Chapter 48048 Greed
Chapter 48
Wu Chen shook his head disapprovingly and said sadly, "Kong Fan, this woman was sent to you by your mother. She's just like the women in Chao Xi's harem. Kong Fan, you should understand that she approached you with a purpose."
"Kong Fan knows." Kong Fan's expression was calm. From the beginning, he knew why Ying Ji was sent to him. "She's just a mortal, trapped in a situation where she has no control over herself. How can I blame her?"
Wu Chen frowned: "She is not a kind person."
"If she does good, it is righteousness. If she cannot, it is only because of fate. Forgiving her and guiding her is the compassionate teaching of the Buddha." Kong Fan replied.
Wu Chen shook his head: "Kong Fan, don't argue about this. You are just tempted by worldly desires."
Kong Fan remained silent and did not refute.
"Kong Fan, where have you left the chaste rules?" Wu Chen pointed at the withered Bodhi tree, then at the temple in the distance. His usually mellow voice was tinged with anger. "You've worshipped Buddha with sincerity for years, but now you've given in to greed and delusion, and have fallen to this point. Look up and take a look at your Buddha!"
Kong Fan raised his head, looking past his master toward the withered Bodhi tree. He was silent for a moment before speaking, "If you don't experience these strict rules and regulations, and simply avoid them, you can't truly understand them."
"Are you sure you can see through it?" Wu Chen asked, "I'm afraid you've been obsessed with women."
Kong Fan wasn't entirely sure. He said gently, "I'm willing to give it a try. If I can see through it, it's because she helped me. If not, it's because I haven't practiced enough, not because of her."
Wu Chen looked at Kong Fan for a long time. At this point in the debate, Wu Chen's tone had lost the suppressed anger from before. He softened his tone and said, "Kong Fan, time is running out for us and for you."
Kong Fan was slightly startled and slowly frowned.
"Yingji is a pitiful person, but there are many others trapped in this world who are just as miserable as her, or even worse off than her," Wu Chen said. "The formation is about to be completed. You know your role. You must not lose sight of the bigger picture."
Kong Fan was silent.
Wu Chen patted Kong Fan on the shoulder and left silently.
Kongfan stood there for a long time, until a gentle breeze brushed his face, ruffling the hem of his monk's robe. He came to his senses from his deep thoughts and slowly walked towards the withered Bodhi tree.
He placed his palms on the trunk of the Bodhi tree and closed his eyes.
Even though a large amount of spiritual power was lost from his body, Kong Fan still injected a steady stream of spiritual power into the Bodhi tree.
Golden threads flowed out from his palms and slowly climbed up along the lines of the tree trunk until they reached every branch.
The withered Bodhi tree gradually came back to life, and new buds appeared little by little on the withered branches.
Kong Fan opened his eyes, raised his head, and watched with his own eyes as the Bodhi leaves gradually grew.
The water in the lotus pond was calm, without a single breeze, but the Bodhi leaves swayed joyfully, making rustling sounds.
The sound of endless bells from the temple in the distance happened to ring out.
·
Yingji pushed open the door and stepped into the familiar room. The room was exactly the same as when she left, even the Buddhist scriptures spread out on the cabinet were still on the same page.
Yingji lowered her head and searched the ground, but there was no sign of Basho, not even on the bed.
"Bashi-ba-"
Yingji turned around quickly and saw a figure flash by, and then a fat tiger pounced towards her.
Yingji retreated repeatedly, but was still thrown onto the bed and had a mouthful of fur in her mouth.
Her lower back hit the edge of the bed and it hurt a little, but Yingji didn't care about the pain and quickly moved her face out from under the tiger's neck to catch her breath.
She slapped Basho twice and scolded him, "Even if you eat vegetarian food every day, you can still make yourself fat!"
Bajiao kept rubbing her head against Yingji's face and neck. Yingji smiled and couldn't hide, so she reached out to pinch her fat face and said, "You're crushing me! Change back! Change back!"
Basho immediately transformed into a human form.
The huge monster in front of Yingji suddenly shrank and became a slender and fragile little girl, curled up in her arms and holding her.
"The princess finally decided to come back!" Basho turned back into human form, and still rubbed his head against Yingji's face and neck as usual.
