Chapter 404 Too much Buddhist compassion is also a form of inner demon.
"...!"
Upon hearing this Buddhist verse, Yuwen Qian's clear eyes darkened slightly.
He then smiled faintly and said, "Master, this verse is well written."
Xin Zheng smiled and asked, "What's so good about it?"
Yuwen Qian said, "Fortunately, there's that line—'Reciting it over the years turns one into a demon.'"
Hearing him repeat the sentence again, almost everyone else was still confused, but Yuwen Ye's eyes had already dimmed. Xin Zheng, upon hearing this, clapped his hands and laughed, saying, "Young Master is indeed insightful. That's right. This old monk has been guarding this Dayan Temple, seeing pilgrims gather every day and witnessing the turmoil of officialdom every year. I have seen Buddhas and demons. Although Buddhas are not demons, the line between them is very thin."
"..."
"If you understand this, you are a Buddha; if you don't understand this, you are a demon."
Yuwen Qian nodded, then thought for a moment and said, "Greed is a demon in the heart, delusion is a demon in the heart, and obsession is a demon in the heart. Although there is a fine line between Buddha and demon, Buddha has never been a demon in the heart."
As he spoke, he smiled and looked at Xinzheng: "Master, do you see me as greedy, deluded, or attached?"
He was momentarily stunned.
He looked at the handsome young man before him again. Although he was still wearing a white monk's robe, the hem of which was fluttering slightly in the wind passing through the mountain gate, his temperament, which was like a white cloud descending to earth, had not changed much from what he had seen before. However, the person standing in front of him was no longer a person who was untouched by the world and cultivated himself in seclusion. However, even though he had been tainted by the world, the world seemed to have become clearer because of him, which made it increasingly difficult to see him, as if he were in a fog.
No one could associate the word "demon" with him.
After pondering for a long time, Xin Zheng finally said, "The eldest young master has already let go of worldly possessions, and is free from greed, arrogance, and attachment."
Yuwen Qian smiled and said, "Thank you, Master."
After saying that, she clasped her hands in a respectful greeting to him, then turned and walked down the steps to the Duke's carriage.
Xinzheng stood in the center of the mountain gate, watching his figure in silence for a long time. A look of bewilderment appeared on his face, which was more ordinary than that of an ordinary person. He gently shook his head, let out a long sigh, and then turned and walked into Dayan Temple.
Seeing this, Shang Ruyi's heart sank.
In fact, anyone with eyes could see that what happened just now was a brief confrontation between Master Xinzheng and Yuwen Qian!
Although Master Xinzheng appears to be a layman, displaying obsequiousness and servility unbecoming of a Buddhist in the presence of the powerful, he is not entirely worldly. Rather, a person so utterly worldly that he has transcended the mundane world is not without his spiritual cultivation. Without the support of the royal family, he could not have attained the position of abbot of this sacred Buddhist site.
Judging from the Buddhist verse he just recited, his spiritual cultivation is no less than that of anyone else attending the Dharma assembly today.
Even someone like that couldn't handle Yuwen Qian.
It is conceivable that Yuwen Qian's Taoist cultivation and Buddhist heart were so profound that they were beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
What Shang Ruyi couldn't understand was why Master Xinzheng would recite that verse to Yuwen Qian at this time, and what he wanted to do.
While her mind was filled with countless thoughts, she had already followed Yuwen Ye down the steps and toward their carriage. Although it was only a few steps, the cultivators who had participated in the Dharma assembly were clearly deeply moved by the conversation they had just had, and they kept discussing it, but no one could explain it clearly.
Just as Shang Ruyi was about to board the carriage she had come from, she suddenly heard a long sigh coming from ahead—
"Buddha is never a demon in one's heart, hehe..."
Looking up, he saw the old man, Jiang Yu.
He was riding a horse, but because the reins were tangled, and a young man wearing a straw hat was fixing them, he hadn't left yet. He sat leisurely on the horse, looked at Yuwen Qian who had already boarded the carriage, and then at Master Xinzheng who had disappeared into the mountain gate. He murmured something, but his voice was too low and there was too much noise around him, so Shang Ruyi couldn't hear what he was saying at all.
At this moment, Jiang Yu seemed to sense her gaze, looked up and saw Shang Ruyi, and immediately put on a big smile.
Shang Ruyi smiled at him with a complicated expression.
She hesitated whether to go over and ask the old man what his opinion was on what he had just said, but before she could even lift her foot, the young man had already adjusted the reins, turned the horse around, and walked in the other direction.
Just then, a cheerful voice suddenly came from behind—
"Sister Ruyi!"
Turning around, she saw a figure as big as a calf rushing towards her, almost hitting her. Fortunately, Yuwen Ye, who was standing nearby, reacted quickly and grabbed the "calf." It was none other than Shan Tong'er.
Upon seeing him, Yuwen Ye frowned and said, "You'll hurt someone if you rush over like that."
Upon hearing this, the kind boy scratched the back of his head and chuckled.
Upon seeing him, Shang Ruyi was both surprised and delighted, and said with a smile, "Shan Tong'er, what brings you here?"
