Small Jade Buddha

His turbulent thoughts vanished. His heart became calm and his mind settled; he was neither impatient nor worried. Meng Qi gradually sensed true qi being generated, flowing separately through the Ren and Du Meridians, condensing into Golden Saliva Jade Liquid in his upper and lower jaws before gathering into a mouthful of clear, sweet "Sweet Dew."

The "Sweet Dew" slowly seeped into the Ren Meridian, filling his acupoints according to Meng Qi's visualization.

If the body had deficiencies, the "Sweet Dew" would not be sweet. It had to be replenished through such generation of true qi, Strengthening Spirit and Body. Meng Qi's current condition showed that his body was in its best possible state.

"This body seemed to have already completed the 'Hundred Days Foundation Establishment'?" The Young Monk Meng Qi, who was not very fond of Buddhism, opened his eyes and savored what had just happened. According to Martial Uncle Xuan En's description, "he" should have already passed the "Hundred Days Foundation Establishment" stage and could begin "Meditative Qi Accumulation."

But after giving it some thought, Meng Qi steadied his mind. What had been completed in the past was in the past. If he wanted to walk farther down the path of martial arts, he had to personally experience every step. There could not be the slightest leap; only then could he walk more steadily and farther.

After a quarter of an hour had passed, Xuan En struck the wooden fish, its crisp sound piercing into their hearts and waking everyone. He then asked each person about their meditative state—whether they could enter meditation, what quality of "Sweet Dew" they had generated—and gave guidance accordingly.

At the end, he nodded. "Go back and try again. We'll begin learning characters now."

Opening the scripture before him that was meant for literacy practice, Meng Qi discovered, unsurprisingly, that he recognized most of the characters on it.

This filled him with joy. At least he had not become illiterate and needed to start from scratch. As he was now, he was more than capable of "dominating" the Sutra Lecture Hall!

"Pick up your brush and practice this character," Xuan En instructed.

The joy in Meng Qi's heart immediately vanished like smoke in the wind. The last time he had written with a brush had been in elementary school. Sure enough, the characters he wrote were incomparably ugly.

"You need more practice." Xuan En walked past Meng Qi with his hands clasped behind his back.

Meng Qi nodded dejectedly, then suddenly shuddered in alarm. If Xuanzang saw this handwriting, would he become suspicious? This body of his had most likely been born into a prominent family. It had even completed the "Hundred Days Foundation Establishment"; it could not possibly have neglected calligraphy since childhood!

Meng Qi opened his mouth with difficulty, but felt that explaining himself to Xuan En would be useless and would instead be like trying to cover up one's ears while stealing a bell. So he seized the time to practice writing. If Xuanzang questioned him later, he could say that he had not yet adapted to the work in the Servant Courtyard at the beginning, that his arms had been sore and weak, and so his writing had not looked like writing at all.

When noon approached and Xuan En announced that the Young Monks could leave, Meng Qi quietly took away the sheets of paper he had practiced on, intending to destroy the evidence.

After lunch, Meng Qi, Zhenhui, and the others were assigned to clean various places around the temple until the Setting Sun dipped westward.

After a day of toil, Xuan Xin gathered everyone again and continued recounting the glorious tales of his jianghu exploits.

"...That is all about Shuiyue Nunnery. If you encounter them in the future, simply keep a respectful distance. As for Vajra Temple, it is on bad terms with our Shaolin, so you must be extremely careful."

Huh? Though the Sectarian Monks had heard plenty of jianghu anecdotes and aristocratic gossip before becoming monks, none of them had known that Shaolin Temple and Vajra Temple, both among Buddhism's Four Great Temples, had such poor relations that caution was necessary!

Seeing their widened eyes, Xuan Xin nodded in satisfaction. "Blood Saber Monk was originally a wild fox Chan practitioner, yet he encountered a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity and obtained the fifth form of Buddha's Palm. From it, he comprehended two fundamental great arts and founded the Vajra Temple lineage. Therefore, they have always coveted the third form of Buddha's Palm secretly held by our Shaolin. They wish to compare the two and comprehend how to attain the Tathagata Golden Body. The two sects have had quite a few underhanded disputes in secret."

"Tathagata Golden Body..." Meng Qi's brows twitched. He felt this was getting rather fantastical, yet his heart inexplicably heated up.

Suddenly, someone knocked at the courtyard gate. Xuan Xin jumped up in fright, staring there with a face full of panic as he blurted out, "Junior Brother Xuanku, I haven't broken any precepts..."

Before he could finish, his expression darkened. "Nephew-disciple, what are you doing at my Servant Courtyard?"

