Chapter 5: The Little Jade Buddha
Translator: Christina Editor: Rundi
Under a stable and peaceful mental state, Meng Qi gradually felt that some genuine Qi was generating inside his body. It went through the Governing and Conceptual Vessel, concentrated at his palates, and formed into a “sweet dew”.
The “sweet dew” slowly soaked into the Conceptual Vessel, and following the guidance of Meng Qi’s mind, it filled into the proper acupuncture points.
If there was a problem with his body, the “Sweet Dew” wouldn’t taste sweet and the body would need to be improved through cultivating Qi. As for Meng Qi’s current situation, it meant that his body was at its optimal condition.
It seems like this body has already fulfilled the requirements of the “Hundred-day foundation?” Meng Qi, the acolyte who didn’t love Buddhism, opened his eyes and recalled the process. In regards to Uncle Xuan En’s description, he supposedly had already pa.s.sed the first stage of learning Kungfu, and could continue onto the next stage, “Qi Storage in Meditation”.
However, Meng Qi thought it over again and changed his mind. The steps that had been completed in the past should stay in the past. If he wanted to go further on the path of Kungfu, he should fully experience every step by himself. No skipping should be tolerated, and only so could he constantly improve.
Seeing that 15 minutes had pa.s.sed, Xuan En knocked on his wooden fish, and woke everyone with the clear and crisp sound. He then inquired each acolyte about their Ding and the quality of their “Sweet Dew”, and instructed each of them individually.
In the end, he nodded and said, “Try again after you go back today. Now, let’s begin to learn characters.”
Opening the sutras in front of him, Meng Qi discovered, as expected, that he already knew almost all the characters in it.
This made him very happy. At least he didn’t become illiterate and didn’t need to learn everything all over again. Currently, he had the power to “dominate” the Sutras Yard!
“Pick up your brush pens and practice writing this character,” Xuan En instructed.
Meng Qi’s happiness vanished immediately. The last time he used a brush pen to write was when he was still in elementary school. Expectedly, the character that he wrote down was extremely ugly.
“You need to practice more.” Xuan En walked pa.s.s Meng Qi with his hands behind his back.
Meng Qi nodded dispiritedly. Then he was suddenly startled by a thought. If Xuan Zang saw his writing, would he not suspect anything? Meng Qi’s body was very likely born in an aristocratic family, and had already accomplished the “Hundred-day Foundation”. It was impossible that he hadn’t started learning calligraphy since a very young age!
Meng Qi awkwardly opened his mouth, then realized that it would be useless explaining to Xuan En, and it would be lame to do so, too. Instead, he decided to use his time to practice handwriting efficiently. If Xuan Zang asked him about it, he could answer that because he had just joined the Ch.o.r.es Yard and wasn’t used to the physical labor, his hands and arms were sore every day and this prevented him from writing nicely.
When it was almost noon, Xuan En announced that all of them could leave. Meng Qi sneaked away with his piece of paper and planned to destroy the evidence.
After lunch, Meng Qi, Zhen Hui, and a few others were a.s.signed to sweep the temple until dusk.
Having worked a whole day, they were again called together by Xuan Xin, who wanted to continue talking about his impressive Jianghu experience.
“…That’s all for Shui Yue Nunnery. If any of you meet these nuns someday, just keep a respectful distance from them. However, Jin Gang Temple is very different, and we do not like each other at all. You must remember to keep a watchful eye on them.”
Huh? Even though the char monks had heard of many Jianghu rumors and stories in the past, n.o.body knew that the animosity between Shaolin and Jin Gang, which were both among the Four Buddhist Temples, was so serious that they needed to be watchful!
Seeing their widened eyes, Xuan Xin nodded with satisfaction, “That Blood-blade Mendicant was just a Wild Fox Dhyana who didn’t follow the correct path of Buddhism. However, he fortunately discovered the fifth move of The Buddha’s Palm, and used it as a basis to develop two fundamental but strong Kungfu. That was how he established the Jin Gang Sect. For that reason, they have always wanted to steal the third move of The Buddha’s Palm from Shaolin so that they can compare the two moves and try to understand how to attain the Golden Body of Buddha.”
“The Golden body of Buddha…” Meng Qi became excited again. This was turning into an increasingly magical fantasy.
Abruptly, they heard someone knocking on the door of the yard. Xuan Xin was scared to death and looked to the door fearfully. He blurted out, “Brother Xuan Ku, I didn’t break the rules…”
However, his expression changed completely before he finished the sentence. “Hey nephew, why are you here?”
