Book 14 Chapter 1 – Martial Art Master from The Other Side
Bursts of long and drawn out, rising and falling, chanting voices that seemed to be coming from an unknown distant places, spread throughout the temple.
The three felt as if they were entering an uninhabited place, as they climbed the stairs of the tower where the huge bell, which weighed around a thousand catty, was hung, from where they looked down far and near to examine the situation.
The buildings inside Jing Nian Chanyuan were arranged neatly along the central axis, which ran directly from the Temple’s main gate, with the Copper Hall as the center of the monastery. The buildings were sized uniformly.
Other than the Copper Hall, all buildings had tri-colored glazed roof tiles. The color and luster looked new; perhaps some monks in the Temple were diligent enough to clean up, so that the tiles looked like this. Among the three colors, the peacock blue was the most dazzling. It could be imagined that the buildings would be resplendent under the bright sunshine.
From the bell tower where the three were located to the Copper Hall, there was only other building in between, but the distances were quite different; the former was far and the latter was near.
In front of the Copper Hall there was a vast open area, approximately a hundred zhang wide, covered in slabs of white stone, encircled by a fence made of carved white stone, forming a flat plaza.
In the middle of the white stone plaza was a shrine with a bronze statue of Manjushri Bodhisattva, riding on the back of a golden-mane lion. The statue’s height was approximately two zhang. Next to the shrine were the painted clay figures with gold ornaments of Pharmacist Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, and Amitabha, the three-world Buddhas. [Sorry, I am not familiar with Buddhism; these are simply what the dictionary gave me.] The figures looked imposing, but there was a bit of out-of-place feeling with the general situation of the monastery.
On all four sides of the white stone plaza, other than four gateways with white stone steps, there were 500 luohan [arhats] scattered around; all were made of cast bronze, each one’s expression and posture was different from each other. However, whether it opened its eyes wide and had protruding forehead, or with its eyes drooping down in self defense, every single one was vivid and lifelike, no different from any living being.
The other buildings formed a whole entity with the main hall as at the axis; they were spread out in a clear and good order to the eight points of the compass, separated by wooded path, creating a divine atmosphere that was solemn and serene.
There was a large incense burner in front of the Manjushri Bodhisattva in the white stone plaza, burning sandalwood incense that the aroma permeated the air, so that the three could not help their mood from calming down, almost to the point of feeling as if they had withdrawn from worldly affairs.
Looking into the distance, at the stone steps outside the main gate extending down toward the foot of the mountain, Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, “There ought to be eight hundred and eight steps; what a coincidence.”
However, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan were unable to take their eyes off the Copper Hall, which main door was tightly closed, while thinking about their plan of action.
The chanting noise came precisely from the main hall, which was only about ten zhang behind the Copper Hall, while elsewhere in the monastery there was not even half a shadow to be seen. There was some kind of profound mystery that made people did not dare to act blindly without thinking.
The strangest thing was that other than the lanterns illuminating the white stone plaza and the statues in it, there was no other light. Even the main hall, where the chanting was coming from, was in total darkness, giving out the impression that as soon as one would step into the white stone plaza, one would immediately become the most obvious target.
It’s just that tonight the bright moon was high in the sky, illuminating the glazed roof tiles, bringing out their extraordinary splendor, and making the trees along the pathways, inside and outside of the Temple casting their shadows onto the streets, adding an unfathomable mystery onto the Temple’s already mysterious atmosphere.
Craning his neck to look down, Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, “What exactly is wrong? How come there’s an uneasiness in my heart?”
Xu Ziling, standing on his other side, sneered and said, “This is called lacking in confidence in being a thief; you know that?”
Kou Zhong laughed and said, “I am definitely a thief, but I do not lack confidence. Just think, the Jade Annulus of He Clan is an unusual treasure handed down from generation to generation for thousands of years, basically it does not belong to anybody, and only virtuous persons can obtain it. Of course! Nobody can decide whether someone else was virtuous or not. Therefore, now we can only see whose luck is a bit better, whose fist is a bit harder.”
