Not long after leaving the teahouse door, Ming'an woke up. He rubbed his eyes and looked around the surrounding alleys blankly.
"Brother, I... what's going on?"
"It's okay, I just fell asleep."
"Asleep?" Ming'an scratched the back of his head, "I'm obviously not sleepy. Senior brother, where should we go next?"
Qin Tiexin carried him and walked for a while on the street, and found a small shop specializing in wooden utensils. The store was not big, with a few strings of semi-finished wooden fish and rosary beads hanging at the door, and a few half-engraved plaques for Buddhist niches in the window. Pushing the door in, there was a faint aroma of sandalwood inside, and a gray-haired old carpenter was pushing a wooden board in the corner with a plane. When he pushed, the wood flowers rolled up and fell to the ground.
Ming'an slipped out of Qin Tiexin's arms, walked to the counter, and stood on tiptoe to place three Spirit Crystal pills on the counter.
"Grandpa, I want to buy a tablet."
The old carpenter put down the plane, looked at the three grains of Spirit Crystal on the counter, and then looked at the thin black boy in front of him, and was silent for a moment. He turned around and took down a palm-sized sandalwood tablet from the shelf. The tablet was polished smooth and flat, and a very fine lotus pattern was carved on the edge. He placed the tablet on the counter and pushed it in front of Ming'an.
"That's enough. Do you want your name engraved?"
Ming'an shook his head, held the tablet in his arms, and carefully touched the blank space on the card that had not yet been engraved. "I will engrave it myself."
Qin Tiexin glanced at the shelf again, took a palm-sized piece of sandalwood scraps from it, placed it on the counter, and added two Spirit Crystal.
"I bought this piece too. I'll make a prayer bead for you when I go back." Qin Tiexin turned to Ming'an and said
Ming'an took the sandalwood block and looked at it over and over, feeling very happy.
Everything is fine for him in Lin Residence, except for one string of Buddhist beads, which he didn't bring when he came out of Zhaoming Temple. Ming'an was too embarrassed to ask his senior brother for them, so he could only endure it for the time being. No Buddhist beads are needed. However, you cannot pinch the beads every time you recite a circle of sutra, you can only count the beads with your fingers. However, Ming'an's fingers are not enough for dozens of times, which makes him very uncomfortable. Unexpectedly, his senior brother found out and wanted to string beads for himself.
He stuffed the sandalwood block into his arms, raised his head, looked at Qin Tiexin with bright eyes and said, "Thank you, senior brother."
Qin Tiexin feels very complicated.
He actually thought that Lin Residence's environment was so good, and Ming'an was still young and might not have a deep understanding of Buddhism. If he lived here for a long time, he might stop being a monk. By then, it would be much more convenient to bring Azure Xuan Region back or entrust Lin Household to take care of him.
But this child regards chanting as a part of daily life, as natural as eating, drinking, and sleeping.
Let him be.
Qin Tiexin opened the door and walked back with Ming'an in his arms. After crossing two streets, Ming'an suddenly grabbed his sleeve and pointed to a narrow alley next to him.
"Teacher...Uncle Tie, there is a candied haws seller over there!"
As expected, there was a vendor selling candied haws in the narrow alley, carrying a straw handle filled with bright red candied haws. Qin Tiexin didn't want to take a detour, but Ming'an held on to his sleeve, so he had to turn in. When the vendor saw a customer coming, he quickly took off a bunch and handed it over. Qin Tiexin paid a copper coin, which is currency used by mortals.
Ming'an took the candied haws of apples and raised it to Qin Tiexin's mouth first. "Uncle Tie eats it first."
"I won't eat it, you can eat it."
Ming'an then took back his hand and took a bite. The sugar shell cracked open between his teeth, his cheeks puffed up, he chewed twice, and his eyes curved into two crescents.
Just when Qin Tiexin was about to walk out of the alley with Ming'an in his arms, a very light wooden fish sound came from the end of the alley.
