Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

------

(PS: I secretly read some novels and articles like "Jin Xiaomei" and "Su'e Pian" these past two days. I felt that the simple and plain language was strangely cheesy.)

Chapter 287 Annoying

Instead of waiting for Tianya Tower to deliver the Little Imperial Book, Chu Mingkong could directly conduct a trial run to get a preliminary understanding of the situation.

dong dong dong-

There was a knock on the guest room door; it was the hotel staff knocking.

After Chu Mingkong went to open the door, the waiter said with a forced smile:

"Sir, we asked around and no one had ever heard of what a female bodhisattva's lower body looks like, so we just made our own version. Please enjoy your meal."

The waiter carried in a bowl of noodles. Although he didn't intend to look around, the white-haired beauty sitting to the side was simply too dazzling. He stole a glance, and before he could even process the thought of her stunning and aloof beauty, he was so overwhelmed by her invisible aura that his body stiffened and he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

Chu Mingkong glanced at the bowl of Bodhisattva Merit Noodles. The wide noodles in the large bowl were intricately engraved with one or two lines of scripture, and were also topped with two abalones carved with the words "Bodhisattva." It was truly a dish made with great care.

After finishing this bowl of noodles, I estimate that almost all the good deeds I've accumulated throughout the year will be wasted.

Chu Mingkong pulled the half-frozen waiter downstairs. He originally wanted to give him the book "Jin Xiaomei" to help him detoxify, but seeing that he was so cold that he was delirious and didn't seem to be able to read the book.

"Just now, it seemed that Master's wife didn't deliberately target this waiter. It was just that the boy glanced at her and got frozen. Is this a different kind of 'other sense'?"

Was the female bodhisattva simply walking by and unintentionally converting many people?

The shopkeeper walked over and scolded the waiter, "Hey, what are you doing here? Don't you need to serve the guests? Why don't you go and worship the Buddha on the wall?"

Chu Mingkong stopped the shopkeeper, took out the "forbidden book" from his pocket, and said:

"Shopkeeper, I recently found a book of classical Chinese poetry based on the Buddhist principles of cause and effect, and the retribution of good and evil. Would you like to take a look?"

"There are even storybooks like this?"

The portly shopkeeper, upon hearing that it was related to Buddhist principles, did not object. He picked it up and glanced at it briefly, then frowned, but refrained from looking at it a few more times, and involuntarily bent over to hide his physical embarrassment.

"Sir, your Buddhist-themed story doesn't seem very proper!"

“Seriously, take a few more looks. Haven’t these wicked people been punished and brought to justice? This is the consequence of indulging in wine, women, wealth, and power, and failing to cultivate the mind of detachment from worldly desires!”

"Absolutely right!"

The shopkeeper convinced himself that this was simply a storybook explaining Buddhist principles, and couldn't help but admire it:

"This is indeed a book of high art! It's not in the same league as those erotic novels sold in back alleys and stalls. The cynicism and the depiction of various upper-class lives in it are incomparable to ordinary novels! When I was studying hard to pass the imperial examinations, I never saw a novel of this caliber!"

The shopkeeper read faster and faster, becoming more and more engrossed. At first, when he encountered those unsavory scenes, he would feign reciting "Amitabha" a couple of times, indicating that he was merely studying Buddhist teachings. But later, he stopped pretending and began flipping through the pages rapidly.

But when he saw those vulgar and domineering monks and nuns appearing later, committing all sorts of evil deeds, his brows furrowed tightly, as if his distorted Buddhist heart was resisting.

However, it's not accurate to say that this book slanders monks. The preceding sections are all based on solid Buddhist principles, a level of understanding that only a fully enlightened Buddhist master could achieve...

But if you really want to talk about slander, it doesn't seem so. His memories of Buddhism deep in his mind seem to be true, though they've faded somewhat.

Buddhist groups do indeed do this kind of thing the most.

