Chapter 7: Laughter? Laughter Also Counts as Karma!
"My dear Tanlang, ah, open your mouth." Zhen gently pinched the medicine spoon and offered it.
"Aunt, I can drink it myself." Ouyang Rong reluctantly took a mouthful and mumbled.
Zhen acted as if she hadn't heard, continuing to spoon the medicine, completely ignoring him.
Early this morning, Zhen brought her maidservants to care for Ouyang Rong's meals and medicine, and also arranged for the Abbot of Donglin Temple to come and check his pulse.
Ouyang Rong had originally planned to suggest leaving the temple and descending the mountain today, but seeing Zhen's demeanor, she wouldn't let him go until he was completely vigorous and healthy.
Ouyang Rong frowned silently.
At this moment, the pretty maidservant by Zhen's side, who seemed to be named Ban Xi, invited the Abbot and his disciple, who had come to examine him, from the front hall.
"Master, Tanlang seems to have no appetite today. Please take a look quickly; is his condition recurring?" Zhen frowned with worry.
Ouyang Rong hesitated, wanting to speak. It would be strange if he had a good appetite when someone was feeding him like a child.
"Female Bodhisattva, do not worry. Your nephew looks well. This old monk will take his pulse again." "Thank you, Master."
Zhen then turned to Lord and said, "The Abbot's medical skills are famous in several surrounding counties. Even the medical officers in the provincial medical office might not be as good. This time, it was also thanks to the Abbot's intervention that you were saved. You don't like to listen to your Aunt's words, but you must listen to the Abbot who saved you, right?"
The Abbot, an old monk, stroked his beard and smiled, sitting down calmly. With white eyebrows lowered, he took the pulse of Ouyang Rong, who was leaning against the couch.
Ouyang Rong turned to look. This Abbot of Donglin Temple indeed had the demeanor of an ethereal and virtuous high monk.
"May I ask your name, Master?"
"This old monk is Shandao..."
Ouyang Rong leaned in to listen, but after waiting for a long time, there was no follow-up. He was stunned for a moment. "Ah?"
Xiufa, who was holding the medicine box nearby, interjected, "Shandao is Master's Dharma name."
Ouyang suddenly understood and coughed, "So it's Master Shandao, my apologies."
However, in his heart, he was vehemently complaining, *What kind of names do you monks from Donglin Temple take? Can't you be a little more serious?*
Master Shandao smiled and added, "However, this old monk is indeed good at guiding others. If Mingfu has any life's dilemmas, or unclear Buddhist principles, you can always come to this old monk. You are welcome at any time."
"Understood, Master." Ouyang Rong nodded, glanced out the window, and suddenly said, "Your temple's stupa pagodas are built quite high."
Master Shandao's heart skipped a beat. He subtly observed the expression of this young County Magistrate.
The old monk sighed deeply, helplessly and compassionately saying, "Mingfu should know that these stupas are spontaneously funded by pilgrims and lay Buddhists from down the mountain. Building pagodas is one of the three foundations of Buddhism, which can accumulate Karma. The pilgrims are quite enthusiastic and sincere about this. Our temple has not forced anyone, but it is also difficult to refuse. However, it is indeed a bit of a drain on resources... But each time a pagoda is built, the temple reports to the county yamen and pays taxes... And this year, due to the floods, no more will be built, Mingfu can rest assured."
Ouyang Rong hadn't expected that a casual remark would make people misunderstand that he was trying to take advantage.
He was noncommittal, only continuing, "Does your Donglin Temple have a pagoda... called the Gongde Tower?"
Master Shandao's two white eyebrows furrowed together. After a moment of silence, he first gently shook his head, then nodded.
"There used to be one, but not anymore."
"Why is it gone?"
"It caught fire. And twice."
"Could you elaborate?"
"Initially, it was before the establishment of the Great Qian... even earlier than the previous Great Sui Dynasty, during the Southern Dynasty. The Southern Dynasty's imperial family once sponsored the construction of a magnificent Lotus Pagoda within the temple, with an underground palace built beneath it. However, it caught fire during Emperor Wen of the Great Sui's reign, and the pagoda collapsed.
"Then, during Emperor Tai Zong of the Great Qian's reign, which was when this old monk's Master was the Abbot, the temple rebuilt a new pagoda on the original site of the Lotus Pagoda, naming it 'Karma,' to house Buddhist relics. But by an unfortunate coincidence, in the year this old monk took over as the temple's Abbot, this Gongde Tower accidentally caught fire again..."
The white-haired old monk shook his head and sighed, "Therefore, since then, the temple has never rebuilt a pagoda on the original site of the 'Gongde Tower.' It's just a pity about the expensive underground palace beneath it."
Ouyang Rong couldn't help but look sideways. "This abandoned underground palace, it wouldn't happen to be the Jingtu Underground Palace, would it?"
Master Shandao nodded.
