Chapter 392: Chapter 59: Young Scholar, Middle-aged Priest, Old Monk
Upon hearing this, Zhang Deming looked over, slightly taken aback. Down below the teahouse, beside the street and away from the main crowd, an odd trio stood watching the fighting circle from a distance.
A young scholar, an elderly monk, and a middle-aged priest dressed in black—the kind who wears a black priest’s robe.
The three starkly different men stood shoulder to shoulder. As it happened, they were positioned right below Zhang Deming’s teahouse, on a street corner far from the crowd, watching the nuns fight ahead.
And it was the young scholar who had just spoken.
Looking at the trio, Zhang Deming found the combination quite novel.
Ever since the Celestial Universe Federation and Hongmeng had made contact, the Federation had established many outposts similar to foreign envoy offices within the territories of Hongmeng’s major Upper Sects.
However, due to the extremely xenophobic nature of the Hongmeng Sects, these places actually had very little contact with the locals.
Aside from these official institutions, another type of organization had also established numerous buildings in Hongmeng: churches.
And unlike the official institutions, which were similar to foreign envoy offices, they would have a significant amount of contact with the local powers.
Of course, these churches were primarily active around the Holy Lands and Blessed Lands; they had not yet spread throughout the major Upper Sects of Hongmeng to the same extent as the official Celestial Universe presence.
And the Celestial Spirit Sect, being a mid-to-low-tier sect among the Four-Nine Upper Sects, had no churches within its territory.
Huayue City was arguably the city within the Celestial Spirit Sect’s territory with the most contact with the Outer Realm, yet there was still little evidence of anything from beyond.
"Ancient Layman Guu, I have told you many times. I am their priest, not their father," the middle-aged priest, Ruan Mingxian, said.
The young scholar, Guu Donglin, spread his hands. "Is there a difference? They both mean father!"
The middle-aged priest, Ruan Mingxian, corrected him, "A priest’s job is to take care of the combat nuns, to satisfy all their needs. This is different from a father."
The scholar Guu Donglin paused, then tilted his head to look at the old monk Fuyuan and said, "Hey, old monk, does this wild monk from the Outer Realm have to keep The Color of Desire?"
The old monk Fuyuan placed his palms together, glanced at the somewhat unpredictable scholar, Guu Donglin, and said, "I hear some of them do."
Hearing this, Guu Donglin turned back to ask, "So, wild monk, do you abstain?"
Priest Ruan Mingxian paused for a moment, unable to keep up with the scholar Guu Donglin’s mercurial train of thought. He answered honestly, "I do!"
The scholar Guu Donglin shrugged and spread his hands. "So you can’t satisfy all their needs after all. You’re nothing more than a diaper-changing dad."
Zhang Deming, listening clearly from the floor above: "..."
The middle-aged priest, Ruan Mingxian, looked utterly bewildered; clearly, he still hadn’t followed Guu Donglin’s line of reasoning.
The old monk Fuyuan looked at the scholar Guu Donglin and, with his palms together, said, "Benefactor Guu, you should make fewer jokes of this kind."
"If those fighting ladies up ahead happen to overhear you, be careful that your Huayue Academy doesn’t get torn down. And when that happens, don’t drag this old monk in to take the blame. I won’t be helping you."
The scholar Guu Donglin’s expression stiffened at these words. He glanced over at the nuns who were fighting, and his flighty demeanor vanished. His entire disposition changed in an instant, transforming him into a refined young gentleman, full of scholarly elegance—a true man of poetry and letters.
He looked at the old monk Fuyuan and said, "Hey, Monk, you still haven’t told me why you and this wild monk suddenly showed up together in our Huayue City. What’s it all about?"
"What else could it be for? There’s only one thing in this area that could involve both their church and our Leiyin Temple at the same time. Ancient Layman Guu, haven’t you figured it out already?"
The scholar Guu Donglin’s expression flickered. "So you’re saying you really are here because of the matter of the Five Elements Remnants..."
He was only halfway through his sentence when the old monk Fuyuan stopped him.
The scholar Guu Donglin looked at the old monk Fuyuan, his face full of confusion. Fuyuan tilted his head up slightly, his gaze landing on Zhang Deming on the floor above.
Zhang Deming paused slightly, then offered the three a smile in return.
The scholar Guu Donglin paused as well, as if only now realizing someone had been listening to their conversation. He frowned and scanned his surroundings before his gaze finally landed on the old monk Fuyuan.
"What is the meaning of this? Are you casually manipulating the Karma Technique again? You Wish Cultivators are really..." the scholar Guu Donglin demanded of the old monk Fuyuan.
From his perspective, the protective ward around the trio, which was clearly visible to him, had at some unknown point been shared with Zhang Deming by the old monk Fuyuan using his Telepathy ability, allowing the man to overhear their idle chat.
If anyone else had done this, he might have been puzzled. But Guu Donglin, who knew the old monk better than anyone, recognized at a glance that the old fellow was up to his usual tricks of orchestrating karmic encounters.
You have to understand, you can’t just casually eavesdrop on a monk’s words. Even when they let you listen in on purpose, that in itself is a kind of Karma Technique.
The old monk Fuyuan didn’t answer him. Instead, he placed his palms together and spoke to Zhang Deming on the floor above.
"Young benefactor, this old monk observes dark clouds gathering over your head, a sign of imminent misfortune. And as you and this old monk now seem to have some connection through the Karma Technique, I have a Talisman to give you. It can help you in Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Evil."
Zhang Deming froze at his words, his expression turning strange. ’Did you put on the wrong clothes, Master? If you’re going to spout lines like that, you should at least be wearing a Daoist Robe and carrying a "Divine Diviner" sign!’
If Zhang Deming hadn’t been unable to see through the man’s Cultivation with a quick glance—making it highly likely he was a Three Talents expert—he wouldn’t have given such a person the time of day.
As it was, Zhang Deming couldn’t see through the man’s Cultivation, so he gave an awkward smile and said, "I appreciate your kind intentions, Master, but I don’t really believe in Buddhism."
The old monk Fuyuan replied, "No matter. Buddhism and Daoism are ultimately one and the same."
With that, he gave Zhang Deming no chance to refuse. A Protective Talisman floated over and hovered in front of him.
