Chapter 491 Goodbye Old Master

Chapter 491 Goodbye Old Master

Chapter 491 Goodbye Old Master

What was going on? In the empty and magnificent Buddhist temple, Zhao Duan came back to his senses with a start. He looked at the huge statue of the Buddha with some fear, then turned his head to look behind him.

Haitang hurriedly stepped over the threshold, her high ponytail swaying behind her head.

"What's the matter?" Zhao Duan asked.

Haitang said, "Something happened at the Sutra Library. Our people went to seal and confiscate the scriptures in the temple, but they were stopped by the old monk who was in charge of the Sutra Library there."

Is there anyone who dares to stop me? Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows: "You can't beat me?"

He was a little curious. Was there any other expert in the temple?

Haitang smiled bitterly and said, "The old monk's cultivation is not high, but he is holding an oil lamp in his hand and blocking the stairs. He looks like he will set fire to the scriptures if we force our way in. He also said that he wants you to come over, and he will only give up burning the building if he sees you."

The scriptures in Shenlong Temple are extremely valuable. To some extent, they are more important than the property and religious instruments in the temple.

Once burned, it will be a huge loss.

"See me?" Zhao Duan nodded curiously, "In that case, let's go and take a look."

Haitang pursed her lips. Seeing him walk out, she curiously peeked into the hall: "Is this where Xuanyin is in seclusion?"

"It should be. Since nothing was found inside, you can ask people to search it. But be careful, don't stare at the statue for too long. It's a bit evil." Zhao Duan warned.

Haitang nodded cautiously, ordered someone to guard the place, and then followed Zhao Duan.

……

When the two arrived at the courtyard where the Sutra Repository was located, a confrontation was taking place.

The pavilion where the scriptures were stored looked like a pagoda. At this moment, a group of men in brocade clothes filled the first floor. Upon seeing Zhao Duan coming, they all made way for him.

"I'm here to see who wants to burn down the building?" Zhao Duan commanded with an air of superiority. He stepped into the building and looked up to see a skinny old monk sitting cross-legged on the top of the wooden staircase leading to the second floor.

One of his legs seemed to be lame, and there was a pair of crutches beside him. The old monk had white hair and beard, and was thin. He held a burning candlestick in his hand.

Behind him were wooden shelves with Buddhist scriptures placed on them, and next to him was an open box filled with Buddhist scriptures.

It seemed that if I let go, the candlestick would fall into the box.

"You are the head monk of the Sutra Library? Haha, I have only heard of monks willing to die in the sea of ​​fire to save the scriptures, but this is the first time I have seen a monk who took the initiative to burn the scriptures." Zhao Duan looked up and couldn't help laughing:

"Why don't you burn one for me to see? I don't worship Buddha anyway, so just go ahead and burn it."

The faces of the officials in military uniforms around them changed slightly. The scriptures in the temple were extremely valuable. If they were really burned, they, the officials, would inevitably be held responsible.

"Amitabha," the lame old monk said, holding a candlestick in his hand and staring at him with a slightly cloudy gaze.

"Donor Zhao used to quote scriptures and explain Buddhism at the debate meeting. Although he is not a Buddhist, he must be a practitioner with profound knowledge of Buddhism. He must cherish the scriptures."

No, you think too much, I am just a plagiarist from another world... Zhao Duan complained in his heart.

The next second, the old monk puffed up his cheeks and blew out the candlestick with his leaky teeth:

"How could I really burn the building? I am just worried that if the scriptures in the temple were handed over to these soldiers, they would be damaged. Wouldn't that make the Buddhist monks of all generations cry blood in the afterlife? Only if Mr. Zhao comes to take them in person, I will feel at ease."

Zhao Duan was stunned. So this guy was not resisting the law, but was only willing to hand over the scriptures to himself?

He looked at her strangely: "Do you think I'm different from them?"

The lame old monk said seriously:

"Donor Zhao is well versed in Buddhist principles and is a person of great wisdom. The Buddha's divine presence in the past, and the Buddha's light shining throughout the capital, is proof of this."

Zhao Duan understood a little bit. It turned out that the guy in front of him was just like the Red Sect master from the Western Regions. They were both his little fans.

Yes, although the Sutra Repository holds an important position in the Shenlong Temple, it does not have any real power. Judging from the old monk's appearance, he is not the type who would participate in the power struggle within the temple.

