From a refugee to a martial artist

Chapter 362 Past
The oil lamps in the cave have been burning for who knows how many years, and the origins of many of the Buddha statues here are even more unknown.

"It's truly Amitabha!" Su Xin's eyes widened. She was not very knowledgeable to begin with, and this was her first time traveling far from home. She thought the Xiangji Kingdom was strange enough, but she didn't expect that there would be so many Buddha statues hidden in this cave.

Su Xin tugged at Su Wen's sleeve, stood behind Ming Yue, tiptoed, and kept looking inside. "This must have been left by the Medicine King Bodhisattva!"

She then pointed to several people under the Medicine Buddha statue, her expression a mixture of joy and worry, "It's Uncle Liaocun!"

As she spoke, Su Xin was about to step forward when Ming Yue stopped her.

"With two poison masters ahead, Junior Sister, you'd better be careful, lest you worry your Consort Junior Sister. Perhaps you could send King Feiyuan to scout ahead first." Jie Kaiping's words made perfect sense.

“That’s absolutely right!” Dugu Kang immediately agreed.

"You have a rather nice way of speaking!" Su Xin glanced at Jie Kaiping and said irritably, "You're a monk, and you want to choose a concubine for Senior Brother Meng? No wonder people say monks are the most cunning; it's people like you who are ruining the reputation of our Buddhist sect!"

Unveiling the screen, she wasn't angry, just smiling, and started arguing with Su Xin, spouting nonsense about how choosing a concubine was pointless, and not choosing one was also pointless.

Ignoring their bickering, Meng Yuan exchanged a glance with Mingyue and then stepped forward.

Jie Kaiping and Dugu Kang quickly followed, standing to the left and right of Meng Yuan.

The road paved with bluestone was wide, about ten feet long, with various Buddha statues on both sides, their features as lifelike as real people.

Moreover, the closer you look, the more you feel that it is not carved from stone, but rather looks like the true remains of the Buddha after his passing.

The three stepped forward, Meng Yuan gripping the knife in his hand, his eyes fixed on the innermost stone statue.

Jie Kaiping and Dugu Kang kept looking at the statues from left to right. Both of them were bald and had spent a long time in the Qing Kingdom, which was known for its anti-Buddhist culture, so they rarely saw so many Buddhist statues and were naturally very interested.

The two chattered away, behaving like brothers, and recited the names of all the Buddha statues on either side of them.

Stepping onto the bluestone path, the three of them resembled believers seeking true knowledge, moving step by step towards the innermost part of the path.

Mingyue did not step into this place. She protected Suxin and Suwen, so that if anything happened in the cave, she could provide support or help them escape.

"Don't worry, Senior Sister. Martial Aunt and the others are still alive and their life force hasn't died out. They must have been poisoned by a poison that causes unconsciousness." Suwen reassured Suxin when she saw her worry. "We'll just wait for Senior Brother Meng's orders."

Su Xin had always trusted Meng Yuan, but this time she shook her head and said, "Of course I trust Senior Brother Meng, I'm just afraid those two bald guys will drag us down! You didn't see it just now, they can't fight, they can't escape, they just lie on the ground and pretend to be dead, they have no shame at all, and afterwards they act like they've done a great service! How come all the people taught by Qing Guangzi are like this?"

Suwen was at a loss for words and could only say, "Perhaps the two senior brothers have extraordinary minds and no longer care about face."

Su Xin nodded in agreement. "Surviving means you have a high level of skill, not surviving means you don't have enough ability."

The two sisters kept chatting, while Meng Yuan had already arrived at the Medicine Buddha statue.

When they looked at the Buddha statue from afar, it seemed incredibly tall, but now that they were up close, Meng Yuan and his companions felt as insignificant as ants.

The Buddha statue sat cross-legged on a lotus pedestal, and Meng Yuan and his two companions were only about the same height as the Medicine Buddha statue's feet.

"If it were a standing Buddha statue, how tall it would be!" Jie Kaiping exclaimed, looking up. "The Qing Kingdom would never allow such a large Buddha statue."

Dugu Kang was an honest boy. He respectfully put his palms together in greeting and said, "Disciple Liaokong greets Medicine Buddha."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Jie Kaiping kicked Dugu Kang.

Dugu Kang looked at Jie Kaiping with confusion, and even had time to pat the footprints on his buttocks. "Why did you kick me, Senior Brother?"

