Chapter 51 Purification of the Body

  I was reciting the "Qian Kun Jing" while running to Zhushan Temple, so I didn't encounter any more runners bothering me along the way, and I ran back to Zhushan Temple very smoothly.

  When I ran to the entrance of Zhushan Temple, Mrs. Zhang was already standing at the door looking out.

  "Little Fei, Little Fei, you're finally back! Are you okay?" Old Lady Zhang's tone was urgent and worried, it was clear that she had been waiting for me for a long time.

  I saw that I returned safely, and Zhang's hanging heart was finally put down. However, she still couldn't help but ask me a sentence. "So late to come back, where did you run to?"

  "I went to catch crabs in the small ditch next to school with a few classmates." I knew that Zhang's wife wouldn't scold me like Master Zhu Shan Lao Dao, so for her, I wouldn't hide anything.

  "You're such a naughty child." Old Lady Zhang scolded me with one sentence, then pulled me into the house.

  "The dishes have all gone cold, and I didn't know when you'd be back, so there was no way to heat them up. Now sit here for a bit, and I'll go reheat the food." Zhang's wife said as she carried the dishes from the table into the kitchen.

  Because of this lesson, for the next few days, I didn't dare to disobey my master Zhu Shan Lao Dao's words again. Every day after school, no matter how much other kids tried to persuade me, I wouldn't play with them anymore, but instead obediently headed to Zhu Shan Guan.

  Such days are extremely cruel for a playful kid like me. You know, as a kid, the happiest thing is to play. Now, because of some dirty things entangling me, I can't even play, which makes me very depressed.

  At that time, I only hoped that my master, Zhangshan Old Tao, could come back earlier and help me clean up all those dirty things. In that way, I could return to my normal life; in that way, I could play with my little friends again, doing whatever we wanted to do.

  About a week later, my master, Zhangshan Laodao, returned.

  This time, my master Zhu Shan Lao Dao didn't come back empty-handed, he was holding a handful of herbs. As for what the name of the herb in his hand is, I don't know. However, I do know that the herb brought back by my master Zhu Shan Lao Dao isn't an ordinary one, at least it shouldn't be found on the nearby mountains within ten miles.

  Most people in the village know some herbal medicine. My mother often goes to the mountain to pick herbs, so I can recognize ordinary herbs. The several herbs my master brought back were not one that I recognized.

  What made me think that the herbs were not ordinary was not because I didn't recognize them, after all, there are many herbs I don't know. What made me have this idea is that when I asked my master, Zhangshan Old Dao, what those herbs were called, my master told me that they were something he had begged for, but now it's not the time to tell me what medicine they are yet.

  My master, the old Taoist of Bamboo Mountain, didn't say anything, so I didn't dare ask more questions. Anyway, I wasn't very interested in that herb either. What I was interested in was whether my master had returned, and if I could regain my freedom again.

  "Master, now that you're back, am I safe now? Can I play outside for a while after school and then return to Zhushan Temple?" I asked my master, the old Daoist of Zhushan.

  "It's not possible yet, I need to cleanse your body and perform a ritual to drive out all the impurities from you first, only then can you be truly safe." My master replied calmly.

  "How much longer will it take?" I asked. As for the method, I wasn't particularly concerned about that; what I cared most about was when I could fully regain my freedom.

  "Seven days." My master, Zhangshan Lao Dao, apparently knew what I was thinking, so after saying these two words, he immediately added another sentence. "Within seven days, before the Buddhist ceremony is completed, you must return to Zhangshan Temple at the first opportunity every day after school, and are not allowed to linger outside."

  My master, Bamboo Mountain Taoist, said this with an extremely stern tone, leaving no room for discussion. Therefore, I didn't dare to disobey and could only reluctantly respond with a "Oh!"

  After I finished responding, I was only prepared to run into the courtyard to play. But just as I was about to walk out the door, my master, Zhangshan Lao Dao, called me back and told me that now I need to purify my body.

  As for the two words "castration", I heard them when adults told stories. "Castration" was used to refer to eunuchs in ancient times, and once castrated, one would become a eunuch. At that time, I was still a little kid, and although I didn't fully understand what a eunuch was, in my memory, a eunuch was never anything good.

  "I don't want to be a eunuch!" After thinking about these things, I immediately expressed my opinion to Master.

  My master, Bamboo Mountain Old Dao, burst out laughing "hahaha" after hearing my words. After finishing his laughter, my master said to me: "What I meant by 'purifying the body' is not like a eunuch's purification, but rather for you to take a bath and wash your body clean, so that you can practice the method and wash away the dirty things on your body."

  As soon as my master, Zhangshan Lao Dao, finished speaking, Mrs. Zhang suddenly shouted in the middle of the courtyard.

  "The water is ready, Little Fei come quickly and take a bath."

  After Zhang's wife finished shouting, my master Zhu Shan Lao Dao took the large wooden basin in the house to the courtyard. After placing the large wooden basin, my master Zhu Shan Lao Dao first lit three incense sticks and then recited a scripture.

  After going through the motions, my master, Zhangshan Old Dao, put the herbs into that large wooden basin and then mixed in the boiling water prepared by Mrs. Zhang.

  I don't know if it's because of the effect of that herb, but originally clear and transparent water, as soon as it entered that wooden basin, immediately turned into a blood-red color. It felt like that large wooden basin was filled to the brim with human blood, making people feel creepy.

  "The water is ready, take off your clothes and pants, go in and wash!" My master, the old Taoist priest Zhushan, said while reciting scriptures.

  This wooden tub has just been filled with boiling water and is still steaming! Now you want me to get in and wash? Won't I be scalded to death?

  "Master, this basin is boiling water, it's scalding. If not, let it cool for a while and I'll wash it." I thought my master, Bamboo Mountain Taoist, was dazed from reciting scriptures, so I reminded him of that.

  "Not hot!" My master, the old Daoist of Bamboo Mountain, said as he reached his hand into the wooden basin and splashed some of the crimson water. "See, it's not hot, I can touch it."

  My master, the old Taoist of Bamboo Mountain, is a man of great virtue and I am not worthy to compare with him. Just because he can touch it without getting burned doesn't mean that I can do the same. Therefore, I still dare not take off my clothes and jump in.

  Seeing that I was still standing there motionless, my master, the old Daoist of Bamboo Mountain, spoke again. "How about it? Don't you believe your master? Or would you rather touch it first and see if it's hot or not?"

  After my master finished speaking, I walked over and slowly put my hand into the large wooden basin. It's not bad to say that the water in this large wooden basin is really not hot, it's warm and comfortable to touch.

  "How about it? I didn't cheat you, did I? Quick, take off your clothes and get in!" said my master, the old Daoist of Bamboo Mountain.

  After determining that the water in the large wooden tub was not scalding, I had nothing to worry about anymore, so I took off my clothes and jumped in.

  After I entered the large wooden tub, my master, Bamboo Mountain Old Daoist, immediately began to recite scriptures. As soon as my master's voice of reciting scriptures came out, I felt that the water in the tub slowly started to cool down, becoming as cold as river water.

  It was okay, though - the weather wasn't too cold at the time, so I could still tolerate taking a cold shower and all that. After the water in the basin cooled down, it suddenly started crawling on my skin like insects, slowly. The feeling was itchy and cool, not exactly comfortable but not unbearable either.

  Before long, the red cool water climbed up my face, crawling into my nostrils and flowing out of my ears. Some entered through my mouth and came out from my anus.

  Those red-colored waters, after tossing me inside and out, finally came to a standstill. At this moment, I suddenly discovered that the red-colored water from just now had turned black.

  "Alright, you've basically washed off all the impurities from your body, you can get up now, Little Fei." My master, Bamboo Mountain Old Dao, said to me after finishing reciting the last volume of scriptures.