Yinshan Record

Chapter 543 Asking for Directions While Climbing the Mountain Leads to Disaster (Part 2)
As everyone knows, Young Master Su is a kind and good-natured man. Having traveled the martial world for so long, he avoids fighting whenever possible, but once he does, he goes all out to kill.

It was just a Buddhist temple, not a nunnery, so Su Che had no intention of going in. However, the head monk's words, "If you leave late, you'll definitely get a beating," really provoked the Third Young Master Su's temper.

What, you want to make a move?

Su Che coldly watched the big monk on the other side.

The bald man with a beard hanging down to his chest persisted relentlessly.

"Although Buddhism saves all sentient and insentient beings, today is not a good day. If you wish to worship Buddha, please choose another day."

As he spoke, his eyes glanced at several tall, fat monks on the other side. These monks, with their bulging muscles and broad shoulders, stood in front of the Weituo Hall. They looked more like bald bandits than monks.

This piqued Su San Gongzi's curiosity.

"Master, you have very high standards."

Su Che still had a smile on his face: "My brother suffered a sudden illness and injured his eyes. He had long heard that there were eminent monks and virtuous people around Jiankang City who were saving all living beings, so he came to try his luck. He didn't expect that there would be so many rules in this temple."

The senior monk was clearly the guest master of the temple.

It's important to understand that there are many intricacies to the positions within Buddhist temples, with the so-called "Four Great Heads and Eight Great Stewards." The key is actually what exactly they are responsible for. The Guest Master is one of the so-called Eight Great Stewards of the monastery, in charge of the guest hall, specifically responsible for welcoming and seeing off guests and interacting with various parties.

The monks in charge have always been sharp-witted, quick-witted, and sociable; this bald man is definitely not the kind of roughneck who would resort to violence at the slightest provocation. It's just that he has some other troublesome matters on his mind today, which has troubled him and made him lose his usual clarity of mind.

Now that Su Che had retorted, it reminded this person of his true nature. He silently chanted a few Buddhist mantras in his heart, then turned his head and said in a low voice.

"It is not that I am trying to make things difficult for you, but our temple is facing many inconveniences today. I hope you can understand."

The senior monk put on a smiling face again, and the sinister and violent look that had been on his face just now was immediately dispelled, replaced by a sense of detachment from worldly affairs.

However, Young Master Su understood what kind of person this was. Without saying a word, he took something out of his sleeve and handed it to the monk.

The monk was about to refuse, but Young Master Su was too quick; before he could even wave his hand, the item was already in his grasp.

A heavy, fine piece of pure gold.

The head monk squeezed the gold in his hand; its weight and hardness were fine. He looked at the person in front of him, wondering if he was a merchant from out of town or a wandering swordsman. For a moment, even the guest monk couldn't guess Su Che's identity.

However, gold is gold, and the senior monk carefully put it into his sleeve.

"Namo Buddha, it's not that this humble monk is ignorant of human affairs and is deliberately making things difficult for you, sir. You should also know that the political situation in the court is constantly changing..."

The head monk said with a bitter face, "With the new emperor's ascension to the throne, a noble person from the palace has arranged to pray for His Majesty's well-being today. Our entire temple is busy with this matter. We are truly unable to entertain you, sir..."

Actually, there are unspeakable grievances within this temple.

Everyone knows that although the Emperor of Liang still sits on the throne, the one who holds real power is the Su family. This temple of theirs was originally a legacy passed down from the previous dynasty's Grand Preceptor, and its origins are already somewhat unclear. If it were to get involved with anyone in the palace...

With the traitors of the previous dynasty and the current rebels, even the most virtuous monks, who are supposed to be detached from worldly desires, are unwilling to get involved in the disputes.

What a huge head of his! Instead of keeping it for vegetarian meals, he's stirring up infighting in the court. Isn't that just asking for trouble?
However, once a word is spoken from within the palace, the rules remain the rules.

Although the senior monks in the temple wished they could just hang up a banner that read "Our temple supports Lord Su," since the palace had made it clear that they wanted to come and visit, they had no other choice but to serve them carefully.

No matter how unwilling there is in this.

"It's still early, and I'm afraid the noble people from the palace won't be here for a while. Please, Venerable Monk, help us out and let us in to pay our respects, considering our sincerity."

As Su Che spoke, he pointed to Lu Bai, whose eyes were covered with a white cloth, behind him.

“We came all the way from Cizhou just for my brother…”

"May I ask who this is...?"

The monk, who was in charge of receiving guests, put his hands together and looked at Lu Bai to the side.

"We are in the business of selling sea sand. There are many taboos in this business. Last time when we went to the Central Plains, we ran into our enemies and injured my brother's eye. Although we have lived by the sea for a long time, we know the efficacy of this Sheshan Mountain, so we came from afar to seek Buddha. People say that the Buddhist gate opens wide the door of convenience, but I did not expect that there are so many rules. It has really broadened my horizons."

The Third Young Master Su's words carried a hint of anger, which made the guest monk nod repeatedly, seemingly sharing the same hatred.

Sea sand.

The monk pondered to himself, "How much could sea sand be worth?" This was just underworld slang; notorious bandits used "sea sand" to refer to white salt. It seemed this group was involved in the smuggling of salt.

