Elder Mingfa closed his eyes. Even he could not change questions that had already been decided. After setting the questions, they had sworn an oath before the seat of Shakyamuni in the Great Sutra Hall. No one could violate it.
If he made a move here, he would be breaking the rules. By rights, even as an elder, he would have to forfeit eighteen head of livestock and receive thirty lashes.
More importantly, he would suffer the sanctions of his oath.
Besides, Elder Mingzhi was right beside him. If anything was amiss, the attendant monk could also strike the Dharma Gong and interrupt his questioning.
Trying to scheme here would accomplish nothing.
"Zhasa, you are very impressive."
Elder Mingfa praised him sincerely, without a trace of sarcasm. He said, "Your Six-Syllable Great Brightness Mantra has actually attained such extraordinary efficacy. That truly exceeded my expectations. When you choose your Lama and Yidam, I too have studied the Six-Syllable Great Brightness Mantra. You may come to me with questions and receive empowerment from me."
Seeing the monk Zhasa place the monastic robe before him, Elder Mingfa casually asked a question within his remit, then waved him over to Master Zhiyun.
Once he reached Master Zhiyun, the guru naturally would not make things difficult for Lu Feng.
Master Zhiyun chose one of the simplest, most basic questions for Lu Feng to answer. Lu Feng answered it as soon as he opened his mouth.
Master Zhiyun nodded in satisfaction.
The dust had settled.
The attendant monk struck the Dharma Gong.
Lu Feng stood to one side, and Master Zhiyun said, "Come with me, Zhasa."
Master Zhiyun took Lu Feng away first. Elder Mingfa was also about to leave when Elder Mingzhi said, "Now then, Mingfa."
Elder Mingfa immediately pressed his palms together and turned back to bow. "Senior Brother Mingzhi."
Elder Mingzhi said, "There is something I want to ask you. Do not leave just yet."
Elder Mingfa nearly ground his teeth to pieces, but there was nothing he could do. In an instant, his sword of wisdom slew every trace of anger in his heart.
He spoke calmly once more. "Yes, Senior Brother Mingzhi."
He sat cross-legged on the Dharma seat, facing Elder Mingzhi. Elder Mingzhi said, "For the Dharma assembly coming up soon, Mingfa, have you finished selecting your scripture monks?"
Elder Mingfa said, "To answer you, Senior Brother Mingzhi, I have selected them all. They are..."
He actually recited those monks' Dharma names one after another.
Neither haughty nor impatient, Elder Mingzhi sat down beside Elder Mingfa and quietly listened as he uttered every Dharma name.
There was no knowing whether he had committed them to memory.
Here, Elder Mingzhi had stopped Elder Mingfa.
Over there, Zhiyun took Lu Feng away.
When they walked out of the Debate Hall, every gaze was fixed on Lu Feng.
Seeing that no one else came out,
the monks were all utterly astonished.
They wanted to whisper among themselves.
But Dharma Protector Monks holding whips were already standing beside them.
These Dharma Protector Monks stared at everyone with hostile eyes. If these Sutra Student Monks dared put their heads together and whisper here, the Dharma Protector Monks' whips would lash their bodies like living snakes, leaving them rolling on the ground in unbearable pain.
Thus, the monks could only exchange glances.
Their bewilderment lingered.
In previous years, quite a few people had earned the "Kalyāṇamitra" degree—at least sixteen, and possibly more. Thus, over all these years, there had been a multitude of Sutra Student Monks, but very few monks who donned red robes, just that handful each year.
A great many Sutra Student Monks supported the red-robed monks, whose numbers were tiny by comparison.
But to have only one,
This might have been the only time in all these years! Master Zhiyun said nothing and led Lu Feng "up the mountain."
The reason the Endless White Pagoda Temple was called the Endless White Pagoda Temple
was the "pagoda burial terraces" on the mountain behind the temple.
The temple's eminent monks were all interred in pagoda burials on the rear mountain's burial terraces, and those burial terraces were painted white.
Hence the name "Endless White Pagoda Temple."
