Above the Great Dao
Chapter 301 - 155: The Lost Yama’s Envoy_2

Chapter 301: Chapter 155: The Lost Yama’s Envoy_2

The ancient monk, already quite aged, heard the words and stretched out his hands to lift his eyelids, revealing a sparkle in his eyes. He glanced at the ferrywoman and the ferryman with a smile, "Devotee, your guess isn’t bad—we are indeed from the Great Baoguo Temple. And you, from whence do you hail?"

The ferrywoman chuckled, "Just a ferryman, what kind of origins could I possibly have? Which Zen Master from the Great Baoguo Temple might you be?"

The aged monk let his eyelids fall, covering his lashes and eyeballs, and said, "This humble monk’s dharma name is Ku Zhu."

The young monk paid the fare and asked with a smile, "Devotee, have you been ferrying on the Min River for a long time? Have you ever ferried on the River of Oblivion? I’ve heard that the River of Oblivion lost two underworld messengers. You know about it, right?"

Li Tianqing felt a sudden throb in his heart and became extremely uneasy.

"This boat is likely not going to be peaceful!"

He knew that the Great Baoguo Temple was the most important Buddhist Holy Land of the West Bull New Continent in the Great Ming.

Legend had it that when the eunuch Sanbao sailed to the Western Seas, entering the dark waters, a great monk from the Great Baoguo Temple accompanied him on the ship, carrying a Golden Body Bodhisattva, assisting the fleet against the dark sea monsters.

When they arrived at West Bull New Continent, the great monk invoked the Golden Body Bodhisattva, exorcised demons and subdued Evil Spirits, earning illustrious battlefield honors. Later, Emperor Cheng Zhu bestowed rewards and granted the Great Baoguo Temple the highest peak of West Bull New Continent, Jinli Mountain.

Thus, the Great Baoguo Temple became a Buddhist Holy Land of West Bull New Continent.

Even more terrifying was the news the young monk revealed: the River of Oblivion, the missing underworld messengers, brought forth more ominous thoughts in Li Tianqing.

"Could it be that this father and daughter were originally messengers from the River of Oblivion?"

His heart swung like a pendulum as he thought, "How could the messengers from the River of Oblivion end up ferrying in the mortal world? How could these messengers be lost? Could their boat suddenly sail into the underworld?"

The ferryman summoned Wind Talisman and Water Talisman, the Wind Talisman propelled the sail while the Water Talisman pushed the boat onward towards Gongzhou City.

The boat girl laughed, "The two of you must be jesting. The River of Oblivion is a river of the underworld, with the Bridge of Helplessness upon it, how could there be people ferrying there?"

She giggled and added, "Those who ferry there, could they possibly be living people?"

The Scholars on board heading to the examinations all laughed, creating a cheerful atmosphere. Someone joked, "The young lady really knows how to jest, you haven’t been to the underworld, have you?"

Li Tianqing broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead and inwardly lamented, "These Scholars dare to jest, truly oblivious to life and death!"

These two groups—one, an old monk relying on a golden body to escape the search of the underworld messengers; the other, escaped underworld messengers searching for those who should be dead but were not—clearly did not get along!

The exam-bound Scholars took it all as a joke, but Li Tianqing realized the danger and terror within.

The young monk laughed, "Those who ferry on the River of Oblivion are naturally not living people."

The ferryman, who had been silent all along, now spoke, "I’ve heard that the Golden Body Bodhisattva of the Great Baoguo Temple is quite formidable. In the past, it slaughtered and subdued many demons and to this day still stands guard over the great snowy mountain, preventing those demons from escaping. How much of the Golden Body Bodhisattva’s cultivation does the great monk possess?"

The boat girl said with a smile, "Even if he has seven or eight parts of the cultivation, being as advanced in age as the great monk, I’m afraid he cannot exert much of his abilities."

Ku Zhu, the old monk, chuckled and asked, "Why do the lost underworld messengers not dare to return to the underworld courts? Could it be that they failed their duty and fear punishment upon returning?"

The young monk then asked, "So, why did those two underworld messengers fail their duties?"

The ferryman gripped his bamboo pole, which creaked and groaned.

The boat girl placed her hand over his, smiling at the old and young monks, with top teeth biting bottom, her laughter full of delight.

Suddenly, the surroundings grew dark, and the river water became violently turbulent.

Li Tianqing went pale as he prepared to leap into the river and escape, only to see ghostly fires darting about everywhere, with the heaven and earth around him suddenly becoming horribly twisted and strange.

This painted boat had evidently been pulled into the underworld!

"I can’t escape!" He felt the despair in his heart.

Just then, the old monk chanted "Amitabha" and behind him, a dazzling radiance revealed a Golden Bodhisattva standing sixteen feet tall; its light illuminating, the boat returned to the mortal world, still sailing upon the Min River.

The ferryman stepped forward, ready to take action.

