The Buddha nature is revealed when the flower blooms. This flower refers to the lotus. The lotus grows out of the mud without being stained, and washes in the clear water without being coquettish. This small flower with a full body of color reflects the light of wealth and peace in the world as it is immersed in water and stained.
During the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty, there was a group of bandits who frequently caused chaos among the people. They stationed outside the city and dressed up as poor people, harassing the people every three to five days, and then disappeared without a trace like an invisible shadow.
Song Huizong was furious and sent his trusted confidant General Sima Duan to suppress the bandits. However, he tried three or five times but failed to take down the bandits in one fell swoop. Song Huizong was troubled and handed over the affairs of the court to the prime minister to handle. He decided to visit the people in disguise.
After several days of trekking through mountains and rivers, Song Huizong arrived at a village on Qingfeng Mountain. Seeing that the people here were in harmony, it was a sign of good fortune under the feet of the emperor. Song Huizong nodded with satisfaction. Under the feet of the emperor, there must be the king's law. This king's law is used to persuade and discipline those who do not follow the rules. It seems that there are some places where people can live peacefully without the punishment of the king's law.
As it got dark, he decided to find a house to stay at first. However, after knocking on several doors, no one responded. Song Huizong was puzzled. Every household was clearly there, so why did no one open the door?
At this time, he came to a dark red wooden door that looked quite luxurious and knocked on the door. After knocking a few times, a few slow and steady voices came from inside. "Who are you?"
"I am a businessman from another place who came here to do business. Seeing that it is getting late , I would like to stay here for one night. I hope the host will give me some convenience." There was only a rustling sound in the yard, and no one came to open the door for a long time. Song Huizong was about to ask a question when a hoarse voice came from the yard, "There is no one in this yard." Huizong thought it was funny. If there was no one, who was answering? An old man's voice came from the middle of the night, "Don't ask. It is not convenient to open the door for you in the middle of the night. You might as well stay somewhere else."
Huizong was filled with anger, but he had no choice but to turn around and walk towards the sorghum field. The night was particularly bright tonight, and under the moonlight, Huizong came to the door of a relatively low house. Although the stone steps of this house were not as high as the previous one, it was also a wealthy family. But he knocked on the door for a long time but no one opened it.
At this time, Song Huizong was anxious. It was getting late at night and he had to find a place to stay. However, he knocked on several houses but no one responded. In desperation, he found a desolate and dilapidated thatched house.
It's called a thatched house, but it's actually very old. A few broken beams and pillars are covered with a few thatched straws that can barely keep out the wind and rain. Although it's shabby, it can barely accommodate one person. There's no other way now.
Facing the moonlight, Huizong walked in and found that although the thatched house looked shabby from the outside, it was actually a little spacious inside. At least it was not completely visible. There was another narrower room inside, which seemed to be built temporarily. There seemed to be a person huddled in the corner. The person's hair fell to his ears, and he hugged his knees with his hands, so his scattered hair obscured his entire identity. It was difficult to tell whether he was a man or a woman.
Huizong walked slowly towards him, but the man suddenly raised his head, revealing a mouth full of fangs, and a pair of scarlet eyes, staring at Huizong fiercely. Huizong was frightened. The man suddenly pounced on Huizong. With a mouth full of fangs…
Huizong tried to counterattack him, but the man was too strong and started to bite him when he opened his mouth. Huizong dodged to the side, took out the pocket crossbow given to him by his father when he was a child, and shot him in the arm. Later, the man gradually calmed down and his eyes began to return to normal.
Later, he hid in the corner and cried, and refused to answer anything Huizong asked.
The next morning, Huizong was about to send him to the government office, but was seen by the villagers who had woken up early. The villagers ran away, shouting as if they had discovered something… Before Huizong could react, a group of villagers surrounded him, holding all kinds of weapons in their hands. "Kill him, kill him!" The villagers were excited. Huizong waved his hand to signal them to stop.
Why are you like this?
"Sir, you don't know that this house you are in has been haunted for three years. Many people in the village have died. Since then, no one dares to enter this house. Even in the middle of the day, people in the downtown area have to stay away from it. Every household closes their doors every night for fear of suffering an unexpected disaster. This thing tied in your hand is the legendary ghost!" He has killed so many of our relatives, and we will never let him off easily.
Huizong was shocked when he heard this. Before he could react, the man had been forcibly taken away by the villagers. When he chased after him, he heard a shrill wail that echoed through the sky.
It turned out to be the man from before, nailed alive on the fire rack, and the villagers were preparing to burn him to death. The man was still sobbing helplessly with disheveled hair.
"Stop it. The emperor has his own law to deal with you. How can you do this?" Huizong was shocked and angry. At this time, a leader came out, and it turned out to be the clan leader.
"He killed so many of our relatives. We are the law. We are going to burn him alive today to offer sacrifice to the gods. Please do not stop us." After saying this, he signaled his men to drag Huizong out.
Huizong reached out and knocked down the two people who came to pull him, and then he jumped onto the fire with a few steps and saved the man. He rode two fast horses in the village to an inn and asked for a doctor.
After taking a few doses of medicine, the man woke up, but it would take some time for his hands and feet to heal.
The man looked at Song Huizong with gratitude and said, "We have never met before. Why are you so kind to an evil ghost?"
"This is the land of the Son of Heaven. I will never allow them to kill innocent people. Even if you are an evil ghost, you should be punished by the law." These words were so awe-inspiring that the man was stunned for a long time, and slowly tears flowed from his eyes.
On this day, Huizong came to the gate of the village to observe the terrain. There was a sound of horse hoofs in the distance, and someone shouted that the village master was back. The originally bustling street was suddenly empty. A group of bandits came from a distance. The leader had thick eyebrows and wild eyes, and was more than eight feet tall. He must be the leader of the bandits. The leader of the bandits waved his hand, and two beautiful beauties came out of the village, hugging each other on the left and right, looking very happy.
At this time, Huizong noticed that the bandit leader seemed to have something hanging around his neck. It looked like a Bodhisattva sitting on a lotus pedestal. If you were to just talk about the texture, it was also very good. It was made of extremely fine jade. It actually emitted a soft glow in the sun. Huizong guessed that it must be some kind of amulet.
Later, Huizong figured out the terrain of the village, returned to the court, and ordered another campaign to suppress the bandits. This time he was confident.
However, a few months later, General Sima returned to the court in disgrace, and the suppression of the bandits failed again. Huizong was furious and dismissed Sima Duan from his position. In a rage, he left the palace again. This time he was determined to find out what was going on.
It is obviously a very easy mountain to conquer, so why is the stalemate lasting for so long?
This time, as soon as he arrived at the downtown area, Huizong was caught, knocked unconscious with a stick, and put into a sack.
When Huizong opened his eyes in a daze, he found himself in an unknown place. The dark room was brightly lit, and there were about a hundred people holding torches and looking at him. The leader was the bandit leader. It turned out that the bandit leader received a secret message from the court. He had captured Huizong and was preparing to assassinate him.
Huizong was furious, but he was tied up and could only watch the executioner slowly approaching him, the edge of the sword approaching his neck. It seemed that he was about to succeed. At this time, a roar sounded outside the mountain stronghold. A man with disheveled hair rushed over. A large group of people fell down where the tip of the sword pointed. Huizong was taken away.
When they got to a brighter place, Huizong slowly opened his eyes and adjusted to the bright light. Only then did he see clearly that this person was the one he had saved last time. When he saw Huizong wake up, he quietly walked out.
The next morning, some villagers saw Huizong and took him home. After asking, they learned that the imperial court sent people to suppress the bandits every year. But they could not take the city after a long time. The reason was that the bandit leader had a lotus Buddha platform on his neck. It was said that it was a talisman that fell from the sky when he was born. It blessed him with a safe and wealthy life. He was happy and free from worries.
Speaking of this amulet, it is really magical. The villagers in the village have all seen the wonders of the lotus Buddha platform with their own eyes. A few years ago, a man in the village went to assassinate the bandit leader. He was about to succeed, but was blown away by a strange force. It was not internal force, nor external force. Since then, the villagers firmly believed that the reason why the bandit leader could be safe every year was because of the magical effect of the amulet.
Huizong was determined to find out what was going on. At this moment, a young man about fifteen or sixteen years old came stumbling in from outside the village, his face covered in dust.
"Uncle, it's bad. Qiangzi's family…Qiangzi's family has suffered a disaster. All four members of the family are dead." Before the young man could finish his words, Huizong rushed out with him.
A group of people gathered at the door of Qiangzi's house at the west end of the village. They all covered their hands and noses, but no one dared to go in.
The five members of Qiangzi's family all died in hideous ways. Their eyes were wide open, and they were already dead. Huizong went to check, but saw a boy of fifteen or sixteen holding a piece of yellow cloth tightly in his hand. It must be Qiangzi. The other three people died in the same way. Only the piece of yellow cloth in Qiangzi's hand was extremely dazzling. Huizong had no clue. He temporarily stayed in a villager's house to solve the case.
But the next day, at dawn, a piercing scream resounded throughout the village. Another family died. Four people. Not one was left. All were killed by external forces. The death was horrible and cruel. This time, one of the people was also holding a piece of yellow cloth tightly in his hand.