Meng Qi turned around and saw a fairly familiar Young Monk standing at the gate. He was one of the children who had entered the temple alongside Meng Qi, Zhenhui, Zhende, and the others, one of the two eldest among them, around fifteen years old. During their studies at the Sutra Lecture Hall today, he had chatted very congenially with the other Young Monks from the Servant Courtyard and had shown no disdain toward them.

His Dharma name seemed to be "Zhen Yong"? Meng Qi recalled.

Zhen Yong was tall and thin, with an ordinary appearance, but when he smiled, he revealed a mouthful of white teeth, dazzlingly bright. "Martial Uncle Xuan Xin, I heard from several junior brothers that you are widely knowledgeable and know martial arts anecdotes like the back of your hand. I love hearing such things most of all, so in my eagerness, I presumptuously came calling. Please forgive me and allow me to listen in."

At this time, the Warrior Monk Institute had time set aside for arranging their own Cultivating the Body in Meditation.

Flattered by Zhen Yong's praise, Xuan Xin seemed to float on air again. Smiling broadly, he said, "No matter, no matter. Just sit and listen. Gain more Jianghu knowledge, and you won't suffer losses when you travel the world in the future."

Zhen Yong looked around, then sat directly beside Meng Qi and asked in a low voice, "Junior Brother Zhending, I didn't squeeze you, did I?"

"No." Meng Qi shook his head. He felt that this Young Monk Zhen Yong spoke with a maturity beyond his years. At fourteen or fifteen, he spoke like an adult scholar.

"I see that Junior Brother Zhending seems able to read characters and parse sentences. I hope you will look after me more in the future. If there is ever anything you need from this senior brother, just say the word." Zhen Yong smiled with familiar ease.

Heart Moved, Meng Qi remembered that he was a Warrior Monk from the Warrior Monk Institute and replied with a smile, "It's a small matter. Why does Senior Brother need to be so formal?"

After just a few exchanges, the two seemed to have found kindred spirits, regretting only that they had not met sooner.

Seeing this, Xuan Xin coughed to quiet everyone, then continued, "Besides its two fundamental great arts, Vajra Temple's saber arts are what require attention."

"Blood Saber Monk himself was a grandmaster of the saber path and also comprehended part of the mysteries of the fifth form of Buddha's Palm. Therefore, the three great saber arts he created after attaining the Wrathful Vajra Dharma Body stand at the pinnacle of the world's saber path. There are truly few that can rival them..."

His account made the Sectarian Monks' brows dance and their spirits soar. But as they listened, everyone became somewhat depressed. Zhen Yong immediately raised his hand and asked, "Martial Uncle Xuan Xin, does our Shaolin not have any saber art that can rival them?"

That was right—wasn't Shaolin martial arts said to encompass everything? The Sectarian Monks also possessed a sense of sect pride.

Xuan Xin clicked his tongue. "Shaolin indeed has few saber arts, but there is still one capable of matching those three great saber arts: the Ananda Breaking Precepts Saber Art, one of the Seventy-Two Ultimate Techniques. They are all peerless arts at the peak of the Exterior realm, capable of communicating with the laws of heaven and earth. Of course, one must also enter the 'Exterior' realm to unleash this saber art's true power."

He gave a rough introduction to this divine saber art, and the monks listened with yearning hearts, wildly excited.

"Enough. It is late at night. Return to your rooms and cultivate." Xuan Xin yawned without any concern for his image, then added as if unconcerned, "Actually, I'm not afraid of Junior Brother Xuanku. It's just that the Servant Courtyard falls under the Miscellaneous Affairs Courtyard, so I was giving him face."

He was still brooding over his fright just now.

"Is that so?" A rich, mellow voice suddenly sounded from the gate.

Xuan Xin's face immediately turned pale. He hurriedly forced a smile. "Junior Brother Xuanku, I, I..."

Xuanku had a square face and large ears. He still wore a Yellow Monk Robe, but there was now a string of reddish-brown Buddhist beads in his right hand.

They were the same as the ones Meng Qi had seen in the hands of the Disciplinary Monks at the Discipline Institute during the day, except one string was dark yellow and the other reddish-brown.

"Senior Brother Xuan Xin, I am no longer in the Miscellaneous Affairs Courtyard. I am now an Attendant Monk of the Discipline Institute," Xuanku said solemnly.

"No wonder Junior Brother came to inspect the place." Xuan Xin deliberately changed the subject.

That was even more terrifying, all right... Meng Qi silently clicked his tongue. Martial Uncle Xuanku, who did not care for personal feelings, had actually entered the Discipline Institute. If Meng Qi were caught with a handle in the future...

