152. Paradox

In the snow, a young Taoist priest in a dark blue robe stood beneath a plaque, stroking the bald head of a young novice monk with one hand and holding a scroll with the other, oblivious to the surroundings.

The young Taoist's hair was held up with a crude branch. Although it was the coldest time of the year, his blue Taoist robe was just a single garment, frighteningly thin.

The young Taoist priest who called himself Zhang Li looked at the young monk with a smile. He curled his knuckles and knocked the young monk's forehead loudly. "Still blocking the way here? Did you not understand what I said, or is the name Zhang Li no longer effective in the martial arts world?"

The young monk stammered, "It turns out...it's Donor Zhang Li. Please come in!"

Zhang Li patted his shoulder with the scroll and said, "Bring my blue ox in. Remember to find a clean cowshed for it and feed it three pounds of vegetarian buns with mushroom and vegetable fillings."

The little monk was startled: "Ah? Hey, buns?"

Zhang Li squinted at him and asked, "Is there a problem?"

The young monk quickly shook his head: "No, no, I'll go to the kitchen later to tell them what to do. However, vegetables might be hard to find at this time of year..."

Zhang Lihun waved his hand nonchalantly: "Then the one with sauerkraut filling will do."

The young monk quickly agreed: "Yes, I ate steamed buns stuffed with sour cabbage last night..."

"Who asked you?"

Zhang Li didn't look at Chen Ji and others, and walked into the manor with gray walls and gray tiles. He patted the fallen snow on his body, and the little monk followed behind him in humbly small steps.

Upon entering, one sees a stone screen facing them, embossed with the mighty and furious faces of the Eighteen Arhats. Passing by it, Zhang Li sighs, "Back then, Daoting won this manor from the Zen sect, and they refused to re-carve this stone wall, insisting that all visitors, seeing this, know that this manor was won from the Zen sect..."

He casually asked, "I just heard the sound of a bell in the distance. Who won this round?"

The young monk hesitated for a moment and said, "It was those behind you who won."

Zhang Li paused: "Who won?"

The young novice monk said bitterly, "He defeated our second senior brother Wuzheng. The second senior brother argued about good and evil, while he used the Mahaparinirvana Sutra to solve the problem."

At this point, the young monk was a little unconvinced: "However, we still have several senior brothers behind us. There is only one person left in the Dao Court, so we still have no chance of winning!"

Zhang Li ignored him and went back to the door, looking at Chen Ji sideways: "You won?"

Chen Ji did not answer.

Zhang Li asked again, "Have you read all the Buddhist scriptures?"

Chen Ji still didn't answer.

Zhang Li glanced back at Bai Li on horseback: "She has caught a cold, right?"

Chen Ji hummed.

Zhang Li pulled out a gourd-shaped white porcelain bottle from his sleeve and poured out a black pill from it. "This is the Zixu Yuandan that my junior sister personally refined. It strengthens the body and replenishes the essence. Although it's not the right medicine for your condition, it's enough to save your life."

As he spoke, he laughed cheerfully and said, "You just defeated the monk. This pill is for you."

Chen Ji's eyes lit up, he immediately thanked him, took it, turned around and was about to feed it to the white carp.

Zhang Li calmly poured out another Purple Void Yuan Dan from the white porcelain bottle and called out to Chen Ji, "I see that this girl has a bone-chilling cold. One pill is definitely not enough. She needs to swallow two to recover."

Chen Ji turned around and asked, "What are the conditions?"

Zhang Li was amused. "Smart guy. If you want to get this second pill, you have to go with me to the debate. You just need to answer a question, or ask a question that stumps a monk."

Chen Ji asked, "What if it's not done?"

Zhang Li smiled and said, "This elixir was not easy to come by. My junior sister watched over the furnace for 49 days before it finally became effective. If she hadn't felt sorry for my senior brother who was living in the open, she would never have given me this elixir."

"so?"

"That's why this item is so precious. If you can't meet my conditions, I won't give you the elixir."

The young monk in gray robes widened his eyes and asked, "How can the Daoist court ask outsiders for help?"

Zhang Li was unhappy and tapped his bright forehead with his fingers. "When the Buddhist sect recruited Confucian civil servants to help in the war, what did my Daoist court say?"

The young monk hurriedly said, "But they don't have an invitation, nor do they have any tokens proving their identity..."

Zhang Li sneered: "I'm afraid that your senior brother is just making up an excuse to avoid being involved in karma. It doesn't matter.

I'll take the consequences! Let him go!"

