novelAbuy Chapter 91 Master and Disciple
Chapter 91 Master and Disciple
Chapter 91 Master and Disciple
In the hazy night, seven or eight people were walking along the road.
Leading the way was a man with two swords strapped to his back; he looked powerful and fierce.
This man is named Zhao Pusheng. He is known in the martial arts world as "Double-Sword Zhao" because he is skilled with two swords. He is one of the most notorious bandits in Chaohu, a wanted criminal by the government, and also one of the newly accepted disciples of "Peng Zu".
Behind Zhao Pusheng was a kind-looking monk.
His name was Peng Yingyu, a monk from Cihua Temple in Yuanzhou. He was suppressed by the government for "using sorcery to bewitch the masses" and "gathering people to cause trouble".
At that time, Peng Yingyu and her eldest disciple Zhou Ziwang gathered more than 5,000 people, making a great force.
The people elected Zhou Ziwang as "King Zhou" and established the theocratic Zhou Kingdom, with Peng Yingyu as "National Preceptor" and his second disciple Kuang Tian as Left and Right Chancellors.
To boost morale, Peng Yingyu claimed that he possessed the ability to "turn flying spears into swords and scattering beans into soldiers," which could assist the righteous army.
He then had the character "Buddha" written on the chests and backs of more than 5,000 soldiers, telling them that "weapons cannot harm them."
The people believed it without a doubt, and the uprising ended in failure.
Zhou Ziwang's entire family was killed. Peng Yingyu took Kuang Tian and fled to Huaixi, where they hid in a civilian's house.
However, he didn't remain dormant for long. Just last year, he recruited "Double-Knife Zhao" and "Li Batou," two local heroes from Chaohu, as his third and fourth disciples.
At the same time, several disciples were given new names.
The second disciple, Kuang Tian, changed his name to "Kuang Putian," the third disciple changed his name to "Zhao Pusheng," and the fourth disciple was named "Li Pusheng." The character "Pu" from the generational names of the White Lotus Sect, "Pu, Jue, Miao, Dao," was used as their generational name.
At this moment, Li Pusheng led two close attendants to bring up the rear.
There's no way around it, things are too tense lately. Peng Yingyu, known as "Peng Zu," is a rebel leader, while Zhao and Li are both wanted robbers and murderers by the government. Whoever gets caught will face death.
As for Kuang Putianyao, he was accompanied by a close follower who stayed by Peng Yingyu's side, protecting her closely—to be honest, he did not completely trust Zhao and Li, even though they were now fellow disciples.
After walking for a long time, a solitary thatched hut appeared ahead.
Having held back his questions the whole way, Zhao Pusheng asked, "Master, why do we encourage people to chant the name of Maitreya Buddha and light incense and lamps at night wherever we go? You didn't do this before."
"My disciple is very clever." Peng Yingyu smiled and said, "Actually, the virtuous Bai Lian has been doing this for more than 20 years. As your teacher, I am not considered to be going against the orthodox path."
"Why?" Zhao Pusheng pressed.
Peng Yingyu remained silent for a moment.
It might be possible to deceive ordinary followers, but it's pointless to keep it from close disciples, especially since they might not even be that convinced of the White Lotus Sect.
He sighed and said, "Do you know about the Buddhas of the past and the Buddhas of the future?"
"I don't know," Zhao Pusheng shook his head.
"Dipankara Buddha is the Buddha of the past, and Maitreya Buddha is the Buddha of the future. Like Shakyamuni Buddha of this era, they both descended to earth to save people." Peng Yingyu explained to her newly accepted disciples in simple language: "In this chaotic world, the actions of Shakyamuni Buddha are limited, so the people yearn for the Buddhas of the past and the future. Therefore, we ask you to light incense and lamps and chant the name of Maitreya's descent."
Zhao Pusheng understood immediately.
That's more like it. You can win over anyone. Why does it have to be a pure and innocent disciple of the White Lotus Sect?
The White Lotus sect can also chant "Maitreya's Descent" and burn torches and incense.
"Master, what if we encounter someone who eats vegetables and causes trouble?" Zhao Pusheng asked, drawing inferences from the previous example.
"You're teachable." Peng Yingyu gave her disciple an approving look and said, "If you encounter them in the future, just call them 'fellow believers.' The White Lotus Sect can also serve demons and eat vegetables."
"Master is amazing," Zhao Pusheng said sincerely.
"Master is old," Peng Yingyu shook her head and said, "There are countless masters in the world, and there are even those who surpass me."
"There are more experts?" Zhao Pusheng asked in surprise.
Peng Yingyu nodded and said, "Han Shantong's grandfather from Luancheng burned incense and worshipped Buddha, but was exiled to Yongnian for 'confused and misleading the masses' because it did not conform to the White Lotus sect's doctrines. By Shantong's generation, not only did they inherit their grandfather's will, burning incense with the White Lotus sect and integrating the doctrines of the White Lotus and Maitreya sects, but they surpassed their grandfather, proclaiming the slogan 'The Ming King is born, Maitreya descends,' thus unifying the White Lotus, Maitreya, and Ming Cults, making it a force to be reckoned with."
Burning incense and paying homage to Maitreya Buddha is a hallmark of Maitreya faith.
The practice of eating vegetables and serving demons was a hallmark of Manichaeism after its localization in China (Ming Cult) – “One person becomes the demon leader, forms a party to serve him, and all eat vegetables and do not eat meat.”
Han Shantong, from a family of the White Lotus sect, was able to innovate and unite the three religions, truly a "master". Peng Yingyu, on the other hand, only united two religions.