Flashing with divine light, Ba Fenghan’s tiger-eyes stared at the cast-copper building’s door; frowning, he said, “This copper hall does not have even half a window. There are only four venting holes as big as human fist on the top. Supposing Liao Kong Dashi is personally sitting inside to protect the treasure, and he did not forget to bolt the copper door, it would be strange indeed we are not going to have a headache just thinking about it.”
Kou Zhong scooted over to him; acting as an old friend, he put his hand on Ba Fenghan’s shoulder and then with brows raised in delight and eyes laughing, he proudly said, “I guarantee that won’t happen, unless he wanted to taste how fire-deviation would feel like. This kind of old baldhead spends his time all year long in hard cultivation. Sitting in meditation is like lustful over women, he can’t miss even one day.”
Smiling ruefully, Ba Fenghan said, “Haven’t you heard Buddhist saying, ‘If I don’t go into hell, who would?’ Your guarantee does not amount to half a chance of success.”
Astonished, Kou Zhong said, “I was only hoping that Liao Kong is not that great of a monk. How about this: let me go down and give it a try?”
After pondering silently for half a day, while staring at Xu Ziling’s back Ba Fenghan said, “Ling Shao, do you have any idea?”
Certainly Kou Zhong was not surprised that Ba Fenghan would want to seek Xu Ziling’s advice first. Because, just like Ba Fenghan, he had great respect toward Xu Ziling’s ‘perception’.
Xu Ziling shifted his gaze to the night sky. With yearning look in his eyes he said, “Have you noticed the way they are chanting? They are reciting the scripture in one breath; so chanting is like in-and-out breathing. Plus they are divided into two groups: one group finishes reciting, the other group continues on without the slightest bit of interruption, just like the unceasing flow of water. Not only it is pleasant to hear, it is also one kind of superb training method.”
Hearing that, Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong looked at each other.
The fact is that as soon as they entered the monastery complex, these two had their mind only on the Jade Annulus of He Clan. They only listened to a few words of some unknown scripture and promptly regarded the chanting of the sutras as the wind past their ears.
Emotionally moved, Ba Fenghan said, “If the length of the chanting is to be used as the criteria to measure the in-and-out breathing, all the Buddhist monks here have very strong base in internal energy, plus each group ought to consist of about a hundred men.”
His countenance changed, Kou Zhong said, “More than two hundred monks with superior martial art skill, plus the Four Great Vajra protectors of the Temple, and one Liao Kong Chanzhu [dhyana master/leader] who practices silent meditation. Oh my Niang!”
Xu Ziling spoke in heavy voice, “Therefore, we must absolutely not act blindly without thinking. If they are alarmed, all three of us might have to stay here forever as Buddhist monks. For me, I don’t have any problem, but I am afraid the two of you might unable to endure it.”
Breathing out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, “Are you saying that we should go back empty-handed?”
Xu Ziling said, “Seeing difficulty and turning back is not a real man’s conduct. This is called a thief will have a thief’s way. However, there is not a single thing in this Buddhist Hall that is rational. Since Shi Feixuan has the confidence to entrust the Jade Annulus of He Clan, which relates to the fate of the world, to them, she must be confident that they have the power to guard the treasure, and won’t let you easily crash into the Copper Hall to snatch and take it away just like that.”
Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong cast their gaze back toward the Copper Hall; they both felt big headache was coming.
The entire monastery was suffused with enigmatic chill.
Taking a deep breath, Kou Zhong said, “Is it possible that as soon as the copper door is opened the alarm bell will ring? Although it is just a widget, but very effective, and there is no way to break it.”
Ba Fenghan nodded and said, “That is indeed a very intelligent method to guard against theft. If they hang bells inside the door, as soon as we open those two copper doors that weigh a thousand catty, it would be strange indeed if we do not fall into a trap.”
