Chapter 3 Buddhist Greetings
2116 Words
Lin Su felt a wave of relief wash over him. That's it?
I thought they were going to break some organ in my body! It scared me to death…
The Third Elder's gaze swept across his face, finding no panic, only relief. What happened? …
Lin Su poured the elder a cup of water: “Master, I have no Dao root, no cultivation, so there's no question of abolishing my cultivation, right?”
The Third Elder was stunned…
The punishment that cultivators feared was nothing to him; the reason was here.
Lin Su added, “As for being expelled from the sect, that's even less important. To be honest, even without this, I wanted to leave the mountain. I have no Dao root; staying in the sect is a waste of time. Why bother? So, today, please tell me, Master, where do I come from? Do I have a family?”
This question was strange. Why ask others where one comes from?
But coming from Lin Su, it was normal.
Because when he transmigrated, the body's predecessor was struck by lightning, and his consciousness vanished instantly. He asked his master who he was, but his master refused to tell him, only saying that he should devote himself to cultivation from now on and forget about family matters.
Today, his path of cultivation is severed, and he is about to descend the mountain. His master should tell him.
The Third Elder stared at the water cup in front of him for a long time. The water in the cup moved without wind, creating ripples. After a long while, he slowly raised his head: "Since things have come to this, I will tell you. Everything I know is what you told me when you first entered the sect. Whether it's true or false, it's all what you said..."
Hearing this, Lin Su's expression was somewhat constipated. What did the old man mean? Was he shirking responsibility?
But the old man's next words shocked him...
He, Lin Su, was the third young master of the Dingnan Marquis's Mansion in the Great Cang Kingdom. The Dingnan Marquis's Mansion was facing a calamity. His father, the Dingnan Marquis, sought help from Buddhism. A high-ranking Buddhist monk gave him an eight-character oracle: "Three paths unite, calamity is broken and great prosperity is achieved."
What did it mean? A more convincing explanation is that the Lin family had three sons, each choosing a different path to overcome their calamities and lead the family to prosperity.
His eldest brother was a border general, corresponding to the martial arts path.
His second brother was a scholar, already a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations), corresponding to the literary path.
He, however, had no choice but to choose the immortal path (cultivation is also called the immortal path). Therefore, his father, Marquis Dingnan, selected a capable general to send him to the Lingxi Sect for cultivation, a journey
of great distances. This is why he went to the Lingxi Sect.
This is also what troubles the Third Elder. He respected Marquis Dingnan for guarding the border for the country and accepted this task, but in the end, he couldn't let Lin Su enter the path of cultivation, and now he faces expulsion. He feels deeply sorry for this commission.
Lin Su sighed, "So my arrival at the Lingxi Sect actually stemmed from a Buddhist inscription. Master, is this high monk reliable?"
The old man said, "I don't even know who this high monk is, but since your father trusts him so much, he must be an extraordinary person."
Damn! This is such a slip of the tongue!
Lin Su shook his head, "No matter how extraordinary his background or how high his cultivation, he can't get around this one dead end: my joining the Lingxi Sect was clearly a mistake." He has no Dao root and cannot cultivate; that's an undeniable fact.
The old man agreed with this, "Actually, I've had a suspicion for a long time, not that I suspect there's anything wrong with the Buddhist monk's inscription, but that... you and your eldest brother have made a mistake. Perhaps you're suited for martial arts, while your eldest brother is suited for cultivation."
Lin Su smiled, "I agree with Master's judgment; it must be that we brothers have misallocated the tasks. But it's more likely that I've made a mistake with my second brother. Perhaps I'm more suited for the literary path."
The literary path, studying!
He had a withered tree in his brain, each leaf a photocopier. It would activate upon encountering books, directly copying them. This kind of golden finger, so highly connected to books, when applied to the path of literature—what's that saying again? A match made in heaven!
The old man directly rejected this idea: "Absolutely impossible!"
His tone was resolute!
Lin Su was truly unconvinced: "Why?"
The old man said: "What do you think the path of literature is? Do you think knowing a few characters makes you suitable for it? The path of literature is vast and profound, the foremost of the five paths. Top-tier literary masters can annihilate powerful enemies with a single stroke, shatter the heavens with a single word, and change the world—how wondrous! Correspondingly, the threshold is also incredibly high. Your second brother is already a scholar, a pillar of the literary world, the perfect candidate for the path of literature. You still want to switch places with him?"
What?
Lin Su was a little confused.
What did it mean to annihilate powerful enemies with a single stroke, shatter the heavens with a single word, and change the world?
What was the "blue literary world"?
Why did this path of literature seem so different from what he understood it to be?
"Master, I'm about to descend the mountain, and I may never hear your teachings again. Master, why don't you tell me about the world? As the ancient saying goes: 'To impart knowledge, teach skills, and resolve doubts is the debt of a teacher's grace.'"
Perhaps it was the phrase "ancient saying" that placed a deeply ingrained shackle on the old man's head.
Perhaps it was the sorrow of impending separation.
Perhaps it was the old man's innate tendency to discuss matters, honed by years of guarding the pavilion.
He spoke, and spoke in great detail…
Lin Su's heart churned, instantly experiencing a category 12 typhoon…
This world is an incredibly wondrous world.
