devoutly take out a piece of food, and throw it into the pot.

The food included meat, rice, noodles, vegetables, and even wild vegetables that were clearly freshly picked.

But regardless of social status, as long as someone invests, there will inevitably be a monk who turns around and returns a deep bow.

Seeing Zhou You still sitting there, seemingly bewildered, the tea stall owner next to him tugged at him forcefully. "What are you still doing sitting there! The alms-begging at the temple has begun!"

"Begging for alms? Hmm... I remember Hanshan. No, Luohan Temple is not far away, right? Do those monks still need to beg for alms?"

However, as they were talking, the group of ascetics had already arrived in front of Zhou You.

The tea stall owner, no longer able to reply, shakily pulled a honey cake—clearly something he had prepared long ago—from his pocket and threw it into the pot.

The monk returned the greeting with a bow.

However, they also saw Zhou You sitting next to them.

The man ignored the murderous stares around him and, as if nothing had happened, clasped his hands in a fist salute.

The monks were clearly taken aback for a moment, but none of them spoke. They even returned the greeting and continued walking forward.

Before long, the road finally came to an end.

Several monks in the group put the large pot on the ground—no one knows how they did it, but even though there was no firewood in the pot, it was still boiling as before.

Then, the leader stepped forward, bowed deeply to everyone around him, and then spoke.

"After noon, we offer our alms. We are grateful to all the donors for their generosity and for providing us with food today."

A moment later, the monks behind him also chanted in unison.

"Thank you for your generosity, benefactor."

Having said that, they ignored the reactions of the others. Instead, they took out their own bowls and placed them neatly in front of the pot.

However, they still didn't eat.

On the contrary, the refugees came out of the latrine. The newcomers were a little timid, but the familiar ones ran to the pot, first bowed to the monks several times, then picked up their alms bowls, scooped up a spoonful of the mixed porridge, and ate it with slurping, ignoring the heat.

The filthy hand gripped the bowl, instantly smearing it with mud—yet the monk did not stop him, but instead watched the refugees devour their food with a peaceful and joyful expression.

After a while, seeing that everyone had started eating, the leading monk turned around and asked.

"Fa Ming, how many of these people do you think have rekindled their spiritual roots?"

The monk who had been stopped looked up—his eyes seemed to be clouded with a cataract-like mist—but he still scanned the people one by one and continued speaking.

"Reporting to Senior Brother, there are eight in total this time."

The leading monk nodded, but didn't ask which eight men they were. Instead, he walked up to one of the men.

The man was lame, ugly, and old, his hair covered in grime and reeking of urine. He seemed a little simple-minded, remaining engrossed in his food even when someone approached. The monk, however, remained squatting beside him and asked softly.

"Hu Yuan".

Upon hearing those two words, the man looked up blankly at the monk, seemingly puzzled as to why the other man knew his name.

The monk, however, spoke calmly.

"You have a karmic connection with the Buddha. I ask you, are you willing to shave off the roots of your afflictions and take refuge in the Buddha from now on?"

"If I convert to Buddhism, then I won't have to go hungry anymore, and I won't be hunted down by demons anymore?"

"Yes."

The man hesitated for only a few seconds before putting down his bowl and speaking crisply.

"I, I take refuge."

The leading monk nodded, and several monks behind him helped the man into the procession.

Then, he walked up to a couple who appeared to be father and son, with a child.

"Fei Shuang, Fei Er Di, you are destined to be with the Buddha. I ask you, are you willing to shave off the roots of your troubles and take refuge in the Buddha from now on?"

The child tried to say something, but was immediately stopped by his father.

Unlike the previous man, this man seemed to have some knowledge; he knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Buddha, we are just two ordinary people. We really don't know what Buddhist affinity is. We just want to make a living, but we are devoted to Buddhism. In the future, as long as we earn money, we will definitely donate to the temple. I swear to God."

However, the monk simply shook his head, not even taking back the alms bowl, and walked to the next person.

"I ask you, are you willing to shave off the root of all afflictions and take refuge in the Buddha from this day forward?"

The questioning ended shortly afterward.

Five of these refugees were willing to go to the temple to be ordained as monks, while the other three tried to avoid it.

Whether he agreed or not, the monk showed no emotion on his face. After returning to the pot, he looked at the little porridge left, picked up his alms bowl, ignored the dirt on it, scooped out a shallow half bowl for himself, and then drank it while standing.

He kept licking the last grain of rice clean before taking back the bowl, having someone lift the pot, and leaving the street with the few who were willing to convert.

At this moment, the tea stall owner let out a deep breath, stood up, and glared angrily at Zhou You.

The other person, on the other hand, looked completely innocent.

After staring at him for a while, the tea stall owner realized he couldn't glare at that shameless man any longer, so he could only sigh and point outside.

Zhou You appeared completely bewildered.

"Sir, what do you mean by this?"

"Don't you understand? I'm telling you to get out!"

"But my food hasn't been served yet."

The tea stall owner spat out a mouthful of spittle.

"Want more food? For your disrespect just now, I'm being lenient by not throwing you out with sticks! Food? Eat my ass!"

Zhou You thought about the unpalatable rations and still wanted to argue.

"But I noticed that the monks didn't seem to care."

"The Buddhas are magnanimous, but that doesn't mean you can push your luck!!! Get out of here!!"

Seeing that not only the tea stall owner but also everyone around him had unfriendly expressions, Zhou You could only shrug and then run away as fast as he could.

The person only stopped walking when the street had already receded into the distance.

He raised his head, looked in the direction the monk had left, then rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"They look like a group of upright monks. Could they be allies in this story?"

But then he couldn't help but laugh.

"Forget it, let's wait and see, after all..."

"How many good people can emerge in this godforsaken world?"

(End of this chapter)