Chapter 338 – The Third Layer of the Ox Demon (1/2)

“I refuse!” With a neutral expression, Xiao An replied with her clear but childish voice.

The entire hall seemed to fall even more silent.

Within the niche, the plump, smooth cheeks of the statue of buddha were dyed golden by the altar lamps, smiling in an unfathomable fashion. Its long, slender eyes seemed to take in all the religious believers, yet they also seemed to see nothing at all.

Everyone wondered if they had heard incorrectly. There happened to be a person who had turned down an irresistible invitation.

The One Thought master’s mouth even hung agape. Even his thoughts came to a screeching halt.

Back then, after he had successfully established a foundation, he emerged from the Academy of the Hundred Schools and turned down the invitations of several temples, travelling thousands of kilometers to the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga to find a master. He knelt outside the Bodhi hall for three days and three nights, and only then did the Annihilum Light Chan Master accept him into the Bodhi hall. He underwent another three years of testing before finally getting offered a position beneath him as a formal disciple.

He had never regretted this decision. Otherwise, he never would have been able to make it to higher realms of cultivation with his fortune and aptitude.

“Xiao An, you-”

The Annihilum Light Chan Master lifted his hand and silenced what the One Thought master was about to say next. He looked at Xiao An.

Xiao An remained calm, completely unperturbed.

The Annihilum Light Chan Master let out a sigh. “The path of cultivation is vast, and the buddhist dharma is boundless. Why must you stubbornly insist on going your own way with a single will?”

Xiao An bowed. “Thank you for bestowing me with my dharma name, master.” If stubbornly going her own way with a single will was being reluctant to part with him, then she would much rather take this as her dharma name forever.

The Annihilum Light Chan Master smiled first. He took delight in her quick wit, but he subsequently sighed, lamenting over her stubbornness to cling onto what was holding her back. Afterwards, he neither affirmed or denied what she said, drifting away.

The remaining monks all looked at one another speechlessly. The One Thought master walked over with a mixed expression and bowed. “Junior sister One Will.”

Xiao An returned the gesture, “Senior brother One Thought.”

There was no ceremony, but to a chan sect that focused on reflecting on one’s heart and achieving self-actualisation and buddhahood as a result, these mere gestures held no importance in the first place.

The buddha plucked a flower, Mahākāśyapa smiled, and thus both the master and the disciple achieved likemindedness1.

In just a few words, their status to one another had already been determined.

The greatest prodigy of the academy in the past century also happened to be the first to determine her direction for the future, which was the holy land for buddhists across the fifteen thousand kilometers that was the Green province, the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga.

Xiao An saw off all the monks before requesting permission to be dismissed from her senior brother One Thought.

The One Thought master obviously knew where she wanted to go. He waved his hand helplessly. “Go!” Even their master no longer cared, agreeing to her dharma name of One Will through silence, so why would he still have power over her?

On Cloudwisp island, Li Qingshan fell silent for a moment after hearing how everything had unfolded. He rubbed Xiao An’s head and smiled. “In the future, if you want to go and cultivate in the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga, I’ll go become a monk with you. Though, all I can become is a monk who drinks, eats meat, and sleeps around.”

Xiao An shook her head. “No, I’ll stay with you. I don’t want you to become a monk who drinks, eats meat, and sleeps around.”

Li Qingshan said, “How about this? When the time comes, I’ll pay a visit to the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga with you and ask for some benefits from that Annhilum Light Chan Master, and then I will leave by myself and go at it alone. I’ll also go find a master to learn from. After that, I’ll build a dwelling, and you can establish a temple right beside me. How’s that? It’ll be the best of two worlds!”

Xiao An answered, “Alright.”

This was their future. There was nothing worth worrying over.

It was already very late. The two of them laid on their backs, staring at the ceiling as they listened to the rustling of falling snow outside. They both felt like they were at great peace.

“Oh right, what do you think about that big sister Han?” Li Qingshan turned around, now lying on his side.

“Big sister Han?” Xiao An turned her head in surprise. Her large eyes shone in the darkness.

“You know, Han Qiongzhi.”

“She’s worth a hundred regular people,” Xiao An said indifferently.

“I don’t mean eating her. Forget it. You’re just a child. Even if I tell you, you won’t understand.” Li Qingshan fell silent, lying on his back once more.

Xiao An crawled onto his body. She stared at him long and hard.

“Alright, I’ll tell you.” Li Qingshan raised his hand and gave in. He told her about what had happened earlier in the night.

“You like her?” Xiao An blinked.

“A little.” Li Qingshan shrugged. Han Qiongzhi was obviously not a bad woman. Although he had yet to develop any particularly deep feelings for her, it would naturally happen as long as they spent time together. His parents from his past life and present life were all like this. It was not like this was some third-rate love story, where they would much rather die than live without one another.

“You want to marry her?” After she awakened a lot of her memories and read all those novels for Li Qingshan, Xiao An was no longer unfamiliar with matters like this. However, she never imagined something like this would happen with him, which left her extremely shocked.

“Not exactly, but there’s the possibility!” Li Qingshan rubbed his nose in embarrassment. He felt like a father who wanted to remarry after a divorce, asking for his little daughter’s permission. All of his usual boldness and nonchalance had evaporated.

He did not believe he was the same type as Hua Chengzan. He probably would never be able to understand that path of infatuation without regret. Perhaps he did think of this when he was young in his past life, but in this life, it had all been worn away by over a dozen years of hardships. All that remained were the most simple and straightforward things.

Xiao An suddenly became unhappy. She climbed down from Li Qingshan and turned away from him.