Green Mountain
Chapter 197 - 152, Paradox

Chapter 197: 152, Paradox

In the midst of wind and snow, a young Taoist clad in a deep blue Daoist robe stood under the signboard, one hand caressing the young monk’s bald head, the other holding a scroll, as if no one else was around.

The young Taoist’s hair was casually tied with a crude tree branch, and despite the harsh winter, his blue robe was merely a light garment, frightfully thin.

The self-proclaimed Zhang Li looked at the young monk with a smiling face, rolling his finger joints and knocking on the young monk’s forehead with a "thud, thud" sound, "Are you still blocking the way because you didn’t understand my words, or is the name ’Zhang Li’ not influential in Jianghu anymore?"

The young monk stammered, "Oh... it’s Patron Zhang Li, please come in!"

Zhang Li tapped the young monk’s shoulder with the scroll, "Bring in my Green Ox, and remember to find a clean ox pen for it. Feed it three pounds of vegetarian steamed buns, with mushroom and green vegetable filling."

The young monk was startled, "Ah? Feed it steamed buns?"

Zhang Li glanced at him sideways, "Is there a problem?"

The young monk quickly shook his head, "No, no, I’ll go to the kitchen and tell them shortly, it’s just that... it might be difficult to find green vegetables at this time..."

Zhang Li waved his hand indifferently, "Then go for pickled cabbage filling."

The young monk quickly agreed, "We have that, I had pickled cabbage stuffed buns last night..."

"Who’s asking you?"

Zhang Li didn’t look at Chen Ji and the others; he went into the gray-brick and gray-tile manor, patting off the snow from his body, with the young monk following humbly with little steps.

Just as they entered, they saw an imposing stone screen carved with the images of the eighteen Arhats ahead. As Zhang Li passed by the stone wall, he mused, "Back in the day, the Dao Court won this manor from the Zen Sect and refused to re-carve this stone wall, insisting that all visitors should know that we won this manor from the Zen Sect..."

He casually asked, "I heard the bell ringing just now from afar, who won this round?"

The young monk hesitated, "It was the few behind you who won."

Zhang Li stopped in his tracks, "Who won?"

The young monk said bitterly, "They defeated our second senior monk, Wuzheng. He debated on the doctrine of good and evil, and they used the ’Mahaparinirvana Sutra’ to break his argument."

Speaking of this, the young monk was somewhat unconvinced, "However, we still have several senior monks to come, and the Dao Court is down to one last person, still without the advantage!"

Zhang Li ignored him, walked backward to the entrance, and glanced sideways at Chen Ji, "You won?"

Chen Ji did not answer.

Zhang Li asked again, "Have you read through all Buddhist scriptures?"

Chen Ji still did not answer.

Zhang Li looked back at Bai Li on the horse, "She’s caught a cold, hasn’t she?"

Chen Ji uttered a sound of agreement.

Zhang Li pulled a gourd-shaped white porcelain bottle from his sleeve and poured out a black pill, "This is the Purple Void Primordial Pill personally refined by my junior sister, which nourishes the foundation and fosters the source. Although it is not the exact remedy, it’s enough to save a life."

Saying this, he chuckled with glee, "Since you’ve just won against the monk, I’ll gift you this pill."

Chen Ji’s eyes lit up, he immediately thanked Zhang Li and reached out to take it, turning around to feed it to Bai Li.

Zhang Li, unhurried, poured another Purple Void Primordial Pill from the white porcelain bottle and called out to Chen Ji, "I see that the young lady has been deeply affected by the cold; one pill is definitely not enough. Swallowing two is necessary for a full recovery."

Chen Ji turned and asked, "What’s the condition?"

Zhang Li laughed, "A clever man. To get this second elixir, you have to come with me to the scripture debate. You just need to answer one question correctly, or pose one that stumps a monk."

Chen Ji asked, "What if I can’t do it?"

Zhang Li chuckled, "This elixir wasn’t easy to obtain. My junior sister watched over the stove for forty-nine days before the pills were finally ready. If she wasn’t worried about me, her senior brother, living rough outside, she wouldn’t have parted with them."

"So?"

"So this item is precious. If you can’t meet my conditions, I can’t give you the elixir."

The grey-clothed young monk widened his eyes, "How can the Dao Court bring in outsiders to help?"

Zhang Li wasn’t pleased and tapped his shiny bald head sonorously with a finger, "When the Buddhist Sect called in Confucian civil servants to aid them, did my Dao Court say anything?"

The young monk quickly said, "But they didn’t have an invitation, nor proof of identity..."

Zhang Li snorted, "Perhaps that is just an excuse your senior brother made to avoid karmic retribution. No matter, I’ll take on the karma myself! Let us pass!"