He followed the sound and saw an old monk sitting under the wall at the end of the alley. There was a gray cloth in front of him, and three old Jade Slip were placed on the cloth. The old monk looked very old, with layers of wrinkles on his face, and his eyelids were drooped., covering most of one eye. The monk's robe was washed white, and the cuffs were frayed. The whole body Qi and Blood was withered, and the spiritual pressure was so weak that it was almost impossible to feel it. At most, it was no more than the cultivation level of Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
He didn't shout or greet passers-by. He just sat there cross-legged, twisting a bunch of shiny old Buddhist beads in his hand and chanting scriptures. The passers-by walked back and forth in front of him, and no one stopped to take a look.
Ming'an tugged on Qin Tiexin's sleeve and whispered in his ear, "Uncle Tie, is this master in trouble? Let's go take a look, okay?"
Qin Tiexin was also a little curious and walked over with Ming'an in his arms.
He did not go to see Jade Slip first, but squatted down and talked to the old monk. The old monk said that he came from Azure Rock Village, more than a hundred miles north of Ten Thousand Stars City. There was a small dilapidated temple in the village that had not been repaired all year round. It had rained heavily a few days ago. Half of the roof of the temple collapsed. He had nothing to gain, so he had to come to the city to sell some old martial arts Jade Slip, hoping to exchange some Spirit Stone to go back to build the temple. However, the martial arts in Jade Slip were too basic, and after being displayed for several days, not a single piece was sold.
Qin Tiexin lowered his head and looked at the three Jade Slip on the gray cloth. The first one was dark gray in color, with several very light Flame Rune lines engraved on the surface; the second one was gray in color, with traces of knocks on the corners; the third one was the oldest, with yellowish jade and densely engraved words on it.
"Donor, please take a look." The old monk picked up the first Jade Slip and handed it to Qin Tiexin, "This "Vajra Flame" is the Buddhist Fire Element Law Technique. It can light fires and light lamps, ward off the cold and keep warm, and can also be launched to attack the enemy. It is not very powerful. It is similar to Fireball Technique. It is a long-range attack method."
Qin Tiexin Divine Sense poked in and glanced at the introduction. It uses the Buddhist Cultivation Method to generate Flame, which can be attached to the fist and can also be launched. It is indeed just like Fireball Technique. There is nothing surprising about it.
"This "Golden Light Incantation" is a Mnemonic type of body protection Divine Ability. When Mnemonic is read, the whole body is covered with a layer of golden light, which can slightly resist The attack of Demon Beast. The old monk is dull and can block the attack of Foundation Establishment Early Stage after a lifetime of training. The donor is a physical practitioner, and his physical body is already strong. With this Golden Light Incantation, the defense may be even better."
"Golden Light Incantation" I have heard of Qin Tiexin. Like Arhat Fist and Prajna Palm, they are all basic Buddhist martial arts, so I don't need to read more.
After introducing the first two doors, the old monk picked up the third Jade Slip.
"The old monk can't understand the third door either. The Sanskrit on it looks like High Antiquity. I asked several senior brothers who know Sanskrit to read it, but they all said it was garbled and unreadable. If the donor likes the first two doors, this door will be given away as a free addition."
Qin Tiexin picked up the third Jade Slip, and Divine Sense poked it in. Jade Slip was indeed full of garbled characters. Sanskrit characters were piled on top of each other, as if someone had messed up the order and crumpled them into a ball. Not a single word could be recognized.
He was about to let go.
There was a sudden shock in my mind.
"Illustrated Catalog of Ten Thousand Artifacts" automatically turned to a blank page. The blank space on the page was filled with complex Sanskrit in a very short period of time. Then, one after another, golden words emerged from the void, translating the garbled Sanskrit in Jade Slip word by word.
At the top is the translated name of Cultivation Method - "Arhat Dharma Aspect Body".