Moreover, most importantly, this upgrading of talents and the insights gained by drawing connections between practices could unlock more abilities in the future.
"[Extensive Learning], [Patience], and [Giving] are all Buddhist terms. If I study more Buddhist scriptures in the future, perhaps I can find a trail to follow and awaken more talents."
"Become a Scholar Monk!" Qu Zan thought. In Mìdì, scriptures were extremely precious, and his status only allowed him access to a handful.
Most of the Buddhist knowledge he possessed had been passed down orally by Huo De Lama, without any systematic framework.
"If I want access to more scriptural knowledge, I have to become a Scholar Monk!"
That night, Qu Zan came to a small room in the scripture hall to study. Huo De Lama sat cross-legged on a couch, draped in thick woolen cloth, and took a sip of butter tea.
"How are your studies of the Sutra of the Excellent Lion's Roar and the Treatise on Weighing the Twenty Actions coming along?"
"This disciple has memorized both in full once, though I'm still not entirely fluent."
"Really?" Huo De Lama paused in surprise. The two volumes of the Sutra of the Excellent Lion's Roar totaled a hundred and thirty-six pages, densely handwritten in the Mìdì script. An ordinary person could not even understand them this quickly.
In fact, Qu Zan had long since memorized them. After all, with his [Extensive Learning] talent, his memory was now frighteningly powerful.
It was precisely because he feared being too startling that Qu Zan had understated his progress.
"Recite the fourth chapter of the first four sections for me, the chapter on embracing the true Dharma."
Qu Zan opened his mouth and began to recite:
"Yangda quni sangje tangje ji songba ni teba jiba ni dexin xieba ni ningbo ni danba yin..." (What is the true Dharma? The teaching of the One Vehicle of the Tathāgatagarbha proclaimed by all Buddhas. Upholding this teaching fulfills the six perfections and all the merits of bodhisattvas; abandoning the true Dharma leads to a fall into the lesser paths...)
The syllables of the Mìdì language clung together in his low, husky voice, echoing through the small room. Reciting scriptures was not merely a matter of a little monk chanting; one also had to attend to dignity of bearing and expression during the recitation.
When Qu Zan finished, Huo De Lama said, "Excellent. Your memory is indeed good, and your comprehension of the scriptures is exceptional as well. Judging by this performance, you will surely stun everyone with a single cry at the Dharma Assembly in a month. Becoming a Scholar Monk should pose little difficulty."
Qu Zan pressed his palms together and bowed. "It is all thanks to your guidance and nurturing, Lama."
After morning prayers, Qu Zan and the other Attendant Monks and servants stood straight before the Miscellaneous Affairs Courtyard, waiting to receive their work assignments for the day.
"Pala, Zhongba, Gyatso, Doje... the seven of you will clean the Ancient Empty Courtyard..."
Qu Zan heard his Dharma name and learned his task for the day.
The Ancient Empty Courtyard lay east of the Meditation Courtyard. Weathered by long years, its grounds were covered in fallen leaves and dead branches, looking quite desolate and dilapidated.
Hearing that they would be cleaning the Ancient Empty Courtyard, Doje secretly sucked at his teeth. They would be working late on today's assignment.
"Be careful when you go to the Ancient Empty Courtyard. Don't fall," the steward monk called out.
Qu Zan said quietly, "Why would our steward uncle-master give us a warning like that today?"
Doje shook his head, indicating that he did not understand either.
A monk beside them said, "You haven't heard? Two Attendant Monks fell in the Ancient Empty Courtyard this month. Counting the servants, that makes three people dead or injured."
"That unlucky?" Qu Zan said.
"Who knows? Could something unclean have gotten in?" an Attendant Monk said worriedly.
"Nonsense. This is a monastery. What unclean thing would dare enter this place?" another Attendant Monk declared sternly.
The steward monk continued, "Those fellows before you were clumsy and all took falls. Don't climb up anywhere. Just clear the weeds and fallen leaves from the courtyard. There's moss there, so watch your footing. If you really fall to your death, the monastery won't take responsibility..."
"Yes!" Gyatso and the others answered in unison.
Cold wind howled as Qu Zan and the others arrived before the cluster of compounds that made up the Ancient Empty Courtyard.
Rows of fortress-like houses stood in the Ancient Empty Courtyard, prayer drapes hanging listlessly from their rooftops, their flaking gold paint tracing winding Mìdì characters. Dead trees stood throughout the courtyards, where thick layers of fallen leaves and humus had accumulated.
They pushed open the heavy wooden gate, its rotten pivots letting out a piercing creak. No one had entered the courtyard for so long that even the air seemed stagnant.
"Good grief, how long has it been since anyone cleaned this place?" Doje muttered.
"You're telling me. It's near the Meditation Courtyard, out of the way, and few people come to inspect it. The servants' quarters must have simply stopped bothering with it," said a thick-browed monk.
He was the gatekeeper of the Ancient Empty Courtyard, his Dharma name Rinchen, and he carried a large ring of keys to the various rooms.
When he opened the main hall doors, the air held a mixture of the rank sweetness of aged butter, the mustiness of mural pigments, and a faint, elusive stench of decay.
Qu Zan noticed a hall at the corner of the main hall's roof and said, "Senior Brother Rinchen, what happened here?" There was actually a huge hole there.
"Ah, an Attendant Monk climbed onto the roof a few days ago, then accidentally fell through it, leaving that huge hole. The fall killed him."
Qu Zan walked beneath the hole. Blackish-red scraps of internal organs that had not been fully cleaned away still lay on the floor. A great deal of bloody fluid had seeped into the gaps between the floorboards, forming thick bloodstains.
Bone fragments and splinters had scattered everywhere. The surrounding walls were covered in splashes of dark red blood...
"What a gruesome fall!" Looking at the messy scene, Doje could not help clicking his tongue.
Senior Brother Rinchen said, "You can say that again. So be careful. Don't climb up high, and don't go up the stairs either..."
Qu Zan surveyed his surroundings. The narrow windows left the interior dark, while the light from the hole overhead only made the place seem more sinister.
Ancient halls like this, somewhat abandoned, always gave one this unsettling feeling. Especially when someone had died here not long ago.
Qu Zan kept sensing something discordant.
"You two, sweep the side hall. You, sweep the courtyard. And you, stop slacking off and get to work."
Rinchen spoke with a stern face. He was a Scholar Monk, considerably higher in rank than the Attendant Monks, and therefore entitled to reprimand the other servants.
The bodhisattva statue in the main hall sat upright on a lotus pedestal, its body likewise coated in thick grime. Streaks of fresh red blood ran down the statue.
Doje said, "Why is red blood dripping from the bodhisattva statue's shoulder?"
"What?"
The moment he said this, everyone broke out in a cold sweat.
They all looked over.
The brows, eyes, mouth, and nose of the bodhisattva in the main hall had all blurred together, owing to its great age and the rainwater that often dripped from overhead.
Dripping onto the painted clay statue, the water had washed its features into a blur, leaving only three faintly discernible hollows.
It looked eerie and frightening. At a glance, it conveyed none of the auspiciousness or transcendent excellence one might expect, instead making one's hair stand on end.
In this poorly lit, even dim and sinister main hall.
The entire bodhisattva statue looked indistinct and shadowy. On its shoulder were streaks left by red liquid flowing down.
Coupled with the recent fatal fall in the main hall, this place seemed to harbor a great terror!
Before you continue