Antique Shop Zero: Disfigured School Beauty Becomes a Succubus to Pay Off Debts

There was a knock on the door.

Three times.

Not too light, not too heavy; not too fast, not too slow.

Jiang Chaosheng looked up at the doorway, his eyebrows slightly raised.

In a place like this, at a time like this, who would come looking for him?

Daji bowed and said:

"My lord, I shall take my leave now."

As soon as she finished speaking, she transformed into a faint glowing light and drifted into his arms.

Jiang Chaosheng walked to the door and opened it.

"Amitabha.

"Excuse me, sir."

The old monk in the kasaya was standing outside the door.

Haiyin.

The one on the dock who is called "Grandmaster".

Jiang Chaosheng remembered the expression on his face when he disembarked.

There was no joy in seeing his disciples and grand-disciples, only a complex feeling that was hard to describe.

It's like knowing there's a pit ahead, but still having to jump in.

Jiang Chaosheng looked at him, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Before he could even go to find the old monk, the old monk came to find him first.

He moved aside slightly:

"Please come in."

Haiyin bowed again and stepped through the door.

Jiang Chaosheng walked to the freezer by the door, took out a bottle of water, and casually tossed it over.

Haiyin raised his hand and caught it steadily.

The movements were clean and crisp, as if they had practiced.

Jiang Chaosheng's gaze lingered on that hand for a moment.

His knuckles were thick and his palms were calloused; he held the water-catching posture very steadily.

He's a trained fighter.

Monk Haiyin bows with one hand:

"Thanks."

Jiang Chaosheng walked towards the sofa in the room, with a somewhat nonchalant air:

"Don't be so polite. This island belongs to your disciple. How could you, as his master, not have any water to drink?"

Upon hearing this, Abbot Haiyin sighed, his eyes filled with deep helplessness.

Jiang Chaosheng sat on the sofa and pointed to the sofa opposite him:

"sit."

Monk Haiyin sat down and pondered for a moment:

"Sir, do you know where this place is?"

Jiang Chaosheng said:

"I don't know, do you?"

The old monk got straight to the point, being straightforward and efficient.

Monk Haiyin said:

"I know a little; this is the training ground of this unworthy disciple."

Jiang Chaosheng looked at him in surprise:

"Are you here to give me information?"

Monk Haiyin raised his eyes:

"yes.

But please answer one question for this humble monk first.

Jiang Chaosheng nodded:

"You two, master and disciple, are quite strange. Tell me about it."

Monk Haiyin's eyes flickered slightly:

"Are you a follower of the Way of Peace?"

Jiang Chaosheng glanced at him.

Does this old monk even know about the Way of Peace?

Previously, when he was in Changbai Mountain, Jiang Chaosheng could sense that there was a small supernatural world in this human realm.

Those people gradually formed a supernatural circle centered around forbidden objects.

This old monk must be someone from that extraordinary circle, right?

Jiang Chaosheng glanced at the old monk twice:

"no."

Upon hearing this, the old monk's eyes narrowed.

"So, you're an investigator?"

Jiang Chaosheng shook his head.

The old monk suddenly stood up, clasped his hands together, and bowed deeply, as if facing a surging tide.

"So, you are the benefactor from the antique shop."

Jiang Chaosheng paused for a moment, then laughed:

"You really do know a lot."

The old monk said:

"If you are not a colleague of the scoundrel, or an investigator who is arresting the scoundrel, then only you, benefactor, can come here and be treated as an honored guest by the scoundrel."

As soon as Jiang Chaosheng disembarked, the butler, citing Mr. Huang's distinguished status, led Jiang Chaosheng away first.

The old monk had suspected back then that Jiang Chaosheng was the manager of the Zero Antique Shop.

Jiang Chaosheng crossed his legs:

What's your connection with Zero Antique Shop?

The old monk sighed:

"My master once borrowed a forbidden item from the Zero Antique Shop."

Jiang Chaosheng frowned slightly:

"A Zen master's rosary?"

The old monk's old eyes held a hint of surprise:

"You still remember, benefactor!"

Jiang Chaosheng certainly remembered the Great Zen Master's prayer beads.

There were once twelve lost forbidden items, one of which was the rosary of the great Zen master.

Later, during the train incident at sea, he encountered a wheelchair-bound boy wearing a red robe.

The prayer beads he was wearing were those of a great Zen master.

Later, Yang Xiao chased after the boy in red and encountered the evil Qilin, where he was severely injured.

Fortunately, Yang Xiao was quick-witted and snatched the Great Zen Master's prayer beads back from the evil Qilin.

According to Li Qinglian's records, the person who traded the Zen master's prayer beads was a monk.

It turned out that the monk was Haiyin's master.

Jiang Chaosheng understood, and said with a half-smile:

"So it's an old acquaintance. Why don't you tell me... how you trained such a good disciple?"

Haiyin sighed:

"I am ashamed! I am ashamed! The Qilin was not like this before."

He sighed, his eyes filled with reminiscence and tenderness:

"The Qilin back then..."

He would ask the poor monk while burning firewood, "Does the firewood feel pain?"

He would cry and chant sutras all night if he accidentally swatted a mosquito while sleeping.

When they come down the mountain, they exchange the scriptures for money to buy boxed meals for beggars.

Such compassion at such a young age truly shows his great potential for Buddhist practice.

Jiang Chaosheng said quietly:

"So you've corrupted him, haven't you?"

Haiyin sighed again, closing his eyes, which were filled with heartache:

"Yes, this humble monk should not have allowed him to enter the world."

