The disaster of the world begins with Dongfang Bubai

Chapter 36: He never did good deeds in his life, but only loved to kill and set fire

The thirteenth year of Daye.

Tiantai Mountain, Tiantai Sect.

A white-robed monk in his thirties was playing a melodious flute tune with a pleasant expression. He exuded a pure, peaceful and steady temperament, which complemented the pure and ethereal flute sound.

When the song was over, a young monk came running over and shouted:
"Uncle Wuchang, I knew you would be here. The Grandmaster invites you to come over now."

The monk named Wuchang immediately took a step forward, walked slowly through the pagoda and bell tower, entered a meditation room, and then came to the inner room, where he saw an old monk with a burly and powerful figure and white beard and eyebrows.

"Grandmaster."

Wuchang put his palms together in front of his chest, with his ten fingers joined together as a gesture of respect.

The old monk, also known as Master of Wisdom, raised his hand and motioned him to sit on the cushion, saying:

"Wu Chang, how long have you been in Tiantai Mountain?"

"It will snow at Mount Tiantai every winter solstice. On this day, I will go to the back mountain to appreciate the plum blossoms. Now, if I count, I have been there about twenty-seven times." Wuchang replied with a lowered eyebrow.

"It really is just a blink of an eye. Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. I vaguely remember that you were only six or seven years old when you came to Tiantai Mountain."

After hearing this, Wu Chang suddenly raised his eyes and asked softly:

"My master once sat under you to listen to your lectures, and he also sat under Master Jiaxiang of the Three Treatises School, Master Dixin of the Huayan School, and Master Daoxin, the fourth patriarch of the Zen School. Later, as you four holy monks hoped, he was also crowned as a holy monk by the world in this world."

"Why did you suddenly disappear? You have kept it a secret from me. Now I am thirty-three years old, and you still won't tell me?"

The wise master sighed and said:
"It's not that I don't want to tell you, but your master's identity is different. However, now that you are over thirty years old and mature, it's time to tell you his identity one by one."

He said leisurely:
"Now the world is in opposition between the righteous and the evil. You live in a temple and don't know much about it. The righteous side is led by our Buddhist sects such as Cihang Jingzhai and Jingnian Zen. The evil side is led by the two sects and the Six Paths."

"The so-called two sects and six ways are some sects that have never recovered since Dong Zhongshu abolished all schools of thought and promoted Confucianism alone. They even have branches of Taoism. They all regard the moral etiquette of the world as dung and act beyond the reach of ordinary people."

"The two sects are the Yin Gui Sect and the Hua Jian Sect, and the six paths are the Xie Ji Sect, the Mie Qing Dao, the Bu Tian Pavilion, the Tian Lian Sect, the Mo Xiang Sect, and the Zhen Chuan Dao. Among them, the Zhen Chuan Dao is further divided into the Dao Zu Zhen Chuan and the Lao Jun Temple."

"And this Yin Gui Sect is the most powerful evil sect among the demon sects. Most of its members are women. Because they possess the essence of the Heavenly Demon Strategy, the Heavenly Demon Secret, they hold an important position in the demon sect."

"The Huajian Sect is a strategist among the demon sects. It has always only passed down one successor, and it can only be a man."

"We will appoint a sect guardian to look after the sect's scriptures, and she must be a woman. This is because Huajian Sect's martial arts are suitable for men, not women. If a woman is forced to practice, there will be disaster."

"Because of the single-line inheritance, they are an outlier among the demon sects. Their martial arts are more focused on integrating art into martial arts, so the descendants of each generation are all elegant and graceful gentlemen."

"The Evil Extreme Sect may have originated from the Demon Sect, the Destroying Love Sect and the Yin Gui Sect have the same origin but different origins, the Butian Pavilion originated from assassins, the Tianlian Sect originated from businessmen, the Laojun Temple and the Daozu Zhenchuan of the True Transmission Sect advocate the unorthodox practice of collecting and replenishing energy, and the Demon Xiang Sect has a mysterious origin, which seems to be outside the Great Wall."

