On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

In Zhang Li's boudoir on the third floor of the Hero Casino, wisps of green smoke were rising from the gilded incense burner.

The chess and card Buddha was still dressed as Jigong, with his tattered robes patched up with patches, his hat tilted on his head, with suspicious wine stains on the tassel, and he was waving a broken fan in his hand - the four large gold-painted characters "Ji Shi Living Buddha" on the fan were mottled, as if they had been soaked in wine.

"Prince, you don't have to be too sad. Look at this." After saying that, the chess and card Buddha took out a brown ball from his arms. The surface of the ball was bumpy. When you got close, you could see fine lines on it, and it was emitting a strange luster.

"This is a tranquilizing pill. Whenever you feel uneasy, throw one into the incense burner and burn it." The chess and card Buddha threw the brown ball into the incense burner. The flames shot up and light blue smoke rose in an instant.

Then the scent of agarwood wafted into the air.

Lin Zhen didn't suspect anything and took a puff. He felt a strong force rushing straight to his forehead, but then he quickly calmed down.

Like the sage time afterward.

"No matter which wife you have children with in the future, the result will definitely be affected by this heart-eating poison. But don't worry, as far as I know, this heart-eating poison will not have any harm. It can even make your body stronger and it may also make you immortal." The chess and card Buddha deliberately dragged out the last word of his words, and the broken fan made a rustling sound when it was shaken in front of him.

Lin Zhen leaned back on the couch and sneered at the words, "There's no such thing as immortality. You old bald donkey are talking nonsense again. Do you think I'm one of those foolish emperors from the past? What about immortality? What about the Emperor of Chu back then? What about Emperor Shenglong of Daqian? Who wasn't a peerless genius? But who has achieved immortality?"

The Chess and Cards Buddha put away his joking expression and said seriously, "That's not necessarily true. The world is so vast that nothing is impossible. We still know too little about it."

He gazed out the window, a hint of melancholy in his eyes, as if he were truly filled with awe for the world. "I used to not believe in immortality, but after going through so much, especially seeing so many mysterious tribes in southern Xinjiang, there's nothing I don't believe in anymore. Prince, do you know that they possess secret techniques unknown to the public, and the Heart-Eating Gu is one of them?"

"From what you said, you were also infected with the Heart-Eating Gu?"

"No, not everyone has the chance to be infected by the Heart-Eating Gu. I just want to tell you to respect the world and the gods. Maybe something will happen that you don't know about."

Lin Zhen also sighed after hearing this.

How could he not know whether the world is magical or not? He himself is a time traveler.

However, Lin Zhen believed that the unprepossessing Buddha in front of him should also be a time traveler, but he didn't know where he came from or when he traveled here.

"Prince, there is something I need your help with."

"Let's finish talking about this before we talk about yours."

"What's the matter? I've already explained the matter with the Heart-Eating Gu to you. Just be natural and don't take it too seriously."

At this point, Lin Zhen knew that there was no way for him to change anything. He nodded and said nothing more.

"As long as it doesn't affect the child, it's fine. So, what have you been up to lately? Is it really like Li'er said, drinking and smoking opium every day? And you need to vent your desires all the time? Aren't you a monk?"

The Chess and Cards Buddha immediately resumed his carefree demeanor, grinning broadly as he said, "Drinking and smoking opium, of course! People live in this world to enjoy happiness, don't they?"

Lin Zhen raised his eyebrows: "Don't you Buddhists emphasize asceticism? Why are you so greedy for pleasure?"

The Chess Buddha waved his hand dismissively: "Those monks are just talking nonsense. I think the Taoists have a very good point on this point."

He shook his head and recited a Taoist saying, "'Heaven and Earth are unkind, treating all things as straw dogs. Heaven and Earth view all things equally, showing no particular preference. Therefore, while we live, we should enjoy life to the fullest and follow our hearts. Why burden ourselves? To play with the world, as I do, is to be truly free.'"

Lin Zhen leaned back on the carved couch, tapping his black jade ring lightly on the mother-of-pearl-inlaid table. "Monk, you claim to be a Buddhist disciple, yet you spout Taoist jargon. Aren't you afraid of Buddha's resentment?"

"Buddha?" The Buddha suddenly sat cross-legged on the carpet, with the tip of his straw sandals touching the edge of the incense burner.

