Chapter 44 - Righteous Monastery

Within the five-Buddha hall, Li Huowang met Abbot Xin Hui once again. However, this time the abbot wasn’t alone; there were four more elderly monks sitting in a row behind him.

“Since you’ve returned, Benefactor Xuan Yang, let’s get straight to the point. We need to hold a Great Fast to offer salvation to him,” said the abbot.

“Right, abbot, let’s start,” replied Li Huowang immediately.

“Take it easy, Benefactor. Dan Yangzi’s karma is still connected to you. Before we can perform this ritual, we need you to calm your mind.”

“Calm my mind?” Li Huowang was puzzled.

“Amitabha! Benefactor, your mind is quite restless and troubled,” said the abbot.

Before the abbot could even finish speaking, Li Huowang retorted in a stern and loud voice, “I’m not sick!”

His voice was so loud that Li Huowang even startled himself.

Li Huowang could see the five elderly monks gazing at him thoughtfully. He took a deep breath and clenched his trembling fists. “May I ask, abbot, what it is that I must do in order to calm my mind?”

At that moment, a yellow-covered scripture was presented to him. “Take this Emptiness of the Five Aggregates[1] Sutra, and recite it three times a day.”

Li Huowang took it and flipped through the scripture; it was full of obscure Buddhist scriptures that he could not understand in the slightest.

“Just reciting it will do? There’s no specific technique? Or no need to eat anything?” asked Li Huowang. Such a simple step was way beyond his expectations.

When he saw Abbot Xin Hui shake his head, he took the scripture and started heading out. Right as he was about to exit, he turned around to look at the elderly monks sitting cross-legged on their prayer mats.

“Abbot Xin Hui, does the Righteous Monastery have any cultivation techniques?” asked Li Huowang.

“Naturally. As long as Benefactor is willing to shave his head and join our monastery, you may freely access our entire Scripture Repository.”

Upon hearing that, Li Huowang turned and left; it was not possible for him to become a monk.

“Benefactor Xuan Yang, why don’t you stay in the temple during this period? It’s also troublesome for us if you keep coming and going from the monastery like this,” said Abbot Xin Hui just as Li Huowang was about to leave.

Li Huowang did not decline them this time; since he had already chosen to trust them, being overly cautious would only make him seem petty.

A separate room was arranged for him within the Righteous Monastery. Li Huowang sat within the room while silently looking at the scripture that was given to him.

Initially, Li Huowang felt a little nervous. But he soon realized that nobody in this temple minded him, even when he ran to the bustling main hall and watched the monks perform divinations for others. He gradually felt more and more assured.

Late at night, under the light of an oil lamp, Li Huowang carried a scripture book and recited, “My life’s journey is complete, my spiritual path established, my actions accomplished, leaving no room for future existence. As I speak of this Dharma, it reveals the freedom of mental attachments of all phenomena, including the five aggregates. Embrace this teaching with faith, and diligently put it into practice...”

When he initially began reciting this so-called Emptiness of the Five Aggregates Sutra, Li Huowang didn’t feel anything. However, as more and more days passed, he felt the quality of his sleep gradually improve, and understood that it really was effective.

Once he finished reciting it, he placed the book down and extinguished the oil lamp, preparing to head to sleep. At the same time, he began to plan for what he had to do next.

After getting rid of Dan Yangzi, I’ll go and look for a Black Taisui. If I can stabilize my condition, then I will be able to continue to live in this world in a stable fashion.

But the Black Taisui seems to be rather ferocious. And if I really do manage to capture it, then how should I restrain it such that I can cut some of its flesh to eat every month?

Right, the first thing I need to do is to obtain enough strength for self-preservation. That is also similarly challenging.

Just as Li Huowang was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly saw a figure flash past outside his door, causing his body to tense up.

Is someone within the temple spying on me?

Li Huowang slowly walked up to the door and pulled the latch, yanking the door open.

The courtyard outside was illuminated by the moonlight, with not a single person in sight. Li Huowang carefully peered outside. He caught a glimpse of a yellow-robed monk quickly vanishing into the dark corridor in the distance.

“What’s going on within this temple?” After a moment of contemplation, Li Huowang followed the yellow-robed monk at a slow pace.

After a while, Li Huowang saw a bald head under the moonlight. While Li Huowang could not see the face from his angle, judging from the lack of scars, their status in the Righteous Monastery was probably not high.

Just like that, in the silent temple, one person walked ahead, while another followed behind from a distance.

At that moment, however, the monk suddenly disappeared into the partially opened door of a temple hall.

Li Huowang was about to follow him inside as well, but after some thought, he decided to go to the other side of this temple. There, he wet his finger with some saliva before piercing a hole through the paper window.

This hall was quite small compared to the abbot’s five-Buddha hall. In fact, it could even be described as tiny. There was a small Bodhisattva statue, with one hand in a meditative gesture and the other hand holding a bottle. Only two candles were lit on the altar, dimly illuminating the entire hall.

There was someone kneeling before the figure of the Bodhisattva; the one who had just entered was not some monk, but a woman.

A woman? In the temple this late at night?

Before Li Huowang could even make sense of what he was seeing, the woman began to silently pray.

“Oh merciful and compassionate Bodhisattva, I beg you, please give me a son. If I don’t give birth to a son this time, I’m going to be sold away.”

Just as she was praying, a half-naked monk who had been behind the statue approached her before gently covering her eyes with a red cloth. Her body trembled ever so slightly, but she did not resist. Soon, her breathing started becoming heavier and heavier.

Soon, seven or eight bald-headed monks walked out from the surrounding darkness, each with their hands clasped together as if they were praying. Then, they slowly surrounded her.

This is the truth behind the effective child-bearing prayers?!

Li Huowang was dumbfounded as he watched the scene unfolding in front of him, toppling his previous understanding of the Righteous Monastery.

Suddenly, he sensed something and quickly turned around to see Jian Dun, standing in the courtyard while illuminated by the moonlight.

I’ve been discovered!

Jian Dun did not say anything as he looked at Li Huowang, only gently beckoning with his hand before turning to leave.

Li Huowang glanced at the chaos within the temple one last time before following Jian Dun quietly.

Jian Dun did not bring Li Huowang anywhere special, but only to his residence. Then, he lit up the oil lamp and sat down on a stool.

“I know what Benefactor must be thinking—that the Righteous Monastery’s monks are impure? But does Benefactor believe all the worshipers to be fools? Why would they come to pray so late at night?” said Jian Dun.

Standing at the door, Li Huowang did not say anything, waiting for him to continue.

“If they want a son, then we’ll give them a son. As monks, we are just that compassionate, and thus we do good deeds,” continued Jian Dun.

Li Huowang could not help but frown. “Then there must be a lot of those ‘good deeds’ of yours roaming around here.”

“The Righteous Monastery’s disciples have never proclaimed that our prayers to the Bodhisattva are effective. All those rumors have just been spread around by the worshipers themselves. We didn’t say anything, and they didn’t ask anything.”

1. The five aggregates are form (or materiality), sensations (or feeling), perception, mental formation, consciousness ?