Chapter 44: The Sly Smile in Front of the Arhat Statue

  "Tap tap tap tap..." Along with the sound of bamboo sticks lightly striking the stone floor, Blind Bamboo Uncle walked into that unassuming ancient small courtyard in the provincial city.

  The barefooted and white-robed auspicious heavenly young master gently combed his black hair with his fingers, softly asking: "How many days has that student been back at the Temple of Return to the Origin?"

  "For three days and three nights, I have not left the temple gate." Bamboo Uncle replied respectfully.

  His face as cold as ice and snow, he said in a low voice: "What Uncle Zhu said that day was right. This student is not an ordinary person. The three-layered wooden Qinghui can be quietly resolved by him. It's my fault for being careless, and I've lost a master under my door. In the future, it will be inconvenient to explain to the Yun Guimen."

  "Sir, you don't have to worry. Everyone in our household will work hard for your sake, even if it means death, we won't regret it."

  "Is the Guiyuan Temple still unwilling to lend us the heavenly cloak?"

  "Yes, Master Bin has been meditating for many years, but he is still a stubborn child."

  "It seems like I have no choice but to go and pay a visit myself."

  Bamboo Uncle hesitated for a moment before saying: "I still have one piece of advice."

  "Please go on."

  "The old master had a clear order, not to disturb the return of Yuanguang Temple, as if there was something strange inside. After the old master's ascension, Lord Jun took over the position, but also showed great respect for Yuanguang Temple. If it's just to get rid of Lin Bo from Taiwan, I think it's unwise to take action."

  "Bamboo Uncle's consideration is thorough, I understand." The young master clasped his slender hands together in front of him and said softly: "But Lin Bo's subordinate, Mo Sha, has committed too many murders in Taiwan. Three days ago, when I went to Taiwan with one branch, more than 30 people were burned alive in the sea of flowers in Puli. Such a great enmity, how can it not be avenged? The Tian Jian cloak is a heavenly artifact that is born to restrain fire, and this time I am determined to obtain it."

  Bamboo Uncle saw his determination and didn't persuade him much, bowing low and saying: "I divined another hexagram yesterday, this trip may not be ominous, but it will hinder the young master's future cultivation, so it's better for the young master to let the old slave go meet with the monks of the Return to the Origin Temple first."

  The young master smiled slightly, his eyes gleaming with amusement. The room seemed to come alive with the warmth of spring as he spoke in a soft voice: "I know you're wary of that young man named Yi Tianxing. Someone has personally gone to observe him. Although the boy's inner fire is extremely vigorous, the air around him is hot and dry, clearly indicating that he doesn't know how to control it. It seems that his current divine abilities are either a result of some chance encounter or an innate excess of gold and fire in his prenatal destiny. However, he doesn't understand the Five Elements' Dao methods, and if he continues like this, he'll burn himself to death within a few months. Why should we worry?"

  Bamboo uncle frowned and stopped talking.

  The young master lightly lifted his heels, and his bare feet slid on the thick plush: "It's just a little pervert."

  …………………………………………………

  Yi Tian Xing had indeed been staying in the Temple of Return to the Origin for three days and three nights. As for the reason, it would have to start from three days ago when Little Zhu Que began whispering in the ear of the Guanyin Bodhisattva's mud statue in the pure vase.

  "Baby, daddy's taking you to the toilet. Although it's hard to find a toilet in this temple, you can't just do your business on Guanyin Bodhisattva's face! " Yi Tianxing called out under the statue of the bodhisattva, but he was puzzled in his heart, "You little rascal, you're so capable. Usually, I don't see you eating or drinking, let alone going to the bathroom. And now, you've even dirtied Guanyin Bodhisattva's pure vase!" Thinking about this made Yi Tianxing feel a sense of pride that he couldn't hide, and a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

  Bin Ku Master was anxiously watching from the side, seeing his mouth and face, then hearing him say words that secretly disparaged their own mountain gate. He couldn't help but feel angry, let out a low hum, turned around to bow to the Guanyin statue, and then strangely bowed to the chirping little red bird as well. Then with a flick of his right arm, his monk's robe fluttered open.

