Dugong

Chapter 2 Lotus Sutra
As they were talking, the group came to the kitchen.

Following Xiao Zhongzi's instructions, Li Ping'an took out the washed dishes and chopsticks from the cupboard, filled a bowl with white porridge, and strung six white flour buns with chopsticks.

A mouthful of porridge and a mouthful of steamed bun made Li Ping'an feel dizzy with sweetness.

Xiao Zhongzi only served a bowl of porridge: "When I first entered the palace, I was also as greedy as you, but after a while I started to get tired of it."

Li Ping'an wolfed down his food without replying, and doubts arose in his heart.

How could there be anyone in the world who dislikes white flour buns? He wished he could sleep in a pile of white flour.

While the four of them were eating, eunuchs came to the kitchen one after another. Several large baskets of white flour buns were empty in a flash, and more than ten buckets of white porridge were reduced to only thin soup.

Li Ping'an noticed that most of the eunuchs who came to eat came in groups of three or five, and very few came alone.

Occasionally, there were a few eunuchs standing alone, who were either overbearing and domineering, with everyone avoiding them, or they were timid and cowering.

After Xiao Zhongzi and the other two finished their meal, they went to the palace to take up their duties.

Li Ping'an finally drank another bowl of rice soup, which made his belly round and he forgot what Xiao Zhongzi said about eating and drinking in moderation.

It’s not that Xiao Zhongzi is wrong, it’s just that I have been hungry for twelve years and it’s impossible for me to control my appetite.

"Sun Baopi's family usually eats brown rice and wild vegetables, and only eats white flour during the New Year. If I had known that being a eunuch would allow me to eat so well, I should have entered the palace a few years ago. Maybe my sister wouldn't have starved to death..."

Li Ping'an rubbed his bloated and painful stomach, regretting that he had his eggs harvested too late.

Walking alone on the palace road, without Xiao Zhongzi and the other two to lead the way and protect him, Li Ping'an unconsciously hunched his back and stepped aside to make way for people when he met them.

After leaving the kitchen and heading east, after turning two palace walls, you will reach the place where new eunuchs are taught internal skills, which is called Neiwu Hall.

The door was open and a chaotic stream of gossip could be heard.

Li Ping'an went in without attracting anyone's attention. He found an inconspicuous corner to sit down and quietly looked at the eunuchs in the Neiwu Hall.

Most of them were teenagers in their teens, and there were also a few adult eunuchs with deep and heavy voices.

The most eye-catching one among them was a sturdy boy of about fourteen or fifteen years old, with a square face, slightly dark skin, broad shoulders and body, and a very strong build.

Seven or eight young eunuchs surrounded him like stars surrounding the moon, constantly showing their courtesy and flattery.

After listening to a few words, Li Pingan understood why the young man was so popular.

"Xiao Guizi, you have excellent martial arts roots. You were adopted as my godson by Eunuch Zhou, who teaches me internal skills. No wonder so many people are praising you..."

I couldn't help but feel envious. If I had a powerful godfather, I wouldn't have to walk so carefully and could still be so majestic.

Soon.

An old eunuch came in from outside the door. He looked to be at least sixty or seventy years old. His face was full of wrinkles and brown spots. His body was hunched and he walked with three steps, as if he would fall down at any time.

However, as soon as this old eunuch, who was half buried in the ground, stepped half a foot into the door, the hall suddenly fell silent.

The young eunuchs quickly returned to their seats, sat upright, and stared intently.

The old eunuch's sunken and cloudy eyes swept over, and everyone fell silent. His gaze paused on Li Ping'an, and his voice was as sharp as a needle.

"Open the first page of the Lotus Sutra and recite with me: The worldly world binds the heart, the white lotus saves the heart from suffering. A single thought brings nirvana, and all things are empty..."

The chanting was as light as a mosquito, but it could enter everyone's ears. The cold and feminine voice was like a snake, drilling in and out of people's ears.

Li Ping'an quickly opened the only book on the table. He didn't recognize any of the words on it and could only mechanically follow the old eunuch in reciting.

The book of martial arts techniques was not long, with a total of 1,800 words. I read it over and over again.

Li Pingan was dizzy from reading, and six of his seven orifices were open. The words on the book turned into little people, and they started fighting each other.

In the end, I could only recognize the four words on the cover, which read "Lotus Sutra".

The old eunuch closed the book and gave orders without caring whether the eunuchs had learned it or not.

"You should recite and contemplate carefully. Once you have learned, go to the quiet room next door to meditate and practice. Little Guizi, come with us."

Xiao Guizi followed her godfather with her back bent and her butt sticking out. Before leaving, she turned back to show off and gave a proud smile to her classmates.

