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Chapter 621: 359: The Monk Would Rather Die Than His Fellow Disciples
Chapter 621: 359: The Monk Would Rather Die Than His Fellow Disciples
Chapter 621: Chapter 359: The Monk Would Rather Die Than His Fellow Disciples
“Honorable masters, I wonder what should be done about this situation?”
The old monk with white eyebrows stood in the temple, looking at the venerable masters standing or lying on the Bright Platform. He asked miserably. Even though logically he should not be blamed, after all, the incident happened under his watch, and it was his dereliction of duty.
“Jie En, did you not notice the presence of the youth before he left the Scripture Library?”
A majestic figure sitting on the high platform like an ancient Buddha, holding peacock feathers in his hand, asked.
“I did not notice until the boy who greatly resembles the Buddha’s son appeared at the entrance of the Scripture Library, a stranger had broken into the library.”
The old monk with white eyebrows stated the truth.
“How many scriptures did he read?”
“According to him, he has read texts such as the ‘Lotus Sutra’ and ‘Mahavairocana Tantra’. However, these are only a small portion of the scriptures he has read. The number of scriptures he combed through is beyond imagination, probably measured in years considering the time he spent in the Scripture Library.”
In the temple, the venerable masters looked at each other. A master holding a treasure lotus, on which a wish-fulfilling gem rested, spoke.
“Everyone, how should we deal with this boy?”
“Kill him?”
Upon hearing these words, all the venerable masters in the temple fell silent. The next moment, their eyes fell on the old monk with white eyebrows.
The old monk’s eyebrows twitched as his pained expression threatened to break down, growing even more miserable. This time, he truly felt bitter.
These masters are inhuman. He, a humble old monk responsible for guarding the temple, how could he bear such a consequence? This was no less drastic than sending him directly into the cycle of reincarnation.
“I am aware of my failure in this matter. I ask for permission to retire and guard the Subduing Demons Cavern for 500 years without a step out.”
No matter how the boy with close ties to Buddha’s son would be handled, the old monk felt it inappropriate to intervene further. It was enough to inform these venerable masters about the situation.
He only wanted to find an excuse. Even if he was to be sent to the poorest and bitterest place in the temple, it was much better than offending the Buddha’s son, losing life and soul, scattering into nothingness, unable to reincarnate forever.
“There is no need for this, this matter is arranged by the Buddha’s son. You can just stand there and listen.”
A venerable elder wielding the Treasure Wisdom Sword said, relieving the old monk of this falling sky-like responsibility.
This matter regarding Buddha’s son was too big for just a single old monk to bear. No, not even they could bear it.
“Yes,”
The old monk with white eyebrows took a deep breath, maintaining his face of sorrow and shame, retreated a bit, ready to listen quietly to the discussion results of these venerable masters.
“Where is the child now?”
“I did not capture him, I just instructed him not to leave the temple, he can walk around within the temple.”
“…”
Hearing the words of the old monk with white eyebrows, the honorable masters fell silent again. This was another humiliating moment for the Dragon Zen Temple. Knowing that a stranger had peered into their foundational heritage, yet they dared not do anything to him.
The root cause was that Buddha’s son, Fayuan. This monk whose existence exceeded ordinary understanding. None of the esteemed masters present could comprehend him. If it were not for Fayuan, Yinghai, who was supposed to be the current Buddha’s son of the Dragon Zen Temple, would have had to give up his worldly cultivation and go to reincarnate. This was undoubtedly lamentable.
“Let me check on where this boy is presently.”
A venerable master with a crown on his head, lying leisurely on the Buddha platform, eyes beaming, and a scene engulfing everyone broke out in the middle of the temple.
In the Lotus Flower Pool, the water was sparkling, filled with vibrant energy. There were countless white jade lotuses. In the middle of the pool, a black-haired boy led a group of small apprentice monks, screaming and shouting, while picking lotus seeds in the middle of the water.
The boy tossed lotus seeds into his mouth as if they were beans. The shouting little monks beside him also each had a lotus seed stuffed into their mouths, sharing the spoils equally.
Upon seeing this scene, even the venerable masters who were known for their excellent composure narrowed their eyes.
“Impudent child!”
“My Jade Purifying Lotus!”
Seeing Feng Qing’an leading a group of young apprentice monks desecrating the beautiful lotus treasure pool to such an unbearable state, even the most reserved masters couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger.
“Calm down. It’s just a few lost lotus seeds. What’s the big deal!”
As the voice fell, the boy in white reached into the water and pulled out some lotus roots that seemed to be carved out of top-grade mutton-fat white jade. They were pure and spotless, and he took a big bite immediately.
“This child deserves death!”
The venerable master holding the lotus gem stood up abruptly, bursts of orange-red karmic fire raged. The lotus roots at the bottom of the lotus pool were much more valuable than the seeds on the surface, growing just an inch in a hundred years. The child casually took a bite, wiping out decades of accumulation.