It's a bit like the noble role in the Hanlin Academy in the imperial court.

Of course, he didn't believe it completely, but after checking with his spiritual sense, he found that this person's cultivation was indeed not high, he was just a mortal and posed no threat.

As for being able to become the "abbot", it is most likely because he has a deep understanding of Buddhist principles and his strengths do not lie in spiritual practice.

"Oh, that's true," Zhao Duan said shamelessly, smiling:

"In this case, we will seal off this building first, and no outsiders are allowed to enter without permission, so as to avoid damaging the scriptures. However, I still need to check the situation inside the building. Why don't you introduce the distribution of scriptures in the building?"

The lame old monk unexpectedly cooperated and nodded: "It should be so."

As he said this, he put down the candlestick, stood up with his cane, and turned to walk upstairs.

"I'll go up and take a look, you stay downstairs." Zhao Duan's eyes moved, and he said to Haitang, then he walked up the stairs.

The Sutra Repository is very large, with six floors.

There are bookshelves on each level displaying scriptures, but the higher you go, the fewer books there are and the heavier the scriptures are.

The lame old monk walked slowly, and was unusually calm in the face of the danger of the temple being destroyed.

As they walked, he carefully introduced to Zhao Duan which scriptures were placed on each layer, how different scriptures should be stored, including how often they needed to be ventilated, dried in the sun, and protected from moisture... every detail.

Zhao Duan's expression became more and more strange after hearing this, as if the old monk really wanted to entrust this place to him.

"The court has its own professionals to take care of the books. These scriptures are precious, so you don't have to worry about them. They won't be damaged." Zhao Duan said calmly, staring at the old monk.
"Let's talk about business. What do you want to talk to me about? Now that there's no one around, you can talk now. But I want to remind you that if you waste my time, I don't mind letting you experience the eighteen kinds of torture in the imperial prison."

The lame old monk's eyes were gentle and calm:

"I can't hide it from you, Mr. Zhao. Please come over. I have a scroll of scriptures to give you."

Send it to me? Zhao Duan was getting more and more confused, and his heart was quietly tense, ready for the old monk to use some trick to harm him.

However, curiosity drove him to remain calm: "What scripture?"

The lame old monk said nothing, but leaned on his crutches and slowly moved up to the sixth floor. There were only a few large tables in the center, with dozens of tattered scriptures displayed on them:
"Does the donor know the origin of this scripture?"

Zhao Duan pondered for a moment and said, "Could it be the scripture that Xuan Yin snatched back from the Western Regions?"

Back then, when Xuanyin was not yet the abbot, he went to the Western Regions and snatched two boxes of Buddhist scriptures from the Buddhist ancestral temple, thus establishing his status as the abbot.

The lame old monk shook his head and pointed downwards:

"The sutra that Xuan Yin retrieved is on the fifth floor."

Zhao Duan noticed that this old monk, who was just a mortal, spoke in a calm tone when mentioning Abbot Xuanyin. He did not show any respect or admiration, as if he was just talking about an ordinary monk in the temple.

Yes... I remember that in the Shenlong Temple, the Sutra Repository did have an exclusive status. Although it had no real power to manage the temple, the Sutra Repository had its own inheritance, and the appointment and dismissal of monks in the pavilion were not under the jurisdiction of the abbot... Zhao Duan recalled the relevant information he had read.

Looking at the lame man again, I couldn't help but look sideways, wondering if he was a character like the "Sweeping Monk" in martial arts novels?

Hidden boss?

"Don't think too much, Mr. Zhao. I am not a great man. I am just a widower who lives in seclusion and is a guardian of the pavilion." The old monk seemed to see through his thoughts and shook his head.

Librarian... this position is very important... there are many talented people... Zhao Duan said nothing.

The old monk walked slowly to the large table in the center, leaning on his crutches.

"The scriptures on this level were written by Maya Xingzhe. They are four or five hundred years older than the Shenlong Temple. They are not very special. They just record some of Maya Xingzhe's thoughts on his daily life and practice. They have been shelved in the temple for many years."

Maya walker?
Zhao Duan's heart moved, because at the last debate meeting, he had read a lot of information about Buddhism in this world.

It is known that this Maya Xingzhe was the first Western monk who entered the Yu Kingdom a thousand years ago to spread Buddhism.

After the Shenlong Temple was built, Maya Xingzhi was posthumously named the starting point of Dayu Buddhism.

