Chapter 491 Goodbye Old Master
What was going on? Inside the empty and magnificent Buddhist temple, Zhao Duan came back to his senses with a start. He glanced at the massive statue of the Buddha with some trepidation, 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 Repository. Our people went to seal up and confiscate the scriptures in the temple, but they were stopped by the head monk in charge of the Sutra Repository."
Is there anyone who dares to stop him? Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows: "You can't beat him?"
He was a little curious. Could there be other masters in the temple?
Haitang smiled bitterly and said, "The old monk's cultivation isn't very high, but he's holding an oil lamp and blocking the stairs. He looks like he'll set fire to the scriptures if we force our way in. He even wants you to come over, and only if he sees you will he give up burning the building."
The scriptures in Shenlong Temple are extremely valuable. To some extent, they are more important than the property and ritual objects in the temple.
Once burned, it will be a huge loss.
"To see me?" Zhao Duan nodded curiously, "If that's the case, let's go and take a look."
Haitang pursed her lips. Seeing him walk out, she peeked into the hall curiously: "Is this where Xuanyin is in seclusion?"
"It should be. Since nothing was found inside, you can ask someone 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 Library 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. When they saw Zhao Duan coming, they all made way for him.
"I'm here to see who wants to burn the building down?" Zhao Du'an commanded, stepped into the building, and when he looked up he saw a skinny old monk sitting cross-legged at the top of the wooden stairs 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 layers of wooden shelves with Buddhist scriptures placed on them, and next to him was an open box filled with Buddhist scriptures.
It seemed as if the candlestick would fall into the box if I let go.
"Are you the head monk of the Sutra Library? Haha, I've only heard of monks willing to die in a sea of fire to save the scriptures, but this is the first time I've 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 go ahead and burn it."
The faces of the officials in brocade 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 expound on Buddhism at the debate meeting. Although he is not a Buddhist, he must be a profound Buddhist practitioner and 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 out his cheeks and blew out the candle with his leaky teeth:
"How could I really burn the building? I'm just worried that if the scriptures in the temple were to fall into the hands of these ruffians, they would be damaged. Wouldn't that make the Buddhist monks of all generations weep blood in the afterlife? Only if Mr. Zhao comes to take them personally will I 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 him?
He looked at me strangely: "Do you think I'm different from them?"
The lame old monk said seriously:
"Donor Zhao is well versed in Buddhist principles and possesses great wisdom. The Buddha's divine presence in the past, which illuminated the capital, is proof of this."
Zhao Duan began to understand. 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 Shenlong Temple, it does not have any real power. Judging from the old monk's appearance, he is not the type to 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 completely believe it, but after investigating with his spiritual sense, he found that this person's cultivation was indeed not high, and he was just a mortal, so he 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 practice.
"Oh, that's true," Zhao Duan said shamelessly, smiling.
"In that case, this building will be sealed off first. No outsiders are allowed to enter without permission to prevent damage to the scriptures. However, I still need to inspect the situation inside the building. How about you describe the distribution of the scriptures inside 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 the help of 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 layer, displaying scriptures, but the higher you go, the fewer books there are and the heavier the scriptures are.
The lame old monk walked slowly, but he was unusually calm in the face of the danger of the temple's destruction.
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, and moisture-proof... no matter how big or small.
Hearing this, Zhao Duan's expression became more and more strange, as if the old monk really wanted to entrust this place to him.
"The court has its own professionals to maintain the books. These scriptures are so precious that you don't have to worry about them, and they won't be damaged." Zhao Duan said calmly, staring at the old monk.
"Let's get down to business. What exactly do you want to talk to me about? Now that no one is around, you can probably talk. But I must warn you, if you waste my time, I don't mind making 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 Mr. Zhao. Please come over. I have a scroll of scriptures I want to give you."
Send it to me? Zhao Duan was getting more and more puzzled, his heart quietly tightening, 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 benefactor 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 once entered the Western Regions and forcibly snatched two boxes of Buddhist scriptures from the ancestral temple, thus establishing his status as 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 an ordinary mortal, spoke in a calm tone when mentioning Abbot Xuanyin, without any attitude of respect or admiration, as if he was just talking about an ordinary monk in the temple.
