Chapter 404 Zhao Duan: Have I become the incarnation of a god?
Zhao Duan was in a trance, as if he saw a series of pictures, which were gradually "refreshed" frame by frame. At first, they were a little sluggish, but then became smoother and smoother.
"Is this... a view of the bedroom? Wait, how can I see all this without opening my eyes... And what's with this panoramic view... Hiss, is this what they call a cultivator's divine consciousness? Did I gain this ability prematurely because of the blessing of the Azure Lotus?"
Zhao Duan's head was groggy, and he was half asleep and half awake as he observed his surroundings from this new perspective.
After discovering that the empress was not in bed, he didn't even react, but just subconsciously continued to spread his spiritual thoughts.
Gradually, he "saw" the garden outside the door, saw the lanterns hanging in the cold wind in the distance and the bright moon in the sky, heard the sound of the wind at night, and... the sound of water?
Zhao Duan's mind subconsciously followed the sound of water, penetrating layers of houses without any hindrance, and then...
He saw a pair of familiar eyes.
The pair of eyes "met" him in astonishment, and then surged with thunderous rage, and then, a divine thought that was many times more powerful and vast than his heavily bombarded him.
Zhao Duan's diffused spiritual thoughts immediately retracted into his mind. The green lotus shook violently, as if it had suffered an impact. Before Zhao Duan could come to his senses, he fainted.
Squeak——
The closed door was suddenly pushed open by a pair of hands, and the cold wind rushed into the warm room.
Xu Zhenguan, wearing only his underwear, floated in like a ghost, staring dimly at Zhao, who was completely asleep on the ground.
"stand up."
She ordered with a stern look in her eyes: "I want you to get up!"
“…”
"Really asleep?"
Xu Zhenguan's brows slowly furrowed, and she became somewhat suspicious. After a long silence, she suddenly kicked him, one kick, two kicks...
"stand up!"
"Get up for me!"
"... unconscious? You're lucky."
After a while, the empress, who failed to be awakened physically, returned to her bed, left behind a jade pendant with dragon pattern, constructed a barrier, and then closed her eyes and fell asleep.
…
A silent night passed and it was morning in the blink of an eye.
When Zhao Duan opened his eyelids, his first reaction was pain all over his body:
"No... Why does it feel like I was kicked several times again..."
He was a little confused. He held his forehead and sat up. He glanced at the house and found that the curtains had been lifted, the bed in the inner room was neatly made, and the sky was already bright. The sunlight shone through the window paper, illuminating the entire warm room in white.
"How long have I slept..."
Zhao Duan shook his head vigorously, sat on the ground and slowly recalled his memory: "I think I accidentally released my spiritual consciousness last night...?"
His eyes lit up and he immediately tried to visualize the "Blue Lotus" again.
But this time, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reproduce the state of last night.
"Is this the kind of state I entered accidentally, or... is there no such thing as external release at all, and it's just a dream?"
Zhao Duan began to doubt himself. Thinking of the vague fragments in the second half of the "dream", he felt that this dream was quite vulgar... Well, it must be a dream. It was off the mark...
Zhao Duan put on his clothes with some disappointment and pushed open the door. The bright sunlight made him squint his eyes, and the cold wind blew on his face, and he felt fully awake.
"Master Zhao, His Majesty said that when you wake up, I will lead you out of the palace."
A eunuch came over and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Huh..." Zhao Duan exhaled heavily and said with a smile, "Thank you, eunuch."
…
Zhao Duan got the horse he rode yesterday back from the guards at the entrance of the imperial city. Feeling refreshed, he rode home.
Passing by the familiar snack street, he tied his horse to a roadside post, walked into the soup and pancake shop, and ordered mutton soup and hot pancakes in a familiar manner.
Only after the food entered my stomach did I feel completely relaxed. I opened my ears and clearly heard some diners nearby talking about yesterday's debate.