Xuanku swept his gaze around the courtyard and nodded. "Return to your rooms. Do not forget to cultivate."

After returning to the Zen Room, Meng Qi quietly took out the Small Jade Buddha and examined it with his back to Zhen Ying, Zhen Guan, and the others. It felt warm and smooth to the touch, while threads of coolness seeped into his body, clearing his mind at once.

"It truly is a rare treasure!" Meng Qi rejoiced inwardly. He turned it over and over, hoping to discover more secrets, but gained nothing in the end. He could only rein in his thoughts, stop dwelling on such matters, and begin trying to enter meditation. With the Small Jade Buddha's aid, entering meditation this time was exceptionally easy.

After generating true qi, Meng Qi suddenly furrowed his brow. After thinking for a moment, he directly removed the Small Jade Buddha.

The first step of martial arts cultivation could not rely on external objects. If that became a habit, then in the future it would be like moving forward while leaning on a crutch.

Without the Small Jade Buddha, Meng Qi's thoughts gradually became restless. Fortunately, he had the experience of two previous successes. The bright moon hung high now, and the night was deep and still. At last, he gathered his heart and mind, settling into stillness; from stillness came wisdom, and from wisdom, true qi arose of its own accord.

He breathed and circulated the true qi, filling his acupoints. A full hour and a half later, Meng Qi finally opened his eyes again. It was not that he did not want to continue cultivating, but he had to ensure sufficient rest. Otherwise, tomorrow's water-carrying and sweeping would consume an enormous amount of physical strength.

Having just completed Cultivating the Body in Meditation, Meng Qi was refreshed in body and spirit and could not sleep for the moment. Turning his head, he happened to see Zhenhui looking over. He too seemed to have just finished cultivating.

"Little Junior Brother, not asleep yet?" Heart Moved, Meng Qi intended to teach him a little about the ways of the world.

Zhenhui nodded blankly. "Soon."

"Mm, then Senior Brother needs to tell you some things. Some words..." Meng Qi launched into a lengthy speech, but as he spoke, he noticed Zhenhui's eyelids drooping, as if he were about to fall asleep.

He simply could not listen to it... The corner of Meng Qi's mouth twitched. He frowned in thought, then quickly came up with a good idea. This guy seems very interested in jianghu stories. Then I can weave worldly wisdom into them!

In truth, if he had not been stranded in a foreign land, all alone, Meng Qi would not have cared in the slightest whether others understood the ways of the world. But now, he wanted to use this method to ease the anguish of having inexplicably crossed into another world.

"Little Junior Brother, I once heard the story of a Great Hero. Do you want to hear it?" Meng Qi asked with a smiling face.

Zhenhui's eyes flew open, and he nodded vigorously. "Thank you, Senior Brother!"

This guy always talks so strangely... Meng Qi scratched his bald head, gazed at the bright moon outside the window, and said in a drifting voice, "A very, very long time ago, there was a Daoist priest named Qiu Chuji. He passed through a place called Niujia Village..."

This story seemed like a bridge linking two worlds. Meng Qi became immersed in it for a time, forgetting that he was merely telling a story to Zhenhui.

Three months later, Meng Qi had shot up noticeably in height, while his "Hundred Days Foundation Establishment" was only half completed due to insufficient time.

Because of Meng Qi's gripping and intense "jianghu stories," the Young Monk Zhenhui came to worship him more and more, nearly obeying his every word.

Yet Meng Qi still had not received an opportunity to leave the Servant Courtyard and enter the Warrior Monk Institute.

"Junior Brother Zhending, where are you going?" Zhen Yong entered the Servant Courtyard and happened to see Meng Qi and Zhenhui holding brooms, preparing to go out. It was just after lunch.

Meng Qi answered with some excitement, "Martial Uncle Xuan Xin arranged for us to clean the Scripture Depository."

Speaking of this, Meng Qi was filled with unexpected delight. After lunch just now, Xuan Xin had instructed Zhenhui and him to clean the Scripture Depository, saying that from now on, the place would be assigned to the two of them.

Although Xuan Xin had clearly said that they were only responsible for the bottom two floors where Buddhist scriptures were stored, while eminent monks would clean the upper floors, Meng Qi still could not suppress his excitement. The Scripture Depository! The Scripture Depository rumored to house Shaolin's Seventy-Two Ultimate Techniques! In how many wuxia and fantastical stories was that the place where people encountered great opportunities!

"I wonder whether Buddha's Palm, Yi Jin Jing, Maha Demon Subduing Fist, and Great Dream Scripture are in the Scripture Depository..." Meng Qi thought, his mind wandering beyond the clouds.