“Amitabha.” A Buddhist chant could be heard right when the group was about to move on.
A monk appeared by the entrance of the pavilion and stopped them. His kasaya has lost its color from being washed too many times and turned white in the process.
However, it was kept tidy as if he had just gotten out of the door. Perhaps he focused on keeping a clean and proper appearance.
It was hard to tell the monk’s age. His spirited eyes would deter people from calling him old. They belonged to someone around twenty years of age.
However, to call him young would be inaccurate due to his white eyebrows. Time has left a number on his complexion as if he had experienced numerous rains and winds.
He stood in their way and seemed to be a traveling monk.
“Master.” Weizheng didn’t want trouble and placed his palms together to greet the monk. He then stood to the side so the guy could come into the pavilion.
“Amitabha.” The monk returned the greeting and said: “Benefactor, would you like to form a positive connection with me?”
Weizheng was surprised to hear this. He took out a silver item from his chest and handed it to the monk: “Master, I was in a hurry and didn’t prepare enough Buddhist offering, here is a little amount to buy some incense sticks, please accept it.”
The monk didn’t accept the offering and still maintained the same pose. His eyes fell upon Li Qiye: “I am connected by fate with this benefactor so here I am wishing to build a positive karmic bond.”
Weizheng’s expression changed again, thinking that this monk came here specifically for their ancestor too.
“Master, you’re kidding. Our ancestor has never left our place before.” Weizheng chuckled awkwardly and said.
“That grandpa earlier said that their daughter is connected by fate with our ancestor too. Don’t tell me your clan also has a daughter at the right age for marriage?” On the other hand, the young Ruoxi became curious.
“Ahem…” Weizheng cleared his throat to tell the innocent girl to stop. Meanwhile, the others wanted to laugh but had to hold back.
“Amitabha.” The monk didn’t become angry and said: “I am alone and do not have a daughter, but if the benefactor follows me, he can pick any of the three thousand great beauties from my ancient kingdom.”
“Really? Your ancient kingdom has that many great beauties?” Ruoxi’s interest was piqued.
“Monks do not lie.” The monk said solemnly: “My ancient kingdom has billions of citizens and millions of cultivators. The princesses and saintesses there are all kingdom-toppling.”
“Can someone be this lucky?” Ruoxi tilted her head and stared at her ancestor.
This was too unbelievable, one person after another just coming to offer the ancestor beauties. How could someone have such romantic luck? It’s almost like a free pie falling down from the sky or a fantasy.
The rest of the youths glanced at each other in amazement as well. Only Weizheng had a dejected expression, fully aware that this “pie” was anything but free.
“Master, since when have you become a matchmaker?” A voice as clear as an oriole interrupted their conservation.
The group looked over and saw another girl standing by the entrance. No one noticed when she got there as if she has been there the whole time, it’s just that no one could see her before.
Her blue dress was loose and hid her figure very well. Of course, one could still see the faint outline of her exceptional figure.
She also wore a big hat with an attached silk veil. This long, blue veil shrouded both her face and her upper half.
It gave the sense that she was a mysterious flower hidden by the fog. No one could see her clearly.
Her appearance naturally surprised the group. Weizheng cursed his luck even more. This was the third person who came with unknown intentions.
“Amitabha.” The monk instantly greeted the girl and said: “I‘m not sure how to properly address you, is it Senior Sister or Martial Aunt…”
The group found this surprising. One could see that the monk was relatively old but the girl seemed to have a higher status than him. This appeared to be their first meeting.
“No, Senior Brother, I have heard of your fame long ago.” The girl in blue bowed back and said: “I didn’t think I would be lucky enough to meet you right away after leaving the sect.”
“I see, nice to meet you, Junior Sister.” The monk inquired: “Is the ancestor doing alright?”
“I’m afraid I can’t say.” The girl shook her head.
“Amitabha.” The monk performed a full respect ceremony towards a particular direction before speaking again: “I couldn’t come to say goodbye to the ancestor, please send my regards later.”
“He and I are connected by fate.” The girl nodded before looking over at Li Qiye and said.
Though one couldn’t see her features, they could her beautiful eyes that were as bright as the stars through the veil.
The group didn’t know what to say. It sounded as if everyone in the world was somehow connected to their ancestor.
“You want to marry our ancestor too?” Ruoxi couldn’t help but ask.
“No, I will stay near and watch him.” The girl answered.
“Amitabha.” The monk joined right away: “Junior Sister, is this your idea or the ancestor’s?”
“Senior Sister, the ancestor didn’t speak on this issue. The reason I came out to the secular world is to deal with a karmic string that ties me and him together.”
“I see, it’s good that it is not the ancestor’s will.” The monk said: “I’m afraid we have a conflicting view then. I must cross him over in order to illuminate and save everyone.”
“You think he is your savior, Senior Brother?” The girl looked at the monk and asked.
“Amitabha. There are only Buddha and the wellbeing of all in my heart. I must do something in order to stop him from falling on the evil path and cause destruction everywhere.” The monk shook his head.
This conversation utterly confused the group. Why was the evil path suddenly brought up?
“Yes, our views on this are opposite indeed.” The girl disagreed: “The heavenly change heralds a monster. There will be someone who will flatten various ominous potentials. I believe that this person is him, someone who can change the future.”
“The heavenly change heralds a monster.” Weizheng murmured to himself. He had heard of this phrase before since it was very popular years ago.
“Junior Sister, your fate reading is masterful.” The monk said: “However, you are coming into this world with an optimistic perspective. Open your heavenly gaze and perhaps you will see the presence of evil.”
“I might be entering the mundane realm but I’m still disconnected unlike you who is stuck but wishes to leave. And no, I don’t have an optimistic perspective. I’m actually reading everyone while maintaining the highest level of caution.” The girl shook her head while looking at Li Qiye.
“I’ve opened my heavenly gaze already and saw the evil presence in him. That’s not because he is evil, just something nefarious is dormant in there. The era has begun and it has something to do with him. There are signs of him being able to overcome the ominous situation.” The girl paused a bit and continued.
“Then what is your plan? You wish to stay around and protect him, not allowing the dormant evil to take over?” The monk asked.
“What about you, Senior Brother?” The girl answered with a question.