Chapter 152: Paradox

In the wind and snow. The young Taoist, wearing a deep blue Taoist robe, stood under the plaque. With one hand, he stroked the little monk's bald head, and in the other, he held a book scroll, as if oblivious to his surroundings.

The young Taoist's hair bun was tied up with only a rough tree branch. It was clearly the cold December of winter, yet his blue Taoist robe was only a single layer, thin to the point of being frightening.

The young Taoist, who called himself Zhang Li, smiled as he looked at the little monk, curling his fingers and knocking the little monk's forehead with a bang-bang sound.

"Still blocking here? Did you not understand my words, or is the name Zhang Li no longer effective in the *jianghu*?"

The little monk stammered, "Originally, originally it was donor Zhang Li, please quickly enter."

Zhang Li patted his shoulder with the book scroll. "Lead my green ox inside. Remember to find it a clean ox shed and feed it three *jin* of vegetarian buns. I want the mushroom and green vegetable filling."

The little monk was startled. "Ah? Feed buns?"

Zhang Li looked at him askance. "Any problem?"

The little monk hurriedly shook his head. "No, no, I will go instruct the kitchen shortly. It's just that green vegetables are probably hard to find at this time."

Zhang Li waved his hand carelessly. "Then pickled cabbage filling."

The little monk quickly agreed. "We have that, this monk ate pickled cabbage filling buns last night."

"Who asked you?"

Zhang Li did not look at Chen Ji and the others, but walked into the gray-walled, gray-tiled manor on his own.

He patted the fallen snow from his body, and the little monk humbly followed behind him with small steps.

Upon entering the door, they immediately saw the stone screen facing them, with a relief of eighteen Arhats, majestic and with angry eyes.

As Zhang Li passed the stone wall, he sighed, "In the past, the Dao Court won this manor from the Zen Sect, saying they would never re-carve this stone wall. They insisted that all visitors see this place and know that this manor was won from the Zen Sect."

He casually asked, "I just now heard the bell sound from afar. Who won this round?"

The little monk hesitated for a bit. "It was the ones behind you who won."

Zhang Li stopped in his tracks. "Won against whom?"

The little monk said bitterly, "Won against our second senior brother Wu Zheng. Second senior brother debated the Way with good and evil. He used the 'Mahaparinirvana Sutra' as the topic."

Speaking up to this point, the little monk was somewhat unconvinced. "However, we still have several senior brothers behind us. The Dao Court only has one person left, there's still no chance of winning."

Zhang Li paid no attention to him, but walked back to the door and examined Chen Ji sideways. "You won?"

Chen Ji did not answer.

Zhang Li asked again, "You've thoroughly read Buddhist scriptures?"

Chen Ji still did not answer.

Zhang Li turned back and looked at the white carp on the horse's back. "She caught a wind-chill, didn't she?"

Chen Ji grunted a sound.

Zhang Li took out a gourd-shaped white porcelain bottle from his sleeve and poured out a black pill from inside. "This is my junior sister's personally refined Purple Void Origin Pill, nourishing the origin of the *kun* element. Although not the targeted medicine, it is sufficient to save a life."

Saying so, he laughed happily. "You just won against the monk, so I'll gift this pill to you."

Chen Ji's eyes brightened, and he immediately thanked him and took it, turning around to feed it to the white carp.

Zhang Li then unhurriedly poured out another Purple Void Origin Pill from the white porcelain bottle and shouted to stop Chen Ji. "I see this girl's wind-chill has entered her bones. One pill is absolutely not enough; she must swallow two pills to recover."

Chen Ji turned back and asked, "What are the conditions?"

Zhang Li laughed. "Smart person. To get this second pill, you must follow me to debate scriptures. You only need to answer one question or come up with a question to stump one monk."

Chen Ji asked, "What if I don't do it?"

Zhang Li laughed. "This pill is not easy to obtain. My little junior sister guarded the furnace fire for seven seven forty-nine days before opening the furnace to form the pill. If not for her feeling sorry for me, her senior brother, enduring wind and meals outside, she would absolutely not take out this pill."

"So?"

"So this thing is precious. If you don't meet my conditions, I cannot give you the pill."

The little monk in gray widened his eyes. "How can the Dao Court pull in outsiders to assist?"

Zhang Li was unhappy, using his finger to knock the shiny forehead with a bang-bang sound. "In the past, when the Buddhist sect pulled in Confucian officials to assist in battle, did my Dao Court say anything?"

The little monk hurriedly said, "But they don't have invitations, nor proof of identity tokens."

Zhang Li snorted a laugh. "It's likely your senior brother just didn't want to get involved in karma and found excuses. Never mind, I will bear this karma. Let them pass."