Chapter 1 - Part 2
‘Ding! Ding! Ding!’
Three sharp and clear chime-stone rings came from the main hall where the evening prayer session was being held. The sound of chanting stopped suddenly.
The entire monastery fell into dead silence. The sound of insects chirping gradually filled up the air over the Temple and the mountaintop.
Xu Ziling moved over. Along with Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong, he craned his neck to look.
“They are out!” Ba Fenghan hissed.
One by one the monks, with their palms clasped together, came out in single file from the main hall behind the Copper Hall.
Kou Zhong said with a laugh, “After reciting sutras for that long, they must be going to the toilet together before going to bed. Ha! If more than two hundred monks crowd into the latrine, I’m sure some of them won’t be able to hold his mother’s while waiting for their turn. Ha!”
Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling did not know whether to laugh or to cry.
And then their countenance changed.
They saw that not only the monks walking out in single-file [orig. long snake formation] did not scatter, they were, under the leadership of one monk whose build was intimidating, wearing blue robe instead of the grey robes of the other monks, heading straight toward the white stone plaza.
Other than the blue-robed monk, who was carrying a hundred-catty Buddhist Staff, all the monks had Buddhist beads in their hands. Their eyes looked down toward their nose, their nose looked down toward their heart, they walked solemnly. Yet given their field of view, which could not be narrower than that, they did not stumble and fall.
“The latrine can’t be this way, can it?” Kou Zhong muttered under his breath.
Ba Fenghan speculated, “Perhaps it is the Temple’s custom: after their evening session all those baldheads are coming here for training before dispersing their separate ways.”
Seeing the dozen or so monks at the front were already entering the plaza, Xu Ziling could not help shrinking two cun shorter, leaving only his eyes peeping down from the railing of the bell tower. His scalp felt numb as he said, “I hope that is the case!”
The three watched helplessly as the two hundred thirty-two monks, young and old, arranged themselves in a dozen or so neat formations on the open space between the Manjushri Bodhisattva and the bell tower, facing the Bodhisattva shrine. Although they were numerous, not a single sound was heard; not even their breathing.
In addition to the big and tall monk wearing blue robe leading the procession, there were three other monks also wore blue robe just like his. Their shapes and sizes were all different. All four of them took their position on the four corners of the plaza. Hence it was very easy to guess that these four must be the Four Great Protector Vajra of the Jing Nian Chanyuan.
From their vantage point looking down, the three were having a lot of trepidation in their hearts. They secretly thought that if these monks formed an army, they would definitely be bashing sideways and colliding straight on the battlefield, as if there was no one else there.
Fortunately currently they all had their back to the three, so that they feel a bit more comfortable.
Kou Zhong muttered to himself, “They must be waiting for that old fellow Liao Kong to come out and give his lecture. Turns out his silent meditation is just used to cheat some sesame oil.”
Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling struggled hard not to laugh.
‘Creak!’
While the three were dumbstruck, the copper double-door, which reached a zhang in height, opened on its own without any wind blowing, exposing the pitch-black interior. They could not help rejoicing inwardly that a moment ago they did not rush in. Turned out there really was someone inside.
Unless the copper door had wood core or perhaps hollow, the three realized that they did not have enough power to push the door that easily.
And the one pushing the door open must be the powerful fellow inside who stood guard of the door. Only this kind of power has reached universally-shocking level.
Although they were aware that Liao Kong was a martial art master, they had never thought that he was an expert of Ning Daoqi caliber.
The crowd of monks called out the names of Buddha together, startling the three that they jumped in fright, while a feeling that they were being overly fearful [orig. ‘to see a bow reflected in a cup and thought it was a snake’] appeared in their heart.
A tall and elegant looking monk, leisurely walked out of the Copper Hall and stood on the top of the white stone steps leading down to the plaza.
