In the wind and snow. The young Daoist priest, wearing a dark blue Daoist robe, stood under the plaque, rubbing the little monk's bald head with one hand and holding a scroll in the other, acting as if no one else was present.
The young Daoist priest's hair was tied up with just a crude branch. Even though it was the twelfth lunar month of the bitter winter, his blue Daoist robe was just a single, unlined garment, terrifyingly thin.
The young Daoist priest who called himself Zhang Li looked at the little monk with a smile. Curling his fingers, he knocked on the little monk's forehead until it went "bang bang". "Still blocking the way here. Is it because you didn't understand my words, or is the name Zhang Li no longer effective in the Jianghu?"
The little monk stammered, "S-so it's Benefactor Zhang Li, please come in quickly!"
Zhang Li patted him on the shoulder with his scroll. "Lead my green ox in. Remember to find it a clean ox shed and feed it three catties of vegetarian steamed buns; they have to be filled with mushrooms and green vegetables."
The little monk was taken aback. "Ah? Feed it steamed buns?"
Zhang Li looked at him askance. "Is there a problem?"
The little monk hurriedly shook his head. "No, no. I'll go instruct the kitchen later. It's just that, at this time of year, green vegetables might be hard to find..."
Zhang Li waved his hand carelessly. "Then sour cabbage filling will do."
The little monk hastily agreed. "We have that. The little monk ate steamed buns with sour cabbage filling last night..."
"Who asked you?"
Zhang Li didn't look at Chen Ji and the others, but walked on his own into the villa with its gray walls and gray tiles. He patted the fallen snow off his body, while the lowly little monk followed behind him with small, quick steps.
Just after entering the gate, one could see the eighteen Arhats with majestic and glaring eyes carved in relief on the stone screen facing the entrance. As Zhang Li passed the stone wall, he sighed with emotion, "Back then, when the Daoist Court won this villa from the Zen Sect, they absolutely refused to recarve this stone wall no matter what. They insisted on letting all guests who see this place know that this villa was won from the hands of the Zen Sect..."
He asked casually, "I heard the bell toll from afar a moment ago. Who won this round?"
The little monk hesitated for a moment. "It was those few behind you who won."
Zhang Li's footsteps halted. "Who did they defeat?"
The little monk said bitterly, "They defeated our Second Senior Brother, Wu Zheng. Second Senior Brother debated the Dao using good and evil, and he broke the topic using the
Mahaparinirvana Sutra
."
Speaking to this point, the little monk was somewhat unconvinced. "However, we still have quite a few senior brothers behind him. The Daoist Court only has one person left; they still have no chance of winning!"
Zhang Li ignored him. Instead, he retraced his steps back to the entrance and sized up Chen Ji sideways. "You won?"
Chen Ji didn't answer.
Zhang Li asked again, "Have you read through the Buddhist scriptures comprehensively?"
Chen Ji still didn't answer.
Zhang Li looked back at Bai Li on horseback. "She caught a chill, right?"
Chen Ji gave an "mhm."
Zhang Li pulled a gourd-shaped white porcelain bottle out from his sleeve and poured out a black pill from it. "This is the Purple Void Prime Pill personally refined by my junior sister to consolidate the foundation and cultivate vitality. Although it's not the exact medicine for the symptom, it is enough to save a life."
Saying this, he smiled cheerfully. "You defeated the monk just now, so I gift you this pill."
Chen Ji's eyes lit up. He immediately thanked him, took it, and turned around to feed it to Bai Li.
Unrushed, Zhang Li poured out another Purple Void Prime Pill from the white porcelain bottle and called out to Chen Ji, "I observe that this young lady's chill has penetrated to her bones. One pill is absolutely not enough; she must swallow two pills to fully recover."
Chen Ji turned back and asked, "What are your conditions?"
Zhang Li was amused. "A smart person. To get this second pill, you must accompany me to debate the scriptures. You only need to answer one question, or propose one question that stumps a monk."
Chen Ji asked, "And if I fail?"
Zhang Li smiled. "This pill was not easy to come by. My little junior sister guarded the furnace fire and watched it for forty-nine days before opening the furnace to complete the pill. If she hadn't felt heartache for her Great Senior Brother sleeping in the open outside, she definitely wouldn't have brought out this pill."
"Therefore?"
"Therefore, this item is precious. If you cannot meet my conditions, I cannot give you the pill."
The little monk in gray robes widened his eyes. "How can the Daoist Court pull in an outsider to help?"
Zhang Li was displeased. He used his finger to knock the monk's shiny forehead "bang bang". "Back then, when Buddhism pulled in Confucian civil officials to assist in battle, did my Daoist Court say anything?"
The little monk hurriedly said, "But they don't have invitations, nor do they have tokens proving their identity..."
Zhang Li sneered. "I'm afraid that's just an excuse your Great Senior Brother made up because he didn't want to be tainted with karma. No matter; I will bear this karma! Let them pass!"
