Wandering Gods of Day and Night
Chapter 200 - 161 Buddhist and Taoist Twin Souls_4

Chapter 200: Chapter 161 Buddhist and Taoist Twin Souls_4

The side wall of the Great Hall in the temple has an image of Monk Zhu Jiu hanging on it; there’s no mistaking it.

"The soul of the tattooed monk you provided me—is it Monk Zhu Jiu’s?"

"There’s no way to use him; Monk Zhu Jiu passed away two hundred years ago."

During the conversation, Liu Qingguang had already completed the painting and then bowed toward Zhou Xuan, saying: "Young Master, you can move now. I’m going to paint for Miss Si."

Upon hearing he could move, Zhou Xuan strode over, taking the painting in his hands to examine it.

The Taoist in the painting had an otherworldly aura: his eyebrows vaulted high, stretching to his temples, yet his features displayed no aggression.

A blend of three parts sharpness veiled by seven parts tranquility.

"Master Si, the person carried on Miss Si’s back... looks identical to that Taoist, except he is a monk."

After noticing the monk carried on Si Yuer’s back, Liu Qingguang stopped using his golden pen and merely pointed out the differences between the monk and the Taoist.

"The monk is wearing a cassock—quite ragged and dirty. His head isn’t shaved clean; he still has about half an inch of hair..."

This description of Liu Qingguang fell into Si Ming’s ears, but Si Ming showed little reaction.

He had already accepted that the Taoist behind Zhou Xuan and Monk Zhu Jiu looked identical, so he had prematurely deduced that the "entity" on his daughter’s back was none other than Monk Zhu Jiu.

Monk Zhu Jiu had always been known as a strange figure embodying both Buddhism and Taoism.

Having reached the answer, Liu Qingguang’s words no longer deeply stirred Si Ming; they merely served as verification.

"Monk Zhu Jiu, Zhu Jiu from Qiye Temple!" Zhou Xuan muttered. "I used the Flower-picking Handprint tattoo made with the abbot of Qiye Temple; why are there two Monk Zhu Jius?"

"Not two—just one person."

Si Ming said, "Monk Zhu Jiu was once a Taoist who later returned to secular life, then ordained as a monk at Qiye Temple! He embodies the unity of Buddhism and Taoism. It’s said his body harbored two souls: one inherently tied to Buddhism, the other deeply rooted in Taoism."

In the side chamber of Qiye Temple, there’s even a painting of Monk Zhu Jiu dressed in a Daoist robe with his Taoist topknot."

"Master Si, the monk’s soul you got me—how did you obtain it? Was it procured through normal means?"

Zhou Xuan found today’s tattoo-making far too peculiar; with materials, designs, and the Bone Teeth all confirmed to have no issues, the soul became the only potential source of the problem.

Moreover, since both Si Yuer and Zhou Xuan carried the Tao soul and Buddhist soul of Monk Zhu Jiu respectively, it further proved that the "soul" was problematic.

"Uh... That abbot monk was terminally ill and didn’t have many days left to live, so I..."

"You killed him?" Zhou Xuan was somewhat taken aback.

The laws of Jing Country were very strict on the protection of monks; killing one so casually would invite dire trouble from the God Traveling Department.

"No, no."

Si Ming explained: "I asked the abbot of Qiye Temple to see to the matter and had him end the life of that high monk."

"Is this another twist?" Zhou Xuan had merely asked Si Ming to find a monk’s ghost; he hadn’t expected him to look for it from a living person.

"The main issue was that Qiye Temple hadn’t had any monks pass away recently."

"Couldn’t you have found another temple?" Si Yuer also expressed anger and reproach toward her father.

"Uh..." Si Ming was momentarily at a loss for words.

Zhou Xuan speculated, "Could it be that the high monk’s death caused an injustice, and Monk Zhu Jiu, as a renowned monk of Qiye Temple, is avenging him, wanting to show us his discontent?"

"That shouldn’t be the case," Si Ming replied. Over the years, several monks had died unjustly at Qiye Temple, yet there had never been tales of "Monk Zhu Jiu’s two souls seeking vengeance."

For two hundred years, no such legends had emerged; why today would he act on behalf of an abbot?

While everyone puzzled over the matter, Zhou Xuan suddenly felt a lightness in his shoulder, and he stood straighter.

Likewise, Si Yuer’s body mirrored Zhou Xuan’s; her shoulders relaxed, and she stood upright.

At the same time, the Wash Away Injustice Talisman on Zhou Xuan’s chest began to tremble—a sign of encountering a "grievance for cleansing."

Then Zhou Xuan saw, in the center of the Blessing Hall, a monk in Daoist robes materialize out of thin air.

The monk was none other than Monk Zhu Jiu, drawn by Liu Qingguang.

