I Have 10 Trillion Dollars only Usable For Simping
Chapter 652: Tanki Liuli 528

Chapter 652: Tanki Liuli 528

Jiang Chen joked, "Why didn’t the old Taoist keep you here?"

"Initially he didn’t agree with me leaving the mountain, but I insisted on going."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen fell silent, not expecting such twists in the story.

No wonder the master and disciple didn’t seem all that harmonious.

"Rustling rustling rustling..."

Suddenly.

A noise came from the woods.

Jiang Chen stopped in his tracks, instinctively turning his head, and then he froze in place.

He saw a giant black-and-white beast jumping out of the woods, charging at them ferociously and malevolently.

Its round and roly-poly figure.

The pitch-black circles around its eyes,

Its wide and chubby paws.

Indeed.

It was a giant panda!

After a brief stupor, Jiang Chen quickly realized the danger.

The panda might be a national treasure, but a wild giant panda isn’t as docile as one raised in captivity.

Remember, a panda isn’t a cat, but a bear!

And it’s even been called an iron-eating beast!

The combat prowess of a wild giant panda isn’t inferior to any ferocious beast.

"Be careful!"

Jiang Chen subconsciously grabbed for Lan Peizhi, wanting to pull her away to escape. Even though there were ways to urgently avoid danger, with his skills, trying to wrestle with a panda was simply seeking punishment. A slight mishap could likely mean losing limbs or breaking bones.

But this time, he didn’t catch that lotus arm.

Lan Peizhi, far from panicking, instead took the initiative to walk toward the giant panda.

Jiang Chen stood there dumbfounded.

What happened next completely short-circuited his brain.

The giant panda, upon reaching Lan Peizhi, didn’t lash out with its claws or bite. Instead, it stopped and sat down, its bulky figure surprisingly nimble.

It nudged Lan Peizhi with its head like a coquettish child, continuously making "yīng yīng" sounds.

Lan Peizhi lifted her hand and stroked its head.

"Da Bai, long time no see."

Da Bai?

Jiang Chen watched, astounded, his hanging heart gradually settling, and then he couldn’t help but laugh and cry.

Indeed, they were all formidable figures.

The younger brother raised a Tibetan mastiff.

And the sister, astonishingly, treated a panda as her pet.

It was clearly evident.

This wild beast, the giant panda, obviously knew Lan Peizhi.

After hesitating briefly, Jiang Chen walked over.

Without exaggeration,

this was the first time he’d ever seen a living giant panda up close.

"When I left this place, it had just been born recently," Lan Peizhi said while caressing the giant panda’s head and showing a rare tender demeanor.

If this moment could be captured, it would certainly be meaningful.

"They say every person in Sichuan feeds a giant panda, turns out it’s true," Jiang Chen said gradually regaining his composure and jokingly.

Encountering a giant panda in the wild could definitely be called a dangerous event.

Yet this panda did not show any aggression, and even lay down to roll back and forth on the ground with its belly up, as Lan Peizhi petted it.

Jiang Chen wanted to touch it, but he didn’t dare.

"It’s fine," Lan Peizhi said.

Only then did Jiang Chen reach out and touch a treasure of Shenzhou.

"This trip to the Jinguans was not in vain," he uttered, moved.

"Da Bai, lead the way," Lan Peizhi commanded.

Following her order, the giant panda seemed to understand as it clambered to its feet, using all four limbs, and started walking ahead, glancing back now and then as if to make sure they were following.

Jiang Chen’s eyes were wide open as he was led by a wild national treasure, gradually hearing the gentle babbling of flowing water.

When the giant panda stopped, a naturally formed small waterfall appeared before them, like a white ribbon, flowing endlessly, with water spray that resembled mist and smoke.

Jiang Chen hadn’t expected to find such a scene hidden in these modest mountains.

The waterfall had created a pool of water, its origin and destination unknown.

The giant panda waddled its big backside to the pond and lowered its head to drink.

"You used to come here often," Jiang Chen said, effortlessly switching between "you" and "Miss Lan."

Lan Peizhi did not reply.

After enjoying the waterfall side by side for a while, Jiang Chen turned his head and noticed a large stone over two meters tall.

He squinted, walking toward it.

He wasn’t mistaken.

The stone surface, which should have been smooth, was marred by the attack of some sharp tool, with crossing lines so powerful and imposing.

It was inexplicable.

Jiang Chen thought of the sword he had seen hanging in that room.

Lan Peizhi also looked over.