Both times, the man held a piece of yellow cloth in his hand. Is there something special about this yellow cloth? Huizong frowned. But he couldn't figure out how to frown for most of the day. Until late at night
There was a figure hiding outside Huizong's window. Could it be a thief? He chased after him. But he saw no one outside the window. He returned empty-handed. Another sleepless night.
Early in the morning of the third day, as expected, another family was killed. No one was left in the family. Deafening wails rang out in the village, as if they were mourning for the dead. Or as if they were worried about themselves.
The family of the murdered people this time had three people. The difference was that the couple were both about 30 years old, and they had a daughter who was about 13 or 14 years old. She was very beautiful and was holding a piece of yellow cloth in her hand.
Why did the murderer put a piece of yellow cloth in his hand after killing someone? Is there some secret hidden in this yellow cloth?
On the third night, when Huizong was deep in thought, he suddenly heard a sound of breaking wind. A dagger brushed past his ear and stuck into the pillar behind him. There were a few words written crookedly on it: The last family, the Li family at the head of the village, was killed at midnight. Save them. The handwriting was crooked. It seemed that he had deliberately hidden it with his left hand.
At this time, there was only a little sound from the time. Huizong rushed out in a hurry. When he arrived, he found that he was a step too late. The family had already been killed.
Huizong closed his eyes in pain, but still failed to stop what happened.
In the early morning, there was a noisy sound outside the door. Several people came in with a man who seemed to be a madman. He kept saying "There is a ghost… There is a ghost". He broke free from the villagers' hands and rushed towards Song Huizong like crazy. But when he was still three steps away, he suddenly vomited blood and fell to the ground. His eyes were wide open. This man was dead.
Huizong was upset, but he had no clue. Then a young man came from outside the village and claimed that he could solve the case. Huizong quickly asked someone to invite him in. The young man asked someone to bring up a man. He was a rogue who lived near the village grave. Er Gouzi. He had been beaten half to death. The young man looked at the rogue with a little pity. He turned around and talked to himself.
Er Gouzi fell in love with Lianxiang, the daughter of a beautiful couple at the head of the village. After repeated courtship failed, he decided to kill her. Two young men who were usually close to Lianxiang also suffered. At this time, the young man grabbed Er Gouzi's chin and squeezed it hard. Er Gouzi cried out in pain while unconscious. Then he was dragged away by the villagers.
The young man ordered the villagers to fetch paper and pen to prepare a complaint and send Er Gouzi to the government. Huizong pondered for a while.
At night, dark clouds covered the moon, and the sky was dark. No stars were visible. A night traveler tiptoed to the house where Song Huizong lived, took out the dagger he carried with him, and stabbed the bed fiercely, but he suddenly realized something was wrong. He suddenly lifted the quilt. He found that there was nothing inside. At this time, the room suddenly lit up, and a large group of people rushed in from outside. They joined forces to subdue the man in black, and tore off the black veil. Under the veil was the face of the "evil ghost" who had been associated with Song Huizong several times before.
It's you, Song Huizong screamed in surprise. The man in black stared at Song Huizong fiercely, as if he wanted to pierce his body. His eyes were ferocious and ready to burst. Song Huizong felt that this look was very familiar. It seemed that he had seen it somewhere before. But he couldn't remember it.
"I have no grudge against you and I saved you from being burned at the stake. Why did you treat me like this and kill several people in succession?"
The man sneered and said, I didn’t expect you could tell that it was me who did it.
Huizong stood with his hands behind his back. All three families died in the same way. The young dead boy held a yellow cloth in his hand. At first I thought that the yellow cloth was the key to the case. Later I thought about it carefully and found that it was not right. The yellow cloth was held in the hands of the young dead boy. And their death postures were all strange. Later I realized that the key to the case was not the yellow cloth, but those young boys in their prime.
Later, when I was at a loss for words, a man came from outside the village. I guess he was sent by you?
"Yes. That person was sent by me. Every year, someone dies in this village. The villagers all thought it was caused by evil spirits, and no one dared to investigate. I saw that you actually investigated it, and I was worried that you might find out something. So I sent that person to confuse your sight and let him put the blame on the second-rate guy in the village, Er Gouzi. Say that he killed people for women. But I don't know how you knew that he was the one I sent."
