meow

Although he was forced to be separated from his mother when he was just born, Pickle had a very happy childhood, and his treatment in the Ma Cang family was better than that of some small and medium nobles. After all, there are only a handful of people who can get milk from the palace to feed cats.

When King Ma Cang Ye was still there, it can be said that he never refused any request from pickles. He didn’t get any lessons from the precious books at home, the quilts, and the mischievous demolition of the house. , the behavior after the full moon is still the same as that of a milk cat.

Advocating nature Ma Cang Ye Wang does not like to restrict animal behavior with human preferences, even if it is scratched, he has never been reprimanded. He knows very well that it is the nature of cats to bite and scratch the dynamic things in front of them as prey.It's a pity that pickles did not grow up as Ye Wang hoped, and it was just a wayward Mabao cat when it grew up. After all, the growth of animals is inseparable from the mother's teaching. Cats will fight with their compatriots when they are young. For biting and playing, the mother will also teach survival skills. The most important thing is that when the wild cats outside grow to a certain age, the mother cat will cruelly abandon them and use almost cruel methods to force the kittens to grow up.The wild pickles that grow beside King Ye are wild enough, but it has no worries about food and clothing and has not suffered any hardships, so it can't grow up...

Now the pickles have finally turned into a fully transformed monster, but the person who was most looking forward to seeing this scene is gone.

On the day of leaving home, the living standard of pickles plummeted. Without the obedient mother fucker, the wayward little cat learned to cherish it.Holding the temari ball made by the drug seller in both hands, pickles are even reluctant to put it on the ground for shooting. I vaguely remember that my mother gave it a lot of fur balls to play with when I was a child, but it was only 3 minutes hot before throwing it away...

I don't know where my mother has gone, and Brother Gu Zong doesn't know if he is doing well, whether the big cat that claims to be a white tiger has left Ping'an Jing, and whether he has seen his family that he misses so much.Cai Cai's head was resting on the hand ball, and her thoughts began to drift far away. She thought to herself, when Cai Cai finds her mother, they will go back to their home in Ping'an Jing, reunite with Brother Gu Zong, and help the big white tiger contact his family.

The kitten fell asleep after thinking about it. Its head slid off the hand ball and hit the floor without waking up. Even the cat's ears and tail that had been put away jumped out, obviously very tired.The drug seller who was cleaning the balance looked down at the sleeping cat, and reached out to touch her ears. Cai Cai, who loved being gently comforted, put her ears flat in her sleep, and purred contentedly from her throat.

This way, it looks like my mother is back...

……

The drug seller's good mood only lasted until the next morning. He usually got up early in the morning to prepare food, leaving behind the kitten who was still sleeping late, but when he came back, he saw the clothes he changed from yesterday lying on the yellow ground. It was dirty and dirty, and the pickles stepped on it, slapping the hand and throwing the ball.Seeing the drug seller come back, the little cat waved and said, "Look, buddy, this way the ball won't be dirty!"

Xiaocaimao is quite proud of it.

"..." The medicine seller.

After tidying up the cats, the drug seller left the rice balls and went to wash clothes by the river, covering his head with pickles, squatting on the ground depressed to watch the ants.

After leaving the island, the drug seller took pickles to the village called Anren, but this time the journey was not smooth, because a war broke out on land, the drug seller had no intention of interfering with human affairs, and took the cat all the way around the battlefield , extending the original distance by two times. Even so, the mess after the war cannot be avoided along the way.

After the battle between the two cities, the ground was full of blood and limbs, and the heads of the defeated soldiers were taken away, leaving their bodies to be eaten by birds and beasts.Pickles clutched their noses and walked across the battlefield with the drug seller. The frightened crows flew up, scaring the little kitten to blow its tail.

The air is filled with yin, indicating that there will be monsters born again. Thinking that he has taught a lot of pickles these days, the medicine seller asked impromptuly, "Have you noticed the change in the air?"

Pickle covered her nose, raised her ears listlessly and said, "It stinks..."

"..." The medicine seller.

As a monster, shouldn't the first thing you should notice is the evil spirit?

Anren Village is located in a remote place, so it has not been affected by the war, but the village also welcomes many refugees who have taken refuge. They were arranged to live in the back mountain. When the medicine seller and pickles arrived, the village was bustling with outsiders. .As the population of the village increases, the deterrence of wild animals and bandits also increases, so the old residents do not exclude newcomers from moving in, except of course the untouchables.

After arriving in the village, the medicine seller first exchanged the hemostatic medicine for the cloth, and then he exchanged the cloth for food and sushi with pickled fish. The two sat on the grill in front of the restaurant and listened to the villagers who came and went.The original method of sushi is extremely fishy, ​​and ordinary people can't taste the deliciousness of fish. The taste is more like pickles, and the sushi for two people is fed to the greedy cat.

A lame middle-aged man came to the entrance of the village. Upon closer inspection, he found that his right arm was also missing. Hearing the whispers of the people around him, he was a remnant soldier abandoned by the city lord.In this day and age, it is a good thing for those who have been compulsorily conscripted to come back alive. This middle-aged family has two sons, and their life is not at the end of the mountain. In their free time, they like to wander around the village and talk about thrilling stories with others. army life.

"...I'm different from them. I joined the army by myself." The middle-aged man rubbed the dead skin on his lame leg, and his face brought back the taste: "I just want to know what it's like to eat rice." Although the portion is not much , but the army is supplied with rice.

Although every family grows rice, they have to pay it to the nobles, and no one dares to eat it indiscriminately, for fear of being beaten to death for missing a catty. Now when the man said that, all the villagers envied: "What does that taste like?" , is it the same as the millet we eat?"

"That's a big difference, the rice still smells good!" the middle-aged man said with a babble.

Hearing this, the villagers became even more envious.

After an hour of chores, the rice balls in pickles' hands have already been eaten, and the drug seller is still sitting on the slats, and has no intention of leaving. Because of his good looks, the proprietress of the restaurant has not chased him away for a long time. , let them sit at the door.Seeing that noon had passed, the medicine seller stood up and walked towards the ruined temple on the back mountain.

"Wait for the drug seller." As soon as the drug seller got up, the proprietress came out with a flushed face, and told her: "There is an Inari Shrine on the way around, if you want to spend the night, go there, don't go there. In the mountain temple behind, there are monsters that eat people."

"monster?"

"It's a strange old woman named Gukulipo. She used to steal offerings when there were still people in the mountain temple. Later, the monks were scared away, and the place was deserted. When she couldn't find offerings to eat, she dug up the corpses and picked them up. They used human skin and hair to make clothes, and kept the meat for eating." The proprietress turned pale with fright, and told her again: "Everyone who goes to that mountain temple will be picked up and eaten, so please don't go."

"Thank you for reminding me." The medicine seller nodded and walked towards the mountain temple in the back mountain with pickles.

The ancient Kulipo, the so-called Kuli, means temple kitchen.I heard from people in the village that when she was a man, Gukuli was called Fansao, and she was the wife of the abbot of the temple behind.Sister-in-law Fan, who was unable to become a Buddha with her husband, turned into a monster and wandered in the kitchen of the temple. Because of killing too many people, she couldn't be saved for a long time.

The mountain temple mentioned by the villagers is located at the foot of the mountain behind the village. It is more convenient than the village because of the water source. It was originally the center of the village, but it was abandoned together with the temple because of the incident of Gu Kulipo.As soon as she reached the entrance of the temple, Pickle heard the slight sound of footsteps. She pulled the drug seller's sleeve and turned her head to look, and saw an old woman walking out of it, carrying a bucket to the river.

Watching the old woman leave, the drug seller lowered his eyes and walked straight to the temple with pickles.

Because it has been abandoned for a long time, the temple is covered with moss, and the buildings outside the main hall have been corroded, leaving only ruins. The medicine seller bowed to the Buddha statue in the temple with his hands folded, and then walked to the backyard with vegetables.The rear was supposed to be the place where the monks lived, but there were only a few logs left. The medicine seller walked around and entered the kitchen with the pickles. This was the only complete building in the entire temple.

Soon, the old woman who fetched water came back. She poured the bucket of water on the Jizo statue, and wiped it eagerly with a cloth towel, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remove the moss on it. It looked like it hadn't been taken care of.

"It can't be washed..." the old woman said sadly.

Carrying the empty bucket, the old woman walked slowly into the kitchen. She was not surprised to see the drug seller and the pickles, but instead greeted them as if she had known them a long time ago: "Guests, wait a moment, the meal will be ready soon." It's ready." As she spoke, she opened the empty stone pot, poured water into it and stirred it.