The little monk curled his lip. "By what right do you order me? This Luhun Villa already belongs to my Yuanjue Temple; what you say doesn't count."
Zhang Li rubbed his bald head and sighed. "Even your Great Senior Brother wouldn't dare spout this nonsense at me. Hurry up and shut your mouth, otherwise this Daoist master is going to slap you."
The little monk shrank his neck.
Chen Ji looked at Zhang Li. "Let me test the medicine's efficacy first."
Zhang Li smiled. "Please."
Chen Ji braved the wind and snow, walked outside the gate, and gently brought the pill to Bai Li's lips. "Swallow it quickly and see if it helps."
Bai Li bit the pill and swallowed it hard into her stomach. In a flash, her face turned rosy, and her eyes were no longer weak and lifeless. Bai Li propped herself up and swung down from the horse, though her steps were still a bit unsteady.
The miraculousness of this pill seemed as if it had seized the fortune of Heaven and Earth.
The Prince Heir's eyes lit up. "The Medicine Official Pathway of the Yellow Mountain Daoist Court?"
Zhang Li smiled and answered, "Exactly."
Chen Ji stood in the snow thinking for a moment, then turned and handed the horse's reins to the other little monk at the door. To Zhang Li, he said, "I do have a question I can try. As for whether it can stump those monks, I don't know."
Zhang Li gave a carefree smile. "Give it a try."
Chen Ji and the others followed Zhang Li into Luhun Villa, walking between the high gray walls, as if traversing through a dark valley. Looking up, the gradually brightening sky was reduced to a mere sliver.
Zhang Li saw Chen Ji looking up to size it up, so he casually remarked, "Who knows what that group of monks wanted to hide here back then, to actually build this Luhun Villa like a canyon. My Yellow Mountain also has a 'Thread of Sky' scenery, right below Wenshu Cave; you can see it when crossing the Immortal-Ferrying Bridge. When walking through it and looking up at the vast sky, the blue sky is only a sliver. Unless it's noon or midnight, you cannot see the sun or moon."
He glanced back at Chen Ji and said with a smile, "The location of my Yellow Mountain Daoist Court is the most marvelous peak under Heaven. It is said to also be the place where an immortal refined a sword pill and ascended."
Chen Ji was startled. "A sword pill? Is it the Sword Seed of the Jing Dynasty's Martial Temple?"
Zhang Li shook his head. "That I wouldn't know."
Chen Ji pressed, "What was that immortal called?"
Zhang Li also shook his head. "I don't know either. I only know that beneath Fugu Peak, there is a ten-thousand-year-old cultivation cave, and inside the cave, the two characters 'Xuanyuan' are carved. That immortal might be called Xuanyuan... Haha, just my guess."
A thunderclap went off in Chen Ji's heart.
Xuanyuan!
He had finally heard the name Xuanyuan from someone else's mouth! The Green Mountain dreamscape finally had its roots in this world!
He concealed his excitement and asked calmly, "Does the Yellow Mountain Daoist Court have any records of this Xuanyuan's history?"
Zhang Li shook his head. "No. He is not from my Daoist Court. When my Daoist Court established its temple on Yellow Mountain, his cultivation cave was already there. My Yellow Mountain has many marvelous sights. If you can win against the monks this time, you are welcome to come to Yellow Mountain as a guest."
Chen Ji's expression was odd. "And if I don't win?"
Zhang Li laughed cheerfully. "Then don't come."
Chen Ji: "..."
...
...
It was unknown how long they walked before it gradually grew noisy ahead.
Stepping out of the "canyon", they saw a vast Dao field filled with scholars and refined gentlemen, currently whispering to each other.
Surrounding this oval-shaped Dao field were a dozen or so stone steps. The scholars and gentlemen sat on the steps in turn, letting the heavy snow fall on them.
The Eight Trigrams diagram in the center of the Dao field was covered by snow; only on the Yin-Yang fish eyes were two futons placed. On one of the futons, a young monk wearing a gray robe sat cross-legged.
On the other side, no one was seated on the Daoist Court's futon yet.
Zhang Li led Chen Ji and the others into the midst of a group of Daoist priests and asked curiously, "Why is no one stepping up to fight?"
A young Daoist priest turned and saw Zhang Li, instantly becoming ecstatic. "Senior Brother Zhang Li is here! Hurry, make way! Senior Brother Zhang Li, quickly go teach that arrogant bald donkey a lesson!"
"Why did Senior Brother Zhang Li arrive a day and a night late!"
Zhang Li raised his hand to suppress the voices of the young Daoist priests. "Hold on, hold on. How many people has our Daoist Court lost so far?"
A young Daoist priest said hesitantly, "We have already lost eight people; we can still send up the last one..."
Zhang Li asked again, "How many does the other party have left?"
The young priest hesitated again. "The other party has four more."
Zhang Li raised his eyebrows. "You bunch of little Daoist priests from Mount Laojun harbor no good intentions, making me the last one to go up. If I lose, won't I have to bear the entire blame alone?"
