Chapter Four: Master Ruokong (1)

“What nonsense are you spouting!” Hua Sheng strode forward, swinging his golden cudgel, intending to teach those martial monks a lesson. But after a moment’s thought, he restrained himself from actually striking them. Instead, he ignored whatever they whispered behind his back and headed straight for the temple gate without looking back.

Still seething, he tossed out a warning.

“If you continue slandering our Taoist ways, beware—I’ll unleash a true fire and incinerate all the Buddhas in this monastery, then gather a pile of relics to play marbles with!”

Having vented his anger, Hua Sheng felt considerably better and leapt back to the temple gate. He took a deep breath and began pushing the gate in every direction—up, down, left, and right. Yet no matter how he tried, the gate refused to budge. Pressing his eye to the crack, he saw that just outside lay the path down the mountain, tantalizingly close.

He thought, “Forget opening the door. The monastery walls are only a few zhang high; it’s like walking on flat ground.”

Taking two steps back, he jumped up. The high wall loomed just beneath his feet, and as he prepared to land, he suddenly found himself back where he started.

He stood frozen for two seconds before snapping out of it.

“What’s going on? Did I jump or not?” Hua Sheng murmured in confusion.

He took another leap, only to instantly return to the same spot.

“Could this be some kind of illusionary maze or ghost wall?” he wondered, staring at the wall that was not tall but impossible to fly over.

“By the decree of the swift command!” he exclaimed.

A third leap, and again, he was back at the start.

Determined, Hua Sheng conjured a small stone and threw it hard forward. The stone soared high, whistling through the air, passing right over the wall and landing beyond it.

“There’s no obstacle then?” Hua Sheng wiped sweat from his brow, but suddenly felt a sharp tap on his forehead. Looking down, he realized the stone was still clutched in his palm.

Again? Hua Sheng tossed the stone away, watching it leave his hand, but when he looked, it was still in his palm.

He tossed the stone onto the ground; his palm was empty. But whenever he picked it up and threw it beyond the wall, it returned to his hand.

He muttered, “Could it be, as that novice monk named Bu Xu said, that there’s no lid on this barrier, yet one cannot cross it?”

Suddenly, a bright idea struck him. “Why was I so foolish? I have such a powerful crowbar in my hand, yet I was trying to push the door with my bare hands.”

Even the Jade Emperor’s heavenly palace gates would yield to a single pry. What door in this world could stop me?

He swung the Ruyi Golden Cudgel and tried to wedge it into the door crack, but it was too narrow.

Holding the cudgel, he commanded, “By the swift command! Small, small, small!”

Instantly, the cudgel shrank. Hua Sheng measured it with his fingers until satisfied, then inserted it into the crack. Planting his foot against the frame, he pried hard—but the gate wouldn’t budge.

He pressed both feet against the frame, suspended in midair, and forced the cudgel again.

Suddenly, a tremendous sound of Buddhist chanting filled the air, rushing into his ears. Hua Sheng was shaken so violently he fell. Quickly rolling over, he leapt up, conjured two earplugs, stuffed them in, and tried again.

The chanting resumed, and Hua Sheng was knocked down once more; this time, his eardrums nearly burst.

“This formation is formidable! Looks like I’ll have to endure it,” he thought grimly. He stepped back two paces, braced the cudgel with his hands, and cried, “Ruyi Golden Cudgel, big, big, big!”

He intended to force the gate open with sheer strength.

Suddenly, a voice called from behind, “Good sir, please desist. Have mercy!”

Hua Sheng turned, but the monks who had been sprawled on the ground were now standing, nine on each side, hands clasped in respect. Yet none of them seemed to be the one who spoke.

Perplexed, Hua Sheng was startled when he turned back—the young monk in a bright crimson robe was now standing before the gate.

The monk appeared to be around thirty, over eight feet tall, with a face as flawless as jade, clad in a shining red kasaya.

He radiated a gentle yet powerful aura, as if this was his rightful place. The man and the temple gate and the monastery blended into one. Hua Sheng wondered if the monk had been there all along, unnoticed.

The young monk folded his hands and smiled, addressing Hua Sheng, “Good sir, accumulate virtue, and refrain from causing more karma.”

Hua Sheng frowned. “When did you arrive here?”

“When the time was right, I arrived.”

Hua Sheng glanced at the martial monks and the elder host monk; all were respectfully clasping their hands before the young man.

He felt a twinge of doubt. This monk carried an extraordinary presence, and everyone treated him with utmost reverence. Could he be the leader of these monks?

Reaching out, Hua Sheng’s golden cudgel flew from the temple gate behind the young monk into his hand. Just as he was about to ask the monk’s identity, the monk spoke.

“I am Venerable Ruo Kong.”

“Huh?”

Hua Sheng suddenly recalled that the novice monk had told him the abbot of Great Thousand Zen Temple was named Venerable Ruo Kong.

Could this handsome young monk be the head of such a vast monastery? To confirm, Hua Sheng asked, “Are you the abbot?”

“Indeed, I am but a humble servant,” Ruo Kong replied modestly.

