[Black Basket] Lonely Garden

Are you a pilgrim who comes here to offer incense?

He looked at it uncertainly for a while, and when he was sure that the person had gone far away, he raised his hand to fix the position of the shoulder strap of the backpack, and walked forward.

The altitude of the mountain is not too high, and it only takes about an hour for an adult to step up to the top.But on the way up the mountain, he encountered two small episodes, which caused him to be delayed for a while.

When he reached the top of the mountain and heard the melodious sound of the Hong Zhong, and the scent of sandalwood filled his nose together with the clear haze, he still had a certain sense of unreality——

Beside the ancient temple.The linden tree has deep roots and luxuriant leaves. Under its cover, the temple reveals a touch of cornices and pearls in the green.A few steps closer, under the radiant glazed tiles, the vermilion gatehouse is extraordinary, with a plaque engraved with red gold characters hanging in the middle of the lintel: Katori Temple.What a solemn and solemn temple, he admired.However, even the Buddha's light shining everywhere still can't restrain the weird emotions in his heart—those two unimaginable episodes brought about by three eccentric people still hang over his heart like a cloud.

The first person is a monk wearing a native pointed hat.

"This benefactor... please stay."

When passing by a dilapidated small temple, he heard a few calls from inside.There was no one around, and when the human voice sounded again, he was finally sure that the person inside was indeed calling him.

Who will it be?What's the matter?

He poked his head and looked inward, and the place he saw was gray and gray, so people couldn't see why.After a little hesitation, he decided to ignore it.He himself is not a curious person, besides entering rashly, who knows what will be inside.Relatively speaking, this does not mean that he is a timid person who is afraid of getting into trouble. It is always appropriate to be more careful when he is away alone.

"The benefactor might as well put down his guard. It's hard to say, but the poor monk really has something important to ask the benefactor."

After walking two steps, the voice came again from the temple, but this time the sense of weakness in the words was truly revealed.

Maybe someone really needs help?

Akashi felt that if he just ignored it, the moral law and conscience he had always accepted would feel bad. He hesitated for a moment, and finally decided not to stand idly by.He took out the knife from the interlayer of the backpack, weighed it in the palm of his hand, stuffed it into his pocket, and then approached the small temple again, knocking on the rotten wooden board on the door to one side.

"excuse me."

The light inside the temple was dim, and as long as people's voices were louder by a degree, the dust would fly wantonly, and unknown reptiles on the ground also wreaked havoc on the damp and moldy straw piles in shock.The benevolent Buddha statue stands in the middle of the temple. Although the gold paint has faded, the overall outline is still majestic and solemn, which makes people feel no contempt.In front of him, an old monk sitting on an old futon is cross-legged into meditation.He was too thin, so thin that his cassocks/robes that had been patched with many patches drooped out of shape on his body.He is also too old, and the years of devoting himself to practice did not treat this bhikkhu who is dedicated to Buddha kindly, and ravines were carved on his face like knives.

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

After waiting for a long time and seeing no response from the monk, Akashi continued to ask patiently. "……Grandmaster?"

"It's just a mere layman, and he can't be called a 'master' by a benefactor."

The hoarse and old voice suddenly rang in my ears.

The bhikkhu closed his eyes tightly, moved his stone-gray lips that were dry and lacking in water, and it took a lot of effort to spit out: "The poor monk has been meditating here for many days, but he hasn't had a drop of water for several days. He is really hungry and thirsty. I don't know the benefactor." Can you give the poor monk some things to fill his belly."

It turned out to be eaten.

Akashi was stunned for a moment, then he took out a box in his backpack and found a box containing a few pieces of wagashi and unopened water—this was originally what he had prepared for this trip, and he settled some of it on the way, and now there are still A few yuan can just solve this bhikkhu's urgent need.

The monk respectfully took the food from Akashi, and swallowed wagashi with water in two or three strokes.A wrinkled face quickly glowed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"In the past, Siddhartha accepted milk porridge from village women and meditated under the Bodhi tree for seven days and 49 days to become a Buddha. Now I, Xuan Cong, are lucky enough to be taken care of by the benefactor, and my ascension to the west is just around the corner—thank you for your generosity."

"It's just a little effort, it's nothing to worry about. Then, I have nothing else to say, so I'll take my leave first."

The man has regained his vitality, and he has no intention of staying any longer.Nodding to the monk as farewell, Akashi started to walk towards the door...

"Please stay."

Unexpectedly, the bhikkhu stopped him again.Akashi turned his head and stared at him with questioning eyes. Suddenly, he was surprised that the other person looked at least 20 years younger than before.

He stared in amazement at the monk standing up from the futon and "flying" to him with light steps.

The monk smiled and said: "Although the poor monk has little virtue, but in order to express my gratitude, I am shy to give advice to the benefactor today. I hope I won't laugh—"

How can a person's appearance change in an instant, let alone just eat a little something to relieve hunger.

After walking out of the temple gate, Akashi still had doubts in his heart.He turned back to the small temple, trying to find out, but saw that the temple was empty, except for a box of pastries that had been eaten, which was still on the ground, and there was no sign of a monk.

"Although you have a predestined relationship with the Naha tree, the grass and trees are dull, and it is useless if you don't know the love between flowers."

"Sleep is shallow and dreams are deep, and there will be a time when you will wake up. Please don't worry about it, the benefactor, it will be a dream in Luofu."

