Legend of Zhan Zhao

Chapter 6 He is dead

"yawn--!"

On a still-dark winter morning, suppressed voices broke out like cracks in ice as a group of novice monks lined up outside Mingguang Hall, preparing for morning prayers.

"Back in my hometown, I trained hard in the coldest and hottest winters, and I always got up this early..."

Chen Xiuhan had been talking late into the night for the past few nights, but there was little sign of weariness in his expression: "It's just that chanting scriptures all day long is really boring. I wonder when they'll teach us martial arts? Even the basic Arhat Staff Technique would be fine!"

Zhan Zhao, always full of energy, asked, "Are you planning to specialize in staff fighting?"

“We are from military families, and when we go to the battlefield to fight the enemy, we will all need to practice with spears and clubs. Swords and blades are inconvenient.”

Chen Xiuhan said, "Furthermore, the top-ranked martial arts on the Baiyulou Staff Ranking are mostly from two places: one is the Tianbo Yang Mansion, and the other is the Buddhist temples. I am not qualified to learn the Yang Family Spear, so I must come to the Buddhist temple to learn and make up for the deficiencies of the Chen Family Spear."

"Faith will move mountains to open."

Zhan Zhao encouraged him, "As long as you have this spirit of dedication, your progress in martial arts will surely be remarkable. I look forward to seeing Brother Chen display his prowess on the battlefield in the future."

"Haha! Thank you for your kind words, brother! Hmm!"

Chen Xiuhan grinned, but then groaned. If Zhan Zhao hadn't caught him in time, he would have fallen forward.

The two looked back.

What came into view was Hu Xiba's fierce face, followed by a shrill voice: "Watch where you're going!"

"You were the one who hit me!"

Chen Xiuhan was furious. Seeing people looking over, he quickly lowered his voice: "Hu Xiba, do you still dare to do evil? Aren't you afraid that the temple will kick you out completely?"

"Then I won't trouble you, you poor kid with no connections! You made me get locked up for three days, I'll remember that forever, just you wait!"

Hu Xiba uttered a harsh threat, squeezed past him, and headed into the hall first.

Chen Xiuhan was furious: "Damn it! So arrogant, does he really have someone protecting him, so he's fearless?"

“Buddhist temples are not quiet places either, especially since the Great Xiangguo Temple is located in the bustling capital, surrounded by worldly affairs and social interactions, so it is inevitable that there are both good and bad people.”

Through his observations over the past few days, Zhan Zhao has come to understand.

He had no prejudice against Buddhism, nor was he disappointed. He said directly, "Find an opportunity to investigate this person's conduct before entering the temple."

Lu Zhishen killed Zhen Guanxi with three punches and then became a monk to escape the calamity. He first went to Mount Wutai and later entered the Daxiangguo Temple.

Lu Zhishen fought against local bullies, and Hu Xiba looks just like one.

They bully men and women, and commit all sorts of evil deeds.

If that's the case, don't blame him for being impolite.

Once you enter the temple, you become a Buddhist disciple.

Then.

It's only right to clean house.

After the brief incident, everyone entered the Mingguang Hall.

Instead of sitting down immediately, he went to the long table first to get the tea for the morning class.

Waking up early on a cold winter morning, a bowl of hot tea is a treat, warming you up from head to toe.

But looking at the appearance of the novice monks, most of them had bitter faces.

Those at the front of the line are more likely to choose smaller portions.

When it was Zhan Zhao's turn, Chen Xiuhan did the same, deliberately choosing a smaller bowl, while Zhan Zhao took a larger bowl and took a sip.

The tea soup is greenish and cloudy, with a pungent smell and a bitter taste.

However, after drinking it, the effect of refreshing the mind is very strong, and there is also a subtle medicinal effect that helps to improve internal energy, which is not easy to detect.

This was clearly done intentionally by the temple.

The ancient tea-drinking culture was largely influenced by Buddhism. As early as the early Tang Dynasty, tea drinking was only a custom in a small number of regions, and most people knew tea as a medicinal herb. With the rise of Buddhism and the fact that monks liked to drink tea to refresh themselves, more and more people began to drink tea, and the benefits of tea became known to all walks of life.

Today, drinking tea soup remains an essential part of the morning prayers for monks at Daxiangguo Temple, and is also a hidden perk.

