Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 371 - 8 The High Monk Er Jianlian
Chapter 371: Chapter 8: The High Monk Er Jianlian
Chapter 371: Chapter 8: The High Monk Er Jianlian
Within the disarray of the Five Blessings Tower,
“Old Lady Fox Bone~ is there any hope of saving them?”
The Pig-Mouthed Taoist yelled loudly.
He was urging an old woman who had a jade belt tied around her head and her face painted with black peach-blossom makeup.
“There is hope~ there is hope~”
The old woman held a six-inch-long steel nail in one hand and a needle spindle in the other, standing amidst the charred remains scattered on the ground.
As she spoke, the old woman pushed the steel nail into a piece of the debris, picked up another piece, and the needle and thread shuttled back and forth through skin and flesh. In no time, she sewed together a corpse resembling a centipede. Then, with a yank of the steel needle, the centipede abruptly stood up.
Mr. Hu San nodded and bowed respectfully to the old woman: “Thank you, Fairy Maiden Fox Bone.”
“It’s nothing, but Mr. Hu San, there is something I must make clear first.”
“Please speak your mind, Fairy Maiden.”
Mr. Hu San said.
While sewing the corpses, Old Lady Fox Bone spoke: “I have been in seclusion outside of the Pass for over five hundred years, living peacefully. The key has been prudence and self-preservation. I am not blessed with great fortune, and would not dare covet treasures like the Dragon Tiger Flags that defy the natural order. I came to the feast today out of politeness…”
Mr. Hu San understood: “I would never presume to coerce the Fairy Maiden.”
“Thus, after I finish this needlework, I shall take my leave,” said Old Lady Fox Bone.
Old Lady Fox Bone lifted her needle, and hundreds of threads shot in all directions. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the broken pieces of corpse on the ground were pieced together, still showing the marks of mending, yet they cried out and leaped, indistinguishable from living beings… living monsters.
Having finished her task, Old Lady Fox Bone bowed to Mr. Hu San and turned to leave, but then, as if remembering something, she turned back to Mr. Hu San, “Mr. Hu San, we share a kindred bond, and taking the liberty of my age, allow me a few blunt words. You are well aware of the methods of Zhang Yichu from the Heavenly Master Tao. Do you really think a Green Flame Celestial Demon who has appeared out of nowhere can disrupt his composure? I don’t believe it. Furthermore, those who have set their sights on the Dragon Tiger Flags, aside from us heretic demon immortals, include all sorts of extraordinary individuals. With the vastness of this land, there are countless masters. Mr. Hu San, please do not deceive yourself.”
Mr. Hu San bowed deeply to the ground: “Thank you for your teachings, Fairy Maiden. As humans, we must do our part. As for fate, we must contend with what is ordained.”
Old Lady Fox Bone spoke no more and summoned a demon wind to depart.
Mr. Hu San couldn’t help but sigh internally. Despite the numerous and powerful attendees, those he truly valued—like Old Lady Fox Bone, Er Jianlian, Cai Genni—numbered but a paltry seven or eight.
However, Old Lady Fox Bone had now made her intentions to stay out of danger clear, Er Jianlian had yet to arrive at the banquet, Cai Genni was incommunicado, and as for the others…
Mr. Hu San glanced at the authoritative man in a black robe, who was slapping his thigh and occasionally joining in the singing at the banquet table, feeling a wave of helplessness wash over him.
“Hu San,”
The man in the black robe seemed to sense something and spoke up, “All those still sitting here are naturally interested in those fourteen Dragon Tiger Flags. You’ve invite me to this banquet, and of course, I appreciate the gesture, but with only fourteen flags, how shall we distribute them? Let us discuss that clearly first. If it sounds reasonable to me, I’ll naturally agree. If not, let’s not waste any more time.”
Mr. Hu San shook his head: “Chang, as fellow leaders among the Five Immortals Outside the Pass, you ought to know that the officer escorting the flags is no ordinary man. Who knows where the government found such a person? At the General Military Mansion’s parade ground, he shamed many fierce warriors of Liaodong with nothing but his archery skill shooting stones. And there’s more to it. Such prowess is hardly inferior to the God of the Martial Arts Star descending to the mortal world.
“If we aren’t cautious, we may end up wasting our lives in vain. We should unite first and, once we have secured the items, it won’t be too late to talk about sharing the loot.”
He became stern: “If anyone harbors second thoughts along the way, they’ll be making enemies of the forty-eight heretic paths outside of the Pass and will be condemned by all. With this in mind, we can then proceed confidently; otherwise, all plans will be mere talk. What do the rest of you think?”
The crowd of monsters roared their assent. Yet, the man in the black robe remained unyielding:
“In the end, what exactly do you want us to do to get those flags? If that officer enters Shanhaiguan, it will no longer be our turf. By that time, it will be too late for anything.”