"So it’s an obsession?!"

Only then did Zhou Xuan realize the special ability of Liu Qingguang’s double-pupiled gourd eye—it could see obsessions.

"Injustice... Injustice..." Monk Zhu Jiu’s lips moved faintly, making a plea to Zhou Xuan for washing away injustice.

At the same time, Monk Zhu Jiu muttered incessantly, bowing repeatedly to Zhou Xuan.

Like other obsessions, his bows were pious in the extreme, yet Zhou Xuan couldn’t quite comprehend it; the previous obsessions comprised dozens of victims.

And yet, Monk Zhu Jiu alone constituted an obsession.

"Injustice!"

Monk Zhu Jiu again bowed to the contemplative Zhou Xuan, this time startling Liu Qingguang.

Liu Qingguang, still trapped in the double-pupil blood eye state, could see the obsession clearly and also discern how Monk Zhu Jiu, a preeminent monk of Qiye Temple two hundred years ago, was imploring Zhou Xuan with utmost reverence.

Yet Liu Qingguang, standing opposite Zhou Xuan, could only see Monk Zhu Jiu’s back and couldn’t see his lips shape the word "injustice."

Monk Zhu Jiu bowed three times in quick succession, but Zhou Xuan remained unresponsive.

It wasn’t that Zhou Xuan didn’t want to cleanse Monk Zhu Jiu’s grievance; it was that there were too many people present, especially Liu Qingguang, and he feared revealing the secret of the Wash Away Injustice Talisman.

With thoughts spinning several times in his mind, Zhou Xuan finally steeled himself and said, "Everyone, I seem to have gained some insight from the tattoo handprint and need to close my eyes and meditate. I hope you’ll do me a favor and leave for a moment."

Asking the Si family’s Old Master and Miss Si to leave the Blessing Hall was somewhat presumptuous—it sounded downright insolent.

Si Ming wanted to retort, but Si Yuer, holding Zhou Xuan in high regard, said, "Oh come on, just leave him be. Give Brother Zhou some personal space."

Only then did Si Ming grumblingly step out of the Blessing Hall, followed closely by Si Yuer, with Liu Qingguang being the last to exit.

He gently pulled the door closed, taking great care not to make the slightest noise, lest he disturb Zhou Xuan.

"Hmph, the Young Master really isn’t shy about treating the Blessing Hall like his own house. If he wants to meditate, couldn’t he find a quiet spot somewhere? The Si Mansion is big enough; surely there’s a secluded area!"

Si Ming grew increasingly incensed the more he spoke.

Liu Qingguang, however, advised, "Old Master, lower your voice; don’t let the Young Master hear you."

"What if he hears? This is my home! I can’t even mutter a few words?"

"That Young Master has an extraordinary background! Monk Zhu Jiu’s soul bowed to him and knelt before him." Liu Qingguang lowered his voice, afraid Zhou Xuan and Monk Zhu Jiu might overhear.

They’re "important figures." If they were discussing secrets in the Blessing Hall and overheard arguing outside, they might assign blame.

Liu Qingguang, seasoned in roaming the martial world, knew that offending "important figures" incurred far worse consequences than enduring Si Ming’s wrath or gold pen prodding.

Upon hearing this, Si Ming involuntarily lowered his voice, asking in a subdued tone, "Are you sure about this?"

"I saw it with my own eyes."

Liu Qingguang raised three fingers and muttered, "Monk Zhu Jiu didn’t just bow once to the Young Master—at least three times!"

"Now that you mention it... I recall hearing the mistress say Mr. Li treated the Young Master with the utmost respect after meeting him, likely because he’d already discerned the Young Master’s formidable origins."

Si Ming fell into thought before saying, "Qiye Temple once produced a Great Buddha, and the Buddhist Great Buddhas are renowned for reincarnation. Could it be that the Young Master is the reincarnation of Qiye Temple’s Great Buddha?"

"Surely only a reincarnated Great Buddha could compel Monk Zhu Jiu to bow three times..." Liu Qingguang, recalling that shocking scene, strongly agreed that Zhou Xuan was indeed a reincarnated Great Buddha.

"It’s not just that simple! Brother Zhou has a master who’s even more formidable than the Hundred-Eyed High Priest."

Si Yuer remembered something Zhou Xuan had mentioned during their conversations.

"Clap!"

Si Ming clasped his hands together and excitedly proclaimed, "That explains everything! His master must be the guide for the Great Buddha’s reincarnation! When a Great Buddha reincarnates without awakening, the Buddhist sect appoints an immensely skilled guide to help them awaken..."

The three of them whispered among themselves outside, but Zhou Xuan didn’t hear them; his focus was exclusively on the inscription within the Wash Away Injustice Talisman—"Wash Away Injustice, Monk Zhu Jiu..."