883 Worshiping at a Buddhist Temple (1/2)

Gu Shenwei had once been to the Four Noble Truths Temple many years ago, but he now only had a faint impression of it.

Back then, he had merely been a common brown-belt assassin. He had stood in the dark hall and told his experiences to a large group of strangers, and then been asked to leave before he could even remember everybody's face.

He was comparably more familiar with the thatched hut on the slope outside the temple. The Master, Tiger Monk, used to meditate there.

And now, he had returned to this place as the Dragon King. There were two 10,000-men armies stationed on the east and west sides of Jade, City respectively, and they were all at his command. Naturally, he was received differently this time. Nearly a hundred monks in Buddhist robes were standing in orderly rows at the entrance of the temple. They clasped their hands and saluted their honored guests even when they were still far away.

But the Dragon King was not the only honored guest. There was also the Governor of the Western Regions, Wei Song, the Prince Regent of the Shule Kingdom, and the Unique King, Shangguan Fa, who hadn't appeared in public for many years.

This was Gu Shenwei's first official meeting with Shangguan Fa.

In the sunlight, Shangguan Fa didn't seem as tall as Gu Shenwei remembered, but the look on his face was just as sullen and rigid as always. His eye sockets seemed like a protection cover for his hollow eyes, concealing his sharp and piercing eyes as well as his daunting killing aura.

Shangguan Fa dismounted. His movements were not very smooth and he didn't seem like a kung fu expert at all. Unlike him, the hundred guards behind him were wearing shiny armor with their heads up and chests thrown out, which made their master seem more ordinary by comparison.

The prince of the Shule Kingdom approached the temple from its west side together with the Dragon King while Shangguan Fa and Wei Song came from the east side. These four people represented four armies, and each of them were followed by a hundred guards. When they drew closer to the front of the temple, they simultaneously dismounted from their horses and walked on foot towards those Buddhist monks at the entrance of the temple.

Wei Song was about ten steps away from Gu Shenwei when he briefly nodded at Gu Shenwei, signaling a deep intimacy that only they themselves could sense while still maintaining a cold look on his face that was even more solemn than that of Shangguan Fa.

When they drew closer to each other, Gu Shenwei was finally able to see those two eyes more clearly. He only glimpsed them briefly, but he still felt great pressure. The influence of that fight in Heaven's Pass still hadn't worn off, and Gu Shenwei was not sure whether he still had enough confidence to pull out the Five Peaks Saber.

The head monk of the Four Noble Truths Temple was a monk about forty years old and still looked quite young. Standing among a group of dignified old monks, he was rather obtrusive. Clearly, he was very used to grand occasions. In front of these honored guests, he showed no timidity, and paid respects to each of them. The high-ranking official of the Central Plains, the domineering Dragon King, and the murderous Unique King were all paid the same amount of respect.

Walking into the temple, Gu Shenwei didn't see Lianqing among these monks. He thought that maybe Lianqing's status was not high enough.

The head monk walked in front of them, occasionally giving an introduction for the building they were passing by. Every time they arrived at an important hall, he always led these honored guests inside and kowtowed to the Buddha statues in it.

If a common pilgrim had a chance to kowtow before all the Buddha and Bodhisattva statues, they would shed excited tears. But Gu Shenwei paid no attention to those shiny statues, since he was secretly observing Shangguan Fa this entire time.

The Unique King acted like a pious believer. There were several occasions where he knelt down on a prayer mat and completed a standard ceremonial observance. Then, he would pray silently, which made the other three people too embarrassed to stand up first.

After they had kowtowed to all eleven Buddha statues, the head monk became clearly more respectful to the Unique King.

But Gu Shenwei had the opposite feeling. He didn't know whether it was because of these statues or those spacious halls, but the pressure on him gradually disappeared. Although he wasn't carrying any weapons, he had regained the confidence to pull out his saber again.

The Unique King was only a human after all. He just had started practicing the Daoless Divine Power a few decades earlier than him.

Following a winding path, they arrived at a simple meditation abode in a side temple. According to the narration of the head monk, several eminent monks had achieved enlightenment and passed away in this room. Gu Shenwei had never heard of any of their Buddhist names before.

Six monks were sitting in this meditation abode in a semicircle. Old or young, they were all chanting, holding prayer beads with their eyes closed. And they didn't react to the arrival of these guests at all.

The smile on the face of the head monk gradually disappeared. He clasped his hands before his chest and paid his respects to these honored guests for the last time. Then he sat down onto a prayer mat and started chanting alongside those monks.

There were another four prayer mats in front of the seven eminent monks. As the Governor of the Western Regions, Wei Song sat on the mat facing south with his back to the seven monks. Gu Shenwei sat on the one facing east, the Unique King the one west, and the prince of the Shule Kingdom the one north. Gu Shenwei decided that he wouldn't say a single word unless he had to.

This was indeed not the right occasion for talking. It seemed as if those silent monks were exerted some kind of mysterious restriction on this room, and it seemed more powerful than all the powers and armies in this mortal world combined. In awe, Wei Song said in a deep voice, ”First, I'd like to thank the Four Noble Truths Temple for providing us with this meditation abode. These eminent monks are very merciful, and they want to prevent war and massacre. Our presence in this room means that we share the opinion of the monks.”

The seven monks were indifferent to the thankful words of the Governor of the Western Regions. Gu Shenwei and the Unique King also remained silent. Only the prince of the Shule Kingdom politely nodded.