Chapter 41: The Buddha's Son

The handsome young monk, clad in white monastic robes, stood under the moonlight with an expression neither joyful nor sorrowful, possessing the aura of a Buddha.

The young monk looked at Chen Ji and said, "My name is Lobsang Gyatso, but everyone likes to call me Little Monk. You can call me Little Monk as well."

Princess Baili perched on the wall, looking toward Chen Ji as she introduced him: "Little Monk is a reincarnated Buddha child, he's very powerful! He said you are very powerful, so you must be very powerful!"

Chen Ji hesitated for a moment. "Is a reincarnated Buddha child really this much trouble just to climb over a wall?"

The young monk looked somewhat embarrassed. "I haven't achieved it yet. My Master instructed me to recite the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Fundamental Vow Sutra one hundred thousand times. I've only just reached seventy thousand, and I haven't fulfilled my great vow yet..."

Chen Ji pondered. This sentence from the young monk revealed a lot of information: the other's path of cultivation was through sutra recitation and fulfilling vows. One hundred thousand recitations was a threshold; once completed, he would likely become more powerful.

The fact that the boy spoke so candidly about his path of cultivation was quite honest.

At this moment, the Prince's son looked at Chen Ji curiously. "Little Monk, you said he's powerful? He doesn't look like it."

The Prince's son was no longer wearing the sable fur from earlier; instead, he had changed into a black cross-collared robe embroidered with silver lotuses. It looked somewhat elegant, yet it didn't quite suit this slightly flamboyant young lord.

The young monk brushed the dust off his monastic robes. His fourteen or fifteen-year-old face was clear and pure. Pointing to his own heart, he said, "When I say 'powerful,' I don't mean strength, but the heart. Every person harbors three thieves in their heart: Greed, Anger, and Delusion. This young man has already cast away Greed and Anger, leaving only Delusion. That is already quite remarkable."

"Greed is unbearable desire. So many calamities in this world arise from the word 'Greed.' To not be greedy is not to lack love for wealth, but to know how to exercise restraint."

"Anger is unwise rage. If a person still harbors anger, they cannot be called wise, for anger clouds the mind."

Chen Ji thought deeply. "Then what about Delusion?"

The young monk smiled. "Delusion is obsession. Once there is obsession, one cannot achieve liberation."

Princess Baili sat astride the wall, dressed in a practical, boyish manner: a white long robe, white trousers, white boots, and a white jade hairpin. The only exception was her pendant, a piece of red jade, resembling the splash of red on a white koi fish's forehead.

Resting her chin on her hand, she asked curiously, "Little Monk, you make it sound so profound. So, how many 'thieves' have you cut away yourself?"

The young monk thought for a moment. "I am the same. I only have Delusion left."

Princess Baili pressed, "If you only have Delusion left, why haven't you cut it away?"

"It's not that I won't, it's that it isn't there," the young monk explained. "I do not yet have 'Delusion,' so I cannot cut it away. My Master sent me to the Central Plains specifically so that I might find my 'Delusion' and then cut it away. I haven't found it yet, nor do I know what 'Delusion' is, but my Master said that on the day I encounter it, I will naturally know."

"Huh? I've never heard you mention that before... but isn't it better not to have 'Delusion'? Why look for it? Isn't that just extra work?" Baili wondered.

The young monk shook his head. "This is a tribulation. Without undergoing a tribulation, one cannot become a Buddha."

Leaning against the wall nearby, the Prince's son looked bored. "You monks are supposed to be compassionate. Why are you always talking about 'cutting' this and 'cutting' that? Fighting and killing isn't good!"

The young monk shook his head. "My Gelug school never speaks of compassion."

"Oh? Then what do you speak of?"

"Great Fearlessness."

Princess Baili, still perched on the wall, swung her legs over to sit sideways. "Brother, stop chatting. Catch me."

"Alright, coming," the Prince's son walked to the edge of the wall, allowing his sister to step on his shoulders as she jumped down from the wall.

Chen Ji watched silently. The Prince's son and Princess Baili did not share the same mother, yet their relationship was incredibly close.

And this Prince's son, despite clearly being twenty years old, lacked any sense of decorum...

Wait, Wuyun said there should be another daughter of Consort Jing, Princess Lingyun, in the Prince's manor. Why wasn't she with them?

At that moment, the Prince's son looked at Chen Ji. "And you are..."

"Chen Ji."

The Prince's son laughed. "Chen Ji, huh? You seem like a man of talent. We shall surely become good friends in the future. But there's no time for idle chatter today; many friends are waiting at the gate. We must go. We are all children of the martial world; we shall meet again if fate allows!"

Zhu Baili also hurriedly added, "Right, right! When I come back in the morning, I'll bring you some Ma family donkey meat burgers!"

With that, the Prince's son led the young monk and Baili away.

Chen Ji raised his arm to block their path. "Wait a moment."

"Huh?" The Prince's son took a step back. "What is it?"

Chen Ji said, "Silence money. Ten taels of silver per person, otherwise I'll call the manor guards."

The Prince's son cried out, "Wow! Do you think we don't know the prices outside? Ten taels could buy a house in the outskirts of the city! Why don't you just go rob people... Little Monk, didn't you say he had already cut away his Greed?!"

The young monk hesitated for a moment. "This proves he is already very restrained."

The Prince's son: "?"

Princess Baili looked at Chen Ji. "One tael per time. We'll be doing this many more times in the future, so you should be mindful of long-term sustainability, otherwise we won't deal with you anymore!"

Chen Ji: "Deal!"

Baili looked helplessly at her brother. "Brother, he agreed so quickly. Did I ask for too little?"

"Seems so."

Chen Ji said, "One person, one time, one tael. There are three of you this time, so you owe three taels."

Just then, someone shouted through the crack in the door, "Prince, Princess, are you coming out?"

The Prince's son looked at Princess Baili. "Just pay up. The people outside can't wait any longer."

Reluctantly, Zhu Baili pulled a plain small fragrant pouch from her sleeve, took out three "silver peanuts" from within, and slapped them into Chen Ji's palm. "There! Can you go now?"

Chen Ji stepped aside and said with a smile, "Thank you for your patronage. I wish you all a wonderful evening."

The Prince's son hurried to pull open the main hall doors, only to find over a dozen people waiting outside. They carried sabers and swords at their waists, looking like various figures from the martial world.

Among the crowd, Chen Ji even spotted Liang Gou'er and Liang Mao'er.

At the door, the Prince's son asked, "Where are we going to have fun?"

He heard Liang Gou'er say with a grin, "There is only one place in Luocheng that is lively at night, and that is the East Market! And if you want to know the most fun place in the East Market, it's Hongyi Alley! Come on, Prince, lead us to Hongyi Alley for drinks!"

Chen Ji was stunned.

The Princess, the monk, going to Hongyi Alley?!

At that moment, Princess Baili was carefully closing the clinic door. As a sliver of a gap remained, she saw Chen Ji looking from afar; she wrinkled her nose, gave a cold snort, and quickly shut the door.

Chen Ji weighed the silver peanuts in his hand. Wuyun climbed up the apricot tree and lay on a branch with his paws tucked in.

Wuyun meowed, "They're actually pretty decent people."

Chen Ji smiled. "As a Prince and a Princess, they didn't get angry when I blocked their path, and they never used their status to pressure anyone. They truly are very good people."