The young monk pursed his lips, "Who are you to order me around? Lu Hun Manor is now the property of Yuanjue Temple. What you say doesn’t count."

Zhang Li stroked his bald head and remarked, "Your senior brother wouldn’t dare utter such nonsense to me. Shut up, or I’ll have to give you a slap."

The young monk shrank his neck.

Chen Ji looked at Zhang Li, "Let me test the efficacy of the medicine first."

Zhang Li smiled, "Please do."

Chen Ji stepped out into the snow and gently offered the pill to Bai Li, "Eat it and see if it works."

Bai Li clenched the pill with her teeth and swallowed it with difficulty, but her complexion quickly became rosy and her eyes regained their vitality. Bai Li struggled to get off her horse, still unsteady on her feet.

The miraculous effect of the elixir seemed to seize the essence of heaven and earth.

The Princely Heir’s eyes brightened, "The Medicine Official Path of the Huangshan Dao Court?"

Zhang Li answered with a grin, "Exactly."

Chen Ji stood in the snow pondering for a moment before handing the reins of his horse to another young monk at the gate and saying to Zhang Li, "I do have one question to try. Whether it stumps the monks, I’m not sure."

Zhang Li responded with an unconcerned smile, "Let’s give it a go."

Chen Ji and the others followed Zhang Li into Lu Hun Manor, moving between tall grey walls, as if navigating the shadows of a dark canyon. Looking up, there was only a sliver of light from the dawning sky.

Seeing Chen Ji looking around, Zhang Li offhandedly said, "Who knows what those monks were hiding here to build Lu Hun Manor like a canyon. My Huangshan has a scenic spot called ’One Line Sky’ right below Wenshu Cave. You can see it while crossing the Transitional Immortal Bridge. Walking there, you look up to see the sky—the blue of heaven reduced to a thin line, invisible at noon, without sun or moon."

He turned back, glanced at Chen Ji, and laughed, "The place where the Huangshan Dao Court sits is the world’s most marvelous peak, said to be where an Immortal ascended after refining his sword pill."

Chen Ji was taken aback, "Sword pill? Is it the ’sword seed’ of the Jing Dynasty Martial Temple?"

Zhang Li shook his head, "I don’t know about that."

Chen Ji pressed on, "What’s the name of that Immortal?"

Zhang Li shook his head again, "I don’t know either, only that there’s a Ten Thousand Years Cave Mansion beneath Fuguo Peak, with the words ’Xuanyuan’ inscribed within. That Immortal, perhaps he was called Xuanyuan... haha, I’m just guessing."

Thunder struck in Chen Ji’s heart.

Xuanyuan!

Finally, he heard the name Xuanyuan spoken from someone else’s lips—the Qingshan Dream Realm had finally gained a foundation in this world!

Hiding his excitement, he calmly asked, "Does the Huangshan Dao Court have any historical records of this Xuanyuan?"

Zhang Li shook his head, "No, he’s not from our Dao Court. When our Luo Dao Temple was above the Huangshan Mountain, his cave mansion was already there. Huangshan is renowned for its many wondrous sights; if you win against the monk this time, you are welcome to visit Huangshan as a guest."

Chen Ji’s expression was odd, "And if I don’t win?"

Zhang Li laughed heartily, "Then you better not come."

Chen Ji: "..."

...

...

Not knowing how long he had walked, the bustle ahead gradually grew louder.

Upon exiting the "canyon", he saw a wide arena filled with scholars and literati, chatting and whispering to each other.

This elliptical-shaped arena was surrounded by more than a dozen stone steps. The scholars and literati sat in order on the steps, letting the heavy snow fall upon them.

The Eight Diagram pattern in the center of the arena was covered by snow, except where the Yin Yang Fish Eyes were located, with a meditation cushion placed on each. On one of the cushions sat a young monk in a gray robe, cross-legged.

On the other side, no one had yet taken a seat on the Dao Court’s cushion.

Zhang Li, leading Chen Ji and others, approached amid a group of Daoists and curiously asked, "Why has no one come forward to challenge?"

A little Daoist turned around and saw Zhang Li, immediately becoming ecstatic, "Brother Zhang Li has arrived; let’s start quickly. Brother Zhang Li, please go and teach that arrogant bald monk a lesson!"

"Why has Brother Zhang Li arrived a day and a night late!"

Zhang Li raised his hand to quiet the young Daoists, "Hold on, how many have our Dao Court lost?"

A little Daoist hesitated, "We’ve already lost eight, and only one more can go up..."

Zhang Li further inquired, "How many does the opposition have left?"

