Chapter 140 Chapter 17

The ascetic monk's eyes are not very good. I don't know whether it is eye disease or presbyopia. He has to touch them with his hands when doing everything. Ze'an didn't ask him to play the xiao, but he himself recommended to play a piece, and his xiao was as clumsy as a layman. But Ze'an listened to him, and felt that his flute was full of sincerity, without the pretentiousness of ordinary people.Although the tunes are not harmonious enough, they can express the inner voice he wants to convey when he plays the flute. This ascetic monk, who has been forgotten by the world, conveys his heartfelt "repentance" with a broken flute.The whole song is like crying in confession from beginning to end.

Ze'an listened quietly, and slowly he seemed to have understood what the life of this wandering monk was like.Whether great or ordinary, there is not much difference in the journey of the human soul.The difference between a great man and a mortal lies in how to overcome the common troubles of human beings.The ascetic monk and Ze'an can understand each other's invisible hearts through this broken flute. Thinking about the past years, they both have the same troubles, and they are just ordinary people. "I seem to have seen you before." Zean said after listening to his playing.Then the ascetic monk blinked and said:

"I also feel as if I have heard your voice. Now that you say it like this, I wonder if you are Master Zong Peng Zean of Tajima, who used to live in Qibao Temple in Misaku Yoshino Town..." Before he finished speaking, Zean also remembered.At this time, the lights in the room were almost extinguished, and Ze An re-ignited the wick, staring carefully at the old monk with frosty temple hair and thin cheeks. "Ah! Aren't you Tanzaemon Aoki?" "In this way, you are indeed Master Ze'an. Oh! If there is a hole in the ground now, I really want to get in. I never thought I would end up like this. Master Zong Peng, don't think that I am the former Aoki Danzuo." !"

"I didn't expect to see you here. Qibao Temple has been here for ten years." "When you mentioned this matter, it made my heart feel like ice and rain. I am about to step into the underworld and become a pile of bones in the wilderness. Now what I miss day and night is my son." "Your son, where is your son now?" "I used to round up Musashi on Zangan Mountain, and you tied Musashi to a thousand-year-old cedar to suffer. Later, I heard that he changed his name to Miyamoto Musashi, and I heard that my son became his disciple, and now he has come to Kanto."

"What? Musashi's disciple?" "When I heard about this, I was so ashamed that I didn't know how to face this person. I didn't even dare to show Musashi what I am now. But I really miss my son... Counting on my fingers, Jotaro is now eighteen years old. If I could see him grow up in my lifetime, I would die without regret. So I have been looking for him in Kanto for a while without shame." "So, Jotaro is your son?" Takuan had never heard of this.I am so familiar with Jotaro, why have I never heard about his life experience from Atong and Musashi?

The ascetic monk Aoki Danzuo nodded silently.At this time, he looked haggard, and he couldn't imagine that he had a mustache, was full of general majesty, and was full of energy.Ze An looked at him with pity, but could not say words of comfort.Because Dan Zuo has transformed from a human nature full of desires, facing the twilight clock of life, there is no need for any words of comfort. Even so, the ascetic felt repentant and grieved over the past, thinking he had no future.The skinny body made Zean feel very pitiful.When this person loses his social status and everything he owns, he must not have enjoyed the blissful state of the Dharma, let alone expect the Buddha to help him.Although when he was in power, he did evil, did whatever he wanted, and was extremely arrogant, but this person still had a side of moral conscience, which would be discovered with his own decline, and he would almost kill the rest of his life to atone for his sins.

Therefore, his expectation in this life may be to meet Musashi and apologize to him, and to see his son who has grown up, and after reassuring his future, he may hang himself in the woods the next day. Takuan thought that before the man could meet his son, he must first meet the Buddha.Even criminals who do all kinds of evil, as long as they ask the Buddha for help, they will be able to get the glory of the Buddha's mercy.Therefore, it is not too late to let him face the Buddha first, and then let him face Jotaro. As for meeting Musashi, it will be a later matter, which is good for him and good for Musashi.

Zean thought so, so he told Dan Zuo: There is a Zen temple in the city, as long as you report my name, you can stay there as you like, as long as you like.If I have time, I will find you, and we will talk about it in detail after we meet.As for your son Jotaro, I will definitely try my best to bring you father and son back together.Don't be too hard on yourself, even at fifty or sixty years old, the future is still bright, there is a happy land, there is a job and a life.Before I go to the Zen temple to meet you, you can also chat with the monks about the true meaning of life. After Zean encouraged him so much, he deliberately asked Aoki Danzuo to leave there.Dan Zuo also seemed to understand Ze'an's intentions. After thanking him repeatedly, he carried the mat and flute on his back, leaned on the bamboo stick, and walked out leaning on the wall.

