A master of comedy!

"Compassionate Master, I, Zhou, have arrived as promised. May I ask what kind of opera you would like to hear?"

Zhou Sheng was decisive and straightforward, expressing his thoughts directly, with the air of someone who would grab his things and leave as soon as he finished performing.

He is not some savior. This Medicine Buddha Temple is clearly strange. Even the great flood decades ago is shrouded in mystery.

Before he set off, his master warned him that as a shaman, he should not try to manage everything, take the money after the performance, or do things for others; he should only do what he was supposed to do.

The abbot glanced at Zhou Sheng and his group, and seemed to realize something; his gaze flickered slightly.

"May I ask, benefactor, where is Huinian, who delivered the theatrical invitation...?"

Zhou Sheng remained silent for a moment, then sighed, "After traversing mountains and rivers, enduring hunger and thirst, I finally collapsed outside Xunyang City. However, I still received the invitation to the play, and I did not disappoint your trust."

A person who truly has faith and puts it into practice is worthy of respect.

Upon hearing this, the abbot's face showed sorrow, and even the other monks and the statues looked sad.

Zhou Sheng noticed that at this moment, the demonic energy on their bodies seemed to have faded a bit.

“Amitabha, please wait a moment while we chant sutras to help Huinian be saved.”

After the abbot finished speaking, he sat down and began chanting the sutra. The other monks, including the statues, also chanted the sutra. It was not the Ksitigarbha Sutra, but the "Medicine Buddha Sutra".

After obtaining the Ksitigarbha Mask and consuming the Eight Merits Water, Zhou Sheng developed some interest in Buddhism and read some Buddhist scriptures. Before coming here, he specifically read the scriptures of the Medicine Buddha.

This sutra records the twelve great vows made by the Medicine Buddha when he was practicing the Bodhisattva path. Reciting it can enable sentient beings to possess the Buddha's appearance, eliminate diseases and disabilities, ensure abundant food and clothing, help maintain pure precepts, relieve the suffering of imprisonment and punishment, and guide sentient beings to leave suffering and attain happiness.

In an instant, solemn and devout chanting gathered together, creating an indescribable sense of sacredness, and rays of Buddha's light shone from them.

At this moment, the gloom and resentment of Yaofo Temple have vanished, replaced by an indescribable peace and tranquility.

After the chanting was finished, the abbot stood up, looked at the monks, and sighed, “Huinian is someone we have watched grow up. Each of us is his teacher. He was willing to risk his life to make this trip. Everyone should know why.”

Upon hearing this, the monks all lowered their eyes, their sadness tinged with a hint of struggle.

"In Huinian's heart, Yaofo Temple will always be a pure Buddhist sanctuary, not a den of demons. His masters are a group of true monks, devotees of Medicine Buddha, not demons from Avici Hell..."

The abbot's voice was like a booming bell, reaching the ears of all the monks like a sudden blow to the head, causing many of the fierce-looking monks to quiet down.

Finally, he bowed deeply to Zhou Sheng.

"This time, I would like to ask you to sing the opera 'Medicine Buddha' to completely dispel our demonic influence, awaken our Buddha-heart, and enable us to go to the Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli in the East for salvation."

Upon hearing this play, Zhou Sheng couldn't help but frown.

The Eastern Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli is the sacred site of the Medicine Buddha. Leaving aside whether my play can open the legendary sacred site of the Medicine Buddha, the play itself has problems.

The biggest problem is... he can't sing.

Yes, this is the first time since Zhou Sheng debuted that he has encountered a type of opera he cannot sing.

Not only could he not sing, he had never even heard of it. He also knew quite a few plays related to Buddhism, such as "Mulian Play", "The Tale of the Sea of ​​Sin", "Sizhou City", "The Story of Buddha", and "Bodhidharma Facing the Wall".

Even less common ritual plays like "Yoga Flaming Mouth" were ones he had heard of, though he couldn't sing them.

But this play, "The Medicine Buddha," was something I had never heard of before.

"To be honest, I have never heard of this play before, nor can I sing it. Please, Abbot, choose another play."

Zhou Sheng spoke frankly and openly, without any attempt to conceal anything.

The abbot shook his head, then took out a yellowed ancient book from his robes and said, "This is the script for 'The Medicine Buddha.' Please take a look."

Zhou Sheng's eyes lit up slightly; he was quite interested in this almost lost play script.

After flipping through a few pages, I found that it was indeed a play script, telling the story of how Bhaisajyaguru Buddha tasted all the herbs, plants, and minerals of the Saha world before attaining Buddhahood, risking severe poisoning himself in order to cure the people and monks.

It does resemble the story of Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs. "The play is good, but I just received the script and need to study it with the troupe for a few days to prepare before I can go on stage."

Having the script doesn't mean everything is fine. It's the first time performing this play, and there's a lot of preparation work to be done. He only did so because he had confidence in himself and the Zhou family troupe; otherwise, a few days really wouldn't have been enough.

Some opera troupes can spend months rehearsing a new play.

"Of course, and we also hope that you can come here to perform at midnight, when the yin energy is strong, so that the monks in our temple can listen to the opera in peace."

Zhou Sheng nodded, indicating his understanding.

If a performance lasts for most of the day, and then stops after one show, many monks with lower levels of spiritual cultivation would probably die from the heat.

"So you're agreeing?"

A glimmer of hope appeared in the abbot's eyes.

"I agree, but I have two conditions."

"Please speak."

"First, no matter how well the play goes, for example, if it fails to get you to the Eastern Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli, I will still get my reward."

"I can only guarantee that the play will not go wrong; I cannot guarantee anything else."

Zhou Sheng laid out the unpleasant truths beforehand, lest the play be over and he have to resort to violence.

“Amitabha, you only need to finish the play. If the Eastern Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli does not accept us, it can only mean that our devotion to Buddha is not firm enough.”

"Alright, the second condition is that I will not interfere in the affairs of Yaofo Temple, but I also do not want to go and perform in a daze. Please tell me the whole truth about what happened back then, Abbot."

Not wanting to meddle in other people's business doesn't mean you have to go on stage completely clueless.

That would actually make things more likely to go wrong.

Knowing everything but not intervening is one thing, and knowing nothing and being kept in the dark is another.

The abbot hesitated for a moment, and after discussing it with the monks for a while, he made a decision.

"Amitabha, this is good too."

"How much do you already know, benefactor?"

"From the old man surnamed Guo in White Snake Village, I learned that you once intervened to change the course of the flood and saved the village, but it also caused the Medicine Buddha Temple to be submerged."

At this point, Zhou Sheng's eyes flashed and suddenly became sharp.

"There were flaws in his words. When I saw you, I felt even more that something was wrong. With the abbot and all the eminent monks' cultivation, how could they have been completely wiped out after trying to stop a flash flood?"

"I'm afraid... it might not be as simple as a flash flood."

The abbot's cultivation level was so high that even Zhou Sheng was somewhat wary of him. The sixteen old monks who came out of the Arhat Wall together had probably all broken through the three barriers in their lifetimes.

The Buddhist temple is small, but it is full of hidden talents.

Such a Buddhist temple could never have been destroyed by a flash flood.

What the old man surnamed Guo saw was only what ordinary people could see; what Zhou Sheng wanted to know was what ordinary people could not see.

Sure enough, the abbot put his palms together and chanted a Buddhist prayer.

“Amitabha Buddha, benefactor, you have discerning eyes. Back then, when we risked our lives to intervene, it wasn't just to stop the flash flood, but also to…”

"Slay the dragon." (End of Chapter)