I had originally planned to let him go down the mountain and take a look around more.

After all, a Buddhist heart untouched by worldly affairs is ultimately false.

"and then?"

It was still early, and Jiang Chaosheng was willing to listen to the story.

A hint of heartache lingered on Haiyin's face:

"After the Qilin returned, it hid in its room and refused to come out no matter what."

Only at night would he run to the golden statue of Buddha and recite the Rebirth Mantra over and over again.

Later, the monk Qilin told me that he had encountered a woman who was contemplating suicide.

Qilin originally wanted to persuade her to come down from the rooftop.

But the woman had no attachment to the world and only wanted to die, yet she dared not jump.

So the woman begged the Qilin to help her.

The Qilin was too small; it actually pushed the woman off the building.

Qilin said that the woman's face showed relief and happiness at the moment she fell from the building.

This was his first time killing someone, and also the first time he began to doubt the meaning of paradise.

He didn't know whether he was an executioner or a Bodhisattva saving all beings.

Jiang Chaosheng frowned.

Is this murder or rescue?

Haiyin continued:

"This humble monk spoke to Qilin about the Buddhist principles for a long time, but Qilin's obsession was too deep."

So deep... that he developed a different kind of evil thought about 'bliss'.

Finally, he stole the Zen master's prayer beads and ran away from the temple.

The next time I heard news of him was from an investigator from the Bureau of Abnormalities.

The anomaly investigator said that the Qilin killed a woman and drove a man insane.

Jiang Chaosheng raised an eyebrow:

"Are you very familiar with the Bureau of Anomalies?"

Haiyin sat down on the sofa:

"My master has a rosary of great Zen masters, which has long been under the attention of the Bureau of Abnormal Affairs."

Before his death, my master used the extraordinary power of the Great Zen Master's prayer beads to help the Bureau of Abnormal Affairs.

Therefore, the Bureau of Abnormal Affairs treated Master and this humble monk very politely.

Before his passing, my master entrusted me with the task of waiting for a benefactor to retrieve the great Zen master's prayer beads.

It was stolen by a scoundrel; it was due to my poor safekeeping. Please forgive me, benefactor.

Jiang Chaosheng smiled indifferently.

If anyone should apologize, it should be the old monk who apologizes to Li Qinglian.

The old monk's master was not a great Zen master who traded prayer beads with him.

Haiyin is getting serious:

"This humble monk has come specifically to remind you of two things."

Jiang Chaosheng knew that the real business was about to begin:

"explain."

Haiyin Road:

"First, although the Qilin is mischievous, it is also deep in thought."

If he were to lure the gentleman here, he would have a very high chance of harming him.

Sir, you should prepare early.

Haiyin glanced at the increasingly dark sky and said:

"This is the Qilin's training ground; the ferocity within must be unimaginable."

Jiang Chaosheng said:

"Knowing this is a den of dragons and tigers, you still dared to come?"

Haiyin lowered his eyes:

"This humble monk still wishes to offer him some advice."

Jiang Chaosheng said:

"How do you plan to persuade them?"

He felt there was nothing to advise him on in this matter.

There is no right or wrong in this world, only different perspectives.

Haiyin pursed his lips:

"Defense of Law".

Jiang Chaosheng had heard of legal debate.

It refers to debates surrounding the doctrines of Buddhism.

In his view, it was just a war of words.

For ordinary people, losing a verbal battle is simply a loss.

For Buddhist and Taoist philosophers, losing a debate is tantamount to having their worldview destroyed.

In layman's terms, the heart of Tao is broken.

If the old monk were to fight the evil Qilin, he definitely wouldn't be able to win.

If the debate is successful, then it should really be a victory.

Idealists like Xie Qilin fall for this kind of thing.

Haiyin Road:

"If this humble monk fails in the debate, I beg the benefactor to eliminate him."

He put his hands together in prayer position:

"The existence of such people in the world is a misfortune for all people."

Jiang Chaosheng asked:

"And the second thing?"

Haiyin lowered his hand and said:

"Qilin has a younger brother named Xiaolong."

There was an older sister named Yu Jiao.

Jiang Chaosheng knew these two people.

Xie Xiaolong died in the incident involving the coachman at sea; he was killed by Xie Qilin himself.

Xie Yujiao is now a member of the Witch's Guild, and her identity as a witch has most likely been exposed.

Haiyin continued:

"Their father, named Xie Jinbao, was an old friend of this humble monk."

He once invited me to join the Way of Peace, but due to our differing philosophies, I declined.

What did Jiang Chaosheng think of?

"Did Xie Jinbao arrange for Xie Qilin to be placed in your temple in order to steal the Grand Master's prayer beads?"

Haiyin nodded and said with a wry smile:

"This humble monk believed that I could reform the evil Qilin and prevent it from being influenced by its father's crooked ways, but I never expected..."

Jiang Chaosheng considered it in his mind:

"The four members of the Xie family are all high-ranking members of the Taiping Dao. That's interesting."

Haiyin was silent for a moment, then said:

"The Xie family's surname was Jin for the past two generations, and going back two generations further, their surname was Aisin Gioro."

Jiang Chaosheng recalled a folk legend.

It is said that after the Aisin Gioro clan fell into decline, they changed their surname to Jin.

It seems the Xie family really is "pure and upright."

Author Peach Tree Bells is waiting for you with "Zero Antique Shop: Disfigured School Beauty Becomes Succubus to Pay Off Debts".