Following the path toward the rear mountain, Master Zhiyun walked with hurried, rapid strides, instructing Lu Feng about what he needed to do next.
→
Namely, who could be his Lama, and who absolutely could not.
Among the lineages he singled out as absolutely unacceptable for a Lama
was the lineage of monks affiliated with the chieftains.
Neither these people nor the temple's "neutral monks" could be trusted in the slightest. He was now taking Lu Feng to receive the precepts and a Dharma name, then find a Yidam based on his heavenly stems and earthly branches, his birth date, or his temperament and disposition.
Master Zhiyun would personally accompany Lu Feng through all these matters.
Not a single step would be entrusted to anyone else.
But as they walked along the path,
an invisible hand began painting once again on the ancient scroll, which had accomplished nothing for a long time.
This painting possessed even more "artistic atmosphere."
It showed moonlight falling on the mountain behind the Endless White Pagoda Temple.
Within the Endless White Pagoda Temple, countless figures appeared among the white pagodas. All these figures hid in the darkness of the pagoda tombs, with only hazy outlines visible. Although they were extremely indistinct, the way they were painted felt profoundly eerie.
It seemed that a single glance at this scroll would let one sense those figures hidden in the darkness constantly peering outward, spying with malice on every aspect of the living's lives.
They even wanted to crawl out of the scroll and destroy everything belonging to the living!
It brimmed with a terrifying sense of destruction.
Something wanted to emerge from the Endless White Pagoda Temple's "pagoda burial terraces."
Unfortunately, though,
Lu Feng still knew nothing.
No unusual sign appeared when images emerged on the ancient scroll. Only when it protected Lu Feng's last shred of awareness did it give off a little "warmth." At all other times, if Lu Feng wanted to look, he had to take it out.
With Lu Feng's current status and standing, he was not yet entitled to openly take out the ancient scroll and examine it.
At this moment, he was still a Sutra Student Monk of the lowest rank.
Only after today might he qualify for the important figures to regard him as part of the temple.
Zhiyun now brought Lu Feng beside a two-story white blockhouse, coated in white paint and hung with black prayer flags.
It was very quiet here.
One could tell that no one had visited for some time. Even the main door stood ajar. Only upon pushing it open did Lu Feng feel how cool it was inside, a perfect haven for retirement and escaping the summer heat.
After entering, Lu Feng saw a monastic official asleep in one of the rooms.
He was sleeping very comfortably.
Seeing the monastic official sleeping so peacefully, Zhiyun went up and slapped him.
The monastic official woke from the blow, saw Zhiyun, and jumped in fright.
"L-Lama."
He shuddered. From the sound of it, this monastic official's Lama and Yidam was Dharma Master Zhiyun?
He immediately tumbled off the bed and knelt on the floor, not daring to speak.
Zhiyun kicked the monastic official again, knocking him to the floor. The official immediately scrambled up and knelt properly once more.
His attitude was thoroughly respectful.
Master Zhiyun said irritably, "You lazy lump, so lazy even a wild wolf wouldn't eat you if you were dumped by the roadside! I told you to work here, and you actually started sleeping your head off?"
"If you keep this up, I'll kick you out of here and make you the abbot of some little village temple, so you can have a proper taste of suffering."
The monastic official immediately began banging his head against the floor, begging for mercy. Master Zhiyun called Lu Feng over and sat on the official's bed, saying, "Zhasa, are you interested in this registrar's post?"
"If you are, this place will be yours from now on. As long as I, Zhiyun, am here, you will always be the registrar here."
Lu Feng said, "This senior brother has done an excellent job. If I took over, I might not measure up to him, so please let this senior brother carry on."
Hearing this, the monastic official raised his head and looked at Lu Feng as though he were his own father and mother.
He wished he could kowtow to Lu Feng a couple more times.
Hearing this, Master Zhiyun kicked the monastic official again and said, "You fool, what are you still staring at? Why haven't you bowed to thank your junior brother and gone to register him?"
At these words, the monastic official kowtowed repeatedly, then hurriedly stood up to fetch the register.
Before you continue