"You came here to fulfill our wishes and grant us release, didn't you?" Clara Ning asked, her tone half playfully challenging. She leaned in closer, her usual reserved demeanor softening to a sultry allure. With a teasing gesture, her slender finger tappedEthan Shu's chest. "So, tell me—can you grant my wish… or not?"
Ethan Shu lowered his gaze, gently murmuring, "Amitabha… there is an unbreachable divide between the living and the dead."
Clara Ning huffed in annoyance. "Divide, divide, divide! That's all you talk about! If you can't fulfill my wish, then why promise to send us to our next life with peace?"
Beside him, Serena Nie gave her sister a gentle look, reproaching her with a soft voice. "Sister, don't blame the monk. She only says these things because, deep down, her heart is soft as tofu."
While Serena Nie's words soothed the tension,Ethan Shu couldn't help but feel a faint tremor in his heart. He studied her face—beautiful, serene, yet touched with a hint of sadness that only made her more captivating.
The innkeeper of Qingyu Town had once asked him if he had ever seen true beauty.Ethan Shu's answer had been clear. Yes, he had seen it—once in Serena Nie, and again in Clara Ning
. But fortunately, his heart remained disciplined; no vows were broken, nor inner peace disturbed.
Ethan Shu reached for Serena Nie's delicate hand and answered softly, "Enlightenment is rootless, a mirror without a pedestal. If my heart were calm, a wrinkle in my robe would be of no concern. But if I'm moved in this moment… why bother with a crease in my robe?"
A faint blush rose to Serena Nie's cheeks, and Clara Ning leaned in closer, her curiosity piqued. "Well, I've never seen a monk holding a woman's hand," she teased.
Without a moment's hesitation,Ethan Shu took her by the waist with his other hand and, with a smile, replied, "There's much you haven't seen. I not only hold hands… I also drink wine and eat meat."
Playfully, Clara Ning resisted but eventually let herself be held. "It seems you're not only a 'wine-and-meat monk,' but also a flirt!"
Releasing both of them,Ethan Shu clasped his hands together solemnly. "Enough joking. Now, let's address your wishes. To hold on to one's wishes is to hold onto attachments. Only by letting go of these can one progress on the path to enlightenment."
With an earnest expression, he explained, "Human and ghostly realms are distinct, a separation imposed by the heavens, like water and fire. However… I am a monk, and if you were to become female bodhisattvas, then no barrier could remain between us."
Clara Ning laughed, half-mocking and half in wonder. "If you were to become the Buddha himself, I suppose even the other Buddhas would have to bow to your fearlessness."
Ethan Shu raised an eyebrow and, without missing a beat, replied, "If I became the Buddha himself, who among them would dare to stop me?"
Stunned, Clara Ning stared at him in disbelief, momentarily speechless. "You… you are, without a doubt, the boldest monk alive!"
With a calm, strong voice,Ethan Shu declared, "Wine and meat may pass through me, but the Buddha remains seated in my heart. If others tried to emulate me, they would only fall into heresy."
In Ethan Shu, qualities that should have been contradictory—humility, boundless confidence, serenity, and defiance—came together seamlessly. His spirit of detachment gave him an authentic Buddhist heart, unfettered by rigid vows or dogma.
In his heart, he thought of the first Buddha, the original enlightened one who needed no teachings or vows to guide him. "I am the Buddha," he thought, "flowers bloom, and with a smile, enlightenment unfolds."
Serena Nie's face brightened. "Then we'll strive to become bodhisattvas and stay by your side, little monk!"
"What are your wishes, then? What attachments must you each release?"Ethan Shu asked them both.
Clara Ning smiled sweetly, clinging to his arm. "I told you already. My wish is to marry a good man. And now I realize I've found one—a man bold enough to aim for becoming Buddha himself."
Serena Nie looked thoughtful before replying, "My sister and I are the last of a family once loyal to the state, forced into exile by treacherous officials. If it's possible, I wish to return to my homeland, to pay respects at my parents' graves."
Clara Ning's face fell slightly as she added, "Yes, our fathers were comrades in the court, hoping to serve the people, only to be betrayed. And the emperor… he ordered the execution of our families, dooming nine generations!"
Hearing of their tragic past,Ethan Shu understood the deep sorrow that always seemed to haunt Serena Nie. He murmured, "With such injustice, it's no wonder the righteous suffer while evil flourishes."
Raising an oiled paper umbrella, he invited them, "Come, step under the umbrella, and let us make our way."
The two women nodded, stepping under its shelter. With a gentle shake.
Ethan Shu closed the oiled paper umbrella, and the two women transformed into two beams of light—one red, one white—and vanished into the umbrella.
With a flick of his hand, Serena Nie and Clara Ning disappeared without a trace.
"We're leaving now, Master," said Ethan Shu.
He returned to Huiming Temple, where he offered three incense sticks in front of the golden statue of the elderly monk, Huiming, and bowed respectfully.
Descending the mountain, he headed toward Qingyu Town, where he gave a greeting to Mr. Li, hoping that he would look after Huiming Temple while he was away.
After making his request, Ethan Shu summoned his third-tier Baohua Lotus Platform, rising slowly into the air. Then, he transformed into a golden escape light, vanishing into the horizon.
Mr. Li watched Ethan Shu leave and murmured to himself, "The holy monk once said I am a good person of nine lifetimes."
"If I continue to do good in this life, with a full measure of merit, in the next life, I will be reborn as a high monk who achieves the Way."
"If I really become a monk in the next life, I hope to be like Hsuan Kong, an unfettered monk who follows his true heart."
"Wine and meat pass through the intestines, but the Buddha sits in my heart!"
...
Ethan Shu probably never expected that in the future, there would be another monk as carefree and unrestrained as him, whose story would be passed down through the ages.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]