  A monk's robe unfolded, its wide sleeves spinning rapidly.

  "Universe in sleeve, withdraw!"

  Bin Ku Da Shi's true yuan rapidly transported, his kasaya sleeves rounded and flowing, the sleeve mouths making a rustling sound, like a wind tunnel sucking in air inward!

  In an instant, a strong gust of wind blew through the side hall of the Huiyuan Temple, causing the candles and incense to flicker wildly. The small vermilion bird perched on the mouth of the pure vase lost its balance and was sucked into Master Bin Ku's sleeve along with the surrounding air. Master Bin Ku held his sleeve opening with his left hand, watching as the small vermilion bird continuously poked its head out from under his monk's robe, occasionally revealing a small rounded shape, his face filled with an air of vigilance.

  Yi Tianxing hastily said: "Master, be careful!"

  Bin Ku Da Shi made a one-handed gesture to Yi Tian Xing, and returned to his usual otherworldly demeanor. He said warmly, "Don't worry, young master, I have my own way of handling things."

  No sooner had he finished speaking than a loud noise was heard and the wide sleeves of his monk's robe suddenly burst into fierce flames.

  ……

  ……

  Bin Ku Da Shi's face was ashen, the sleeve of his right arm had been burned to ashes, revealing a patchwork of black and gray skin. Yi Tian Xing held the chirping little red bird in his arms, looking at him with an innocent expression, softly trying to placate him: "The child doesn't understand things, speaking without thinking."

  Bin coughed twice and went to the Zen room to change into a kasaya, asking Yi Tianxing and the little ancestor who could spit fire to sit down in the Huxinting Pavilion in the back garden.

  Yitian Xing looked around at the scenery and smiled, saying: "Just a few days ago it collapsed, but now it's been repaired so quickly. The Temple of Return to the Origin is indeed a place where one can make a fortune."

  Bin's face was solemn, and he didn't respond to the joke. Lowering his voice, he said, "Yi Shizhu, do you know what this little red bird in your arms is?"

  Yi Tian Xing's face was bewildered.

  Bin sighed: "I don't know where you came from, but you were born with a true fire spirit, which is quite similar to the nature of this divine object."

  "Divine object?" Yi Tianxing's eyes widened.

  "Not bad." Master Bin Ku looked at the small crimson bird on his palm and said quietly, "This divine object has not appeared in the human world for thousands of years. I didn't expect it to obediently perch on your palm."

  Yi Tian Xing furrowed his brow and said: "This thing of mine... Bah, since it's a divine object then forget about it, what exactly is it?"

  "It's a Vermilion Bird." Master Brin said mysteriously, but his face still had a hint of confusion, "However, according to the classics, the cry of the Vermilion Bird should be clear and resonant, so why does this one sound like 'gugugu' like a little chicken?"

  Yitian smiled and said "heh heh".

  …………………………………

  In traditional Chinese culture, the Vermilion Bird is one of the Four Symbols, representing the south. It is a bird with red plumage, resembling a pheasant, with five-colored markings on its feathers. By nature, it is pure and does not like to be near filth, it will only drink from clear springs and will only perch on frost-covered trees. In the Twenty-Eight Mansions of the starry sky, the Vermilion Bird is the governing principle of the seven southern mansions (Well, Ghost, Willow, Star, Extended Net, Wings, and Chariot).

  Yi Tian Xing had read extensively and naturally knew about the Zhu Que's great reputation, but this kind of creature that only existed in books, this kind of legendary existence, could it be the little red thing that was currently obediently staying on his palm?

  Gently stroking the top of the little red bird's head, Yi Tianxing thought for a long time and still found it hard to accept this fact. He said, "The Vermilion Bird in the book looks like a brocade rooster, but it is far from my son's appearance."

  Bin listened to him stubbornly calling the divine beast Zhuque his son, couldn't help but laugh, carefully took Zhuque from his hands and placed it on the tea tray on the stone table, and praised: "Amitabha Buddha, indeed worthy of being a divine beast, this is still its newborn state, yet it easily broke my sixty-year cultivation with the Nine Heavens Xuanhuo."

