During the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty.
Su Shuping, a son from Hangzhou, came to Beijing to take the exam. His father Su Yuanwai prepared 500 taels of silver for Su Sheng as payment, and ordered his servant Su Yuan to accompany him. Su Sheng said goodbye to his father and set out for Beijing. He traveled all the way at dawn and stayed overnight, eating and drinking when he was hungry. It went well, and there was no gangster robbery. In addition, Su Yuan had followed the Su family since he was a child and knew some martial arts. Su Sheng thought that if there were gangsters in the way, they were just trying to get some money, and their lives would not be harmed. People can't help but relax.
On this day, the two of them traveled to the border of Huangshan Mountain in Anhui Province. When they were having dinner at an inn at noon, a wandering Taoist shamelessly came to Su Sheng's table to beg for meat. Cover up the vicissitudes of life. He couldn't help but feel respect for the elderly, and handed a whole roast chicken to the old man. The Taoist priest took it with one hand, laughed loudly and said: "The donor's kindness, I will record it. Master, can you donate some more money? I will be very grateful." Su Yuan patted the table and stood up and said, "Where did it come from? Madman, you are so rude, why don't you get out of here, lest I get angry." Su Sheng said: "Forget it, Su Yuan, take fifty taels from our expenses and give it to the Taoist priest. Money is something external to the body, and monks have always Life is hard, and wandering is even more difficult. If my father believes in it, I should also respect him." Su Yuan pursed his lips and took a piece of silver and handed it to the old man.
The old Taoist took it with a smile, came over and pressed Su Sheng's head with the middle finger of his right hand. Su Sheng suddenly felt refreshed and energetic, and the sleepiness along the way disappeared without a trace. He sighed: "The Taoist Master is really a god. You man, please accept my respects from Xiaosheng." Su Yuan looked at Su Sheng in puzzlement and scratched his scalp. The Taoist waved the fly whisk and walked away, saying: "Looking at the world of mortals in the Sanqing Gate, I am alone at the end of the world. Monsters and ghosts avoid me when they see me, and they appear in their true form in times of danger."
"Sir, he is really a lunatic. Listen, he is talking nonsense." Su Yuan said with a smile. Su Sheng said: "No, he must be an expert in this world. These fifty taels of silver have been spent everywhere. Waiter, pay the bill."
At dusk, there were sudden thunderstorms and dark clouds.
The two of them were now in the middle of barren mountains and ridges, with no villages in front of them and no homes behind them, and they immediately panicked. "Sir, we have no choice but to find a cave to avoid the rain." Su Yuan said, protecting the book box. Su Sheng nodded in agreement. As a result, they searched and couldn't find a cave. Su Yuan was so angry that he cursed: "Grandma, there is no cave in such a big mountain." Su Sheng said, "If you get caught in the rain and get sick, You will definitely miss the exam date, what can you do?" "Look, sir, there is a light there." Su Sheng followed the direction of Su Yuan's finger and saw that it looked like there was someone's house halfway up the mountain. Although the light was very weak, But it gave them hope.
When I got closer, I realized that this was a temple. It was so gray that I couldn't see clearly what kind of bricks, tiles, or pillars it was. I could only see clearly a plaque hung in the middle of the door, with yellow characters on a blue background: Kek Lok Si. The plaque is mottled around it, so it seems to be an ancient temple. As soon as the two of them stood under the eaves, heavy raindrops fell from the sky, accompanied by violent storms and thunder, making the atmosphere very scary. "What are you doing standing there? Knock on the door." Su Sheng said unhappily. Su Yuan hurriedly slapped the door knocker. After a while, the door opened, and a young monk in gray robe came out. He raised his hands and said, "Two donors, do you want to stay overnight?" Su Yuan's eyes lit up and he said, "Yes. Yes, that's right, that's right. It would be best to prepare some fast food." Su Sheng stepped forward and said, "Young Master, I'm going to Beijing to take the exam. On the way here, it's getting late and it's raining heavily. Can you please It's convenient for me to stay overnight." The young monk said, "Come with me." Su Sheng murmured from behind, "Why is this young monk so pale?" Su Yuan said, "We are fasting all year round, so it would be strange if we don't look pale. .” The little monk suddenly turned around and sneered: “Yes, is there a novel version of Ghost Monk Talk ? The poor monk hasn’t eaten meat for a long, long time.” When they arrived at the Buddhist hall, the little monk stood at the door with his hands lowered, letting them in. When they went in, they found that There was an old monk sitting inside, with white eyebrows and white beard, wearing a blue robe. While he asked Su Sheng and his servant to sit down, he ordered the young monk to prepare the meal, and he served tea himself. While waiting for the fast meal, the master and servant's stomachs grow louder than the other, and they kept drinking tea, chewing the tea leaves.
After half a stick of incense, the young monk brought the vegetarian meal. Su and Sheng didn't even look at it, they picked up the bowls and wolfed down the food. After dinner, the young monk took them into the room to rest.
At midnight, Su Yuan complained of stomachache. He turned somersaults on the bed in pain and vomited violently within a short time. When Su Sheng lit the lamp, he saw that what Su Yuan was vomiting was rice. It was clearly maggots, mixed with blood and white. Crawling around on the ground. Su Sheng couldn't see this, and started vomiting. The master and the servant were in the room, one after another, one after another, like a competition to see who could vomit far away. He vomited until stars appeared in his eyes, his liver and intestines were broken, and his hands were paralyzed. My feet were weak, my back was sore, my legs were cramping, and I lay weakly on the bed panting.