Yes... I remember that in Shenlong Temple, the Sutra Library did have an exclusive status. Although it did not have the actual power to manage the temple, the Sutra Library had its own inheritance, and the appointment and dismissal of monks in the library 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 master. I am just a widower who lives in seclusion and guards 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 didn't say anything.
The old monk, leaning on his crutches, walked slowly to the large table in the center.
"The scrolls on this floor were written by Maya Xingzhe. They are four or five hundred years older than the Shenlong Temple itself. They are nothing special, just records of Maya Xingzhe's daily life and cultivation insights. They have been shelved within the temple for many years."
Maya practitioner?
Zhao Duan's heart moved, because he had read a lot of information about Buddhism in this world during the last debate meeting.
It is known that this Maya Xingzhe was the first Western monk to enter the Yu Kingdom a thousand years ago to spread Buddhism.
After the Shenlong Temple was built, Maya Xingzhe 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 item left by Maya Xingzhi. It is also a treasured possession of the Sutra Repository for generations. To prevent it from being destroyed by the imperial 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. He carefully sensed it with his spiritual sense for a moment before trying to reach out and take it.
It feels a little heavy in the hand. This page of golden scripture looks like an ordinary paper book page. It is only one page, but it is suspected 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 destroyed."
Therefore, the old monk was not confident in giving this thing to the imperial court, so he chose to give it to me, who had been blessed by the Buddha and was "well versed in Buddhism"... Zhao Duan was suspicious:
"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 it back.
He held the scripture tightly and felt 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 dusty beams of light sprinkled on his face, making him look 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's destroyed. As long as Buddhism still exists, why should we care? Besides, ever since Xuanyin took over 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 sutra 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 with her arms folded, asked in a low voice.
Zhao Duan, who was standing next to her, said calmly:
"He didn't say much, just instructions on how to keep the scriptures safe from insects and moisture."
Really? Haitang was skeptical, her eyes full of disbelief.
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 taken to the gate, and key places in the temple were sealed off. Next, they were carefully counted and confiscated, and then handed over to the 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 her meditation room and seemed quite down. I asked Bian Ji, and she told me... She also cursed me with things like 'unfaithful man' and 'all men are bad,'" Jin Yi described vividly.
"I have inquired with 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 hold candlelight conversations at night, and indecent noises can be heard from the meditation room..."
Zhao Duan, Haitang and others were stunned and took a deep breath.
Wow... Really wow... If this gossip were to get out, 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 world-famous handsome monk would not be a lewd monk who could not control his pants.
But considering that old nun Prajna is also obsessed with sleeping with me all day long... If the monks follow the example of their superiors, the monks in Shenlong Temple may not be very serious in private...
"Forget it, let's suppress this matter and strictly prohibit its spreading. As for the nuns in Jizhao Temple... temporarily confine them to the temple and await punishment." Zhao Duan pondered for a moment and gave the order.
Although Jizhao Temple is closely related to Shenlong Temple, it should have been destroyed.
But once Princess Yunyang is under house arrest and the nuns are taken away, who will take care of Yunyang?
Secondly, and more importantly, Prajna Bodhisattva and Xuanyin were not from the same faction. They were opposed to each other and had previously reached an agreement with the Empress.
Although the main temple of Shenlong Temple in the capital was destroyed, the temples scattered in various prefectures of Yu State are still there.
There are still a large number of monks outside who have not been brought to justice.
The lame old monk was right. For thousands of years, Buddhism had already taken root among the people of the Yu State and had 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 the Buddhist sect 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 a hundreds-year-old temple destroyed in one day.
However, Zhao Duan was not in the mood to feel sentimental. He whipped his horse and did not return home immediately. Instead, he turned towards the 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 order of the old Tianshi.
Although the situation was resolved by the empress, this favor must be owed, and it is reasonable to pay her a visit.
In addition, Zhao Duan also wanted to ask Lao Zhang in person why he was so good to him... Last time when Hu Ting was assassinated, the little Taoist priest took action, which could be regarded as a free reward for Zhao Duan.
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's heart tightened for no reason.
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, where a lush and green banyan tree was planted.
"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 an elegant and quiet 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 faintly: "You're here."
(End of this chapter)
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