5 The Little Jade Buddha (1/2)

Under a stable and peaceful mental state, Meng Qi gradually felt that some genuine Qi was generating inside his body. It went through the Governing and Conceptual Vessel, concentrated at his palates, and formed into a ”sweet dew”.

The ”sweet dew” slowly soaked into the Conceptual Vessel, and following the guidance of Meng Qi's mind, it filled into the proper acupuncture points.

If there was a problem with his body, the ”Sweet Dew” wouldn't taste sweet and the body would need to be improved through cultivating Qi. As for Meng Qi's current situation, it meant that his body was at its optimal condition.

It seems like this body has already fulfilled the requirements of the ”Hundred-day foundation?” Meng Qi, the acolyte who didn't love Buddhism, opened his eyes and recalled the process. In regards to Uncle Xuan En's description, he supposedly had already passed the first stage of learning Kungfu, and could continue onto the next stage, ”Qi Storage in Meditation”.

However, Meng Qi thought it over again and changed his mind. The steps that had been completed in the past should stay in the past. If he wanted to go further on the path of Kungfu, he should fully experience every step by himself. No skipping should be tolerated, and only so could he constantly improve.

Seeing that 15 minutes had passed, Xuan En knocked on his wooden fish, and woke everyone with the clear and crisp sound. He then inquired each acolyte about their Ding and the quality of their ”Sweet Dew”, and instructed each of them individually.

In the end, he nodded and said, ”Try again after you go back today. Now, let's begin to learn characters.”

Opening the sutras in front of him, Meng Qi discovered, as expected, that he already knew almost all the characters in it.

This made him very happy. At least he didn't become illiterate and didn't need to learn everything all over again. Currently, he had the power to ”dominate” the Sutras Yard!

”Pick up your brush pens and practice writing this character,” Xuan En instructed.

Meng Qi's happiness vanished immediately. The last time he used a brush pen to write was when he was still in elementary school. Expectedly, the character that he wrote down was extremely ugly.

”You need to practice more.” Xuan En walked pass Meng Qi with his hands behind his back.

Meng Qi nodded dispiritedly. Then he was suddenly startled by a thought. If Xuan Zang saw his writing, would he not suspect anything? Meng Qi's body was very likely born in an aristocratic family, and had already accomplished the ”Hundred-day Foundation”. It was impossible that he hadn't started learning calligraphy since a very young age!

Meng Qi awkwardly opened his mouth, then realized that it would be useless explaining to Xuan En, and it would be lame to do so, too. Instead, he decided to use his time to practice handwriting efficiently. If Xuan Zang asked him about it, he could answer that because he had just joined the Chores Yard and wasn't used to the physical labor, his hands and arms were sore every day and this prevented him from writing nicely.

When it was almost noon, Xuan En announced that all of them could leave. Meng Qi sneaked away with his piece of paper and planned to destroy the evidence.

After lunch, Meng Qi, Zhen Hui, and a few others were assigned to sweep the temple until dusk.

Having worked a whole day, they were again called together by Xuan Xin, who wanted to continue talking about his impressive Jianghu experience.

”…That's all for Shui Yue Nunnery. If any of you meet these nuns someday, just keep a respectful distance from them. However, Jin Gang Temple is very different, and we do not like each other at all. You must remember to keep a watchful eye on them.”

Huh? Even though the char monks had heard of many Jianghu rumors and stories in the past, nobody knew that the animosity between Shaolin and Jin Gang, which were both among the Four Buddhist Temples, was so serious that they needed to be watchful!

Seeing their widened eyes, Xuan Xin nodded with satisfaction, ”That Blood-blade Mendicant was just a Wild Fox Dhyana who didn't follow the correct path of Buddhism. However, he fortunately discovered the fifth move of The Buddha's Palm, and used it as a basis to develop two fundamental but strong Kungfu. That was how he established the Jin Gang Sect. For that reason, they have always wanted to steal the third move of The Buddha's Palm from Shaolin so that they can compare the two moves and try to understand how to attain the Golden Body of Buddha.”

”The Golden body of Buddha…” Meng Qi became excited again. This was turning into an increasingly magical fantasy.

Abruptly, they heard someone knocking on the door of the yard. Xuan Xin was scared to death and looked to the door fearfully. He blurted out, ”Brother Xuan Ku, I didn't break the rules…”

However, his expression changed completely before he finished the sentence. ”Hey nephew, why are you here?”

Meng Qi turned around and saw a familiar face. It was one of the children who joined Shaolin at the same time with Zhen Hui, Zhen De, and him, and was one of the two oldest children. He was around 15 years old, and when they studied in the Sutras Yard today, he chatted a lot with the char-yard acolytes, and didn't discriminate against them at all.

I think his name is ”Zhen Yong”? Meng Qi tried to recall.

Zhen Yong was thin and tall and ordinary looking, but he had a beautiful smile and white and gleaming teeth. He said, ”Uncle Xuan Xin, I heard from some of my brothers that you are very experienced and know everything about Jianghu. I love to listen to those kinds of stories, so I couldn't help myself but to come here and look for you. I apologize for the trouble and my impoliteness, but could you please allow me to listen, too?”

In the Warrior-monk Yard, it was time for self-practicing of Ding.

Xuan Xin started to feel good about himself again after hearing this compliment from Zhen Yong. He said with a large grin, ”No problem, no problem at all. Just sit wherever you like. There's nothing bad about learning more about Jianghu. In the future, these knowledges will protect you from fraud and deception.”

Zhen Yong looked around and sat down beside Meng Qi. He whispered, ”Brother Zhen Ding, I hope I didn't crowd you.”

”Not at all.” Meng Qi shook his head, and thought that similar to him, Zhen Yong talked like an adult and was far more mature than ordinary children.

”Brother Zhen Ding, in the morning I realized that you can read and write really well. I will probably need your help in the future, so let me thank you ahead of time. If you need me for anything, just let me know.” Zhen Yong smiled amicably.

Knowing that Zhen Yong was a warrior monk, Meng Qi answered also with a smile. ”Big brother, you are way too polite for such a small favor.”

The two soon started to behave as if they were soulmates who regretted not being able to know each other earlier.

Seeing this, Xuan Xin coughed to signal everyone to be quiet. He then continued, ”Other than the two fundamental Kungfu of Jin Gang Temple, another thing that you should be aware of is their blade techniques.”

”The Blood-blade Mendicant was originally from a sect that excelled in blades, plus he had comprehended some of the mysteries in the fifth move of The Buddha's Palm… Therefore, the three major blade techniques that he had created after attaining the 'Dharmakaya of the Glaring Guardian Warrior' were considered the best among all blade techniques. It's difficult to find a blade technique that could compete with them…”

His narration made all the char monks feel excited and dreamy. However, their excitement soon turned into sadness. Zhen Yong raised his hand right away and asked, ”Uncle Xuan Xin, don't we have a blade technique that can compete with Jin Gang Temple?”

Right, Shaolin was known as a sect that excelled in every kind of Kungfu! Even the char monks had pride in their sect.