The old monk reached out, opened one of the scriptures, picked up a special golden page, turned around, and handed it to Zhao Duan:
"Donor Zhao, this wordless golden sutra is the only valuable thing left by Maya Xingzhi. It is also a treasured item of the Sutra Repository for generations. Now, in order to prevent it from being destroyed by the court, I have no choice but to entrust it to you."

The golden sutra left behind by Maya Yogi a thousand years ago?

Zhao Duan was stunned, and carefully used his spiritual sense to sense it for a moment before trying to reach out and take it. It was a little heavy in his hand. The appearance of this page of the golden scripture was like an ordinary paper book page, with only one page, but it seemed to be made of gold.

The surface is smooth and has no words on it. If the old monk had not said it was a scripture, anyone who saw it would just think it was a piece of "paper" pressed with gold foil.

"Is this thing... a magic weapon? A talisman?" Zhao Duan asked.

The old monk shook his head: "I don't know. I only know that it is impervious to water and fire, and cannot be damaged."

Therefore, the old monk was not confident in giving this thing to the imperial court, so he would rather choose to give it to me who had been blessed by the Buddha and was "proficient in Buddhism"... Zhao Duan doubted:

"Did Xuan Yin not take this thing with him when he left?"

He didn't believe that Xuan Yin didn't know about the existence of this thing.

The old monk shook his head: "When he left, he never set foot in the library."

No, with his level of cultivation, you wouldn’t even know he came in... Zhao Duan wanted to complain, but he held back.

He held the scripture tightly and felt that it was a little hot. He was not sure whether it was dangerous.

"Amitabha, I have said everything I wanted to say. I will go downstairs to the prison now." The lame old monk clasped his hands together and spoke calmly.

The afternoon sun shone in through the small window of the pavilion, and the floating beams of dust sprinkled on his face, like a gilded living Buddha.

"Shenlong Temple is about to be destroyed, aren't you angry?" Zhao Duan raised his doubts.

This person is so abnormal.

Unexpectedly, the lame head monk who was guarding the Sutra Library had a gentle and calm look in his eyes:
"Shenlong Temple is just a temple. It will be destroyed if it is destroyed. As long as Buddhism is still there, why should we care? Besides, since Xuanyin took charge of Shenlong Temple, this temple should not have continued to exist."

After saying this, the old monk walked down the stairs on crutches without looking back. Zhao Duan held the wordless golden scripture in his hand, looking thoughtful.

……

"Hey, what did the old monk say to you?"

The door of the Sutra Repository was welded shut with cross seals.

Haitang, who was standing in front of the door supervising the work with her arms folded, asked in a low voice.

Zhao Duan, who was standing next to her, said calmly:

"I didn't say much, just told you how to keep the scriptures safe from insects and moisture."

Really? Haitang was suspicious, with a look of disbelief in her eyes.

Zhao Duan didn't explain either. He thought this matter was strange and planned to ask Zhenbao about it after returning to the palace.

At this time, all the monks in the Shenlong Temple were captured outside the gate, and key places in the temple were sealed off. Next, they were carefully counted and searched, and then handed over to their subordinates.

When Zhao Duan walked out of the temple gate, the Jinyi who was sent to investigate the Jizhao Temple across the street came back jogging and reported in a low voice:
"Sir, we have checked it out. Bian Ji has indeed escaped."

"Who said that?" Zhao Duan was curious.

"Princess Yunyang. When I went to ask her, she was drinking in the meditation room. She seemed to be in a bad mood. I asked Bian Ji, and she told me... She also cursed me as a 'heartless man' and 'all men are bad'," Jin Yi described vividly:
"I asked the nuns in the nunnery and learned that since Your Majesty left the capital, Master Bianji has been explaining Buddhism to the princess every now and then... Sometimes, they even talk by candlelight at night, and indecent noises are heard in the meditation room..."

Zhao Duan, Haitang and others were stunned and took a breath.

Wow... Really wow... If this gossip were to be exposed, it would definitely cause a sensation in the entire Dayu.

As for whether it is true or not, considering Princess Yunyang’s personality, Zhao Duan feels that it is most likely true.

"But what happened to the monk Bian Ji? Did he lose control? Was he hooked? Or did he break the precepts on his own initiative?" Zhao Duan found it unbelievable.

