Chapter 349 - The Talented Buddha
Li Nianfan wanted to stay at the Xia Kingdom.
For him, the Xia Kingdom was like a big city of humans. Their lives were convenient and happening. Moreover, the people were all friendly and nice. Zhou Yunwu, Meng Junliang, and even the chancellors were all humble. They would stop and salute him. It was very suitable for him to stay.
He did not stay at the Carp Palace because first of all, that was the bottom of the ocean. He was not used to it. Second of all, it felt awkward and uncomfortable. Thirdly, no one could accompany him.
Humans were creatures of the community after all.
Li Nianfan could not deny that he was a simple man. He was far from that isolated lifestyle. He very much enjoyed crowded places.
Zhou Yunwu realized that the expert was interested in staying. He gave him a huge house in the city center without hesitation. He did not send palace maids and servants over because he knew that would be a bad idea. However, he did send a lot of silver to him. Li Nianfan was just going to stay for a few days but it was the honor of the Xia Kingdom.
Li Nianfan accepted the house. It was nice.
He stayed for ten days.
Li Nianfan stayed in the mountains for five years. That was his first stay in a successful city. He instantly felt different.
The Xia Kingdom was successful. There were cultivators that slew demons and there were Buddhists who helped lost souls by preaching. The guards also warded off thieves. The city management was much safer than the previous years.
It reminded Li Nianfan of the Tang Dynasty in ‘Journey to the West’. The humans had been living lavishly by then. However…since the realm was a legendary fantasy realm, how did it end up like that?
Li Nianfan had to think about it.
Buddhism was gone, the Heavenly Palace was gone. The Underworld recently reappeared. It seemed like most people, including the cultivators, had no knowledge of their history when he was reciting his stories.
He could see that the realm was too far into the future of his familiar fantasy realm. Most people forgot about that part of history.
‘Most likely a million years after ‘Journey to the West’.’ Li Nianfan analyzed in his mind, ‘Buddhism was most likely destroyed by Demons. As for the Heavenly Palace and the Underworld… Weirdly, they faced problems. Also, do Saints exist in this realm? What about Goddess Nuwa, primates, or Gods?’
Li Nianfan had to piece it together. After all, he had to be familiar with his surroundings. A familiar worldview was an important factor to not end up like Xiao Bai. He would have missed out on a lot of opportunities.
1
There was no harm in knowing more.
A loud bell could be heard early in the morning.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The bell rang three times. The echoes were clear. The source of the sounds was from the Buddhist temple of the Xia Kingdom.
Li Nianfan was not sure if he was thinking too much but he felt like the whole city was livelier.
The lively crowd started to go in two directions. One went to the temple, the other went to the city door.
“What are the Buddhists up to?” Li Nianfan did not pay attention to the outside world so he did not know what was going on. However, he wanted to join the crowd. “Let’s go, Daji. Let’s check it out.”
The bells were probably a reminder for an official event. Everyone was waiting for it.
“Brother Nianfan.”
Nanan and Dragin were both wearing armor. They walked over smugly. Clanging sounds could be heard.
They were too small so their armors were too big for them. They looked kind of funny in the big armors. They had two rows of soldiers behind them. Li Nianfan had to laugh.
The armors were given to them by the General Training Class. Ever since Nanan promised to teach them Kungfu, the soldiers of the Xia Kingdom were overjoyed. They worshipped her and appointed her the title of a general.
Nanan was having the time of her life with her new title.
Lin Hu hurriedly saluted Li Nianfan. He said with respect, “Greetings to Mr. Li, Lady Daji.”
“Morning, General Lin.” Li Nianfan nodded. Then, he asked Nanan, “Why are you out today? Aren’t you supposed to teach Kungfu at the General Training Class?”
“It’s so crowded outside so I snuck out to check it out,” Nanan pouted and said. “Also, I just taught them the Lightning Fast Five Stroke Combo. It’s not easy to learn. Let them practice for a while.”
Then, she curiously followed the crowd with Dragin.
She had a spark in her eyes. “Candied Haws!”
1
Nanan and Dragin immediately ran over to buy some Candied Haws.
They were adorable but they were wearing armor. The old man that sold Candied Haws was baffled. He almost turned around and ran.
The two armored kids happily licked their Candied Haws. It was an odd sight. Li Nianfan shook his head and laughed awkwardly.
After a while, more people came, but nothing seemed to be happening.
Someone familiar walked in.
“Greetings from Junliang to Mr. Li.”
“Morning, Brother Meng,” saluted Li Nianfan. He asked curiously, “Do you know what’s happening? Why is it so crowded?”
Meng Junliang replied, “Mr. Li, if my information’s accurate, a Buddha has arrived.”
“Buddha?” Li Nianfan was taken aback. He was slightly weirded out. ‘Awesome, they have a living Buddha.’