This area is hilly.It is easy to fall downhill.So Denzo went into the woods.Follow the path through the fir forest and enter the miscellaneous forest. "..." Denzel's stick touched something, and his eyes were not completely blind, so he bent down and looked carefully.Although it was dark in the forest, I couldn't see clearly for a while, but finally, with the starlight shining from the gaps in the trees, I could faintly see two people who were wet with dew lying on the ground. Dan Zuo didn't know what to think of, so he went back along the original road, and then walked to the thatched hut just now, looking at the lights inside:

"Master Ze'an...I am Dan Zuo, and I found two young men fell from a tree in the woods and fell into a coma." Hearing what he said, Ze'an quickly came outside the house with a light.Danzo said again: "Unfortunately, I don't have any medicine with me, and I can't see clearly, so I can't give them water to drink. Those two young men may be the sons of nearby villagers, or brothers from the Wu family who came here to play. Please save them okay?" Takuan nodded, put on his straw sandals, and shouted to the thatched cottage under the hill. A figure came out of the house and looked up at the hermitage on the hill.It turned out to be the farmer who lived there.Ze'an told him to prepare torches and water.

When the farmer came up with the torch, Danzuo happened to follow the path Takuan had told him—this time he was going down the hill on the road, and he met the farmer with the torch halfway. If Danzuo took the road he lost just now, he would have followed the farmer and recognized his son Jotaro. Unfortunately, he asked Zean again for the direction to Edo, so the father and son could not meet each other. However, if it is a blessing in disguise, how do you know it is not a blessing?In life, we always have to look back at the past in the end to judge whether it is fate or misfortune. Farmers with bamboo tubes of water and torches rushed over quickly.He was one of the villagers who had been helping repair the thatched hut for the past two days. Thinking that something big had happened, he hurriedly followed Ze'an into the forest. They took torches and came to the place Danzo said.The situation is quite different now. When Danzuo found the two, Jotaro and Iori fell heavily and passed out on the ground.Now Jotaro has woken up, sitting there blankly, he wants to wake up Iori, ask him to understand, or run away quickly.Jotaro didn't know what to do, he just put his hand on Iori and was lost in thought. When Jotaro saw the torch and heard the sound of footsteps, he suddenly looked like a swift and sharp beast attacking the enemy at any time at night, and his whole body was on alert. "what?" The farmer walked beside Ze'an with a torch.Only then did Jotaro realize that there was no need to be so nervous, and after reassuring, he looked up at the two figures. --what? Ze'an thought that the two of them passed out, but unexpectedly one of them sat up.The two sides looked at each other for a while, and they called out again at the same time. "what?" The Jotaro in front of Zean has grown a lot taller, and his face is completely different from before, so he can't be recognized at once, but Jotaro can tell it is Zean at a glance. "Aren't you Jotaro?" Zean widened his eyes in surprise. Zean always thought that Jotaro was looking up at him, only then did he see that he had already put his hands on the ground and bowed deeply to him. "Yes... yes, I am Jotaro." When Jotaro saw Zean, he remembered that when he was still running nose, he was not afraid of anything but this monk. "Hmm! Are you Jotaro? I didn't expect you to have grown up, and you are a keen young man." Zean was very surprised to see Jotaro grow up.After watching for a long time, I remembered that Iori must be rescued quickly. He picked up Yizhi, found that his body temperature was still there, and quickly gave him water to drink, and soon Yizhi also regained consciousness.After Yizhi woke up, her eyes were glancing around, and suddenly she burst into tears. "Does it hurt? Where does it hurt?" Zean asked, and Iori shook his head and replied: It doesn't hurt anywhere, it's just that the master is gone.Master was imprisoned in Chichibu.He said it was terrible, and wept louder again. He cried fiercely and spoke in a hurry, so Ze'an couldn't figure out what he meant at once.After careful questioning, I found out what happened.So, like Iori, he became worried. This time, Jotaro, who was listening to their speech, was terrified all over his body and showed shock on his face. "Master Ze'an, I have something to tell you. Please take a step..." His voice was small and trembling. Iori stopped crying and approached Zean with suspicious eyes. "That guy is a thief, what he said must be a lie. Master Zean, you must be careful!" Saying that, he pointed at Jotaro. Jotaro stared at him, and Iori stared back at Jotaro with a provocative look. "Stop quarreling, you two, aren't you brothers? Let me decide this matter! Come with me!" They returned to the Cao'an by the same route, and Ze'an asked them to light firewood.Just now the farmer saw that nothing was wrong, so he