Refusal and Prayer Beads

However, Meng Zhao had used the White Bone Visualization Method to sever his desires. The men inside and outside the pavilion had no such secret art.

Thus, their gazes were drawn to the peerlessly beautiful woman who had suddenly appeared.

A few black-clad guards with weak wills and insufficient self-control even revealed ugly, lust-addled expressions, their drool nearly spilling out.

Meng Zhao sat calmly, his gaze sharp as lightning as he focused and swept his eyes over everyone around him.

He paid particular attention to Meng Qinghuai's reaction. This man had displayed many abnormalities before and bore hostility toward him.

As it turned out, the instant Meng Qinghuai saw the woman appear, his expression too became entranced. Yet he quickly woke from it and returned to normal, showing that his mind was resolute.

Moreover, Meng Zhao did not know whether he was simply being overly suspicious, but he always felt that Meng Qinghuai feared to avoid this woman more than he respectfully kept his distance from her.

There was a difference. The former was instinctive fear; the latter was deliberate estrangement.

"Fourth Brother, this woman is named Chu Yao. She is sixteen this year. Not only is her beauty unmatched, but she can sing and dance, and she carries a strange fragrance. She is truly a rare treasure in this world.

"Half a month ago, Elder Brother gave her to me, but I never touched her. She remains pure to this day.

"Considering that you have only just returned home and have no intimate person by your side to attend to you, your Second Brother will offer flowers to Buddha with borrowed blossoms and give this woman to you. You must not refuse."

As Meng Wen spoke, he did not even glance at Chu Yao, as though he had not taken such a devastating beauty to heart at all.

His expression was quite open and candid as well, and he explained the woman's identity and origins with perfect clarity.

Meng Zhao instantly understood Meng Wen's intentions. This was far more than offering flowers to Buddha with borrowed blossoms; perhaps he was diverting disaster eastward.

Given how these two brothers appeared harmonious while secretly wishing to beat each other's brains out, anyone could tell with their toes that this beauty was a scalding hot yam.

Perhaps Meng Wen did not merely wish to win him over. More than that, he wanted to test him.

"Fourth Brother, you may not know this, but while I was at Great Compassion Temple, I had already cultivated the Arhat Young Monk Skill and nurtured a breath of Pure Yang Child Qi. I cannot easily break my virginity, so I appreciate Fourth Brother's good intentions."

The moment they heard of the Arhat Young Monk Skill, both Meng Wen and Meng Qinghuai's expressions changed. They stared at Meng Zhao in considerable surprise.

Their gazes were strange, as though they were wondering why he had chosen this kind of martial art.

It was not that it was inadequate. The Arhat Young Monk Skill was one of Great Compassion Temple's three supreme acquired martial arts, never passed outside the temple. Once mastered, it not only produced abundant true qi and possessed extraordinary effects against evil.

It could also use Pure Yang Child Qi to strengthen the muscles and bones, improve one's aptitude, and aid the cultivation of other internal arts and mental methods. Its benefits were many.

Had he not benefited from Emperor Beitang Sheng's favor, Meng Zhao would not have been qualified to receive this martial art at all.

Yet this skill had one drawback: one had to maintain a virgin body in order to advance with fierce vigor.

For monks, that was hardly difficult. There were plenty of virgins nearing a hundred years old.

But Meng Zhao was not a monk.

Ordinarily, sons of powerful aristocratic families like theirs would never choose this sort of martial art.

First, a family needed descendants to spread its branches and leaves and continue its bloodline. Even ordinary households could not overlook this.

Second, the condition of not being allowed to touch women was simply too difficult for men, especially young masters of great clans.

Take Meng Wen, for example. When he was sixteen, he had lost his virginity with the little maid who attended him. Though he had yet to formally marry, he kept no fewer than ten women both within and outside the household, and there were even more when he merely played along for the occasion.

Compared to him, Meng Qinghuai was less excessive, but he secretly kept two women as well, both exceptionally beautiful.

Thus, they simply could not understand Meng Zhao's ascetic monk-like life of abstaining from women.

But after thinking it over, Meng Zhao had spent ten years in a temple. He had likely been made a fool of by it and probably did not yet know the wonders of women.

Meng Wen hesitated only briefly. Though regretful, he gave a laugh and said,

"So that is how it is. Fourth Brother, you have suffered.

"Still, this woman's beauty is extraordinary. Even if you keep her by your side as a maid to order about, it would be fine. How about you, Fourth Brother—"

Meng Zhao sighed, cutting Meng Wen off with a bashful expression.

"Second Brother, my self-control is lacking. If such a stunning beauty appeared before my eyes every day, I fear I would be unable to restrain myself and ruin my cultivation.

