From a refugee to a martial artist

Chapter 369 All Buddhas
After leaving the Kingdom of Xiangji, Meng Yuan traveled through the mountains and forests for half a month. When he encountered the barbarians again and returned to Elai Town, he did not notice anything amiss.

But when they arrived at Yongshui City and saw the caravan carrying Buddha statues, Meng Yuan and the others felt as if they had been transported to another world.

It was as if this trip into the mountains had turned the world upside down.

Mingyue had retrieved her mount. She stared blankly at the huge stone Buddha on the wide carriage and couldn't help but frown.

From the very beginning of its founding, the Qing Kingdom strictly controlled Buddhism, allowing it to spread its teachings only in Ping'an Prefecture. Buddhist disciples were never allowed to spread their teachings elsewhere, let alone erect Buddha statues.

For hundreds of years, the king's policy of respecting Confucianism and Taoism while suppressing Buddhism has never changed.

But after a few months in the mountains, such a change occurred, and Mingyue wondered if the world had changed hands.

Moreover, although the Qing Kingdom belongs to the Dugu clan, it is by no means a country where the ruler can do whatever he wants, especially with national policies established since the founding of the kingdom.

If this allows Buddhist statues to be erected in various places without authorization, will Confucianism and Taoism not care?

Not to mention that there is also the Imperial Preceptor's Mansion in the capital, and the Imperial Preceptor himself is a Daoist who entered the Daoist path through the Dugu clan and is at the third level of the Daoist realm.

Mingyue wasn't very opinionated to begin with, and having been repeatedly deceived by Meng Yuan during this journey south, she had long since become accustomed to listening to Meng Yuan's ideas.

"..." Mingyue looked at Meng Yuan with a confused expression.

Meng Yuan also found it absurd, so he said, "No rush, we'll find out by asking first."

They asked the coachman, but he was just a worker and didn't know much about national affairs, so his answer was vague and unclear.

The people escorting the convoy were constables from Yongshui City, which is located in the southwest and is quite remote. People there don't know much about this kind of thing.

"They say the king had a dream of impending doom and wanted to erect Buddha statues everywhere." The constable clearly didn't know much either.

This reason is absolutely unbelievable. Although the Qing Kingdom is ruled by the Dugu clan, it would never allow its ruler to act so recklessly, let alone because of a mere dream.

Jie Kaiping and Dugu Kang stood in front of the Buddha statue and examined it carefully for a while, but neither of them could figure out which Buddha the statue represented.

"Could it be your master?" Jie Kaiping, dressed in tattered clothes and with messy short hair, kept staring at Dugu Kang.

Dugu Kang knew that Jie Kaiping was referring to Master Zhitong, but he didn't know much about Master Zhitong, only that he had been introduced to Buddhism by Zhitong when he was young.

Moreover, after moving to Songhe Prefecture, Dugu Kang rarely corresponded with Master Zhitong. It was only after the news of Li Weizhen killing Wusheng Luohan spread that Dugu Kang learned that Master Zhitong had used this to attain enlightenment and become a Buddha, entering the third rank.

Previously, Dugu Kang was controlled by Qing Guangzi, and Meng Yuan only gave Dugu Kang the letter from Master Zhitong after he had freed Dugu Kang from his restraints.

The letter didn't say much, only instructing Dugu Kang, whoever he followed, to cultivate himself diligently, do good deeds, and not to entertain any distracting thoughts.

At this moment, Dugu Kang and Jie Kaiping looked at the Buddha statue, exchanged a glance, and both sensed something.

Master Zhitong did indeed fulfill his great vow, but it was even more outrageous than the Silent Arhat. He clearly exploited the loophole of the Buddhist doctrine of "I am the Buddha" to attain the third level of enlightenment.

However, even among the three ranks of Arhats in Buddhism, there are differences in rank. Master Zhitong is certainly not as good as the Arhat Wusheng, let alone comparable to Qingguangzi.

Sure enough, when Meng Yuan and Ming Yue saw that the two bald monks remained silent, they knew that they had also thought of Qing Guangzi.

