Free Web NovelChapter 113: Chapter 88: A Beauty in One’s Arms
"Brother, what are you saying?"
The young woman, however, said, "It is I who should be serving the Living Buddha with all my heart!
To be able to serve by the Living Buddha’s side is already my honor!
How could I dare delay the Living Buddha’s Cultivation and have you take care of me!"
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei said, "This monk has noted your words, Benefactor.
I cannot say much more, but I will do my best to look after your sister, so long as it does not interfere with my own Cultivation."
After all, the young man was poisoned and now faced an inescapable trap. Today’s farewell might very well be their last.
That was why Xu Lei offered him a small promise.
"Thank you, Living Buddha."
Hearing this, the young man said, "With your words, I can now rest assured.
Sister, you must take care of yourself!"
「One day later.」
Xu Lei arrived in a city with the young woman named Mu Yao.
With her brother gone and Xu Lei’s Jade Pendant disguising her appearance, Mu Yao went completely unnoticed on their journey.
They even checked into an inn openly.
After Mu Yao left her luggage in the room,
Xu Lei took her out for dinner.
It was evening.
On the horizon,
the sunset was a brilliant blaze of color.
Xu Lei and Mu Yao took a seat by a window on the third floor of a restaurant in the city.
As a Commandery Princess, Mu Yao was quite generous with her money.
Although Xu Lei wasn’t short on money himself, he didn’t refuse when Mu Yao offered to treat him.
After all, Xu Lei had saved both her and her brother, and he had even given her the Jade Pendant. There was no need to be overly polite with her.
Besides, for someone of her standing, the cost of a meal at a restaurant like this was nothing.
Xu Lei ordered a large spread of dishes.
Once the food arrived,
Xu Lei began to eat with the same gusto as before, devouring everything in sight.
Across from him, Mu Yao ate elegantly, her tender lips slightly parted as her pearly white teeth took small, delicate bites of the food before her.
"Living Buddha, aren’t monks supposed to observe precepts against things like alcohol, meat, lust, and killing?"
Mu Yao couldn’t help but ask as she watched him, "Why, then, do you not abstain from alcohol and meat?"
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei said, "Benefactress, since you call me a Living Buddha, how could I be the same as an ordinary Monk?
As the saying goes: wine and meat pass through the intestines, but the Buddha remains in the heart.
If one is fixated on outward appearances, is that not a form of attachment itself?"
"The Living Buddha is truly Extraordinary!"
Mu Yao was filled with solemn respect. "Indeed. Alcohol and meat are merely outward forms. A Living Buddha is truly worthy of the name!
Those ordinary Monks who foolishly abstain from wine and meat, thinking this is the path to Buddha, that this will lead to Buddhahood... compared to you, they are simply laughable!
No, they are not even worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as you!"
Xu Lei just smiled and said nothing.
He certainly wasn’t going to explain that other True Monks did so for the sake of their Cultivation.
As for the fake monks, they only followed the rules because they were obeying the various regulations set by the True Monks.
In truth, none of them were fools. It was just that Xu Lei had obtained some special opportunities that allowed him to break free from such restrictions.
He was like the legendary Living Buddha Ji Gong from Earth, who never abstained from wine and meat as he roamed the Mortal World.
This allowed him to resist the effects of drinking alcohol and eating meat.
That was why he could eat and drink as he pleased, and why he could utter phrases like, "wine and meat pass through the intestines, but the Buddha remains in the heart."
This wasn’t because he was more carefree or because his mental Realm was higher than that of other Buddhist Disciples.
It was purely because his Cultivation was extraordinary, freeing him from such constraints.
"By the way, Living Buddha, besides the precepts against wine and meat, what about the other ones? For example, the precept against lust."
But Xu Lei remained silent, so Mu Yao leaned forward slightly, batted her beautiful eyes, and asked, "Do you observe it?"
"Amitabha Buddha. This monk has already transcended attachment to form."
Xu Lei said, "As they say: enjoy a beauty in your lap, while a Bodhisattva rests in your heart.
The precept against lust, naturally, is also one I need not follow."
"Then you have wives and concubines?"
Mu Yao asked in amazement, "If you travel the world like this, where do they stay?"
She was like a curious child, filled with an insatiable desire to know everything about Xu Lei.
But Xu Lei could understand how she felt. After all, back in his previous life, when he first discovered the extraordinary nature of Hui Ming and the others, he had been just as curious.
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei shook his head. "I do not have any wives or concubines at the moment. Before my Cultivation was complete, I did not indulge in carnal pleasures. In the future... we shall see who has a karmic connection with the Buddha."
"What? You mean—"
Mu Yao, surprised, pressed on, "Then what kind of person has this karmic connection with the Buddha?"
"Benefactress, you are quite persistent with your questions."
Xu Lei looked at the fair-skinned, pretty young woman and countered with a question of his own, "Are you, perhaps, also interested in the path to eternal life?"
"Living Buddha."
Mu Yao’s pretty face flushed as she said, both excited and nervous, "Do you think... is it possible for Yaoyao to also—"
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei shook his head. "Benefactress, you do not have a Spirit Root. You cannot cultivate."
"Ah?"
Mu Yao said, deeply disappointed, "I don’t have one?"
「Later that night.」
Xu Lei was back in his room.
At that moment, an inn attendant was delivering a bathtub, hot water, and other items.
"Amitabha Buddha."
After the inn boy left, Xu Lei turned to Mu Yao, who was still disguised as a man by the Jade Pendant, and said, "Benefactress, I am going to bathe."
"Living Buddha, Yaoyao knows."
But Mu Yao, her pretty face blushing, pursed her lips and said, "But Yaoyao stayed on purpose. Living Buddha, you saved the lives of my brother and me.
You also gifted Yaoyao this magical Jade Pendant, resolving the crisis of my family’s succession.
In her heart, Yaoyao is endlessly grateful to you, Living Buddha, beyond what words can express!
Furthermore, when we were traveling through the forest, even when it came to just roasting meat, Yaoyao was clumsy and awkward because her hands have never had to perform such chores.
You even had to teach me step-by-step, and I still didn’t do a very good job. I feel truly ashamed!
Therefore, I now ask the Living Buddha to give Yaoyao a chance to serve you in your bath, as a small token of my gratitude."
As she spoke,
