The old monk asked who were the two people behind you, and the young man looked back and saw that there was no one
During the Zhenzong period of the Northern Song Dynasty, a small mountain village was hidden in a continuous mountainous area, with several families scattered among them. There is an orphan in the village, Yuan Guwa, whose parents died early, leaving him to live alone. Despite his age of twelve or thirteen, he showed the ability to live independently, and had a few acres of thin fields, which made him worry about food and clothing.
Yuan Guwa went up the mountain to chop firewood during the slack season, and then carried the firewood to the market in exchange for oil and salt. Despite his limited strength, he always carried it one by one, and never had greed. Fortunately, the shopkeeper of the oil mill treated him like a relative, weighed and registered the firewood he carried back, and when the rapeseed oil was on the market, he was given a fair ** conversion and never bullied him.
One day, Yuan Guwa was chopping wood on the mountain, and suddenly saw a hare flash quickly. He was so excited that he thought he would be able to enjoy it, so he chased after him with an axe. The hare burrowed into the bushes and disappeared, and Yuan Guwa searched around and accidentally stepped into a cave.
The entrance to the cave is quite hidden by bushes, and it is covered with a thick layer of leaves. Because very few people have set foot in this area, and with the cover of the leaves, the hole is difficult to spot. If it weren't for Yuan Guwa chasing the hare, he wouldn't have come here at all.
The light spilled through the entrance of the cave, and Yuan Guwa stood up and found that the cave was not spacious, the size of a room, and it was full of damp musty smell. Deep in the cavern, there are two skeletons, sitting cross-legged opposite each other, with their hands crossed on each other's arms. It is because of this mutual support that they do not fall.
Although Yuan Guwa was still a child, she was taken aback. He turned to leave, but a thought occurred in his mind and he stopped. He suddenly remembered his mother's teachings on respecting the dead, so he knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the skeleton three times, saying, "Unintentionally offended, and please don't blame the two elders." Although the two skeletons were no longer alive, they appeared to be older than him, so he respectfully addressed them as elders.
After speaking, Yuan Guwa stood up and prepared to leave. However, a new thought popped into his mind and he stopped. He thought: "As the saying goes, people die and return to the earth, since I let Yuan Guwa bump into it, it can be regarded as fate." I will dig a pit for you and let you rest in peace. So he began to dig pits with an axe, and eventually dug two graves.
After digging the pit, Yuan Guwa was about to separate the two skeletons, but found that their arms were tightly interlocked, making it difficult to separate. Yuan Guwa had a plan and prayed silently: "Two seniors, I don't know about your grievances during your lifetime, but please listen to my advice, put aside the disputes, and rest under the land." As soon as his words fell, the arms of the two skeletons unleashed automatically.
Yuan Guwa buried the two elders separately, bowed her head, and then crawled out of the cave. In order to prevent the cave from being discovered by wild beasts, he cut down a large number of branches, covered the entrance of the cave, and spread dead leaves and weeds on the branches before leaving.
Since then, Yuan Guwa has always felt that someone is following her, especially when walking alone on mountain paths or going out at night, this feeling has become more and more intense. However, every time he turned his head suddenly, there was nothing. He thought it might be a hallucination caused by a hard life and lack of nutrition recently, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
One day, Yuan Guwa went to the market with a basket of eggs and met an old monk. The old monk is the presiding officer of the temple on the top of the mountain, and he has known Yuan Guwa for a long time.
Yuan Guwa stood on the side of the road, put down the basket, folded her hands, and respectfully greeted the old monk. After the old monk returned the salute, he suddenly asked, "Guwa, who are the two people behind you?"Yuan Guwa was taken aback, and hurriedly looked back, but there were very few. He was surprised and said, "Anyone?."”
The old monk smiled and said, "You wait a minute, I'll ask." He clasped his palms together and said to the air, "Why did you follow this young man, two donors?"Yuan Guwa stood aside, there was an empty space in front of her, and the old monk seemed to be talking to an invisible person, but Yuan Guwa couldn't hear any response.
After a long time, the old monk clasped his hands together and said, "Please rest in peace, you two, I will convey everything." After speaking, he smiled and turned to Yuan Guwa and said, "Guwa, your good deeds will usher in good luck." Immediately, the old monk began to tell the ins and outs of the matter.
It turned out that the two souls that followed behind Yuan Guwa were the souls of the two skeletons he buried in the cave. The two were brothers in the same sect before their deaths, and they practiced martial arts under a ** sect together. There is a delicate and agile daughter who is their little sister and is very pampered.
As time passed, both of them developed love for the little junior sister, but due to the strict teaching and door rules of **, they did not dare to confess. **When he was sick and dying, he told the little sister to choose a son-in-law to inherit the position of the head of the family.
However, the little junior sister was deeply impressed by the two and it was difficult to choose. In order to please her, the senior brothers turned against each other and fought endlessly. The little sister was disheartened, and tears fell like rain when she parted, and finally decided to become a monk and practice and never get into the dust again. The two blame each other and finally decide to settle the dispute through a duel, which results in both defeats and death. The spirits of the two remained in the cave, often arguing and unable to find peace.
The old monk said to Yuan Guwa affectionately: "In fact, these two have been friends in their previous lives for a hundred years, and they are difficult to solve each other's hearts, and they want to stop talking. You persuaded them to settle their grievances, and then silently buried their remains. The two deceased are grateful and choose to follow you. It wasn't ill-intentioned, just eager to take the opportunity to convey their gratitude, and luckily the old man was able to act as an intermediary. ”
Yuan Guwa asked suspiciously, "Master, what exactly do they want to say to me?"The old monk smiled: "In order to express their gratitude to you, they are willing to reincarnate in your family and be your son." Yuan Guwa responded with a wry smile: "My family is poor, how can I have the resources to raise children?"And I'm still young, not old enough to talk about marriage. ”
The old monk was relieved that they were willing to wait a few years. As for the possessions, they are willing to give them to you. The senior brother buried a piece of treasure jade and twenty taels of gold, in the corner on the right side of the cave. The junior disciple buried a jewel and five silver ingots, under the stones a hundred meters to the left of the cave entrance. They allow you to dig in order to buy fertile land in preparation for your future marriage.
Yuan Guwa solemnly expressed her gratitude to the old monk. Subsequently, he found gold and silver in two designated places, and the amount was exactly what the old monk said. He repaired his dwelling with gold and silver ingots, bought large fields, and gradually became rich.
A few years later, Yuan Guwa married a wife named Yang. When Yang's pregnancy was about to give birth, Yuan Guwa found that two figures flashed in the room and disappeared inexplicably. The next day, Yang gave birth to twin sons. Yuan Guwa put the treasure jade on the eldest son, and the treasure bead on the younger son.
The twins grew up aggressive, fighting, and often bruised. Once, Yuan Guwa shouted angrily and said to the two: "You have been fighting for so many years, don't you know that you have already been relieved?"Now that the grudge has been resolved, if you continue to fight like this, I will drive you away!The two sons bowed their heads in unison, and since then, they have not clashed again.
It is precisely because of the good mind that the good mind accumulates the fruit of goodness, and good fortune follows. Show respect to the ghosts, and the ghosts and gods return the blessing. The story is expressed in an exaggerated way, and is intended to persuade people to do good and cherish cause and effect through parables.