Shuangyang Mountain.
The plaque of Juyi Hall hanging high shimmered with golden light under the sunlight.
Inside the main hall.
Two monks were seated.
One of them, a white-robed monk, had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, appeared to be sixteen or seventeen years old, with a fair complexion. However, the most striking feature was the twelve scars on his shaven head.
Anyone with some understanding of Buddhism would know what twelve scars signify.
The twelve scars, also known as Bodhisattva Precepts.
In Buddhism, this is a symbol of status.
Beside this young monk was another with a round face, large ears, and a burly physique, resembling a tiger-backed figure.
From his open robe, a patch of thick body hair was visible.
"Junior Brother, want a drink?" the burly monk spoke up.
"Senior Brother, youāve broken your vows!" the young monk smiled, shaking his head.
"Eh! Hasnāt the Junior Brother heard this saying? āEven as wine and meat pass through the intestines, the Buddha stays in the heart. Where thereās the Buddha in the heart, everywhere is Buddha!ā" Saying this, he took up the wine jar and drank heartily, the wine dribbling down his cheeks onto his open chest.
However, seeing this scene, the young white-robed monk didnāt show any anger; instead, a faint smile appeared on his face.
This person before him was not his blood relative but closer than one.
In this world, he had just this one relative.
He had long been aware of the burly monkās behavior.
Back in Vajra Temple, when the burly monk took care of him, he had already broken the alcohol prohibition.
He was even expelled from Vajra Temple for being caught drinking by the abbot.
"Senior Brother, give it to me!" the young white-robed monk stretched out his right hand.
"What is the Junior Brother doing?" the burly monk looked puzzled.
"Didnāt Senior Brother say it?" The young white-robed monk chuckled: "āEven as wine and meat pass through the intestines, the Buddha stays in the heart!!ā
"No, no, no!!!" The burly monk hugged the wine jar tightly, shaking his head frantically, the wine on his face scattering, with a few drops falling on the young monkās white robe.
He then sheepishly said, "I was just joking with Junior Brother, you must not follow my example! You are the hope of Vajra Temple, destined to make it the number one sect in the world."
"What number one sect, I donāt have such ambitions!" the young white-robed monk replied nonchalantly.
"Junior Brother, your identity determines that this responsibility belongs to you!" The burly monk looked at his former junior brother with a sigh.
He didnāt expect that the little beggar he picked up out of momentary compassion outside turned out to be the so-called reincarnation of the Buddha.
Now receiving the Bodhisattva Precepts, bearing thirteen scars on his head.
Every time he thought of it, it felt incredible.
"Junior Brother, they say that both you and that person are called reincarnations of the Buddha, which of you is truly so?"
"I donāt know!" The young white-robed monk looked indifferent.
"Junior Brother, is your past life really the reincarnation of Buddha? Is there truly a reincarnation of the Buddha?" The burly monk asked again.
"Believe it, and there is, donāt believe it, and there isnāt!" The young white-robed monk replied with a gesture of holding a flower with a smile.
"I hate such mysterious mumbo-jumbo!" The burly monk looked annoyed.
At this moment.
A series of footsteps came from outside the door.
The two looked up to see a bandit with tangled hair like a birdās nest and cloth shoes, hurriedly approaching, wielding a Golden Cup Great Chopper.
"Whatās going on? Didnāt I say not to disturb me?" The burly monk frowned, resembling an angry Vajra.
His towering figure and rugged face, along with his broad shoulders and back, naturally exuded a strong sense of pressure.
Seeing his leader angry, the bandit immediately wore a crying expression.
"Boss, a caravan has come down the mountain! Weāve been hungry for a winter; itās time to work!"
"A caravan?" The burly monk stood up immediately.
Instantly standing like a brown bear.
"Junior Brother, how about waiting here for me, my brothers below have been hungry for many days, we need to do some work!"
"Wait!" The young white-robed monk got up: "Senior Brother, Iāll go with you."
"Alright!" The burly monk glanced at his former junior brother and then nodded heavily.
...
After leaving the village.
The young white-robed monk walked barefoot through the throngs of dense bramble-covered forest, yet it was as if he were walking on flat ground.
"Junior Brother!" The burly monk suddenly spoke.
"Whatās up?" The young white-robed monk glanced sideways.
"Does Junior Brother suspect Iāve committed murder?"
"Just a moment ago I did, but then I felt itās not possible!" The young white-robed monk smiled.
"Junior Brotherās suspicion was correct!"
"Correct?" The young white-robed monk paused, momentarily stopping in his tracks.
"There are people who deserve to be killed; killing one can save a hundred, a thousand. Junior Brother, do you think they should be killed?" The burly monkās expression became unusually calm.
At Vajra Temple, the precepts are many, prohibiting killing being one of them.
Itās alongside prohibiting sexual misconduct as the heaviest rule.
"Senior Brother..." The young white-robed monk watched as his senior brotherās broad back walked away with large strides, murmuring softly.
In the next moment.
With a complex expression, he followed once again.
"Junior Brother, why are you following again?"
"I trust in Senior Brotherās character!" The young white-robed monk said calmly.
Then, he added, "Senior Brother, the people youāve killed, do they all deserve death?"
"By the law of Great Xia, many would not deserve death! But in my eyes, they do!" The burly monk continued walking as he spoke: "Like a notorious rapist, violating more than twenty chaste women!"
"Under Great Xia law, the maximum is twenty years in prison."
"But in my eyes, heās no different than having taken more than twenty young womenās lives."
"And those traffickers kidnapping children, how are they different from murderers?"