Ouyang Rong silently looked at the ancient pagoda in the clouds within his mind. Good heavens, is this a coincidence or...
"Is there any special meaning to naming the underground palace Jingtu?"
"Mingfu indeed has a Buddhist nature. Naming it Jingtu is certainly not without reason. Firstly, 'Rebirth in the Pure Land' is one of our temple's doctrines. Secondly, within that underground palace, a high monk from our temple once achieved perfect Karma, attained Buddhahood in the flesh, and ascended to the Pure Land."
"Is that true?" Ouyang Rong's back left the pillow.
Master Shandao solemnly chanted a Buddhist prayer, and said with extreme seriousness, "Of course it's true, because this high monk was this old monk's grand-uncle, Master Zhong Ma. I remember at that time, this old monk was still around the same age as the current Xiufa.
"On that day, the underground palace gate, which had been sealed for decades by the collapsed pagoda, was reopened. This old monk followed Master down and personally saw that grand-uncle, who had been missing for many years since the Lotus Pagoda collapsed, was sitting cross-legged in the center of the underground palace, having passed away many years ago. Yet his appearance and skin were still lifelike, even the veins on the back of his hands were clearly visible; he had attained Buddhahood in the flesh! On the ground beside grand-uncle, the four characters 'Returning Home' were inscribed... It seems he returned to the Pure Land."
"Even after many years, this old monk still cannot forget grand-uncle's immortal visage. Buddhist Dharma is boundless, it can save all sentient beings, leading to rebirth in the Pure Land, light, and freedom. Having this Buddhist trace is one of the reasons why this temple is the most prosperous temple in Longcheng County and even the entire Jiangzhou region. Many lay Buddhists travel thousands of miles to burn incense on the mountain, and in recent years, even foreign monks from Dongying have come here to study Buddhism, spreading the Dharma south and overseas."
Xiufa, holding the box behind Master Shandao, listened with a look of longing at this moment.
Even Zhen and her maidservant Ban Xi, who had consciously retreated behind the curtain during Ouyang Rong's conversation, listened with captivated and envious expressions.
Ouyang Rong was startled.
He suddenly felt that, in the midst of it all, there truly seemed to be some kind of divine will.
Ouyang Rong said thoughtfully, "No wonder you erected a lotus throne in the center of that underground palace, but did not place a Buddha statue on it, leaving it empty."
"Grand-uncle has ascended, so naturally it is empty." Master Shandao smiled profoundly, then added with a hint of curiosity, "However, Mingfu seems quite familiar with that underground palace."
How could he not be familiar? He had woken up there, and had stepped on it countless times. He had even commandeered the lotus golden lamp, which might have been dedicated to Master Zhong Ma's relics, and performed a physical 'ascension'...
Ouyang Rong complained in his heart and smiled.
Clang ~
Suddenly, a dull sound of a small wooden fish echoed in his ears.
Adding Karma? Could it be that unintentional matter he instructed Xiufa about yesterday... Ouyang Rong was stunned. He glanced at the people in the room, who hadn't heard the sound and were acting normally. He immediately made an excuse of "feeling dizzy again" and sent everyone out of the room.
Ouyang Rong lowered the bed curtain, closed his eyes, leaned on the pillow, concentrated his mind, and flew back into the Gongde Tower, surrounded by white clouds, looking at the cyan-gold seal script above the small wooden fish with anticipation and curiosity...
However, after seeing it clearly, he almost stumbled and fell to his death.
【Karma: One Hundred】
"Damn, how did it even get deducted?!"
This... deep breath... Ouyang Rong calmed down.
Indeed, this Karma value could not only increase but also decrease without ringing the bell.
"Darn it, what's the reason, what's the justification, what's the justice? I haven't done anything bad, have I? Could it be something that happened far away that caused the deduction? I just laughed, didn't I... Huh."
Ouyang Rong suddenly stopped speaking.
No way, do dark jokes also deduct my Karma?
He kept a straight face, staring at the small wooden fish in front of him, unsure whether to be angry or amused.
Now, he really had to be a Gentleman at all times outside, otherwise, this small amount of Karma wouldn't be enough for him to "laugh" - the fun-loving person was enraged.
In addition, Ouyang Rong also noticed something different, thoughtfully: "When Karma is added, the sound of the small wooden fish seems to be lighter and crisper; when Karma is deducted, the sound of the small wooden fish seems to be duller.
"The difference in these two sounds is like one is patting a girlfriend's butt, and the other is patting a buddy's butt... The difference is quite significant, the former must be more pleasant to hear..."
Just as Ouyang Rong was carefully savoring certain things, a door suddenly opened in the room, and someone tiptoed closer. He quickly collected his thoughts and left the Gongde Tower.
However, as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw... large breasts.
...
New update schedule: One update at noon, one update at midnight!
Starting tomorrow, brothers, keep me accountable! (Holds head in hands)