"I found this cassock in the ashes of a ruined temple. The Buddha has long forgotten me. But the Taoist Laozi rode a green ox across the Hangu Pass and left behind the 5,000-word Tao Te Ching, which I find very appealing."

"But Taoism emphasizes tranquility and inaction." Lin Zhen raised an eyebrow. "How can you indulge in all kinds of eating, drinking, whoring and gambling like you?"

"Wrong, wrong!" The Chess and Cards Buddha interrupted him, shaking his broken fan. "Lao Tzu said 'do nothing and achieve everything'. It doesn't mean that we should just lie down, but rather that we should follow the rules. Just like this heart-eating poison, it wants to take root in your blood. Can you stop it? Why not imitate Zhuangzi's dream of a butterfly and dance with the poison?"

"But as far as I know, Buddhism believes in karma, and you reap what you sow." Lin Zhen picked up the teacup. "I was so bloodthirsty before. Do you think I will go to hell? Will I meet Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva? Will I meet Yama King? Will I really suffer retribution in the next life?"

Lin Zhen was joking, he didn't care about the afterlife at all.

Or, he has no afterlife.

Just like Tang Monk.

Some people say that Tang Seng only panicked once in his life, during the ordeal in the Kingdom of Women.

The Queen of the Kingdom of Women wanted to keep Tang Sanzang, but he finally couldn't resist the temptation and said to the Queen: "If I have another life, I will agree to your request."

But he lied because he knew he would become a Buddha, and Buddha has no afterlife.

"Next life?" The Chess and Cards Buddha scoffed, pulling a wine gourd from his robes. "I only care about this life! Back when I saw so much witchcraft in southern Xinjiang, I realized the worst retribution in the world is suffering. Look at that kid Fugui. He lost his house and can't even eat a hot meal. Isn't that worse than going to hell? What about those Zoroastrians whose limbs you chopped off and turned into human pigs?"

Lin Zhen looked at the various changes that appeared and disappeared in the smoke: "According to you, enjoying life while you can is the right way?"

"Exactly!" The Chess and Cards Buddha took a sip of wine, which flowed down the patch onto the carpet. "The Taoists say, 'Life is like a fleeting moment between heaven and earth.' If we don't enjoy the prosperity while we're still alive, will we regret it after we're in the coffin? Just like the Gu mother in this incense burner, it turns into smoke after burning, but our body and mind are nourished. This is called 'sacrificing the small self for the greater self.' It's so Taoist!"

"Wrong logic!" Lin Zhen couldn't help laughing. "Buddhism advocates compassion. The idea you gave me led to the deaths of so many Persians."

"Compassion?" The Chess Buddha suddenly looked serious. "Where was your compassion when the Northern Yan Wolf Clan came south, burning, killing, and looting? Where was your compassion when the people of Hequ County traded their children for food?"

He pointed out the window and said, "I am telling you how to get rid of Zoroastrianism for the sake of more Daqian people and ordinary people. This is great compassion!"

Lin Zhen was speechless for a moment and then asked, "Then tell me, Taoism advocates the theory of the equality of all things. Does that mean there is no difference between killing and arson and doing good deeds?"

"Your Highness is wrong again!" The Chess and Cards Buddha slapped his thigh and stood up. "Zhuangzi said, 'All things are equal, what is short and what is long?' He meant to let go of our discriminatory minds, not to confuse right and wrong. Just like the heart-eating poison within your spirit, it's a death warrant for the wicked, but a protective shield for you. The key lies in whether the user has good intentions."

"According to you..." Lin Zhen suddenly thought of Zhang Li's casino, "Opening a casino to make dirty money is also a good intention?"

"How can casinos be considered unscrupulous?" the Chess Buddha argued. "Gamblers lose money because they're greedy. Casinos are just a mirror that reflects people's hearts. Besides, Madam Zhang Li sends three carts of food to the dilapidated temple in the south of the city every month and helps beggars. Do you think there are still beggars in Daqian these days? Anyone who can do a little work has been hired away. Isn't that much more practical than those kind-hearted believers who chant Amitabha Buddha all day long?"

Lin Zhen looked at this crazy monk and suddenly realized that although his words and actions were weird, he could always make sense of his fallacies.

"Have you ever thought about cultivating your mind and becoming a proper monk?"

"A serious monk?" Chess Buddha walked towards the window, shaking his broken fan. "Oh, back in Shaolin Temple, the abbot asked me to copy scriptures every day, but I fell asleep while copying, and my dreams were filled with the aroma of wine and meat down the mountain. Later I realized that instead of pretending to practice asceticism, it's better to be yourself wholeheartedly - this is the true meaning of Taoist 'valuing life'."

