Chapter 156: Buddhist Disciple 16

The Buddhist Cultivators who left Bodhi Temple were mostly high-level practitioners, and when they fought, they were not ones to fall behind.

They practiced diligently every day, and were especially skilled with the staff.

A staff is not like a sword, spear, or axe—it’s not a sharp weapon, making it seem especially “compassionate.” Yet, this compassionate weapon in the hands of the Martial Monks at Bodhi Temple was enough to strike fear into anyone who heard of it.

As the weather grew hotter day by day, the sky began to brighten earlier and earlier. Qian, who rarely woke up early, found herself wide awake and obediently followed to the martial arts practice field.

Even before dawn, the young monks were already practicing with their staffs, sweating profusely.

Qian stood on the side, mimicking the movements of the monks in front of her.

This atmosphere, similar to the morning exercises at school, made the child feel at ease. Holding the Venerable Master’s black staff, she practiced with extra vigor.

Compared to her, the monks practicing with their staffs seemed distracted, their attention always drawn to the child behind them.

They had gotten used to seeing the child around by now, no longer as curious as when she first arrived. However, today, this child was holding the Buddhist Disciple’s staff!

The staff, named “De,” didn’t look impressive, but like the Buddhist Disciple, it was legendary. Most people here had been struck on the head with it at some point.

One blow from this staff often meant sitting still for several days and nights, unable to rise, with the mind filled with the Buddhist Disciple’s teachings—it was used to punish disciples.

So now, Qian, waving the staff around recklessly, appeared to them as a child wielding a powerful weapon she couldn’t control.

Mingzhen, who usually kept Qian in check, was not here today. She moved along with the formation, and before anyone noticed, she had slipped into their midst.

If she accidentally struck someone, it would be an unprovoked disaster!

As Qian swung her staff, she suddenly noticed that the monks practicing in front of her were moving farther and farther away. A large empty space had formed around her.

She dragged her staff closer, stepping deeper into the formation, and continued swinging it, tossing it around. It was like a little yellow chick among a group of geese.

Slowly, the little yellow chick noticed even more space opening up around her.

The distance between the other monks was roughly the same, but around her, there was a large gap.

She stopped and looked up at the monks. They all had serious, focused expressions and didn’t seem to acknowledge her, nor did they intentionally distance themselves from her.

However, after being stared at by Qian for too long, one young monk couldn’t help himself. During a brief pause in his movements, he quickly glanced at her, and his guilty look was instantly caught by Qian.

Qian immediately moved closer, and the monk, startled, fumbled his movements, taking a big step back after the next motion, clearly putting more distance between himself and Qian.

Qian: “…”

Wherever Qian moved, the entire formation shifted with her at the center, like the eye of a storm.

This was when she got really excited.

In the end, things evolved into a strange scene.

“Hahaha!” The child’s crisp laughter was filled with excitement as she chased the monks, staff in hand, disrupting the once orderly formation.

Those targeted by her had no choice but to turn and run, trying to avoid her. Qian chased them out of the encirclement and quickly turned to chase the others. The scene of the little child with a staff chasing the monks looked like a lion hunting buffalo on the African savanna.

Having played to her heart’s content, Qian had already exceeded her exercise limit by the time morning came. She had chased a whole group of Martial Monks, setting a record for the most chaotic morning exercise.

It wasn’t until Wuxin came to take her to breakfast that this large-scale game of tag ended.

Exhausted, Qian sat in Wuxin’s arms, still fidgeting, describing the “game” she had just played. Her forehead was damp with sweat, sticking to her round little face.

The meals at the Bodhi Temple’s dining hall weren’t luxurious, but Qian found the food delicious. Every day, she devoured a large bowl, and in no time, she had gained weight.

But a slightly chubby child was always cute, and at that moment, her round face, red as an apple, was incredibly endearing.

Venerable Master Fu from the dining hall brought her a large bowl of noodles and, seeing the sweat on her forehead, he kindly went to wet a towel for her to wipe her face.

After finishing her noodles, Qian drank the broth from the bowl, then noticed Wuxin eating a steamed bun. She reached out her hand.

Wuxin, understanding, broke the bun in half and gave it to her. Qian drank another sip of soup and took a bite of the bun. She had a great appetite.

Mingzhen finally finished the little wooden cart he had made for her. With the guidance of the mysterious monk, he had made noticeable progress. The cart could be ridden by stepping on the pedal, light and not cumbersome. The wheels were greased, and it made no noise even when rolling over stones.

Qian immediately hopped on and rode several laps without stopping. She rode all the way from the Sutra Pavilion to the dining hall, then passed the martial arts practice field, where a group of monks eyed her warily. She then continued down the road with many caves.

However, after a quick glance at the monks meditating in the caves, she quickly turned the cart around and rode back.

Mingzhen saw the silly Junior Disciple following behind Qian’s wooden cart, occasionally running up to help push it. The eager look in his eyes made Mingzhen realize he had to make another cart for the Junior Disciple. Now the two children could ride around together.

Busy learning carpentry from the mysterious monk, Mingzhen had relaxed his supervision of the children. Sometimes, he would forget about them, and at such times, the two kids would run off to play by themselves. Their favorite place to go was the dining hall because there was always food there.

