The Shaolin Abbot Born in the 1980s

Chapter 27: The Big Prize Returns

Just as Shangguan Xiong and Old Man Guan were exchanging bewildered glances, the temple gate suddenly swung open again. It was Yijing who opened the door. Shangguan Xiong thought Huo Yuanzhen had changed his mind again and hurriedly asked, “Did Abbot Yi Jie let us in?” Unexpectedly, Yijing handed him a blanket and said to Shangguan Xiong, “Our abbot said it gets chilly in the mountains at night, and since the old gentleman is getting on in years, he should have an extra blanket to keep from catching a cold.” Shangguan Xiong took the blanket awkwardly, unsure of what to do. At that moment, Old Master Guan took the initiative to take the blanket and said to Yijing, “Thank you for your kindness, Master. Please also convey my gratitude to the Abbot for his thoughtfulness. I’ll just make do with spending the night outside the temple gate.” “Old Master Guan! How can that be? Let’s go down the mountain and find an inn; it won’t be too late to come back up tomorrow morning,” Shangguan Xiong hurriedly tried to dissuade him from the side. “No need to say more—my mind is made up. Never mind one night; even if it takes ten or a hundred days, I can wait.” After saying this, the old man simply draped a blanket over his shoulders, then waved his hand at Shangguan Xiong and the others, saying, “You lead these soldiers back at once. This is a tranquil sanctuary of the Buddhist Order—what sort of spectacle is it for you worldly folk, armed with swords and spears, to be here? Go now, go now.” Shangguan Xiong stood there dumbfounded, unsure whether he should leave—after all, the Military Governor had specifically ordered him to protect the old gentleman. Seeing that Shangguan Xiong and his men hadn’t left yet, the old man grew angry. “What are you waiting for? Do I have to chase you out myself before you’ll go?” Only then did Shangguan Xiong realize the old man was angry. He hurriedly took his leave and led his squad of soldiers down the mountain. However, he didn’t dare to actually leave; he could only set up camp nearby so he could rush back if needed. As he left, Shangguan Xiong felt a bit resentful. He thought to himself, Isn’t this old man a bit off his rocker? When someone opens the door and invites you in, you put on an act of not wanting to go in, and then when they chase you away, you just hang around here refusing to leave. Seeing Shangguan Xiong leave with his soldiers, Yijing closed the temple gate once more. The old man leaned against the doorway, wrapped in a blanket, and fell asleep there. “Abbot Brother, you’re truly amazing. How did you know that old man would be waiting there?” Yijing reported the situation outside to Huo Yuanzhen in disbelief. “That goes without saying. As long as he’s truly devoted to Buddhism, he’s bound to be waiting there.” Huo Yuanzhen had a deep understanding of religious devotees. Some devout believers would travel thousands of li, performing three bows and nine prostrations along the way, a journey that could take half a year or more. Such devotion transcended the bounds of ordinary human reasoning. According to Shangguan Xiong, this old man had traveled to countless places in search of a Buddhist artifact; he was undoubtedly devout as well. Asking him to wait outside for one night was a mere trifle. Moreover, Huo Yuanzhen could tell that the old man possessed considerable martial arts skills; spending a night outside wouldn’t make him fall ill. This is also a manifestation of human nature: when you take the initiative to ask someone for something, they dismiss you—or even suspect you’re a con artist. But when you ignore them, they suddenly believe you have real ability and will eagerly cling to you like a pesky leech—impossible to shake off. Put nicely, it’s called devotion; put bluntly, it’s called being a pushover. Huo Yuanzhen had studied psychology back in school and understood the mindset of people like this all too well—which is exactly why he’d staged this little charade today. Besides, the old man has status and ability; he arrived brimming with arrogance. If his pride isn’t somewhat curbed, he’ll likely never take his own people seriously. On the grounds of Shaolin, no one can afford to take himself lightly—that was Huo Yuanzhen’s plan. Upon hearing that the old man was already sleeping obediently at the entrance, Huo Yuanzhen felt relieved. After sending Yijing away, he checked the time and saw it was almost midnight—about time to hold the raffle. At midnight, the system’s mechanical voice sounded again: “The June prize draw is now open. Would you like to draw immediately?” “Draw!” The familiar symbols appeared once more—still thirty-six in total. Six martial arts manuals: Plum Blossom Pillar Footwork, One-Finger Zen, Iron Cloth Robe, Crossing the River on a Single Reed, Shaolin Dragon Claw Fist, and the Wuxiang Art. Six sect construction tokens: the Mountain Gate Construction Token, the Bell Tower Construction Token, the Vaisravana Hall Construction Token, the Puxian Hall Construction Token, the Prajnaparamita Hall Construction Token, and the Scripture Hall Construction Token. Six sutras: the Diamond Sutra, the Sutra of the Profound Secrets, the Great Prajñāpāramitā Sutra, the Great Nirvāṇa Sutra, the Bodhisattva Precepts, and the Sutra of the Wisdom King. Six silver ingots—the quality of these is also very high, ranging from a minimum of ten taels of silver to a single gold ingot. Six Buddhist ritual implements: a Zen staff, a kasaya, a alms bowl, a canopy, Liantai, and a jade ring. Six miscellaneous items: a White Horse, a large gilded chair, a folding screen, a golden oil lamp, an inkstone, and the “Pin-Character Light Points” jackpot. Huo Yuanzhen’s eyes darted back and forth, but he did not begin the draw immediately. Last time, Huo Yuanzhen had specifically studied the movement patterns of these light