#251 - Yujia's wish

Like Shu Prefecture, Long Prefecture is also a border region, located directly west of Da Ning.

It borders Yuan Prefecture to the north, Ling Prefecture to the south, An Prefecture further south, and then Shu Prefecture.

Judging from its geographical location and climatic conditions, Long Prefecture should not be very wealthy.

And the reality is indeed so. If Da Ning's thirty-six prefectures had a GDP ranking, Long Prefecture would definitely be at the bottom. It's no exaggeration to call it a remote and impoverished area.

However, it is precisely this extremely poor prefecture that is the last remaining pure land of Buddhism within Da Ning.

Contrary to Da Ning's overall religious policy of 'emphasizing Taoism and de-emphasizing Buddhism,' the people of Long Prefecture are more inclined to believe in Buddhism, and martial artists mostly follow the path of Buddhism.

As for the reason...

It is said that 'Taoism cultivates this life, while Buddhism cultivates the next.'

Perhaps the poorer people are, the more they can only place all their hopes and aspirations on the afterlife.

The carriage drove out of Long Prefecture City and traveled more than ten miles along the bumpy official road. In less than half an hour, they arrived at the 'Jerusalem' of Da Ning Buddhism—Lingkai Mountain.

The Buddhist Lotus Temple is hidden on Lingkai Mountain. Neat and level stone steps lead from the foot of the mountain directly to the temple gate.

Tsk tsk, I bet the Long Prefecture government office doesn't even have such high-end steps.

As expected, one must never mistreat children, and one must never impoverish monks!

Wei Changtian muttered to himself, and together with Qin Zhengqiu and You Jia, he climbed the steps and soon saw a magnificent, solemn, and majestic temple.

Walking among the endless stream of pilgrims to the temple gate, the three gate openings, one large and two small, symbolizing 'wisdom,' 'compassion,' and 'expediency,' were all painted with bright red lacquer, and a couplet was engraved on both sides.

Upper line: The Great Dao is selfless; if one can empty both form and appearance, why seek the South Sea elsewhere?

Lower line: The Maze is widely traversed; if one can continue the compassionate heart, this place is the Western Heaven.

Well, as expected, I don't understand it, but I feel like the last sentence is quite unlucky anyway.

So, do I really have no affinity with Buddhism?

Wei Changtian shook his head and didn't think much about it. He stepped over the threshold and casually grabbed a young monk who was sweeping the floor.

"Little Master, is Abbot Huian in the temple?"

"Ah?"

The little monk was stunned, holding a broom in one hand and performing a single palm salute with the other.

"Amitabha, the Abbot is indeed in the temple now, but I don't know what business these benefactors have?"

But there is no uncle named Jing Yuan in the temple?

Looking at Wei Changtian with some doubts, seeing that the latter had no intention of explaining, the little monk had to respond, "This humble monk understands," and turned to leave.

Only then did Wei Changtian shift his gaze and casually glance at the surrounding situation.

The place they were in now was the Mountain Gate Hall, which was where the "Heng Ha Two Generals" were enshrined.

Compared with the Buddhas enshrined in the Heavenly King Hall and the Great Hero Hall behind, the Heng Ha Two Generals were undoubtedly less impressive.

However, there were still a dozen men and women in ragged clothes kneeling in front of the hall, holding high incense and kowtowing repeatedly.

Unlike many temples in his previous life that did not allow tourists to bring their own incense, in ancient times, there were not only no such "capitalized" rules, but even Buddhist incense was placed in front of the incense burner for pilgrims to take freely.

In other words, it was provided free of charge.

However, although there was a chance to "get a free ride" to worship Buddha, in fact, no pilgrim would really come empty-handed. After offering incense, regardless of whether they were rich or poor, they would basically put some incense money into the donation box.

Even if it might make them go hungry for several days.

For example, right now.

"Mother, we haven't had a full meal for several days..."

A little boy wearing a cotton-padded jacket full of patches gently tugged at a woman's sleeve, pleading softly: "I, I want to eat steamed buns..."

"Shall we, shall we take these copper coins to buy steamed buns?"

"Clang ~"

Although the little boy's request was very pitiful, the woman, who was also dressed in rags, was unmoved and still threw the few copper coins in her hand into the donation box placed in front of the Buddha statue.

"Please, Two Vajras, bless our orphaned mother and son..."

"We only need to be able to eat one full meal a day. Please bless us, Vajra, bless us..."

"..."

The devout prayers were not loud, but all three of Wei Changtian had reached the fifth rank of "keen ears and sharp eyes," so they could vaguely hear them.

Taking the money for food to offer to the Bodhisattva, only to ask that they can have enough to eat...

Wei Changtian complained inwardly about the magical reality of this scene, while Qin Zhengqiu didn't care at all.

Only You Jia hesitated for a moment, and then shook a small piece of silver from her sleeve, about two or three cents.

She clearly knew that giving too much would not protect the mother and son, so she chose such an amount that was neither too much nor too little.

"Swish!"

A flash of silver light, and the broken silver landed exactly in the bamboo basket used by the woman to hold the Buddhist incense, shaking a few times before rolling down to the bottom of the bamboo basket along the gap.

Noticing this scene, Wei Changtian turned his head and glanced at You Jia.

The latter did not explain anything, but after hesitating for a moment, asked softly:

"Can I also offer incense?"

"..."

"Why ask me? Go if you want to."

Wei Changtian was stunned for a moment, smiling and nodding, but he felt a little strange in his heart.

You Jia is following the path of Taoism, why would she worship the Vajra of Buddhism?

Although there is no rule against "worshipping any god you see," the exclusivity of faith should be very strong, right?

Wei Changtian couldn't understand, and didn't ask. He just watched You Jia walk to the front of the glaring Heng Ha Two Generals, took three long incense sticks, lit them, and then knelt on the golden silk futon and bowed three times earnestly.

You Jia didn't speak, so Wei Changtian didn't know what she was praying for, and had already shifted his gaze to the little monk walking back from a distance.

But if he could hear You Jia's inner voice, his expression probably wouldn't be as calm as it is now.

"This girl knows that her sins are deep, and does not ask for a good end for herself in this life or the next."

"But if the Two Vajras are spiritual, please bless Young Master Wei with peace and joy in this life, the next life, and for generations to come..."

"..."

The Buddhist incense was ethereal, and the sound of wooden fish and chanting intertwined in the distance.

The sutra pillars and incense flowers reflected the Buddhist pagoda containing the Buddha's bone relics, filled with solemnity and holiness in the curling incense.

The devout prayer was repeated in her heart again and again. You Jia's last bow lasted for a long time, but when she looked up again, she found that only Qin Zhengqiu was left in place.

Wei Changtian had followed the little monk far away without her knowing.

ps: I'm asking for everyone's opinion here. Basically, every character in this book has a complete story line, but if they are all written out, it may squeeze Wei Changtian's appearance frequency. So, do you think it's better to write the supporting characters' stories more completely or to compress them a bit?