Based on his several experiences of meeting Bian Ji, he always felt that this handsome monk who was famous all over the world would not be a lewd monk who could not control his pants.

But considering that the old nun Prajna was also thinking about sleeping with me all day long... Following the example of the superiors, the monks in the Shenlong Temple might not be very serious in private...

"Forget it, let's suppress this matter and strictly forbid it from being spread. As for the nuns in Jizhao Temple... temporarily confine them to the temple and await their fate." Zhao Duan pondered for a moment and gave the order.

Although Jizhao Temple was closely related to Shenlong Temple, it should have been destroyed.

But first of all, Princess Yunyang was under house arrest and the nuns were all taken away. Who would take care of Yunyang?
Secondly, and more importantly, Prajna Bodhisattva and Xuanyin are not from the same faction, they are in opposition to each other, and they have reached an agreement with the Empress before.

Although the main altar of Shenlong Temple in the capital was destroyed, the temples scattered in various prefectures of Yu State still exist.

There are still a large number of monks outside who have not yet been brought to justice.

What the lame old monk said was right. Over the past thousands of years, Buddhism has taken root among the people of the Yu State and has a strong foundation of faith.

The need is here. It is better to support Prajna than to forcibly eradicate all monks in the world, so as to aggravate the division of Buddhism in the State of Yu and achieve the goal of weakening Xuan Yin.

As for the inexplicable affair between Bian Ji and Yun Yang... I'll tell Zhen Bao when I get back to the palace and let her niece worry about it.

The Jinyi soldiers took orders and left. Haitang, Zhang Han and others also escorted a large number of monks to prison. However, Zhao Duan said:

"You guys go back first, I'll go home first."

No one was surprised:

Lord Zhao has been away from home for several months. Now that the chaos in the city has been settled, it is time for him to go home and report that he is safe.

……

……

Separated from the main force, Zhao Duan rode alone and away from the sealed-off Shenlong Temple.

It is quite sad to see an ancient temple that has existed for hundreds of years destroyed in one day.

However, Zhao Duan was not in the mood to feel sentimental. He spurred his horse and did not return home immediately. Instead, he turned towards the direction of Tianshi Mansion when he was halfway there.

In the battle of Baihua Village, four disciples of Tianshi Mansion took action and rescued Zhao Duan according to the old Tianshi's order.

Although the situation was resolved by the empress, she still had to do the favor and it was reasonable for her to pay the emperor a visit.

Besides, Zhao Duan also wanted to ask Lao Zhang in person why he was so good to him… The last time Hu Ting was assassinated, the young Taoist took action, which could be regarded as Zhao Duan’s free reward.

But this rescue has exceeded the scope of normal rewards.

Zhao Duan felt that he needed to have a serious talk with Lao Zhang to find out what this freeloader Lao Deng was planning, otherwise he would feel uneasy.

Outside the Tianshi Mansion, Zhao Duan knocked on the side door and revealed his identity. He was about to explain his purpose to the priest who came out to greet him, but the young priest smiled and spoke first:
"The Heavenly Master has known in advance that Envoy Zhao is coming, and has specially ordered me to greet him here. Please follow me."

Lao Zhang is waiting for me? Zhao Duan felt a sudden tension in his heart.

He followed the leading priest step by step into the door, along the corridor, and passed through the Taoist Tianshi Mansion which was as large as a large amusement park.

We came to an inconspicuous courtyard deep in the ground, with a lush and green banyan tree planted in it.

"Please come in, the Heavenly Master is waiting for you." The leading priest smiled, turned around and said goodbye.

Zhao Duan took a deep breath, prepared himself mentally, and raised his hand to push open the gate.

This is his first time here.

"Squeak-"

The gate slowly opened, and a quiet and elegant courtyard came into view. In the courtyard, a huge and lush banyan tree of unknown age swayed slightly in the summer breeze, making a rustling sound.

It also casts a large area of ​​shade.

Under the banyan tree, there are two bamboo chairs and a low bamboo table, on which are placed a tea tray, a tea pet, several books, and a plate of fruits.

On a bamboo chair, Zhang Yanyi, a Taoist priest wearing a black priest robe, with a tall stature, narrow eyebrows and a ruddy face, was half sitting and half lying leisurely.

A gentle breeze blew. Zhang Yan opened his eyelids, looked at Zhao Duan with clear eyes, and smiled slightly: "You are here."

(End of this chapter)