Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

When Empress Xu left, Zhu Gaoxi stuffed a gourd full of desserts and milk tea into her bowl and expanded her somersault cloud.

He stood in the courtyard watching them go for a while before turning back to the main hall.

With the expedition imminent, he had to make arrangements. He ordered Xiao Bi Ti to summon all his subordinates to the main hall, whether they had just returned from out of town or remained in the mansion.

Before long, Yang Ji, Hu Ying, Jian Fang, Zheng Cong, Song Xuan, Qiu Sheng, Zhang Ni, Xue Bin, and Xu Jingchang arrived one after another, filling the main hall with a full row of people.

Zhu Gaoxi glanced at the group of people, briefly summarized the day's events, and said that everyone had contributed to the search for the gourds, and the gourds they brought back were of good quality, which pleased him greatly. He then rewarded each of his subordinates who had just returned.

After he finished admiring the gifts, he turned to Xu Jingchang and asked about the expedition. After all, his cousin knew the rules better than him when it came to the allocation of officials under the Prince's Palace.

Xu Jingchang pondered for a moment, then bowed and replied, "Your Highness, according to regulations, Commander Qiu Sheng must accompany the emperor. Zheng Cong, the Chief Steward, and Zhang Ni and Xue Bin, the Assistant Chief Stewards, are military officers and should naturally accompany the army. Chief Secretary Yang Ji should remain at the Prince's residence to oversee daily affairs. Judge Jian Fang and Sacrificial Official Song Xuan should also remain to assist Yang Ji in managing the affairs of the residence and to be responsible for liaison with the front lines. I will accompany Your Highness on this expedition so that I may have support in the army..."

After listening, Zhu Gaoxi nodded. He then took out several gourds from the jade gourd at his waist, placed them on the table, and began to assign tasks.

"I've already prepared the military rations. Compressed biscuits, self-heating rice, dried meat, and grain for the people along the way are all packed in these gourds." He pushed the gourds containing the food and fodder in front of Xu Jingchang and Hu Ying.

"You two are responsible for liaising with the grain supervisor. You're in charge of resupplying and distributing grain along the way. If you run out of grain, just ask me for more."

Hu Ying and Xu Jingchang both bowed and accepted the order.

He then picked up several other animal-shaped gourds and pushed them in front of Xue Bin, Qiu Sheng, Zheng Cong, and Zhang Ni: "These gourds contain ferocious beasts. The lions are for each of you who just returned, and the rhinoceroses are for the elite soldiers. The jade tokens inside are beast-taming artifacts; once bound with a drop of blood, you can control the beasts. The four of you will accompany the army and take these gourds to the military camp to coordinate with General Zhang Fu and distribute them according to the previously agreed-upon configuration."

The four men responded in unison, "Your Majesty, we obey!"

After making the arrangements, Zhu Gaoxi glanced at his subordinates and said, "Do you all understand your duties? Tomorrow we're going to war. Those who are supposed to stay behind will stay behind, and those who are supposed to accompany the army will accompany the army. If you do well, you'll be rewarded; if you don't, you all know the rules here."

Everyone responded in unison, and the atmosphere in the main hall became solemn.

Zhu Gaoxi waved his hand, telling them to go and make their preparations. Tomorrow was the day of departure, and he had finished giving instructions to everyone in the manor. He also needed to go back to his study to reorganize the things he needed to take tomorrow.

Just as he was about to return to his study to reorganize the things he needed to bring tomorrow, Little Snotty came running in to report that several groups of stewards from ministers' residences had arrived outside, all to deliver gourds, as well as several cages covered with black cloth, which were said to be the rare birds of prey that His Highness had requested before.

Zhu Gaoxi paused, then turned and went to the front yard. Sure enough, the yard was piled high with boxes of all sizes. When he opened them, he found they were all gourds, of varying quality, but there were plenty of them.

There were several falcons and a golden eagle in those cages, their wings flapping so hard the cages shook. He slapped the gourd and said, "Go!" A suction force from the gourd's mouth pulled all of them inside.

He then walked back to his study, thinking that if he refined all the newly arrived gourds together, he might be able to find some good stuff.

Zhu Gaoxi had just returned to his study and sat down, barely having warmed his backside, when a snotty-nosed voice rang out from outside the door again: "Your Highness, Master Yao Guangxiao requests an audience."

Zhu Gaoxi was taken aback when he heard the name of the visitor. Master Yao Guangxiao? He had almost forgotten about this old monk.

Last time in Chengyun Hall, the old monk was so frightened by Xiao Jin that he almost jumped up. Later, he was also pressured by the emperor to switch to Taoism. That scene is still vivid in my mind.

These days he's been busy refining gourds and hunting wild beasts, so busy he hasn't had a moment to spare and hasn't had time to inquire about what happened to the old monk.

Why did they come to his residence today? He asked Little Snot to invite them in and see what was going on.

Yao Guangxiao strode into the main hall, his black monk's robe making him look much more energetic. He was barefoot in monk's shoes, carrying a bundle on his back, and walking in a hurry.

Zhu Gaoxi stood up and took two steps to greet him, about to say, "Master, it's been a long time..."

Before he could speak, Yao Guangxiao had already bowed and said, "This humble Taoist priest greets Your Highness Prince Rui." He stopped mid-sentence and changed his words, "This humble Taoist priest greets Your Highness Prince Rui."

Zhu Gaoxi's heart skipped a beat.

This old monk—no, what did he just call himself again? "This humble Taoist priest"? Has he really converted to Taoism?

Yao Guangxiao: Wasn't this chosen by your father? Idol.