You have to understand that this is not something you can do by just shouting slogans. People will want to debate with you, and you have to integrate and make sense of the various doctrines. This is not something that ordinary people can do.
"Be careful if you encounter Han Shantong's followers in the future. We are not on the same side as them," Peng Yingyu warned.
"Master, rest assured," Zhao Pusheng said. "If the Han clan members do not offend me, then we will keep to ourselves."
If they dare to bully us, we'll fight them to the death.
"There's no need for that," Peng Yingyu nodded and said, "Let's just wait and see."
""
The group soon arrived at the thatched hut.
At this moment, candles were lit inside the house, and a person opened the door, bowed, and said, "Peng Zu."
Peng Yingyu invited everyone to sit down.
The person who opened the door came to his side and whispered something in his ear.
Zhao Pusheng looked over intently, as if he wanted to know what to say.
Peng Yingyu laughed and briefly recounted what she had heard.
"Li Zhi? Don't know him." Zhao Pusheng shook his head, self-deprecatingly saying, "As soon as I left, the people of Chaohu were bullied, they couldn't even take down merchant ships. What 'Number One Archer of Taicang'? A dog-like fellow, never even heard of him."
Uh, let alone never having heard of the First Archer, Zhao Pusheng had never even heard of Taicang.
"Taicang was the seat of Kunshan Prefecture." A hint of nostalgia appeared on Peng Yingyu's face. "Years ago, when I was traveling around, I visited Taicang once. There was a White Lotus Nunnery there, but I wonder what it's like now."
"There are nunneries in Taicang too?" Zhao Pusheng asked in surprise.
"Of course there are," Peng Yingyu said, then sighed and added, "But the White Lotus Sect there is not on our side."
Zhao Pusheng was stunned, and even Kuang Putian and Li Pusheng were somewhat surprised.
My master often says, "We're not on the same path," so why is this path getting narrower and narrower?
"Let's not talk about them anymore," Peng Yingyu said with a smile. "You must remember the Jiangzhe region well. If you ever raise an army there, the inland areas are fine, but you can fight the coastal prefectures and counties. However, you can't stay there for long, because you lack the support of your followers. Even if there are White Lotus followers, most of them are engaged in ascetic practices and may not help you. In fact, it's not just us; those who eat vegetables and worship demons are no different. Years ago, when I traveled to Wenzhou, there was only one temple there, the Qianguang Temple, which was a pagoda of the Great Ming Cult, and many Wenzhou and Taizhou gentry considered it a heretical sect. That's why it was relatively well-behaved and wasn't demolished for a while."
Zhao, Li, and Kuang were deeply moved after hearing this.
The coastal prefecture is really different from theirs.
In rural areas of Jiangbei, Huguang, and Jiangxi, there are countless Ming believers who eat vegetables and worship demons.
In the Huai River region, the number of people who believe in Maitreya Buddha is countless.
As for the White Lotus sect, they were widely distributed throughout the south, though they were not necessarily of the same ilk.
In comparison, there are also such believers in the North, but there are far fewer of them.
"Do your job well." Peng Yingyu glanced at everyone and said, "After we overthrow the Yuan Dynasty and establish a new dynasty, I have no interest in the position of the emperor. I just want to be the national advisor and spread the Great Law. Fellow disciples, you should love and help each other. If anyone shows signs of success, the others should help him. You must not fight each other."
"We will obey your orders, Master," Zhao, Li, and Kuang replied in unison.
"As for Shao Shuyi—" Peng Yingyu pondered.
"Master, why not recruit him into the sect as our fifth junior brother and rename him Shao Puyi? That way, we'll have a place to stay in Taicang," suggested Kuang Putian, who was devoted to the sect.
After listening, Zhao Pusheng snorted twice, not at Shao Shuyi, but at another person. He said, "Second Senior Brother is reckless. Master intends to take Zuo Junbi as his fifth junior brother. How could it be Shao Pushu or Shao Puyi?"
Kuang Putian turned to Zhao Pusheng and said, "Junior brother, Zuo Junbi is the son of a commander of a thousand and is skilled in military affairs, which is beneficial to our great cause."
"You weren't the one who was chased like a dog by Zuo Wu and his son Zuo Junbi, and suffered countless deaths and injuries. It was me, and Li Batou too," Zhao Pusheng retorted, clearly displeased.
"That's precisely why we need to bring Zuo Junbi over. Unlike his father, he's somewhat interested in the doctrines, so this is a great opportunity." Kuang Putian said, puzzled.
"Anyway, it wasn't your brother who died or was injured." Zhao Pusheng turned his head away and ignored him.
"I also think that we should have Shao Puyi rather than Zuo Pujun or Zuo Pubi," Li Pusheng added. "Besides, their hesitant manner suggests they don't want to change their names like we do."
Kuang Putian looked at the two of them with some disappointment.
Seeing that her disciples were about to start arguing, Peng Yingyu stood up and said, "This matter is not urgent, let's wait and see."
The atmosphere among Zhao, Li, and Kuang eased a little.
"Peng Zu." Seeing that the group was looking for a place to rest, the person who had opened the door couldn't help but ask, "About Li Zhi?"
"He can't be saved." Zhao Pusheng glanced at him, his eyes full of sneer: "Tell Liao Yong'an not to waste his energy. It's not like he hasn't seen wounds like this before. He's doomed."
The man bowed and said, "Understood."
"If you're really upset, then get your revenge." Zhao Pusheng threw his twin swords under the bed with a clatter and fell fast asleep.
The candle was quickly blown out.
Several wanted criminals slept fully clothed, completely at ease.
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