————

Inside the Daoist temple.

The old Daoist priest, sated with wine and food, lay on the bed and began to sleep soundly without a care in the world.

Tanki Liuli carefully closed the door for him, then went to the main hall, sat down on a meditation cushion facing the statues of the Three Pure Ones and began to chant with her eyes closed.

"All Bodhisattvas and Mahasattvas should subdue their minds thus: ’All beings, whether born from eggs, wombs, moisture, or by transformation; whether they have form or are formless; whether they have perceptions or lack perceptions or neither have nor lack perceptions, I shall lead them all to nirvana, so they can be extinguished.’ Even though the extinction of immeasurable, innumerable, and limitless beings is spoken of, in truth no being is extinguished..."

The Diamond Sutra.

A person of the Daoist way.

Was actually chanting Buddhist scriptures.

This reflected how unconcerned her master, the old Daoist priest, was with sticking to conventions.

The woman in the Daoist robe sat upright with a solemn demeanor, and one recitation lasted over an hour.

This memory capacity, let alone Jiang Chen, even those so-called prodigies with photographic memories, would probably have to admit defeat.

It happened that Jiang Chen and Lan Peizhi came back just in time to witness this scene.

"All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, or shadows; like dew or like lightning, and should be regarded as such..."

The woman’s voice was not loud; in fact, Jiang Chen could only see her back facing the Three Pure Ones—he couldn’t see her face.

Yet her every word resonated like the evening drum and the morning bell, passing through the eardrums and continually striking the heart, becoming louder and more majestic!

Jiang Chen felt, for a moment, as if he couldn’t catch his breath.

"Creak."

Fortunately, at that moment, the side room door opened, and the old Daoist priest, yawning as if he had just woken up, came out.

"You’re back."

The chanting stopped.

Jiang Chen’s breathing was uneven, while Lan Peizhi appeared largely unaffected.

"Liuli, go down the mountain to buy some vegetables."

The old Daoist priest started to instruct his junior disciple again.

Inside the main hall, Tanki Liuli got up from the meditation cushion.

"There’s no need, we are leaving soon."

"Leaving so soon? Pei Zhi, it’s rare for you to come back; at least spend the night before you go. You and your sisters haven’t gathered for a long time, and Liuli has been quite lonely here. Stay and talk with her, okay?"

The old Daoist priest urged.

Tanki Liuli walked out of the main hall, her clear eyes fixed on Lan Peizhi without a word.

"You can let me take her down the mountain."

Lan Peizhi said.

"The weather is really nice today."

The old Daoist abruptly changed the subject and looked up at the sky.

Lan Peizhi didn’t say more and turned to leave.

The old Daoist hurriedly called out, "Don’t forget my wine."

Jiang Chen, at a loss, could only force a smile and say, "Excuse us for the disturbance, Daoist Priest."

The old Daoist smiled.

"Go on your way."

After giving Tanki Liuli one last look, Jiang Chen quickly turned and followed suit.

Inside the Daoist temple.

The old Daoist watched the two people as they gradually walked away, the smile fading from his face.

"Liuli, do you want to go down the mountain?"

Tanki Liuli, who had never experienced the secular world, thought for a while before shaking her head.

"Why?"

The old Daoist asked, "The outside world is fascinating, much more interesting than this mountain here."

"I want to be with Master."

Without hesitation and with the same solemnity as when she chanted, Tanki Liuli was resolute.

The old Daoist was taken aback for a moment, then his eyes filled with gratification.

"When you get tired of this place, just tell me, and I will take you down the mountain."

"Master, I think it’s quite nice here."

Looking at his disciple’s pure and holy face, the old Daoist, who had raised two disciples of such contrasting styles, chuckled meaningfully, as if he wanted to say something but ended up saying nothing.

"Alright, continue chanting."

Tanki Liuli nodded and turned back toward the main hall; she glanced once more outside the Daoist temple.

Lan Peizhi and the other had already gone far.

Certainly.

Even those whose hearts are free of impurities, while living amidst these wild mountains, cannot help but feel the pang of loneliness.

Tanki Liuli went back to sit on the meditation cushion.

Soon.

The whole Daoist temple was filled again with the solemn sound of chanting.

The old Daoist stood at the entrance to the main hall, silently watching, his gaze distant as he remembered the first time he had picked up this child swaddled in blankets.

May I, in the next life, attain Bodhi.

With a body like crystal, clear both inside and out.

Pure and untainted, radiating vast brilliance.