"So, let us forget it."

With his words so plain, Meng Wen could not continue urging or pressuring him. Somewhat helplessly, he waved his hand.

Chu Yao, a beauty capable of toppling kingdoms in ordinary men's eyes, cast Meng Zhao a slightly aggrieved glance. She bowed to the people in the pavilion, then departed with graceful steps. Even her retreating figure remained ethereally beautiful.

This beauty was probably cursing her mother in her heart. A woman others would have fought to possess, yet none of the Meng Family's three brothers had taken any interest in her. After being passed around until now, she was still a virgin. What a blow to her pride.

Meng Wen was not troubled at this point. Though it was unexpected that he could not give away the beauty, he had other preparations. Thus, he said again,

"Since Fourth Brother will not accept the beauty, you absolutely must not refuse the next gift."

As he spoke, he had a servant bring over another precious item and place it on the table. Smiling, he said,

"Fourth Brother, after ten years in a temple, you must be no stranger to treasures of the Buddhist sect.

"These Jade Prayer Beads are a rare treasure I obtained by chance. Their material is extraordinary, and they were once blessed by a venerable monk's decades of Buddhist Dharma cultivation, steeped in Buddha-nature.

"They can protect the clarity of one's spiritual platform and empower the cultivation of internal arts. I shall give them to Fourth Brother."

The twelve Jade Prayer Beads were crystal clear and naturally flawless, linked by an almost invisible silver-white thread. They emitted a faint, serene green light.

Even someone who knew nothing could tell at a glance that this treasure was worth a fortune.

Yet Meng Zhao's expression remained calm, without the slightest hint of temptation, and he was just about to refuse again.

After all, he had only come here to make a gesture, not to truly involve himself in the struggle between the two brothers of the main branch.

He felt even less interest in these prayer beads.

After all, he was not the poor bastard who had really spent ten years in a temple.

But at that moment, something unexpected happened.

As Meng Zhao looked at the Jade Prayer Beads, his vision blurred. A dazzling flash of green light vanished in an instant, and a deep longing for the string of beads suddenly surged within his heart.

I must obtain these prayer beads, or I will surely lose something.

This feeling had come so suddenly and so intensely that Meng Zhao could not make heads or tails of it.

He had been in this world for over a year, and this was the first time he had experienced such a strange sensation.

Could it be that his golden finger had finally arrived, granting him the ability to identify rare and exotic treasures?

At the thought, Meng Zhao's heart grew heated. Forgetting his earlier plans, he revealed a satisfied smile.

"Then I shall accept without further ceremony."

As he spoke, Meng Zhao called Lü Yue over and had him put the prayer beads away first.

At the same time, he presented the gift Lü Yue had been holding, properly returning courtesy for courtesy.

The gift he returned had been selected from the rewards bestowed upon him by the Imperial Court. Though it was not as precious as the Jade Prayer Beads, it was still appropriate enough.

Thus, the expression on Meng Wen's face relaxed even further. In their subsequent conversation, he appeared much more intimate with Meng Zhao.

His purpose in inviting Meng Zhao here today had been to probe the attitude of the second branch.

Now that Meng Zhao had accepted this gift, so long as he was not brainless, even if he could not be used by Meng Wen, he would certainly not easily side with Elder Brother.

That was already good enough. What Meng Wen feared was the second branch directly throwing in its lot with Elder Brother. If that happened, the situation would take a sharp turn for the worse for him.

As for Meng Qinghuai, under the deliberate neglect of Meng Zhao and Meng Wen, he had thoroughly become part of the background.

He sat alone to one side, silently pouring and drinking by himself, his gaze indifferent. Occasionally, when he looked at the two men's "deep brotherly affection," his heart filled with mockery.

Unfortunately, Meng Zhao was now eager to determine what was extraordinary about these prayer beads and why he had suddenly felt that inexplicable premonition. He no longer had much interest in playing at brotherly affection with Meng Wen, so he soon took his leave on an excuse.

He had made the gesture he needed to make. Everything else was merely branches and leaves; there was no need to remain and continue acting.

Though Meng Wen had not achieved his original goal, he was fairly satisfied with the present result and did not force Meng Zhao to stay.

Following Meng Zhao's wishes, he sent someone to escort him and Lü Yue out of Jade Flower Garden.

He then turned to soothe Meng Qinghuai, whose mood was poor.

Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with Meng Qinghuai's performance today and harbored some suspicions, he would not criticize him too harshly.

To put it bluntly, Meng Qinghuai was still useful to him—extremely useful.

Otherwise, if it had been anyone else who dared ruin his plans, they would have long since been thrown out to feed the fish.