Southern Qi Fenghua Record

"Help! Help! Who will save my child!"

They had just walked a short distance when they heard an urgent cry for help echoing in the valley, and the two couldn't help but stop again and listened carefully.

The voice came from the front of the team, and echoed in the valley like a heart-piercing sound. It was piercing and frightening, and it instantly attracted everyone's attention.For a while, the entire mountain road was discussing in low voices.

Xia Houshu followed the source of the sound and saw that the pedestrians in front of him stopped one after another.Then there was news that the mountain road was too slippery, a child accidentally stepped on the air and fell off the cliff, and it was the child's mother who called for help.

Hearing this, Xia Houshu was startled, his eyes couldn't help but glanced at the slopes and cliffs outside the stone road, this mountain is high and the road is slippery, if a person accidentally falls, is there any salvation?

She cast her eyes forward again, and there were many people on the road, and she could only hear them talking.

Some were full of compassion, while impatiently asking about the situation ahead, while muttering to themselves to pray for the blessing of the Buddha, as if this would move the heavens and earth, and keep the child safe; Take this as a lesson, be careful of your feet, and don't step on the air again; some turned into justice envoys, accusing the suffering master of bringing children to offer incense, which is simply a crime!

"I beg you! Save my child!"

The woman's cries for help continued, presumably because everyone realized that the mountain road was rugged, and a little carelessness might lose their lives, so no one dared to come forward to rescue for a long time.

In this situation, Xia Houshu couldn't help but sneered and said: "Let me just say it, when life is at stake, it is useless to pray to God, Buddha, or others, and you still have to rely on yourself."

Yunxi looked at her, but didn't answer, after all, she wasn't the one capable of helping.

Xia Houshu sighed deeply, and started to walk forward.

"Shu'er..."

Xia Houshu stopped in his tracks, turned his head and saw the slight sadness on his mother's beautiful face.

Mothers probably have this reaction when they foresee that their children may be in danger.It is conceivable that the screaming young mother watched her child fall off the cliff, but was helpless, and must have been more distressed and desperate.

Xia Houshu showed a relaxed and bright smile, and comforted softly: "Mother, don't worry, I have my own measure."

Zhong Yuqing is a Buddhist believer and has compassion in her heart. Naturally, she can't turn a blind eye and stand by at a time like this.And she also understands her daughter's skills and character, and she is by no means the kind of person who likes to show off.

"Go, do what you can, don't be brave." Zhong Yuqing nodded and said, then turned her face to tell Yunxi, "Follow and watch."

Xia Houshu brushed aside the pilgrims who had stopped, and walked quickly towards the scene of the incident.

At the place where the incident happened, a woman in her early thirties was kneeling on the stone road and crying loudly, with a sad and helpless expression, and two servants, a man and a woman, were kneeling beside her, their faces dripping with sweat, and their eyes were staring straight at him. Under the cliff, all of them looked dead.

The woman was well dressed and had a sad look on her face. If it wasn't for the two servants holding her tightly, she might have jumped down with her.While anxiously watching the movement outside the cliff, she pleaded with the pilgrims who were watching, hoping that passers-by could help her.The son is a piece of flesh that fell from her body. If she is allowed to watch but not save her, then she might as well die immediately.However, apart from expressing sympathy, none of the onlookers dared to step forward, even to comfort her.

"Mother, help me, I don't want to die!"

Under the cliff, the boy's heart-piercing cries continued, each weaker and more desperate, which tightly affected the woman's mind.

The woman looked at the innocent child with tears in her eyes but had no choice but to ask the crowd for help over and over again: "Please, please save my child! He is only ten years old this year. He has been well-behaved, sensible, considerate and filial since childhood , I went up the mountain today to pray for his father!"

There were slight sighs and murmurs in the crowd, but no one dared to stand up.

The boy's position was too dangerous. If he was not careful, not only would he not be able to save others, but he would even risk his own life.And they came to Huguo Temple to offer incense regardless of hardships and dangers, and they also had their own mission.

No one wants to risk their lives here.

Xia Houshu continued to walk a few steps forward, followed the gazes of the crowd and the cries of the child to look up the cliff, and saw that the boy who fell was only about ten years old, with a childish expression on his face. Full of tears.Fortunately, he was lucky. He happened to be blocked by a bowl-sized pine tree growing on the cliff, and several pine trees of the same size grew unevenly below him.

It is also a blessing in misfortune.

Although the boy was young, his physique was strong and powerful. He was hugging the tree trunk tightly at this moment, his eyes were full of tears and fear, and he couldn't last long.

Xia Houshu quickly scanned the surrounding pilgrims, most of them were old and young, women and children, but there were also young and vigorous men. However, they all just stood there, watching, talking in low voices, not even a serious person thinking of a way. nothing.

Xia Houshu suddenly felt cold, and said to Yunxi who was following behind: "Have you seen that? Even the Buddha doesn't bless those who come to worship him at this time, let alone other irrelevant people? Is it just that?" Look, can people grow wings and fly up by themselves?"

Xia Houshu's voice was so loud that everyone around could hear it except Yunxi.

