Chapter 1389: Chapter Seventy-four Admonitions
Hanging Monastery territory.
Still upon that Naless Mountain, Ku Jue the Old Monk was sitting cross-legged at the mountaintop, absentmindedly picking his toes as he leisurely asked, “Was Linzi fun?”
Not far away, Jing Li the Monk was sitting properly on a clean stone slab with a face full of lingering fear. “Linzi was terrifying.”
“Without your master accompanying you, you really couldn’t handle it… Ah, youth.” Ku Jue sighed, then sneered, “Which old coot bullied you? Why was it terrifying? Speak.”
Jing Li the Monk pouted and said, “A group of won touched .”
“Heh, that’s nothing.” Ku Jue dismissed it imdiately, but only after the words escaped did he truly register what his disciple had said.
His laughter abruptly stopped.
With a swift slap, he struck Jing Li the Monk’s bald head, leaving five muddy fingerprints behind. “You little punk, playing the field like this!?”
The more he thought about it, the angrier he grew. He stood up and rolled up his sleeves. “Two heartless bastards! Your master is here drinking plain porridge, and you’re over in Linzi drinking fancy wine!”
Jing Li clutched his head with both hands and asked blankly, “What’s fancy wine?”
“You’re even showing off to !” Ku Jue was so furious he nearly exploded, jumping up and down on the spot. “If I don’t teach you a proper lesson today, you’ll never understand the concept of respecting the elderly…”
Suddenly, his deanor shifted to a gentle smile. He patted Jing Li the Monk’s shiny forehead and said in a soft tone, “Respecting the elderly and cherishing the young is also an act of compassion. As monks, walking between heaven and earth, we must honor the heavens above, the earth below, the Buddha within our hearts, and all beings in the world. Do you understand?”
Jing Li the Monk blinked in confusion, his long eyelashes shadowing his innocent eyes. “Disciple doesn’t quite understand.”
“That’s fine.” Ku Jue smiled warmly, showing remarkable patience. “Your master will explain slowly… Ahem!”
He cleared his throat. “Certain individuals, I see, have so free ti today. What brings you to my Three Treasures Mountain?”
A black-robed monk with a stern face approached from afar, his steps slow yet each stride covering great distances, arriving close within monts.
“Didn’t you say last ti that this place was renad Spirit Mountain?” he asked, frowning.
“It’s changed again, Uncle Ku Di!” Jing Li the Monk cheerily replied nearby. “Now it’s called Three Treasures Mountain!”
Ku Di had a soft spot for this simple and pure little monk, and in a rare mont of leisure, asked, “I see this mountain is barren, devoid of treasure and fortune. Where do the Three Treasures co from, I wonder?”
He was actually testing this exceptionally insightful young monk.
In Buddhism, the Three Treasures refer to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, symbolizing the Buddha, Buddhist teachings, and the community of monks who preserve these teachings.
Even novice monks knew this concept.
But on a personal level, each cultivator might have their own understanding of the Three Treasures, which could be external or internal.
Buddhas exist in myriad forms, and their significance varies widely.
Ku Di was curious what the Three Treasures would represent in the heart of this “unsullied by the mud” young monk.
Upon hearing the question, Jing Li the Monk proudly declared, “Ku Jue’s knowledge! Ku Jue’s experience! Ku Jue’s wisdom! That’s our Buddhist Three Treasures! That’s why this mountain is nad so!”
Ku Di suddenly felt his vision darken and nearly lost consciousness.
He almost committed a verbal transgression, wanting to curse Ku Jue out.
Truly misleading the disciples!
Such a pure little monk, what’s he been teaching him all day?
But in the end, he held back.
Not because he feared committing a verbal sin. At his realm of cultivation, he was long past adhering rigidly to precepts. It was rely… he couldn’t win in an argunt.
He took a deep breath. Amitabha, Amitabha.
“Ku Jue,” Ku Di shifted his gaze from Jing Li to Ku Jue. “What have you been busy with lately? The abbot’s teachings—you’ve missed them three tis now.”
Ku Jue cast him a sideways glance. “If he wants to preach, you all can listen, can’t you? I’ve been training disciples! Didn’t you just hear? How can soone as deaf as you govern Guan Shi Temple? You’re so old, with fading eyesight and dull hearing—why not retire? I can recomnd soone for the position!”
His words shot out like arrows, rapid-fire and relentless.
“Who do you think is qualified?” Ku Di asked, holding back his anger.
Ku Jue gave him an exaggerated look of disdain, then thumped his own chest fiercely. “Throughout Hanging Monastery, from top to bottom, who else but can rise to the challenge!”
Ku Di truly wanted to slap himself, regretting not yet realizing Ku Jue’s nature after all these years.
Engaging him in conversation—it’s only asking for trouble.
“Speaking of fading eyesight, you’re even older than !” he retorted coldly.
“Alright, alright, can’t take a joke, huh? Look how wrinkled your face is, like tree bark—no fun at all.” Ku Jue lazily chuckled. “Fine, let seriously recomnd soone?”
“Spare !” Ku Di said curtly.
Ku Jue clapped his hands with a grin. “How about Jing Li?”
Ku Di wondered if he’d misheard. Had he sohow mistaken “spare ” for “sure”?
While he hesitated, Ku Jue had already yanked Jing Li over. “Why wait for another day? Strike while the iron’s hot. Co on, kneel before your Uncle Ku Di, kowtow, and inherit his mantle and duties today, so he can focus on cultivation and reach nirvana sooner!”
Ku Di: …
Jing Li the Little Monk wore a troubled expression. “Uh? Master, isn’t it too early? I feel I’m still young and need a few more years of tempering…”
Ku Di: !!!
What’s this? You two are negotiating now?
By this point in the conversation, he’d completely forgotten he had co to reprimand Ku Jue, specifically to scold him for skipping the lectures and to warn him to attend the next one.
Look at this! Not even a few exchanges in, and the chief position at Zhi Shi Courtyard nearly got handed over!
“Alright, I won’t tangle with you two any longer.” He finally swept his sleeves decisively. “I have other matters to attend to. I’m leaving!”
“Not staying for a bit?” Ku Jue the Old Monk inquired with a smiling face.
Ku Di glanced around…
Do you even have anywhere to sit here?!
“You’re ever so courteous.”
He turned to leave but suddenly rembered sothing and stopped, saying, “I recall you ntioned you recently accepted a disciple with unparalleled talent?”
Ku Jue the Old Monk’s expression stiffened, his face awkwardly muddled. “More or less.”
Then he glared at Ku Di. “What about it?”
The way he said “what about it” carried an undeniable montum and confidence.
“His na’s Jiang Wang?” asked Ku Di.
Is this deliberately picking at the sore spot? Ugh, what tactless timing!
Ku Jue glared at him fiercely. “If you’ve got sothing to say, spit it out! If not, get lost!”
Years of brotherhood ant Ku Di wouldn’t take offense easily. He simply continued, “Zhi Shi Courtyard has just received word—this Jiang Wang seems to have allied himself with the Demon Race. Jinguo’s genius Zhao Xuenyang has already set out to capture him in person. Between us, you shouldn’t just take anyone under your wing…”
Guan Shi Temple had impressive intelligence networks. The public proclamation from Jinguo had only just been made, yet Hanging Monastery was already inford.
But his “warning” and “advice” were destined to fall flat.
Before he could finish speaking, Ku Jue had crashed right into him and was shouting, “What!?!”
The rascal bellowed, “You bald donkey, you’ve got ill intent! My good disciple is in trouble—why didn’t you say so sooner?!”
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