Chapter 279: New Generations Succeeding the Old in the Country

When Xu Fengnian and the old monk arrived at the nomad camp by the lake, they found that the recently pitched yurts had already been dismantled and reloaded onto the carts. It seemed another migration was imminent. The Longshu monk, who had been leading his horse at a leisurely pace, turned to Xu Fengnian and asked, "Your Highness, this is the fourth time you've harbored murderous intent. Why have you never acted on it?"

Xu Fengnian chuckled, "Since you, Venerable Abbot, are a holy monk, you naturally possess the magnanimity to tolerate what others cannot. As the saying goes, 'If excrement lands on Buddha's head, Buddha does not mind.' Why should you concern yourself with my thoughts?"

The old monk gazed deeply at the resentful young man and smiled, "Your Highness, you are indeed a truly unprincipled person with a nimble mind. However, this indecisiveness – wanting to kill yet not acting – is not proper. This old monk still wishes for Your Highness to vent all that suppressed malice, so that we may part ways amicably."

This time, Xu Fengnian did not hide his true feelings. He dropped his feigned nonchalance and said calmly, "The murderous intent is genuine, but I dare not harbor the actual desire to kill. I fear that the Venerable Abbot might consider me a demon, someone whom all people should rise up and destroy. Then, upon returning to Two Zen Temple, a Buddhist holy site, a single spit could be enough to pin me down. I've witnessed the true nature of the great Daoist masters. Zhao Huangchao and Zhao Xuansu are both terrible individuals, yet their spiritual realms are extraordinarily high. They claim Daoism emphasizes tranquility and non-action, but I truly don't know how they cultivated such realms."

The old monk sighed softly, "Those two great masters from Dragon Tiger Mountain, ultimately, they couldn't let go of their family name. It's no wonder they strayed into unorthodox paths. Just like this old monk, these past years I often fail to maintain my original intention. If the pursuit of non-attachment itself becomes an attachment, how can one find liberation? After becoming abbot, I couldn't comprehend many things. After much deliberation and finding no other way, I delved into countless Daoist texts to seek answers. In the end, it seemed the four characters 'Dao follows nature' from Chapter 24 of the *Dao De Jing* carried the most weight.

"Later, my disciple said he wanted to understand his true mind and nature, and prove his own enlightenment. This old monk also thought it was excellent. The two gathas that this old monk and my senior disciple debated years ago, after my disciple returned from his journey thousands of miles west, he offered only eight characters as his evaluation: 'Beautiful indeed, but incomplete.' My senior disciple nodded in agreement, and then passed away. And what the Confucian sages said, 'Do not commit evil, however small; do not neglect good, however small,' truly exhausts the meaning of morality. This journey to Beiliang is destined to dismantle what the world perceives as the realm of Buddha."

Xu Fengnian frowned, "Degrade your realm?"

The old monk smiled and nodded, "It is letting go."

Xu Fengnian shook his head, "I don't understand the sudden enlightenment and instant Buddhahood proposed by the White-Robed Monk."

The old monk chuckled, "This old monk isn't very good at verbal sparring with Zen riddles. Otherwise, speaking some obscure Buddhist phrases to Your Highness right now would be much more fitting."

Xu Fengnian said helplessly, "Venerable Abbot, you finally possess some semblance of a venerable master at this moment."

The old monk, holding his horse with one hand and his bamboo-reed staff with the other, said softly, "Even if you say that, this old monk will still not give you the Two Zen Pills."

Xu Fengnian hesitated, a question on the tip of his tongue.

The old monk whispered, "It's better to ask yourself than to ask Buddha."

Xu Fengnian smiled bitterly, tucking back the question about Xu Xiao, whose answer he dared not know.

Xu Fengnian then muttered to himself, "Regardless of your intentions, since you are going to degrade your realm, this journey of yours, Venerable Abbot, truly embodies 'If I don't go to hell, who will?' Only gilded Buddha statues and clay Bodhisattvas remain aloof. It is true monks like you, Venerable Abbot, who are willing to walk among the common people in the mundane world."

The old monk silently reached into his kasaya sleeve and pulled out a small square wooden box. Seeing Xu Fengnian's bewildered expression, the abbot of Two Zen Temple said solemnly, "As one gets older, one always enjoys being praised."

Xu Fengnian silently took the wooden box, his mouth twitching, speechless.

When the nomads saw Xu Fengnian and the old monk arrive together, they were filled with mixed surprise and joy. They were surprised and deeply ashamed by the young Bodhisattva's return after their initial departure, and overjoyed that the Buddha had once again descended among them. For their small, troubled tribe, it was an immense psychological comfort.

Huyan Guanyin and Abaoji trotted towards the revered Bodhisattva and Buddha. For some reason, she stopped, but the child, brimming with excitement, broke free from her hand and continued to run towards them.

Xu Fengnian changed his clothes, procured a waterskin of fresh water and some food, and then continued his journey north.

----"Nanbei, don't you think the leaves and branches of your peach tree, which is the same age as you, are a bit sparse?"

"Master, please don't trick me into using my pee as fertilizer again, okay? If the others and Mistress find out, I'll be beaten to death!"

"You had the nerve not to go to Golden Summit to argue, making your master travel thousands of miles on a bumpy road, spitting out at least eight, if not ten, pounds of saliva. Don't you feel any remorse?"

"I'll go make dinner shortly."

"Your understanding still seems insufficient."

"Master, just tell me what I should do directly."

"This morning, your Mistress said she did a calculation and it's not suitable to do laundry for the next few days."

"Understood."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"Didn't I say I'd give you a back massage for half an hour? It's only been the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn."

"Oh. It seems your understanding is growing. Very good, very good."

"Master."

"Hmm?"

"Mistress has gone down the mountain again to buy rouge and powder. She mentioned a few days ago that many wealthy knights used to pursue her, and she said if she had married any of them, buying a box of rouge costing dozens of silver taels wouldn't even make them blink, unlike now."

"Is that so?"