The little Daoist hesitated again, "They still have four."

Zhang Li arched his eyebrows, "You group of little Daoists from Laojun Mountain have no good intentions, saving me for last. If I lose, wouldn’t I bear the blame all by myself?"

"How could Brother Zhang Li possibly lose?"

"Brother Zhang Li, you are sure to win!"

Zhang Li said grumpily, "Don’t flatter me too much. How can I win in a situation of one against four? I will not shoulder this blame for Huangshan Dao Court!"

The little Daoists grew anxious, "If you don’t go up, our Dao Court is certain to lose. Then all of us, more than a dozen, will have to go to Yuanjue Temple to become monks! Huangshan and Laojun Mountain are branches of the same tree, why distinguish between us?"

Zhang Li laughed in exasperation, "Hold on, when my little sister asked to borrow a pill recipe from you, why didn’t you mention being branches of the same tree?"

"Ah, that..."

However, Zhang Li didn’t dwell on it, knowing that in the Debating Scripture, the Dao Court’s honor and disgrace were shared.

He rolled his eyes, then turned to Chen Ji with a smile, "You go. If you win, I will give you the elixir."

Chen Ji straightforwardly answered, "Alright."

The little Daoists were astonished, "Brother, who is this person?"

Zhang Li spread his hands, "I don’t know either."

"Ah?" The little Daoists were shocked, "How can we let someone we don’t know take part in such an important matter? What if he loses..."

Zhang Li slapped the back of a little Daoist’s head and interrupted, "He’s the one who just won the debate against the monk outside the gate. You are arrogant on ordinary days, unwilling to read the scriptures of Confucianism and Buddhism. If you don’t know your enemies as well as yourselves, how can you win? Those monks have combed through our Daoist scriptures thoroughly, coming prepared. If we don’t find someone conversant with the Buddhist scriptures, we can’t win."

Hearing that Chen Ji had previously won against a monk, the little Daoists exchanged glances.

One little Daoist asked, "Then Brother, have you read the Buddhist scriptures? Why don’t you go up?"

Zhang Li replied as if it was obvious, "I’m a Daoist, what do I have with those things?"

Little Daoist: "..."

Zhang Li crouched down and whispered to the little Daoists below the stone steps, "If an outsider goes up and loses this last match, it’s still an outsider’s loss, and the Dao Court can save some face. If our own Dao Court loses, then we will have no face left at all."

The little Daoists finally understood. Zhang Li knew that the Dao Court was destined to lose, so he sought an outsider to act as a cover.

They bowed their heads in shame, "But if we lose..."

Zhang Li drawled, "About the issue of becoming monks, if we indeed lose, you just need to be monks for a month, then say you want to return to secular life."

The little Daoist was stunned, "Ah? Return to secular life?"

Zhang Li said righteously, "What? Does the Buddhist Sect forbid leaving the monastic life?"

The little Daoists looked at each other and finally steeled themselves, "Then let him go."

Zhang Li looked to Chen Ji, "You go ask the questions. Ask them fiercely!"

At that moment, Zhang Xia whispered off to the side, "This kind of scripture debate only allows for one person to participate. I can’t help you from the side. Moreover, I am a woman, so I cannot go up to debate."

Chen Ji was silently pondering.

Suddenly, the Princely Heir spoke, "How about I go up? It won’t be glorious for them to win against me!"

Chen Ji, Zhang Xia, and Bai Li looked blankly at the Princely Heir, unsure of what to say.

After a moment, Chen Ji pulled Wu Yun from his bosom and stuffed it into Bai Li’s arms, "I’ll give it a try."

The next moment, he went and sat down on the meditation cushion.

Across from him, a monk stood up and questioned, "Debating Scripture in the Daoist way, how can an outsider take the stage?"

Zhang Li languidly responded, "He is a registered disciple of our Huangshan Dao Court."

The monk stared down with fierce eyes, "When was he registered, and what name was registered?"

Zhang Li stiffened, having just realized he had forgotten to ask the young man his name!

As the standoff continued, Chen Ji asked in a clear voice, "May I ask the venerable monk, if there is a ship called ’Redemption Ship’, and over several years, it has been repaired and refitted, with every plank and every part replaced—is that ship still the original ’Redemption Ship’?"

The arena suddenly fell silent, the monks looked at each other, and not a sound was heard except the snowflakes falling from the sky.

Zhang Li, who had been lounging lazily on the stone steps, straightened up when he heard this question, the more he thought about it, the more he sensed the traps within, and he focused on the seated youth in the arena, surrounded by snow and wind.

Chen Ji had not read extensively through Buddhist scriptures, but he had come across the world’s ten greatest paradoxes.