The little monk pouted. "On what basis do you command me? This Lu Hun Mountain Manor already belongs to my Yuan Jue Temple. Your words don't count."

Zhang Li stroked his bald head and sighed. "Your senior brother wouldn't dare say these fart words to me. Quickly shut up, or Dao-ye will slap you."

The little monk shrank his neck.

Chen Ji looked towards Zhang Li. "Let me try the medicine's effect first."

Zhang Li smiled. "Please go ahead."

Chen Ji braved the wind and snow and walked out the door, gently handing the pill to the white carp's mouth. "Quickly eat it and see if it's useful."

The white carp bit the pill, swallowing it with difficulty. Yet, her face instantly turned rosy, and her eyes were no longer weak and spiritless.

The white carp propped herself up and flipped down from the horse, though she was still a bit shaky when she walked.

This pill was miraculous, as if it seized the creation of heaven and earth.

The prince's eyes brightened. "Huangshan Dao Court's medicine official method?"

Zhang Li smiled and answered, "Exactly."

Chen Ji stood in the snow and thought for a moment, then turned around and handed the horse's reins to another little monk at the door. He said to Zhang Li, "I do have a question I can try. As for whether it can stump those monks, I don't know."

Zhang Li laughed carefree. "Try and see."

Chen Ji and the others followed Zhang Li into Lu Hun Mountain Manor, passing between the high gray walls, as if shuttling through dark valleys.

Looking up, the gradually brightening sky only remained a slit.

Seeing Chen Ji look up, Zhang Li subsequently said, "I also don't know what that group of monks wanted to hide here in the past. They actually built this Lu Hun Mountain Manor like a canyon. My Huangshan also has a 'one-line sky' scenery, just below Wen Shu Cave. Crossing the immortal bridge, you can see it. People walking among it, looking up at the long sky, only a line of blue sky remains. If it's not noon, you won't see the sun or moon."

He turned back and glanced at Chen Ji, laughing. "The place where my Huangshan Dao Court is located is the world's first strange peak! According to legend, it's still the place where immortals refined sword pills and ascended!"

Chen Ji was startled. "Sword pills? Is it the Jing Dynasty Martial Temple's sword seed?"

Zhang Li shook his head. "That I don't know."

Chen Ji pressed on. "What was that immortal called?"

Zhang Li also shook his head. "I don't know either. I only know that below Fu Gu Peak there's a ten-thousand-year cave mansion, and the cave mansion has the characters 'Xuanyuan' engraved inside. That immortal was possibly called Xuanyuan, perhaps. Haha, I'm just guessing."

Chen Ji's heart was struck by thunder.

Xuanyuan!

He had finally heard Xuanyuan's name from someone else's mouth.

The green mountain dream finally had a foundation in this world.

He concealed his excitement and calmly asked, "Does the Huangshan Dao Court have records of this Xuanyuan's history?"

Zhang Li shook his head. "No, he is not a person of my Dao Court. When my Dao Court established a Taoist temple on Huangshan, his cave mansion was already there. My Huangshan has numerous strange sceneries. If you can win against the monks this time, you are welcome to come to Huangshan as a guest."

Chen Ji's face was strange. "What if I don't win?"

Zhang Li laughed happily. "Then don't come."

Chen Ji: ...

Not knowing how long they walked, the front gradually became noisy.

Walking out of the 'canyon', they saw a vast dojo filled with literati and elegant scholars, precisely whispering to each other.

This oval dojo was surrounded by over ten levels of steps, and the literati and elegant scholars sat in sequence on the stone steps, letting the heavy snow fall on their bodies.

The eight trigrams pattern in the middle of the dojo was covered by snow, except for the areas of the yin-yang fish eyes, where a cushion was placed. On one of these cushions sat a young monk wearing a gray robe, sitting cross-legged.

On the other side, the Dao Court's cushion was delayed in having someone sit on it.

Zhang Li led Chen Ji and the others to a group of Taoists and curiously asked, "Why is no one battling?"

A small Taoist turned his head and saw Zhang Li, suddenly overjoyed. "Senior brother Zhang Li is here. Quickly, quickly make way, Senior brother Zhang Li, quickly go teach that arrogant bald one a lesson."

"Senior brother Zhang Li, how did you come a day and a night late?"

Zhang Li raised his hand to suppress the voices of the young Taoists. "Wait, wait. How many people has my Dao Court lost now?"

A small Taoist hesitated. "We've already lost eight people, and there's still the last one who can go up."

Zhang Li asked again, "How many people does the opponent still have?"

