Translator: TYZ Editor: Book_Hoarder
In the early morning, the foot of Mountain Baiyun was like a downtown area. It was hard to imagine there would be so many people in the countryside, especially when it was a winter morning. Surprisingly, there was also a morning market.
Both sides of the road were filled with food stalls that sold deep-fried breadsticks, wontons, meat pies, egg cakes, etc. Almost all the stalls were fully packed.
Along the way, Ren Baqian also saw many stalls that sold prayer beads, Goddess of Mercy pendants, Buddha pendants, and Buddhist texts. Everything here seemed to have something to do with Buddhism.
Ren Baqian was holding steamed pork bun in his mouth while carrying a packet of soy milk in his hand. His eyes were bloodshot. He rushed here in one night, feeling that he had already done his best.
Instead of going up the mountain immediately, he strolled around the morning market at the foot of the mountain. He would stop at any store that caught his interest and stay there for a while.
Everything in Dayao's palace was good, except for the fact it was cold and cheerless. After staying so many days in Dayao's palace, he began to miss crowded and lively places.
Humans were complicated creatures. They always wanted things they did not possess at the moment.
After lingering at the foot of the mountain for a while, Ren Baqian followed those Buddhist worshippers and climbed up the mountain. When he reached the monastery gate, he took a short break there.
Following which, he entered the monastery and saw a L-shaped pond that had an arch bridge over it. After crossing the bridge, he came to an enormous building.
"Hello, I am here to find Abbot Su Wen. I was asked to come here by Abbot Yuan Ji from Forlorn Temple," Ren Baqian told a young monk not too long after he entered the monastery.
"Sir, please wait here for a while. I will go and notify Abbot now," the young monk replied.
After a while, Ren Baqian was led to a guest hall behind the monastery. After sitting there for a while, he saw a young monk walk in.
The young monk was around thirty years old. His eyes were exceptionally bright, resembling a lake that was so clear that one could see its bottom. His eyes were able to take one's attention off his appearance.
Eyes are often referred as the windows to one's soul, is it possible that this man has the so-called pure and clean mind? Ren Baqian thought to himself. Following which, he quickly stood up and greeted the monk, "Greetings, Abbot."
When Ren Baqian lowered his eyes, he noticed something, that was, the monk was barefooted. One had to know that it was winter now. To be able to walk everywhere without shoes was an incredible feat. Instantly, Ren Baqian felt an utmost respect for him.
"Greetings, Sir. I heard that you are asked to come here by Abbot Yuan Ji, may I know why are you looking for me?" Su Wen asked with a cordial smile on his face. His voice was clean and crisp. From head to toe, Su Wen gave Ren Baqian the feeling of cleanliness, be it his gaze or voice. Even though his feet were covered with dust, Ren Baqian still felt that way.
"Sir, I have to do something. Actually, I have to visualize a picture in the state of emptiness and keep my mind in a clear and pure state without any distracting thoughts. How can I do it? I have to succeed in one month's time," Ren Baqian asked respectfully. Initially, he did not want to go into such great detail. However, since the previous two trips were futile and this man looked extraordinary, he decided to speak the truth.
After thinking about it, Su Wen replied, "You will have to look at the picture every day, every night, and every second. Even when you're having your meals, you have to look at it. When you're sleeping, you have to think about it. Don't let it leave your sight for even a single second. You have succeeded once the picture has completely occupied your mind."
"So easy?" Ren Baqian asked with surprise.
"It only seems easy." Su Wen chuckled.
Ren Baqian thought carefully about it and felt this method was indeed easier said than done. This method required him to look at a picture day and night without any distractions. Furthermore, he did not know how long this process would take. His mind had to think about this picture and nothing else. This method was easy to grasp but difficult to put into practice.
However, even though this method was difficult to carry out, it was the best way to keep his mind free of distracting thoughts. It was much of a time-saver than the mental tranquilization method.
"Thank you very much, Abbot. May I know if there are any other methods?" Ren Baqian asked again.
"You win some, you lose some. If you're not willing to give, how will you gain?" Su Wen said and laughed.