Hu San spoke sternly, “Then it all depends on everyone’s skills…”
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…
“Benefactor, benefactor.”
The iron rings on the monk staff jingled as the blind, crippled monk hobbled quickly and slowly, barely catching up to Li Yan’s pace.
“This benefactor, the old monk’s vision is dim, and I’ve got a limp leg. In this deep winter, how can you not even yield the way to me?”
When the strange monk said this, he didn’t exhibit the slightest bit of the demeanor of a superior person.
Li Yan didn’t even look at him, “You only have two legs, I, along with my horse, have six. It’s easy for two legs to yield, but difficult for six. Naturally, the one with two legs yields first.”
“Amitabha~”
The strange monk chanted a Buddhist incantation, “What a pity, what a pity.”
Substituting in someone else, they would normally follow up with a question: “A pity for what?”
But Li Yan ignored him entirely and just kept walking forward.
This monk’s skin was thick; he wasn’t bothered at all and clung onto Li Yan persistently, “Initially, benefactor, you were enveloped in malevolent energy, carrying the weight of many wrongful deeds. The old monk could not bear to see you fall into the demonic path, hence I came to enlighten you. Yet upon hearing your words just now, it’s clear that you are deeply possessed by demons, I fear ordinary enlightening might not be able to save you.”
Li Yan stopped in his tracks and stared at the strange monk with a smile that was not quite a smile, “Then what must be done to enlighten me?”
The strange monk spoke seriously, “You must copy the Diamond Sutra a thousand times and donate twenty thousand strings of cash to atone for your sins. Only then can your good deeds outweigh your crimes~”
Li Yan stared at the strange monk for two seconds, then spat out through gritted teeth, “If you don’t leave now, you won’t need to leave at all…”
The strange monk looked shocked, pointing at Li Yan, unable to speak for a long time.
Li Yan was in no mood to joke. His hand moved to the Jumu Great Sword at his waist, unintentionally revealing a fierce killing intent.
Seeing this, the strange monk turned his head and hobbled away faster than if he were being chased by a dog.
Li Yan had just chased away the strange monk when, after turning a street corner, he found the monk standing twenty meters away from himself, looking at him with trepidation.
Li Yan was very confident in Cha Xiaodao’s abilities, but as ten or so minutes passed without a reply from him, this made Li Yan feel a bit uncertain. He was also afraid that starting a conversation now might interrupt Cha Xiaodao, who might have been in the midst of a fight, so he hurried towards the Five Blessings Tower without paying the strange monk any more attention.
At that moment, a prompt from Yan Fu came.
“You have triggered a special Yan Fu event: The Eternal Chronicles.”
Soon after, Cha Xiaodao’s conversation came through.
…
About ten minutes later, Li Yan and his nephew Cha Xiaodao met up.
“A gathering of a hundred monsters at Five Blessings Tower?”
Li Yan’s eyebrows rose.
“These people are discussing how to deal with you.”
Li Yan glanced at Cao Yongchang, who was following Cha Xiaodao obediently, then asked Cha Xiaodao, “How formidable are they?”
“Mediocre on average, but there are a few tough ones.”
Cha Xiaodao recalled the dignified man in black robes and Mr. Hu San, who could retrieve objects from paintings.
“I’ve also come across a monk. Look behind me.”
Li Yan gestured with his lips toward his back.
There, the monk stood at the crossroads, occasionally glancing over this way.
After taking a glance, Cha Xiaodao immediately said, “This must be the demonic monk called Er Jianlian, mentioned at the assembly. What’s his business with you?”
“I don’t know, but he seems to have no intention of fighting me.”
It wasn’t always possible to judge the degree of threat based on aura alone. If the target had no desire to attack, Yan Fu wouldn’t determine any aura, and such was the case for the demonic monk Er Jianlian. From beginning to end, Li Yan couldn’t fathom his depth but instinctively felt that this monk was not easy to deal with.
Cha Xiaodao furrowed his brow, “And he’s just following you?”
Li Yan nodded, “He came up, spoke a few words to me, asking me to chant the Diamond Sutra a thousand times and to give him twenty thousand strings of incense money. I had to draw my sword to scare him off.”
Cha Xiaodao mulled this over and took another glance at Er Jianlian, who was standing in the distance and occasionally drawing circles with his toes, pondering, “Not all of these heretical demons are eyeing us like prey.”
He was referring to Cai Genni, who resembled a lump of mud. Mr. Hu San had brought it to Cha Xiaodao, evidently thinking that Cai Genni had the capability to stop him, yet for some reason, it did not attack.
“That, Uncle.”
Cao Yongchang, who had been listening, interjected.
“What is it?”
Cao Yongchang sheepishly smiled, “Earlier, I heard the yellow-robed scholar’s implication that he wanted to snatch the treasure from your friend, or rather, that this thing is very valuable to those monsters.”