Under the leadership of the Four Great Vajra, the crowd of monks put their palms together in salute.
The three had never imagined that the Chanzhu, Liao Kong Dashi, who practiced silent meditation, was not an old monk who looked miserable, he was actually still this young and elegant. Looking at him from left and right, their estimate was that he was no more than about forty years of age.
He was of slender build, confident and at ease, his nose straight, and looked like he had great personality. His upper lip curved like an arc, his lower lip was slightly upturned. When he raised his cupped hands to return the salute, there was some kind of indescribable charm around him, making his slim face looked extraordinarily handsome, carrying a laid-back attitude. His neck thick and broad, his elegant and bright face carried some kind of beyond-worldly deep and righteous divine shine. His posture looked neither scholarly and feeble, nor aloof and remotely overbearing; rather, it was one that made people looking at him felt comfortable and natural.
The most unforgettable was his pair of deep, unfathomable eyes, which could create a feeling of immeasurable mystery to those who came in contact with him, but which also made people did not dare to despise him.
This Liao Kong was wearing yellow inner gown, with brown monk-style outer coat; his external appearance expressed his crane-in-a-flock-of-chicken transcendental stance.
At this time, one of Protector Vajra shouted a chant. Just like the arm moves the finger, the rest of the monks, as if they were one body, turned around to face the bell tower, which rose about ten zhang high, and put their palms together in salute.
The three were so scared that they immediately slipped down to sit on the floor, and looked at each other.
Someone, unclear who, called out from below, “Buddhism is a quiet ground, those who pass over are brought together by fate!”
These words had just ended, the crowd of monks raised their voices in chanting, wooden fish and bells resounded. There was a certain pattern, a cadence that rose and fell similar to the sound of chanting sutras. The night sky seemed to be infected with its serene atmosphere, which searched far into the profound and unfathomable outer space.
Breathed out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong whispered, “Have they found us out?”
“This is very hard to say,” Ba Fenghan replied, “Or perhaps after chanting for a while they are going to disperse and go to bed?”
Nearest to the railings, Xu Ziling shook his head and said, “I do not have an extravagant hope in this. Right now there are only two paths we can take: one, we immediately slipped out and forget about this Jade Annulus of He Clan; two, we stay here for a while, until a monk come up here to ring the bell.”
Kou Zhong resolutely said, “They have no reason to find us up here. That ‘little white face’ [pretty boy] monk Liao Kong with the highest martial art skill was originally inside the Copper Hall hell. It should be just by coincidence that he is like that right now. No matter what we are definitely going to stay his mother’s a while.”
Ba Fenghan shook his head and said, “First-class martial art masters pay particular attention to advance when it is time to advance, and retreat when they ought to retreat. Although I cannot say that I am familiar with your Central Plains’ temple rules and regulations, but I have never heard of chanting sutras toward Buddha and Bodhisattva and then turn toward the bell tower. It is clear that before the fight they are performing religious ceremony [to help the soul find peace] to the three of us, who, in their opinion, are people with serious crime. Merely one Liao Kong all of us added together may not necessarily be able to defeat. If you don’t go, please forgive Xiaodi for not keeping you company!”
With a bitter laugh Kou Zhong said, “You want to go then go! Why make it so hard, as if you did not like that I did not receive enough disappointment tonight?”
Right this moment, the alarm went off in their hearts at the same time, so they turned their eyes toward the huge bell in the middle of the tower.
‘Dang!’
Just before the bell rang, all three had already covered their ears.
One Buddhist bead knocked the bell to ring it, and then it bounced off in front of the tree.
Immediately their countenance changed.
Turned out it was a copper ball, yet it could strike the giant bell that even the entire bell tower was shaken by the loud noise; what kind of Dhyana skill was this?
Chapter 1 - Part 3
The sound of fluttering sleeve rose up.
Naturally the three could not refrain from sticking their head out to look.
