Yun Ye didn’t go in. He turned around and sat on the steps, staring intently at the old monk sweeping. Centenarians weren’t very common in this world. Compared to a living centenarian, that manual called the “Muscle-Tendon Transformation Classic” had no attraction for him whatsoever.

The old monk continued sweeping. The broom seemed to have some magic that could calm people down. Yun Ye watched as the broom swept away a dead grasshopper. The serrations on the grasshopper’s legs caught on the broom’s twigs, sticking to it and refusing to leave. He had thought the compassionate old monk would stop and take down the grasshopper’s corpse, perhaps even bury it in the earth to demonstrate Buddhism’s merciful heart. Who knew the old monk wouldn’t change his sweeping rhythm at all? He watched helplessly as the grasshopper was ground to pieces by the hard bluestone pavement. Rain finally began to drift down from the sky. Yun Ye stubbornly believed this was heaven weeping for that grasshopper, accusing the old monk of his heart of stone.

The courtyard wasn’t large. After sweeping for one incense stick’s time, it would eventually be finished. He finally put down his broom, used a ladle cut from a gourd to scoop water from a wooden bucket, and splashed it out. Crystal water droplets scattered everywhere, landing very evenly on the bluestone slabs. Oh, after thinking for a long time, Yun Ye finally understood he was sprinkling water. But looking up at the sky, fine rain threads kept falling. The bluestone slabs were already wet. To confirm he hadn’t gone mad, Yun Ye stretched out his hand to feel the cool rain threads landing on it.

After confirming once again that he hadn’t gone mad, Yun Ye said to the old monk: “Master, it’s raining from the sky. Why are you still sprinkling water?”

The old monk turned a deaf ear, still scooping water from the bucket and splashing it out. Miraculously, Yun Ye discovered he never splashed ground that had already been splashed. Although everywhere was wet and indistinguishable, he seemed to know which places hadn’t been splashed with water yet—very methodical. After deliberately standing on a spot that hadn’t been splashed and getting drenched with water by the old monk, Yun Ye sighed in admiration. This was truly an expert who regarded external things as nonexistent. Rainwater, plus himself as a living person, didn’t exist in his eyes. He should have a good chat with him later—perhaps there would be benefits.

“Why doesn’t Marquis Yun go into the Sutra Library to shelter from the rain? You’ve been splashed with water by the floor-sweeping monk. Why didn’t you dodge?” Tanyin’s figure emerged from the Sutra Library.

“Master Tanyin, this young man suddenly has great admiration for this floor-sweeping eminent monk and wants to seek his guidance. How about it?” The old monk ignored him, so he could only hope Tanyin’s position as supervising master could satisfy his desire.

“Seek guidance from the floor-sweeping monk?” Tanyin looked completely stunned.

“Yes, I see that every move and action of this Master contains hidden profundity. This young man has many doubts in his heart and hopes this Master can resolve them for me.” For the first time, Yun Ye put down his airs and asked Tanyin for help.

“Marquis Yun jests. The floor-sweeping monk suffered brain illness thirty years ago and has lived in a dazed stupor for over thirty years. Besides knowing how to sweep and sprinkle water, he knows nothing else. Even eating and dressing require help from other monks. The abbot said Buddha is merciful and let him be. So regardless of wind, rain, or snow, he’s allowed to sweep at the Sutra Library. Unexpectedly, he’s been sweeping for over thirty years. Look at the bluestone slabs—he’s swept away all their sharp edges. Could it be that Marquis Yun intends to seek his insights on sweeping?” Tanyin forcibly suppressed his amusement as he explained to Yun Ye.

After hearing Tanyin’s words, Yun Ye very much wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. He had actually regarded a senile dementia patient as a worldly expert—this was truly a huge loss of face. Seeing Yun Ye so ashamed he had nowhere to hide, Tanyin considerately returned to the Sutra Library, leaving Yun Ye in the rain to heave a long sigh of relief.

Too embarrassed to enter the Sutra Library, Yun Ye prepared to tour Shaolin Temple alone in the rain. Today’s rain threads drifted extremely gently. Walking with hands behind his back and climbing the steps, he couldn’t see anyone in the empty temple. Only waves of sutra chanting sounds penetrated the rain threads and entered Yun Ye’s ears.

Master Daoxin was hiding and refusing to meet him—for some unknown reason. When he couldn’t be seen at White Horse Temple in Luoyang, they said he was in seclusion. Two days after the seclusion period ended, he was told the Master had traveled far to Shaolin Temple. What trick was this maverick eminent monk playing?

Stepping over the threshold to the rear courtyard, Yun Ye prepared to go see the place where Bodhidharma faced the wall. In later generations, there was indeed a patch of dark black shadow on the cave wall. Now he could see the most pristine remains—truly a pleasure. As for Daoxin in the First Patriarch Temple, it didn’t matter if they didn’t meet. Yun Ye was confident he had no demands of Buddhism. Hoping Shaolin Temple would build temples on the grasslands and in Lingnan was also a win-win idea. Daoxin thought Yun Ye would have greater demands, which was why he avoided meeting him. He thought too highly of himself, thought too highly of that bit of wealth he controlled, didn’t he? Yun Ye understood—the crux of why Daoxin wouldn’t see him lay here. But the ones wholeheartedly trying to extract money from your Buddhism are the three brothers Li Chengqian and company—what does that have to do with me? I didn’t even ask about this matter.

Not everyone harbored ill intentions toward their wealth. At least Yun Ye didn’t care. Even if there were two million strings of cash, tightly hidden in a place unknown to others, not participating in circulation, it was no different from scrap copper and rotten iron.