dots, but since the starting point was wrong, he was light-years away from the grand prize. After that incident, Huo Yuanzhen had specifically noted down the starting point and final landing point of the light spots from the previous draw, and had long been preparing for this one. Last time, he had clicked to start from the grand prize, only to end up on the opposite side—fourteen patterns away. If the light spot followed a pattern, then this time, he should choose… Huo Yuanzhen looked over and over again, studying it repeatedly, and finally decided he should start from the Bodhisattva Precepts text. If the light spot’s final path followed a pattern—or at least some sort of pattern—then starting from here would make it highly likely that it would eventually land on the grand prize. Of course, this judgment wasn’t necessarily accurate. Huo Yuanzhen glanced at the area surrounding the Grand Prize; the items to its left and right weren’t particularly impressive—there were ten taels of silver, a folding screen, and a sutra—the only one that seemed somewhat decent was a set of plum-blossom桩 footwork techniques. If his judgment proved wrong and the light spot ultimately landed near the grand prize, then it was highly likely that this draw would result in a useless item. The chance to draw a prize was extremely precious, and Huo Yuanzhen didn’t want to waste a single one. Fortunately, his luck had been fairly good so far—he hadn’t drawn any silver or similar items yet. He peeked outside to make sure no one was around, then locked his door. Returning to his bed, he located the text containing the Bodhisattva Precepts. After double-checking to ensure it was the correct one, Huo Yuanzhen began to make the light dot spin. At first, the light spot spun so fast that it was impossible to see clearly, so Huo Yuanzhen didn’t pay much attention and simply waited quietly for a moment. Only when the light spot’s speed slowed down did he begin to observe it closely. The light dot gradually slowed down. By the time it passed over the section containing the Bodhisattva Precepts text again, its speed had become very slow. He figured it would definitely stop when it reached the section for the grand prize. Although he had already participated in the prize draw several times, Huo Yuanzhen always felt incredibly nervous at moments like this. Especially this time—he had calculated every possibility and was determined to win the grand prize once more. If he succeeded, he would obtain all three items, and no matter what they were, they would be of great help to him. More importantly, he would prove that this system indeed followed discernible patterns. Watching the light dot slow down more and more as it gradually moved toward the Grand Prize area, Huo Yuanzhen felt his heart rise to the back of his throat—as if, the moment he opened his mouth, it would fall right out. Gradually, the light dot advanced step by step, drawing ever closer to the grand prize—seven steps, six steps, five steps! Just five steps more to the “Pin” character light-dot jackpot. Huo Yuanzhen held his breath, clenched his fists tightly, and was drenched in sweat. “No, no! It looks like it’s going to stop!” With only three steps left, the light dot had begun to move at a snail’s pace. Overcome by tension, Huo Yuanzhen simply closed his eyes and stopped watching, leaving his fate in the hands of the heavens. If he won the grand prize, there would be a system notification—the “Viewpoint” would make a sound as it spun again. If he didn’t win, a message would appear stating that the draw had ended. So even without watching, Huo Yuanzhen would know the result. A “click” sounded—the light had moved forward another step. If it stops now, it must have drawn the Plum Blossom Pillar Footwork, Huo Yuanzhen calculated in his mind. The Plum Blossom Pillar Footwork would be fine—it’s a basic footwork technique and very practical. But with this approach, he could only draw one footwork technique—how could Huo Yuanzhen possibly be satisfied with that? “Snap!” came another sound—to Huo Yuanzhen’s ears, it was like music from the heavens; he was just one step away from the grand prize. But if he stopped here, he’d end up with only ten taels of silver—arguably the worst possible reward. Huo Yuanzhen wasn’t exactly short on money anymore; nearly two thousand Buddha statues from the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda had been commissioned, earning him over ten thousand taels of silver. After deducting various expenses, he still had ten thousand taels left, so in Huo Yuanzhen’s eyes, these ten taels were truly a mixed blessing. Amid Huo Yuanzhen’s fervent prayers, another sound finally rang out! This sound filled Huo Yuanzhen with joy; the light dot must have landed on the jackpot spot. But Huo Yuanzhen still didn’t dare open his eyes, fearing that another sound might come—if that happened, he would be completely out of the running for the grand prize this time. His fists clenched so tightly they cracked. It felt like an agonizingly long time—as if several hours had passed—before the sound of the light spot spinning rapidly finally rang out. “It worked!” Huo Yuanzhen opened his eyes excitedly. Sure enough, the light dot was darting rapidly between the patterns, and the dot that had been there all along was now firmly positioned on the “Pin” character—the grand prize spot. “There’s a pattern—there really is a pattern! Haha, I’m set for life, I’m set for life—this old monk is set for life!” His Buddhist composure—which he believed he had cultivated quite well over the past period—was now overcome with wild joy. Though he didn’t dare shout it out loud, Huo Yuanzhen, the abbot, couldn’t help but dance and clap his hands on the bed. If this pattern held true, then not just this time, but next time, and the time after that—just think how many grand prizes he’d be able to win!