Hua Sheng thought, now that the leader was here, things would be easier. He then said, “Venerable Ruo Kong, could you kindly open the temple gate and let me leave?”

Ruo Kong smiled faintly. “Good sir, since you already know the gate cannot be opened, you should not force it.”

It was true. Hua Sheng had heard from the novice monk that the temple gate was unopenable but had refused to believe it.

“Is it really impossible to open?”

Ruo Kong nodded.

Hua Sheng sighed. “Then how do you communicate with the outside world? I just want to know how the Academy of Mystical Arts is doing. Without the Ruibao Mirror by my side, I have no way to contact the outside. Could you allow me to reach out to the Academy?”

“Not for now. But if you wait, it will be possible.”

“How long must I wait?”

“Ninety-nine days.”

Hua Sheng slammed his cudgel down with a clang. “Abbot, don’t think you can fool me just because you’re good-looking!”

“I would never mock a guest,” Ruo Kong replied.

“Fine if I can’t leave, but why not even let me make a call?”

“Good sir, the Great Thousand Zen Temple is a Buddhist formation, completely sealed off from the outside world of Shengpingning.”

Upon hearing “Shengpingning,” Hua Sheng’s heart settled. “So the Great Thousand Zen Temple is within Shengpingning?”

“No. Shengpingning lies in every direction around the temple, but the temple itself is not part of it.”

“How do you mean?”

Ruo Kong smiled. “Good sir, please put down your iron cudgel and come to my meditation room. I will brew you a cup of Zen tea.”

“No, no.”

“Why not?”

“I want to leave now!”

“Are you throwing a tantrum, good sir? Please don’t be so willful.”

Hua Sheng, eager to leave, crossed his cudgel in front of him. “I’m no longer a mere little Taoist! I’ll go wherever I want, and no one can stop me!”

Ruo Kong folded his hands. “I fear I am not the person you think I am.”

Hua Sheng’s pride showed. “Abbot, do you know what I hold in my hand?”

“I believe it is a stick.”

“This stick is no ordinary stick!”

“Even if it is extraordinary, it is still an external object to you.”

Hua Sheng said, “If you underestimate it, you might regret it.”

Ruo Kong replied, “Suffering losses is a blessing. Such losses can also accumulate virtue.”

Wielding the cudgel, Hua Sheng struck the ground hard.

With a rumble, a one-zhang-wide pit immediately formed next to his foot, the divine power of the cudgel shaking the temple buildings.

Ruo Kong sighed softly. “Good sir, our temple’s budget is very tight. Please do not damage public property recklessly.”

“Isn’t public property also an external thing, as you say?”

“Though external, it is my duty to protect it. Personal items can be set aside, but public ones must be safeguarded.”

“Then, if you know my power, why not just open the gate?”

“You misunderstand. I mean, please don’t vent your anger on the temple floor tiles. If you want to smash something, I am here. Use your iron cudgel on me.”

Hua Sheng was stunned. “If this stick hits you, you’d turn to ash. Are you mad?”

“Turning to ash is fine. To have all thoughts reduced to ash is sublime.”

The back-and-forth left Hua Sheng irritated. He pointed his cudgel at Ruo Kong.

“Abbot, could you please step aside?”

“I have said all I mean to say.”

Hua Sheng thought: What is there that this cudgel cannot break? Even the Starry Silk feared by the immortal masters at the Academy of Mystical Arts can be pierced instantly. Though this monk may be an accomplished cultivator, he looks just like an ordinary monk.

If I actually kill him with this cudgel, I’d be guilty of a grave crime. Even if I leave Great Thousand Zen Temple, I’d end up in jail. That’s unacceptable.

He decided to intimidate the monk first, show him his power, then reveal this as the legendary Ruyi Golden Cudgel. Even the highest monks would tremble and immediately let him pass.

He planned to fake a strike, stopping just a foot away.

Resolute, Hua Sheng swung the cudgel and shouted, “Abbot, forgive my ruthlessness! I fear you’ll have a heart attack upon hearing this—this is the legendary Ruyi Golden Cudgel! Take this!”

He spun and swung the cudgel toward Ruo Kong’s left shoulder, plotting how to make a grand display while causing minimal damage.

Unexpectedly, Ruo Kong suddenly stepped forward, deliberately meeting the cudgel head-on.

“Oh no!”

Hua Sheng had exerted significant force in the swing; if Ruo Kong met it, he would surely be struck. As he prepared to pull back, there was a muffled thud.

The world-shaking Ruyi Golden Cudgel was firmly caught by Ruo Kong’s left hand!

Hua Sheng was shocked as his blood seemed to drain.

“N—No! You! This…”

Ruo Kong held the cudgel with a smile and bowed with his right hand. His palm gently pushed Hua Sheng’s chest, and Hua Sheng felt a titanic force surge through him.

The cudgel slipped from his grasp, and he was sent flying.

The worst part wasn’t being struck but losing hold of the cudgel!

Ruo Kong now wielded the Ruyi Golden Cudgel and slowly said, “Good sir, look carefully—did you not say this iron rod is an external object?”