After a few trips, Mingzhen had grown used to it. After all, Bodhi Temple wasn’t dangerous. Venerable Master Fu, although a bit eccentric, was trustworthy and seemed to enjoy taking care of the children.

At that moment, Mingzhen thought of his Wuxin Master. When Wuxin Master had entrusted him with the children, had he felt this relaxed too?

Two small wooden carts were parked at the entrance of the dining hall. Qian and Mingde were just about to get off when they saw Venerable Master Fu from the dining hall closing the door and preparing to head out with his tools and burden.

The two children had come for a second meal and to help wash vegetables, but today there were no vegetables to wash. Venerable Master Fu was headed to the vegetable fields behind the temple to work.

“I want to go too!” The child would, of course, never miss an opportunity to play.

So, Venerable Master Fu led the two children along a small path behind the dining hall to the fields. He walked in front, while the two kids followed behind, riding their little carts.

The novelty of the new little carts hadn’t worn off yet, and the children were still excited, riding them wherever they went.

The path was narrow, almost entirely created by Venerable Master Fu’s footsteps. The carts weren’t easy to maneuver, and when they reached a broken section of the path, they had to stop and carry the carts across. Venerable Master Fu picked them up and moved both children and carts across with one hand on each.

Finally, they reached the vegetable fields, which were scattered across the mountainside.

These were all planted by Venerable Master Fu, and the nearest plot had a patch of green vegetables. There were trellises set up for the climbing vines to wind around.

The two children had no idea what these vegetables were and were happily running around, chattering away.

“I’ll help you pull them out, I can pull them out too.” Qian squeezed her way next to Venerable Master Fu, mimicking his actions as she reached out to pull up some of the nearby vegetable seedlings.

Mingde followed her, but tripped and ended up flattening one of the plants.

Venerable Master Fu’s expression didn’t change as he said to them, “You two go pull up the radishes.”

He then led them to a lower field where the summer radishes were almost ready to be harvested. This plot would keep the children busy for a while.

The two children obediently stayed in the radish field and worked hard. After all, pulling up the large radishes with their green leaves sticking out was much more interesting than pulling weeds.

After working for a while, Venerable Master Fu looked up to check on the children. He saw that Qian had fallen on her bottom while holding a radish. She patted her bottom, stood up, and looked around for another radish. She grabbed it and tried to pull it out. Mingde, beside her, was tugging at the radish tops and had already pulled up several radishes by the time.

Venerable Master Fu didn’t interfere, waiting until they had harvested enough radishes. Only then did he start collecting the radishes, some of which had bite marks from the children. He continued packing them away without changing his expression.

Qian and Mingde then ran into a nearby trellis, which was covered with vines and dotted with small white and yellow flowers, looking like a little house.

The two children darted in and out, whether they were picking flowers or fruits, Venerable Master Fu didn’t react. When they were done playing, he simply collected the fruits and flowers they had picked.

At lunch in the dining hall, they had the unripe melons, and Qian also had a bowl of fried cauliflower coated in flour. Nothing went to waste.

Wuxin listened to her chat endlessly about her time working and playing in the fields, offering encouragement and support. He heard her say that she would go play there every day from now on.

A few days later, Wuxin noticed that the child had noticeably tanned.

Most monks in Bodhi Temple weren’t particularly fair-skinned, with Wuxin being an exception. Even after spending years outside, he never tanned. Qian, however, was different.

But Qian, who didn’t look in a mirror, hadn’t noticed the tan. Wuxin and Mingzhen, who noticed, didn’t bring it up, so Qian happily continued running around in the fields every day.

It wasn’t until her interest waned and she no longer followed Venerable Master Fu into the fields every day that the tanning finally stopped.

Three months had passed since they arrived at Bodhi Temple. Having become familiar with her surroundings, Qian had naturally become the little ruler of the temple. Every day, she rode her cart, leading her little brother (Mingde) around the temple to patrol her territory.

Everyone avoided her (especially when she showed up with her staff during morning practice), she had the best meals (Venerable Master Fu’s special treats), her leader accompanied her for meals and put her to bed (Buddhist Disciple Wuxin), and she had professional craftsmen to make her toys (thanks to Mingzhen’s carpentry skills). There were also numerous playmates ready to join her in fun (anyone she casually grabbed from the roadside).

Recently, Qian had taken a liking to the towering ancient trees in the temple, many of which seemed perfect for climbing.

After not seeing the children causing trouble for a long time, Mingzhen went to check on them and found them stuck high in the branches of a tree, not knowing how they had gotten up there.

As soon as they saw Mingzhen, Qian burst into tears. They had been sitting in the tree branches for a long time and didn’t know how to get down.

Mingzhen, who could climb the steep cliffs of Mount Taixi, had no trouble with such a large tree. He climbed up, took the two children down, and brought them back.

This incident made Mingzhen realize that he had been neglecting the children lately. He tightened his supervision, keeping them close and not letting them run off anymore.

Now, Qian and Mingde had to stay in Mingzhen’s workshop, watching him and the mysterious monk as they worked. Mingzhen had even started carving designs into the wood.

Seeing how often Mingzhen looked like he was about to roar from the constant trouble caused by the children, the mysterious monk would laugh heartily, holding a piece of wood.

Each time Mingzhen saw the monk’s smug, almost triumphant look, he couldn’t help but give him a complex stare, several times about to speak but holding back.