"His ha——"

Unfortunately, Chen Xiuhan didn't think so. He drank the tea with his tongue sticking out and muttered, "No matter how many times I drink this tea, it always tastes so strange. The temple really went to great lengths to make sure we couldn't eat too much breakfast!"

"This tea is incredibly nourishing, and the ingredients are far more precious than ordinary food. Buddhist temples, aside from anything else, are truly wealthy."

Zhan Zhao gave an objective evaluation in his heart, but said aloud, "The Great Xiangguo Temple is the most magnificent temple in the world. The grandeur of this number one ancient temple in the world is probably reflected in every aspect. We must carefully appreciate its wonders."

"Is there any?"

Chen Xiuhan frowned, looking at the tea soup that was still more than half full, and then at the sutra in his hand: "Let's not even talk about the daily tea soup. So far, the only thing the temple has issued is this 'Pure Tathagatagarbha'."

"I've read it carefully seven or eight times, but I find it utterly unremarkable. The meridian chart is just a common path for circulating qi, and it can't even condense a single acupoint. My Chen family's traditional cultivation method is far superior to it!"

He lowered his voice and whispered, "But that makes sense. We're just novices, not real monks. How could the temple give us such good things?"

"There's no need to think that way. The formal disciples in the temple are also selected from the novices."

Zhan Zhao offered a suggestion and then said no more.

It's not that I'm hiding anything; it's just that learning martial arts ultimately depends on the individual.

His comprehension and innate talent are both top-notch, and he also possesses the Six Lines Invisible Sword Qi. His martial arts level is unmatched, not to mention his peers who are only a teenager, but also many famous masters. This shows the profoundness of the Pure Tathagatagarbha and the secret methods hidden within it.

In comparison, Chen Xiuhan's skills are shallow, and even if he were to forcefully tell him, it would probably only cause him more trouble and disturb his peace of mind.

These might also be tests within the temple, which is why he only offered reminders, hoping the other party could understand them on their own and gain the favor of the high monks.

It's a long story, and while everyone was drinking tea with long faces, a monk walked toward the altar.

This man was about thirty years old, with thin eyebrows and slightly drooping eyes, showing signs of years of quiet meditation. He sat cross-legged on the Dharma platform and said, "I am Dingjue, and I am honored to be a Dharma lecturer at the Ksitigarbha Monastery, to give Dharma talks to you novices."

His voice was soft, yet each word was clear, like the sound of a chime piercing through the mist: "Today we continue with the seventh chapter of the Pure Tathagatagarbha, the Universal Gate Chapter of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. What is 'Avalokitesvara'? It is not merely the image of the Buddha in the South Sea, but truly the method of returning to one's own nature, revealing the Bodhisattva's vow to transform beings according to their needs..."

Zhan Zhao sat upright on the prayer mat, listening attentively to the lecture.

He still doesn't believe in Buddhism, but he is interested in the essential teachings of Buddhism, especially the doctrines and scriptures they contain.

Furthermore, one can gain a better understanding of the Pure Tathagatagarbha.

Even if we take it a step further and just listen to it as a story, many of the Buddhist koans in it are quite fascinating.

Other novices didn't have this mindset.

After pinching their noses and drinking the tea, they felt more alert, but not being sleepy didn't mean they could concentrate on the lesson; many were daydreaming. Chen Xiuhan was considered one of the more diligent students, listening attentively and even silently memorizing, but a look of confusion still occasionally appeared between his brows.

Just like mathematics.

If you don’t understand, you don’t understand.

"Well--"

However, today's lesson is destined to be different.

When preaching on stage, no one dares to make a sound, regardless of whether the audience is paying attention. But today, not long after the preaching began, a clear cry of pain rang out.

A young novice monk, about seven or eight years old, clutched his stomach and collapsed to the ground, crying out, "It hurts!"

"Ok?"

Although Zhan Zhao seemed to be listening attentively, he was actually constantly sensing the surrounding six directions with his Six Lines Sword Qi, which had become a habit.

He was the first to realize something was wrong, because he wasn't the only one who cried out in pain.

Almost simultaneously, another person also clutched their stomach.

acquaintance.

It was none other than Hu Xiba, the former bully who had just made those harsh remarks.

"hiss--!"

Hu Xiba also arched his back, wincing in pain, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"wrong!"

