"Mr. Ji, do you see that the golden statue of the Ming Wang in my Daliang Temple is almost completed?"
Monk Huitong asked again with a little excitement. In fact, he had noticed a few years ago that the statue of Buddha Seal Vajra in the main hall of the temple had changed. Otherwise, he would not have stayed in the temple like a root since he came back from Tianbao Kingdom.
In the past, Huitong would spend less than half of the year in the monastery, and it was common for him to be away for several years.
Ji Yuan didn't keep the question in suspense and simply nodded to give a confirmed answer.
"The scriptures and Buddha power transmitted from the void have begun to intertwine with the power of incense and vows, and are shaping the golden body of the Mingwang of Daliang Temple. Daliang Temple has made many years of efforts, and the previous steps were all slow and steady. Now it is almost done."
"Good be to the Great Ming King Buddha!"
Hui Tong's chanting of the Buddha's name also sounded a little excited. This was his master's dream before he passed away, and it was also the dream of all the monks in Daliang Temple for generations.
Being able to cultivate a true incarnation of the Mingwang means that the temple has first received recognition from the Mingwang, which mainly means that the temple’s potential has been acknowledged.
“Boom boom boom…”
"Uncle Master, has the evening meal been delivered to the monks' hall?"
The voice was still that of the sturdy monk.
I heard Huitong mention this before. Although the monk looked rough and strong, and seemed much older than Huitong, he was actually the same as some monks of the same batch and grew up under Huitong's care.
In the past, whenever Hui Tong came back from his travels, these young monks would like to pester Hui Tong to tell them about what they had seen and heard outside, and they were quite close to him.
"Mr. Ji, how about you and I have dinner here? I'm afraid the princess hasn't left yet. You and I can have the illusion that we're going to have a candlelit night chat without leaving the house."
"Okay, okay, I really don't know if you have some worldly desires, that's why you are so afraid of her..."
"Hey, Mr. Ji, your theory is brilliant, but this is no joke!"
Hui Tong was frightened by Ji Yuan, not because he felt guilty, but because the Taoism of the person in front of him was truly unfathomable. Hui Tong knew even less about the affairs of immortals, but if this immortal cultivator's words turned out to be true, then it would be a disaster.
Ji Yuan nodded his head and stopped talking. He poured himself some tea and ate the cakes on the table. Looking at the exquisiteness of the candied cakes on top, he thought that they must have been brought by the eldest princess.
"Zhi Xing, bring the vegetarian meal here later. Remember not to forget Mr. Ji's portion. Oh, and make more of our temple's specialties. Mr. Ji and I want to have a candlelit chat."
Even though there was a door between them, the monk at the door still clasped his hands together and bowed slightly.
"Yes, when it's done, I'll send it to my uncle."
"go Go!"
Monk Zhixing left and headed towards the temple kitchen. It was already dusk and the number of pilgrims in the temple had dropped sharply, with more monks than visitors.
However, after informing the temple kitchen, Monk Zhixing was stopped by the female official as soon as he came out of the kitchen door and was asked directly.
"Is Master Huitong done with his guests?"
"Master Uncle wants to have a candlelit night talk with Master Ji, and all the vegetarian meals must be sent to his monk's hall."
"Well, go ahead."
"I'm leaving now!"
Zhixing left quickly. This female donor was not someone to be trifled with. At least in the minds of the monks who were a little lower in seniority, they were more afraid of this female official than the eldest princess.
A moment later, the female official arrived at a corner outside the temple, where a car was parked against the courtyard wall, with some strong-clad guards and two maids standing guard.
Seeing the lady-in-waiting approaching, everyone saluted, but the former did not return the salute and moved closer to the carriage road.
"Miss, Master Huitong wants to have a candlelit night talk with Mr. Ji, so they won't be eating in the monks' dining hall. Let's go back."
The eldest princess inside curled her lips.
"That's really all you need to talk about. When you're with me, you just recite sutras..."
The female official smiled outside. Although she and the princess were in a master-servant relationship, they had always been close and there was no need to be too taboo about many things.
"Miss, please don't be so angry. It will be dark soon. The food in the villa should be ready."
"Oh, what a pity for that table of exquisite vegetarian food... Oh! That's right, how about I go to the kitchen here and make a vegetarian meal for Master Huitong?"
"Pfft... Miss, you are a princess, you have never touched water, and you are cooking vegetarian food. Do you know how to cook rice?"
Faced with the female official's rude sarcasm, the eldest princess in the carriage sighed.
"Forget it, that's all I say. Let's go back to the Tongqiu Mansion."
After receiving this order, the coachman started driving, and the others followed behind or stood by.
On the second day and the third day, the princess still came as promised, but Ji Yuan was still in the temple. Every time, the princess was told that Master Huitong was chatting with Ji Yuan about the past.
