Chapter 152 Debate
In the winter of the 31st year of Jianing, at Luhun Mountain Villa.

The sky is full of wind and snow, and the miles are covered with silver.

The manor was still brightly lit at dawn, with tall gray walls and gray tiles, like a huge cruise ship, quietly sailing in the silver-white sea of ​​snow.

From afar, passers-by seem to be able to hear the sound of the ice breaking, as if it is slowly breaking through the permafrost of the polar region.

With a dong sound, the melodious sound of the bell spread out.

Two young monks at the gate of Luhun Villa were guarding the gate with their hands tucked into their sleeves. One of them heard the bell and turned back to look deeper into the villa. He whispered, "Another person from the Dao Court has been defeated. Who is this number?"

"The eighth one. If we lose one more, there will be no one left."

"Dao Ting is arrogant, but we are well prepared."

A young novice monk gathered his sleeves and looked out at the snow outside, sighing, "After a day and night of debate, it's finally coming to an end."

At this time, the sound of horse hooves was heard in the wind and snow.

The young monk stood under the plaque of Luhun Villa, put his hands on his eyes, squinted and looked out into the wind and snow. After looking for a long time, he saw a few gray shadows gradually becoming clear.

A young man lowered his head, holding three reins in his hands, and walked through the snow with difficulty. The strong wind blew his sleeves back, and the three horses behind him had people crouching to resist the cold wind.

The little monk asked cautiously, "Who?"

The visitor quickened his pace: "I'm here to stay the night."

"Stay here for the night?" The young monk was puzzled. When he saw the man walking faster and faster, he suddenly shouted, "This is a solemn Buddhist place. Stop!"

"Buddhism?"

The visitor raised his head, revealing a young man's face: "Isn't this the base of the Laojun Mountain Taoist Temple? How did it become a Buddhist treasure land?"

The young monks looked at each other and hurriedly explained, "Ma Yiming, the first disciple of the Laojun Mountain Daoist Court, lost the debate with our eldest brother. The Daoist Court has already lost this Luhun Mountain Villa to our Yuanjue Temple."

The young man was stunned for a moment: "Are you playing such a big game?"

He looked up at the door lintel of Luhun Villa. The villa covered hundreds of acres and was vast and boundless. The cost of building it would cost at least tens of thousands of taels of silver.

A manor like this, where you lose just like that?

The young monk said, "This is our Zen sect's property. Daoting won it from us in the twelfth year of Rende. Now it is just returned to its original owner. There is a bigger bet today. If Daoting loses all nine games, the nineteen Taoists who participated in this debate will have to shave their heads and become monks, ringing the bell in our temple for the rest of their lives."

The young man was dumbfounded: "How many rounds have we reached now?"

The young monk replied, "The eighth debate has just ended, and they may rest for half an hour. If you are just passing by and want to stay overnight, please go back. Today, Luhun Mountain Villa only accepts guests from the literary gathering."

The young man looked back and saw a girl lying unconscious on the horse. When he looked back again, he politely said to the young monk, "Among us are the prince and princess of Prince Jing's Mansion, and Miss Zhang Er of the Luocheng prefect's family. Please inform us that we encountered bandits on the road and lost the invitation."

The little monk was startled: "Prince and Princess? You are..."

The young man said, "I am just a junior apprentice at the Imperial Physician's Clinic in Prince Jing's Mansion, Chen Ji."

The little monk asked, "Do you have a token of the palace?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "No, but there must be someone in this literary gathering who knows the prince and the princess."

"Please wait a moment," the little monk held up the hem of his gray monk's robe and ran into the manor to report.

Chen Ji turned back to the horse and whispered to the princess, "Don't worry, princess. With the Taoist temple and Buddhist sect here, there must be medicine to treat the cold."

The princess had a piece of clothing wrapped around her head. She leaned over her horse and hummed softly. She couldn't straighten her body, and it was unknown whether she heard Chen Ji's words or not.

Chen Ji touched her forehead and it was hot.

The next moment, the little monk hurried back and said, "I'm sorry, benefactors. The road is blocked by heavy snow and we can't verify your identities. Please go back."

Chen Ji frowned slightly: "Did you inform who is here?"

The young monk patiently said, "Yes, but the elder brother said that since you didn't bring any tokens or invitations, you should go back."

Chen Ji suddenly realized that Buddhism was making excuses!

This literary gathering at Luhun Mountain Villa, even if you are an ordinary scholar, as long as you are willing to come, you can get an invitation. How come the threshold is so loose, but I can't get in here?

The other party must know what happened in Longwangtun, and because they don't want to get involved in the affairs of the Liu family and Prince Jing's Mansion, they are unwilling to let them in.

What a good way to not be affected by cause and effect.

Zhang Xia rode on Zaozao's back and asked, "What should we do now?"

Chen Ji reached out to grab the whale knife beside the princess' saddle, but the princess weakly raised her hand and pressed the back of his hand: "Don't do anything stupid."

He smiled and said, "Don't worry, I just checked to see if the knife was still there. I'm not stupid enough to go find the Taoist or Buddhist officials to die."

Chen Ji looked back at the couplet under the plaque of Luhun Villa. The top couplet read "Everything is in the hands of man, don't say everything is fate", and the bottom couplet read "The situation is created by the mind, take a step back and it will naturally become more open".

but.

He couldn't retreat from this step.

Chen Ji pulled the clothes wrapped around Bai Li's head tighter to prevent the cold wind from blowing into the collar.