  Yi Tianxing was cunning and had become a sly person. As soon as he saw this bitter and ascetic monk reveal an expression of preparing to recite "Two suns inside and outside the airplane...", he knew what he was thinking, and quickly put the little red bird back into his own aluminum lunch box.

  Bin Ku Da Shi exclaimed: "Yi Shi Zhu, what are you planning to do? Such a sacred object cannot be casually placed among the people, it will disrupt the flow of true energy between heaven and earth..." Before he could finish speaking, Yi Tian Xing waved his hand to stop him: "I'm asking you, this little red bird... Alright, let me think it's a Zhu Que. Who gave birth to whom? Who should take care of it? If you don't give me a convincing answer, I'll have no choice but to continue raising and teaching it, cultivating it into a loving, loving, harmonious, and prosperous Zhu Que, right?"

  He didn't wait for Master Kuang to answer, and said: "Don't mention anything about the world's creatures. As soon as you recognize this bird's true form, I'll know what you're thinking again. I'm telling you clearly, I won't give my son to anyone else, so you can also forget about it."

  Bin Ku Master smiled wryly and said, "But such a divine object, how will the donor raise it? It's safer to put it in our temple, also convenient for the divine beast to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, grow up and transform."

  "There's no door, and I've nailed the window shut for you. I worked so hard to raise it these past few days, almost turning our dorm into a giant sauna room. How come none of you came to help? If you want to keep it, fight me first!" Yi Tianxing said indignantly.

  Bin Ku thought for a moment, then changed his approach: "The donor's high fever has not yet subsided. Now it seems that the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast is absorbing the donor's internal fire element and using external fire to harass him. If we don't think of a way to separate the donor from the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast, I'm afraid this high fever will be just a small matter. After some time..."

  Yi Tianxing and the others were just about to speak when he said this. He pretended to look up at the blue sky outside the pavilion, wondering what he was thinking, and sighed: "The Buddhist door is compassionate, I think that year the Buddha used his body to feed the eagle, why can't I, Yi Tianxing, use fire to feed the sparrow?"

  Bin Ku Master heard that the young man was laughing and crying, and couldn't help but ask: "What does the donor want to do after all?"

  "Master, please teach me the essence of Buddhism in detail, and I will let my son, Zhu Que, practice well. In this way, won't everyone be delighted?" Yi Tianhang said with a flattering face.

  Bin Ku only then heard the taste, thinking that you young man originally turned around and still wanted to learn the convenient door method, but thinking of Zhu Que's matter was indeed important, and he hesitated - his original intention was just to keep this young man in the temple to make the old ancestors happy, so as to deal with the three-day request for things. The convenient door method is not dare to be transmitted to outsiders. But today, after seeing Zhu Que, Bin Ku had a good impression of this young man for no reason. His thinking was very simple: Zhu Que is a Buddhist sacred object, and can let the sacred object choose its companions, this young man's heart is probably excellent - so he said after being silent for half a while: "The donor can stay in the temple to practice the method."

  Yi Tianxing said with a serious expression: "Thank you for your hospitality."

  "But I advise you, young master, the Vermilion Bird is a divine beast of fire, and although your body's inner flame is rare in this prosperous age, the Vermilion Bird cannot control its flames before it takes shape. If you stay with it for a long time, I fear it will have extremely bad consequences for your physical body."

  …………………………………

  Yitian really hoped to get rid of his illness as soon as possible, and with the so-called divine beast in his arms, he was also a bit nervous. He made up his mind and called the school from the office of the Temple of Return to ask his roommate to take a few days off, taking advantage of these few days to hide inside the temple's mountain gate to practice Buddhist scriptures and meditation.

  The Guanyuan Temple has a good version of the Heart Sutra, the Xisha Scripture, the Blood Scripture of the Huayan Sutra and the Lotus Sutra. Since Bin Ku had tacitly approved his practice, he naturally no longer hid anything from him, leading him into the scripture storage room in the backyard to study together. Although Yi Tianxing was talented, he was still a beginner on the Buddhist path and didn't understand some sentences, so he needed to ask Master Bin Ku for guidance. Bin Ku explained the subtle parts of the Buddhist scriptures one by one and used his own practice to conjure up various Dharma seals as a reference for him.