Li Yan laughed, “If you’re going to call him Uncle, you can just call me Mr. Li too.”
Cao Yongchang nodded at Li Yan, “Hero Li.”
Li Yan tugged at the corner of his mouth, “…”
Cao Yongchang continued, “I used to listen to those storybooks, and among those ghosts and goblins, there are those who endanger human lives and eat hearts and livers; but there are also those who are ignorant of the world and innocently naive. Perhaps, the treasure Hero Li carries is attractive to kind spirits without inciting them to rob. If explained properly, perhaps a different kind of adventure could emerge from it? Hero Li, driving away the monk might have been a bit rash.”
After pondering it over, Li Yan found Cao Yongchang’s words reasonable. The Taoists from Heavenly Master Tao also said that the Dragon Tiger Banner attracts not only evil spirits but wandering deities and immortals as well. Could these celestial beings also harbor thoughts of snatching treasures?
Furthermore, Li Yan thought back to the bidding walker he had met at the start of the incident. Although he had forgotten the name, that person showed an extreme eagerness regarding this event.
In fact, the difficulty of this Yan Fu incident was only moderate for the Eight Extremes Walker, and the reward would not be too generous. Why would he be willing to spend thousands of points to initiate the incident?
Maybe having the Dragon Tiger Banner was not entirely a bad thing.
“Shall we… try again?”
Li Yan consulted with Cha Xiaodao.
“I think it’s feasible.”
Cha Xiaodao nodded.
Li Yan cleared his throat and turned to approach Er Jianlian. Initially, Er Jianlian seemed a little scared, but seeing Li Yan’s compassionate appearance, he didn’t run away.
“I have not yet learned the esteemed monk’s name.”
Li Yan gave a proper greeting.
“Amitabha~ This old monk is Er Jianlian. Benefactor, you carry heavy sins. You should quickly write the Diamond Sutra a thousand times and offer twenty thousand strings of money to Buddha’s presence to escape from the bitter sea.”
Li Yan was momentarily at a loss for words and only after a while did he cough and say, “I am bound by fate and imperial commands, and it was a misunderstanding with the Master earlier. I hope the Master will not take offense.”
“No offense at all, as long as the benefactor performs penance and offers the money.”
Er Jianlian eagerly watched Li Yan.
“…”
No matter how he tried to reason, Er Jianlian was dead set on his demands.
Li Yan felt a headache brewing. Was he really expected to write the sutra a thousand times? When had he ever suffered such an indignity? Besides, twenty thousand strings of money, that’s twenty thousand taels of silver, which he couldn’t even produce.
Seeing this, Cha Xiaodao coughed and stepped forward, “Hello, Great Master.”
Upon seeing Cha Xiaodao, Er Jianlian was suddenly startled and distressed, “Woe is me! This benefactor has long been a frequent visitor to kitchens, accruing countless sins of slaughter, and a great disaster looms over his head. Better to quickly copy the Diamond Sutra a thousand times and offer twenty thousand strings of incense money to the Buddha to avert the impending misfortune!”
Cha Xiaodao was at a loss for words.
Li Yan’s thoughts quickly shifted, noticing that Cao Yongchang’s eyes were darting about with a smile. He couldn’t help but say, “Why don’t you give it a try.”
Cao Yongchang looked at Li Yan and smiled confidently, straightened his robe, then approached and tugged at Er Jianlian’s sleeve, “Monk!”
Upon seeing this child, Er Jianlian chanted three Buddhist holy names in succession, “Alas, little benefactor, although young, you are full of venomous traits, destined to drift through life, lonely and lonesome in old age. Better to turn back to the shore, copy the Diamond Sutra a thousand times, and offer twenty thousand strings of incense money to Buddha…”
“Forget it! It’s all free.”
Cha Xiaodao spread his hands dismissively.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Cao Yongchang leapt up and slapped his hand on Er Jianlian’s bald head, shouting loudly, “The scripture can save souls, but is Yama afraid of a monk? Paper money can redeem a life, but that just shows the Bodhisattva is a corrupt official! Great Monk, haven’t you realized it yet!”
With that slap, two streams of white, creamy fluid shot out of Er Jianlian’s nostrils, stretching a few feet long. His head formed a fleshly protuberance which is one of the thirty-two marks of a Buddha’s golden body, comprising eighty attractive features,
In an instant, this tattered monk transformed into a four zhang (approximately 40 feet) tall Golden Arhat. Following that, ten thousand rays of Buddha’s light and thousands of auspicious colors illuminated the entire Guangning Prefecture.
Even if this made Li and Cha seem rather uncultured, they still couldn’t hold back and exclaimed, “What the hell?!”
…
Mr. Li has courage and martial prowess, but little education, which leads to many mistakes.
——The Legend of the Golden Light Knight by Liu Jingting