I heard before that Mr. Ji came from the distant Dazhen. It was really difficult for him to come here after overcoming thousands of mountains and rivers and many difficulties and dangers. So the eldest princess was reasonable and did not disturb them. She simply did not come to visit for the next few days, allowing Monk Huitong to relax for several days.
It was not until the tenth day after Ji Yuan came to Daliang Temple that the eldest princess came to Daliang Temple again.
When the princess heard the monk at the entrance of the inner courtyard say that Ji Yuan was still there, she couldn't help it.
"What? Master Huitong is not available to see guests? Is Mr. Ji from Dazhen unwilling to leave? And even if they stay longer, they won't be able to finish their conversation."
"Your Highness, how would I know that? I don't dare to interfere in my uncle's affairs!"
The monk on duty complained bitterly and dared only respond in this way.
"Okay, okay, I don't blame you. I'll go find them myself. I want to listen to what they talk about!"
The eldest princess, accompanied by a female official and two maids, said this angrily, and without caring about anything else, she walked directly towards Huitong's monastery.
The monk on duty saw that the situation was not good and quickly took a detour to rush to his uncle's monastery. However, when he hurriedly arrived at the courtyard, he saw Hui Tong and Ji Yuan walking out together.
"What's wrong? You're flustered."
"Master, Uncle Master, the princess is here again and she said she must see you. I couldn't stop her, so I hurried over to tell her!"
Hui Tong, on the other hand, still looked indifferent.
"I understand. Let her do whatever she wants. You can continue to be on duty."
"yes!"
At this moment, Hui Tong's expression was solemn and dignified, while Ji Yuan's expression was elegant but profound. The two of them walked out of the courtyard and headed towards the front of the temple.
In the ears of the two people, the sound of scriptures was getting louder and louder, and the solemn sound of Buddhist chants was generated in the void. Various Buddhist scriptures and Buddhist chants came from the same voice and echoed with each other in the temple.
The princess and her female official walked hurriedly. Before they arrived at the place, they saw Hui Tong and Ji Yuan coming out. She opened her mouth to speak, but saw that Hui Tong's expression was very serious, so she changed her words.
"Master, what happened?"
At this juncture, Monk Huitong still stopped to salute the eldest princess and answered patiently.
"Good be to the Great Ming King Buddha. Reporting to the Princess, our distinguished elders from the Buddhist sect will be arriving soon. Mr. Ji and I will go to greet them!"
"Respected elder? Then why didn't the other monks react when I came?"
Hui Tong smiled, and her smile was so radiant that the eldest princess and even the female officials around her were slightly stunned.
"Good Lord Buddha, there is no need to disturb the other monks in the temple. This elder does not like noise! Princess, wait a moment. Mr. Ji and I will go over first."
After saying that, Hui Tong left in a hurry again. Ji Yuan nodded to the two women and left with them.
“Ding… Ding… Ding…”
The bells of Daliang Temple are ringing, and there is still a constant stream of pilgrims and tourists in the temple. There are also literati like Jacques who have written inscriptions in some blank spaces.
Ji Yuan and Hui Tong walked to the main gate of Daliang Temple together. Because of some magic, Hui Tong's appearance here did not alarm other pilgrims too much. However, the eldest princess and the female official behind them still followed from a distance.
Outside the main gate of Daliang Temple, Ji Yuan and Hui Tong stopped to look into the distance.
As the Buddhist sounds got closer and louder, the two men saw an old monk wearing an old cassock and holding a silver staff walking towards the busy market outside the temple.
The old monk lowered his eyebrows and eyes, his face tilted towards the ground in front of him, his lips moving up and down, obviously chanting scriptures.
"Practice Dharma King, Buddha seals a thousand bodies, I, the Buddha, have the Dharma to save all living beings..."
The sound of the chanting was like rumbling thunder, getting louder and louder around the Daliang Temple. Combined with the sound of the temple bells, a sense of Zen became increasingly evident. However, the surrounding pilgrims and most of the monks were unaware of it.
Huitong stood straight, with his hands clasped together in an unprecedentedly standard posture.
Ji Yuan stood quietly aside. He found that the illusion he had cast on his eyes had disappeared without his noticing.
When they were ten feet outside Daliang Temple, the old monk raised his head and looked intently at Hui Tong and Ji Yuan, holding a staff in one hand and making a Buddhist gesture with the other.
"Namo Moko, my Buddha's Dharma!"
Hui Tong put his hands together and bent his waist to 90 degrees.
"Good, my Buddha, the Buddha Seal Vidyaraja!"
Ji Yuan raised his arms and saluted, but did not speak. The old monk just nodded to Ji Yuan as a Buddhist salute, and then continued to walk towards Daliang Temple with big strides. Hui Tong stepped aside, then followed two steps behind.
Even at the moment of the ceremony, the thunderous chanting of scriptures continued without stopping.
Ji Yuan stood there without moving, looking sideways at the backs of the old monk and Hui Tong as they walked away, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Is this the true body of the Ming Wang?"