154 Interlude - Ten Thousand and Eighty

Gong Lan ascended the steps to the monastery with a calm and steady poise. She did not see visions, nor did she misjudge the number of steps. She saw things exactly as they were, a stark contrast to years ago when she had first arrived.

Monks went about their daily chores in their orange kasayas. They dutifully fulfilled their mundane tasks like sweeping and fetching water. In the distance, she saw the Bodhi Tree. Dozens of cultivators, animals, and monks sat in meditation beneath its enormous branches. All creatures in the world could find peace within its shadow. Even an evil spirit could find enlightenment and reenter samsara.

Many monks greeted her as she walked to the temple. She entered her teacher's sanctum, where the man sat in meditation like he always did; she joined him in reciting mantras. The mantra of peace flowed naturally, calming her weary body and soul. They spoke this mantra 108 times before changing to a complementary mantra, which they recited with alternating rhythms. It was the mantra of cooperation.

As they chanted, Gong Lan imagined the monks in the World Tree Monastery as they performed chores hand in hand and provided for everyone to the best of their ability. She then imagined the city life, where everyone did their own thing but somehow ended up serving others in some way or another. This too was cooperation, unintentional as it might be. However, within this fragile peace was competition.

A merchant sold rice for a cheaper price than the others, angering the neighboring businessmen. They argued and fought until one of them was run out of town. Elsewhere, a person with better skills was hired while another was fired. To feed his family, the older man became a beggar and eventually resorted to theft.

Theft ran rampant throughout the city, and before long, the thefts turned to robberies. Murders followed. The family members of the victims, in their mourning, took up arms against the perpetrators and hunted them down. The images disappeared, and Gong Lan was shocked to discover that they were now reciting the Mantra of Retribution. It reminded her of the concept of righteous indignation, which fueled her Buddhist powers and strengthened them in her fight against evil spirits. It was at odds with the Buddhist path yet somehow existed within it. It was a point that confused her and caused her much anguish.

The chanting stopped, and the older monk sighed. "My time in this world is drawing to a close, Gong Lan," he said softly. "Today, my body will die, and my soul will move on."

The news was shocking and unexpected. "Surely you jest, Master Zhen," she said. "Don't core-formation cultivators live for five hundred years? You are barely three hundred and have two centuries of life ahead of you."

The man chuckled. "Five hundred years is the maximum allowable by the heavens for a human body in a mortal realm. Unfortunately, my body and soul were both wounded many years ago. It is only with the Bodhi Tree's help that I've managed to live until now."

Gong Lan frowned but remained silent.

The older man sighed once more. "Before I pass on, however, I have some unfinished business I must leave to you."

"Please instruct me, Master," Gong Lan said respectfully.

"I once had a student named Sibi," Master Zhen said. "He was my brightest student, the kind that only appeared every thousand years. His skill in mantras was unparalleled, and he had reached a higher realm in Buddhist techniques in ten years than I had in ninety. He was the perfect successor.

"One hundred and sixty years ago, we explored an emperor's tomb to exorcise evil spirits. Together, we braved many dangers and eventually arrived at the Song Emperor's Seal of Pure Jade, only to discover that it was too late. The corruption had seeped deep within the seal, and the nation's destiny was almost entirely corrupted.

"I told Sibi that it was best to seek out the old master and have him unfetter the seal." He shook his head. "The boy was young and brash. He decided to brave the corruption himself, and I couldn't react in time to stop him. In the end, he failed. He became an evil spirit, and we fought. I managed to destroy his body but not his soul.

"What became of him?" Gong Lan asked. A mere evil spirit should have been easy to exterminate for a powerful Buddhist monk like Master Zhen.

"I couldn't capture him due to my injuries," Master Zhen said. "I hunted him across the continent and encountered him three times. He used his corrupted Buddhist methods to evade me time and time again. After fifty years, I could no longer find him. Yet I know that he still lurks in the shadows. Once he senses I have died, he will surely try to finish what he started. He will accelerate the corruption of the Song Empire and use this to achieve a higher realm. He must be stopped, but now that my time has come to an end, this duty falls to you."

The old monk stood up. He didn't seem feeble in the least, and his nimble movements made Gong Lan doubt his condition. He walked over to the golden statue of Buddha in the room, which held a large rosary in one hand. He lifted it off and reverently walked back to Gong Lan.

"This is the 10,080 rosary of our monastery," Master Zhen said, emotion filling his eyes. "I had originally meant to pass it on to Sibi, but now I will pass it on to you. Should you accept this duty, you must remain leader of the convent until you find a successor. You must protect these lands against evil, and above all else, you must protect the Bodhi Tree from their influence."

Gong Lan's eyes teared up. She bowed deeply to her master, who had shown her nothing but kindness in her darkest days. "I accept. In this lifetime, I will bring Sibi to justice. I will protect the Bodhi Tree, and I will find a successor for the monastery."

A warm sensation filled her as the rosary was placed around her neck. It was coiled multiple times—uncoiled, it would easily reach the floor and back several times. She looked up to see her master glowing with a golden light.

"The 10,080 rosary is blessed by all previous masters who have passed away in this mortal plane," Master Zhen said with gentle smile on his face. "My teacher left a mark on this rosary, and I will now join him in helping you carry out your mission. Before I go, I only have one last word of advice: Trust and believe in yourself. The Bodhi Tree will guide you as he has guided me all this time." He glanced at the small seed that floated above her shoulder and nodded.

Master Zhen's golden glow intensified, and then his body disintegrated, leaving behind a white soul and 10,080 golden motes of light. Each golden speck floated to one of the 10,080 pearls of the golden rosary and merged with it. The golden sheen on it brightened ever so slightly. As Gong Lan grasped the rosary, she felt the warm presence of her master and the combined resolve of over five hundred senior monks. Her master's white soul smiled and was quickly whisked away by the illusion of a yellow river.

Gong Lan wiped away her tears and turned to the bodhi seed with a determined expression. "Where do we go next?"

"To get reinforcements," the seed said. "Our past failure has highlighted the futility of going to such a place alone. It is important to purify the corruption, but it is far more important to preserve your life. It is worth far more than you know."