He remained expressionless, gesturing for Yao Guangxiao to sit down, and had tea served before asking, "What have you been busy with lately, Master? What brings you to my residence today?"

Yao Guangxiao quickly waved his hand, his tone respectful and self-aware: "Your Highness, please do not address me as Master anymore. I am unworthy. In principle, Your Highness is a direct disciple of the Dao Ancestor, and I should be the one paying respects to Your Highness as a disciple..."

Zhu Gaoxi glanced at Yao Guangxiao and tentatively asked, "I wouldn't dare, but when did you become a disciple of the Daoist sect, Master?"

Yao Guangxiao's tone carried a hint of candor: "Last time at Your Highness's residence, I read the book 'Buddha is the Way,' and only then did I understand the origins of Buddhism and Taoism. It turns out that Buddha is also a part of Tao; Buddha is the Way. For years, I have called myself a Buddhist disciple because I did not understand. Now that I understand, I have corrected myself in time."

He clasped his hands together and bowed slightly, the gesture still a standard Buddhist etiquette, but his words were already in the tone of a Taoist disciple: "This humble Taoist is now a member of the Taoist sect, and I hope Your Highness will guide me in the future."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaoxi's expression became complicated. "Damn it, this old monk's really gone mad from reading novels! One book, 'Buddha is the Way,' has shattered his Buddhist heart. What are those old abbots who have been practicing Buddhism for decades supposed to think?"

Actually, the main problem is that your superpowers were completely overwhelmed by others.

He lowered his head, took a sip of tea to suppress the absurdity in his heart, and when he raised his head, his face had regained its composure. He simply said, "Master, you truly have great insight."

"Your Highness is too kind. I am very grateful for Your Highness's guidance..." Yao Guangxiao lowered his head modestly, as if he had not heard the helplessness in his words at all.

Zhu Gaoxi felt even more helpless when he heard Yao Guangxiao's response. He wondered if the monk was pretending not to understand or if he really didn't understand the meaning behind the words.

Yao Guangxiao turned around, opened the bundle, took out the gourds, and presented them to Zhu Gaoxi with both hands. His tone was somewhat ingratiating: "Your Highness, I heard that you are looking for good gourds. A few days ago, I had the disciples of the temple turn Qingshou Temple upside down. These gourds are old objects that have been passed down in the temple for several generations. Please see if Your Highness can use them."

Zhu Gaoxi took the gourds and weighed them in his hands. They had a thick patina, the wood grain was ancient and rustic, and the gourds were carved with Buddha images and scriptures. The lines were smooth and solemn, and they were clearly artifacts that had been passed down in a temple for several generations.

Without wasting any words, he immediately activated the Calabash Heaven Divine Power, and golden light swept over the gourds, their attributes instantly appearing in his mind.

These are indeed good items. After being refined, these gourds all have attributes that lean towards Buddhist supernatural powers, so they can be called Brahma Sound Gourds.

The best quality one, when activated, has its scriptures floating in the air as golden characters and can also produce a phantom image of a Buddha.

With this gourd by his side, people would inexplicably believe what he said, greatly increasing their trust in him. Looking at the gourd's properties, Zhu Gaoxi's first thought was: Using this thing in a pyramid scheme would be absolutely invincible; earning millions a month would be a piece of cake…

The other gourds are believed to enhance Buddhist practice, greatly increasing one's understanding of Buddhist scriptures when worn. All gourds crafted by Hutian have storage space, which is considered standard.

He nodded, picked out one of the gourds from the collection that was believed to have a blessing effect on Buddhist practice, placed it on the table, and put the rest into the jade gourd at his waist.

The old monk may be an old monk, but he was more efficient than anyone else at collecting gourds. The quality of these gourds was far superior to the ordinary goods sent by the ministers before.

He looked up at Yao Guangxiao and pushed the gourd on the table forward: "Since you claim to be a disciple of Taoism, Master, as a direct disciple of the Taoist Ancestor, I cannot ignore you. This gourd can accelerate Buddhist practice and enhance understanding of Buddhist scriptures, so I will bestow it upon you."

Yao Guangxiao carefully took the gourd, pondered for a moment, then looked up, his tone tinged with confusion: "Your Highness, I now understand that Buddhism is the Tao. Since Buddhism is the Tao, why did Your Highness bestow upon me a gourd for practicing Taoism, but instead a gourd for practicing Buddhism?"

Zhu Gaoxi said calmly, "Master, didn't you say it yourself? Buddha is the Tao. Therefore, practicing Buddhism is practicing the Tao."

Yao Guangxiao paused slightly in the hand holding the gourd.

He remained silent for a few moments, as if deep in thought, then suddenly clasped his hands together, bowed slightly, and the confusion on his face vanished completely, replaced by a clear and enlightened expression: "Thank you for your correction, Your Highness. I was too attached to appearances."

Zhu Gaoxi looked at his expression, which seemed to have gained enlightenment, and sighed silently in his heart.

This old monk used to have sudden enlightenments all the time when he was practicing Zen. Now that he has switched to Taoism, he still has sudden enlightenments all the time. It's just that I don't know when a sudden enlightenment is a true enlightenment.

With that level of understanding, he could easily travel to the Western Paradise to worship Buddha and seek scriptures with just three people and a horse. If he had been born in the Tang Dynasty, he would have been at least the emperor's brother or a holy monk. But in the Ming Dynasty, he would only be a demonic monk.

Zhu Gaoxi picked up his teacup and raised it to Yao Guangxiao: "Master, you have had a fruitful trip. I am very satisfied with these gourds."