Shan Tong'er smiled happily at her and said, "I was outside the city when I heard that there was a Dharma assembly and vegetarian food at Dayan Temple today, so I asked Brother Nie to bring me into the city to take a look, hehe."
Shang Ruyi looked up and, sure enough, the young man named Nie Chong was also walking over behind her.
Just like when they first met, this person still looked haggard, as if he couldn't wake up properly and was even more sleep-deprived. He respectfully bowed to Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi and said, "Second Young Master, Young Madam, we were originally stationed outside the city, waiting for your arrangements, but Jiu Dang—this child insisted on entering the city, and no one could stop him. I had no choice but to accompany him in. Please forgive me, Second Young Master."
Shan Tong stuck out his tongue and shrank his neck.
Yuwen Ye gave him a stern look, then glanced at Nie Chong, and said, "You haven't been officially incorporated into the army yet, so today's actions weren't against the rules. But from now on, you're not allowed to act on your own, understand?"
"yes."
Nie Chong didn't say much, but gave a proper bow and then straightened up.
He glanced behind Shang Ruyi.
Before Shang Ruyi could say anything more, she felt her sleeve being tugged. Looking down, she saw Shantong'er staring at her expectantly: "Sister Ruyi, can I go into the temple for vegetarian food today? The vegetarian food at Dayan Temple is better than anywhere else."
"..."
"It's also filling."
Shang Ruyi was almost amused by his greedy look. She glanced at Yuwen Ye and, seeing that he didn't seem to mind, said, "You're allowed to eat today, but remember, once you're officially enlisted in the army, you can't do this again, understand?"
Upon hearing that he could go into the temple to eat vegetarian food, Shantong was so happy that he almost jumped for joy.
He hurriedly grabbed Nie Chong's hand: "Brother Nie, come on, let's go in quickly, or the vegetarian food will be all gone."
Nie Chong didn't follow him immediately. Instead, he turned his gaze away from Shang Ruyi's back and asked, "Young Madam, there was an old man riding a horse over there just now—does Young Madam know who he is?"
"he?"
Shang Ruyi didn't know why Nie Chong would ask about Jiang Yu, so she simply explained the old man's identity and then looked at him and asked, "You know him?"
Nie Chong hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
He said, "Just listening to him talk is quite interesting."
Shang Ruyi looked at him with some surprise: "Did you hear what he just said?"
Nie Chong nodded.
Shang Ruyi asked, "What did he say?"
Nie Chong said, "He said that too much Buddhist compassion is also a form of inner demons."
"...!"
Shang Ruyi's eyes narrowed suddenly.
Nie Chong glanced back at the caravan that had been parked outside the mountain gate for a long time, ready to leave, and then said softly, "Second Young Master, Young Madam, it seems that Duke Sheng is urging you to leave, so I will take Shan Tong'er and leave first. After he finishes his vegetarian meal, we will immediately return to the outskirts of the city and await the Second Young Master's arrangements."
Yuwen Ye nodded, and Nie Chong bowed before leading the impatient Shan Tong into the Dayan Temple.
As soon as they left, Xue Daotong came over and whispered, "Second Young Master, the Duke is urging us."
Yuwen Ye then turned around and saw Yuwen Yuan sitting in the carriage on the other side. His obviously impatient face was revealed through the curtain that was blown up by the wind. The two of them did not delay any longer and hurriedly boarded their carriage. The group of people immediately left Dayan Temple.
The journey was smooth.
The two people sitting in the carriage fell silent.
It wasn't that they had nothing to say, but rather that their minds were in complete turmoil, and neither of them could find the starting point, so they couldn't find a way to begin their conversation.
After a long silence, Shang Ruyi spoke first.
She asked, "What did you say to the princess?"
Yuwen Ye raised an eyebrow slightly and looked down at her—he seemed not to have expected her to bring this up first, but it also seemed as if he had been waiting for it for a long time. His originally somewhat gloomy eyes revealed a hint of a smile at this moment.
He said, "Why are you asking this?"
Can't I ask?
"no."
"That--"
"But I don't want to answer."
"..."
Shang Ruyi was stunned for a moment, then immediately came to her senses—he was deliberately teasing her.
Even in those usually cold and stern eyes, there was a hint of a smile, as if they had been waiting for me to ask and give me this answer.
She immediately turned her face to one side, somewhat annoyed.
Seeing Shang Ruyi's somewhat sullen expression, Yuwen Ye couldn't help but smile slightly.
However, after laughing, the gloom in his eyes deepened.
The two of them fell completely silent, listening in silence to the monotonous sound of the carriage hitting the ground all the way back to the Duke's mansion.
This time, however, was quite different from when she returned before. Before she even reached the door, she could already hear a commotion ahead. Shang Ruyi reached out and lifted the curtain, then looked ahead and her eyes widened in surprise.
"What's wrong?"
Yuwen Ye, who was beside him, spoke again.
Shang Ruyi didn't argue with him anymore. She just glanced outside again, then turned back and said with a complicated expression, "Look."
Yuwen Ye turned to the side, almost covering most of his body with her, and looked out the window—he saw that the Duke's mansion was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, as lively as a festival, and Aunt Hui and her servants, all dressed in new clothes, lined up neatly, eagerly waiting outside the gate.
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