The small Taoist hesitated again. "The opponent still has four people."

Zhang Li raised his eyebrows. "You group of small Taoists from Laojun Mountain have no good intentions. Letting me be the last one to go up, if I lose, won't I be the only one to bear the blame?"

"How could Senior brother Zhang Li possibly lose?"

"Senior brother Zhang Li, you can definitely win!"

Zhang Li said in a bad mood, "Stop trying to flatter me. With what can I win one against four? My Huangshan Dao Court may not be able to bear this pot."

The small Taoists were anxious. "If you don't go up, our Dao Court will definitely lose. At that time, all of us, over ten people, will have to go to Yuan Jue Temple and shave to become monks. Huangshan and Laojun Mountain are from the same branch, why divide each other?"

Zhang Li laughed in anger. "Wait, earlier, when my little junior sister borrowed pill formulas from you all, why didn't you say 'same branch'?"

"Ah, this..."

However, Zhang Li also did not delve deeper with them. In Buddhist and Daoist scripture debates, the Dao Court won together and lost together.

His eyes turned, looking towards Chen Ji, and he laughed. "You go. If you win, I will give you the pill."

Chen Ji answered straightforwardly, "Good!"

The small Taoists were surprised. "Senior brother, who is this person?"

Zhang Li waved his hand. "I don't know either."

"Ah?"

The small Taoists were shocked. "Such an important matter, how can you let someone unknown go up? What if he loses?"

Zhang Li patted the back of his head, interrupting. "He's the one who debated and won against the monk just now at the door. You all are usually arrogant and unwilling to read Confucian and Buddhist scriptures. How can you win without knowing yourself and your enemy? Those monks have thoroughly read our Daoist scriptures and are prepared. If we don't find someone who has thoroughly read Buddhist scriptures, we cannot win."

When the small Taoists heard that Chen Ji was the person who had won against the monk, they suddenly looked at each other.

A small Taoist asked, "Then Senior brother, have you read Buddhist scriptures? Why don't you go up!"

Zhang Li said as a matter of course, "I am a Taoist, what do I read that stuff for?"

Small Taoist: ...

Zhang Li bent down and said lowly to the small Taoists below the stone steps, "Letting outsiders go up, even if they lose this last match, it's outsiders who lose, and we can still save some face for the Dao Court. If the Dao Court itself loses, then there's not an ounce of face left."

A crowd of small Taoists then understood. Zhang Li knew in his heart that the Dao Court would undoubtedly lose, so he found an outsider to be a fig leaf.

They lowered their heads in shame. "But if we lose..."

Zhang Li leisurely said, "As for the matter of shaving and becoming monks, if you really lose, you all just go be monks for a month. Then say you all want to return to secular life, that's it."

The small Taoists were stunned. "Ah? Return to secular life?"

Zhang Li said righteously, "What? The Buddhist sect doesn't allow returning to secular life?"

The small Taoists exchanged glances and finally gritted their teeth. "Then let him go up."

Zhang Li looked towards Chen Ji. "You go ask questions. Ask ruthlessly."

At this time, Zhang Xia said lowly from the side, "This kind of scripture debate can only have one person go up. I cannot help from the side. I am a woman and cannot go up to debate scriptures."

Chen Ji thought silently.

The prince suddenly said, "Or I'll go up. Even if they win against me, it's not glorious."

Chen Ji, Zhang Xia, and the white carp looked slowly at the prince with expressionless faces, not knowing what to say for a moment.

After a moment, Chen Ji pulled out Wu Yun from his embrace and stuffed him into the white carp's embrace. "I'll give it a try."

The next moment, he walked into the cushion and sat down.

The monk opposite stood up and asked, "Buddhist and Daoist scripture debate. How can outsiders go on the field?"

Zhang Li said lazily, "This is my registered disciple of Huangshan Dao Court!"

The monk questioned angrily, "When were they registered, and what name was registered?"

Zhang Li stiffened. He had just forgotten to ask what this young man was called.

Just as the field was in a stalemate, Chen Ji asked loudly, "Dare I ask the eminent monk, if a ship is named 'Universal Ferry Ship', and over several years it is repaired and patched, finally replacing every board and every part, is this ship still the original Universal Ferry Ship?"

The dojo suddenly fell silent. The monks looked at each other, silent as birds and beasts. Only the snowflakes falling from the sky remained.

Zhang Li, who was originally lazily leaning on the stone steps, heard this question and felt that there were more and more traps the more he thought about it.

He gradually sat up straight, looking towards the young man sitting in the dojo in the wind and snow.

Chen Ji had not thoroughly read Buddhist scriptures, but he had read the world's top ten paradoxes!