The young monk curled his lips and said, "What right do you have to order me around? This Luhun Villa already belongs to my Yuanjue Temple. You don't have the final say."

Zhang Li stroked his bald head and said with emotion: "Even your senior brother doesn't dare to say such nonsense to me. Shut up quickly, or I will slap you."

The little monk shrank his neck.

Chen Ji looked at Zhang Li and said, "Let me try the effect of the medicine first."

Zhang Li smiled and said, "Please do as you please."

Chen Ji braved the wind and snow and walked out of the door. He gently handed the pill to Bai Li's mouth and said, "Take it quickly and see if it works."

Baili bit the pill and swallowed it with difficulty. She saw her face suddenly become rosy and her eyes no longer weak and lifeless. Baili propped herself up and turned over to dismount, but she was still a little unsteady when she walked.

This elixir is so magical that it seems to have taken away the creation of heaven and earth.

The prince's eyes lit up: "What are the methods of the Huangshan Dao Court's medicine official?"

Zhang Li smiled and replied, "Exactly."

Chen Ji stood in the snow, pondering for a moment. He turned around and handed the horse reins to another young monk at the door. He said to Zhang Li, "I do have a question. I'd like to give it a try. As for whether it can stump those monks, I don't know."

Zhang Li smiled carefreely: "Let's give it a try."

Chen Ji and the others followed Zhang Li into Luhun Villa, weaving through the tall gray walls as if walking through a dark valley. Looking up, the gradually brightening sky was reduced to a sliver of light.

Seeing Chen Ji looking up, Zhang Li casually said, "I wonder what those monks were trying to hide here. They built this Luhun Mountain Villa to look like a canyon. Huangshan also has a ray of sky, right below Wenshu Cave. You can see it when you cross the Immortal Bridge. When you walk through it and look up at the sky, you can see only a thin line of blue sky. If it's not midnight, you can't see the moon or the sun."

He turned around to look at Chen Ji, and said with a smile: "The place where my Huangshan Dao Court is located is the most unique peak in the world. It is said that it is also the place where immortals forged sword pills and ascended to heaven."

Chen Ji was stunned: "Sword Ball? But is it the sword type of Jingchao Martial Temple?"

Zhang Li shook his head: "Then I don't know."

Chen Ji asked, "What's the name of that immortal?"

Zhang Li also shook his head. "I don't know either. I only know there's a thousand-year-old cave at the foot of Fugu Peak with the word Xuanyuan engraved on it. That immortal might be called Xuanyuan... Haha, I'm just guessing."

Chen Ji was shocked.

Xuanyuan!

I finally heard Xuanyuan's name from someone else, and the Qingshan dream finally had a foundation in this world!

He concealed his excitement and asked calmly, "Does the Huangshan Dao Court have any records of this Xuanyuan's history?"

Zhang Li shook his head. "No, he's not from my Dao Court. His cave was already there when my Dao Court's Taoist temple was built on Mount Huang. Mount Huang has many wonders. If you can defeat the monk this time, you're welcome to visit me."

Chen Ji's expression was strange: "What if I don't win?"

Zhang Li laughed cheerfully and said, "Then don't come."

Chen Ji: “…”

…

…

I don’t know how long I walked, but there was gradually more noise ahead.

Walking out of the "canyon", I saw a vast Taoist temple full of literati and scholars, who were whispering to each other.

This oval-shaped dojo is surrounded by more than ten stone steps, and scholars and literati sit on the steps one after another, letting the heavy snow fall on them.

The Bagua pattern in the temple was covered with snow, with only a cushion placed at each of the Yin-Yang fish eyes. On one of the cushions, a young monk in a gray robe was sitting cross-legged.

On the other side, no one was sitting on the cushion in the Taoist temple.

Zhang Li led Chen Ji and the others to a group of Taoist priests and asked curiously, "Why is no one fighting?"

A young Taoist priest turned around and saw Zhang Li, and was immediately overjoyed: "Brother Zhang Li is here, hurry up, Brother Zhang Li, go teach that arrogant bald man a lesson!"

"Brother Zhang Li, how come you're a day and a night late?"

Zhang Li raised his hand to silence the voices of the young Taoist priests: "Wait a minute, wait a minute, how many people have been defeated by my Taoist court?"

A young Taoist priest hesitated and said, "Eight people have already lost, and we can still send one more person..."

Zhang Li asked again, "How many people are there on the other side?"

The young Taoist hesitated again: "There are still four people on the other side."