Huizong pondered for a while and said: Yes, your case is indeed flawless. At first, I was almost fooled by you. But later, the young man wrote a letter and sent the second-rate guy to the government. At this time, I noticed that the young man's handwriting seemed very familiar. I just forgot where I had seen it. Later, I thought about it carefully and suddenly remembered. It was the handwriting of the person who informed me on the night when Lianxiang's family was killed. Although the paper was deliberately written with the left hand, it is not difficult to see that it was written by the same person. Since the young man has never been to this village, how can his handwriting be exactly the same as that person? So I concluded that there was a trick at this time. I expected that you would come here tonight to take my life. I specially set up this trap and waited for you to take the bait.
But… everyone seemed to have overlooked one thing. Huizong ordered people to bring the bodies of young people from each family. They were placed on the ground and strangely formed into a picture. Everyone present opened their eyes wide. It was a picture of a Bodhisattva sitting on a lotus.
There was a young man pretending to be a lotus, lingering with someone. The young girl made a Bodhisattva look with her hands folded, and the other young man…actually made clothes.
The man in black suddenly laughed. "It has come to this. I have nothing to say. Just kill me." Song Huizong shook his head and signaled the villagers to take the man away.
"Wait a minute!" A man walked in from the door, who looked exactly like the man in black. The villagers were stunned. The man in black stared at the man fiercely, "You are not dead!" Huizong finally realized that the two were twin brothers. No wonder…
At this time, the man walked up to Huizong and bowed deeply to him, "Before, I was regarded as an evil ghost and a rich ghost , and was in that thatched house. Later, I was nailed to the fire rack by the villagers and was almost burned to death. Fortunately, you rescued me. Please accept my bow." Huizong hurriedly supported him.
At this time, he looked at the man in black with a guilty look. "He is my brother, the leader of the Black Wind Village bandits you mentioned. You Guang…"
This statement shocked everyone present. What? He is You Guang. He is not like this when we see him on weekdays.
The shapes of objects in the world are ever-changing. The him you see on a daily basis is all dressed in a human skin mask. In fact, this is his true appearance today.
At this time, he slowly took out the lotus seat Buddha statue from You Guang's neck. In the dim night, the Buddha statue's strange light could not be blocked. Now the villagers really believed it. Some people began to whisper.
At this time, You Guang roared angrily, "What qualifications do you have to control me? You don't even care about your father's life or death. You don't deserve to be here, get out!"
Huizong was puzzled, and You Qing slowly told him the whole story. It turned out that they were a group of brothers with very good relations. A few years ago, their father, the old leader of the Black Wind Village, was seriously ill and wanted to hand over the management of the village to You Qing.
This is the truth. Good or bad luck can happen at any time. It is God's will. Who would have thought that You Guang wanted to save the old man's life? He ordered people to buy this lotus pendant from a faraway place. He wore it around his neck every day. You Qing saw that his brother was stubborn and had the tendency to become a demon, so he resolutely left the Black Wind Village. Who would have thought that You Guang was angry that he did not save his father with him, so he imprisoned him in that small hut and made up many horrifying stories. He was labeled as an evil ghost. Later, he listened to someone's instigation and wanted to kill several people's names to form a lotus picture to save his father.
On the day when Huizong saved him, he vaguely felt that this person must be a noble person. He must have another purpose for coming here. Later, he slowly learned from Huizong that he was here to suppress bandits.
He struggled for a long time between justice on one side and his brother on the other, and then those things happened. It seems too late to say anything now.
At this moment, he suddenly saw the Buddha statue on his brother's neck frowning, and two clear tears fell from its stern eyes. He was shocked, it was not good, the golden Buddha was shedding tears, as if a demon had suddenly appeared.
The younger brother suddenly laughed grimly. He knocked many people away and killed anyone he saw with a butcher knife in hand. When he came to You Qing, he was stunned for a moment. However, he did not kill him, but just knocked him unconscious.
The villagers dodged one after another, and those who were unable to dodge in time became victims of the knife.
"At this point, you still don't repent?" Huizong's loud voice came: Look at your brother, you are from the same mother, you know that with his martial arts, he is fully capable of escaping from here, but he has been imprisoned in that thatched hut without sunlight for several years. Do you know what he is doing? He is atoning for your sins!
These words suddenly awakened You Guang, who was about to become a demon. He was stunned for a long time, then slowly picked up his brother and walked out of the deep night.
Some villagers were about to chase after him, but were stopped by Huizong, saying, "You can't do anything to him, just let him go."
Since then, the famous Black Wind Village has never caused chaos among the people again. In the border area not far from the Ming Dynasty, there is a pair of twin heroes who are dedicated to guarding the border area of the Song Dynasty from being invaded by the barbarians.
Later, there were rumors among the people that several years ago, Huizong had personally left the palace to wipe out the group of bandits in Black Wind Village. Whenever people asked about this, Huizong just smiled and said nothing.