"And several decades ago, a genius named Shi Zhixuan appeared in the Demon Sect. He was the heir of both the Huajian Sect and the Butian Pavilion."

"He once served as an official under the pseudonym Pei Ju, and managed the Western Regions for the Sui Dynasty. In a few years, he formed alliances and split the powerful grassland empire of the Turks into two, changing the weak situation in the Central Plains since the Wei and Jin Dynasties." "Not only that, he also disguised himself as a monk and went to Tiantai, Sanlun, Huayan and Zen to listen to lectures and learn skills, and later obtained the status of a great and holy monk in Chang'an."

Wu Chang listened calmly:
"The evil king Shi Zhixuan is actually my master. For a moment, I don't know whether I should be honored or consider myself unlucky."

"When I was only four years old, I became a street beggar. By chance, I met a great and holy monk and was accepted as his disciple. I didn't expect that within two years, the master would find me and bring me to Tiantai Mountain."

He said this with his eyes lowered:
"No wonder the temple has made me a scholar monk early on over the years, focusing my practice on meditation, Chan, chanting, and lecturing, emphasizing quiet cultivation. Besides praying for pilgrims and interpreting fortunes, they would send me to the Sutra Library to read Buddhist scriptures or let me entertain myself."

"Master, you have finally solved my confusion. I guess you think that the evil king must have something special about me that made him look at me differently."

"Besides, I was taught by him for two years at such a young age. It was inevitable that I would be infected with some evil nature, so he brought me to Tiantai Mountain."

"Yes, since the first time I saw you, I knew that you were intelligent. Although your martial arts talent was mediocre, your character was like unpolished jade and pure gold. If you studied literature, you could become a great scholar, a Taoist master, or a Buddhist monk, and you could promote both Taoism and Buddhism."

The wise master said in a solemn tone:

"I guess this is why the Evil King accepted you as his disciple. Most of the magic sects' martial arts do not value aptitude, and they are eager for quick success by squeezing out the body's potential to achieve quick martial arts. Your character is naturally compatible with this path."

"Hearing the tone of the master, I'm afraid I'm a born devil." Wuchang shook his head and laughed.

“Although it is not correct, it is not far off either. One can also be called a son of Tao and a son of Buddha.”

Wu Chang heard Master Zhihui say this and just smiled and said:

"Three years ago, on the winter solstice, I was in the plum forest in the back mountain. I suddenly had an epiphany. It was as if I had awakened from my past and present lives. I also felt that life was like a dream, short as an instant, just like an illusion. Life and death are just different stages of life. In the end, everything will return to the boundless darkness."

"Impermanence is impermanence, life is impermanent, life and death are also impermanent, and I have a verse." He chanted softly:

"I don't practice good deeds in my life, I only like killing people and setting fires."

"The golden shackles suddenly opened, and the jade lock was torn off."

"Hey! The tide is coming in the Qiantang River. Today I know who I am."

"This verse does have some Buddhist truth, but it is too heavy on killing." Master Zhihui showed a hint of doubt:
"Before you were six years old, you lived in Chang'an. After you were six years old, you lived in Tiantai Mountain. How could you have seen the tide signals on the Qiantang River?"

"Master, didn't you say that I have the qualities of a Buddhist disciple? Just consider it as my divine eyesight, so that I can see you across the Qiantang River thousands of miles away." Wu Chang's expression turned pale.
"Master, I am grateful to you for helping me solve my doubts today. But do you still think you are cruel?"

He seemed not to notice the surprised look on the Wisdom Master's face, and continued to talk to himself:
“A person’s life is but seventy years. Excluding ten years of ignorance and ten years of old age, there are only fifty years left. Of these fifty years, if we remove half of the darkness, there are only twenty-five years left.”

"Think about it carefully. Eating, drinking tea, bathing, changing clothes, running around, working and being sick all take up a lot of time. The time you really have to stay and realize your ambitions and achieve your ideals is very short."

Wu Chang stared at the Master of Wisdom with deep eyes and said indifferently:

"Master, how many twenty-seven years do you think a person has in his life?"

(End of this chapter)