"Don't worship at every temple you see." Jie Kaiping truly had the demeanor of a senior disciple. "If worshipping Buddha were effective, there would be no suffering in this world, and everyone would have already ascended to paradise." Dugu Kang naturally understood this principle, and he immediately said, "Since we're already here..."

“The reason you cannot attain bliss is because you are not devout enough.” At this moment, Shui Xiangsheng, who was kneeling in front of the huge Medicine Buddha statue, spoke up.

The voice sounded even older, weak and feeble, as if it might die at any moment.

Dugu Kang leaned back, standing behind Meng Yuan, and looked at Shui Xiangsheng's back.

Shui Xiangsheng was kneeling on the ground. His hair was no longer white, his clothes were disheveled, and his exposed skin was bloodless, just skin covering his bones.

Gan Wulin, who was beside Shui Xiangsheng, was also nowhere to be found. He was kneeling on the ground, his bald head covered in wrinkles, and his exposed skin was extremely old, which showed that he had been tainted by Shui Xiangsheng's life fire poison, which had consumed much of his lifespan.

"Have you two decided the winner?" Jie Kaiping stepped forward, past Meng Yuan, and looked directly at the faces of her two senior brothers, Shui Xiangsheng and Gan Wulin.

Both of them looked extremely old, as if they might wither away at any moment. Even if they were alive today, it was unknown how many more days they could live.

These two, both at the fourth level of the medical profession, were determined to become the "Prime Minister" of Xiangji Kingdom, but now, it seems even doctors cannot heal themselves.

"Since you've come, it's clear that Fellow Daoist Dugu is dead." Gan Wulin opened his eyes, his pupils filled with blood, yet he still stared at Jie Kaiping and said, "The people of the Ying Clan are indeed not to be underestimated."

"The matter of the two of you being appointed prime ministers of Xiangji Kingdom has fallen through, as Xiangji Kingdom now has a new king," Jie Kaiping said with a smile.

Sure enough, these words touched both Shui Xiangsheng and Gan Wulin. They both lay prostrate on the ground, turned around, and looked at Meng Yuan.

“The two upper-class families and the eleventh-class family have also lost their noble status and will be commoners from now on.” Dugu Kang, hiding behind Meng Yuan, also spoke up.

"The affairs of Xiangji Kingdom are in Meng Feiyuan's hands." Jie Kaiping stood beside Dugu Sheng, clasping her hands together. "You two have put in a lot of effort, and Meng Feiyuan will find a way out for Xiangji Kingdom."

"Whether there's a way out or not, it doesn't really matter anymore." Shui Xiangsheng smiled sinisterly. "It's just another cycle. Will it last ten years? A hundred? Or five hundred?"

Gan Wulin also smiled and said, "Young friend Meng, you are in charge of Xiangji Kingdom today, so you are probably able to stay true to your original intentions. But if your blade becomes sharper and your power greater in the future, I wonder if you will still end up like this today?"

On their way to the cave, Jie Kaiping and Dugu Kang had been discussing with great interest how to govern the Xiangji Kingdom, how to restore order between the upper and lower classes, and even considered respecting Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. But now, listening to what these two senior brothers were saying, they felt rather disheartened.

Jie Kaiping and Dugu Kang were both well-read, experienced the vicissitudes of life, and knew a great deal about history. At this moment, they actually felt that what the two fellow disciples said was right.

"Is this the opinion of you fellow disciples?" Meng Yuan asked.

“The Medicine Buddha looked back on the past and saw the future, and felt that there was no way out in the world, so this Buddha statue came into being,” Shui Xiangsheng said.

“Buddhists have always been detached from the world, but I never imagined that the Medicine Buddha would withdraw from it for this reason.” Meng Yuan smiled and said, “But we still have to move forward.”

Meng Yuan, his hand on the hilt of his sword, looked at the two fellow disciples and said, "Where is the medical lineage? Please hand it over."

Upon hearing this, the two fellow disciples looked up at Meng Yuan again.

"I will pass it on to Junior Sister Suwen, and in the future, I will select someone from Xiangji Kingdom to teach her," Meng Yuan said.

Shui Xiangsheng looked at the Medicine Buddha statue's finger gesture and said, "The Medicine King Bodhisattva once said that if outsiders come to pay homage to the Buddha statue, then the whole world will be filled with Buddhas."

Buddhism has a tradition of prophecy, and the Medicine King Bodhisattva is at the second level of enlightenment, so he might actually be able to foresee some changes before and after.

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent, feeling uneasy for a moment.

(End of this chapter)