Yingji sat up, looked at her with a smile, and helplessly reached out to comb her messy hair.
Basho tilted his head back and smiled at her, revealing a row of white teeth with one canine tooth missing.
Yingji was stunned for a moment and said, "By the way, this is for you."
She took out a child's rattle from her Qiankun bag, turned it twice, and handed the rattle to Basho with a thudding sound.
Basho took it with a grin and turned it around twice. "Hey, there's something inside!"
She was curious to know what was hidden inside, so she used a lot of force and easily punctured the drum surface.
Bajiao was stunned for a moment, then opened his eyes wide like a child who had made a mistake, staring at Yingji eagerly, muttering softly, "I just want to know what's inside..."
Yingji had long been accustomed to her carelessness.
"Don't move." She continued to comb Basho's hair. "There are things inside that I promised you to play with."
Basho took another curious look and asked in surprise, "Teeth?"
"Yes, a full mouth of teeth, not a single one missing."
——She personally knocked out all her teeth one by one.
Basho's eyes lit up and he cheered loudly, "Old man Di Fu's teeth!"
She wanted to jump up, but Yingji held her back. Yingji glared at her and continued to comb her hair, combing it into two small buns and tying them with beautiful bows using red ribbons.
In the following days, Yingji stayed here quietly, reading books on talismans or telling stories to Bajiao. Her days were peaceful and leisurely. During this time, she even sent a letter to Ling Jiayan, asking for advice on talismans.
On the way here, Kong Fan told Ying Ji that he would immediately go into seclusion to practice after returning. Ying Ji did not go to find Kong Fan.
Under the soft candlelight, Yingji lowered her head and was repairing the drumhead of Bajiao's rattle.
Bajiao was lying on the ground, soundly asleep. She got up, put her head in front of Yingji, and asked, "Princess, how long will we stay in the temple?"
"The task that Queen Mother Xue assigned to me has not been completed yet." Ying Ji said casually.
Basho held his chin with his hands in distress and asked with his head tilted, "That stinky monk still doesn't like the princess?"
"Empress Dowager Xue doesn't want him to like me." Ying Ji lowered her head and gently blew the paste on the drum surface.
Basho's features tightened. She didn't understand.
Yingji knew Bajiao wasn't understanding yet, so she didn't bother explaining. She handed the repaired rattle to Bajiao, then, looking at his cheerful expression, fell into deep thought.
What Empress Dowager Xue wanted was to break the five precepts and indulge in the seven emotions and six desires.
What does breaking the precepts mean? Queen Mother Xue hopes that Kong Fan will fall into the mortal world and become a flesh-and-blood person.
Yingji thought about it and couldn't imagine Kongfan having any emotions other than compassion. Could he really feel grief, anger, fear, or greed?
Yingji was stunned.
She suddenly became unclear about the mission she was doing and whether it was to destroy Kong Fan.
·
Kongfan remained in seclusion for seven days. On the morning of the eighth day, he opened his eyes in the morning light. Soft sunlight filtered through the bodhi leaves, casting dappled shadows on his snow-white robes.
He first dealt with the memorials that had been accumulated for many days and sent from Chaoxi, and then got up and left the lotus pond.
It was still early, and the pilgrims had not yet arrived. The entire Puja Temple was serene and quiet. Kong Fan walked slowly, listening to the wind and the chirping of insects. It was not until he reached Yingji's residence that Kong Fan realized he had unknowingly arrived there.
After a slight hesitation, Kong Fan continued forward and gently pushed open the door.
A "squeak" sound startled the two sparrows on the tree and they flew away.
Kong Fan's gaze followed the two sparrows.
In the small courtyard, Ying Ji looked in the direction of the sound, watched the two sparrows fly away, and then her eyes fell on Kong Fan.
Kong Fan withdrew his gaze, and his eyes just met Ying Ji's.
"Out of quarantine?"
"Up so early?"
Both of them spoke at the same time.
The two men paused at the same time, and Kong Fan said first: "I need to take care of some things, and I will go into seclusion in two days."
Yingji lifted the talisman paper on the stone table and said self-deprecatingly, "I am the early bird that catches the worm."
Kong Fan walked over to her and sat down beside Ying Ji, looking at the talisman paper covering the entire stone table. Glancing at the long-burned lamp on the table, he asked, "Have you studied all night again?"
