Taking a Disciple

Old Man Wang had thrown our whole family into turmoil, and I looked as though I was on death's door. By early the next morning, patches resembling corpse spots had appeared all over my body, spreading steadily. My fever refused to break, and my breathing grew weaker and weaker. It looked as though I wasn't going to make it.

Several times, Mother nearly cried herself into a faint.

Grandpa and Father could only fret helplessly, sighing again and again.

During this time, Granny Liu tried several methods. She even tried having her household guardian spirit possess me, but nothing worked. My condition only grew worse.

This continued until noon, when a burly monk suddenly arrived at our courtyard gate.

The monk had a fat head and large ears and weighed at least two hundred pounds. He looked to be in his fifties or sixties. After knocking on our gate, he immediately asked whether there was a nine-year-old child in the house who was being tormented by an evil spirit.

Looking at the burly monk, Grandpa couldn't shake the feeling that he was the sort of monk who drank wine and ate meat. Yet he had known at once that our family had a nine-year-old child afflicted by an evil spirit. Shocked, Grandpa nodded repeatedly and said there was indeed a nine-year-old child inside who was about to die, then asked what had brought the master here.

The burly monk nodded at that. "Good, then. I want to take him as my disciple. I can cure his condition. As long as you agree to let him become my disciple, I'll save him right away."

Grandpa hurriedly called out the rest of the family and Granny Liu, telling them that a burly monk had arrived who could cure me.

Still, Grandpa felt that this monk was rather dubious. He was so fat that he didn't look like a monk at all.

Granny Liu came out and took one look at the fat monk, sensing that he was no ordinary man. She stepped forward to sound him out in the jargon of her trade. "Riding through the northern mountains, crossing three bridges, with the Chang Immortal dwelling within-may I ask, honored friend, at which immortal abode you worship?"

What Granny Liu meant was that she was a local Spirit Medium who lived in Thirty-Li Hamlet and worshipped the Chang Immortal at home. She was asking where the burly monk had come from and where he practiced.

The burly monk laughed when he heard her words. "There's no need to test me with that jargon, sister. I'm a monk from the South, and my Dharma name is Jueming. Where's my disciple? Hurry and take me to see him."

Looking impatient, the burly monk made to barge into the house as he spoke.

Granny Liu stopped him and smiled faintly, taking out her pipe. "No need to rush, venerable monk. There's time for a pipe first."

As she spoke, Granny Liu packed the bowl with tobacco and prepared to light it. She intended to pit her powers against his and test whether this burly monk had any real ability.

My life was hanging by a thread. If the monk had no real skill, he might kill me outright while trying to treat me.

That was why Granny Liu had to be extremely careful.

She had just finished packing the tobacco and was about to light it when the burly monk suddenly waved a hand. "You really do fuss too much, sister. Don't delay the important business of taking my disciple."

At that wave of his hand, Granny Liu and my family all froze.

The pipe in Granny Liu's hand had begun smoking the instant he waved. It had lit itself.

Granny Liu was still holding her matchbox. She hadn't even had time to take out a match.

That single display completely awed my family. Granny Liu was dumbstruck too.

What kind of power was that? It was like a magic trick.

Granny Liu immediately nodded to Grandpa. "This monk is someone of real ability. Let him go inside and take a look at Little Jie."

The burly monk brightened and was about to step forward when Dad suddenly blocked his path. "Master, why do you want to take our child as your disciple? If he becomes your disciple, does that mean he'll have to become a monk?"

"What's wrong with becoming a monk? If I don't save him, he'll lose his life," the burly monk said, sounding displeased.

"He's my only son. If he becomes a monk, who will carry on the Old Wu Family line?" Dad asked, looking embarrassed.

"At a time like this, you're still talking about that? Saving him comes first. Master, please come inside." Grandpa shoved Father aside and warmly ushered the burly monk toward the house.

"Wait..."

Just then, someone suddenly called out in the courtyard.

Everyone stopped and turned to look. A well-dressed old man was approaching, followed by four or five young men in suits and polished shoes.

The moment the monk saw the old man, his expression changed. "Shen, surely you understand first come, first served?" he said coldly. "I got here first. I'm taking this disciple, and no one is going to snatch him from me."

The old man surnamed Shen smiled faintly and looked at Grandpa and Father. "I can treat your child's condition too. But once he's cured, he must become my disciple. He won't have to become a monk under me. When he grows up, he can marry, and your Old Wu Family can still carry on its line. Would you like to consider it?"

My family thought that sounded wonderful. He could cure me, and I wouldn't have to become a monk. If they had to choose, they would certainly choose the old man surnamed Shen.

Hearing this, the burly monk stamped his feet in fury and cursed, "Shen Xiuyuan, you bastard! You've ruined this for me! This isn't over!"

As he spoke, the burly monk lunged forward, but several sturdy men behind Shen stepped up and blocked him.

"Come now, Chan Master Jueming. You're a monk, after all. It's hardly proper to go around fighting and threatening people all day. As for taking a disciple, naturally the family should choose whoever suits them best. You can't force it," Shen Xiuyuan said with a smile.

Before Shen had finished speaking, a car horn suddenly sounded outside the courtyard. Then another group of people came in.

This time, it was a tall, imposing middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses. A group followed behind him, while he held the hand of a little girl of seven or eight.

The little girl had bright eyes and pearly teeth, skin as white as milk, and two little braids. She was truly pretty, already a budding beauty at such a young age.

As soon as the middle-aged man entered, he smiled at my family and said, "I can cure your child's illness too. Once he's cured, he must become my disciple. But he won't be my disciple for nothing. When he grows up, I'll give him my daughter's hand in marriage so he can carry on your Old Wu Family line. What do you think?"

At those words, my family was utterly dumbfounded.

Well, the stakes had gone up again. A daughter-in-law thrown in for free.

One look told us the little girl was from the city. She was more than good enough to be my wife.

What puzzled my family, though, was where all these people had come from.

The whole family had spent the night fretting, unable to find any solution. Now, all at once, so many people had appeared, each claiming they could cure me. For a moment, neither my family nor Granny Liu quite knew how to take it.