Free Web NovelChapter 50: Chapter 45: The Dashing Man of the Temple, and Children Are a Matter of Fate
A few more years passed.
Xu Lei was now forty-one years old.
A true middle-aged man.
Of course, Xu Lei’s life was much more comfortable than it had been on Earth.
As the Seed Sowing Supervisor Zen Master at Anchan Temple, his main duty was to occasionally receive Devotees who came seeking children.
Then, he would simply assign a suitable Seed-Sowing Zen Master to perform the Charitable Giving.
Since Anchan Temple didn’t get many requests for children, Xu Lei’s workload naturally wasn’t heavy.
Although there were other basic temple duties that he occasionally helped with, his overall workload was very light.
Unlike in the past, Xu Lei no longer bothered trying to find ways to increase the temple’s traffic of child-seeking Devotees.
He couldn’t care less.
He was happy to take it easy.
After all, Zhang Xiaomai, Wei Qingning, and Shang Rou would frequently visit the temple to "study Buddhism" and "inquire about Buddhist Scripture" with him.
Occasionally, Liang Fangying and Zhao Xiaocha would come as well.
So, in terms of female company, Xu Lei was not lacking.
All five of them, without exception, were exceptionally beautiful.
Although Liang Fangying and Zhao Xiaocha were now mature, middle-aged women.
It was true they were not in the prime of their youth like Zhang Xiaomai, Wei Qingning, and Shang Rou, nor were they as tender and precious as jade.
But the allure of a fully mature woman had a unique flavor of its own.
As a middle-aged man himself, Xu Lei certainly didn’t mind them.
Of course, Shang Rou and Zhang Xiaomai never visited at the same time as Wei Qingning.
The fact that Wei Qingning was a woman was still a secret known only to Xu Lei and Aunt Hu.
In short, Xu Lei had spent the last few years keeping these five women company and performing some basic temple duties.
Beyond that, there was little else.
In the temple, he had food, clothing, and wanted for nothing.
He had no daily anxieties, except for the fact that he still hadn’t obtained a Dao Seed, which would allow him to embark on the path of cultivation. fгeewebnovёl.com
However, after looking into it, Xu Lei already had a plan for that.
So naturally, he wasn’t anxious about it.
Every day, after finishing his simple tasks,
when he had nothing to do, he would sneak off to eat meat and drink wine, or to work out.
After all, women like Zhang Xiaomai, Wei Qingning, Shang Rou, Zhao Xiaocha, and Liang Fangying would come looking for him from time to time.
It was essential that he keep his body in good shape.
Thanks to his diligent exercise, even though he was still an ordinary person and had not yet touched upon the Extraordinary,
and despite being over forty, Xu Lei’s body was still quite healthy and strong.
Much better than many forty-year-old men back on Earth.
After all, many middle-aged men of that age on Earth were constantly working from 9 AM to 9 PM, six days a week, for their families.
Drinking glass after glass for business engagements.
Pulling one all-nighter after another, losing handfuls of hair.
And sometimes finding no peace even after returning home. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
The pressure they were under was a world apart from Xu Lei’s current life—a difference between heaven and earth.
Xu Lei also drank, but he only drank when he felt like it, enjoying it for pleasure, and he certainly didn’t have a beer belly.
Xu Lei also worked, but his job merely consisted of simple conversations, spouting some profound-sounding, vaguely Buddhist nonsense, and then assigning a suitable Seed-Sowing Zen Master to perform the Charitable Giving.
Xu Lei also had no hair, but that was because he shaved it. If he didn’t, his hair would still be thick, and his hairline wouldn’t have receded much at all.
「On this day.」
Shang Rou came to Anchan Temple to ask Xu Lei for Charitable Giving.
She was now over eighteen years old.
On Earth, she might have just been starting university, at the tender age of a flower in bloom.
But in this ancient world, she was already a mother of two.
Thanks to her pampered life, her skin was still fair and her features beautiful, exuding an elegant and refined air.
However, her eyes and brows now held a hint of a young matron’s charm.
Her delicate hand tucked a strand of long hair behind her ear as she undid the buttons of her clothes one by one, revealing a jade-like neck and fragrant shoulders.
"Divine Monk, please grant me Charitable Giving again." Her beautiful eyes shimmered as she looked at Xu Lei and spoke in a sweet, alluring voice.
"Amitabha Buddha," Xu Lei said. "Patron, you’ve already given birth to two children. Are you sure you want another?"
