CH 44

In the Wufodian, Li Huowang once again saw Abbot Xin Hui. This time, he was not alone, with four old monks sitting behind him.

"Since you're here, Xuan Yang, let's get straight to the point. We need to hold a mass to save him."

"Alright, let's start, Abbot," Li Huowang immediately said.

"Be patient, Xuan Yang. Danyang Zi's karma is tied to you. Before we hold this event, you need to calm your mind."

"Calm my mind?" Li Huowang was confused.

"Amitabha, sir, your mind is not calm. You are ill."

Before Abbot Xin Hui finished his sentence, Li Huowang quickly retorted in a stern tone, "I am not ill!"

As soon as he spoke, Li Huowang was even startled by his own volume.

Looking at the five old monks in front of him with meaningful looks, Li Huowang took a deep breath and clenched his trembling fists. "Abbot, how can I calm my mind?"

A yellow-covered sutra was handed to Li Huowang. "Take this 'Sutra of the Five Aggregates' back with you and recite it three times a day."

Li Huowang took the sutra and opened it. It was full of obscure Buddhist scriptures that he could not understand.

"Just recite it? No cultivation method? No need to eat anything?" This simple step was far below Li Huowang's expectations.

Seeing Abbot Xin Hui shake his head, Li Huowang picked up the sutra and was about to leave. Just as he was about to reach the door, he turned around and looked at the old monks sitting on the cushions.

"Abbot, does the Zhengde Temple have any cultivation methods?"

"Of course, as long as you are willing to shave your head and become a monk, you can read any sutra in the scripture library."

Hearing this, Li Huowang turned and walked away. He could not become a monk himself.

"Xuan Yang, stay in the temple during this period of time. It's troublesome for us if you keep running around like this."

This time, Li Huowang did not refuse. Since he already trusted them, being too cautious would only make him seem petty.

A separate room was arranged for Li Huowang in the Zhengde Temple, where he quietly stayed and read the sutra given to him. At the beginning, Li Huowang was nervous for a few days, but he gradually relaxed when he realized that no one in the temple paid any attention to him. Even when he went to the bustling main hall to watch the monks draw lots, no one paid him any attention.Late at night, Li Huowang held a book and recited it by the light of an oil lamp. "I have lived my life. I have achieved enlightenment... My actions are done, not to be repeated. When speaking of this Dharma, the five aggregates and so on... attain liberation from all afflictions through understanding and faith..."

When Li Huowang first began reciting the "Five Aggregates Are Empty" sutra, he felt nothing. But as days passed, he realized that his sleep quality had improved, and he knew that the sutra was effective.

After calmly finishing the recitation, Li Huowang slowly put the book away and blew out the oil lamp, preparing to sleep. He thought about what he would do next.

"After I take care of Danyang Zi, I'll go find Black Tai Sui. If I can stabilize my condition, I can live a stable life in this world."

"But Black Tai Sui looks fierce. If I catch it, how will I bind it and cut flesh to eat every month?"

"Also, I need to gain enough strength to protect myself, but that's also difficult."

As Li Huowang was thinking this, he suddenly saw a shadow of a person's head outside the door and his body tensed up.

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"Is someone watching me in the temple?" Li Huowang slowed down and walked to the door, unlatching it.

He opened the door slightly, and the moonlit courtyard outside was empty. Li Huowang carefully poked his head out and saw a corner of a yellow monk's robe swiftly disappearing into a dark corridor in the distance.

"What's going on in this temple?" Li Huowang thought for a moment and then followed the monk.

After a few steps, the monk suddenly disappeared into a slightly open door. Li Huowang was about to follow, but he thought better of it and turned around to the other side of the temple. He used his saliva to tear through the paper window.

Compared to the solemn Five Buddha Hall, this hall was small, even cramped. The Buddha statue inside was much smaller than a person, and there were only two candles lit on the altar, making the whole hall dim.

Someone was kneeling in front of the Buddha, but it wasn't the monk who had just gone in. It was a woman.

"A woman? What is she doing in the temple so late at night?"

Before Li Huowang could figure out the answer, the woman began to chant softly."Oh merciful Bodhisattva, please grant me a son. If I can't bear a son, my husband will sell me."

As she spoke, a half-naked monk approached her from behind the Bodhisattva statue. He wrapped a red cloth around her eyes, and she shuddered without resistance. Her breathing became heavy, and seven or eight bald men emerged from the darkness, clasping their hands together as they slowly surrounded her.

"This is the truth behind the effectiveness of praying for a son!" Li Huowang was stunned by what he saw, overturning his previous understanding of Zhengde Temple.

Suddenly, he sensed something and turned around. Under the bright moonlight in the courtyard, Jian Dun stood there like a statue. "I've been discovered!"

Without saying a word, Jian Dun waved his hand and walked away. Li Huowang followed him and was led back to his residence. Jian Dun lit the lamp and sat down on a stool.

"I know what you're thinking. You might think that the monks of Zhengde Temple have impure thoughts. But do you really think those pilgrims are fools? Why else would they come to worship Buddha late at night?"

Standing at the door, Li Huowang remained silent, waiting for him to continue speaking.

"If someone wants a son, we give them a son. As Buddhist monks, we are compassionate and do good deeds."

Hearing this, Li Huowang frowned. "You do a lot of 'good deeds'."

"None of the disciples of Zhengde Temple have ever claimed that our Bodhisattva is effective in granting sons. It's the pilgrims who spread the word on their own. We never said anything, and they never asked."