A young man born in the 1980s is unexpectedly transported to ancient times and awakens as a monk. Before he can adjust, he discovers that he has also become the abbot of a struggling monastery and has been assigned an “Abbot System” with increasingly ambitious goals. The system expects him to master difficult martial arts, rebuild Shaolin's reputation, and eventually lead the wider martial world. He would much rather live an ordinary life, but abandoning the role is not so simple. Reluctantly, he begins strengthening the monastery and discovers that leadership may demand more of him than martial skill alone.
Chapter 44: A Disgrace to the Buddhist Order
Huo Yuanzhen’s series of actions left the three elderly monks thoroughly flustered and earned him the respect of the crowd. If Huo Yuanzhen had achieved this through sarcasm and mockery, people would not have held him in such high regard. But everything he said came so naturally, neither too hot nor too cold, and his words were imbued with Zen wisdom. Although he was a young abbot, in the hearts of the common people at that moment, he had already surpassed those elderly monks a thousandfold. Left with no other choice, Dharma King Temple had no option but to immediately begin the consecration ceremony, revealing the Great Hall of the Buddha to the public as soon as possible to defuse the current awkward situation. The red silk drapes shrouding the entire Great Hall of the Buddha were pulled aside, and the so-called “miracle”—which had been heavily publicized for so long—finally revealed its true form. The hall, spanning dozens of zhang in diameter, could truly be described as resplendent with gold and splendor. The entire hall was a uniform golden hue; bathed in sunlight, it was breathtakingly beautiful, as if forged from pure gold. The eaves curved upward at the four corners, adorned with auspicious symbols such as immortals, seahorses, dragons, and phoenixes. Remarkably, the glazed tiles on the roof were not all the same color—they shone brilliantly in three hues: yellow, red, and blue. The red lacquered main gates were adorned with neatly arranged golden door nails and bronze rings shaped like animal heads; they were tall and imposing. The surrounding white marble railings, exquisitely carved, encircle the entire hall. The white marble steps, divided into nine tiers, lead up and down; with its high foundation, the hall stands majestically above, instantly inspiring a desire to pay homage. Although the common people no longer held the senior monks in high regard, the moment this grand hall came into view, a collective gasp of awe rose from the crowd below. My goodness, to build something like this—if it were man-made, it would likely cost no less than 100,000 taels. Does the Dharma King Temple really have that much money? It really does seem very likely to be a miracle of the Buddha. Seeing the crowd so awestruck, Dharma King Likong and the others finally let out a faint smile, erasing all traces of their earlier embarrassment. Li Xuan even stood up and addressed the crowd: “The Great Hall of the Buddha is a divine object bestowed by the Buddha. It is twenty zhang long and ten zhang wide,with one hundred and eight white marble balusters, corresponding to the number of stars in the celestial sphere. Within lies the true form of the Buddha—an exquisite statue of Rulai—along with small statues of the Four Great Bodhisattvas and portraits of the Five Hundred Arhats. It depicts the sublime scene of the Buddha delivering his teachings. Its descent upon our Dharma King Temple a month ago was the result of the devout prayers of our Abbot, Master Likong, and is by no means the work of certain…” At this point, he glanced at Huo Yuanzhen, hesitated for a moment, and did not continue—apparently still shaken by the encounter just moments before. He then walked over to the red gate and ran his hand over the door knocker. “This gate is studded with three hundred and sixty-five copper nails, and the door is one chi thick—it cannot be opened without divine power. Since this sacred hall arrived at our Dharma King Temple, this gate has been opened only once.” Over there, Guan Shanyue, at Huo Yuanzhen’s prompting, suddenly remarked, “It’ll probably cost a few dozen taels to open this door.” Li Xuan was in the middle of a grand speech and hadn’t heard who had asked the question. He replied casually, “A few dozen taels? Don’t even think about it. This Humble Monk will tell you that it will cost at least…” Quite a few people in the crowd had already begun to chuckle softly. This high-ranking monk was so caught up in his act that he didn’t even realize he’d been tricked—he’d nearly let the cat out of the bag. Sure enough, Li Xuan shot an angry glance over his shoulder, though he had no idea who had asked