And what does this sentence at the time of parting mean exactly...

Leaving the dilapidated small temple, the second person I met on the way was a crazy old woman.

The old woman is about sixty years old, surrounded by a group of men and women, of all ages and faces, scattered on the mountain road one by one, having fun, completely ignoring the feelings of passers-by; Despite his age, he was wearing a ridiculously vulgar flowered shirt and a gold necklace as thick as a thumb around his neck, for fear that others would not be able to see that it was actually a fake.

A matchmaker mole in Heibuliuqiu changed its position with exaggerated facial expressions. She held a bottle of cheap sake in her left hand, and her right hand kept gesticulating in the air. Let out a few rough laughs.

No need to listen, just a little guesswork, Akashi knows that the mouth that is spewing out the strong smell of alcohol must be talking about bragging.

Frowning without a trace, Akashi turned his head and looked around, seeing that the only passable path for pedestrians was the mountain road occupied by them in front of him, so he stepped forward to remind him:

"Excuse me, can I borrow it?"

The middle-aged man who was named was listening to his companion talking excitedly, but someone interrupted him, his face was naturally not good-looking, he glared at the red-haired young man, and then moved reluctantly The buttocks barely left a little space for people to pass through.

"Eh—wait a minute."

As if thinking of something, the middle-aged man suddenly changed his mind and called Akashi to stop.

"I really can't tell..." He glanced up and down at him, and then sneered in a very weird way: "For the past 25 years, life has been smooth, right?"

"……what?"

He is indeed 25 years old, but because his appearance looks younger than his actual age, people around him have always misjudged his age more or less when they first met, almost every time.So, why can this stranger in front of him be identified so accurately?

"I really can't see that your luck is quite good, kid, don't worry, you will continue to go smoothly in the future, but..." The middle-aged man squeezed his eyes, so the small mung bean-like eyes narrowed One of the flesh/seams is squeezed and becomes more and more invisible. "I'm in a good mood today, young master. It's okay to tell you—I took a look at the picture below for you. You have a bright complexion, and the corners of your eyes are pink. This is here..." He pointed at the middle of the crowd jokingly, "The traces are slightly It's a bit blurry. You, you're going to run into a small wall here..."

"...?"

"Having said so much, let me give you another piece of advice. That tree is extremely stubborn! Just watch it, don't make yourself thorny!"

Another tree?what tree?

Why are both of them talking about trees?

Akashi still wanted to ask some more questions about facial features, luck, and the tree.Seeing the middle-aged man, he waved his hand impatiently, turned his head and continued chatting with his companion beside him. "Go, go, don't get in the way."

After calming down, Akashi wasn't annoyed. The thinking he had developed in a high position for a long time didn't make him think that it was a clear matter to have a dispute with this kind of person.He straightened his lips, and walked through the group of people with strides. He was about to leave them, but a fat hand suddenly grabbed his sleeve, forcing him to stop.

It was the crazy old woman I saw at the beginning.

He had no choice but to stop and asked her with a puzzled face, "What's the matter?"

"See...how is it? That tree, that sacred tree planted by Master Xuanzang himself... hiccup..."

Unexpectedly, the old woman answered such a sentence irrelevantly.

She was hiccupping, her face was flushed red, her eyes were cloudy and dull, but she was still staring at the bewildered Akashi, trying in vain to convey any message he could understand. "What a beautiful, what a beautiful, what a stunning tree! Oh... my holy tree, my dear little tree..."

...A tree again...! ?

Even with a good temper like Akashi, he couldn't help getting angry: What nonsense are you talking here when you're drunk?The people around her don't care about her?

His smile was faintly stained with impatience, and his eyes fell on the old woman's hand holding the sleeve, thinking whether to break free from it.

Before he could actually carry it out, the old woman let him go very sensibly.She grinned, revealing a row of bright yellow teeth, and then hiccupped loudly a few times, followed by a stench.

Akashi's expression was uneasy, and he didn't want to maintain his respectful appearance to this old woman who was suspected of having epilepsy. "Sorry, I'm in a hurry."

"When you go up the mountain... remember to say hello to her for me..."

Everyone had already gone away, but she was still yelling behind her, her voice was like a howling sow at night, and it didn't matter whether Akashi heard it or not. "My sincerest regards to that dearest, cutest little tree..."

After finally getting rid of those weird people, Akashi was able to take a breather, but at the same time felt ridiculous and boring: How can a tree be described as "beautiful" or "beautiful"?

However, the keywords among the three people they met on the road were all...trees.

Is there any connection here?Or, just a coincidence?

...the bhikkhu who spoke inexplicably and disappeared suddenly, the middle-aged man with a strange smile, and the old woman who behaved differently from ordinary people.

What the hell is it all about.

Unable to come up with an answer, he simply stopped thinking about it. Akashi raised his eyes and looked at the golden plaque on the main gate of Katori Temple. Thank you for your innocence, to say it sounds good is faith, and to say it bad is the power of superstition—to be honest, the mentality of being lucky to be here has reached its peak since the moment I met that girl, but it disappeared after meeting those three people no deposit.

No matter how good the mood is, it will be spoiled badly, so let's go back to Tokyo in two or three days, he thought.Before that, it would be great if I could have another face-to-face meeting with that girl.

His eyes slowly fell, and he was facing the gate of the palace.

And at this glance, I just happened to see a group of tourists wearing old cotton and linen clothing coming out of the hall.