Was it necessary to grab Daoxin, use tiger benches and chili water to force him to reveal where that wealth was? That was the stupidest method in the world. Li Tai’s hydraulic press was on the verge of success. The Great Tang only needed to press exquisite new coins day and night without stopping and raise currency values. No matter how much money you had, Daoxin, you could only melt it down to make copper vessels. Gold production was extremely limited. He’d asked Fang Xuanling—it was still far from reaching a level where it could serve as currency. What circulated in the market was mainly copper coins.

The coin designs for one-wen, two-wen, and five-wen denominations that Li Ke had designed had already been delivered to Li Er. The coin designs were exquisite, with Li Er’s portrait prominently displayed. They remedied the past defect of bronze coins being brittle and easily damaged. These new coins increased copper content, shining golden yellow—completely incomparable to those greenish cast coins. Once the trial succeeded, Li Er had no reason to disagree with reissuing this new currency throughout the realm. In the exchange process, the court only needed to collect old coins and issue new ones to reap twenty percent profit. The defect of excessive loss in the coin-casting process would also vanish without a trace.

This was only the first step. When silver coins pressed from silver appeared, and even gold coins pressed from gold appeared, the demand for copper coins would greatly decrease. The consequence of this decrease would be a sharp drop in copper prices. Daoxin, this is your last chance—don’t you know to seize it?

The temple had tall bronze Buddhas and countless copper vessels—this was probably the secret of how you hid money, wasn’t it? Bai Qi Si already knew the secret inside clay sculptures. How long did you want to keep hiding? Couldn’t even Li Gang’s letter make you see me immediately?

Walking in the rain, Yun Ye felt some things in the world were very laughable. In this financial war against Buddhism launched by the three brothers Li Chengqian, Li Tai, and Li Ke, he himself was just an idle person standing outside watching coldly. No teaching, no reminders—staying far away because he wanted to see whether the Li Family could really win every battle. The Yun Family couldn’t bear the burden of making enemies with everyone under heaven.

What did Daoxin’s struggles have to do with him? Better to appreciate the Shaoshi Mountains in this rain and mist and feel at ease.

Seeing the rainwater made him think again of that demented old monk. He was just acting according to his body’s habits. As for the brain—even in later generations, understanding of it was pitifully limited, let alone now. It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen dementia patients. The old monk’s appearance wasn’t like that at all. This world had many mysterious things that common sense couldn’t explain, such as his own arrival—that was the biggest secret of all.

Never mind all that. As long as it was harmless to himself, it was fine. Casually exposing others’ privacy was the most immoral behavior.

Shishi emerged from the dense mist, holding a yellow puppy in her arms, affectionately rubbing it against her face. The puppy was very fat, looking well-nourished, forming a strong contrast with the thin and small Shishi. The moisture in the dense fog must be substantial. Her hair was wet and plastered to her forehead, and water dripped from the corners of her clothes. Who knew how long she’d been out in the rain?

The rain grew heavier. Shishi ran into the small cave where Yun Ye was sheltering from the rain. Seeing Yun Ye inside, her face reddened and she tried to leave. This was an extremely shy little girl.

“Why are you running? The rain outside is so heavy. Aren’t you afraid of getting sick from the drenching? A little girl with so many hang-ups.” Yun Ye forcibly pulled Shishi into the cave. The little yellow dog even bit Yun Ye’s wrist with its milk teeth—as troublesome as its owner.

Once in the cave, Shishi wasn’t shy anymore. She put the little yellow dog on the ground, pulled out some dry firewood from the cave, found some dry grass, and skillfully struck two stones together. Sparks flashed intermittently. Was this a fire steel? Yun Ye watched with interest as Shishi made fire. Perhaps because there was too much moisture in the air, she struck for a long time without lighting the dry wood. Perhaps feeling embarrassed for taking so long, she lifted her head to glance at Yun Ye. Seeing him staring at her, she quickly lowered her head and continued striking the fire steel.

Yun Ye took out a match, struck it, and a bright flame instantly ignited. Under Shishi’s admiring gaze, he lit the dry grass. Shishi first placed dead branches on the dry grass, then arranged thicker dry firewood on top—a very correct and skilled way of lighting a campfire.

The fire started, but thick smoke also emerged. In just a moment, two people and a dog had no choice but to run outside to breathe. Shishi patted her forehead, handed the little yellow dog to Yun Ye, and climbed up the cliff face herself. Yun Ye shouted for her to come down—the cliff wall was too slippery on a rainy day.

Climbing to about two zhang high, Shishi pulled out a large clump of dry grass from the cliff, then started down. Just as she was about to reach the ground, a rock she was gripping suddenly broke. Yun Ye lunged forward trying to catch her, but unexpectedly caught only air. Shishi’s body twisted in midair, executed a backflip, and landed firmly on the ground.

“Why did you climb so high? What if you’d fallen?”

Shishi giggled without speaking, only pointing at the cliff wall. Yun Ye looked up and saw thick smoke emerging from where Shishi had just pulled out grass. So that hole was the smoke outlet.

Re-entering the cave, the thick smoke was already gone, leaving only a smoky, fire-scorched smell permeating the air. Shishi moved two rocks to serve as seats for the two of them. The mountains in the rain were refreshing and pleasant, but for Shishi wearing wet clothes, it was somewhat cold.

Yun Ye removed his slightly damp outer robe and handed it to Shishi. She waved her hands, refusing to take it.

“Hurry up and change out of your wet clothes. Put this on first. When it’s dry, you can change back.” Yun Ye was somewhat angry. What kind of ridiculous rules were these? The little girl had a flat-as-a-board figure—was she still afraid of people looking?