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Chapter 159, the Thirty-Nine Chapters of Dust Removal
However, Duanxie's trembling lasted for less than a breath before it suddenly stopped.

It was brief... as if it were just an illusion, or rather, no one even noticed it.

After entering the temple gate, Zhou You simply walked casually to the end of the escort agency and then, out of habit, looked around.

The contrast inside the temple is even greater than the contrast outside.

Ancient trees reach for the sky within the temple grounds, with towering pines and cypresses standing tall. Majestic buildings stand all around, and even in the rain, one can still discern the temple's former glory—glazed tiles, crimson walls, and even the paths underfoot are paved with large slabs of bluestone.

Keep in mind that this was in ancient times, and even many wealthy and powerful families couldn't afford this kind of building material!

Zhou You had long heard that Lizhou had been a Buddhist center for centuries, but he never expected that any one of the seven temples among the three mountains would be so wealthy and powerful.

But the problem is...

Nowadays, this temple only looks glamorous on the surface.

If you look closely, you'll see that the glazed tiles are already cracked, the red walls are covered with green vines, and the bluestone slabs under your feet are...
Calling it bumpy and uneven is an understatement; in reality, many places are completely broken, with puddles and mud everywhere. The donkey cart bounces even more violently on it than on a mountain road.

Clearly, these are all due to years of disrepair.

After all, even the most magnificent buildings cannot withstand the ravages of time, especially the most exquisite and expensive ones. Buildings like these are prone to problems if they are not repaired for eight or nine years, but judging from the state of the temple, it seems that no one has taken care of it for at least several decades.

...Are all of these things done by Tantric Buddhism?
This was Zhou You's first thought, and also the most likely deduction.

After all, Zen and Tantric Buddhism have always been irreconcilable in this world. It is quite normal for Tantric Buddhism to deliberately destroy these Zen temples after gaining power. Zhou You even had some guesses about the miserable state of the temple gates.

However, he quickly remembered something else.

—The timing is wrong.

The Tantric sect's complete takeover of Lizhou is only a matter of the last few years, but the Ci'en Temple has been in decline for much longer. The damage outside the temple may have been caused by the Tantric sect, but inside the temple...
Zhou You wanted to ask, but he didn't know how to bring it up. Instead, Lu Xiuyuan and Abbot Liaochen struck up a conversation.

“Abbot, I remember there were more than seventy or eighty monks when I came last time. How come there are only a few dozen left in just a few months?”

Liao Chen, holding an oil-paper umbrella, looked particularly frail in the downpour. He barely kept up with the escort agency's pace and then said in a low voice.

"It's because the Tantric sect has come and caused trouble a few more times... And as you know, Chief Escort, our Ci'en Temple's practice has become rather... well, it's not so great. When the incense was plentiful, it was alright, we could at least make a living. But since the Tantric sect took over Lizhou, the incense offerings have been cut off, and now we can't even make a living. Everyone doesn't want to be bothered by the Tantric sect, and they don't want to suffer like this, so they have no choice but to go their separate ways."

Lu Xiuyuan's expression froze upon hearing this.

Upon hearing this, he suddenly remembered a very serious problem.

After only a few months, Ci'en Temple has fallen into such a state of decline. Do these monks still have money to pay for escorting goods?

His original thought was that although the place was poor, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse, and the Zen sect was known for its trustworthiness, which was why he took on this escort mission. But now it seems that he might end up going through all the trouble only to receive the reply: "Take it on credit for now."
That would be a real problem!
He hesitated for a while, still unsure how to begin. But soon, Abbot Liaochen turned his head and saw that worried-looking head.

In an instant, he understood what it meant.

The old monk arched his gray eyebrows, revealed a slightly bitter smile, and then spoke.

"Please rest assured, Chief Escort Lu. The temple still has some gold and silver stored in its cellars from years ago. Although it's not much, it's more than enough to cover the escort fee for this trip. Our Ci'en Temple is, after all, a branch of the Chan school. We would never do something like going back on our word."

Having his intentions exposed, Lu Xiuyuan immediately wore an extremely embarrassed expression. "Well... actually, there's no rush. I didn't mean anything by it, it's just that I have a whole family to support."

Abbot Liaochen smiled and waved his hand, not answering, but everything was understood without words.

Soon, the group from the escort agency were led to a courtyard—like the surrounding area, it was still dilapidated and desolate, but it was somewhat better than others. At least the roof wasn't leaking, and there were some signs of human habitation inside and outside the house.

At least, it's a fairly normal building.

Abbot Liaochen took a bunch of keys from his waist, squinted and counted them for a long time before finally finding the right one. He then unlocked the rusty brass lock and pushed open the door.

The scent of incense and candles wafted over.

"Sorry, I just finished my afternoon classes and haven't had time to tidy up yet."

The elderly monk apologized as he found a tinderbox and lit the candles in the Buddha hall one by one.

The dim candlelight gradually brightened, illuminating the small area around us.

When Zhou You looked up, the first thing he saw was two statues of Buddhas.

One of them was just an ordinary monk, with his hands clasped together and a compassionate expression.

It looks quite ordinary.

But the problem lies with another figure.
Zhou You frowned slightly.

The statue was dressed in a kasaya, adorned with necklaces and a crown, holding a staff in its left hand and a banner in its right. It appeared to be the image of a Bodhisattva, but its face lacked the usual compassion and wisdom. Instead, its veins bulged and its expression was full of hatred, as if it were filled with rage and ready to devour anyone at any moment.

The abbot, Na Liaochen, glanced back and saw Zhou You's expression, but instead of speaking directly, he smiled at Lu Xiuyuan beside him.

"Get up. This benefactor looks unfamiliar. Are you the new immortal master you hired, Chief Escort?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiuyuan patted his head and then quickly replied.

"Oh dear, I forgot to introduce you, Abbot. This is Master Zhou from Baiyun Temple. Don't let his young age fool you; his skills are quite formidable. Some time ago, we encountered a ghost named Fu Wushuangzhi who had wandered into Lizhou. We were only able to escape unharmed thanks to Master Zhou's divine power. He also killed that ghost in no time."

Lu Xiuyuan wisely did not mention the mountain village, but only brought up the monster in the desolate mountains.

Even this one surprised Abbot Chen.

"Good fortune never comes in pairs? That's a notorious monster with more than a hundred lives on its hands—you'll have done a great deed by getting rid of it."

After saying this, the old monk put his hands together and bowed to Zhou You. His tightly wrinkled face finally relaxed a little. He pointed to the two Buddha statues and suddenly said.

"By the way, I noticed you seemed quite interested in our Buddha statues earlier. In that case, I'll play the role of a welcoming monk and introduce them to you—this is the wrathful form of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the main deity worshipped in our temple."

He paused, then spoke with a sigh.

"Similarly, it is also one of the few unpolluted beings among all the gods and Buddhas in the world today."

(End of this chapter)