“How dare he?!”
“…”
The white-browed old monk beside him remained silent, eyeballs focused on his nose, and the nose focused on his heart. He clearly remembered allowing the child to eat anything as long as it wasn’t meat, but he never expected that the child would be so bold as to eat anything and everything.
No matter what, he would not be the one to shoulder the blame for this. Offending a venerable one was not much better than offending a Buddha’s disciple for him because this Venerable Pure Lotus can also make life a living nightmare for him. He might even be more severe.
“Calm down, all this may have been anticipated by the Buddha’s child. If this is his arrangement, the lotus seeds and lotus roots that you lost, Pure Lotus, should be compensated by him from other sources.”
“Buddha’s Child!”
Hearing these words, the Venerable one holding the precious lotus immediately calmed down. Indeed, no matter from which perspective, there was something off about this incident.
If the Buddha’s Child had such intentions, with his divine power, the young man who resembled him would never be discovered by them from the beginning to end. But they did find him, and let all of them know about it, and are now gathered together to discuss.
What is the Buddha’s Child’s intention?
What does this Buddha’s Child really want them to do?
This is a problem that would not occur in any Buddhist temple anywhere. The venerable ones gathered together to speculate on the intentions and ideas of a Buddha’s Child.
Such a scenario was utterly absurd, but none of the venerable ones present felt there was a problem. Each of them was pondering the intentions of that Buddha’s Child.
“Since this child has already perused our scriptures, I believe that we can introduce him to our temple. We may be able to add him as one of the direct disciples in our temple.”
One of the venerable ones spoke, paused for a moment, and added,
“Perhaps this is the intention of the Buddha’s Child.”
“Bring him into the Buddhist gate?”
The many venerable ones looked at the light curtain still forming in the Buddha Hall. They saw the young man in the Jade Purifying Lotus Pond being followed not only by a group of novice monks but also, inexplicably, by a black wolf, a white elephant, a Qilin Beast, a black phoenix, and other strange animals.
Half of these strange animals were not of benign species, but no matter what they looked like, they were all gluttonous at the moment, eating and drinking unabashedly, swallowing without restraint.
Upon seeing this, the venerable one who had originally suggested introducing Feng Qing’an into the Buddhist gate fell silent. However, several venerable ones revealed eyes full of wonder, their gazes fixed unblinkingly on the strange animals that had suddenly appeared beside Feng Qing’an.
“Indeed, those who the Buddha’s Child wishes to convert are truly extraordinary.”
The venerable one holding peacock feathers praised him, his eyes filled with stunning colors. But although he was complimenting Feng Qing’an, his gaze was fixed on the strange animals beside Feng Qing’an.
Those venerable ones, who for some reason returned a peculiar gaze, all noticed the problem. Beside this young man who was so similar to their Buddha’s Child, excluding the white elephant that was there to make up the numbers, the rest all possessed the qualities of Immortal Spirits.
“Yes, yes, this child should be brought into our Buddhist gate.”
“Amitabha, these words are just!”
“If that’s the case, let’s respect the wishes of the Buddha’s Child and bring him into our Heavenly Dragon Zen Institute.”
“Who will go to guide him?”
“The Venerable Cien has mastered mind-reading power, he can be the one to lead.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of many venerable ones immediately fell on an elderly monk with a sad face. Compared to other venerable ones in the Buddha Hall holding many treasures, this elderly monk looked very plain. Yet his simple face gave off a sense of reverence because he was the only monk in their temple who had mastered two of the six penetrations of the Buddhist Gate.
Supernatural power, mind-reading power
However, after hearing the proposal, the gazes of the many venerable ones invariably became strange. There were some things that were not a secret known to all, but it was considered publicly secretive.
For example, this venerable one should originally have a disciple who was a Buddha’s Child, and after his most successful disciple was reborn, he suddenly attained enlightenment one day, comprehending the power of mind-reading, achieving great success in a single step.
But Venerable Cien, who had mastered two great divine powers, did not expand his own influence in the Buddhist temple. He lived a quiet life and rarely showed up in the public eye. If the situation weren’t special today, his figure might not have been seen.
“Venerable Cien, what are your thoughts?”
“Venerable Cien has the power of mind reading, he is undoubtedly the best choice for this task!”
“Yes, the venerable one lost a disciple the night before, and today he may gain another one.”
The awkward atmosphere had only lasted for a moment before it was broken by the many venerable ones in tacit agreement. The vast majority of the venerable ones agreed with this arrangement.
If someone must be sent to recruit this young man closely related to the Buddha’s Child, it must be the venerable Cien. After all, he has long been entangled with his own disciple and the Buddha’s Child. He doesn’t mind adding more debt, as the saying goes, more debt doesn’t burden you.
“Since everyone has decided, I will take full responsibility for this matter.”
Venerable Cien spoke with an indifferent face, showing neither sorrow nor joy.