Only one night had passed, and there had been no new changes in the outside world. Neither the Shenlong Temple nor the Western Regions Buddhist Group had taken any new actions.
However, Zhao Duan did not dare to take it lightly. Apart from anything else, the monks from the Western Regions came to the State of Yu specifically to cause trouble, but they lost the chess game and the debate as well. It would be impossible for him to swallow this humiliation.
Just as he was wondering what the other party might do next, a figure suddenly sat down opposite Zhao Duan.
Zhao Duan raised his head and looked in surprise at the young monk in disguise who was wearing an ordinary cotton coat and a cotton hat.
The young monk Danche subconsciously wanted to put his hands together, but put them down in time and said with a smile:
"Master Zhao, my master wants to see you."
“…” Zhao Duan slowly swallowed the biscuit in his mouth.
At this moment, his expression was unusually calm. He drank another mouthful of soup calmly before taking out his handkerchief to wipe his mouth.
"Where is the holy monk?"
…
Of course it is impossible for a monk from the Western Regions to appear here by chance.
Therefore, he must be waiting for him on the road that he must take on his way home, just like the old Taoist priest did back then.
Zhao Duan was not worried that these foreign monks would be crazy enough to do something bad to him in the capital. In comparison, he was more curious about the reason why the other party found him privately.
After paying the bill, Zhao Duan, led by Dan Che, led his horse to a nearby alley and appeared outside a house owned by an unknown person.
Dan Che calmly opened the door, made a gesture of invitation, and then said:
"Master Zhao, please."
His feet are outside the threshold, meaning he is not preparing to enter but exists as a gatekeeper.
Zhao Duan took a deep breath, handed the reins to the chess genius, slightly adjusted his clothes, and stepped into the courtyard.
The yard was not big, and there was still some frozen snow on the parapets. A wooden table was placed next to the stone mill in the courtyard. The house did not look uninhabited, and the doors and windows were closed.
At this moment, an old monk wearing a red monk's robe, a red hat, and a white ivory bead necklace around his neck was facing the door with his back, seemingly reciting scriptures silently.
Hearing the voice, he slowly turned around, revealing his dark-skinned, old monkey-like face from the Western Regions.
The two looked at each other. Zhao Duan was secretly alert, but his face was calm as he smiled and said:
"Zhao has met the Saint of the Western Regions..."
Before he could finish the opening greeting, he was astonished to see that the eyes of the eminent monk in front of him, who was highly respected in the Western Regions and the leader of the "Red Sect" among the Five Buddhist Sangha, whose status was only second to the Dharma King of the Western Regions and was known as the "Holy Monk", had undisguised surprise and enthusiasm in his eyes.
Then, the Red Sect master knelt down on the ground with a decisive gesture, raised his hands high in the respectful manner of Western monks worshiping Buddha, and chanted:
"Good man, pay your respects to the Buddha!"
kindness? ? !
The smile on Zhao Duan's face suddenly froze, and he froze on the spot, feeling a strong sense of unreality in his heart.
Wait...what's going on? This script is a little different than I expected.
Shouldn't you be furious and threaten me, or learn from those high-level players in the court and argue with me about interests... Even if you play a clever trick, it would be considered normal, but what is your idea now?
Is there a conspiracy?
Zhao Duan's hair stood on end. His first reaction was that there was a trap. He decisively stepped aside and said sternly:
"Holy monk! Stop joking! Jokes involving the gods are not allowed!"
The Red Sect master saw the terrified and anxious look of the "Buddha's incarnation" and was stunned for a moment. Only then did he realize that his behavior was too abrupt and he could not help but feel ashamed:
"Good man, I have disturbed the Buddha by being so abrupt. I hope the Buddha will forgive me!"
Zhao Duan was silent for a moment: "Saint monk, please explain clearly, otherwise I will leave."
…
After a while.
At the table in the courtyard, Zhao Duan finally finished listening to the Red Sect master's story.
