Chapter 792: Chapter 491: Farewell to the Old Heavenly Master
What’s the situation? In the vast and grand Buddhist temple, Zhao Douan snapped back to his senses with a jolt, casting a somewhat apprehensive glance at the imposing World Venerable Buddha statue, then turning to look behind him.
Haitang hurriedly crossed the threshold, her high ponytail bobbing with each step.
"What’s the matter?" Zhao Douan inquired.
Haitang said, "There was a bit of an incident over at the Scripture Pavilion. Our people went to seal and confiscate the temple’s scriptures, but the old monk in charge of the Scripture Pavilion stopped them."
Dare anyone stop them? Zhao Douan raised an eyebrow, "You couldn’t handle him?"
He was a bit curious, was there an expert hidden in the temple?
Haitang gave a wry smile, "The old monk’s cultivation level isn’t high, but he’s holding an oil lamp, blocking the staircase with a posture as if he’ll set the scriptures on fire if we force our way, and he said he wants you to go over, only then will he give up burning the building."
The scriptures within Divine Dragon Temple are immensely valuable, in some respects, even more crucial than the temple’s assets or magic artifacts.
If they were to be destroyed by fire, it would be a tremendous loss.
"See me?" Zhao Douan’s heart was filled with curiosity as he nodded: "In that case, let’s go have a look."
Haitang pursed her lips, watching him head out, curiously peeking inside the main hall: "Is this the place where Xuan Yin secluded himself?"
"It should be, there’s nothing major found inside, perhaps we can have it searched, but be careful, don’t stare at that statue for too long, it has a bit of a sinister vibe." Zhao Douan advised.
Haitang nodded cautiously, instructed people to guard the place, and promptly followed Zhao Douan’s steps.
...
When the two arrived at the courtyard of the Scripture Pavilion, a standoff was taking place.
The structure storing the scriptures was a pagoda, and at the moment, a group of Jinyi filled the first floor. Seeing Zhao Douan’s arrival, they quickly made way.
"I’m here to see who’s threatening to burn the building?" Zhao Douan said haughtily, stepping into the building, and as he raised his eyes, he saw, at the top of the wooden staircase leading to the second floor, a thin old monk sitting cross-legged.
One of his legs seemed crippled, with a crutch placed beside him. The old monk was fully white-haired, his body lean and frail, holding a burning candlestick in his hands.
Behind him was a series of wooden shelves filled with scriptures, and beside him, a box lay open, filled with scriptures.
It seemed that with just a release of his hand, the candlestick would fall into the box.
"Are you the head monk of the Scripture Pavilion? Ha, I’ve heard of monks sacrificing themselves in fire to save scriptures, but it’s the first time I’m seeing a monk threatening to burn scriptures themselves." Zhao Douan raised his head and couldn’t help but laugh:
"Why don’t you go ahead and burn it, after all I don’t worship the Buddha, feel free to burn away."
The surrounding Jinyi’s expressions changed slightly, understanding the enormous value of the scriptures, if truly burned, they as officials would be held accountable.
"Amitabha," the crippled old monk held the candlestick, his somewhat cloudy eyes fixed on him, and said:
"In the past, at the Debating Scripture congregation, Master Zhao cited scriptures and expounded on Buddhist law, though not of the Buddhist order, yet clearly a cultivator with profound Buddhist insights, you must cherish these scriptures."
No, you’re overthinking it, I’m just a plagiarist from the Otherworld... Zhao Douan internally quipped.
The next moment, the old monk puffed his cheeks and extinguished the candlestick with his wind-leaking teeth:
"How could this poor monk truly burn the building, just worried that the temple’s scriptures may get damaged in the hands of these soldiers, causing past Buddhist cultivators to shed tears in the afterlife? Only with Master Zhao’s personal retrieval can we be at ease."
Zhao Douan was stunned, so this guy wasn’t defying the law, but only willing to hand over the scriptures to him?
His gaze turned peculiar: "Do you think I’m different from them?"
The crippled old monk’s tone was earnest: "Master Zhao, with deep Buddhist insight, is a person with great wisdom. In the past when the Worldly Venerate manifested, Buddha’s light illuminated the Capital, which is proof."
Zhao Douan somewhat understood, it turned out this guy, just like that Red Sect Master in the Western Regions, was also one of his little fans.
Indeed, while the Scripture Pavilion holds an important position in the Divine Dragon Temple, it wields no real power. Judging by the old monk’s demeanor, he’s not involved in power struggles within the temple.
He’s somewhat like the noble role of the Hanlin Academy in the court.
Of course, Zhao Douan didn’t entirely believe it, but his Divine Sense probing revealed that this person indeed had low cultivation, merely a mortal, posing no threat.
As for serving as the ’head’, it’s likely because his understanding of Buddhist law is profound, his strengths are not in cultivation.
"Heh, there’s some truth in that," Zhao Douan shamelessly remarked with a smile, "In that case, let’s seal this building for the time being, no outsiders should intrude to prevent damage to the scriptures. However, I still need to inspect the situation inside, how about you introduce the distribution of scriptures in the building?"
The crippled old monk surprisingly cooperated, nodding: "It should be so."
Speaking, he put down the candlestick, propped himself up with the crutch, and turned to head upstairs.
"I’ll go have a look, you stay down here and keep watch." Zhao Douan’s eyes shifted as he said to Haitang, then promptly ascended the stairs.
The Scripture Pavilion was large, having six floors.
Each floor had shelves, displaying scriptures, but the higher you go, the fewer and weightier the scriptures displayed.
The crippled old monk walked slowly, exhibiting an unusual calmness in the face of the temple’s potential destruction.
As he walked, he meticulously introduced to Zhao Douan which scriptures were placed on each floor, how different scriptures should be stored, including how often they need ventilation, drying, moisture prevention...leaving no detail unattended.
Listening to this, Zhao Douan’s expression became increasingly bizarre, it was as if the old monk genuinely entrusted this place to him.
"The court has its professionals for book maintenance, given the preciousness of these scriptures, you needn’t worry, they won’t be damaged." Zhao Douan said lightly, staring at the old monk:
"Let’s get to the point, what is it that you wanted to tell me? Now that there’s no one else around, you can speak freely, though let me remind you, if you waste my time, I won’t mind letting you experience the eighteen tortures of the Imperial Prison."