Debts owed to others must always be repaid. Moreover, escaping debts owed to Li Xiaogong and Wang Gui was impossible, because right at the palace gates, Yun Ye witnessed a kidnapping incident. Old Zhuang and the Liu Jinbao brothers were bound up like silkworms, squirming on the ground, while several burly men with broad shoulders and thick waists gathered around them with sinister chuckles.
The Li family’s carriage was quite nice—not only spacious but also adorned with gold and jade. The cushions below were made of some unknown material that was extremely soft. Taking a silver wine flask from the rack, without bothering with a cup, Yun Ye drank straight from the spout. The wine was somewhat sour and astringent, but had a pleasant aftertaste—it was authentic Persian brew.
Good wine. Yun Ye desperately needed the stimulation of alcohol to soothe his nerves right now. Recalling the screen that Zhangsun had inadvertently glanced at, there was no doubt that Li Er was behind it, observing him. He used to worry about such things, but not anymore. To hell with it—he simply couldn’t afford to play this game. How many times could one person engage in activities that could cost them their head at any moment?
Being a marquis was good enough. He wouldn’t fantasize about higher noble ranks, and Li Er wouldn’t grant him higher ranks anyway. How many people died without ever achieving the rank of marquis? Thinking of how the Flying General Li Guang was trampled into pulp by horses in his final battle against the Xiongnu without ever receiving a noble title helped settle his mind. No point dwelling on useless matters.
The carriage stopped at the entrance to the Prince of Hejiang’s mansion, where a steward had long been waiting at the gate to receive them.
Yun Ye jumped down from the carriage, and Zhuang Santing and Liu Jinbao also dismounted from their horses. Old Zhuang was seething with anger, repeatedly casting intentional or unintentional glances at the mansion’s chief guard.
They were all from military backgrounds. Li Huairen had already told him about this chief guard of his household—an expert who had crawled out from piles of corpses three times. He had no special abilities; many guards who were more skilled and clever than him on the battlefield had died, but he alone survived.
Li Huairen said his father had remarked that anyone who participated in battle and managed to survive was a treasure, especially his household’s chief guard. Last time in Jiangnan, if not for his alertness, Li Xiaogong wouldn’t have merely been struck by three arrows—he would have been turned into a pincushion long ago.
Baoxian Hall—this was where Li Xiaogong hosted grand banquets for guests. Old Li was a generous man who seemed to have completely forgotten about inviting Yun Ye to eat locusts. Taking Yun Ye’s hand, he introduced him one by one to all the distinguished guests in the hall.
Having firmly decided not to involve himself in political affairs, Yun Ye merely greeted the various bigwigs with junior courtesy. Being overly enthusiastic might cause misunderstandings, making people think that Marquis Yun intended to make big moves in the court from now on. As Li Xiaogong introduced everyone, he was too lazy to even remember their names. He called the older ones “Uncle” and the younger ones “Uncle” as well—the form of address was directly proportional to the length of their beards.
Having mastered this supreme social secret, Yun Ye was like a fish in water at social occasions. “Ah, Uncle Liu, your robust health is truly cause for celebration! Li Gang—Minister Li has ordered this junior to earnestly invite you to come lecture. If you don’t go, this junior’s legs won’t be spared!”
“Uncle Hu, you are a man of great talent. This nephew pays his respects to you. As you know, my family circumstances are humble. If there are any opportunities to supplement the household income, you absolutely mustn’t forget to include your nephew!” This gentleman was the Director of the Treasury Bureau. Though his noble rank wasn’t high, he controlled all trade under heaven. In other words, no matter whose family wanted to conduct business secretly, this fellow couldn’t be avoided. He held the reputations and lifelines of all the great families in his hands—it was both the choicest position under heaven and the most dangerous profession under heaven. Reportedly, his predecessor had only died two months ago.
“Monk Uncle? Great Monk?”
Why was there a monk at the Li family banquet? Although due to the current great disaster, the banquet was somewhat simplified, there was still no shortage of wine and meat. Yet not only was this monk sitting at the table gorging himself, he was also completely ignoring those around him. How arrogant! However, the people around him didn’t seem to mind, which made it clear that this bald donkey was not someone to be trifled with. Better to keep one’s distance.