Zhang Li raised his eyebrows:

You little Taoist priests from Laojun Mountain have bad intentions. You let me go last. If I lose, won't I be the only one to take the blame? "

"How could Senior Brother Zhang Li lose?"

"Brother Zhang Li, you will definitely win!"

Zhang Li said angrily, "Stop flattering me. How can we win against four people alone? Huangshan Daoting won't take the blame for this!"

The young Taoist priests were furious. "If you don't go, our Taoist court will definitely lose. Then all of us, more than a dozen of us, will have to go to Yuanjue Temple to become monks! Huangshan and Laojun Mountain are of the same origin. Why should we separate them?"

Zhang Li laughed in anger: "Wait a minute, when my junior sister asked you to borrow the recipe for the elixir, why didn't you say we are of the same blood?"

“Ah, this…”

However, Zhang Li did not discuss the matter with them in depth. In the debate between Buddhism and Taoism, all the people of the Taoist court prospered and suffered together.

He rolled his eyes, looked at Chen Ji and said with a smile: "Come on, if you win I will give you the elixir."

Chen Ji answered decisively, "Okay."

The young Taoist priests were surprised: "Brother, who is this person?"

Zhang Li spread his hands: "I don't know either."

"Ah?" The young Taoist priests were shocked. "How can we let someone we don't know take on such an important matter? What if he loses..."

Zhang Li patted him on the back of the head and interrupted, "He's the one who just defeated the monks in the debate outside the gate. You're arrogant and unwilling to read Confucian and Buddhist scriptures. How can you win if you don't know yourself and your enemy? Those monks have read our Taoist scriptures thoroughly and come prepared. If we don't find someone who is well-versed in Buddhist scriptures, we can't win."

When the young Taoists heard that Chen Ji was the one who had defeated the monk, they looked at each other in surprise.

A young Taoist priest asked, "Brother, have you read the Buddhist scriptures? Why don't you go?"

Zhang Li said as a matter of course: "I am a Taoist priest, why should I read that stuff?"

Little Taoist priest: “…”

Zhang Li crouched low and whispered to the young Taoist priests at the foot of the stone steps, "Let an outsider take the field. Even if they lose this final match, it will be an outsider's loss, and the Dao Court can still save some face. If the Dao Court loses, it will lose all its face."

The young Taoist priests then understood that Zhang Lixin knew that Ting was bound to lose, so he found an outsider to serve as a fig leaf.

They bowed their heads in shame: "But if we lose..."

Zhang Li said slowly, "As for the matter of becoming a monk, if you really lose, you can just become a monk for a month and then say you want to return to secular life."

The young Taoist priest was stunned: "Ah? Return to secular life?"

Zhang Li said confidently, "Why? Doesn't Buddhism allow people to return to secular life?"

The young Taoist priests looked at each other and finally made up their minds: "Then let him go."

Zhang Li looked at Chen Ji and said, "Go ahead and ask questions. Ask them hard!"

At this time, Zhang Xia whispered, "This kind of debate can only be conducted by one person. I can't help. And I'm a woman, so I can't go forward to debate."

Chen Ji thought silently.

The prince suddenly said, "How about I go up? It would be shameful for them to win!"

Chen Ji, Zhang Xia, and Bai Li looked at the prince slowly with expressionless faces, not knowing what to say for a moment.

After a moment, Chen Ji pulled out the dark cloud from his arms and stuffed it into Bai Li's arms: "Let me give it a try."

The next moment, he walked to the cushion and sat down cross-legged.

A monk standing opposite stood up and asked, "How can outsiders participate in Buddhist and Taoist debates?"

Zhang Li said lazily, "This is my registered disciple at Huangshan Dao Court."

The monk glared at him and asked, "When did you remember the name? What name did you remember?"

Zhang Li froze. He had actually forgotten to ask the young man's name!

Just as the situation reached a stalemate, Chen Ji asked loudly, "Excuse me, venerable monk, if a ship is called 'Pudu Ship', and it is repaired and patched up over the years, eventually replacing every plank and every part, is it still the original 'Pudu Ship'?"

The temple suddenly became quiet. The monks looked at each other in silence. Only snowflakes fell from the sky.

Zhang Li was originally lazily leaning on the stone steps. When he heard this question, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that there were many traps. He gradually sat up straight and looked at the young man sitting cross-legged in the wind and snow in the Taoist temple.

Chen Ji has not read the Buddhist scriptures in full, but he has read the Ten Great Paradoxes of the World.

(End of this chapter)