All the monks downstairs, including Great Master Liao Kong, turned around to face the Copper Hall.
Of course the three realized they had just been given the opportunity. Hastily they jumped down the bell tower and ran away into the wilderness.
Back to the mountaintop they previously stopped by, still with a lot of lingering fears the three looked up at the Jing Nian Chanyuan on the distant hill, where they had just lived through nightmare.
Ba Fenghan sighed and said, “No wonder Shi Feixuan hid the Jade Annulus of He Clan in there. Unexpectedly there is such a powerful monk in this world!”
Dejected, Kou Zhong said, “Wang Shichong really knows how to exploit people; he went so far as to tell me to scheme breaking into the Temple. When I get back, I will definitely settle the score with him, I will at least spank his butt three times. Ha!”
Ba Fenghan roared in laughter, “It’s lucky that you are still interested in cracking jokes,” he said, “Never in my life I felt so useless like I did just now. I really wanted to burn his bird’s monastery to the ground.”
Noticing a hint of smile at the corner of Xu Ziling’s mouth, Kou Zhong praised, “Ling Shao’s cultivation is really good. Even after fumbling down such a huge setback, he is still as happy as a strong, dry small pump.”
Laughing involuntarily, Ba Fenghan said, “You yourself have your belly full of grievances, and you are looking elsewhere to vent your anger? How could you call yourself a Xiongdi?”
Kou Zhong was laughing so hard that he gasped for breath; pointing at Xu Ziling, he said, “He looks like he is not only very happy, but he is ecstatic. Ol’ Ba, don’t you feel that is strange?”
Xu Ziling burst out laughing and said, “Can’t laozi [I, your father] be happy? Isn’t it not your, Kou Zhong’s damn business?
This time Ba Fenghan was astonished. “Why does Ziling look really happy then?” he asked.
Xu Ziling replied indifferently, “Because this ‘stealing treasure game’ has just begun, so I feel very good. Do you understand?”
That last remark drew blank expression on Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong’s face; they could only stare at him with eyes open wide but could not find anything to say.
Unless he was crazy, nobody would dare to come back to steal the treasure.
Xu Ziling went on, “But you two must promise me one thing: you must not kill or injure any monk in the Temple.”
Stupefied, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan looked at each other.
Those monks did not come to kill or injure them, they ought to offer thanks to Buddha for their good fortune; how could they dare to hope otherwise?
Xu Ziling proudly stood up. Looking at the flickering light of Jing Nian Chanyuan in the distance, he slyly said, “The Jade Annulus of He Clan is in the Copper Hall. I can feel it.”
Kou Zhong was extremely baffled. “So what if it is in there?” he asked, “Even if you are willing to let us go on a killing spree [orig. refrain from the oath of abstaining from killing], we do not have the slightest chance of success.”
Ba Fenghan nodded in agreement.
The difference in power between the two sides was simply too great.
Xu Ziling smiled slightly and said, “As long as we do one thing, the Jade Annulus of He Clan will be ours tonight.”
“What thing?” the other two asked together.
Calmly, Xu Ziling replied, “As long as we can go back to hide in the bell tower, success is guaranteed.”
Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, “Would Xu Shifu please speak a bit more clearly?”
Under the eager eyes of the two, Xu Ziling slyly said, “A moment ago, just before the copper door was opened, I was able to feel the Jade Annulus of He Clan inside the Hall for the first time.”
Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan were stunned.
If Xu Ziling had said, ‘When the copper door started to open he could feel the Jade Annulus of He Clan inside the Hall’, that would have been logical, the two would not be surprised. Because the meaning would be like ‘opening the door to see things’.
Xu Ziling continued enthusiastically, “It was approximately the ten-breathing period of time just before Liao Kong pushed the copper door open with his true power. If Xiaodi’s guessing correctly, until that moment Liao Kong was still using the Jade Annulus of He Clan to advance his training in some kind of Dhyana set of skill. Therefore, up to that moment I still did not feel the existence of the Jade Annulus of He Clan. It was only after the moment he withdrew his power that I was able to sense the Jade Annulus of He Clan.”
Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, “Does it have anything to do with our chance of success of stealing the treasure?”
Ba Fenghan spoke delightfully, “Of course it does. Did Ziling feel any peculiar characteristic of the Jade Annulus of He Clan?”
Xu Ziling nodded. “Precisely so,” he replied, “So much so that even Liao Kong is unable to curb it. Therefore, if we want to open the door and get out of the pass, we must leave now. Wang Shichong was not lying, the Jade Annulus of He Clan is constantly changing, but only martial art master of Dhyana way who has reached his innate boundary would be able to sense the peculiar power hidden inside the Jade Annulus of He Clan. You ought to be able to sense it too. It’s just that at that time your mind was divided, plus the distance was far, so you could not detect its presence.”
Kou Zhong’s confidence grew. He said, “Quickly tell me your grand plan to steal the treasure.”
Xu Ziling said, “First, we have to assume that Wang Shichong’s remark about the Jade Annulus of He Clan may follow the heavenly stars and changing constantly is not just a brag. If this is true, then the Jade Annulus of He Clan’s changes also follow the stars, i.e. it follows a cycle.”
Ba Fenghan was shaken, “Is Ziling referring to the Jade Annulus of He Clan gradually generates harmful changes to those who follow Dhyana way, and hence the monks must keep some distance away from the Copper Hall, and so they could only post guards at the periphery?” he asked.
Thinking hard, Kou Zhong said, “In the entire monastery, only the white stone plaza in front of the Copper Hall is brightly lit. As long as they stationed several monks with comparatively good eyesight to keep watch, I am afraid even a housefly flying past would not escape their eyes. How are we going to enter the Hall?”
“It’s all a gamble,” Xu Ziling admitted, “My bet is that because Liao Kong is experiencing some setback in using the Jade Annulus of He Clan in his Dhyana training, he must find a quiet place to train. This could be to our advantage.”
Ba Fenghan was puzzled, “Just the Four Great Protectors Vajra plus more than two hundred monks with superior martial art skill we already cannot deal with. Looking at how well they are training, perhaps they even know some kind of Luohan Formation, Vajra Formation, or something like that.”
Slapping his thigh, Kou Zhong said with a sigh, “I get it. As long as we can lure them to fight in front of the Copper Hall, they would have to guard against the Jade Annulus of He Clan’s influence more than we do. Perhaps after fighting once or twice we can cover our heads and slip away. Ha! This is really interesting. But afterwards, how are we going to escape?”
Xu Ziling laughed and said, “This is called in your eagerness you become confused. As long as we manage to snatch the Jade Annulus of He Clan away, it would be the same as obtaining the evil incantation to deal with the crowd of monks. But we must wait until the moment the Jade Annulus of He Clan is most harmful to them before we can lay hands on the treasure and snatch it away. If we miss this opportunity, we will have to wait until the next cycle. But then the other side would guard against it even more!”
Ba Fenghan said, “Ziling seems to be certain that we won’t be like those monks who suffer the Jade Annulus of He Clan’s harmful effect and have our power greatly reduced. What exactly is the reason for this?”
Xu Ziling smiled and said, “It is purely my intuition. Because the Jade Annulus of He Clan only created in me the feeling that made me want to get close to it. But because it is beyond my capability to estimate what kind of state it would change into, we must go into hiding somewhere closest to the treasured jade annulus first, we must observe its change, and wait until the most fortunate timing before we make our move. Do you understand?”
Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan’s spirit soared, it completely washed away the frustrated and useless mood they felt just a moment ago.
Xu Ziling’s tiger-eyes were flashing with spirited light. “Just go!” he spoke nonchalantly.
Leading the way, he shot out in the direction of Jing Nian Chanyuan.