“Master Jueyuan, the food and wine today are somewhat lacking. Please do not take offense, Master.” Li Xiaogong was apologizing to this monk? This surprised Yun Ye. Not knowing this fellow’s background, how could he deal with him? He quickly sought out someone in the know.
Pulling aside Li Huairen’s elder brother Li Huaixian, after asking for quite a while, he finally learned that this was the famous monk Jueyuan from among the staff-wielding monks of Shaolin Temple. Seeing him made Yun Ye think of that terrifying monk Tanyin on Maiji Mountain.
“Did the Eighteen Staff Monks really save His Majesty?”
“Where did you hear such nonsense? If His Majesty had fallen so low as to need them for rescue, we might as well all be dead. Besides, there were only thirteen staff monks. If he added five more, just try it and see what happens. It’s like your household—if your armed retainers exceeded fifty, what kind of trouble would you be in?”
“Then aren’t they just glorified security guards? Brother Huaixian, you’re slapping this little brother in the face here. If Shaolin Temple’s security guards can sit at the table, why must my household guards crouch in the courtyard to eat?”
Li Huaixian had the urge to strangle Yun Ye. Whose household guards didn’t crouch in the courtyard to eat? And you’re saying this so loudly—are you afraid that Jueyuan over there won’t hear?
Sure enough, Monk Jueyuan put down his chopsticks and stood up. Coming before Yun Ye, he pressed his palms together: “This poor monk Jueyuan pays his respects to Marquis Yun.”
“Master is too polite. This young marquis has heard that Shaolin Temple’s monastic rules are extremely strict. Why then does the Master freely consume wine and meat?” Yun Ye confronted him right from the start. He felt a bit like the villains in television shows and novels. He just hoped he wouldn’t get slapped in the face by this monk in a moment. Just thinking about the fate of those villains made his heart pound a bit.
He had never liked monks, whether now or in his previous life.
“This poor monk is a martial monk. According to temple regulations, we may consume wine and meat without restriction. Those who practice martial arts need to strengthen their muscles and bones—eating only vegetarian food cannot sustain us.” Jueyuan was neither as handsome as Jet Li nor as interesting. His dull manner was annoying.
“I’m not so sure about that. When this marquis was touring Maiji Mountain, I encountered Master Tanyin and had a long conversation with him. The Master himself has been vegetarian for many years, yet his physical abilities remain vigorous. Has Master Jueyuan ever sparred with Master Tanyin?”
Jueyuan raised his head to look at Yun Ye. His eyes, full of vital energy, were like two cold pools, inspiring fear.
Unfortunately, he was looking at the wrong person. Yun Ye was like a monkey that lived all day caged with tigers, lions, and venomous snakes—he had long since developed immunity to this kind of psychological pressure. In Yun Ye’s view, his pressure index couldn’t even match Old Cheng or Old Niu, let alone others. Unless he had grown a pair of Zhangsun’s water-clear pupils, he couldn’t make Yun Ye lower his head.
Yun Ye’s nonchalance somewhat surprised Jueyuan. Among the profligate youth of Chang’an who came to challenge him, all were intimidated by him. Those pampered sons of wealthy families had fragile wills—even if their martial skills exceeded his, once their spirits were seized, they could only meekly admit defeat. This had created his reputation as a great master. Otherwise, at today’s gathering—where princes clustered, dukes gathered in groups, marquises walked everywhere, and earls and viscounts were as common as dogs—there would be no place for him at this high-level banquet.
Feeling insulted, but knowing that Yun Ye was an old acquaintance of his martial uncle Tanyin, he could only press his palms together before his chest and say: “This poor monk has never sparred with Martial Uncle Tanyin. I imagine this young monk’s skills are far inferior to Martial Uncle Tanyin’s. Uncle is the head of the Disciplinary Court, holds an honored position, and possesses profound cultivation. He would not engage in martial combat with others.”