Ren Baqian stood up and thanked Su Wen, "Thank you very much, Abbot."
No matter what, this was still a good idea.
"Sir, hold on for a while." Su Wen smiled at Ren Baqian and left the hall.
Ren Baqian did not know what was going on and waited in the hall.
After a moment, Su Wen returned with a thin booklet in his hand. Then, he passed it to Ren Baqian and said, "Sir, you can read it when you're free. It will help you calm your mind."
"Thank you, Abbot," Ren Baqian cupped his hands and said. He was very used to cupping his hands and thank people. He did it subconsciously.
"No problem, but I still want to tell your something. In this world, you win some, you lose some. If you want people to treat you with sincerity, you have to treat them with sincerity first. A glib tongue won't bring you far in life."
After hearing these words, Ren Baqian's body froze. He could sense that his heartbeat quickened. After a long while, he replied, "Thank you for your reminder, but I wonder why will you say such words?"
"I suddenly thought of an old friend of mind. Sir, please don't take offense to my words," Su Wen smiled and said, "Goodbye, Sir."
After Ren Baqian left the monastery, he still felt a cold tingling sensation behind his back.
What does this monk know? How is it possible that he would blurt out such words?
After thinking for a long time, Ren Baqian still couldn't figure out the reason. It was impossible that anyone knew about his secret.
In the end, he came up with a conjecture.
Is it possible that this monk knows fortune-telling, and he has foreseen something related to his love life?
After thinking about it, Ren Baqian felt that this conjecture was highly possible. After all, fortune-telling had been around for so long. If Su Wen really knew fortune-telling, Ren Baqian wouldn't be surprised.
When Ren Baqian thought of this, he heaved a sigh of relief.
After this incident, he felt that Abbot Su Wen was rather mysterious. Therefore, he felt that his method would work.
A figure like him won't trick me, right?
Ren Baqian cast a glance at the booklet in his hand. Its title was Heart Sutra.
After flipping through it, Ren Baqian realized it had only three pages. The first page contained the scripture, and the second and third pages contained explanations about the scripture.
By the time Ren Baqian reached home, it was already midnight. The moment his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep.
Another day had passed. Ren Baqian brought some candies and liquor back with him to that world. The liquor he brought this time around was Zhuyeqing. It was bought in a supermarket, so he did not know whether it was authentic or not. Since he was young, he had read about this liquor many times in wuxia novels. Seeing this liquor always made him nostalgic.
[Zhuyeqing - A famous ancient Chinese wine that is drunk to maintain good health]
Therefore, he decided to buy it and let the empress have a taste of it.
Actually, the empress did not have to attend court session every day. She would do so once every three days. After all, there weren't many matters for her to handle. Most of the matters were handled by the Elders or the six departments. Only important matters were mentioned during court sessions.
Ren Baqian saw the empress at the park where he had met her last time. She was sitting there in a red dress. Her hair was draped over her shoulders to her back. She was fiddling with the music box. Upon seeing Ren Baqian, she passed it to the palace maid beside her.
"You came at a right time, tell me some stories. Continue the one you started last time," the empress casually said.
Upon hearing these words, he put aside the other matters and continued Investiture of the Gods.
It had been quite some time since he last told the story. The last time he told this story, it was roughly one month ago. He took quite some time to recall where he had stopped.
As the story progressed, powerful deities like Nezha, Lei Zhenzi, Yang Jian, etc. began to appear. The story became more and more interesting.
Ren Baqian finally stopped the story in the afternoon when he had to accompany the empress to eat lunch.
Ren Baqian did not know whether or not was it because of the sunlight that the empress looked unusually loving today. He could not help but steal a glance at her.
"You have become much bolder today," the empress said as she placed her gaze on Ren Baqian's face.
Indeed, Ren Baqian had become much bolder recently.
After all, in the past, he always felt that the empress was temperamental. She could easily take his life with one hand, therefore he always been very careful around her. However, when he realized the empress was like an ordinary human in certain aspects, and sometimes even like a young girl, he felt less fearful towards her. At least, now he wasn't as prudent as before.
"I feel that, if beauty has a color, it will definitely be the red color I'm seeing now."