the question. After regaining his composure, Li Xuan returned to Li Kong’s side, asked a few questions, and then announced, “All right, we will now officially open the hall doors. Those who wish to witness the Buddha’s miraculous signs, please prepare your incense. Once the doors open, you may enter to offer incense.” Over there, many young monks produced large quantities of incense and candles—all of them thick sticks of incense. At this time, they were quite expensive; a single stick cost at least one tael of silver, and haggling was strictly forbidden. It was absolutely forbidden to use incense brought from home inside this Buddha hall. Despite the repeated embarrassments, the Dharma King Temple was, after all, a temple with a rich heritage, and the Great Hall of the Buddha was truly awe-inspiring, so quite a few people still lined up to buy incense and candles. Just as they were about to start selling incense, four monks ran to the entrance of the hall to open the door. The red gates were indeed incredibly heavy; four young, strong monks chanted in unison, straining with all their might before finally pushing the temple doors open with a creaking “creak, creak.” As the doors opened, several monks—including Lizhi, Likong, and Lixuan—had already knelt at the entrance to the hall. Behind them stood Lu Xuezhang, the Prefect of Zhengzhou, followed by a dense crowd of monks from the Dharma King Temple of all ranks, forming a sea of kneeling figures. Even many of the visiting guests and devotees knelt down as well. This time, Abbot Likong knelt in the center—after all, he was the abbot of Dharma King Temple, and even Zen Master Lizhi knelt beside him. “Amitabha Buddha. This Humble Monk, Dharma King Likong, Abbot of Dharma King Temple, together with all the disciples of this temple, humbly welcome the Buddha’s miraculous manifestation!” “We humbly welcome the Buddha’s miraculous manifestation!” the crowd below echoed in unison. The main gate gradually opened, swinging wider and wider, and the scene inside the Buddha Hall slowly came into view. As the doors first opened, the interior was still somewhat dark, and people stood on tiptoe, straining to see inside. Loud drumming and music rang out from the sides, all striving to create a grand atmosphere for the consecration of the divine miracle. As light streamed into the Buddha hall, the scene within became clear. But everyone who saw the scene inside the hall gaped in astonishment, their eyes wide with disbelief and their faces etched with incredulity. Sensing that the atmosphere was somewhat strange, Li Kong and the others, who had been prostrating themselves on the ground, hurriedly looked up. It would have been better if they hadn’t looked up. The moment they did, everyone let out a startled cry; Dharma King Likong even fainted on the spot, collapsing limply to the ground. At that moment, however, no one had the heart to pay him any mind; everyone was stunned by the scene before them. Inside the Buddhist hall, the murals of the five hundred Arhats were still intact, and all the Buddhist ritual items—the incense altar, Liantai, oil lamps, offerings, and so on—were still in place. The building hadn’t collapsed; there were no leaks, no rain seeping in, and no signs of insect infestation. It was only the Buddha statue above that was a different story. Right in the center—where the statue of Amitabha Buddha should have been—sat a statue of an elderly nun in the lotus position. She wore a monk’s robe, her shaved head partially exposed. She had a full figure and a cheerful expression, and was actually quite attractive. The positions of the Four Great Bodhisattvas on either side were also occupied by four young nuns. All four young nuns were strikingly beautiful, and it was clear they had not yet taken their vows. These four statues shared one common trait: they all had incredibly voluptuous figures. Their robes seemed form-fitting; rather than exuding an air of Zen, they instead sparked all sorts of wild imaginings. Li Xuan’s jaw nearly hit the floor. He stared for a long moment before snapping back to reality. Only then did he remember that the abbot, his senior monk, had fainted beside him. He hurried over to support him: “Senior Brother, wake up!” Zen Master Lizhi, however, did not go to help his junior brother. Instead, he closed his eyes tightly and silently repeated several times, “What a sin, what a sin! This Humble Monk has erred! From this day forward, I will enter a secluded retreat to repent before the Buddha. If I do not receive the Buddha’s forgiveness, I would rather die of old age.” After saying that, Li Zhi turned and walked away without so much as a glance at Abbot Li Kong, who was still unconscious. As soon as he left, all the monks from Daxiangguo Temple followed suit