Meng Qi turned around and saw a familiar face. It was one of the children who joined Shaolin at the same time with Zhen Hui, Zhen De, and him, and was one of the two oldest children. He was around 15 years old, and when they studied in the Sutras Yard today, he chatted a lot with the char-yard acolytes, and didn’t discriminate against them at all.
I think his name is “Zhen Yong”? Meng Qi tried to recall.
Zhen Yong was thin and tall and ordinary looking, but he had a beautiful smile and white and gleaming teeth. He said, “Uncle Xuan Xin, I heard from some of my brothers that you are very experienced and know everything about Jianghu. I love to listen to those kinds of stories, so I couldn’t help myself but to come here and look for you. I apologize for the trouble and my impoliteness, but could you please allow me to listen, too?”
In the Warrior-monk Yard, it was time for self-practicing of Ding.
Xuan Xin started to feel good about himself again after hearing this compliment from Zhen Yong. He said with a large grin, “No problem, no problem at all. Just sit wherever you like. There’s nothing bad about learning more about Jianghu. In the future, these knowledges will protect you from fraud and deception.”
Zhen Yong looked around and sat down beside Meng Qi. He whispered, “Brother Zhen Ding, I hope I didn’t crowd you.”
“Not at all.” Meng Qi shook his head, and thought that similar to him, Zhen Yong talked like an adult and was far more mature than ordinary children.
“Brother Zhen Ding, in the morning I realized that you can read and write really well. I will probably need your help in the future, so let me thank you ahead of time. If you need me for anything, just let me know.” Zhen Yong smiled amicably.
Knowing that Zhen Yong was a warrior monk, Meng Qi answered also with a smile. “Big brother, you are way too polite for such a small favor.”
The two soon started to behave as if they were soulmates who regretted not being able to know each other earlier.
Seeing this, Xuan Xin coughed to signal everyone to be quiet. He then continued, “Other than the two fundamental Kungfu of Jin Gang Temple, another thing that you should be aware of is their blade techniques.”
“The Blood-blade Mendicant was originally from a sect that excelled in blades, plus he had comprehended some of the mysteries in the fifth move of The Buddha’s Palm… Therefore, the three major blade techniques that he had created after attaining the ‘Dharmakaya of the Glaring Guardian Warrior’ were considered the best among all blade techniques. It’s difficult to find a blade technique that could compete with them…”
His narration made all the char monks feel excited and dreamy. However, their excitement soon turned into sadness. Zhen Yong raised his hand right away and asked, “Uncle Xuan Xin, don’t we have a blade technique that can compete with Jin Gang Temple?”
Right, Shaolin was known as a sect that excelled in every kind of Kungfu! Even the char monks had pride in their sect.
Xuan Xin clicked his tongue. “It is true that we don’t have many blade techniques. However, we still have one that can compete with Jin Gang, and that is the “Ananda Oath-breaking Bladesmans.h.i.+p”. It is one of the Shaolin 72 ultimate Kungfu, but of course you need to break through the ‘Exterior’ Realm to get the best out of this technique.”
His rough explanation of the G.o.dly blade technique caused the monks to become excited again.
“All right, it’s late now. Go back to your rooms and work hard.” Xuan Xin yawned and put on an aloof expression, pretending that he didn’t care at all. “You know, actually it’s not that I’m afraid of Brother Xuan Ku or anything like that. I am just helping him to save face because nominally, the Sundries Yard administrates the Ch.o.r.es Yard.”
He obviously still held a grudge about his reaction when Zhen Yong came.
“Oh, is that true?” A deep voice suddenly arose by the door.
Xuan Xin’s face immediately went pale. He promptly put on a broad, cheesy smile. “Brother Xuan Ku, I… I…”
The wide-faced Xuan Ku still wore a yellow robe, but this time in his hands there was a string of maroon Buddha beads.
“Brother Xuan Xin, I am not a member of the Sundries Yard anymore. Currently, I am the manager monk of the Discipline Yard,” Xuan Ku said seriously.
“No wonder you are on patrol.” Xuan Xin tried to change the topic.
“Now this is even scarier…” Meng Qi complained in his head. “Why did the ‘inhuman’ Uncle Xuan Ku join the Discipline Yard?!? If he did something wrong in the future and was discovered by Xuan Ku…”
Xuan Ku looked around the yard and then nodded. “You can go back to your rooms. Don’t forget to practice.”