Even after reading the entire book, the shopkeeper still couldn't find the answer and couldn't understand why a book that teaches Buddhist principles would portray monks in such a despicable way.

The shopkeeper was thinking more and more:

"No, ordinary people suffer retribution for their evil deeds, so why do monks and Buddhist disciples who teach the Dharma still commit evil and indulge in wine, women, wealth, and lust? Aren't they afraid of retribution? Isn't this the principle they are supposed to teach by word and deed?!"

The shopkeeper was still unable to shake off his strange, inexplicable affinity for Buddhism, but he had begun to reflect on it and search for the origin of this contradiction.

He saw his shop assistant writing the character "Buddha" on the wall, walked over and slapped him on the forehead:

"What are you doing! What are you doing! I just had someone paint the new wall last month, and you've already scribbled on it! What kind of Buddhist characters are you writing? You don't know anything about Buddhist principles, go read some books instead!"

The waiter took the manuscript, read it for a while, and his face, which had been pale from the cold, suddenly flushed red with blood rushing to his head.

Chu Mingkong stared at the shopkeeper for most of the day, then breathed a sigh of relief. At least it was having some effect!

He smiled slightly, then went upstairs to try the "Female Bodhisattva's Merit Noodles" and the two Buddhist abalone.

......

The team from Tianyalou quickly spread out "Jin Xiaomei," but in order to spread it better, they also wrapped the printed books in a golden cover and made a slight adjustment to the title, adding "Buddhist Teachings to Warn the World."

To guard against the possibility of a corrupted mole within Yuhua City secretly altering the Little Imperial Book, even the propaganda work was carried out by the Tianya Tower team.

In the marketplace, a man dressed in a kasaya (Buddhist robe) took out a yellow-covered book and began preaching Buddhist teachings to several men:

"You should all read this timeless Buddhist classic, 'Jin Mei'!"

"The 'gold' here refers to the Diamond Sutra."

This 'bottle' is derived from the Buddhist practice of the Treasure Bottle Technique.

The plum blossom symbolizes the bitter cold of winter, serving as a warning against succumbing to the temptations of wine, women, wealth, and power.

Some people who received the book read it on the street and became engrossed in it, while others simply flipped through it and decided to go home and secretly study Buddhist scriptures.

From bustling city streets to teahouses frequented by tea drinkers, this book is nowhere to be found.

The Tianyalou team even knocked out a teahouse storyteller who refused to read "Jin Yong Mei" and took over the role themselves.

The readers and listeners were all completely absorbed, their faces beaming with admiration, their fists clenched.

Suddenly, some people felt that Buddhism requires practice; simply listening to it is like building castles in the air.

"I can't go on like this, I have to go home and find my wife to study Buddhism together!"

When one person gets up, others follow suit and get up from their seats.

"I don't believe Buddhism is like this. Are you saying we can't control these monks? I'm going to go to a brothel to study Buddhism. Let the retribution come!"

"Oh no, I'm really getting my comeuppance. I was just thinking about that pretty girl, and now I can't even feel my vajra!"

"Because you are holding my vajra!"

......

The main hall of Yuhua City.

The messenger rushed into the city lord's study, exclaiming with delight:

"Lord City Lord, things are getting better! The inexplicable asylum crises among the people have improved considerably! Many people have returned to normal!"

Wu Di, the city lord of Yuhua City, who was originally extremely anxious, showed joy on his face:

"What? Which method worked? Was it banging a gong, crowing a rooster, or sprinkling black dog blood?"

"No, it seems that a group of people from Tianyalou were promoting erotic literature. After reading it, the people felt much better and stopped burning incense and praying to Buddha like they were possessed."

"Huh?! The people at Tianyalou are publishing a collection of erotic articles?!"

Lord Wu snatched the Buddhist book from the messenger, flipped through it, and then rebuked him:

"What erotic literature? How vulgar! This is a refined and cautionary text! Tianyalou is truly remarkable; the news of this conversion had barely spread when they immediately wrote such an article to help the people regain their minds..."