and departed. The sound of drums and music ceased, replaced by the clamor of the crowd. “This is absolutely breathtaking—far more beautiful than any Buddha statue! Many people had originally thought the miracle at Dharma King Temple was a hoax and didn’t want to come, but now that they’re here, they’re so glad they did. It would have been such a shame to miss this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.” Lu Xuezhang, the Prefect of Zhengzhou, who had been kneeling on the ground, now stood up abruptly, snorted heavily, and left with his troops in tow. Only Li Xuan remained, desperately calling out to his senior disciple. Unfortunately, it seemed that Dharma King Likong would not be waking up anytime soon. After planning for so long, he had intended to use this opportunity to make a name for himself, but he never expected such an outcome. Dharma King Likong, unable to bear such a blow, promptly fell into a deep unconsciousness. Seeing that his senior disciple remained unconscious and that almost no one was left around him, Li Xuan turned around in a rage, his murderous gaze fixed on Huo Yuanzhen. “Yi Jie! It’s you! It’s you, isn’t it! I know it—you’re definitely behind this!” Huo Yuanzhen let out a cold laugh: “Master Li Xuan, you can’t just make such accusations. You said it yourself just now—even if you missed the auspicious time and were reprimanded by the Buddha, it wouldn’t be this Abbot’s concern. So how can you suddenly pin this on This Humble Monk?” “That’s right, that’s right. You said it had nothing to do with Abbot Yi Jie—we all heard it.” “Exactly. Isn’t this a miracle from the Buddha? We’re all waiting to see it. It must be that you missed the time yourselves, which led to the Buddha’s rebuke—how can you blame Abbot Yi Jie?” “I don’t think so. Maybe these senior monks just like to worship nuns. These days, you can’t judge a book by its cover.” As the sarcastic remarks from the crowd below reached his ears, Li Xuan felt a tightness in his chest; a sweet taste rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. “Yi Jie, don’t try to wriggle out of this. The statues here were always of the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas—how could they have changed? It must have been you—it must have been you who swapped them!” Looking at Li Xuan, who was already on the verge of madness, Huo Yuanzhen laughed. “At Shaolin, where This Humble Monk resides, there are already three sacred sites of the Buddha: the Shaolin Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda, the Shaolin Mountain Gate, and the Bell Tower. Therefore, This Humble Monk has a deep understanding of the Buddha’s sacred sites. You are welcome to go and see them for yourself. If you can destroy them, that’s a testament to your skill, and This Humble Monk will not hold it against you.” After speaking, Huo Yuanzhen turned to the crowd: “Ladies and gentlemen, do you think the Buddha’s miracles can be easily destroyed by mere mortals?” “Of course not. The Buddha’s sacred sites—how could mere mortals possibly destroy them?” “Abbot Yi Jie is right. Anything that can be destroyed must be a fake.” Huo Yuanzhen then turned to Li Xuan: “Master Li Xuan, did you hear that? You’re welcome to visit my Shaolin Temple and see for yourself if the Buddha’s miracles can be destroyed. If you believe the Buddha statues here have been defaced, it can only mean that your so-called miracles are nothing but fakes—meant to deceive the common people. Do you dare admit that?” With those final words, Huo Yuanzhen once again channeled the power of the Buddhist Lion’s Roar as he shouted at Li Xuan, causing Li Xuan to shudder and stammer, unable to speak. “Falsifying divine miracles, deceiving the common people, exploiting the situation to amass wealth—and even enshrining a statue of a nun within the temple. Your true intentions are obvious. People like you have already brought shame upon the Buddhist Order. This abbot disdains to associate with you. Coming here today was a mistake. I shall return to Shaolin at once to repent before the Buddha!” Having said this, Huo Yuanzhen turned and walked away with Guan Shanyue. Seeing Huo Yuanzhen leave, the crowd automatically parted to make way for him. As he passed before each person, they all raised their palms in reverence, their expressions devout, treating Huo Yuanzhen as if he were the Buddha himself. Not a single monk at Dharma King Temple dared to stand in their way. It was not until Huo Yuanzhen’s figure vanished at the temple gate that a thunderous, roaring chorus erupted from within the temple: “Farewell, Abbot Yi Jie!” Huo Yuanzhen, who had just thought he’d departed with such panache, slipped and nearly fell. He felt a pang of irritation inside—what did “farewell” mean? It sounded downright inauspicious.