After returning to his room, Meng Qi quietly took out the little jade Buddha, and examined it with his back facing Zhen Ying and Zhen Guan. The Buddha had a comforting touch, and bits of coolness permeated into Meng Qi’s body which refreshed his mind.
“This is such a treasure!” Meng Qi was very delighted and examined the jade Buddha again and again, expecting to discover more secrets about it. However, he found nothing more and had to give up. He then decided to stop thinking about the jade Buddha and concentrate on practicing Ding. With the help of the jade Buddha, this time entering the state of Ding was very easy.
After cultivating genuine Qi, Meng Qi frowned and took off the jade Buddha from his neck.
He shouldn’t rely on the help of others in the first step of learning Kungfu. If he became used to it, his future would be disastrous.
Without the jade Buddha, Meng Qi’s mind started to activate. Fortunately, he had two successful experiences, but it was already late in the night. The moon silently shone in the sky and not a sound could be heard. Meng Qi eventually restrained his thoughts. If your mind was settled, you attained peace. If you attained peace, you obtained intelligence. And if you obtained intelligence, then the genuine Qi will naturally form in your body.
Half an hour later, Meng Qi finally opened his eyes. It was not that he didn’t want to continue practicing, but he must guarantee a sufficient amount of sleep. Otherwise, he might not be able to handle the sweeping and water-carrying labor tomorrow.
Since he had just finished “self-cultivation in meditation”, Meng Qi now felt refreshed and comfortable. He couldn’t fall asleep at the moment, and looked to his side. There he found that Zhen Hui had just finished practicing too and was looking back at him.
“Little brother, you are still awake?” Meng Qi decided to take this chance to teach Zhen Hui some life lessons.
Zhen Hui nodded and answered dully, “Sleeping soon.”
“Ok. I need to teach you something. Listen…” Meng Qi began his long speech. However, he soon found that Zhen Hui’s eyes were closing.
“He won’t take in a word I say…” Meng Qi felt speechless. He frowned and started to think, and soon a good idea popped into his mind. This kid likes Jianghu stories; maybe I can integrate life lessons into some stories!
In fact, if he was not alone in a completely unknown world, Meng Qi wouldn’t care whether someone got along with others or not. However, now that he unexplainably time-traveled into another universe, he wanted to find a way to alleviate his anguish.
“Little brother, I have a story about a Jianghu hero. Do you want to hear?” He asked with a grin.
Zhen Hui opened his eyes at once, and nodded energetically. “Thank you, big brother!”
“I really can’t follow this kid…” Meng Qi scratched his bald head, looked at the bright moon outside the window, and said in a dreamy tone, “Once upon a time, there was a Taoist named Qiu Chuji. One day, he went by a place called Niu Village…”
For a while, Meng Qi was completely immersed in the story, which was like a bridge that connected the two universes. He totally forgot that he was telling a story to Zhe Hui.
…
Three months later, Meng Qi grew a lot taller, yet since he didn’t have enough time, the “Hundred-day Foundation” was only half-way finished.
As for Zhen Hui, he now crazily admired Meng Qi and listened to almost everything Meng Qi said because of the amazing stories Meng Qi told.
However, Meng Qi still didn’t obtain the opportunity to leave the Ch.o.r.es Yard and join the Warrior-monk Yard.
“Brother Zhen Ding, where are you going?” When Zhen Yong walked into the Ch.o.r.es Yard, he saw Meng Qi and Zhen Hui walking out with brooms in their hands. It was after lunchtime.
Meng Qi replied somewhat excitingly, “Uncle Xuan Xin told us to clean up the Sutras Depository.”
It was an unexpected surprise for Meng Qi. A moment ago when they just finished lunch, Xuan Xin commanded them to clean up the Depository, and indicated that from now on, the Depository would be all theirs to sweep.
Even though Xuan Xin explicitly stated that they were only responsible for the lower two floors where ordinary sutras were kept, and that other high-level monks will clean upper floors, Meng Qi still couldn’t control his excitement. The Sutras Depository! It is the place, that rumors say, where the Shaolin 72 Ultimate Arts is stored! In Wuxia stories, it is the place where countless heroes begin their adventures!
“I wonder if The Buddha’s Palm, Yi Jin Jing, Maha Exorcist Fists, and True Scripture from Grand Phantasia are all in the Depository…” Meng Qi started to dream.