As soon as the words were finished, all the onlookers cast their eyes on Xia Houshu who was dressed in red as if he had just woken up from a dream. They only felt that her presence was particularly eye-catching, and her words were especially harsh.

Immediately, a good person retorted: "What a big tone! If you are powerful, go down and save people! What's the use of talking about us?"

Originally, Xia Houshu was just outspoken, and couldn't help but want to sarcastically say a few words. He didn't expect to have an argument with others, but when he heard these words suddenly, he felt very unhappy.She didn't even look at each other, and said coldly: "Are you the roundworm in my stomach? How do you know that I won't save people?"

After everyone heard the words, their eyes looked at her from shock to suspicion, and then a little more mockery and contempt: it has been raining continuously for so long recently, and the cliff is extremely slippery, except for the few trees with the thick mouth of a bowl. The pine trees are just some weeds and moss that grow wantonly, not to mention she is a delicate woman, even if she is a man with strong skills, she may not be fully sure to rescue the boy.She's just an arrogant little girl, she can't see her sobriety clearly even if she talks big!

"Thank you benefactor! Thank you benefactor!"

The woman who asked for help was the first to react. She kowtowed in the direction of Xia Houshu, but when she looked up and saw that the person who was speaking was a charming woman not much older than her own child, she was stunned for a moment. , a look of suspicion gradually appeared in his eyes.

She seemed to have had some ideological struggles in a short moment, and finally gritted her teeth and said: "Young lady is very kind, and women are unforgettable, but this cliff is steep, and if you are not careful, you will fall to pieces. The girl has a bodhisattva heart, I am very grateful. But even if I am eager to save my son, I dare not harm the girl's life!"

Before Xia Houshu could answer, he saw a man in the crowd, looking around at his companion, and then stood half a step forward, glaring at Xia Houshu and provocatively saying, "You said you were going to save him, why did you go to save him? Just say the last sentence with empty teeth, just to gain a false name?"

The corners of Xia Houshu's mouth were slightly raised, and he looked at the provocative man, and said unhurriedly: "It's because I have not only a mouth, but also a brain when I go out."

"You!" The man was so angry that his veins swelled up, but he held on to the bearing of a scholar and couldn't lose face. He covered his chest, then pointed at Xia Houshu and said, "You little girl, you are so condescending, and you speak so rudely. Disgraceful!"

"You are gentle." Xia Houshu smiled, and retorted, "At such an urgent moment, you don't think about how to save people, but instead provoke me, a little girl who wants to save people, I think your sage books are all in vain. gone."

"Sharp teeth! Uneducated!" The man stomped his feet angrily and cursed.

"Whether I'm upbringing or not is up to my parents to discipline me, and I don't need you to comment." Xia Houshu chuckled lightly, but continued to mock him, "It's just that you hold on to the nobility of a scholar, but you don't have the half-heartedness of a scholar. If your master knew about your actions, he would probably be so angry that he would not recognize you as a student, right?"

"Little girls are hard to raise!" The man was furious. If it wasn't for the limitation of the venue, he would have rushed to beat her, but he was immediately stopped by his companions, who tried to persuade him to stop talking.

"Gentle scum!" After Xia Houshu finished cursing, he ignored everyone's suspicion and ridicule, and only focused on observing the situation under the cliff.

On the bare cliff, apart from the pine tree the boy was holding, there were four or five pine trees of similar size growing sparsely around it.

Xia Houshu once heard from his mother-in-law, who tended flowers and plants at home, that the pine tree has a well-developed root system, which has always been said to be a hundred-foot coiled dragon, which is definitely an advantage for rescue.After planning how to rescue them, she looked at the pilgrims who had not dispersed again, and said with a serious face: "At the time of life and death, please stand aside for your convenience."

"That's right, human life is at stake, you all have to get out of the way!" Yunxi couldn't stand it anymore, and yelled at the side to help.He thought that there were many strong and strong men present, but none of them were as good as his own girl, and the sufferer still doubted his girl's ability.The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and then she said, "What time is this? It's fine if you don't help save people, but don't delay my girl's rescue!"

The pilgrims looked at each other, and finally turned their eyes back to Xia Houshu. They seemed to see some kind of firmness from her cold but serious face, and quickly moved aside obediently.

The already narrow space finally became more spacious, Xia Houshu looked at the woman who was still kneeling on the ground, and said, "Auntie, please stand beside me."

"But..." The woman looked at her son who was mourning at the foot of the cliff, and then at Xia Houshu, with a grateful expression but also a bit unbearable.

A truly merciful person is never one who is generous to others.

The woman wanted to save her own child wholeheartedly, but she was also worried that other people's children would be in danger because of her help. This made Xia Houshu feel a little relieved.

Xia Houshu smiled and comforted him: "Auntie, don't worry, I will definitely rescue your child." Then he turned his head to look at the crowd and asked, "Is there any one of you with a rope?"

Everyone came to offer incense, so naturally no one would deliberately bring such irrelevant things.Everyone looked at me and I looked at you, but no one responded.

After a long time, an old and weak voice sounded from the crowd, tentatively asking: "I do have a leading rope here, do you... want it?"