Over the past three years, she had given birth to two children in succession, and Xu Lei felt it was taking a toll on her.
’Of course it would be better for me to have more offspring,’ Xu Lei thought, but he didn’t want her to suffer so much.
"The first two were both daughters."
But Shang Rou’s fine brows furrowed. She shifted her hips, which were a little fuller than before, and said aggrievedly, "Even Xiaoai has given birth to two sons, yet I don’t have a single one. Divine Monk, how is your Charitable Giving fair?"
That was right. Over the past three years, Zhang Xiaomai, just like her, had also given birth to two children.
However, Zhang Xiaomai had given birth to sons.
While Shang Rou had given birth to daughters.
After all, Shang Rou was the principal wife, yet she didn’t have a son.
Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaomai, a Concubine Ping, had two sons.
This was indeed improper.
Now, some people were spreading rumors that Shang Rou’s womb was not as "cooperative" as Zhang Xiaomai’s.
Although within the Wei Family, Wei Qingning had no particular preference whether the children born to Shang Rou and Zhang Xiaomai were boys or girls,
Shang Rou herself was still a little unhappy about it.
She wondered if her own womb was truly to blame,
causing her to give birth to daughters consecutively.
After all, Zhang Xiaomai had clearly also received Charitable Giving from Xu Lei.
Yet she had given birth to sons consecutively.
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei quickly stepped forward and gently embraced Shang Rou. "Patron Xiaorou," he said, "this humble monk has told you many times."
"Whether a child is a boy or a girl is not decided by the mother."
"It is most often decided by the father."
"The father’s seed determines if the child is male or female."
"Therefore, you absolutely must not blame yourself for this."
"If there is blame to be had, it can only be placed on this humble monk."
"Blame this humble monk for being unable to control it."
"Whether the seed that lands during Charitable Giving is male or female."
"It is a random event."
"So you’re saying... it’s a matter of fate?"
But Shang Rou, still looking aggrieved, said, "Could it be that my faith in Buddha isn’t pious enough, so my karmic affinity with Buddha is weaker than Xiaoai’s?"
"Or am I still too reserved when receiving Charitable Giving?"
"Is that why I can’t bear a son?"
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei said, "Patron, now that you put it that way, it seems what you say is not without reason."
"Then today, I shall be more pious."
Shang Rou wrapped her jade-like arms around Xu Lei, her seductive eyes like rippling water. "Divine Monk," she purred, "please grant me Charitable Giving again."
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei said, "My Buddha is merciful."
Then, naturally, Xu Lei began his Charitable Giving to Shang Rou.
As for Shang Rou’s brother, Shang Yin, she had said he’d been missing for years, without so much as a single letter sent home.
He had been disrespectful to Xu Lei in the past, and every time Xu Lei saw Shang Rou, he was reminded of Shang Yin.
Of course, any lingering displeasure Xu Lei felt toward Shang Yin had long since been dispelled upon Shang Rou’s body.
As for why Shang Yin remained disrespectful to Xu Lei even after he presented the potatoes back then,
it was naturally because Shang Yin himself was not a believer in Buddhism.
Furthermore, he wasn’t someone who stirred up trouble because he had no food to eat.
It was that the Da Yu Dynasty was too corrupt, and Shang Yin was oppressed by the powerful, leaving him no choice but to draw his sword.
Therefore, he wasn’t particularly impressed by the potatoes; his problem was never about not being able to afford a meal.
「The next day arrived in the blink of an eye.」
「On this day.」
Shang Rou did not come seeking a child again.
But Zhang Xiaomai did.
"Divine Monk, I request Charitable Giving."
She said, "The world is in chaos now."
"I don’t know if I’ll be able to visit Anchan Temple often in the future."
"So today, I ask for Charitable Giving again."
"I want to bear another child for you."
"But this time, I don’t want a son."
"I keep having sons, and it’s making Sister Rou a little unhappy."
"But it’s not like I’m doing it on purpose."
"Thankfully, Sister Rou is easy to get along with."
"But still, all the gossip from outsiders is making Sister Rou feel quite awkward."
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei held Zhang Xiaomai in his arms and said, "Patron, your piety toward Buddha has its own blessed fate."
"Then this humble monk shall grant your wish."
「Another day passed in the blink of an eye.」
Neither Shang Rou nor Zhang Xiaomai came.
But Wei Qingning did.