"Oh my God, it's a ghost. Young Master, we're in a ghost. Run away. If you don't run, it'll be too late." Su Yuan said with force. Su Sheng said: "I can't even get out of bed now, and you still let me run. Haven't you practiced martial arts before? What are you afraid of? You just carried me and ran." Su Yuan said with a sad face: "That was when I was a kid selling plasters with my grandfather. I'm a three-legged cat, and I feel so exhausted now, my good son." Su Sheng sighed: "I miss me, Su Shuping. I have been smart and studious since I was a child, and my parents love me very much. When I grow up, I will be talented, handsome and unrestrained, and I want to get fame. , I am so prosperous, how could I die today?" Su Yuan said: "I don't want to die either, I'm not married yet."
At this moment, there was a strong wind outside the window, the window paper was torn, and the cold wind penetrated people's pores. The master and servant of the Su family hid in the bed and shivered, their hair stood on end, and their hair almost stood on end. The door was blown open by the wind, and a figure stood at the door. It should be said that it was a ghost. By the light of lightning, Su Sheng recognized the old monk. He wanted to speak but could not say anything. Su Yuan took out the short knife from under the pillow but could not sit up. He saw that the old monk's appearance was changing, little by little. , the flesh on the face fell off piece by piece, black blood dripped down, and slowly turned into a skull, the eyes flashed blue, the tongue stretched out very long, the fingernails grew longer and longer, Extremely sharp.
The old monk laughed loudly and said: "I have been dead for hundreds of years. I never thought that today I can eat fresh human hearts. After eating these two, I can transform into the devil world and become an immortal demon body. Haha…" As he said this, He rushed up and scratched Su Yuan's chest with his nails. Su Yuan said: "Old ghost, eat mine first. Mine is delicious." The old monk really went to grab Su Yuan's heart. Su Yuan had quick eyes and quick hands and slashed with a knife. Towards the ghost hand, the old monk yelled and pulled back. His hand had been cut with a deep mark. The old monk said angrily: "I'm going to eat you!" Su Yuan said: "Eat shit, you, I haven't eaten for three days." The hut has been reserved for you. Oh, what are you talking about? Monks and monks are all about killing demons. Forget it if you don’t do that. It’s already wicked enough. You turned into a ghost to harm people. Buddha knows it. , I will never let you off lightly." "Stop talking any more, I'll risk my life!" The old monk put his hands down. Seeing that Su Yuan's life was in danger, suddenly, a bright light flashed, and two yellow talismans fell from the sky and stuck firmly to the old ghost's hands. He was immediately unable to move and howled strangely. Immediately afterwards, an old man with a white beard came in from the door, stroking his beard, smiling, and having kind eyes. Su Sheng took a look and saw that it was the Taoist priest he met at the inn. I thought there was no need to die now, there was hope. He hurriedly shouted: "Taoist Master, help me!" The old Taoist priest smiled and said: "Donor, don't be afraid, there is a poor Taoist here, you can save your life." The old monk broke away from the charm and grabbed the Taoist priest with his backhand: "Dead Taoist priest, you are so bad. My good deeds are as good as those in the well, so I advise you to run away quickly. If you try to stop me again, I will eat you too." The Taoist shook his fly whisk and said, "You did a lot of evil in life, and you persisted in your obsession after death. Today, you are a poor Taoist. The Tathagata cleans the door." As he spoke, he recited a mantra: "Tian Yuan Tai Yi, the main soldier of the Jing Division… The yellow dragon descended from the sky, the emperor's life expectancy, the Jingxiao cave seal, the demons were eliminated, but it was as urgent as a law!" The fly whisk instantly became like a law! It was very long, shining with golden light and wrapped around the old monk, making him unable to move. The Taoist leader drew his sword out of its sheath and stabbed him in the heart. The old monk screamed and turned into a pool of blood in a moment! Then he walked over and took out two pills from his waist bag and fed them to the master and servants of the Su family. Su Sheng, Su Yuan quickly regained his strength and was bouncing around. Su Yuan knelt down in the tunnel and said: "Xianjia, please forgive me for being blind." The old Taoist smiled and said: "Get up, don't blame those who don't know. That little monk is also a ghost and has been killed by the poor Taoist. This old man and I The ghost fight has been going on for hundreds of years, and both of Pindao's disciples died at his hands. Today, there is finally an end. If Pindao hadn't gone to Kunlun Mountain to find his senior brother and practiced in seclusion for decades, it might have been him. Opponent. It's not advisable to stay here for a long time. Let's get on the road quickly. It's a poor way to go." After saying that, he took off in the air. Su Yuan stood up and said, "He can ride on the clouds even when there is thunder. He's really awesome." Su Sheng said, "Xiu is too talkative, so hurry up and hurry up."
A few days later, Su Sheng arrived in the capital and stayed at an inn. He had no intention of visiting the bustling streets and beautiful mountains and rivers. After studying hard in his room for several days, he took part in the imperial examination on time. When the results were announced, Su Sheng was sleeping in the room and asked Su Yuan to run to see the results. Su Yuan saw that the young master won the first-level and third place. He ran back excitedly to announce the good news. Su Sheng wrote a letter overnight and told Su Yuan whether there was a novel version of "The Ghost Monk's Talk" . The whole family was happy.
Su Shuping was left as an official in the capital by the imperial court, and Su Yuan also accompanied him. He is fair and honest, and has a breeze on his sleeves. Later he was promoted to Zuo Dailang of the Ministry of Rites, and in his middle age he was transferred to the post of prefect of Hangzhou. Until the Ming Dynasty was in turmoil and the Manchus invaded, he resigned from his official position and retired to the countryside. He never left the country.