Li Ping'an didn't care about envying others for having godfathers. He looked through the words in the "Lotus Sutra" in confusion, sweating profusely with anxiety.

Xiao Zhongzi said that those who are not good at practicing martial arts will be sent to pour night incense.

Li Ping'an is not afraid of falling down at night. Excrement and urine are good things in the village. As the saying goes, good things should be kept within the family. Whenever you see feces, you should pick them up and take them home to make fertilizer.

However, he was thinking about the Shangshenjian, where there was an endless supply of white flour buns. "I...what should I do with my family?"

Li Pingan looked around and watched the actions of the other eunuchs. Some acted as if they didn't care, some recited haltingly, and some asked each other for advice.

Although everyone was studying together, some people had arrived ten days or half a month earlier and had already learned to recite the exercises.

It was Li Ping'an's first day and he didn't have any familiar eunuchs, but in order to make white flour steamed buns, he bravely asked the eunuch Xiao Rongzi sitting next to him for advice.

"Eunuch Rong, can you teach us a few words?"

Xiao Rongzi didn't want to pay any attention to Li Ping'an. In his eyes, Li Ping'an was a country bumpkin with a dark and rough face. His fate was to empty nightshades and clean toilets in the future. He had no right to talk to him.

However, when he heard the word "father-in-law", his whole body relaxed and his expression turned from gloomy to bright.

"Which words?"

"This, this, and this."

Li Ping'an asked Xiao Rongzi for the first twenty words, as he was afraid he would not be able to remember more than that.

Xiao Rongzi chanted in a shrill voice: "The worldly affairs bind the heart, the white lotus saves from adversity, a single thought extinguishes all thought, all things are empty. Qi flows through the Ren meridian, blood rushes against the barrier, the jade pillow burns, the mysterious female feels cold!"

Li Pingan memorized it carefully, recited it several times, and said respectfully, "Thank you, Eunuch Rong."

Xiao Rongzi narrowed his eyes: "What do you call our family?"

Li Pingan looked puzzled: "Eunuch Rong, did we call you the wrong name?"

"No, we want to hear it again."

"Eunuch Rong——"

"Ah——" Xiao Rongzi looked intoxicated.

Hearing the call of "Grandpa", Xiao Rongzi's face turned into a chrysanthemum with a smile, and she answered all the questions and instructed Li Pingan to recite the "Lotus Sutra".

"Although this country bumpkin is not presentable, he is a man of taste. He may achieve something in the future. He is barely worth making friends with."

Although Xiao Rongzi was enjoying himself, he was quite clear-headed.

Only interact with useful people, and don't even bother to look at useless people.

Li Ping'an had no idea what the other person was thinking, and he studied hard without stopping. By noon, he had memorized more than 30 words. If he remembered more, he would have made mistakes and his memory would have been chaotic.

"At this rate, I'll be able to recite the entire exercise in just over a month, leaving me with another four or five months to practice meditation..."

At noon.

As Eunuch Zhou and Xiao Guizi still did not return, the eunuchs left Neiwu Hall one after another.

Li Ping'an went to the kitchen to eat again. He hadn't digested the six steamed buns he had eaten in the morning yet, so he wolfed down three more.

"It's so good to be a eunuch. I can eat three meals a day and I don't have to work in the fields!"

The place where we learned the rules in the afternoon was not in a palace room, but in a small open-air square.

The autumn heat is at its peak, and the bluestone tiles are scorching hot.

More than a hundred young eunuchs stood in neat rows, with their heads bowed, chests hunched, shoulders retracted, backs slightly arched, and hands folded in front of their abdomens.

An old eunuch was sitting in the front, with the same white hair as Eunuch Zhou. He was slumped in the armchair, with his eyes slightly closed as if he was taking a nap in the sun.

However, if any young eunuch moved slightly, the soybeans in the old eunuch's hand would bounce over and hit his body, leaving a purple blood mark.

Li Ping'an had only stood for a quarter of an hour when his legs began to tremble like sieves.

It's not that I'm afraid of hard work or fatigue. Following the rules is always easier than farming. But country boys are active by nature. They like to have fun in the mountains and rivers during the slack season. How can they stand such boredom and restrictions?

Snapped!
A soybean hit Li Ping'an's calf accurately, causing him to grimace in pain, but he managed to hold back and avoid falling to the ground.

Just now, Li Pingan saw with his own eyes that a young eunuch fell down after being beaten. Instead of showing mercy, the old eunuch continued to punish him by popping yellow beans until the young eunuch was covered with bruises.

"Jie Jie Jie..."

The old eunuch laughed like an owl.

"Don't blame us for being cruel and strict. If you don't practice your inner strength well, you'll end up losing your job at best. But if you don't learn the rules well... you'll lose your head!"

(End of this chapter)