"What is Guisheng?" Lin Zhen raised his eyebrows.

As the Chess Buddha turned, his hat slipped to the tip of his nose. "The Taoists say 'value life and cherish oneself,' which means we should cherish life and live freely. Look at this young man. Although he has red eyes, he is protected by the poisonous insect and is stronger than ordinary children. Isn't this a manifestation of 'valuing life'?"

Lin Zhen was silent for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and patted the bed to sit up: "No, you said so much, do you believe in Taoism or Buddhism?"

"I believe in myself!" The Chess Buddha laughed heartily, the patches on his robes shaking. "Both Buddhism and Taoism are just tools. As long as they can be used, it's fine. Just like this Heart-Eating Gu, whether it's a Buddhist insect or a Taoist Gu, as long as it can protect the Crown Prince and the young master, it's a good Gu."

The door creaked open, and the noise from the casino came like a tide. Zhang Li walked back with a flushed face, and when she saw the chess and card Buddha, her eyes were not eyes and her nose was not a nose.

"What's that smell in this room?"

"It's a fragrance that can calm your mind. Don't you like to smell it?" Lin Zhen asked.

"It's okay, the taste is a bit light and not very fragrant."

Lin Zhen pulled Zhang Lilou into his arms and said as if no one was around: "Is the matter settled?"

"Almost. I'll tell my husband later. You guys chat first, I'll pour the tea."

After saying that, Zhang Li patted Lin Zhen's thigh and stood up to pour tea.

The Chess and Cards Buddha naturally welcomed everyone who came, regardless of status, and continued, "My prince, remember, no matter what you believe in, don't fight yourself - drink when you should drink, have children when you should have children, and let nature take its course. That is the ultimate way of life."

The gilded incense burner on the third floor of the Hero Casino was emitting wisps of green smoke. The chess and card Buddha continued to lie slumped on Zhang Li's carpet, his bony body wrapped in a tattered cassock, his Jigong hat tilted on his face, revealing only his bearded mouth.

After he finished speaking, he suddenly raised half of his body and snapped his broken fan together: "My Lord, now that you've finished talking about your business, isn't it time to talk about mine?"

Lin Zhen was playing with the jade cigarette holder Zhang Li had made. Hearing this, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "What are you up to?"

"It's not a big deal." The Chess Buddha pulled off his hat, revealing a few tufts of stubborn black hair. "I want to borrow some silver from you—not much, just five hundred taels!"

"Borrow?" Lin Zhen sneered, "You secretly borrowed three hundred taels from Li'er last time, and you thought I didn't know?"

"Can that be called a loan?" The Chess Buddha sat up, his robe patches leaving a few gray marks on the soft couch. "That's the hard-earned reward for helping you resolve your doubts! Besides, this time I really have a serious use for it - there's a new skinny girl from Yangzhou who plays the pipa very well, but is forced to entertain customers by a pimp..."

"Stop!" Lin Zhen raised his hand to interrupt, "You clearly want to use the money to buy wine and women."

The Chess Buddha suddenly put on a face of grievance, covering half of his face with a broken fan: "Your Highness is so cold! Haven't you heard that saving a girl from a brothel is a good deed? That girl is only sixteen years old, proficient in everything from music, chess, calligraphy and painting. If she falls into prostitution..."

"Come on!" Zhang Li walked in carrying an agate tea tray. The slit of her purple cheongsam revealed her snow-white legs, which glowed warmly in the candlelight. "Last time, you said you would save the Suzhou embroiderer, but you ended up kidnapping her to work as a dealer in a casino, forcing her fiancé to search all over Beijing for her."

"That's because her embroidery is so good." The Chess Buddha shamelessly took the teacup. "I think your casino is in need of a bookkeeper. This is what I call making the best use of people's talents!"

He suddenly turned to Lin Zhen, clasped his hands together in front of his chest, and bowed, "Sir, please have pity on me and lend me another five hundred taels?"

Lin Zhen shook his head helplessly: "I borrowed it but you didn't return it."

"Hey, hey, hey!" The Chess and Cards Buddha suddenly jumped up, his broken fan making the incense burner jingle. "You can't say that! If you're so picky, next time you want to know the secret of the Heart-Eating Gu, I'll charge you! At least two thousand taels of silver each time!"