"You've all served rats before, do you see any resemblance between this Buddha statue and Qing Guangzi?" Meng Yuan had seen quite a few Buddha statues, especially many in the cave at the end of the canyon in Xiangji Kingdom, but this one was really quite ordinary, and he couldn't see anything strange about it.

Moreover, in terms of craftsmanship, it is far inferior to the Medicine King Bodhisattva statue in that cave. "The Master never worships Buddha statues." Jie Kaiping, having spent a lot of time with Qing Guangzi, was very experienced. "As for us, we only worship the image of the Master."

"So it looks like a rat?" Mingyue asked.

He nodded, acknowledging the situation.

Mingyue looked at the Buddha statue on the carriage again, but couldn't see any resemblance to a rat, nor any sign of light or anything like that.

Since that was the case, the four of them didn't bother with any more questions and immediately entered the city.

It's already August, and the weather is very hot.

Meng Yuan and Mingyue each rode horses, while Jie Kaiping and Dugu Kang, being devout Buddhist disciples who upheld the principle of equality for all beings, simply chased after them barefoot, without riding horses.

However, since they both had grown hair and were dressed in tattered clothes, they didn't have to worry about being mistaken for monks.

Upon entering Yongshui City, Meng Yuan found the local Thousand-Household Office.

Before setting off for Xiangji Kingdom, Meng Yuan inquired about the situation in the mountains and forests from the local commander. The commander even treated him to a meal and arranged a guide for him.

The local strongman, surnamed Zhu, was in his forties or fifties and possessed the sixth-rank cultivation level.

Zhu Qianhu didn't notice any change in Meng Yuan's cultivation level. He only noticed that Meng Yuan had been away in the mountains for half a year, but his complexion was getting better and better, and he was very amiable.

Zhu Qianhu was also a seasoned veteran, and he immediately noticed that although Jie Kaiping and Dugu Kang had hair, their overall demeanor clearly indicated that they were bald monks.

However, Zhu Qianhu didn't ask any more questions. He knew Meng Yuan's abilities and that Meng Yuan was favored by Wang Er. He simply served tea and casually asked if things in the mountains had gone smoothly.

"Things in the mountains went fairly smoothly," Meng Yuan said casually before getting down to business. "Before entering the city, I saw carriages and horses transporting Buddha statues into the city. It is said that a Buddha statue will be erected in the city for the people to worship. Why is that?"

"The world has changed." Zhu Qianhu sighed. He looked at Jie Kaiping and Dugu Kang, clearly worried about the bald monk's identity.

“Don’t worry, Commander Qianhu, we two are just dogs under Commander Meng’s command,” Jie Kaiping immediately said.

Zhu Qianhu was taken aback for a moment, but after seeing Meng Yuan nod, he said, "This all started with Lanruo Temple."

It turns out that after the Lanruo Temple incident, Li Weizhen killed Wusheng Arhat with his sword and fled to the Demon Kingdom. Master Zhitong was guided away by Zizai Buddha. They thought that the Western Buddhist Kingdom would not cause any more trouble, but unexpectedly, a true Buddha came out of the Demon Kingdom.

The true Buddha, whose origins were unknown and whose Dharma name was also unknown, entered the capital with great fanfare. He first had a deep conversation with the National Preceptor, and then had a deep conversation with the Emperor for several days.

Afterwards, the king issued an order allowing Buddhist temples to be built in the capital, and permitting the monks of Lanruo Temple to go out and spread the teachings. He even invited monks from the Western Buddhist kingdoms to come to the capital to build Buddhist temples.

As a result, the king later ordered that Buddhist statues be erected in all prefectures and cities for the people to worship and make offerings.

"Has something serious happened at the middle school?" Meng Yuan asked directly.

Zhu Qianhu was clearly aware of the situation. "He didn't say what it was about, but our Demon Suppression Division's Commander Wang sent an order saying that there's chaos in the north and we need to gather some manpower to go there."

"Only after something bad happens do you think of praying to Buddha? Isn't this just a last-minute attempt to seek divine intervention?" Jie Kaiping said righteously, shaking his head repeatedly, and did not forget to give Mingyue a compassionate smile, "Benefactor, please accept my condolences."

(End of this chapter)