He had none of the pride or forthrightness of a martial artist. Yun Ye felt somewhat contemptuous of him. He had been prepared to call out Old Zhuang for a one-on-one challenge and incidentally send some money to Xuanzang, but who knew the monk would be so forbearing? If he could endure so much, why not go practice to be a Ninja Turtle?
Earlier, Old Li had quietly told Yun Ye that Master Xuanzang was in the study conversing with Xiao Yu. This monk planned to go to Tianzhu to seek the true scriptures, and his determination was extremely firm. Yun Ye very much hoped that a treasure like the “Great Tang Records on the Western Regions” would come into being, so he wanted to support him financially.
Currently, the scripture-seeking matter had come into conflict with the Daoist faction. The Daoists had backing—after all, they worshipped the Li family’s ancestors—so naturally they had to suppress Buddhism. Having heard that Buddhism had produced such a formidable character, it was hardly surprising that Xuanzang’s journey encountered some minor obstacles.
Openly giving money to Xuanzang to support his scripture-seeking would offend a whole group of formidable figures from the Daoist sect, especially after becoming friends with Li Chunfeng. It was inconvenient to have close dealings with Buddhism. If not for the fact that Li Chunfeng’s master Yuan Tiangang had the bad habit of constantly reading his bones, he would have long ago invited Old Yuan to lecture at the academy—as long as he didn’t teach that heaven was round and earth was square, it would be fine. He could corrupt Li Er all he wanted, just don’t instill strange theories in my students. My students will explore in the future whether heaven is round and whether earth is square on their own.
Jueyuan was disappointing. Even Buddha wanted Xuanzang to go to Tianzhu empty-handed. Even a massive cheat device like himself couldn’t help—Buddha’s powers were truly boundless, forcibly twisting history that was about to change back onto its original track.
Just as he was secretly lamenting this, someone patted him on the shoulder. It turned out to be Old Master Xiao Yu.
“Boy, what rotten ideas are you coming up with for no reason? It’s made this old man lose his appetite these past days. Even when chewing delicacies, everything has a flavor of locusts.” The old gentleman’s seniority was supremely high. He generally showed no favor to ordinary juniors, and scolding them was routine—even Zhangsun Wuji couldn’t escape his censure. Best to be respectful.
“Boy, this old man asks you: is it true that you’ve been to the Heavenly Pool of the Queen Mother of the West?” The old gentleman’s face was completely serious.
“Of course it’s true. Master Xuanzang is going to Tianzhu, and part of the route passes quite close to the Heavenly Pool. If he’s not in too much of a hurry, he can go take a look. But let me make this clear first—there are no flowers that bloom in all four seasons, only ice, snow, and rocks.” Yun Ye hurried to tell him the facts to avoid being called a fraud later.
“Amitabha. Marquis Yun is a person of great fortune, even having the fate to behold the dwelling place of the Queen Mother of the West. This is truly cause for celebration.”
Xuanzang wasn’t as handsome as the Xuanzang on television either. He was short, thin, and dark-skinned. He hadn’t even gone to Tianzhu yet but already had something of a Tianzhu person’s appearance. No wonder he would be like a fish in water there, living quite comfortably, even having the good fortune to ride elephants while touring ancient cities, which made Yun Ye envious.
“Does Marquis Yun know how this poor monk might reach Tianzhu?”
“Of course I know. But what are you going to that country full of cows for? I heard you want to seek true scriptures. Why not just put in the effort to write one yourself? Look—people like Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Confucius are all writing. After they finish writing, they become deities. I heard that Muhammad in the desert is also writing and is about to become a deity. With the effort of traveling for years on the road with nine brushes with death, it’s not worthwhile. Better to write one yourself—that would be more cost-effective.”
Upon hearing these words, the old gentleman immediately fainted. Xuanzang’s hands trembled like leaves in the wind. Jueyuan’s eyes turned red, but he was still enduring.
“You don’t believe in gods and Buddhas?”
“I only believe in my own ancestors. It was they who built our world brick by brick, not some deities. If I need to be grateful for anything, it’s to our ancestors. I dare not neglect offerings during the seasonal festivals—this is the respect they deserve.”