One person's stomachache might be a sudden, serious illness, but when two people experience this one after another, Zhan Zhao instantly rises to his feet.

Faced with two choices, he decisively bypassed Hu Xiba and pounced directly on the young novice monk.

It's not that I'm petty; that's a child, and he showed symptoms first, so of course I had to treat him first.

Rushing to the young novice monk, Zhan Zhao took his pulse, glanced at the bowl of soup in front of him, and immediately shouted, "The tea might be poisoned! Everyone, induce vomiting!"

As the sound spread, he circulated his internal energy, determined that he was not poisoned, grabbed the young novice, and swept him to a corner of the main hall. With his back against the wall, he struck the young novice in the back with a palm strike.

Back in his hometown, the Drunken Taoist only taught Zhan Zhao one set of martial arts, namely the Six Lines Formless Sword Qi.

But Zhan Zhao himself proposed that he wanted to study pharmacology and toxicology.

At that time, he had not yet fully recovered his memories of his past life, but he had a certain understanding—

No matter how strong your martial arts skills are, you're still afraid of poison.

In my memory, the original Zhan Zhao suffered a lot from poison, so he had to take precautions.

The Daoist of Wine did not teach pharmacology or toxicology, as that would be too distracting. However, he did teach a method of internal energy cultivation specifically designed to counteract poisons. It was nameless and was integrated into the Six Lines Formless Sword Qi.

Zhan Zhao is using this method now.

The six condensed acupoints shone brightly, and a surge of true energy started from the "Baihui Qianyuan" acupoint on the top of the head, passed through the "Tanzhong Tianshu" acupoint in the chest, reached the "Mingmen Kunyuan" acupoint in the lower back, returned to the "Shenque Guizang" acupoint in the abdomen, and drew 70% of the true energy accumulated in the dantian to the "Laogong Xuanming" acupoint in the palm, and finally burst forth from the "Shaochong Liming" acupoint on the little finger.

Throughout the process, the true energy did not grow increasingly vast, but rather gradually condensed, eventually transforming into a thin sword beam that suddenly entered the body of the poisoned novice monk.

puff!
In just three breaths, the young novice's body trembled violently, and he opened his mouth, spitting out a stream of black blood.

Once that mouthful of blood was expelled, his life was saved.

"it is good!"

Zhan Zhao's first attempt at this method was very successful, and he was pleased, but he didn't stop.

As the true energy circulated, a wisp of white smoke rose from the top of his head.

It may seem like they're giving it their all, but that's not actually the case.

I came to the corner and leaned against the wall because I was worried that I would be ambushed by the murderer while I was detoxifying my fellow disciples.

Now that the poison had been successfully expelled, he continued to feign an attack, hoping that the culprit who had poisoned him would come and capture him in one fell swoop.

Unfortunately, no one took action.

And the other side.

From the moment the young novice monk collapsed in agony to the moment Zhan Zhao's clear voice echoed throughout the hall, only a few breaths had passed.

Not to mention most people, even the monk Dingjue, who was giving the sermon on the stage, was stunned and unable to react while holding a teacup in his hand.

"poisonous!!"

Fortunately, Chen Xiuhan chose to believe him completely. He roared, shoved his hand down his throat, and vomited up the tea he had just drunk.

A sour, foul smell filled the air, and the novice monks around them jumped off their prayer mats as if electrocuted.

"help me……"

With this opening, Hu Xiba, who was rolling on the ground clutching his stomach, became clearly visible.

By this time, he was even having difficulty speaking.

Everyone realized what had happened, and some started gagging themselves, others pounding their chests, trying to induce vomiting.

For a while.

Chaos reigned inside Mingguang Hall.

When the lecturing monk Dingjue finally stepped forward to maintain order and led the many novice monks who had been induced to vomit out of the hall, Zhan Zhao, carrying the unconscious little novice monk, also floated out: "This one has been saved, what about the other one?"

"Yes, yes! There's one more person!"

Dingjue plunged in again.

But he quickly stopped.

In the center of the futon, which was covered in vomit, a corpse was twisted in a bizarre posture.

His bluish-purple face was ferocious and terrifying, his eyes wide open in anger, and dark red bloodstains seeping from his seven orifices meandered into horrifying patterns on his skin.

Hu Xiba.

he died.

(End of this chapter)