Yingji hummed softly. She picked up a piece of drawn talisman paper and stared at it intently for a long time.
Kong Fan looked at her expression and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"I think we can't be soft-hearted and must eradicate the weeds completely."
"Why do you say that?"
"I killed Xue Zhonghong but didn't get rid of Di Fu, which led to Di Fu harming me several times later. When I got rid of old man Di Fu, I didn't get rid of Xuan Ji right away. This gave Xuan Ji the opportunity to cause trouble again." Ying Ji's eyes were cruel, "So it's still not cruel enough!"
However, Yingji really couldn't get rid of Xuanji right now. She was in Chaoxi, and Xuanji had probably returned to Duxue. She was a mortal with a limited lifespan, and she really didn't have the time to chase her thousands of miles just to kill her.
Kong Fan frowned as he listened to Ying Ji's argument. A compassionate and forgiving monk, he naturally disagreed. Just as he was about to persuade her, Ying Ji suddenly picked up a piece of talisman paper from the stone table and placed it on his lips.
"Mute Talisman." Ying Ji smiled cunningly, and gently tapped Kong Fan's lips through the talisman paper with her slender finger. "You have the mute technique, and I learned the mute talisman. I learned this talisman specifically for you!"
Kong Fan looked at the bright color in Ying Ji's eyes, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He shook his head helplessly and revealed the mute seal on his lips.
However, he did not use any more profound teachings to persuade Yingji. Instead, he said, "Then you should learn another fixed talisman, so that I can't uncover the mute talisman myself."
Yingji sighed and said, "I haven't learned it yet."
She handed Kong Fan a pen and said pitifully, "Teach me."
Kong Fan took the ordinary brush, and Ying Ji immediately brought a piece of white paper and spread it on the table in front of him.
Kong Fan wrote stroke by stroke, and Ying Ji leaned over to read it carefully.
This talisman was a bit complicated, so Kong Fan deliberately wrote it slowly so that Yingji could understand it more clearly.
Unconsciously, Yingji was getting closer and closer.
The morning breeze blew in gusts, blowing the talisman papers on the stone table and also blowing Yingji's long black hair.
When Kong Fan finished writing, Ying Ji raised her eyes and her forehead brushed against Kong Fan's shoulder.
Kong Fan lowered his head and looked at her.
"Let me try." Yingji was about to sit up straight when she suddenly found that her long hair was tangled in the belt of Kongfan's monk robe due to the wind.
She reached out to untie it, moving slowly.
With her tangled black hair still untied, Yingji slowly raised her eyes to look at Kongfan and asked softly, "Did you miss me?"
Kong Fan suddenly wanted to look away, to end this close eye contact. But he restrained himself, still looking at Ying Ji, and explained gently, "This time I'm in seclusion, sealing my consciousness and blocking my thoughts. Without consciousness, I naturally can't have any distracting thoughts."
"Oh..." There was obvious sadness in Yingji's eyes.
She let go of his hand dejectedly and muttered, "I can't untie it."
She half-closed her eyes, looking as if she didn't want to bother with him anymore.
Kong Fan raised his hand, and with his slender fingers he gently untied her black hair from his belt. The smooth black hair passed through his fingertips like a ribbon, and gently fell.
Yingji stood up yawning and went straight into the house to catch up on her sleep, ignoring Kongfan.
Kong Fan listened to the sound of the door closing, and after a while, he gathered the scattered talisman papers on the stone table into order one by one.
·
Two days later, Kong Fan went into seclusion for the second time.
In the evening, Yingji was reading a letter from her senior brother in the courtyard when an unexpected guest arrived.
Yingji turned around and saw Wudao.
Most monks have kind faces, but Wudao always has a stern face.
Ying Ji smiled sweetly: "Old monk, it's getting dark, isn't it inappropriate for you to come to my place?"
Wudao didn't answer and suddenly attacked.
Ying Ji felt a sharp pain in her palm, which came and went quickly. Looking at the poisonous insect on the ground, Ying Ji realized that...
Wudao extracted the Tongsheng Gu from her body!
"What do you want to do, old monk?" Yingji asked warily.
"Send you to where you should go."
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