“Have you heard?”
“Yes, I have!”
“Have you seen them?”
“Yes, I have!”
“So many people got quite a fright!”
“They look far too much like real ones!”
As Lu Zheng stepped out that morning, he heard the townsfolk whispering excitedly in the street.
“What is going on?” He casually weighed out two jin of candied chestnuts from Old Man Liu’s stall and could not help asking.
Old Man Liu leaned in close, lowering his voice cautiously. “Young Master Lu, you have only just risen and do not know yet. They say that last night, the fox immortal and the dragon god manifested!”
Lu Zheng: (°ー°〃)
“Outside the east gate, yesterday afternoon just before dusk, a snow fox and a snow divine dragon suddenly appeared on either side of the official road!
It was getting dark, and the passing merchants were terrified. After entering the city, they reported it straight to the authorities. Constable Liu took men out to look, but in the end they did not dare shovel them away.
This old man heard that the fox and dragon look exactly like the real thing. Quite a few bold folk in the city even made a special trip outside to see them. They are not afraid of offending the fox immortal and dragon god and getting a lesson for it.”
“Heh heh…”
Lu Zheng grinned awkwardly, then hurried off to the county yamen. On the way, he ran into Constable Liu, who was heading towards Tongyi Lane.
“Young Master Lu!”
“Constable Liu.” Lu Zheng cupped his hands and said directly, “Those two snow sculptures outside the east gate were carved by me yesterday to amuse the two little girls.”
Constable Liu: ╭(°A°`)╮
Constable Liu found himself speechless, and the constables following him were equally lost for words. They had spent the whole night on edge, only for it to be this?
Constable Liu forced a smile. “So that is how it is. No wonder those two snow sculptures are so lifelike. It was the young master’s handiwork.”
“It was indeed thoughtless of me. If they are affecting passing merchants, Constable Liu, feel free to take men and shovel them away.”
“No need, no need.” Constable Liu waved his hands repeatedly. “Since there is no supernatural involvement, it is no great matter. They can count as a local sight. Besides, after the next snowfall in a few days, they will probably be gone anyway.”
Lu Zheng smiled. “That works too.”
After bidding farewell to Constable Liu and his men, Lu Zheng started to leave when a young monk emerged from the crowd. Seeing him, the monk called out hurriedly, “Benefactor Lu! The abbot asked me to deliver a letter to you!”
“Eh? Zongyi?”
The newcomer was Zongyi, a monk from Jiming Temple. At thirteen or fourteen years old, he was one of the more talented novice monks taken in by Guangyue. He had now entered the path of cultivation, though his level was still low, probably only enough to deal with lone ghosts.
Lu Zheng’s gaze sharpened. He looked Zongyi up and down twice, then carefully channelled true qi into his hand before cautiously accepting the letter. “Guangyue is looking for me. Why did he not come himself?”
“The abbot is in secluded meditation to calm his mind in preparation for the dharma debate. He cannot leave the temple. Senior Uncle Guangyi is arranging the venue for the dharma assembly and cannot get away, so they sent me to invite Young Master Lu to attend as a guest.”
Zongyi naturally did not notice Lu Zheng’s suspicion and simply explained on his own.
“A dharma debate? A dharma assembly?”
Lu Zheng looked baffled. “Guangyue is only a Guang-generation disciple of Rizhao Temple, and Jiming Temple is just a small county temple. How has it become so formal with an assembly and a debate?”
There are many kinds of dharma assemblies, but one involving a debate is naturally a Buddhist dharma debate assembly.
A debate, in plain terms, is when peers come to exchange experiences. This exchange can be friendly, neutral, or hostile, depending entirely on the visitor’s intent.
From the fact that Guangyue was in seclusion preparing, it seemed the visitors did not come with good intentions!
“Who is the other side? Which sect?” Lu Zheng asked immediately.
Although Yizhou and nearby areas are dominated by Daoist temples, that does not mean there are no Buddhist temples. Could some temple have a grudge against Rizhao Temple and, recently learning Guangyue was a disciple there, come to cause trouble?
Zongyi shook his head. “It is not from the Great Jing Buddhist sects, but from the Western Buddhist kingdoms!”
Lu Zheng’s gaze sharpened. “Daliuli Temple?”
Zongyi nodded. “Also Dalong Temple and Luosha Temple!”
“Ah?” Lu Zheng was completely stunned.
Among the many Western Buddhist kingdoms, each has one or several top Buddhist powers as its pillar.
Daliuli Temple is the pillar of the Liuli Buddhist Kingdom, extremely powerful.
Dalong Temple and Luosha Temple are the pillars of another Buddhist kingdom. Though their overall strength is slightly inferior to Daliuli Temple, the difference is not qualitative.
“What is going on?” Lu Zheng asked.
Rizhao Temple is naturally one of the top Buddhist great sects, but in a one-on-one, it would probably struggle against even one Daliuli Temple. How has it ended up facing three at once?
“The younger generation of monks from Daliuli, Dalong, and Luosha Temples have come to Great Jing for study and exchange,” Zongyi explained to Lu Zheng. “Travelling east, debating dharma with Central Plains Buddhist disciples.”
Lu Zheng blinked, roughly understanding.
It was much like modern universities taking students abroad for a tour… or something like that?
Then the question arose again…
Lu Zheng asked, “Why would they come to Jiming Temple? Should they not seek out major sects for debates? If they really go temple by temple like this, they would never leave the Central Plains in their lifetime, would they?”
But as soon as he asked, Lu Zheng realised.
“Because of the Guangming Relic!”
Zongyi said, “The invitation states they wish to witness the Rizhao Temple eminent monk who subdued the Liuli Relic.”
Lu Zheng nodded, thinking that was probably the only reason.
“When does the assembly begin?”
“Tomorrow at the chen hour.”
“I will be there on time. By the way, who else has your abbot invited?”
“He has also invited Daoist Mingzhang and Daoist Yuanjing from Baiyun Temple, as well as Abbot Haicheng from Lanshan Temple in Ding Shan County,” Zongyi said.
“Good, I understand,” Lu Zheng replied.
“This junior still needs to deliver a letter to Baiyun Temple, so I shall not disturb Young Master Lu further.” Zongyi pressed his palms together in salute, then hurried away.
Lu Zheng rubbed his chin.
According to Guangyue, after Benjin failed last time, the seniors of Daliuli Temple would not act again. Now that his Guangming Relic had been refined once more by a Rizhao Temple expert, ordinary Daliuli monks could not possibly seize it from him.
What Guangyue could think of, Daliuli Temple could surely think of too. From Zongyi’s words, it seemed the disciples of the three great temples entering the Central Plains were not specifically targeting Guangyue.
More likely, they could not bear to see something belonging to their own taken by another sect. At the very least, they wanted to teach Guangyue a lesson and make their stance clear.
So…
“I wonder if those Western Buddhist kingdom monks have come alone or with elders accompanying them?”
But…
“Regardless, Guangyue has no elders at Jiming Temple. Better safe than sorry. I should still go and support him.”
Lu Zheng could not help shaking his head, then paused, turned, and headed south towards Taohua Ping.