  After half a day, Yi Tianxing had completely mastered the technique of controlling his true yuan. Although he had gained a lot, when he introspected himself according to the Heart Sutra, there was still an enormous doubt and fear hidden in his heart. Just as he was about to speak, Master Bin led him into the Arhat Hall on the west side of the temple.

  Yitian walked slowly, eyes fixed on the countless Arhat statues beside him. The various Arhats had different expressions: some sat cross-legged, while many held Buddhist scriptures and studied them intently. Their faces were either majestic and solemn, or gentle and kind, or showed a sense of vicissitude. Seeing these exquisite carvings, he couldn't help but secretly admire them.

  Walking slowly to a statue of an arhat, he found the arhat lying on a rock looking at the sky, with eyes that seemed to be closed but not quite. Yi Tianxing suddenly felt a sense of ease and his heart was filled with joy.

  Standing in front of this Arhat statue for a moment, Yi Tianxing's body and mind moved slightly, and he vaguely felt that the lines of the clothes on the Arhat statue were flowing with his breath. It seemed as if countless powerful and gentle true energies were circulating with it. Looking at this Arhat again, he finally had an epiphany about the state of mind in Buddhist cultivation.

  There is another Arhat, named Danu Zunzhe, surrounded by six young boys. Some of the boys cover the Arhat's mouth, while others pull his ears... The innocent and naive expression is vividly displayed. Yitian Xing smiled and praised: "The great monk has a childlike heart, only then can he attain enlightenment."

  "It's not just that." Bin Ku and Shang smiled, following closely behind him: "These six 'theatres' of Maitreya refer to the fact that one's eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind are all blocked off from external disturbances, allowing one to focus solely on the Tao.

  Yi Tian Xing suddenly stopped in his tracks and stood silently in the courtyard.

  ……

  ……

  Cerulean sky, a few white clouds drifting freely; the sound of a bell came from an unknown place in the Temple of Return to the Origin; a gentle breeze swept through the courtyard, mixed with the fragrance of osmanthus...

  "Guān Yǐnzi has a way: Only the deaf do not hear sounds, only the blind do not see colors, only the mute do not speak words. Those who do not hear sounds do not hear the Way, do not hear affairs, and do not hear me; those who do not see colors do not see the Way, do not see affairs, and do not see me; those who do not speak words do not speak of the Way, do not speak of affairs, and do not speak of me." Yì Tiān Xíng recites the Dao in a soft voice.

  Bin knew that the young man had already passed through the gates, and he combined his hands in a gesture of respect: "Amitabha Buddha, the founder of Taoism Laozi once asked the Buddha. Later, Buddhist studies spread eastward, and after the Tang Emperor's destruction of temples and sects, they gradually declined, but then took back their essence from Taoism, thus circulating through life and reason, which is the ultimate principle."

  Yi Tian Xing's expression seemed to drift away from his body at this moment, a hint of a smile on his face, his lips moving slightly as he continued to recite: "People only know that among the fake gains there are true losses, but they don't know that among the true gains there are also true losses. They only know that among the fake is there are true non-being, but they don't know that among the true being there are also true non-being."

  He suddenly hehe smiled, smiling like a fox that had stolen and eaten smoked meat.

  The little sparrow in his arms squeezed out a fluffy head, curiously staring at the young man with a thoughtful expression. The mischievous face and cheeks smiled slyly, softly chirping a sound.

  Many years later, the six-armed Maitreya image in the Huiyuan Temple became a place of pilgrimage for practitioners.

  It was all because a young man named Yitian Xing once stopped in front of this Arhat statue, pondered for a long time, then smiled slyly and returned to the Yuan Temple's Zen room, where he neither ate nor drank, closing himself off for three days.

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  I heard someone recommended it, where is it? I looked around but couldn't find any clue, the fairy's footprints have disappeared. Would you please leave an address for me to pay a visit?