There was obviously only water in the stone pot, but the old woman was stirring it vigorously, as if boiling a pot of vegetables, the pickles looked away, and quietly poked the drug seller's demon-dispelling sword: "You want to become black and golden Does it look like it?"

"She's not a monster." The medicine seller said.

"Oh." Pickle nodded half-understood, and twirled two fingers against the hand ball.

It is not a monster, so there is no need to use the demon-repelling sword, but the old woman in front of her is not an ordinary human being, she is a monster made by a ghost lingering in the world. , It is difficult to get out easily without dealing with it.His eyes stayed on the cauldron for a few seconds, and the medicine seller asked, "Is the abbot here?"

"My husband will only step into the backyard at night." The old woman said kindly.

The pharmacist turned his head to look at the sky, the sun had already set, only the sun was left in the west, and the light in the kitchen also dimmed.Seeing this, the drug seller said: "It turns out that your husband is the abbot of the mountain temple. Unexpectedly... monks can also marry wives."

The hand of the old woman who was stirring the stone pot stopped, she smiled and said: "Your husband received the ring..."

Hearing such an answer, the drug seller blinked his eyes and did not continue to ask.

In the impression of ordinary people, Japanese monks can marry wives at will, but in fact this is not the case. Japanese Buddhism is divided into many sects. Most practitioners must observe full precepts, and those who can marry wives cannot be called Monks, but laymen, are responsible for assisting in the management of the temple.Of course, in the Asuka era, when Buddhism was introduced to Japan, due to imperfect management, there were many moth-like fake monks. They used monks to escape their labor responsibilities. You must take precepts, and you can be regarded as a real monk with three masters and seven certificates.The so-called Yuandun Precepts is the most clear proposal of the Master, which means that monks only need to accept the Bodhisattva Precepts of the Brahma Net Sutra and simplify the original 250 precepts. However, this proposal has been controversial and is still in the stage of dispute.

The most important thing is that even if you complete the ring, you cannot marry a wife...

There was only the sound of the old woman stirring the stone pot in the room. Pickle yawned, took out the ball in her arms, and patted the ceiling with her palm.In a blink of an eye, the sun was setting and the moon was rising, and the outside was already silent. The stone pot under the old woman's hands was emitting steam, and she still had no intention of stopping.Noticing the changes in the old woman, the medicine seller said, "The water in the pot is almost dry."

"..." The hand of the old woman stirring the stone pot stopped, and then she suddenly covered her face and sobbed in pain: "This...how can I do this, I have committed a heinous crime, I have committed a heinous crime, and I even have food for my wife I can’t even prepare it, and it’s just a drag on my husband..." She turned her head to look at the drug seller, and said, "Please... please lend me some food!!"

The old woman put away her grief and showed her fierceness, stretched out her ten fingers, which turned into sharp claws, and reached out to the drug seller. The latter didn't move a muscle, but when the claw came in front of her eyes, she suddenly said: "Buddha son, bodhisattvas don't eat the flesh of living beings, Meat eaters cut off the seeds of Buddha-nature’s compassion and suffer immeasurable crimes. All sentient beings see it and give it up, so meat is not allowed to be eaten. If you eat it intentionally, you will commit a minor crime.”

The sharp claws were suddenly raised and received, and the old woman took a step back, trembling.

"Monks who eat meat will be sentenced to [-] days of hard labor," the medicine seller reminded.

These words pierced the ears of the old woman, she let out a scream, trembling in the corner with her head in her hands.Pickles squatted next to the medicine seller, holding a hand-made ball to watch the medicine seller paste the spell on the wall, sealing the strong evil spirit in the temple kitchen in this small space.The demonic aura was so strong that Pickle, who hadn't reacted before, sneezed fiercely, rubbed his nose and said, "It's so choking."

Totally unsuspecting silly cat.

Pickle's reaction inevitably made the drug seller feel weird. She was obviously a monster, but she seemed to be unacceptable to the monster, and the power in her body was more like human spiritual power.However, the drug seller was only distracted for a moment, and then his attention returned to Gu Kulipo. Feeling that the kitchen space was sealed, she began to hit the wall.

The opponent wasn't a monster, so he couldn't be killed with the Exorcism Sword. The medicine seller's spell wrapped Gu Kulipo, and he folded his hands together and recited the scriptures of superseding.

...

The kitchen behind the mountain temple was illuminated by the Buddha's light, and the underworld ghost holding a mace stopped in place. He pulled the chain and said, "Let's go and solve your business first."