His expression became extremely wonderful. He stared at the dark old monkey... no, the old monk, and said:
"So, half a year ago, you sensed that the Buddha's wisdom had descended upon the mortal world and landed in the capital. So, you came here specifically to search for that 'Wisdom'? Now, do you believe that I am that 'Wisdom'? The incarnation of the Buddha?"
The Red Sect master smiled and nodded, his expression like a fan in his previous life looking up at his idol.
"..." Zhao Duan was silent for a moment, then said politely:
"Is it possible that this is a misunderstanding?"
The Red Sect Master smiled and said:
"At first, even Shannan hadn't thought you were the embodiment of wisdom. But when you were baptized by the gods at the debate yesterday, it made everything clear. I now realize how foolish I was before. I simply assumed that a benevolent god wouldn't descend to the mortal world as the concubine of a treacherous minister.
But I later realized that I had committed the great taboo of clinging to external appearances. It was because of the compassion of the Buddha that he bestowed upon you. Aren’t the changes in you over the past year a reflection of the wisdom and love of the Buddha?
As the saying goes, the sea of suffering is boundless, but turning back is the shore. If it weren’t for the gods, how could you have transformed from a villain hated by everyone to a pillar of the country…”
"No..." Zhao Duan couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Is it possible that I was promoted and favored by His Majesty, and that's why I rose to prominence..."
The Red Sect Master smiled and said:
"You don't need to be so modest. Just yesterday's comments on Buddhism were a manifestation of wisdom. You also won a great debate with Zhengyang, and you are also on good terms with the Taoist Tianshi Mansion. I believe you also have a deep understanding of Taoism.
How could a mere mortal possess such a profound understanding of the three schools of thought, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism? Only the wisdom bestowed by the Buddha could enable such a feat.
"..." Zhao Duan suddenly found that he was unable to refute.
What the other party said made so much sense. He couldn't just explain that he was a time traveler... But the idea of the Buddha being an incarnation was just too much nonsense. Well, unless your god was a time traveler...
Good fellow, Princess Wenzhu absolutely doesn't believe in me, and you, on the other hand, are simply a fanatic, a religious lunatic...
Yes, no wonder I always felt this guy was weird during yesterday's debate. Instead of trying to stop me or oppose me, he acted like a professional supporting actor, being unusually easy to talk to...
Zhao Duan felt a little confused. As for deception... he really couldn't think of any reason why the other party would use such a thing to deceive him.
Moreover, what concerned him most was that the other party claimed that he had sensed his arrival more than half a year ago...
"That doesn't make sense. How could I not know what kind of god I am? Besides, you said you sensed it in early summer. If you can sense it with your level of cultivation, then the Dharma King, Xuan Yin, even Zhang Tianshi, Wu Xiankui and others also know of my existence, right?"
Zhao Duan hinted at it.
Seeing that the Buddha's incarnation did not acknowledge him, the Red Sect master became anxious:
"'Hui' in the human world is a mortal. Before awakening, he is unaware of his own identity. You are the wisdom of the Buddha, while Wu Xiankui and the Empress are warriors. They lack awareness of the gods and naturally do not know.
Zhang Yanyi is a powerful Taoist. I don’t know whether he has noticed anything, but if he has tried to contact you in the past few months, he might have vaguely noticed it.
Monk Xuanyin's body has been in the capital for many years, but his spirit has been wandering around the world. It is natural that he has never known about it. As for the Dharma King, he was born a warrior monk, and in terms of the depth of Buddhism, he is not as good as me..."
Zhao Duan was stunned and frowned.
This old monkey's words contained a lot of information. Zhang Yanyi had certainly come into contact with him, but Zhao Duan had previously thought that it was because of the golden tablet, and later because he boasted and copied some powerful sentences that attracted Lao Zhang's further attention.
