Chapter 57: The Buddhist Maiden's Dance, Is It Good?

Zhang Yuan held the Buddhist woman close and followed behind Young Master Tao and another Buddhist woman to a small pavilion.

The Kong family banquet was held by a riverside at the foot of a mountain, amidst a row of small pavilions, where several short tables had been set.

Some pavilions were already occupied.

Young Master Tao sat by a small table, with the Buddhist woman kneeling beside him, lifting a teacup from the table.

Young Master Tao turned his head and saw Zhang Yuan walking toward a nearby pavilion with his arm around a Buddhist woman; a flash of astonishment crossed his face.

From his understanding of Zhang Yuan, no amount of female beauty could shake his resolve.

"Honored guest, please have some tea." The Buddhist woman's voice was soft. Her jade-white fingers held the porcelain cup, containing emerald-green tea.

Young Master Tao chuckled as he took the cup, but his gaze swept toward the adjacent pavilion. Seeing that the curtains there had already been drawn, he was momentarily stunned.

"My name is Yupei. If the honored guest wishes to watch the dance, I can draw the curtains."

Across from him, a veiled Buddhist woman spoke softly.

To watch the dance, one had to draw the curtains?

Was this dance meant for only one person to see?

And the neighbors were already watching?

While Young Master Tao was still dazed, the Buddhist woman rose, pulled down the curtains of the pavilion, turned around, and slowly shed the light veil draped over her body.

This dance... seemed quite good?

At this moment, the adjacent pavilion was not nearly as erotic as Young Master Tao's.

There, a Buddhist woman lay prostrate on the ground, her entire body trembling.

"My name is Yuhuan. I am a Buddhist woman from Yuzhao Temple in the Liangyuan Domain."

"This time, dozens of us from Yuzhao Temple have come, divided into nine groups, to retrieve the Sarira."

"Yuzhao Temple has been without a master for a hundred years. Only by recovering the Golden Body Sarira can the lineage of the Golden Body be revitalized."

Yuhuan looked up at Zhang Yuan, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Little Buddha Lord, the thirty thousand disciples of Yuzhao Temple and ten million commoners are waiting for you to restore our prestige."

Had Yuhuan not said so, Zhang Yuan would never have known that refining the Sarira would allow one to become the Buddha Lord of Yuzhao Temple.

In the Liangyuan Domain, Buddhism was supreme, and every great temple controlled millions of miles of territory.

The Buddha Lord of Yuzhao Temple had once achieved an indestructible Golden Body, and his influence in the Liangyuan Domain had been immense.

Unfortunately, he had sought to enter the Grandmaster Realm by tempering himself in the Qin lands, only to return heavily wounded and pass away shortly after.

With Yuzhao Temple without a master, the Buddha Lord's Sarira could not be protected and was seized by other great temples.

This time, Yuzhao Temple had dispatched disciples only after hearing that their Buddha Lord's Sarira had been sent to the Qin lands.

Over the years, because Yuzhao Temple had weakened and its disciples had dwindled, only two mid-stage Xiantian Realm elders remained to support it.

The strongest among those searching for the Sarira this time was merely at the late stage of the Houtian Realm.

With their cultivation, they could not seize it by force; they could only slip quietly into Great Qin.

Yuhuan's group had entered Qin under the pretext of being purchased by the Kong family.

Looking at it now, the Xiantian monk killed by Zhang Yuan at Guangyuan Village must not have been from Yuzhao Temple; he was likely from another Liangyuan power attempting to intercept them.

The reason Yuhuan was telling Zhang Yuan everything was that when she had attempted to use a Buddhist secret technique to bewitch him just now, her mind had instead been intimidated by the combined power of Zhang Yuan's Buddhist Essence and the Sarira.

This Sarira shared the same origin as the cultivation technique Yuhuan practiced, causing her to submit instantly.

The cultivation techniques of Yuzhao Temple disciples were divided into two types: one was the Golden Body lineage, which condensed the power of blood and flesh, and the other was the mind-bewitching methods practiced by the Buddhist women.

The cultivation techniques of the Liangyuan Domain could be traced back to the cultivation methods of the Outer Realm Immortals and Demons.

In the Nine Provinces, aside from the martial arts of Great Qin, all other cultivation methods were evolutions of Immortal and Demon techniques.

Zhang Yuan speculated that he could directly refine the Sarira because he had first mastered the Iron Body Technique to a minor success.

The Sarira perhaps possessed a trace of sentience and recognized him as a descendant of its own lineage, allowing for a direct and seamless refinement.

However, why had this Sarira come to the Qin lands, and where was it being sent from Qin? What was the scheme behind this?

To transport such a treasure, the sender must be extraordinary.

And the person capable of obtaining the Sarira from the Liangyuan Domain must also be extraordinary.