"How could Senior Brother Zhang Li possibly lose?"
"Senior Brother Zhang Li, you can definitely win!"
Zhang Li said exasperatedly, "Stop singing my praises. How am I supposed to win a one-versus-four? My Yellow Mountain Daoist Court won't take this blame!"
The little Daoist priests grew anxious. "If you don't go up, our Daoist Court is iron-clad to lose. At that time, all ten-some of us will have to go to Yuanjue Temple, shave our heads, and become monks! Yellow Mountain and Mount Laojun share the same breath and branches; why make a distinction?"
Zhang Li laughed out of anger. "Hold on. When my little junior sister went to you guys to borrow pill formulas earlier, why didn't you mention sharing the same breath and branches then?"
"Ah, this..."
However, Zhang Li didn't pursue the matter deeply with them. In a Buddhist-Daoist scripture debate, the Daoist Court shared honor and disgrace together.
His eyes darted around, and he looked at Chen Ji with a smile. "You do it. If you win, I'll give you the pill."
Chen Ji answered decisively. "Alright."
The young Daoist priests were astonished. "Senior Brother, who is this person?"
Zhang Li spread his hands. "I don't know either."
"Ah?" The young Daoist priests were shocked. "In such an important matter, how can you let someone you don't know go up? What if he loses..."
Zhang Li slapped the back of the speaker's head to interrupt him. "He's the one who just won the debate against the monk outside the gate. You guys are usually arrogant and unwilling to read Confucian and Buddhist scriptures. If you can't know your enemy and know yourself, how can you win? Those monks have read our Daoist scriptures from cover to cover and came prepared. If we don't find someone who has read through the Buddhist scriptures comprehensively, we can't win."
Hearing that Chen Ji was someone who had won against a monk, the young Daoist priests immediately looked at each other in dismay.
A young Daoist priest asked, "Then Senior Brother, have you read the Buddhist scriptures? Why don't you go up?"
Zhang Li said matter-of-factly, "I am a Daoist priest. Why would I read that stuff?"
The young Daoist priests: "..."
Zhang Li bent low and whispered to the young Daoist priests below the stone steps, "By letting an outsider go up, even if we lose this final match, it'll be the outsider who lost, and it can save some face for the Daoist Court. If the Daoist Court lost on its own, we wouldn't have a single shred of face left."
Only then did the group of young Daoist priests understand. Zhang Li knew the Daoist Court was bound to lose, so he found an outsider to serve as a fig leaf.
They lowered their heads in shame. "But if he loses..."
Zhang Li said unhurriedly, "As for shaving your heads and becoming monks, if we really lose, just go be monks for a month, and then say you want to return to secular life."
The young Daoist priests were stunned. "Ah? Return to secular life?"
Zhang Li said righteously, "What? Does Buddhism not allow returning to secular life?"
The young Daoist priests exchanged glances, and finally gathered their resolve. "Then let him go up."
Zhang Li looked at Chen Ji. "Go ask your question! Ask it fiercely!"
At this time, Zhang Xia whispered from the side, "In this kind of scripture debate, only one person can go up; I have no way of helping from the side. Moreover, I am a woman, so I cannot step forward to debate scriptures."
Chen Ji remained silent in thought.
The Prince Heir suddenly said, "How about I go up? Even if they beat me, it won't be a glorious win!"
Chen Ji, Zhang Xia, and Bai Li slowly turned to look expressionlessly at the Prince Heir; for a moment, they didn't know what to say.
A moment later, Chen Ji pulled Wu Yun out from his embrace and stuffed it into Bai Li's arms. "Let me give it a try."
In the next moment, he walked over to the futon and sat cross-legged.
The monk opposite him stood up and asked, "In a Buddhist-Daoist scripture debate, how can an outsider take the field?"
Zhang Li said lazily, "This is an unregistered disciple of my Yellow Mountain Daoist Court."
The monk glared and interrogated, "When was he registered, and under what name was he registered?"
Zhang Li froze; he had actually forgotten to ask what this young man's name was just now!
Just as a stalemate developed in the field, Chen Ji asked in a ringing voice, "May I ask the eminent monk: if a ship is named the 'Ship of Universal Salvation', and over several years of repairs and patching, it eventually replaces every single plank and every single component, is this ship still the original 'Ship of Universal Salvation'?"
The Dao field suddenly fell silent. The monks looked at each other in dismay, not a single sound of a crow or sparrow to be heard, leaving only the snowflakes falling from the canopy of heaven.
Zhang Li had originally been leaning lazily against the stone steps. When he heard this question, the more he thought about it, the more he felt it was filled with traps. He gradually sat up straight and looked at the young man sitting cross-legged in the wind and snow within the Dao field.
Chen Ji hadn't read comprehensively through the Buddhist scriptures, but he had read the world's top ten paradoxes.
(End of Chapter)