The boat girl quickly held him back and sternly said, "Let’s not meddle in each other’s business!"

Ku Zhu, the old monk, advanced in years and already cautious, added, "Let’s forget each other in this vast world."

The four of them took a step back each and no further problems arose.

Li Tianqing breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his brow, and thought to himself, "Little Ten has no idea how thrilling my experience was. I have walked a round at the gate of the ghost..."

He wasn’t aware that in these days, Chen Shi had been coming and going right at the gate of the ghost.

For the next two or three days, the ferrywoman and her daughter, along with the disciples of Ku Zhu, lived in harmony. However, old monk Ku Zhu used his spiritual power once which left him appearing even older and he couldn’t stop coughing.

Li Tianqing even worried he might die of old age on the boat.

However, with a cough from Ku Zhu, a golden light shone forth from within his body, quite a peculiar sight.

Finally, the painted boat safely delivered them to Gongzhou City. As the boatman moored the vessel, Li Tianqing was about to leap ashore when the boat girl whispered, "The old monk won’t live long; he has lost his vitality. If I were you, I’d stubbornly refuse to enter the city."

Li Tianqing froze, puzzled by her words.

"Mahayana Realm, those who should be dead but cheat death in this world, it’s quite frightening when they do die," the boat girl warned.

Li Tianqing looked toward the old and young monks; he saw the young monk assisting the elder into the city.

"Miss, when do you think Ku Zhu will die? What will happen when he dies..."

Before Li Tianqing could finish, he turned around to find the painted boat gone, vanished, as though the entire river surface had never beheld such a vessel.

He stood stunned for a moment, then shook his head and walked toward the city.

No sooner had he entered Gongzhou City than someone approached him for a chat, a person with a kindly face and heart: "Young brother, are you here for the examinations? Gongzhou is not very peaceful; the unwary from other places can easily be tricked... Judging by your accent, you seem to be from Quanzhou. Are you from Quanzhou? I’m also from there! Fellow townsman!"

Meeting a fellow townsman, Li Tianqing’s heart swelled with joy.

Not long after, while reminiscing with his townsman in a tavern, he sold his companion to the Shopkeeper, pocketed the Silver Coins, and went to register his name at the Academic Officer’s.

When passing the announcement wall, however, he saw a crowd gathered, looking at arrest warrants.

Li Tianqing glanced over and his smile hardened, the joy from making a good profit from the townsman evaporated.

There he saw the portrait and name of Chen Shi, prominently displayed on the board.

"Little Ten is in trouble again? What has he done this time?"

He squeezed into the crowd, scrutinizing their expressions, and soon learned the full story, thinking, "Little Ten has killed seventy-four people since entering the city, not even a month ago—though by my count, that should be about right..."

He pondered for a moment and whispered, "These must have been criminals, deserving of their fate. Little Ten only killed them because they committed heinous acts."

He looked up toward the direction of the government office, "It seems this place hides collusion between officials and bandits, framing Little Ten unfairly."

He went straight to the Academic Officer, reported his name, and was advised to rest at the inn to the east of the city.

As Li Tianqing made his way towards the eastern inn, he thought, "Little Ten must be hiding somewhere right now. I wonder if he’ll still be able to take the grand examination? Probably not, but then, Little Jin..."

His heart surged with warmth.

Of course, Scholar Li was more promising than Chen, the Scholar.

Arriving at the inn, he encountered Chen Shi’s former classmate, Hu Feifei, and inquired about Chen’s whereabouts. Hu Feifei no longer remembered the name Chen Shi and asked, "Who?"

"Chen Shi! The Chen Shi from Wencai Academy!"

"I know!"

Hu Feifei giggled, "We’ve slept side by side on the floor, but what was his name again?"

"Chen... wait a moment."

Li Tianqing felt dazed. He thought hard but couldn’t recall the name Chen Shi. He exclaimed in astonishment, "I’ve forgotten Little Ten’s name. There’s an Evil Spirit in the city!"

As he said this, a familiar voice suddenly called out, "Tianqing! Have you arrived?"

Li Tianqing was both shocked and overjoyed. Following the voice, he saw Chen Shi rushing toward him with a Black Pot and wooden cart. He hurriedly approached.

"Tianqing, do you still remember my name?" Chen Shi asked, grasping his hand.

With a guilty conscience, Li Tianqing replied, "I just forgot..."

Chen Shi turned sharply, glaring fiercely at Black Pot, who hung his head, looking as if he had done something wrong.

"Black Pot, read more books!" Chen Shi ordered.

Suddenly struck by a premonition, Li Tianqing looked back to see the young monk with the old monk also arriving at the inn. He stopped in his tracks, "Is this young monk also here for the examinations?"

As evening approached, Li Tianqing settled down at the inn. Chen Shi also stayed in the inn, showing no awareness of being on an arrest warrant.

In the middle of the night, suddenly someone cried out, "There’s a dead man! The old monk is dead!"

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m

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