Zhang Yuan wanted to ask more, but his brow suddenly twitched. He reached out and pulled the Buddhist woman, Yuhuan, to his side.

"Is the Second Master in high spirits? May I disturb you, Kong?"

Outside the pavilion, a voice rang out.

It was the head of the Kong family, Kong Baitang.

"Please," Zhang Yuan said.

A corner of the curtain was lifted, and Kong Baitang looked into the pavilion. Seeing Zhang Yuan and the Buddhist woman sitting close together, a smile appeared on his face.

Carrying a wine cup, Kong Baitang walked into the pavilion and sat opposite the small table. He said softly, "Only someone as kind-hearted, magnanimous, and righteous as the Second Master could earn the intimacy of a Buddhist woman."

"I have yet to see any of these Buddhist women from the Liangyuan Domain allow anyone to get so close."

These words were half-true and half-flattery, intended to praise Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan merely nodded slightly. Beside him, Yuhuan carefully poured tea into a cup and presented it to Zhang Yuan with both hands.

Kong Baitang laughed heartily and raised his wine cup in a gesture. Zhang Yuan took the teacup and drank the clear tea.

As the tea entered his stomach, his Golden Body Technique automatically circulated, neutralizing a trace of lingering power.

The tea contained a trace of a mind-bewitching drug, designed to make one feel intoxicated and unsteady in spirit.

Seeing Zhang Yuan drink the tea, the smile on Kong Baitang's face took on a relaxed quality as he set down his wine cup.

"Second Master, I am curious. Where are the iron chains and pulleys of Qingshan Village forged? Why can outsiders not replicate them?"

This was an extremely private question.

Had Zhang Yuan been sober, he would never have answered such a question.

After asking, Kong Baitang stared intently at Zhang Yuan.

"In the Military Weapon Forging Bureau of the Chilian Army in Guyang County."

"Those iron chains and pulleys are all forged using Great Qin military armaments methods. The materials mixed within ensure the pulleys remain incorruptible and as good as new even after long use."

"Outsiders cannot replicate them."

Zhang Yuan's voice carried confidence and arrogance.

The Second Master of the Zhang family had a background with the Chilian Army.

So, these pulleys were cast in the Military Weapon Forging Bureau.

Kong Baitang's expression shifted, a mixture of joy and disappointment crossing his face.

He was joyful because Zhang Yuan was being forthcoming.

He was disappointed because, seeing it this way, it would be impossible to steal the forging formulas and techniques.

"So that is how it is."

Kong Baitang hesitated for a moment before saying in a low voice, "Second Master, regarding what I mentioned last time about selling the pulleys..."

Zhang Yuan shook his head.

"I am not concerned with that. Master Tao told me a while ago that he would handle the business negotiations."

"At the very least, we must secure a seventy-thirty split; otherwise, I will speak directly to the person behind you."

"Master Tao warned me that you aren't using these pulleys and chains to build roads and bridges."

"You are intending to—"

Zhang Yuan's palm pressed down on the small table, as if he were about to leap up.

Kong Baitang's entire body tensed as he stared at Zhang Yuan.

A slight smile appeared on Zhang Yuan's face. "There are large merchant caravans that wish to purchase them to cross mountains and great rivers, to shorten their routes."

Kong Baitang opened his mouth and let out a few dry laughs.

"Yes, yes. My little schemes cannot be hidden from the Second Master or Master Tao."

Having said that, he stood up, glanced at the Buddhist woman by Zhang Yuan's side, and said with a smile, "Then I shall not disturb the Second Master's viewing of the dance. I will go find Master Tao to talk."

...

On the carriage during the return journey, Zhang Yuan sat opposite Young Master Tao.

"Is it settled?" Zhang Yuan asked.

"It is settled. In half a month, the first batch of ten sets of pulleys and iron chains will be delivered for a total price of three hundred taels," Young Master Tao nodded.

His gaze fell on Zhang Yuan, his eyes filled with curiosity.

"Did you watch the Buddhist woman's dance just now?" Young Master Tao asked.

"I did," Zhang Yuan replied.

"Was it good?" Young Master Tao asked again.

"It was good," Zhang Yuan replied again.

Young Master Tao grinned.

"You watched the Buddhist woman's dance?" Zhang Yuan asked.

"I did," Young Master Tao nodded with a smile.

"Was it good?" Zhang Yuan asked once more.

"It was good," Young Master Tao answered.

Zhang Yuan slowly straightened his posture and looked at Young Master Tao. "You actually watched it?"

Young Master Tao was momentarily stunned.

"The dance of a Yuzhao Temple Buddhist woman is extremely erotic; it is only performed for one's true beloved."

"It seems your gentlemanly demeanor has caused a Buddhist woman to long for the mortal world..."

Leaning slightly forward toward Young Master Tao, Zhang Yuan asked

"Was the dance good?"

(End of Chapter)