The Great Buddha Reincarnated

"I came for Cheng'er!" Zhou Wei and Luo Shui were greatly surprised.

Zhou Wei quickly asked nervously, "May I ask why Abbot Huineng has come for Cheng'er?"

Seeing how tense Zhou Wei was, Abbot Huineng smiled. "Lord Zhou, there's no need to be nervous. It's good news."

Good news!

Zhou Wei and Luo Shui couldn't help wondering what good news Abbot Huineng meant.

Abbot Huineng stroked his long beard, which reached down to his chest, and smiled warmly. "At noon today, I met your second son. He has a connection with the Buddha, and I'd like to take him as my personal disciple."

"Moreover, I intend to pass my legacy on to him."

A personal disciple!

And he intended to pass his legacy on to Zhou Cheng!

Abbot Huineng's words left Zhou Wei and Luo Shui stunned for quite some time.

Such enormous joy falling from the heavens seemed almost unreal to them.

After all, both of them knew Zhou Cheng's talent for martial arts was nothing special.

"Abbot Huineng..." After a long pause, Zhou Wei stammered, "Are you certain the person you met at noon was my son? Cheng'er's talent for martial arts isn't very good."

Abbot Huineng smiled. "I'm absolutely certain that the young man I saw at noon was your son, Zhou Cheng." Then he added, "Sometimes, one doesn't need great talent for martial arts to cultivate Buddhism."

"This boy, Zhou Cheng, possesses Buddha-nature."

Zhou Wei and Luo Shui were both taken aback.

Possessed Buddha-nature?

Seeing their expressions, Abbot Huineng took the prayer beads from around his neck and said thoughtfully, "To be honest, these prayer beads are a treasured inheritance of Shaolin Temple. They've been passed down for more than a thousand years and possess great spiritual power. Yet no one has ever caused them to manifest an omen. But yesterday, when Young Master Zhou Cheng passed by, the beads revealed their divine power and shone with Buddha-light."

The prayer beads had revealed their divine power and shone with Buddha-light!

Zhou Wei and Luo Shui were deeply shaken.

They had heard some related legends: that certain people were born as Buddha's chosen ones, possessed Buddha-nature, and could stir an answering resonance among all Buddhas.

But such people were exceedingly rare. Only a handful had appeared throughout history.

Abbot Huineng continued, "Zhou Cheng was born with Buddha-nature and is destined to join our Buddhist sect. If he cultivates Buddhism, it will be a blessing from Heaven!"

A blessing from Heaven!

Abbot Huineng pleaded earnestly, "So I beg you both to allow me to take Zhou Cheng as my personal disciple!" To show his sincerity, Abbot Huineng even stood and bowed to Zhou Wei and Luo Shui with his palms pressed together.

Seeing this, Zhou Wei and Luo Shui quickly stood as well.

"Abbot Huineng, you're too kind." Zhou Wei hurriedly replied, visibly moved. "If Cheng'er can become your personal disciple, my wife and I couldn't be happier."

Abbot Huineng could only smile wryly. "At noon today, I told your son to his face that I wanted to take him as my personal disciple, but he refused without even thinking it over."

Zhou Wei and Luo Shui were dumbfounded.

"He refused?!" Zhou Wei exclaimed.

Abbot Huineng nodded. "I even told him who I was, but your son said Shaolin Temple has too many rules and he wouldn't be able to abide by them."

He'd refused for that reason?

Zhou Wei frowned and asked the steward beside him, "Where's the second young master? Have him come to the main hall."

The steward stammered, "The second young master just went out. He's been gone for about half an hour."

Zhou Wei's expression darkened. Had that boy gone out to play again?

Luo Shui said to the steward, "Send someone to look for the second young master."

The steward quickly agreed, then sent the guards of the Grand General's Mansion to look for Zhou Cheng.

Remembering what Abbot Huineng had just said about Zhou Cheng making his prayer beads shine with Buddha-light, Luo Shui suddenly recalled how Buddha-light had soared into the sky above Heavenly Dragon Temple yesterday morning, with Buddha-figures appearing everywhere. Her breathing quickened.

