Records of the Cattle and Horses of Chang'an

Chapter 325 The Benefits of Cleaning

Cui Bianxu pulled out a piece of oil paper from his bosom, took out a short knife, and carefully scraped off a layer of dark red substance from the mural. After putting it away, he turned around and asked, "What did you mean by blasphemy just now? Tell me in detail."

This thing looks like blood and smells a bit like rust, but to find out what it is exactly, Ding Yuan still needs to check it again.

Although his movements were light, he still inevitably damaged the mural. Huai Zhen seemed extremely heartbroken about this, and his already drooping eyelids now looked even more lonely.

Just now, he took out the oil paper, drew the dagger, and scraped the mural so quickly that several monks were frightened and stunned on the spot. Their hearts were in great fear that this action would anger the ghosts and gods, causing them to break out of the mural and take their lives on the spot.

It was not until Cui Bianxu carefully collected the evidence and resumed questioning that they felt their hearts drop back to their original position with a "thump".

"Reply, report back to the superior, it happened a few days ago. On that day, Uncle Xingyun was wiping and cleaning the Buddha statue in the main hall..."

Although the six senses of a person named Xingyun are not pure enough and he often struggles between Buddhism and his selfish desires, this does not mean that he does not want merit.

In Buddhism, there is a Dharma-Sheng Bodhisattva. He has a disciple named Changti Bodhisattva, who often cleans the place where Dharma-Sheng Bodhisattva preaches. He cleans it carefully and thoroughly. He achieved the position of a Tenth-Bhumi Bodhisattva by doing this sanitation and cleaning work.

There was also the stupid Arhat Zhoulipanthaka, who couldn't even learn the verses. He listened to Sakyamuni Buddha's instructions and cleaned the house, concentrating on cleaning, and finally attained the Arhat fruit.

In addition, there is a saying in Buddhism that purifying one's own mind, purifying the minds of others, and making good spirits happy, so the wise man Xingyun concluded that cleaning would help him achieve the right result.

But Xingyun is a fat man. Although the entire Xingjing Temple is not very big, it is still very hard to clean it. If he cleans like this, not to mention whether it will be tiring or not, the amount of food he needs to eat will at least increase by one third.

After considering both his own perspective and the temple's perspective, the wise Xingyun decided to clean the main hall, including the Buddha statues.

"Master Xingyun said that this place is the closest to the Bodhisattva. As long as he cleans this place over the years, the merit of the clean house will definitely be his."

You know what, Xing Yun is really a talented person. How come he makes this theory sound so reasonable and well-founded?

Huaizhen started to recite scriptures in a low voice again after hearing these words. What happened next was really... too embarrassing!

"That day, I was helping Master Xingyun fetch water. When I was delivering the water, I happened to hear him stop here..."

The young monk pointed at where Wang Mingqian was standing, a trace of fear flashing across his face. But when he glanced at Cui Bianxu, who stood beside him with a cold and expressionless face, he boldly continued, "When he heard that I was coming, he said that if there really was a woman as beautiful as Huanximu, he would definitely marry her!"

After saying this, he closed his eyes tightly as if he was afraid of being struck by thunder, hunched his shoulders, and quickly turned the rosary in his hand and recited the scriptures like Huai Zhen.

Cui Bianxu and Wang Mingqian looked at each other and fell silent at the same time. How bold! Even if they did not believe in Buddhism, they would not say such words. How dare Xingyun, a Buddhist disciple, say such words to the mural of Mother Joy in this majestic and solemn hall?

"Which day exactly was it? Was there anyone else in the temple at the time?" Cui Bianxu exhaled a breath of foul air, thinking to himself that no wonder these monks would say it was blasphemy. How dare they have such lustful thoughts towards the gods and Buddhas...

Another monk thought for a moment and said, "It was on July 13th. I was also in the temple that day."

He pointed to a small table not far from the temple gate and said, "That day it was my turn to interpret the divination for the pilgrims. I was sitting there, and I heard what Master Xingyun said."

Wow, he doesn't even try to avoid people. This shows that Xingyun is probably very arrogant in this temple.

Cui Bianxu taunted Huai Zhen, who was still chanting with his eyes closed, with a half-smile: "It seems the abbot is quite indulgent towards Xing Yun."

"Amitabha, this is all my fault for not supervising you properly."

"Ah."

Cui Bianxu snorted coldly, then continued, "Did you also hear the noise in Xingyun's room at midnight last night?"

"heard it."

The monks answered in unison, and one of them said, "My uncle and I live in the same courtyard, very close to each other. We were all fast asleep at the time, and when we heard the noise, we hurriedly got up, but Uncle Xingyun's door was locked from the inside. I..."

When they arrived at Xingyun's room, there was no sound inside. Considering Xingyun's usual behavior, no matter how shrill the sound was, they did not dare to break in as the door was locked. The monks hesitated in front of the door, not knowing what to do.

"While I was hesitating, some strange noises suddenly came from inside, as if someone was eating..."

His expression was difficult to describe. He glanced at Huai Zhen before continuing, "Master Xingyun gets hungry easily. I thought he'd gotten some food from somewhere..."

Eating secretly!

What happened next was just as Kong Neng had said. He tried to eat but ended up being eaten. Angry curses were heard from inside, and they mustered up the courage to break in. They saw Xingyun's body lying on the ground with his stomach ripped open. His death was extremely horrifying.

It's roughly the same as what Kong Neng said, but not exactly the same. This is normal. Different perspectives will naturally lead to some discrepancies. If everyone said exactly the same thing, that would be suspicious.

Cui Bianxu nodded: "Did you see the murderer? What did he look like? Think carefully and tell me in detail."

If we could have a portrait of the murderer, the difficulty of solving the case would be greatly reduced.

"It's the Yaksha ghost! Shangguan, the Buddha is by my side, so I dare not talk nonsense. When we broke into the room, we only saw its side and back, but the Yaksha ghost didn't have a single hair on its head. The exposed scalp and side of its face were covered with red blisters as big as eggs, and its face was extremely hateful." The young monk said this with great confidence, and cold sweat broke out on his back when he thought of the Yaksha ghost's terrifying appearance.

"Bubble?" Cui Bianxu took another look at the mural and concluded that it was definitely not the work of the yaksha in the mural.

Although the Yaksha ghost in this mural is ugly and has no hair on his head, there are no blisters on his face or head. His only feature is a pair of particularly prominent eyeballs, eyebrows as wild as flames, a nose like a camel's hump, and a mouth like an eagle.

"Didn't they say there was a female demon? Did you see her?"

"I saw it."

Another monk added with lingering fear: "I only saw the eyes. The Yaksha demon held it in front of him to block it."

But just by looking at those eyes, he could be sure that it was a beautiful woman.