Chapter 293 — Why Must We Have Met Before We Meet?
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 4
" The monks came down the mountain in a crowd. At the foot they saw a young master and four beauties standing beneath the gate, all of them extraordinary. Nanye stepped forward. "Amitabha. .
.
" "You are not the Tathagata? " Xu Shenghua's gaze was like lightning as it fell upon his face.
He shook his head. "The Tathagata need not chant the Buddha's name. Where is the Tathagata?
" "This.
. .
" Nanye said, "The World-Honored One has just stepped down.
At present the Great Tingming Temple has no Tathagata. .
. " Xu Shenghua turned and walked away. The four women hurried after him, leaving the crowd of monks behind.
Yu Liu, in green, said, "Young Master, why do you not go into the Great Tingming Temple? " Xu Shenghua shook his head. "The Old Tathagata stepped down without naming a new Tathagata. It is clear he believes no monk on that whole mountain is fit to be Tathagata, and so he simply left. If even the Tathagata is dissatisfied with the monks on that mountain, why should I trouble myself to see what they can do?
" Qingying laughed. "So the Young Master looks down on them. Young Master, we went to the Golden Palace of Loulan and saw the shamans there, and found no one worth meeting either. Their Great Venerable was nothing to speak of; he avoided meeting you, fearing the fight before it began. This time at the Great Tingming Temple there was again nothing worth our eyes. Should we go to the Daoist Sect now?
" Xu Shenghua nodded. "The Daoist Sect has its fourteen Dao swords.
My master says those Dao swords are quite extraordinary; they are certainly worth a look. " They came to Fangzhou, upstream on the Jin River, and found a boat, meaning to go down the river. But there in midstream was a youth measuring the depth of the water.
The youth used his vital energy as a ruler. With a wave of his hand, strands of energy dropped straight down into the river, and he called out the depth of the water at each place, while an official beside him wrote it all down. Xu Shenghua stopped the boat and looked at the youth, standing in silence.
The youth seemed to sense something and looked his way, and gave him a brilliant smile that showed eight white teeth, a smile that made one's heart warm in spite of itself.
Xu Shenghua felt his own mood carried along by it, and smiled back. Beside him, the four girls saw his smile and felt their hearts go drunk.
"The Young Master actually smiled!
" Xu Shenghua saluted the youth in the river.
"Brother, might you come aboard for a brief talk?
" "One moment, brother. Let me finish the hydrology.
" Xu Shenghua waited a while.
When the youth had finished his measurements of the river, he came aboard. The two greeted each other and sat down.
Reading address: