Lanke Chess Edge

Chapter 362: Grant Me Death

As the statue of the Mingwang Buddha gradually disintegrated into dust, all the monks of Daming Monastery stared wide-eyed in horror, a sense of dread washing over them.The three old monks bowed repeatedly in the direction where the statue of the Mingwang Buddha had vanished, while the monks, regardless of their fear, silently chanted the Sutra of the Seated Mingwang Buddha.

Only after the statue of the Mingwang Buddha completely dissipated did the three old monks raise their heads, turn to face Ji Yuan, and respectfully bow in prayer.

“Praise be to the Great Mingwang Buddha. Immortal Master, the monks of the Daming Monastery…”

Ji Yuan nodded slightly to the elderly monks.

“Abbot, rest assured, I will ensure the safety of all practitioners here.”

Although his voice wasn’t loud, it was gentle and echoed throughout the grounds of Daming Monastery, ensuring that every bewildered or lost monk could hear him clearly.

It was important to speak appropriately to different people. Previously, Ji Yuan had told the Mingwang Buddha that they would have been safe with Lu Shan Jun regardless of whether he had been present. However, most of these monks were obviously quite frightened, and needed Ji Yuan’s reassurance right now.

As he spoke, Ji Yuan glanced at Jueming, standing not too far away. To be honest, the former Zhao Long, now Jueming, had changed the least out of all the Nine Warriors all those years ago. Aside from having shaved his head, he had changed even less than the well-maintained Luo Ningshuang.

Indeed, although Jueming looked like a middle-aged monk, to be honest, in Ji Yuan’s memory, Zhao Long had already been aging prematurely, and he looked just as old back then. He had clearly been in his early twenties, but he looked about the same as he did now, with a middle-aged appearance.

Even now, Jueming continued to chant sutras. Unlike the other monks around him who only chanted sutras because the statue of the Mingwang Buddha had turned to dust, he had been chanting continuously since the beginning. He had been entirely unaffected even by the massive commotion that had been caused by the clash of monster, Buddhist, and immortal powers.

The power of the Mingwang Buddha was still slowly flowing out of his body, but what was once a surging river had now dwindled to a trickle, merely drifting into the Daming Monastery, as the statue of the Seated Mingwang Buddha was gone.

While Ji Yuan was carefully observing Monk Jueming, Lu Shan Jun had already stood back up.

The Mingwang Buddha’s Suppressing Mountain, Subdued Demon Technique had been truly powerful. In the end, the mountain’s form had transformed from illusion to reality, becoming a massive, overwhelming peak pressing down with an unstoppable force. If it had just been Lu Shan Jun on his own, he would probably have been crushed under the base of the mountain, severely injured if not outright killed. Even with the combined efforts of two golden-armored warriors, they were still nearly crushed.

Fortunately, in the next instant, the immortal sword revealed its blade, cleaving the giant mountain formed from Buddhist Dharma.

At this moment, Lu Shan Jun glanced to the left and right at the two golden-armored warriors beside him. These two warriors were extremely muscular, but their crimson faces were solemn. The golden armor shimmered subtly, not dazzling the eyes, and the yellow fabrics fluttered in the wind in front and behind them. Just standing there with their hammer-like arms, they exuded an oppressive aura.

Seeing that the warriors remained still, Lu Shan Jun shook out his fur and leapt hundreds of feat away, over the mountain, his monstrous aura much diminished. He easily traced an arc before landing very gently in the now-ruined courtyard of the Daming Monastery, just a dozen zhang behind Ji Yuan.

After landing, his enormous monstrous body gradually shrank in the misty light, eventually transforming into a young man wearing a pale yellow robe with cloud patterns.

Lu Shan Jun respectfully bowed to Ji Yuan.

“Lu Shan Jun greets you, sir!”

Ji Yuan shifted his gaze from Jueming, turned around, and nodded to Lu Shan Jun.

“If it weren’t for the appearance of the Mingwang Buddha’s incarnation, I would not have shown myself today. Just pretend I’m not here.”

“Yes!”

After Lu Shanjun acknowledged his master, he came out of his bow, glanced around at the surrounding monks, then looked at the three helpless elder monks, before finally letting his gaze rest on Zhao Long, who was still chanting sutras.

He did not ask Ji Yuan whether Zhao Long should be let go, or even say anything unnecessary. Lu Shan Jun knew his master’s personality all too well; he was a man of his word, and as such had no intention of changing his plans.

Now, apart from the gentle breeze and the sound of Zhao Long’s chanting, the entire temple seemed even quieter. Lu Shan Jun, Ji Yuan, and all the monks waited quietly.

It wasn’t until a long time had passed, and the power of the Mingwang Buddha no longer flowed from Monk Jueming’s body, that the continuous chanting finally stopped.

Monk Jueming opened his eyes, looked around, and found the monastery’s courtyard in complete disarray. However, apart from the courtyard, he monastery, which had stood for many years, had actually not suffered that much damage. Most of the place was intact, with only a few tiles missing from the rooftops.

Standing up, Jueming looked around, but couldn’t find the giant monster. Instead, he immediately spotted Ji Yuan at a glance. After a slight pause, he asked uncertainly.

“You are… Mr. Ji?”

Ji Yuan smiled and nodded slightly at him.

“Should I address you as Zhao Long or Monk Jueming?”

“You may address me however you wish, sir…”

Facing Ji Yuan, Jueming still felt somewhat ashamed. He wanted to bow, but due to years of habit, he subconsciously put his hands together in a Buddhist gesture.

Then, when looking up, Jueming noticed the unfamiliar man standing not too far behind Ji Yuan. Their eyes met, and Jueming vaguely understood that this must be Lu Shan Jun.

Lu Shan Jun stepped forward and walked up to Jueming.

Now no monk would stop them. Even the three old monks a short distance away had closed their eyes.

“Zhao Long, have you changed your mind?”

The middle-aged monk in front of them let out a long breath and gave a seemingly irrelevant answer.

“I am not a courageous person. I cannot seize what should be mine to take, nor can I let go of what I should. I do not know how to choose between fame and fortune, nor do I understand Buddhist principles when I sit in meditation. The life and death situation that I set for myself many years ago has brought the monastery to such a state. This life is truly laughable!”

Jueming gave a bitter smile, but it was also filled with a sense of relief. He bowed to Lu Shan Jun in a Buddhist gesture and spoke as a monk.

“Benefactor Lu, please grant me death.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Jueming bowed at a full ninety degree angle, and did not rise.

A gentle breeze swept through the temple. Xiaoliang Mountain was entirely quiet.

Lu Shan Jun took a few steps closer, straightened his sleeves, and bowed with his hands clasped in a gesture of respect towards Monk Jueming.

This scene remained frozen for a few breaths in the gaze of all the monks of Daming Monastery, and particularly in Ji Yuan’s eyes, as they remained still. Then, Lu Shan Jun straightened himself, and a yellowish-black shadow emanated from hid body, obscuring the light, eventually transforming into an enormous maw.

Monk Jueming raised his head, held his breath, and stared wide-eyed at the gaping maw growing larger and larger until everything went black, and he lost consciousness completely.

Many monks, still in a daze, felt a jolt in their hearts as they watched the monster’s enormous maw swallow Jueming whole. Aside from the inevitable shock, they also experienced a peculiar enlightenment.

The three old monks finally opened their eyes, uttered a “praise be,” and bowed their heads to chant sutras.

Ji Yuan glanced at them and murmured something under his breath.

“Daming Monastery is very fortunate.”

A short distance away, two golden-armored warriors had already crossed the monastery’s outer wall and entered the courtyard. Their figures had returned to normal, although they were still several times larger than ordinary people.

Ji Yuan now possessed a total of six golden-armored warriors. After refining these six from the initial three sets of 108 paper figures,1 Ji Yuan felt that this was enough, so he did not continue to make more. Instead, he chose to use his spare time to devote more energy to gradually integrating more paper figures.

If he only pursued quantity, how could he have achieved the formidable presence of these two warriors today?

However, no matter how much he improved their quality, the essence of the Golden Armored Warrior remained the same. At this moment, they walked unhurriedly up to Ji Yuan gave a very formulaic bow.

“Your Honor!”

Their voices were calm, their expressions indifferent, completely devoid of emotion, truly ignoring everyone else.

They bowed to Ji Yuan, then stood to either side of Lu Shan Jun, clearly still bound by their previous orders.

Lu Shan Jun glanced at the two warriors a few more times. If he didn’t have some understanding of the Golden Armored Warriors and knew that they were actually devoid of emotion, he might have thought that the two of them were arrogant.