But if what the old monkey said is true, then there may be another explanation:
The reason why the old Taoist priest first met him was not because of the golden tablet, but because he sensed something unusual about himself as a time traveler.
He also didn't know the information that Monk Xuanyin traveled thousands of miles.
"How can I believe what you said?" Zhao Duan suddenly asked.
The Red Sect master's face was filled with enthusiasm. He took out a mutton-fat jade Buddha amulet from his bosom and presented it with both hands:
"I would like to offer my natal Buddha amulet as a token of my loyalty!"
The title has been changed, from good man to disciple... It's like hitting the snake with a stick.
Zhao Duan was really surprised this time. He had heard that many Buddhist monks had their own natal Buddha amulets on them, which were closely related to their own practice.
If it falls into the hands of others, although it may not be fatal, it is also a huge handle that can cut off a person's cultivation.
It was really surprising that the Red Sect master directly offered his life and treasures.
Zhao Duan raised his hand to take the Buddha amulet. When he touched it, the green lotus in his sea of consciousness swayed. He had a vague feeling that he could sense the connection between the Buddha amulet and the old monk's wisdom. If the Buddha amulet was destroyed, his wisdom would be damaged.
"What do you want to see me for?" Zhao Duan asked after a moment of silence.
The Red Sect Master shook his head and said, "Not for anything else, I just want to follow you and practice!"
Good licking...
Zhao Duan always felt that this word sounded familiar, like what he said to Zhenbao... However, if he was really that damn god incarnated, there would be nothing wrong with being followed by such fanatical religious lunatics.
Moreover, it is obvious that following a god will bring many benefits in the future. Judging from the other party's words, the incarnation of the god can be "awakened" in the future. So this guy is rushing to serve at this time, which is no different from a minister who goes to lick the prince's ass in advance to pursue the merit of following the dragon.
"It's not convenient for me to keep you with me." Zhao Duan shook his head and said, "You should go back to the Western Regions."
The Red Sect Master's eyes lit up:
"Are you going to entrust your disciple to return to the Western Regions to spread the Buddhist teachings you have taught? I will definitely fulfill this mission!"
"..." Zhao Duan felt uncomfortable being licked. He said uncomfortably:
"That's not necessary... First of all, let me say it again, I don't know what kind of 'Hui' I am, but if you insist on joining me, I don't mind having more subordinates. Secondly, if you are really willing, I do need you to do something."
The Red Sect Master was overjoyed and was about to kneel down again:
"Please give your instructions, Lord Buddha!"
"Just call me by my name," Zhao Duan said disdainfully.
"Master Dajing, have you been to your Western Regions?"
The Red Sect Master nodded and said:
"Reporting to Lord Zhao, the thief monk Dajing has indeed taken refuge with the Dharma King and should have fled to the Western Regions. I did not know your identity before, otherwise I would have severely punished that thief monk for daring to assassinate the Buddha... Do you want to arrest this thief?
However, I'm afraid I need to convince the King of Dharma first. But if the King of Dharma knows your identity, it will surely be easier..."
Zhao Duan raised his hand to refuse: "My identity... please don't spread it for the time being."
Good heavens, he wasn't sure whether the Dharma King believed that he was the incarnation of God... and if this rumor really spread, it might be good or bad.
After a moment's hesitation, he said:
"How about this? For now, don't make any unusual moves. After you return to the Western Regions, just gather intelligence from there for me. As for Da Jing... don't alert him for now. He's a Bodhisattva-level expert, after all. You can't defeat him, right?"
The Red Sect Master was filled with shame:
"My disciple is dull and dull. I have devoted my life to studying Buddhism, but I am not good at fighting."
Zhao Duan sighed softly: "Then... let's leave it like this for now."
…
Kevin, I'm thinking about the next plot outline.
Thanks to the book friends Shiwei Maoyao for the 1500 points, Lan Weimeng for the 1500 points, and 2024...9565 for the 120 points of support!
(End of this chapter)
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