He turned around and walked back to the gate of Luhun Villa: "Is this a literary gathering?"

The little monk replied, “Yes.”

"Can we debate?" "Yes."

Chen Ji asked: "What is the topic of this round of debate between the Taoist court and the Buddhist sect?"

The little monk curled his lips: "Why should I tell you?"

Chen Ji said calmly, "I want to go in and debate as well."

The little monk was amused and looked him up and down: "What sutra are you debating about?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Xia dismounted from his horse, braved the wind and snow, and came to the door with Zao Zao by his hand: "Is Yuanjue Temple afraid that we will go in and win the debate with you?"

The young monk leaned against the gray brick wall under the plaque and rolled his eyes: "Even provocation won't work!"

Zhang Xia said in a serious tone, "I am the niece of Xu Shu, the deputy director of the Imperial Observatory. If you don't report it, I will go back to the capital and tell everyone that the monks of Yuanjue Temple didn't let us into Luhun Villa because they were afraid of being defeated! Go report it now. You can't bear the consequences!"

The little monk shrank his neck, turned around and went into the villa to report.

After a while, he came back with snow on his shoulders: "You can debate, but you need to answer the questions we asked the Dao Court this round!"

Chen Ji looked at him and said, "Speak."

The young monk asked: "Taoism says that Tao gives birth to all things. Is this Tao knowledgeable or ignorant?"

Chen Ji was about to answer when Zhang Xia gently pulled his sleeve and said in a low voice, "Debating scriptures is not that simple. The answerer must pay attention to the source of the scriptures for every sentence. If there is a source, it is a true scripture, and if there is no source, it is a false scripture..."

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you come and argue with them?"

Zhang Xia's expression darkened. "No, they don't debate with women. You answer their questions, and I'll teach you how to answer them."

"it is good."

The wind and snow flowed between the two of them, and small cyclones flowed around them.

After a few breaths, Chen Ji turned around and stepped forward: "The Tao Te Ching says, 'Man follows the earth, the earth follows the sky, the sky follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature. The Tao is the law of heaven and earth, and the model for all things. It is naturally knowledgeable.'"

The young monk gave the answer and took small steps back to report.

When he came back a moment later, he had a new question: "My senior brother said that since Tao is sentient, it should only give birth to good people. Why does it give birth to evil people? Since Tao does not distinguish between good and evil, it should be ignorant. Since it is ignorant, how can it give birth to all things and become a model for all things in the world to follow?"

But he heard Zhang Xia's lips moving slightly behind him and whispering a few words.

Chen Ji looked at the little monk and replied, "The Mahaparinirvana Sutra says that the "I" is the Tathagata-garbha. All sentient beings have Buddha nature, and all sentient beings have the "I". The Buddha said that everyone is born with Buddha nature. How can you decide who is born good and who is born evil?"

The young monk was stunned: "How do you know so much about my Buddhist scriptures?"

Chen Ji said angrily: "Human life is at stake, go and report it quickly!"

The little monk hurried into the villa again.

This time, the little monk did not come back quickly. It seemed that the monk from Yuanjue Temple who asked the question was lost in long thought.

I don't know how long it took, but I heard a melodious and loud bell sound again in the villa.

Zhang Xia's eyes lit up: "The bell rang, and the other party put this issue aside, which is equivalent to admitting defeat. Chen Ji...Chen Ji?"

She turned her head and saw Chen Ji with his head down, wondering what he was thinking about.

At this moment, Chen Ji discovered that the fire in his body suddenly jumped for a moment when the bell rang, and then the light red fire became brighter!
It's strange, is it because Zhang Xia just won the debate in his own name?
Previously, he thought that the change of the fire required doing good deeds and winning the hearts of the people, but now it seems that the reason for the change of the fire may be deeper and broader.

Chen Ji looked at Zhang Xia.

Zhang Xia touched his cheek: "What are you looking at me for?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "It's okay, Miss Zhang Er is knowledgeable and erudite, I admire you, no wonder you look down on uneducated people."

Zhang Xia was a little embarrassed: "I just have a good memory."

As he was talking, the little monk hurried back and said, "You won this round, but..."

"but what?"

The young monk said in embarrassment: "To be honest with you two, I am a Buddhist who is peaceful and free, and I don't want to get entangled in the secular world. You two have worldly affairs to attend to, and your karma has not yet been resolved. It is not appropriate for you to enter this Luhun Villa. Please go back."

Chen Ji looked at the other person calmly: "Is it okay to ask for a pill?"

The young monk shook his head: "No. Don't embarrass me, I am just a young monk."

Chen Ji was about to rush in, but Zhang Xia grabbed his arm and shook his head silently: "You can't go in."

"You have to break through even if you have to!"

However, at this moment, singing voices floated in from the wind and snow.

Chen Ji and Zhang Xia looked back suddenly, and saw a man sitting upside down on the back of a green ox, flipping through a book and humming: "You have evil intentions, so burning incense will do no good. If you are upright, it doesn't matter if you don't bow to me..."

The sound of folk songs was swept into the wind and snow, and was carried far away by the snowflakes.

Seeing the green ox coming to the door, the young Taoist priest on the green ox jumped off the ox's back lightly.

He walked past Chen Ji and Zhang Xia and came to the door with a smile. He reached out and stroked the bald head of the little monk. "Zhang Li, the first disciple of Huangshan Taoist Temple, has come to debate on behalf of our master's 'disciple'. Little monk, get out of here quickly, or I'll slap you."

(End of this chapter)