“Abbot, Daming Monastery has seen a meditation room, a corner of the courtyard wall, and the courtyard itself destroyed. These two warriors of mine may not have many other advantages, but they do possess considerable strength. How about we help you rebuild the monastery?”

The abbot of Daming Monastery looked up at the two golden-armored warriors beside Ji Yuan, whose eyes also swept towards the old monk in turn at Ji Yuan’s words.

In the old monk’s eyes, the two warriors had an almost identical demeanor. They didn’t even turn their heads, let alone turn around. They looked down and glanced sideways, without blinking or turning their gazes, exuding an extremely strong sense of contempt, which brought with it an even stronger sense of psychological pressure.

Seeing that the warriors’ faces practically screamed “I don’t want to,” the old monk dared not be tactless.

“Thank you for your kindness, Immortal Master. My Daming Monastery has not suffered serious damage. The monks will simply repair this little damage as is routine for our daily practice. It will be restored in less than half a month. There is no need to trouble the two divine generals.”

Ji Yuan glanced at the golden-armored warriors, shook his head, and didn’t say much more. He couldn’t reveal the warriors’ secret to outsiders.

“In that case, I shall take my leave.”

Seeing that Ji Yuan was about to leave, Lu Shan Jun became somewhat nervous.

“Sir, where are you going? Did you foresee my trouble and come here to aid me?”

Ji Yuan didn’t want to reveal that he had followed Lu Shan Jun the whole time, otherwise Lu Shan Jun might hesitate to act freely later on.

“I knew you had taken human form while I was overseas, and came back to visit. I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave first. Come find me after you’ve finished what you need to do.”

As they spoke, the two golden-armored warriors transformed into two streaks of light and flew into Ji Yuan’s sleeves. To onlookers, they were so thin that they were completely unrecognizable as two paper figures.

Lu Shan Jun bowed and responded, “yes!” He watched Ji Yuan ascend into the sky on a cloud and couldn’t help but call out again.

“Sir!”

“Hmm?”

Ji Yuan stopped and looked at Lu Shan Jun.

The latter rummaged through his clothes and found only a package of dried leaves, along with some gold and silver coins. Helpless, he could only take a few steps closer and hand the package to Ji Yuan.

“Sir…you can use it to make tea…”

“Hahahaha… That is very thoughtful.”

Ji Yuan accepted the small packet of goji berries, smiled, and ascended into the sky on a cloud. Lu Shan Jun was slightly disappointed, but also felt much more relaxed. At least his master had no objection to his actions.

Looking around, it was clear that the monks had become extremely tense as soon as Ji Yuan left.

“Haha, esteemed masters, I apologize for my previous offense. I destroyed a meditation room and a section of the outer courtyard wall. As for the courtyard itself, that was the work of the Seated Mingwang Buddha.”

At this, Lu Shan Jun took out a silver ingot worth at least ten taels from his pocket, and handed it to the abbot of Daming Monastery.

“This is compensation; please accept it, Abbot.”

“No need, no need, we will repair it ourselves; there is no need for compensation from Benefactor Lu…”

The old monk immediately refused, but Lu Shan Jun repeated himself with emphasis.

“Please, Abbot, accept this!”

“This… praise be to the Great Mingwang Buddha, thank you, Benefactor Lu!”

The old monk, sweating profusely, dared not refuse any longer and accepted the silver with a Buddhist bow.

“Well, I’m leaving now. Maybe you’ll see Monk Jueming again in the future; don’t worry about it for now.”

With that, Lu Shan Jun rose into the air and flew out of Xiaoliang Mountain. He glanced back at Daming Monastery, then vanished into the distance.

It wasn’t until quite a while later that the monks of Daming Monastery finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Really cool note here: JY uses the term “three sets of Heavenly Spirits and Earthly Fiends.” this refers to the “108 Heroes”, the main characters of , who are divided into 36 Heavenly Spirits and 72 Earthly Fiends. The yellow paper man technique (the simplified version that JY later improved on) requires a total of 108 paper figures to be cut out — 108 paper figures, 108 heroes (x3 with JY’s improved method), thus JY refers to his labor as “three sets of the 108 Heroes,” or “three sets of Heavenly Spirits and Earthly fiends.” Super neat! I unfortunately had to simplify it so that it made sense in translation