went back to his thatched hut.Zean sat by the fire and asked them to sit down together, but Iori refused.He refuses to admit that he and the thief Jotaro are brothers. However, Kanzean and Jotaro chatted about the past, and the atmosphere was harmonious, and Iori was a little jealous, and unknowingly leaned against the fire. Takuan and Jotaro were talking in low voices, while Iori was listening silently.Jotaro was like a woman who confessed before the Buddha, with tears rolling between her eyelashes.Without waiting for Ze'an to ask, he honestly told the whole story. "...Yes. It has been four years since I left Master. During this period, Dazou of Narai raised me, took care of me, and taught me. I also often heard him talk about his great ambition and the way of survival in this world. Therefore , I was willing to risk my life under his influence. Until today, I have been working for Dazang. But being called a thief, I feel very sad. I am a disciple of Master Musashi, although I left his side, but I have never forgotten Master's teachings for a single moment." Jotaro said again: "Da Zang and I made an oath before the gods of heaven and earth, not to tell others about our purpose, not even to Master Takuan. However, Master Musashi was wrongly accused of stealing treasures and imprisoned in Chichibu Prison. Sit back and watch. Tomorrow I will immediately set off to Chichibu, tell them that the person who killed me is me, and surrender myself to them, and rescue Master from prison." Ze An kept nodding his head to listen to him, then raised his head: "So, you and Dazang were responsible for stealing the treasure?" "yes." Jotaro answered with his head held high, without any hint of shame in his tone. Zean stared at Jotaro with wide eyes, and Jotaro had no choice but to lower his head. "Are you really a thief?" "No...no, we are different from ordinary thieves." "Do thieves still have grades?" "However, we don't become thieves for selfish desires, but for fame and fame. We only move public property." "I don't understand that." Takuan said decisively: "Do you mean that you are righteous thieves? In Chinese novels, such strange people as swordsmen and Taoists often appear. Are you the same kind of people as these?" "If I explain more, the secret of Dazang will be revealed. So, no matter how much you scold me, I have to swallow it." "Hahaha, so you won't reveal the truth, will you?" "Nevertheless, in order to save Master, I will surrender myself. I hope Master can tell Master Musashi well." "I, Zean, will not be a mouthpiece. Musashi is innocent in the first place. Even if you don't rescue him, he will be released. But more importantly, you should face the Buddha frankly, fortunately, I, Ze An, will guide you, and sincerely repent to the Buddha!" "Repentance to the Buddha?" Jotaro never thought about it. "That's right." Zean persuaded Shiro Taro as a matter of course. "From your tone, being a thief seems to be for the society and for the people. It sounds great. But before meddling in other people's business, you should take care of yourself first. Are there no unfortunate people around you?" "If you think about yourself all the time, you won't be able to accomplish great things in the world." "You're such a sucker." Zean scolded angrily, and punched Jotaro on the cheek hard.Jotaro was punched unexpectedly and panicked. "You are the foundation of being a human being. Any career starts with yourself, without considering how you want to do things for others?" "No, I mean, don't think about your own desires." "Shut up, do you know that you are just an immature brat, who thinks he understands society and even boasts that he will do great things? This kind of person is the scariest. Jotaro, I have roughly understood you What you did with Dazang. I'm not going to ask anymore. You're a fool, you're an idiot, you've only grown up physically, but not matured inside. What are you crying about? What are you regretting? You better dry your nose, Reflect on it." Ze'an told them to sleep.Jotaro had to sleep, so he had to cover himself with a straw mat and lie down. Ze An fell asleep, and Iori also fell asleep. But Jotaro couldn't sleep.He was thinking about his master Musashi who was imprisoned in his heart, and he put his hands together on his chest, atonement from the heart. He was lying on his back, tears streaming down the back of his eyes and into his ears.Lying down on my side, I thought of Sister Atong again, wondering what was going on now.If Sister Atong was here, he would be even more ashamed.Ze An's punch just now made him extremely painful.Even if Sister Atong didn't beat him, she would have beat his chest and cried loudly. I have made an oath to Dazang, absolutely not to reveal the secret.But after dawn, Ze An will definitely come to persuade him again, and Jotaro decides to run away now. After making up his mind, Jotaro stood up quietly.The hermitage has neither walls nor ceiling, so it is easy to escape.He went outside and looked up at the starry sky. If he didn't leave quickly, it would be dawn. "Hey, wait a minute." Jotaro was about to leave when a voice behind him surprised him.It turned out that Ze An was standing behind