"Whose masterpiece is this? I must go and read his other classic works!"

He immediately took out a note and wrote a letter to Tianya Tower:

[Yu Huacheng: Whose work is this collection of essays? I wonder if they have any other works or articles? I would like to read them!]

[Tianyalou: It's urgent! We're also looking to see if His Highness has secretly published any other collections of writings!]

Upon hearing this, Lord Wu immediately realized something was wrong. "Written by His Highness?!"

Doesn't that mean he himself is in Yuhua City? Otherwise, how could he have written such a work that hit the nail on the head?

To have such a serious problem in one's own city, and not even be able to find the reason why the people suddenly "fell ill," is a grave crime.

I need to find a way to flatter him.

[Yu Huacheng: Please ask the elders of Tianya Tower to convey my admiration to Your Highness. Your Highness is truly accomplished in both civil and military affairs; in military matters, you can enter the capital to slay the wicked emperor, and in civil matters, you can leave your residence to write imperial edicts.]

After writing down the past, Lord Wu Di felt it wasn't quite right. Would Huang Wen's writing seem inappropriate? Would Wang Wen's writing be better?

However, now that Xiling has become independent from the Tianji Empire, there is nothing wrong with considering itself a member of the royal family. After all, what the royal family writes is the imperial script, isn't it?

"Quickly, quickly, find a master calligrapher to write down what I just said in large characters, frame it in a grand and imposing style, and also get a copy of 'Jin Xiaomei' to frame. Send it to Qingxin Mansion right away!"

......

Shen Xuejun's usually calm and composed state of mind was now somewhat disturbed by her young apprentice.

The task of Buddhist bodhisattvas in guiding ordinary people is very difficult. A few people may awaken to the truth under the call of family ties, but most people find it difficult to break free from such constraints.

Buddhism always claims to teach people to be free from karmic obstacles and delusions, but this kind of salvation is like imposing karmic obstacles on other people's world, distorting their perceptions, and forcing them to take refuge in Buddhism.

Such large-scale conversions have the deepest impact on ordinary people, who have no ability to resist them. Although cultivators are considered to have some ability to resist, if it becomes a point-to-point conversion spell, some cultivators may also suffer.

Shen Xuejun didn't quite understand how this kid came up with such a crooked method. She was curious about his article before, and now she was curious about his inspiration.

Shen Xuejun stood by the window of the guest room, looking down at the people below, and asked in confusion:

"Mingkong, how did you come up with the idea that this method could work?"

"I didn't know for sure that this method would work; I was just trying it out."

At that time, I saw these businessmen, who were biased towards 'wealth'. Even if they were converted, they still used Buddhism to do business and still liked 'wealth'. They just became inexplicably stubborn about Buddhism and could not listen to other people's advice.

So I thought of writing an admonitory essay on the topic of "wine, women, wealth, and anger." Since it's related to these issues and carries some Buddhist thought, they'll likely be able to understand it. Once it's absorbed, they'll naturally see the criticism of Buddhism within, which will essentially make them realize their mistake.

The problem with Chu Mingkong's method is that some people really can't even tolerate "wine, women, wealth, and anger," then they're beyond saving and are indeed quite suited to reciting Buddhist scriptures.

But now that the article has spread, Chu Mingkong is filled with worry...

Have some self-respect!

Group 63800497

This won't be any good if word gets out!

When the original author, Lanling Xiaosheng, published this book, he didn't even dare to use his real name.

"Master's wife, I have to confess now. Actually, I didn't write 'Jin Xiaomei.' I just happened to come across it while reading some casual articles, and I felt it was quite fitting for the occasion, so I used it..."

"Is this a prelude to making excuses afterward?"

Shen Xuejun looked at him calmly, then pulled him into the room to prepare for the examination.

However, she suddenly sensed the presence of Buddhist activities and immediately gasped in surprise: