There is a saying in ancient times, it is better to sleep in a deserted tomb than to live in a broken temple. Why?Why are temples so scary?
Let's start with a story in "Strange Tales".
According to legend, there was a cloth merchant who walked the rivers and lakes all the year round, named Wang Wu. He made a living selling cloth and traveled all over the country. One year, he came to the Qingzhou territory, where he was going to sell his fabrics.
It was sunset evening, and it was getting dark. Wang Wu was walking on a desolate road, surrounded by rolling hills and patches of barren land. He looked around and found that there was no shop in front of the village, and he couldn't help but feel a little anxious. He began to worry that he should settle down in ** tonight and spend this long night.
Just when Wang Wu felt tired and helpless, a deserted temple suddenly came into his eyes. The temple is dilapidated, with mottled walls, leaky roofs, and overgrown weeds. However, for Wang Wu at this time, this is a shelter that can shelter from the wind and rain.
He walked into the temple and found that a monk lived inside. When the monk saw someone coming in, he greeted Wang Wu very warmly. Wang Wu felt a burst of comfort in his heart, after all, it always feels good to have someone to accompany him.
Although this dilapidated temple was simple, it was a temporary shelter for Wang Wu. He began to settle down in this desolate place, ready for a peaceful night.
After greeting each other politely, the monk humbly made a request to Wang Wu: "Donor, please look at this ruined temple, the door has disappeared and the paint of the Buddha statue has peeled off. Can you show compassion and give some support?Wang Wu was in a foreign country, and the other party had already said this, so he felt inconvenient to shirk it, so he agreed without thinking.
Seeing that Wang Wu agreed so happily, and that his clothes seemed quite elegant, the monk had to inch in and ask for more money. Wang Wu has a lot of experience and instantly realized that he might have been scammed. Therefore, he decisively rejected the monk's subsequent further requests.
Unexpectedly, the monk's face suddenly became hideous, and he pulled out his sword that flashed with cold light, coercing Wang Wu to hand over all his belongings. For the sake of his life, Wang Wu had to succumb to this threat, hoping to exchange money for a way out. However, the monk maliciously told him that he would definitely be resentful if he left so much property, and letting him go would only leave trouble.
Therefore, the monk ruthlessly killed Wang Wu.
It can be seen that when a person goes out and sleeps alone in a deserted grave, at most he is fighting with poisonous insects, if he sleeps in a deserted temple, once he encounters a villain, it is difficult to save his life.
There is also Xu Xiake, an explorer and geographer in the Ming Dynasty, who also had a similar experience to Wang Wu.
According to the "Xu Xiake Travels", one day in 1618, Xu Xiake embarked on a journey to Qiyun Mountain alone. However, there were unforeseen circumstances, and it was pouring rain that day, Xu Xiake couldn't find a place to shelter from the rain, and happened to see a lonely temple, so he hurriedly hid in.
In this abandoned temple, in addition to Xu Xiake, there are five monks. However, in the middle of the night, these five monks suddenly became murderous to Xu Xiake, trying to kill him for money. Xu Xiake has been traveling all year round, his body is vigorous, and he reacts quickly, he immediately realized the danger, and divided these five villains by two.
The next day, Xu Xiake handed over the five monks to the government for disposal. This incident made people think deeply, even an experienced traveler like Xu Xiake did not dare to spend the night in the deserted temple easily.
In fact, in "Water Margin", sinister stories that happen in temples are not uncommon. Heroes such as Wu Song and Lin Chong have all encountered danger in the temple. What's more, deserted temples are usually in disrepair and may collapse at any time. There are usually villages and other people near the cemetery, and there are relatively few poisonous snakes and beasts.
In fact, this deserted temple is not terrible, what is really terrible is the bad people who have bad intentions and haunt the deserted temple. Compared with the ethereal ghosts and gods, this sinister human heart is more intimidating. Do you say yes?