Chapter 57: Zen Invitation
Chapter 57: Zen Invitation
The Immortal Monk frowned, thought about it carefully, shook his head and said, "It doesn't make sense."
"Although I have never met this Song, he is definitely not an idiot, so he is not trying to show off to you. There must be a conspiracy against you behind this!"
The little monk looked extremely serious and said earnestly: "But don't worry, because I am on your side!"
As he said this, he reached out and patted Gu Zhuo on the shoulder.
If we ignore the fact that the little monk stood on tiptoe on purpose and kept his head up while talking the whole time, then he still had some demeanor of a senior master.
Gu Zhuo thought that this was indeed the truth.
He and Song Jinglun had never met each other and had no idea what kind of person he was, so he was unwilling to make a preconceived notion and regard him as an idiot - this was a big taboo in dealing with things.
He just didn't know why, but he always felt that this matter was a little strange.
Not all the nobles in Shendu were involved in the bloody incident on the long street a few days ago and were fighting against the empress. There were always some people who happened to have escaped this disaster and had the time and ability to take action against Gu Zhuo.
The problem is that this revenge came so quickly, which is really unlike the style of these people. There is no sense of conspiracy that is planned before taking action.
Gu Zhuo stopped thinking about it because daydreaming was useless.
He felt the weight of the wooden sign hidden around his waist, so he was not afraid of conspiracy.
If it was an open conspiracy, the other party would eventually have to ask him about the sword in his hand.
"correct."
The little monk's embarrassed voice rang out.
Gu Zhuo looked at him and asked, "Hmm?"
The young monk forced out an awkward smile and asked in a low voice, "When I came here, an elder asked me to ask you a question... Are you interested in becoming a monk?"
Gu Zhuo stopped talking and just looked at him quietly.
The little monk was a little flustered by being looked at, and said sternly: "Don't rush to refuse. Let me tell you, the reason why His Majesty was able to regain the broken mountains and rivers a hundred years ago is inseparable from the support of Zen Buddhism. So there are many benefits to being a monk now. A peerless genius like you may have the hope of becoming a national teacher in the future!"
The reason why the Zen sect was willing to support Your Majesty back then was that one of the promises was that the positions of the next five national masters would all be handed over to people from the Zen sect.
Today, there are 480 temples in the south and countless towers and pavilions shrouded in mist and rain, creating a magnificent sight of Zen Buddhism. These are closely related to the covenant made a hundred years ago and the thousands of monks who died for it.
——Those thousands of monks almost symbolized the entire Zen Buddhism at that time.
Therefore, this transaction can even be ranked among the top three in the long history of Zen Buddhism.
Gu Zhuo thought about these things, and after a moment of silence, he asked, "Don't you want to be a national teacher?"
“I haven’t thought about it much.”
The Immaculate Monk said honestly, "The main reason is that I am still so young and I don't understand the responsibilities of a national teacher. If you say I want to be a national teacher now, what if I lose interest in the future? Wouldn't that make me embarrassed? It's embarrassing just to think about it."
Gu Zhuo said: "So your elders asked you to tell me this?"
"Ah."
"Anything else?"
"They said that if you are willing to agree now, the gods will solve all these problems for you. After the summer festival, you will officially become a Buddhist and they will teach you the true Zen scriptures and provide you with all the support you need for your practice."
"atmosphere."
When the Immortal Monk heard these two words, he gave a thumbs up and said sincerely, "The seniors have many other faults, such as being particularly annoying, but they are really generous."
Gu Zhuo shook his head and said, "This condition is indeed very good, but it's a pity because I don't want to be a monk."
Whether it was when he was in Wangjing, or now after entering the Divine Capital and experiencing constant storms, many people are curious about which sect he will join after the summer festival, or whether he will directly enter the court?
He had naturally thought seriously about such an important matter, but he had never thought about becoming a monk.
"That's good!"
After hearing Gu Zhuo's answer, Wuque monk heaved a long sigh of relief, and looked a little scared. Then, the little monk laughed happily and asked curiously, "This is really a big regret. Can I know why you refused?"
Gu Zhuo was somewhat speechless. Looking at his smile, he reminded him, "Shouldn't you pretend a little?"
"What's so good about this?"
The little monk chuckled and said, "There are too many monks and too little meat these days. If you come and become a monk, I will definitely get less. You refused so firmly, how can I not be happy? Besides, I asked you seriously just now, and I didn't try to persuade you to give up. Even if someone asks me about it in the future, I can still be justified and have a clear conscience!"
Gu Zhuo was even more speechless, thinking that this really made sense.
Seeing that he was silent, the young monk asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
"nothing."
Gu Zhuo shook his head slightly and said casually: "So why did Song Jinglun hold the banquet here?"
……
……
In a carriage heading to Baima Lake.
Lin Qianshui sat aside, looking at Song Jinglun and said worriedly: "Brother, can't we change the venue? Why did we choose Baima Lake as the location for this banquet?"
Song Jinglun felt very upset after hearing this, and thought to himself, if I could really change the place, would I still be sitting in this carriage now?
Don’t I know that it will be difficult for me to defeat Gu Zhuo?
Otherwise, after I knew that he lived in Baima Lake that day, would I have stayed at home all day long, and then hurriedly sent new invitations to His Highness Langxing, Shenjing Tiannv and Wuque Monk, and then used all means to ensure that they would attend the banquet tonight?
Thinking of this, Song Jinglun smiled calmly and said calmly, "Because this has been decided a long time ago."
Lin Qianshui was stunned for a moment and asked, "Brother, what do you mean?"
"It's not that Gu Zhuo and I are at odds with each other, it's that he deliberately makes things difficult for me, and he moved to Baima Lake a few days in advance, waiting for me to visit him."
Song Jinglun said this with a smile, and the pain of being slapped that day inexplicably emerged on the side of his face, making his hands hidden in his sleeves clench into fists, and his body even trembled slightly with anger.
However, even so, his expression was still gentle and decent, without any sign of inappropriateness.
He looked into Lin Qianshui's eyes and said gently, "You and I are the representatives of the younger generation in the capital. Facing such an aggressive provocation from Gu Zhuo, how can we retreat without a fight?"
Lin Qianshui had nothing to say, because this sentence was right.
These days, she had been worried about all kinds of things and did not notice that tonight's banquet was scheduled at Baima Lake, which was right opposite the inn where Gu Zhuo was staying.
She suddenly remembered something and said seriously, "But I heard that... the inn where Master Gu stayed seemed to be arranged by Eunuch Cao in the palace."
Song Jinglun put away his smile, looked at her expressionlessly, and said, "Qianshui, if I understand correctly, you seem to have been speaking for Gu Zhuo?"
Lin Qianshui pursed her lips and lowered her head.
Song Jinglun said in a slightly cold voice: "If this is really arranged by Eunuch Cao, then we have no room to back down, because this means that His Majesty hopes that we can save face for Shendu."
Lin Qianshui looked up at him, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
The meaning is very clear.
Senior brother, you are really no match for Gu Zhuo.
Song Jinglun felt very suffocated when he saw her look, and thought that you might as well just say it out loud.
After a moment of silence, he said in a deep voice: "Tonight's banquet will not only include me, His Highness Langxing, Monk Wuque, and Goddess Jingtian. Many other people will also be present. No matter how arrogant Gu Zhuo is, he must behave properly in such an occasion!"
"so……"
He looked at Lin Qianshui and consoled her, "Junior sister, don't worry. Nothing will go wrong tonight."
Lin Qianshui didn't pay attention to the last sentence, because when she heard the names in the words, she subconsciously became worried about Gu Zhuo.
(End of this chapter)