Taboo Mage - Chapter 40 - The Legend of Chan Guang Monastery

I slumped down on the meditation cushion, looking at Jue Chi’s compassionate gaze. I frowned, and surprisingly began to seriously consider the question of whether I should join the monastic life.

Jue Chi seemed to notice my hesitation and chanted another round of Buddhist chants and Sutra passages, trying to sway my decision to get married and have children.

Lin Huan, pouting, interrupted from the side, saying that our family had depended on me for three generations to carry on the family line. He said Jue Chi, the young monk, was heartless, trying to trick me into joining the monastic life because he couldn’t find an apprentice. He would end up in hell after he dies if he continued like this.

I immediately stood up, joining Lin Huan on the same front, and completely discarded any thoughts of becoming a monk.

Seeing the two of us united, Jue Chi couldn’t get a word in. Only after Lin Huan’s voice grew hoarse did Jue Chi smile and tell me, “There’s another way to temporarily alleviate the backlash of the life amulet on you.”

I knew it! This monk was intent on dragging me into being a monk. He only brought up other methods when he saw my firm attitude. Thankfully, my resolve was strong, or I would have let down the ancestors of the Gu family.

Jue Chi stood up from the meditation cushion, took a Sutra from the table in front of the Buddha, and handed it to me. He told me to stay at Chan Guang Monastery for a few days, and follow him in chanting Sutras and paying respects to the Buddha to temporarily suppress the Yin Energy in me.

I immediately refused. The person Grandfather mentioned in my dream hadn’t been found yet. Spending time at Chan Guang Monastery now? What if suppressing the Yin Energy delayed my search?

I tucked the Sutra of Wonderful Lotus of Speech into my clothes and dragged Lin Huan with me to leave.

Jue Chi shouted after me that if I didn’t stay at Chan Guang Monastery, I’d be bedridden within two days, paralyzed in half a month, and dead within three months, seeing the Buddha.

His words were so terrifying, but I wouldn’t believe them. He was clearly exaggerating to trap me at Chan Guang Monastery to keep him company!

Back home, I started preparing my travel items. Lin Huan urged me to reconsider. If things were really as Jue Chi said, I might be lying on the roadside as soon as I set out.

I sat on the sofa pondering Lin Huan’s words, feeling a tinge of worry. I knew my physical condition better than anyone else.

Even though I didn’t fully trust Jue Chi, only in Chan Guang Monastery did I feel my vitality returning. As soon as I stepped out, the Yin Energy within me began to spread chaotically.

I was just a young adult who had barely tasted the delights of the world. How could I willingly sacrifice the rest of my life like this?

After a long period of contemplation on the sofa, I decided to stay at home for two more days. If I was still fine by then, it would prove that Jue Chi had lied to me once again.

Two days later.

I sat in a wheelchair, looking at the gate of Chan Guang Monastery and Jue Chi, who was smiling at me from the entrance. I struggled to lift my hand, my head drooping to one side.

If there had been a mirror, I could probably see how pitiful I looked.

Jue Chi pushed me into the Buddhist hall, lighting the incense and candles on the altar. I held the Sutra in my arms, bowed three times to the golden statue of the Buddha before me, then respectfully sat down on the meditation cushion, closing my eyes to listen to Jue Chi chanting the Sutra next to me.

The Sanskrit verses echoed melodiously, ringing in my ears. I could feel the Yin Energy within me quickly gathering into one point, then flowing towards my feet, making my body gradually feel lighter.

When the Sutra recital ended, sweat was beading on Jue Chi’s forehead. I slowly opened my eyes and moved my fingers, already able to move freely. The change was too significant to ignore.

I told Lin Huan to go back to look after the shop and not to bother me unless it was urgent.

For three consecutive days, I stayed on the meditation cushion in Chan Guang Monastery, not moving an inch. Each day, after reciting the Sutra, Jue Chi would be drenched in sweat. Though curious, I didn’t ask any questions.

A week later, I could stand up and walk without the wheelchair. Looking up at the golden statue of the Buddha holding a lotus flower, I couldn’t help but marvel at the greatness of Buddhist teachings.

After staying at Chan Guang Monastery for nearly half a month, Lin Huan had not come to find me. Sometimes waking up in the middle of the night, I almost doubted if everything that happened before was just an illusion.

Maybe it was a dream crafted by the heavens to punish me, but looking at the five distinct bloodstains on my lower abdomen, I knew that the past had never changed.

One day, Jue Chi suggested that we sit in the sun at the entrance. After nearly half a month cooped up in Chan Guang Monastery, I felt like I was getting cabin fever, so I gladly agreed and brought out a small stool.

Chan Guang Monastery faced the largest cliff of Hanging Temple’s entire mountain gate. Jue Chi, dressed in a gray novice’s robe, lounged on a deck chair, chattering to me about the legend of Chan Guang Monastery.

It was said that many years ago, Hanging Temple was just a dilapidated little temple, and the abbot at that time was merely an itinerant monk. One day, while passing by Hanging Temple, he encountered a sudden downpour and sought shelter in the temple, where he unexpectedly met a solitary ghost.

That ghost came out at midnight to frighten the itinerant monk, who, due to his shallow Buddhist teachings, was so scared that he lost a wisp of his soul.

That lost soul had nowhere to go and eventually attached itself to a lotus flower. The lotus, carried by the waterfall before the cliff, floated downstream to the backyard of a wealthy gentleman in the town.

The gentleman had a beautiful daughter who was skilled at playing the zither. She sat every day by the flower pond in their back garden, plucking the strings. The lotus, with the soul attached, would often hear the music and start to dance gracefully in the pond, bringing joy to the beautiful young lady.

The wealthy gentleman’s daughter came of age that year, and the County Magistrate’s son came to propose marriage. However, the daughter refused to comply, saying that she already had someone she loved. She threw herself into the lotus pond, claiming that she wanted to become a loving couple with the lotus.

The wealthy gentleman then realized something was wrong and urgently invited a renowned local Yin-Yang master to inspect. The master discovered that the lotus was possessed and decided to exorcise the soul within it.

Coincidentally, the itinerant monk had been guided by a wise person and came to retrieve his lost soul. Seeing that the itinerant monk would not live long without that wisp of his soul, the Yin-Yang master took pity and returned the soul to him.

With all of his soul fragments restored, the itinerant monk’s life was saved. He felt a deep connection to Hanging Temple and decided to stay.

Unexpectedly, the wealthy gentleman’s daughter, upon seeing the itinerant monk, decided he was her destined lover. She went to Hanging Temple every day to ask for an audience, but was always turned away by the monk.

When the story reached this point, I couldn’t help but feel skeptical. The wealthy gentleman’s daughter must have been someone who valued appearances highly. The itinerant monk must have been quite handsome, otherwise why would she be so persistent after just one encounter?