It has literature and martial arts, cultivation, demons and monsters, all forming its magical foundation.
The most wondrous is literature.
Scholars are not weaklings; on the contrary, they represent the pinnacle of power!
Poetry, songs, calligraphy, painting, and music—all these elements unleash the power of literature, capable of generating real destructive force!
A single stroke can kill a powerful enemy—not an abstract description, but a real act of beheading.
A single word can pierce the heavens—it can truly fly.
"Changing the world" isn't just an abstract writing technique; a high-ranking Confucian scholar can truly make mountains collapse, rivers flow backward, and the earth turn upside down…
He also deciphered a sentence from yesterday's library: a disciple said, "The Holy Maiden is in a bad mood; could it be that her journey south was not going well?"
Another disciple replied, "Indeed, it wasn't going well; she encountered a big fish.
" At the time, he thought these illiterate senior brothers didn't know how to use measure words, but now he knew they weren't talking about a "big fish" at all, but a "great Confucian scholar"—a special species in the world of literature!
However, something was a little strange.
Lin Su asked, "Master, the world of literature is so magical, why has no one in the sect ever mentioned it? I've been in the sect for several months, and only today have I heard you mention it."
Upon hearing this, the Third Elder fell silent, his expression quite strange…
Finally, he spoke… "
In the Lingxi Sect, the world of literature has many taboos. I'm telling you the whole story, firstly because I'm afraid you won't know your roots and might violate sect taboos again, and secondly, as your master and disciple, I want to teach you some principles of life."
The sect has listed literature as taboo because the sect leader was deeply hurt by literature.
Back when she was still a Saintess, she wandered the martial world and encountered a great scholar. This scholar harmed her, and she gave birth to a daughter—the very young lady Lin Su met today—the one who dragged him out of the Daoist Pavilion.
This scholar was a scoundrel, abandoning her after seducing her, and the sect leader thus incurred a deep hatred for literature and the Dao.
Five years later, the sect leader traveled thousands of miles to seek revenge on that beast.
The result was a complete mess…
Upon returning, she gave birth to another daughter, who became the Saintess of the Lingxi Sect, Mengzhu.
Having been humiliated twice, the sect leader's Daoist roots were damaged, and her reputation was severely damaged.
The entire Lingxi Sect was united in hatred, understanding that insulting their sect leader was an insult to their ancestors, and thus made literature and the Dao taboo.
Therefore, in the future, when you face your fellow Lingxi disciples, you are forbidden to mention literature and the Dao. Furthermore, you must remember that the most crucial thing in life is to uphold your bottom line and know what not to do…
Lin Su's eyes widened in disbelief…
Sect leader, the first time you were "harmed," you could explain it as bad luck with people, but the second time… what do you call that? She traveled thousands of miles seeking revenge, leaving with her head held high and her body swaying. Returning home pregnant, well, what kind of revenge did she seek?
Out of respect for the sect leader and out of consideration for her current status as a disciple of Lingxi, Lin Su refrained from making any comments or remarks, and could only nod like a chicken pecking at rice.
After much deliberation and weighing of various factors, the Third Elder finally made his decision. "Fine, it's not appropriate for you to stay in the Lingxi Sect, morally, legally, or otherwise. Go..."
Lin Su packed his belongings, and Xiao Yao followed him in and out. For the first time, the smile on her lovely face disappeared. Lin Su patted her head by the door and told her, "Xiao Yao, I'm leaving. You should go with Master..." Xiao
Yao's eyes suddenly welled up with tears...
Lin Su couldn't continue: "You want to come with me, right?"
Xiao Yao nodded frantically: "Brother, Xiao Yao can cook, can do laundry, and I remember all the dishes you taught me. You just said that I'm especially good at plucking chicken feathers..."
She listed all her good qualities in one breath, then looked up at Lin Su with pleading eyes.
The Third Elder's voice came from the side: "Take her away. The Marquis's mansion probably doesn't need another pair of chopsticks."
Lin Su thought for a moment: "The mountain is peaceful and safe, but everything down below is unknown. It could be a life of luxury in the Marquis's mansion, or it could be full of calamities. Alright, let's go together. If we can't make it there, we can cry together."
Xiao Yao cheered and grabbed Lin Su's sleeve, wiping her tears with it.
On the last night at the Lingxi Sect, Lin Su cooked another sumptuous dinner for the Third Elder, but unfortunately, there was no wine.
After dinner, the Third Elder sat alone on the top of the Discussion Pavilion, silent.
Xiao Yao sat by Lin Su's bedside, telling her to go to sleep, but she refused. Lin Su fell asleep, and the girl, still holding onto his sleeve, finally couldn't resist the urge to fall asleep. Even in her deepest sleep, she didn't let go of Lin Su's sleeve, worried that her brother would sneak away in the middle of the night.
The next morning, they prepared to set off.
Just as the Third Elder was about to see him off, a silver boat swooped down from the sky and landed outside the courtyard gate. Lin Su's heart tightened. Was there another calamity before he left?
Although he had "cured" her the day before, he sweared he hadn't overstepped his bounds, but she was a saintess raised under feudal ethics!
Moreover, he later learned that her family had a "painful" history of being repeatedly hurt by men!
- Writer
