Chapter 624 — First Show of Might
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Xuanliao the Demon Ape was flung into the air, his face blank with bewilderment and helplessness.
Seeing it, Shen Mu could not help but wonder: "By the look of it, the big fellow still has not come to his senses. He does not know he has won, nor why he has won."
He turned to look at Grandpa Huo and thought: "Grandpa Huo is the honest man the village is known for. To choose the big fellow for this fight, and knock the Buddha-sons of the Twenty Heavens' Buddhas out of the saddle — that idea was truly brilliant beyond compare. Did Grandpa Huo mean it, or is the big fellow's grasp of the Dharma really so unfathomable? Why does it feel to me more like someone in the village put Grandpa Huo up to a shabby trick?"
Grandpa Huo had said that the monks' chanting of the Buddha's name so disturbed the Buddhas of the Twenty Heavens that they could find no peace; that idea came from the Silent Craftsman — only the Silent Craftsman would be so mean.
And sending Xuanliao the Demon Ape into the fight — that style, which can kill a man with sheer exasperation, looked far more like the work of the mischievous Blind Sage.
The Blind Sage's Sacred Heart-Pupil was skilled at finding the crack and slipping in. His spearplay had few variations — you could even say it had no technique at all — yet he always struck his opponent's weak point, because he could see through the substance and emptiness of every move.
To set Xuanliao the Demon Ape in the fight — Xuanliao himself spoke little, always dropping words out one at a time, and he had deeply grasped the essence of not-debating as debating.
If it truly came to a debate on doctrine, the monks of Datingming Temple would surely not out-argue the Buddha-sons of the Twenty Heavens; and so not-debating became the key to victory.
And Xuanliao the Demon Ape was exactly such a man.
"Still, the big fellow truly has roots of wisdom deep-planted; his attainments in the Buddha's Dharma are frightening."
Shen Mu looked at Xuanliao the Demon Ape, admiration rising in his heart. He thought: "He does not know he has won, and does not know why he has won. Though he fought, his heart was one clear void, knowing neither victory nor defeat — this is the Buddha-son Zhankong. No wonder the Buddhas of the Twenty Heavens have changed what they call him, naming him their young junior brother. Come to think of it, Blind Grandpa and Grandpa Silent Craftsman both laid moves for Grandpa Huo — where have they gone now?"
Granny Zhu and the Black Tiger God had returned from Luofu Heaven, and they too were nowhere to be seen, which left him deeply uneasy.
"Eat! Be strong!"
Shen Mu stayed for a vegetarian meal. Xuanliao the Demon Ape kept urging him to eat more, from time to time clenching his fist and flexing his thick arm to show Shen Mu how much he ate and how mighty his body was.
The vegetarian fare at Datingming Temple was mostly greens, bean curd, and steamed buns. Before Xuanliao the Demon Ape sat an enormous iron bowl, four or five times the size of an ordinary cauldron, filled with pine needles and pine cones, the food he loved best.
Shen Mu ate some vegetables and buns, just enough to fill himself.
Grandpa Huo put the kasaya back on, returned to the identity of Ma Rulai, and said to the monks: "The Buddhas have granted us three places, to go to the Buddha realm and study. Of those three places, Zhankong takes one, Chenghuai takes one, and as for the other, I hesitate."
Monk Jingming smiled: "What does the Tathagata hesitate over?"