Apprenticing the Living Buddha

"System, you know what I'm about to do next, right?"

"..."

The calculator interface appeared on the phone screen at just the right moment. An Yang tapped it a few times and furrowed his brow.

"Two months! That long..."

"Looks like I can prepare properly."

An Yang took a deep breath and sank into thought.

An Yang's rental was close to the city outskirts, in the cheapest area on the edge of Jinguan City. Not far beyond the suburbs was a nice park, and beside the park stretched a row of villas. Due to the remote location and sparse surrounding population, the entire park felt very quiet.

Heading out at dawn without breakfast, he arrived at the park, found a secluded, empty forest path, spread a newspaper on a bench, sat down cross-legged, and began cultivating the Kunlun Art.

He wasn't worried about being noticed. These days, the bigger the forest, the stranger the birds—plenty of young people spent their time daydreaming and messing around with weird stuff. As for any odd looks from others, he simply didn't care.

After all, he didn't know them.

Why else would he come this far!

Not long after sitting down to breathe, he felt refreshed and clear-headed. An Yang realized how truly quiet it was here, and the air was far better than in the residential buildings—perfect for focused cultivation.

A long while later, the scorching sun filtered through the gaps in the trees, shining on his face, and the cicadas started their noisy chorus. He noticed it was nearly noon, stood up, stretched, and walked out of the woods while looking around.

His entire body felt as if it had opened up, the weakness and fatigue from a night of dealing with Nie Xiaoqian completely gone!

On a bench outside the woods sat an old man, occasionally glancing up at him with a strange look.

An Yang ignored him and walked a few steps out of the park.

After lunch, he contacted a curtain shop and had black blackout curtains installed throughout the entire house. To be safe, he used two layers—one built-in, one external.

Not just the windows, but also the exhaust fan and air conditioner vents—he didn't miss a single spot connected to the outside, making sure not a single ray of light could get in.

The worker was quick and finished installing all the curtains within two hours, though his expression was a bit odd when he left.

An Yang rubbed his nose, knowing full well that no normal person would block every external light source in their home.

In the afternoon, Ji Weiwei arrived.

An Yang heard rustling outside the door, followed by the sound of a key turning. Click—the door swung open.

"You didn't even open the door for me—don't tell me you're not home again..."

She stepped inside and suddenly shivered. "Damn, did I walk into a haunted house? It's so dark in here! And it's broad daylight!"

A figure appeared in front of her, making her jump!

Snap!

The light came on, flooding the room. An Yang stood before her!

"An Yang, you nearly scared me to death!"

He looked at the plastic bag she was carrying, catching a glimpse of a folding stool inside, and asked in surprise, "What's that for?"

"Looking for you!"

"Why bring a stool to look for me?"

Ji Weiwei said seriously, "To get the key! Your door frame is so high—how else would I reach it without a stool?"

An Yang sighed helplessly. "Whose door frame isn't this high? It's just that you're too short. If doors were your height, how would someone like me get in?"

Ji Weiwei shot back without thinking, "Bend over."

"..."

"Oh, come on—I was afraid you weren't home. I wasn't about to wait outside for nothing. You're the one with all the questions—I haven't even asked you yet. If you were home, why didn't you open the door?"

"Open the door... but you have to knock first."

Ji Weiwei's face flushed with embarrassment. She pulled a pair of pink slippers from the shoe cabinet, quickly changed into them, and walked into the room, looking around. "An Yang, what are you doing? Turning a perfectly good room into such a creepy place!"

An Yang paused, then said, "I have a skin condition. I can't stand sunlight—it makes me feel awful."

"Huh?"

Ji Weiwei instinctively stepped back, keeping her distance.

"It's not contagious, is it?"

An Yang stared at her darkly, a vein bulging on his forehead. Then he suddenly relented. "Fine, the truth is, I'm keeping a female ghost in my room. I'm afraid the sun will hurt her."

Ji Weiwei nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I figured as much!"

Leaving An Yang standing there, face full of exasperation, utterly speechless.

"So, your parents aren't forcing you into blind dates again?"

"What, so scared this goddess is coming to crash on your couch?" Ji Weiwei shot him a sideways glance. "Relax, this goddess is here to treat you to dinner. I happen to have the day off."

An Yang was drinking water. He looked down at her from his height and said flatly, "Goddess? Since when are goddesses that flat-chested?"

Ji Weiwei's expression instantly turned fierce. She puffed out her chest, but quickly deflated, muttering, "What do you know? Good things come in small packages!"

An Yang nearly spat out a mouthful of water.

Ji Weiwei said, "Alright, alright, go get yourself fixed up and come eat out with this goddess."

An Yang looked wary. "What's there to dress up for when I'm eating out with you? You're not tricking me into going to some party, are you?"

"You've been reading too many novels. A party? Want me to have you pretend to be my boyfriend again? Fine, don't dress up, just go out in your slippers."

"..."

"Oh right, this AIDS of yours won't cause any trouble when you go out, will it?"

"...AIDS your grandpa!"

After eating at a Food Stall with Ji Weiwei and seeing her home, An Yang was surprised to find that her parents had come to visit!

Good thing he hadn't worn slippers!

A bit awkward, An Yang stood at the door and greeted Ji Weiwei's parents. Sensing he wasn't exactly welcome, he shrugged and took his leave, thinking to himself that he wasn't even trying to date their daughter, so why did he always have to put up with their sour faces?

Ji Weiwei chewed her gum nonchalantly, watching her parents' gloomy expressions, and even said goodbye to An Yang: "They'll be gone in a few days. Come over and play often."

An Yang paused, suddenly understanding Ji Weiwei's intentions, and couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile.

"This girl..."

When he got home, Nie Xiaoqian was already curled up on the sofa watching TV. Her slender figure was pitifully endearing, her smooth, long legs dazzlingly pale. She seemed to love this position, but she didn't realize how alluring she looked.

An Yang sat down on the sofa. She quickly put down the remote and came over to massage his shoulders, pointing around and saying, "An Yang, you're back! Did you put up these curtains?"

"Yeah, so you can come out and get some air during the day too."

Nie Xiaoqian gently kissed An Yang, then leaned close to his ear and whispered softly, "Thank you, An Yang, husband."

An Yang wrapped an arm around her slender waist, his hand sliding down to that firm, springy spot, and said, "How are you going to thank me?"

Nie Xiaoqian pushed him away, shyly saying, "No, all you think about day and night is improper things. If you keep this up, your body won't be able to take it."

An Yang rubbed his nose. He did feel a bit weak lately—his palms were always cold and clammy. He'd have to step up his training in the Kunlun Art.

"It's your fault for being so beautiful, born with a bewitching charm."

Nie Xiaoqian lowered her head and said, "Let me massage your shoulders and help you relax, but you can't get out of line."

An Yang agreed with a smile. He wasn't in a hurry anyway.

That night, they still tumbled in passion. Nie Xiaoqian was, after all, a purely classical woman; no matter how much she worried about his health, she couldn't refuse his request.

When he woke up in the morning, An Yang always noticed his complexion had grown a shade paler. So he started going to the park more often, spending a lot of time each day on the Kunlun Art.

A week later, he found that his physique had increased by 0.1, reaching 2.3. This was an unexpected delight.

Correspondingly, more people in the park noticed his strange behavior. Most were retired elderly men and women, but there were also young men and women, all casting curious glances his way. The once-quiet forest path was no longer so peaceful.

Until one day, an old man sidled up to him with a mysterious air and asked, "Hey, young fella, what kind of kung fu are you practicing?"

An Yang was taken aback and gave a helpless smile. "No kung fu. I'm just bored, sitting here messing around, thinking about life."

The old man didn't believe him. "Don't think you can fool me. I've been watching you for days. You come here every day and sit for hours. Did you take some Living Buddha as your master? As it happens, I've been thinking of taking up Buddhism myself. How about it—drop the name and put in a good word for me?"

Old pal...!

An Yang looked at the man's graying hair and beard, his obviously high-quality, expensive clothes, and his bright, eager eyes, and felt a headache coming on.

Were all rich people this bored?!

"...Sir, you're overthinking it. I'm just messing around."

Unexpectedly, the more he denied it, the more the old man didn't believe him. He said curiously, "Can't say, huh? Is it the Tibetan Esoteric Sect?"

An Yang's eye twitched. He knew that high society had a trend of taking Living Buddhas or Qigong Masters as teachers—especially Living Buddhas recognized by orthodox Tibetan Buddhism, who could easily gather a large number of outer disciples from the upper class. But this old man was a bit too neurotic.

He simply closed his eyes and ignored him.

The old man kept muttering in his ear: "Young fella, what are you sitting here for? Is it a test from the Living Buddha?"

An Yang took a deep breath and didn't respond.

The old man continued talking to himself: "Hmm, I think so. Old Qin told me that taking a Living Buddha as a master has strict requirements—not only do you have to donate a huge sum of money, but you also have to pass a test of character."

An Yang opened his eyes and looked helplessly at this clearly bored old man. "Sir, what exactly do you want?"

The old man finally came to his senses and slapped his head. "Right, right, right, I shouldn't disturb you. If I held up your apprenticeship to a Living Buddha, that would be a sin. I'll ask one question and then go."

Out of respect for the old man's age, An Yang said helplessly, "Go ahead, but don't ask what kung fu I'm practicing."

"Wouldn't dream of it!" the old man promised, leaning in with a wink. "Which Living Buddha did you take as your master? How much did you donate when you became a disciple? Let me see if I can scrape that together."

An Yang: "..."