Then she remembered that everyone had knelt at the time, while her son Zhou Cheng had stood there in a daze. Luo Shui grew even more excited.

Could it be...?

"Madam, what's the matter?" Zhou Wei asked when he saw her suddenly grow excited.

Luo Shui looked at Zhou Wei. "Wei, I just remembered the Buddha-light that blazed above Heavenly Dragon Temple yesterday morning, and the Buddha-figures that filled the sky."

Zhou Wei was puzzled. The whole Capital City had seen the Buddha-light blazing above Heavenly Dragon Temple and the Buddha-figures filling the sky yesterday. But surely there was no need to get so excited?

Abbot Huineng and the head of the Martial Monk Hall also looked at Luo Shui in confusion. They had heard about the auspicious sight at Heavenly Dragon Temple yesterday, but why was the general's wife so excited about it?

Seeing the confusion on Zhou Wei, Abbot Huineng, and the others' faces, Luo Shui forced down her excitement and said, "Cheng'er and I went to Heavenly Dragon Temple yesterday morning."

"Cheng'er and I were at Heavenly Dragon Temple!"

Boom!

Zhou Wei, Huineng, the head of the Martial Monk Hall, and the others were deeply shaken.

They all understood what Luo Shui meant.

"Madam, are you saying the Buddha-light that blazed above Heavenly Dragon Temple yesterday morning, and the Buddha-figures that filled the sky, might have been caused by Cheng'er?" Zhou Wei asked, unable to believe it.

Luo Shui said, "Yesterday morning, the Buddha-light blazed above Heavenly Dragon Temple, and Buddha-figures filled the sky. Everyone at the temple excitedly fell to their knees, but Cheng'er acted strangely. He stood there without moving, as if he'd entered some kind of trance."

"I didn't think much of it at the time, but when Abbot Huineng said just now that Cheng'er had caused his prayer beads to manifest an omen, I began to suspect that Cheng'er might also have caused what happened at Heavenly Dragon Temple yesterday!"

Abbot Huineng was overcome with excitement. "From what Madam has said, it must have been Young Master Zhou Cheng. He possesses Buddha-nature, and only a Buddha's chosen one like him could have caused the Buddha-light to blaze above Heavenly Dragon Temple and Buddha-figures to fill the sky."

"Still, if Young Master Zhou Cheng could bring about such an extraordinary sight, his Buddha-nature must be far stronger than I imagined."

"Young Master Zhou Cheng must be the Great Buddha reincarnated!"

"This is truly a blessing for our Buddhist sect!"

"And a blessing for all the people of the world!"

Abbot Huineng was beside himself with excitement.

The head of the Martial Monk Hall and the others also pressed their palms together and cried out excitedly, "Amitabha."

At that moment, Zhou Cheng was on his way back to the Grand General's Mansion with Qin Meng and the other two when he ran into guards who had gone out to find him.

"Abbot Huineng?" When Zhou Cheng heard the guards say that Abbot Huineng and more than a dozen people from the Martial Monk Hall were guests at the Grand General's Mansion, and that his father, Zhou Wei, wanted him to return, he guessed what had happened.

He just hadn't expected them to come to the Grand General's Mansion after he'd already refused.

Zhou Cheng followed the guards back to the Grand General's Mansion.

When he arrived, he heard maids, servants, and guards whispering in corners of the residence.

"Abbot Huineng says our second young master is the Great Buddha reincarnated, with astonishing Buddha-nature!"

The Great Buddha reincarnated?

Astonishing Buddha-nature?

Zhou Cheng was speechless. Since when had he become the Great Buddha reincarnated?

But when he heard the servants and guards say he had astonishing Buddha-nature, Zhou Cheng thought of the Indestructible Vajra Divine Technique. Could it be that cultivating the Indestructible Vajra Divine Technique had given him such extraordinary Buddha-nature?

When Zhou Cheng entered the main hall, Zhou Wei, Luo Shui, Abbot Huineng, the head of the Martial Monk Hall, and more than a dozen others all turned to look at him.

Originally, I'd wanted Zhou Cheng to keep a low profile, but on second thought, letting him show a little of his edge might not be a bad thing.