Chapter 30: Demanding an Explanation for the Uprising

  As soon as the sound went out, Ding Hao knew it was not good. He was squatting down and pushed the wallboard with both hands to retreat, but this hall was originally a room divided by wooden boards, one side for storing miscellaneous items and the other for bathing. The partition wall was not solid, only nailed with wedges on both sides. With his push, the old and rotten wedges could not hold up, and with a "crash" sound, they fell to the ground. Ding Hao, due to using too much force, was stuck firmly on the wooden board like a frog.

  Ding Hao slowly lifted his head, and in front of him, a misty vapor rose, a girl sat in the bathtub, her delicate and charming face, smooth shoulders, and slender neck were all hidden in the steaming water, like a misty peony. Her face was full of surprise. Two maidens dressed in small clothes stood beside the tub, looking at him with both shock and anger.

  "Miss... actually... I..."

  Ding Hao said a few dry words, and suddenly he trembled. He saw an unprecedented strange scene: the lovely girl sitting in the water bucket slowly raised her two willow eyebrows. Ding Hao had heard of the phrase "willow eyebrows upside down" when listening to storytelling and watching plays, but he didn't believe that there was really someone who could do it until now. The girl's two eyebrows were slowly rising, both strange and beautiful.

  Two sparks of fire ignited in her eyes, two pieces of flame billowed up to her pale cheeks, Ding Hao seemed to see that the girl's hair was rising with a lotus flower of fire, and a wave of heat rushed towards him.

  "What a big dog's guts!!!” The lingering sound, the voice that lingered for three days was clear and loud, this voice, paired with these inverted willow eyebrows, would be a great show on stage.

  "I'm not... I don't want to... I actually... just... damn it!" Ding Hao knew he couldn't explain himself clearly, so he got up and ran away. The girl behind him had a face as red as a peach and shouted in a sharp, ear-piercing voice: "Stinky monk, I'll cut you into a thousand pieces, crush your bones, and scatter your ashes!"

  "Stinky monk? Are you talking about me?"

  Kong Kong Master had just finished his lecture and walked out of the Mahavira Hall when he saw a young woman, accompanied by more than a dozen guards with drawn swords, approaching him in a fierce manner. Kong Kong Master hastily joined his palms together and greeted her with "Amitabha". He then asked, "Tang donor, what brings you to the front hall?"

  That girl's apricot-like eyes were wide open, her willow eyebrows were upside down, and she pointed her slender jade finger at his nose tip, shouting: "Empty monk, they all say your Buddhist law is profound, but it turns out to be just a vain name. The Puzi Temple harbors evil and does all kinds of wicked things!"

  Kong Kong was shocked and lost his color, saying: "Tang Shi Zhu, how could you say such a thing?"

  The young maid beside Tang's daughter coldly smiled and said: "What are you talking about? Why must you ask with full knowledge. In this temple, what kind of monks do you have here? One ran off to steal my family's young lady's jewelry and another..."

  "Shut up!" Tang girl didn't dare to say that she had been seen naked by someone, especially in front of a group of monks.

  Kong Kong was even more surprised, and repeatedly denied it, saying: "How can this be? How can this be? The temple rules are strict, who dares to break the precepts? I ask you, miss, who is the thief?"

  Little Qing's face turned red with anger as she said, "You ask me, who should I ask? Everyone ran away faster than a mouse!"

  Empty heard, secretly let out a sigh of relief: "Ran away is good, no witnesses, Lao Na can push it clean. Which bastard broke the reputation of Pujisi Temple, will definitely not be forgiven when found out."

  Another maid beside Tang said, "You may be able to run away from the monk, but you can't run away from the temple. If we don't catch this thieving monk, who else will we look for? This little monk who doesn't follow the rules must be someone from your temple. I recognize his appearance very clearly. Gather all the monks, and I'll definitely find that bald donkey."

  When the monk scolded the bald donkey, he was so embarrassed that he couldn't argue back. He nervously asked the head of the empty nature: "Master, gather all the monks and find out who is not following the rules and hand him over to Tang's daughter to clean up our Pujide Gate."

  Kong Xing Meng Ran said: "Fang Zhang, the whole temple is reciting sutras and attending classes, everyone in the temple is here, where can there be monks sneaking into the back temple to steal?"

  Tang Guniang was about to erupt when the monk Xuan Fa suddenly said, "Abbot, Head Monk, not everyone in the temple is concentrated in the Mahavira Hall. That novice monk who has not yet formally shaved his head and become a monk is currently taking care of the incense fire in the Merit Hall."

  The Gongde Hall was a prayer hall built by devout believers who donated large sums of incense money, where incense was offered day and night without interruption. Master Kongkong was overjoyed when he heard this, as it meant that even if he had not formally become a monk, his transgression would not cause the reputation of Puzi Temple to plummet. With a stern expression, Master Kongkong immediately ordered: "Very well, you personally lead someone to bring him here and let Tang recognize him clearly."

  "Obey the Abbot's orders!" The first seat, Kong Xing, waved his hand and took several fat monks to the Merit Hall. Xiao Qing said relentlessly: "There is one more, who cannot be let off, he...he..."

  She glanced at her own young lady and said, "That monk is even more shameless, he must be handed over. That monk is easier to recognize, although he wears a monk's robe, but there is still hair on his head."

  Kong Kong and Shang's heart had just been lifted, but upon hearing this, it "thudded" back down again. He quickly turned his head and asked: "Fellow senior and junior brothers, which of your schools still has untonsured disciples?"

  The monks put their hands together, and dozens of shiny bald heads swayed in unison. It was truly a sight to behold. Tang Niang remained unmoved, coldly smiling: "You say there isn't? The thief who stole things is one thing, but this long-haired donkey, I won't let him off."

  Kong Kong and Shang were also unaware of what had happened to the person. Tang Guniang thought that he must have committed a sin of lust, and if this crime was proven true, it was likely that General Guangyuan would really lead his troops to raid their temple. His heart was filled with anxiety, and when he turned around again, his white beard fluttered without wind, already in extreme rage: "All of you, my fellow disciples, must not hide the truth, who among you still has an untonsured disciple living in the temple?"

  The monk Xuan Fa hesitated and said, "Abbot, if there are monks from other temples who want to stay here, they must go through my hands. In our temple, there really aren't any laymen with hair who practice asceticism. If you're talking about a man with hair, apart from the attendants led by Tang's daughter, then it could only be... it could only be that steward Ding from the Ding family's grain team."

  Tang's daughter coldly rebuked, "What kind of thing is this, a commoner wearing monk's clothes? You say only he has long hair, very well! Bring him to me for a look."

  Kong Kong Fang Zhang had no choice but to instruct: "Xuan Fa, take some men to invite Ding Shi Zhu to come here and see me."

  "Yes!" Xuan Fa was about to leave when Tang Guniang suddenly said: "You two, go with this monk to catch the person."