Although the Great Liang Dynasty, like the previous one, has a so-called ban on salt and iron, meaning that salt, iron, and other commodities are state-owned and privately owned by the people, given the current state of the court, the ban is practically ineffective, as江湖豪客 (jianghu heroes and outlaws) who engage in this trade are as numerous as carp crossing a river.

With so many people in the temple, seven or eight out of ten of the salt they consume daily is smuggled salt.

The monk touched the red gold in his sleeve. No wonder he was so generous; it turned out he was engaged in this kind of illegal business.

"Since you are so sincere, then this humble monk will naturally have no choice but to open the door wide for you. However, please hurry, as our esteemed guest may arrive at any time."

The head monk in charge of receiving guests was one of the most prominent figures in the temple, one of the four chief monks and eight stewards. Now that a distinguished guest from the court was about to arrive, it was the time for him to take charge. Naturally, he had no time to entertain a few wandering swordsmen who had appeared out of nowhere. The head monk agreed and immediately called over the young monk Yuanzhen from the other side, asking him to come and guide the group.

Su Che didn't like him to begin with, so he had the bald guy lead the way while he and Lu Bai and the others talked quietly behind him.

"Young Master, what brings you to worship Buddha today?" Although Lu Bai's eyesight was impaired, his hearing was sharper than ever before, and he could hear Su Che's conversation with the monk clearly.

"Old Lu, what do you think I should do?"

Su Che stretched comfortably and followed the little monk into the Weituo Hall. In front of the hall was a clay Vajra protector. Although it did not have a blue face and fangs, it was still holding a vajra in the form of subduing demons.

"Young master, do you perhaps feel that these monks are lazy and idle, spending their days eating the people's hard-earned money, that their temples occupy large tracts of farmland, and that their temples are filthy and corrupt, and that you have come here specifically to investigate?"

Lu Bai didn't think much about it and gave an answer directly.

This is truly a side effect of Su San Gongzi's recent meteoric rise in Lao Lu's heart. Since following Su Che, Lu Bai has become accustomed to the young master's style of doing things. Although he can't be called a living saint, his actions are always aimed at the country and the people.

If anyone says that Young Master Su is a bad person, Old Lu will be the first to disagree.

You really think highly of me.

Su Che simply disliked the high monk's sycophantic and condescending behavior and wanted to teach this group of bald monks a lesson.

"Old Lu, what you said is inappropriate. If you ask me, our young master is a member of the Xuanmen sect, the abbot of Zhixin Temple, which is located in this Sheshan Mountain. As the saying goes, one cannot tolerate others snoring beside one's bed. With so many Buddhist temples around Sheshan Mountain, aren't they making trouble for our young master? They must be planning to tear down the gates of these bald monks and punish them to do hard labor for the Taoist priests."

Xuan Gui was spouting strange and unusual theories, which made Zhu Yi on the other side nod repeatedly.

All that could be heard was Su Che shaking his head repeatedly.

This is nothing.

After passing the Weituo Hall, there is a rather spacious screen wall with the words "Namo Benshi Fo" written on it.

Su Che stopped here.

"Little master."

Su Che suddenly called out to the little monk in front of him.

"Ah, is there anything I can help you with, sir/madam...?"

The little monk's voice was clear and melodious, almost like the morning song of a nightingale.

"There seem to be words on this screen wall."

Su Che frowned as he pointed at the screen wall that read "Namo Buddha".

"There are words?"

The little monk looked around, but couldn't see anything else.

He hadn't paid much attention at first, but upon closer inspection, he suddenly noticed that a lot of vermilion soup seeped out from the screen wall, and four characters appeared on it.

"Heaven will destroy the broken beam!"

Xuan Gui pointed at the screen wall and shouted.

"These masters are really bold."

On the enormous screen wall, four blood-red characters appeared out of nowhere, fitting perfectly between the five characters "Namo Benshi Fo" (Namo Buddha). The characters were almost identical, but their imposing presence was much louder than the Buddha's name.

"For such an important matter, we should hurry and invite that senior monk who is in charge of receiving guests."

Su Che smiled slightly.

The young monk had finally found his anchor and dashed out the door.

Before long, the guest monk led a group of senior monks over in a hurry.

"Damn it, who's messing with me?"

The guest monk immediately began to curse, while the young monk Yuanzhen beside him had bloodshot eyes and was clearly terrified.

The monk who managed to become the guest master in this temple was no ordinary person. He immediately gathered the burly monks beside him, filled a wooden bucket with clean water, and used all his strength to wash the four characters "Tian Mie Can Liang" (天灭残梁). However, no matter how they tried, the four characters were as if they were nailed on, and they could not be moved even an inch.

Su Che stood aside and watched silently, feeling a little regretful. Among the people who came today, there was no one like the Yin-Yang Dharma King, who could have been a good comedian. Otherwise, they would have praised his illusion skills.

While Young Master Su was enjoying the commotion, a fast-moving monk arrived with news.

It turned out that the distinguished guest's carriage had already reached the foot of the mountain, and the abbot had already come to greet them. He specially sent someone over to urge the senior monk to prepare for the occasion.

The head monk, however, became ruthless and ordered the bald men beside him to work together to push down the screen wall.

Blue bricks collapsed, yellow earth flew up, and this screen wall, which had stood for countless years, fell down.

Looking at the five characters "Namo Amitabha Buddha" that had been shattered into pieces on the ground, Young Master Su could only shake his head.

Has the lineage of the old lion really deteriorated to this extent?
(End of this chapter)