“Yeah, I heard that the person’s kind and can influence others to be kind. Even mountain tigers were affected by that Buddha. They stopped hurting others. Cultivators once thought he was talented. They took him as a student, taught him cultivation, but realized he was average. There was nothing special about him.”
Meng Junliang paused before he continued, “Then, he was discovered by Buddhists. This person converted to Buddhism and became an elite. He became a Buddha afterward.”
“Seems like a talented genius,” nodded Li Nianfan. He was shocked but not surprised.
Talented people could be found anywhere, especially in the Immortal Realm.
Nanan’s small mouth was open. “Wow, so many people waiting for the Buddha. What a grand event.”
“Buddhism can be influential. A lot of people resonate with it. They’re willing to believe in Buddhism.” Meng Junliang studied Buddhism before.
Li Nianfan asked curiously, “Is the Xia Kingdom going to accept Buddhism?”
“We aren’t against it, but we won’t convert to Buddhism.” Meng Junliang shook his head. “The Buddha must be here to invite the King for a Buddhism event or something. But the King will surely reject their offer. At most, he’ll just send someone over.”
‘Wow, he even set up the plot.’
Li Nianfan was intrigued. He could believe that was going to happen.
Zhou Yunwu had his Xia Kingdom, Meng Junliang had his Dao, Yuecha had Buddhism. They were three different concepts. They seemed related but they were not. The three concepts existed because of him. They were starting to turn on each other.
It was going to be interesting.
Li Nianfan smiled and said, “That’s because the Xia Kingdom isn’t opposed to the concept of Buddhism. However, it’d be a different case to openly support it. Therefore, the Xia Kingdom’s going for the neutral route.”
In reality, Buddhism was beneficial for the Xia Kingdom.
“Right on, Mr. Li.” Meng Junliang nodded. “Now we have Demons and Buddhists. One of them is vengeful, evil, greedy, and competitive. The other one’s all about peace, no distractions or desires, and to kill them with kindness. These two religions are naturally opposed to each other.”
When people have different mentalities, they would debate. However, if their ideologies were complete opposites, they did not need to debate. They would just fight.
1
Suddenly, Buddhist hymns could be heard from afar.
They looked over at the horizon. They saw a shiny bald head at first. It was very bright.
Then, they saw a monk with a shawl on. He was very young.
He did the Namaste gesture with his eyes closed. He was wearing a pair of shoes made from bamboo. He slowly walked over.
‘That’s so anticlimactic, boo!’
Creak!
The temple door suddenly opened. A row of monks walked out, looking serious and strict. They stood at the city door to welcome him.
They waited for the Buddha to walk over. Then, they said at the same time, “Amitabha.”
A chancellor hidden amongst the crowd stepped out with two servants. He smiled, “Welcome, Buddha. Pardon us for the simple greeting.”
“Amitabha,” said the Buddha. He did not say anything else.
The chancellor smiled and led the way, “Ha, the King’s already waiting for you at the palace. Please, follow me.”
Nanan and Dragin had been waiting for a long time. They instantly felt disappointed. “Huh? That’s it? How boring.”
Li Nianfan smiled and said, “It’s boring for you but not for his fans.”
“Let’s go, it’s more fun to train those soldiers.”
Meng Junliang watched as the Buddha left. He did not look like he wanted to go greet him.
He invited Li Nianfan, “Mr. Li, do you want to go to the palace?”
Li Nianfan nodded and smiled. “I was just about to.”
“Please.”
Zhou Yunwu was sitting on the throne when they arrived at the palace. He was greeting the Buddha. They looked like they were getting along.
“Mr. Li, army advisor, you guys have arrived. Please, have a seat.”
Zhou Yunwu hurriedly greeted them. He stood up from his throne and walked over.
The Buddha looked at Li Nianfan and Daji with shock in his eyes. They looked ordinary but their auras were immaculate. He knew they were extraordinary.
‘That red sparrow, too. Although it’s a sparrow, it is giving off a regal vibe.’
He had to ask, “I wonder, you’re…”
Li Nianfan smiled and said, “My name’s Li Nianfan. Greetings to the Buddha.”
“You’re Mr. Li!” The Buddha stood up and did the Namaste gesture. He said with respect and caution, “Mr. Li, you can just call me Jiese.”
‘Jiese?’
Li Nianfan, Zhou Yunwu, and Meng Junliang were all stunned.
Very few people knew the Buddha’s name. He most probably kept it a secret because it differed too much from his image.
After all, it caught them off guard that a living Buddha had a name like that.
Thankfully, everyone knew to be polite. They did not burst out laughing and create an awkward situation.
1
Li Nianfan placed his hands together to do the Namaste gesture and said, “Nice to meet you, Jiese.”