him, and Ze An came to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "Are you really going to surrender yourself?" "..." Jotaro nodded silently, and Zean said pitifully: "Do you really want to die unjustly? You are too hasty." "Unjust death?" "That's right! Maybe you think that as long as you turn yourself in and admit that you are a prisoner, they will release Musashi. You must know that there is no such cheap thing in the world. When you arrive at the prison, you must confess all the things you have concealed from me, so that they may Believe you. Musashi is still in prison. What about you? You will be tortured alive for a year or two—this is the inevitable end." "..." "Perhaps you don't think this is an unjust death. If you really want to avenge Master Xue's injustice, you must first clear yourself. Do you think it is better to let the people in the prison torture you, or to face Ze'an frankly?" "..." "I'm just a disciple of the Buddha. It's not that I'm forcing you, or that I'm the judge. I'm just guiding you to face the Buddha honestly." "..." "If you don't like this, there is another way. I met your father Tanzaemon Aoki here by accident last night. Now I meet his son, that is, you. What a fate we have Danzuo is now in a certain Zen temple in Edo, you will die anyway, why don’t you go see your father for the last time! By the way, you can ask your father whether what I said is right or wrong.” "..." "Jotaro, as I said just now, you have three options to choose from." Zean finished speaking and was going to go back to sleep. When I was fighting with Iori on the tree yesterday, the sound of the flute from a distance echoed in Jotaro's ears again.Only now did I know that it was the flute played by his father. Even if Jotaro didn’t ask his father’s recent situation, he could understand from the sound of the flute how hesitant and sad his father is now... "Wait a minute...Master Ze'an, I said, I said. Although I swore to Dazang not to tell anyone, I will tell the Buddha everything." After speaking, he pulled Ze An's sleeve and walked into the forest. Jotaro confesses to Sakuan.In the dark, he talked to himself and told everything. Ze An never said a word from the beginning to the end. "That's all." After Jotaro finished speaking, he remained silent, and then Zeian asked: "Is that all?" Jotaro replied: "Yes, that's it." "it is good." Zean was also silent for a long time.Soon, a pale blue dawn appeared over the cedar forest. The crows began to quack, and the surroundings gradually became brighter. Zean seemed to be tired from standing, so he sat under the cedar tree.Jotaro leaned on the tree trunk, waiting for Zean's instruction. "...You were actually involved in these dangerous elements. It's really sad that this group of people didn't know what's going on in the world. Fortunately, nothing happened yet." Ze'an now has a general understanding.He took out two gold pieces from his pocket and told Jotaro to leave here immediately. "If you don't leave quickly, besides you, you may also endanger your father and master. Run away to other places quickly! The farther you escape, the better—and you must avoid Koshu Road and Kiso Road, because from today Starting in the afternoon, all government offices may be on strict alert." "But what about master? He went to jail for me, how could I escape like this?" "I will handle this matter. In two or three years, after the limelight of this matter has passed, I will go to Musashi to make amends. At that time, I will accompany you there." "...then I'm going." "Wait a moment." "yes." "Before I left, there was a Zen Temple in Azabu Village in Edo. Your father Aoki Tanzuo had already gone there yesterday." "yes." "This is the great seal of Dade Temple. Take it to Zhengshou Temple to get the monk's bamboo hat and cassock. For the time being, dress up as a monk like Danzuo, and run away quickly." "Why do you dress up as a monk?" "You stupid guy, you don't even know what crime you have committed. You want to assassinate the new general of the Tokugawa family, and take this opportunity to set fire to the Junsuo of the Imperial Palace, with the intention of causing chaos in the Kanto area in one fell swoop. What a bunch of reckless people, and Aren't you one of them? To put it more seriously, you are a traitor who disturbs the law and order. If you are caught, you will be beheaded." "..." "Go, go before the sun rises." "Master Ze'an, I still want to ask you a question, why do you say that you are a traitor if you want to defeat the Tokugawa family? Then why is it not considered a traitor if Tokugawa defeated Toyotomi and won the world?" "……I have no idea." Sakuan glared at Jotaro with terrifying eyes.No one can explain this.Although Zean is not unable to convince Jotaro, it's just that he can't find a reason to convince Jotaro now.The situation is changing every day, and this result is naturally produced.Those who intend to overthrow the Tokugawa family are traitors.Because the social situation is like a big trend, if someone wants to go against it, he will definitely end up with a tragic fate of being ruined, and even be rejected by the times and perish. This is an indisputable fact.