"Two thousand taels?" Lin Zhen almost laughed out loud. "Why don't you just rob? Back then, Fatty, Dehao, and I ran a horse and carriage business, and the few hundred taels of silver were all pooled together by us brothers."

"It's a different time now!" The chess and card Buddha rubbed his fingers together and moved closer. "Now the prince is the richest man in China. He can stomp his feet and shake the world. Two thousand taels is just a drop in the bucket..."

Zhang Li suddenly interrupted, her fingertips running across the pearl necklace at the collar of her cheongsam, "How about I find you ten top-notch girls to serve you in the casino backyard every day?"

“No, no!” The chess and card Buddha waved his hands repeatedly.

"Girls have to be fresh and new, never sleep with the same girl more than twice." He lowered his voice mysteriously, "I met a Gu woman in Miaojiang. Because she kept sleeping with the same man, the love Gu backfired and her hair turned into snakes!"

Zhang Li burst out laughing, and almost dropped her teacup. "Just make it up. We can't go to Miaojiang to verify it anyway."

"This is not made up!" The Chess Buddha stamped his feet anxiously, and his straw sandals almost fell into the incense burner. "I saw it with my own eyes back then..."

"Alright, alright," Lin Zhen interrupted, rubbing his temple. "Be honest, how much do you want?"

The Chess Buddha immediately put on a flattering smile and pointed to "three" with two fingers: "Three hundred taels! This will definitely be the last time!"

"Two hundred taels." Lin Zhen held up two fingers, "And we need a written agreement."

"Deal!" The chess and card Buddha quickly took out the parchment he carried with him, bit his fingertip and was about to press his fingerprint. "But let me be frank. If the prince asks about the poisonous insect again in the future, you have to charge according to the market price..."

"Damn it, stop pressing. It's just three hundred taels. I'll lend it to you." Lin Zhen gave Zhang Li a look.

The latter immediately went to the cabinet and took out several large silver ingots, all of which were custom-made.

"Take the money and hurry to Yanlai Tower. Don't be an eyesore here."

The Chess Buddha grabbed the banknote and stuffed it into his cassock, then put on his Jigong hat and said, "Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness! I'll bring that skinny Yangzhou horse to play 'The Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix' for you someday."

After saying that, he suddenly turned around and winked at Zhang Li, "Madam Zhang Li, if there is any surplus in the casino account, I can help you to save the souls of the gamblers..."

"Get out of the way!" Zhang Li cursed with a smile and threw an embroidered pillow, but the chess and card Buddha dodged it flexibly.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Lin Zhen looked at his swaying back and suddenly felt that although this monk was crazy, he understood the way of survival better than those hypocritical officials in the court.

He walked to the incense burner, looked at the gradually extinguished flame, and suddenly remembered what the chess and card Buddha said about "dancing with the poison" - perhaps, facing an unknown fate, accepting it calmly is the best choice.

The smoke in the boudoir gradually dissipated, and Lin Zhen picked up a piece of unburned Gu mother debris, which was slightly hot in his palm.

He suddenly chuckled and put the debris back into the incense burner - no matter whether it was Buddhism or Taoism, at this moment he only hoped that the child could grow up safely. As for those abstruse arguments, let them dissipate with the smoke for the time being.

......

When only Lin Zhen and Zhang Li were left in the boudoir, the green smoke from the incense burner was winding up the carved lattice fan.

Zhang Li suddenly chuckled: "You're just going to let him do whatever he wants? Aren't you afraid that he'll use the money to cause trouble?"

"Causing trouble?" Lin Zhen looked at the bloody handprint on the table. "This monk may seem crazy, but he actually knows his limits better than anyone else—otherwise, how could he always be the right help?"

Zhang Li raised an eyebrow and suddenly leaned closer: "Seriously, do you believe what he just said, 'Don't sleep with the same girl twice'?"

Lin Zhen suddenly remembered the silk trouser legs exposed under the Buddhist robes - that was the most expensive brocade in the capital, but it was cut to make a patch.

He suddenly chuckled: "Believe it or not, this crazy monk seems to be sent by God to break my inner demons."

From outside the window came the Chess Buddha's curses: "You son of a bitch, Long Er! How dare you deduct my tea money? I'll plant worms in your gambling tools!"

Lin Zhen shook his head helplessly, but heard Zhang Li suddenly whisper: "Actually, the skinny horse in Yangzhou he mentioned is true."