Chapter 41: Monk

On the dark dirt road through the forest, Li Huowang held a torch, leading the others forward.

It was still dark, but shaken from their recent ordeal, none of them felt sleepy. After everything they had just been through, no one could think of sleeping.

Piled on the donkey cart was some butchered horse meat. Aside from a few bits of silver found on the bandits' corpses, this was Li Huowang's only other loot.

"That's enough," Li Huowang ordered. "Let's rest here until dawn. It's not safe to travel at night." Soon, the torches were piled together, forming a new campfire.

"If you can't sleep, just rest your eyes. We'll continue our journey tomorrow, so conserve your energy. I'll take watch."

As the sound of donkey hooves and footsteps faded, silence once again fell over the dirt road.

Sitting by the fire, Li Huowang turned his head to look back down the road they had come from. It was pitch black. It seemed the old beggar wouldn't follow until he had finished burying all the dead.

Recalling everything that had just happened, Li Huowang couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion. This place was truly chaotic.

Various bizarre dangers were already enough, but humans, instead of sticking together, were killing each other.

He poked the dying bonfire with his long sword, then grabbed some firewood from beside him and tossed it in.

As time passed, those who had scattered in the forest gradually gathered near Li Huowang's campfire. Soon, several smaller campfires sprang up beside the main one.

The Lü family members were not among those who returned, but Li Huowang wasn't worried at all. They had been the quickest to flee when the bandits appeared.

Lü Zhuangyuan truly was an old hand. It was no wonder that even a stingy person like him chose horses as draft animals. He must have anticipated a situation like this long ago.

As time slowly passed, dawn gradually broke. The others began to wake up, roasting horse meat for breakfast, preparing to embark on a new leg of their journey.

Regardless of how delicious the horse meat was, it was still meat, and it would provide them with much-needed energy.

As they were eating heartily, a trembling figure approached from behind.

Seeing the person's appearance, Li Huowang's guard slightly lowered. It was the old beggar from before; he seemed to have spent the entire night burying people.

The morning dew had soaked his tattered monk's robe, making him shiver with cold. He moved closer to the campfire, squatting down and curling into a ball.

Noticing Li Huowang looking at him, the beggar gave a simple, honest smile.

Recalling his selfless act of saving people the previous night, Li Huowang's hostility diminished considerably.

Although he thought the old beggar's excessive kindness would make it difficult for him to survive in this dangerous world, no one would reject interacting with a good person.

When Li Huowang offered him a steamed bun, the beggar quickly reached out to take it. As he chewed, he mumbled, "May the Buddha bless you."

Hearing him say that, Li Huowang immediately became curious. "Which Buddha are you referring to when you say 'the Buddha'?"

"Huh? Isn't the Buddha just called the Buddha? What do you mean 'which one'?" A hint of confusion appeared in the old beggar's eyes.

"Oh, just eat quickly. It's rare to find someone like you in this world. I hope you're not deceiving me."

"How could I deceive anyone? I'm a monk; monks can't lie," the old beggar declared firmly.

"You only chant 'Amitabha Buddha' and don't even know which Buddha you believe in. What kind of monk are you?"

"Scholar Sun said monks are bald, so I shaved my head. Tailor Wang said monks shouldn't marry, so I don't marry! Shopkeeper Liu said monks shouldn't eat meat, so I don't eat meat! And I saw other monks chanting 'Amitabha Buddha,' so I learned to chant 'Amitabha Buddha'! I've done all that, so why can't I be a monk?"

The old beggar seemed very sensitive about this, arguing stubbornly.

Hearing this, Li Huowang couldn't help but chuckle. This man's monasticism was even less genuine than his own Daoist practice. "But that doesn't necessarily make you a monk."

The old beggar paused, holding half a bun, and looked at Li Huowang seriously. "Then tell me, what should a monk be like?"

Looking at the old beggar's gaze, Li Huowang opened his mouth but couldn't answer the question. The beggar's words, in their profound foolishness, seemed to contain a glimmer of truth.

For some reason, Li Huowang saw a reflection of Danyangzi in him—a naive persistence amidst ignorance.

"I guess you can't read, can you?"

"How did you know? Are all you Daoists so good at divination?"

Li Huowang chuckled.

"Why are you so insistent on being a monk?"

"If a monk hadn't saved me back then, I would have been dead long ago. From that day on, I swore I would also become a monk! I must become a good monk!"

As he spoke, Li Huowang saw the Lü troupe returning in the distance. He patted his backside, stood up, and headed towards them.

No further incidents occurred on the journey. The old monk continued to follow them, and occasionally, when Li Huowang saw him so hungry he was chewing raw wild vegetables, he would offer him a steamed bun or two.

After traveling like this for over ten days, a city even more grand and magnificent than Jianye appeared before Li Huowang: Xijing. They had arrived.

The continuous stretches of green brick city walls were towering and majestic. Standing at the city gate and looking up, a massive sense of oppression washed over him.

"Have we finally arrived?" Seeing the city gate, Li Huowang finally let out a sigh of relief. He had been on edge the entire journey, but fortunately, the nightmare scenes had not materialized.

"Young Daoist, you can't just stay in any inn in Xijing; they'll fleece you. I'll take you to one that's definitely cheap," Lü Zhuangyuan said, moving towards the tall city gate, but Li Huowang held him back.

"Wait, where is that monk temple you mentioned earlier?" Li Huowang asked eagerly. This was his most important reason for coming to this place.

Led by Lü Zhuangyuan, Li Huowang headed towards Zhengde Temple, the most flourishing Buddhist temple in Xijing.

Before even seeing the temple, Li Huowang could smell the distinctive sandalwood scent of a Buddhist site, and the wide street began to grow crowded.

Old men, women, adults, children—all sorts of people were there.

Seeing them holding several stacks of incense in their hands, Li Huowang immediately understood that these people were all going to worship the Buddha.

"Has this temple always been so popular?"

Hearing Li Huowang say this to Lü Zhuangyuan, a nearby pilgrim leaned over and interjected, "Of course! The Bodhisattvas of Zhengde Temple are very efficacious! My daughter-in-law became pregnant after praying here just once."

"And the masters at Zhengde Temple are very kind. They often distribute porridge to the poor every few days."

"Yes, yes. To have such a wonderful temple in Xijing is truly a blessing accumulated over several lifetimes."