Binding

Qu Zan noticed that the other Scholar Monks seemed to have little interest in these rewards.

After all, these fellows all came from good backgrounds and very likely already had such things.

"All right, there's no need to worry. I'll send Attendant Monks to deliver these rewards to your lodgings!" the steward said with a chuckle.

"Thank you, Lama!" The monks all bowed in unison.

The steward looked at everyone kindly and said, "You are all outstanding talents among the Sutra Academy's Druptsawa and Beqawa. You can all become Geshes in the future!"

"In the first month of the year, Nagarjuna Victory Temple in Rika City will hold a Water and Land Universal Salvation Assembly. Our Sutra Academy can choose ten Druptsawa and ten Beqawa to attend. Would you like to go?"

"Rika City!" At the name, Qu Zan's heart skipped a beat.

Back when he had escaped from the manor, it had been to avoid becoming an Unending Offering sacrifice for a certain Buddha Lord in Rika City.

Now I have to go there again? Qu Zan recalled his current appearance. He was much taller and sturdier than before, his skin much fairer, and he wore monastic robes. He looked like an entirely different person.

"Nagarjuna Victory Temple! That's the largest temple in Yunchang Prefecture! Rika City is also known as the City of Buddhas. Its incense offerings flourish beyond measure!" someone knowledgeable murmured.

"Nagarjuna Victory Temple is a great dzong temple. It has invited young monks from across the prefecture to attend the Dharma Assembly. There will probably be ten thousand people, and it will last seven days," the steward said with a smile. "If you catch their eye and receive Dharma training there, it will be of immense benefit to your Virtuous Knowledge..."

"If you want to climb higher on the path of the Dharma, you cannot limit yourselves to one temple or one academy. You must read ten thousand scrolls of scripture and travel ten thousand miles!"

"To climb higher, you must travel farther. There is never any harm in learning and seeing more," the steward told them.

Everyone deeply agreed.

Qu Zan asked, "Lama, will High Monks from the temple take us there?"

"Of course. You needn't worry about safety. Holy monks and sages even stronger than the Abbot will oversee things. Even if we truly encounter ghosts or gods, our virtuous Venerables will be more than capable of subduing them," the steward reassured him.

Actually, what Qu Zan had wanted to ask was whether their round-trip travel expenses and lodging would all be reimbursed.

Since High Monks will be traveling with us, there's naturally no need to worry about travel expenses, Qu Zan thought.

These monks of Mìdì knew how to enjoy themselves, each more than the last. Traveling with them, he certainly would not lose out.

"All right, you may all go back. I'll notify you when it's time to depart," the steward said. "Gyatso, you stay!"

Tension and delight blossomed together in Qu Zan's heart.

Hearing this, everyone took their leave. Before Jiumo, Gadeng, and the others left, they looked at Qu Zan with envy, jealousy, and deep regret at their own failings.

Before Namkha left, his lips moved slightly as he said soundlessly, "Junior brother, do your best!"

Qu Zan smiled and nodded in return.

A Dharma-transmission Empowerment! Qu Zan was thrilled.

"Come, I'll take you to receive your Dharma-transmission Empowerment," the steward said with a chuckle.

"Yes, Steward Lama!" Qu Zan said respectfully.

The steward smiled and patted Qu Zan's shoulder. "Don't be nervous. You're about the same age as my sons and nephews."

He treated Qu Zan quite kindly, abandoning his earlier businesslike manner and acting like a benevolent elder.

Qu Zan did not relax in the slightest because of the other man's unassuming manner. He remained tense, looking overwhelmed by the favor.

These bureaucrats were all the same. Their displays of approachability were merely a performance.

If you actually took them seriously, they would be displeased again.

But Qu Zan still had many questions he wanted to ask.

"Lama, when I encountered Ghost-Fallen Guanyin that day, its eerie power frightened me. I heard it escaped from a monk who was in secluded cultivation." Qu Zan put on a terrified expression.

"That's right. That Binding Monk died," the steward said.

"Binding? What does that mean?"

"Since you've already seen a ghost, there's no harm in telling you," the steward said. "You've seen the Golden Benba Bottle, haven't you?"

"Yes! I heard it's used to imprison Vengeful Ghosts!" Qu Zan said.

"Strictly speaking, that is Binding."

"Binding Monks use human bodies or objects as vessels to seal Vengeful Ghosts within. Binding Monks can use some of the power of the Vengeful Ghosts inside them."

"But this kind of Binding comes at a price. While a Vengeful Ghost is bound, it consumes the binder's strength. If its power is used too much, triggering a terrifying revival, it will turn on its master."

"Drawing close to the uncanny and gaining supernatural power-this is the price!" the steward said.

"There are two ways to resist the Vengeful Ghost within a Binding Monk. The first is Offerings, and the second is Binding Artifacts."

"Offerings means feeding a Vengeful Ghost things it finds pleasing, such as flesh, blood, hearts, and livers... Of course, Ghost Medicine can also be prepared. Once Offerings are presented and the Vengeful Ghost absorbs them, it will become calm, delaying its revival.

"You can use the Vengeful Ghost's power without suffering punishment yourself..."

"Ghost Medicine?"

Offering ghosts and gods what pleased them, then obtaining power in exchange.

"Offerings are like eating raw meat directly, while Ghost Medicine is like cooking dishes with different seasonings according to different recipes!"

The steward offered a very humorous analogy.

"What about the second kind, Binding Artifacts?"

"Have you seen those hideous, terrifying ghosts and gods in painted murals, holding all sorts of ritual implements?"

"Yes. Aren't those all fearsome weapons for subduing demons outside?"

"That is one aspect. The most important purpose of those Binding Artifacts is to restrain the Vengeful Ghost within. Different Vengeful Ghosts require different medicinal offerings and different Binding Artifacts."

"I heard that only Vengeful Ghosts can deal with Vengeful Ghosts. What do Binding Artifacts count as, then?" Qu Zan asked curiously.

"That touches on certain secrets," the steward said.

"Does our temple have many Binding Monks?" Qu Zan asked.

"I don't know the exact number either, but there probably aren't many. A lot of people don't want to touch that kind of uncanny power," the steward said. "Our Abbot is one. The Warrior Monk Academy's Abbot seems to be one too. The Discipline Academy's Abbot isn't..."

The steward explained a great deal to Qu Zan.

What surprised Qu Zan was that most of the temple's higher-ups were not Binding Monks.

But on reflection, that made sense. Just imagining the scene of a ghost being bound inside one's body was terrifying.

Moreover, once it was bound, one could no longer handle many everyday affairs.

Changes in emotion, or even changes in smells and light, could easily provoke the Vengeful Ghost within.

Opportunities to actually use a Vengeful Ghost's power were rare.

Most of the entire temple's efforts went toward guarding against the power of Vengeful Ghosts.

For example, building numerous Mani Piles in the surrounding mountain forests.

They walked slowly on like this. The farther they went, the more layers of clothing and armor the monks standing guard around them wore, all covered in various esoteric inscriptions.

Ahead stood a row of fortified stone houses, with great quantities of scripture drapes hanging from and wrapping around them, traced with profound esoteric inscriptions. Those stone houses had no windows, only vermilion doors.

The air grew ever colder and more terrifying... like so many burial chambers... A gust of cold wind blew past, raising goosebumps along Qu Zan's back...

The red on the doors was extraordinarily vivid, as though fresh blood had just been smeared onto them.