Chapter Fifty-One: Nalanda

"Master, are we going to reach the Heavenly Buddha Temple soon?"

Along the walking path, a young novice monk raised his head and looked at the master beside him.

The old monk's gaze did not waver in the slightest. He only said coldly, "We are almost there."

"Master, you said the exact same thing three days ago."

"We are indeed almost there."

The novice sighed, not daring to ask any further.

Guiding him along, the old monk slowly arrived at the town nestled at the foot of the mountain where the Heavenly Buddha Temple stood.

He raised his head and looked up at the Heavenly Buddha Temple.

Though the temple was far away from the foot of the mountain, a mere glance upward still revealed the vast, towering phantom of the monastery.

However, the old monk was not looking at the temple itself; rather, he was gazing at the space directly above it.

At the summit of the Heavenly Buddha Temple, a patch of dark cloud drifted over, blotting out the sun in the sky.

"Hmph, the Heavenly Buddha Temple..."

A look of disdain crossed the old monk's face. He then asked, "The instructions I gave you earlier, have you memorized them clearly?"

The novice nodded. "As soon as anything happens, I am to immediately crush the jade Buddha and escape."

With that, the novice fished the jade Buddha out from inside his tunic.

The old monk delivered a crisp, painful flick to the boy's forehead. "How many times have I told you not to let others see this object?"

"But, but... isn't there only you here, Master?"

The old monk let out a cold snort, his tone turning gloomy as he said, "How can you be sure there are no ears behind the walls?"

The novice did not dare to talk back, simply letting his head droop.

The old monk sighed, stroked the novice's head, and said softly, "You are well aware of what the two of us are here to do. Once people find out what we are about, the consequences will be no laughing matter."

A look of grievance crept onto the novice's face. He grumbled, "What could this Heavenly Buddha Temple possibly have to do with our Lantuo Temple? Why must you rush over to help deal with the sins they have committed, Master?"

The old monk took a deep breath, a trace of anger flashing in his eyes. He said coldly, "What did you just say?"

A sudden jolt gripped the novice's heart. Realizing he had angered his master, he hastily said, "I'm sorry, Master, I was wrong. All Buddhist sects under heaven are originally one family; I shouldn't have spoken of them that way."

The old monk delivered another crisp flick to the boy's forehead and sternly rebuked, "The Buddhist sects under heaven are not one family by any stretch of the imagination! Every sect has different Buddhist scriptures and doctrines. How could we possibly be of the same family as a bunch of good-for-nothings who worship those false buddhas?"

The novice froze in astonishment, then asked in bewilderment, "Then... then why were you angry, Master?"

"I was angry because you do not understand what we are truly here to do," the old monk said slowly. "Should we not deal with the sins they have committed just because they were the ones who created them? In your heart, do you hold not even a shred of compassion for the common people of the world?"

Only then did the enlightenment dawn upon the novice. He hurriedly put his palms together in a respectful gesture and said, "So that is how it is. I understand now."

The old monk finally let out a sigh and said, "It is good that you understand. Remember this: the Buddhist sects and temples of this world are not of one family with us. But the common folk, the people of this world, and ourselves—we share the very same life with the Tathagata."

The novice nodded, repeating the sentence over and over in his mind a dozen times before speaking earnestly, "Master, I have committed it to memory."

The old monk knew that if the novice said he had remembered it, he would never forget it for the rest of his life.

"Very well. Should I die, the heavy burden of Lantuo Temple will fall upon your shoulders. You must attain the state of the Tathagata and awaken your true self."

"Yes, I understand."

Having given these final instructions, the old monk led the novice forward once more, slowly walking up the path toward the Heavenly Buddha Temple above.

...

"You mean to say that brat who kept lingering around our grounds earlier was actually targeting the Buddha Hall?"

Inside the Heavenly Buddha Temple, a monk gripping a precept blade glared with wide, angry eyes as he listened to the report from his subordinate.

"Yes. The disciples failed to investigate thoroughly, not realizing how cunning that scoundrel was. He was once a petty thief in the city with quite a bit of notoriety; to think he would dare steal into our Heavenly Buddha Temple."

"And where is he now?"

"He's gone," the disciple replied indifferently. "Perhaps he stole some minor treasures and fled on his own."

"That wretched petty thief is truly detestable," someone echoed from below.

Yet the monk holding the precept blade suddenly flew into a towering rage. "Go and search for him!"

Startled by his sudden fury, the others dared not speak for a moment, simply staring at him with expressions of utmost panic.

Seemingly realizing his reaction had been a bit too intense, the monk nevertheless continued, "Find that person for me right now! I want to see him alive, or his corpse if he's dead! Do you understand? If you cannot find him, you might as well return to secular life and never come back."

Hearing this ultimatum, the group of monks finally panicked. They scrambled into action, setting out to track down the whereabouts of Little Lai.

The monk with the precept blade let out an extremely dissatisfied cold snort, turned on his heel, and strode toward the inner courtyards.

Before long, he arrived before the doors of an elegant little courtyard.

"Abbot," the blade-wielding monk said respectfully.

"Ah, it is Kong Hai. Is there something the matter?"

Kong Hai answered honestly, "We may have a bit of trouble. Someone broke into the Buddha Hall earlier."

"The Buddha Hall?"

The voice inside paused for a moment before slowly speaking up, "Kong Hai, can you be certain?"

"It should be beyond a doubt."

The voice sighed softly and said, "Then go and look for him. Hopefully, he can be found."

Though he said this, his tone clearly carried no actual expectation of success.

"Abbot, is there truly no other way?"

"He will show himself eventually." The abbot's voice grew cold. "Search if you can find him; if not, simply wait for him to reveal himself."

"But, Abbot..."

"There are no 'buts'." The abbot cut off Kong Hai's words, his voice freezing. "If you can find him beforehand, naturally that would be for the best. But if you cannot find him, we can only wait for him to show his face."

Kong Hai clenched his teeth. The so-called revealing of himself simply meant that after the demon had devoured enough humans, it would return once more to the Heavenly Buddha Temple to seek out its true form.

Yet for that thing to return, it would have to consume at least a hundred lives first!

If they were to spread the word and let the surrounding people search for it themselves, surely it wouldn't take too long to track it down, would it?

It was just that the abbot obviously would never allow him to speak of this matter. Once the truth leaked out, the Heavenly Buddha Temple would be finished.

The abbot would not let him speak of it, and he himself dared not utter a word.

"I understand, Abbot."

Kong Hai bowed respectfully and then withdrew.