Just like every other story, he was a traveler, and Baishi Shū was his current name. In his previous incarnation, he was known as Bai Tian. Even though he had not been a monk at that time, fate had brought him to Buddhism.
In the early days when his family faced a near-fatal mishap, his parents and his other relatives converted to Buddhism to find solace. Therefore, he was exposed to some Buddhist doctrines.
As a young man of the new century who grew up in a socialist society, Baishi Shū (Bai Tian) was an atheist. Not only did he not believe in the existence of Buddha and supernatural occurrences, but he also regarded them as unscientific and unrealistic.
Nevertheless, despite his skepticism about the existence of Buddha and the Western Paradise, Baishi Shū accepted and was willing to practice the Buddhist teachings such as good deeds and the law of cause-and-effect with good graces under the influence of his family.
He remained an atheist even after he traveled to a different world—until that one particular incident. It had been a normal day and he had been on his way to school. While he was walking down the street, he saw a "kid". The kid's skin was arctic-white, and there was a demonic grin plastered across his face. Out of a sudden, the "kid" stretched his arm and pushed a pedestrian into the busy road. An incoming vehicle could not brake in time and rammed into the pedestrian. Everybody at the scene was shocked and they immediately called the police and ambulance, but nobody saw the "kid".
It was at that moment that he began to question his belief. This was a parallel world, and he was no longer on Earth. Since there were ghosts and demons in this world, it went without saying that those heavenly gods and benevolent deities existed as well. Be that as it may, it was also alright if they did not exist.
In this world, Baishi Shū was an orphan. He was adopted by an abbot from a temple and, since his childhood, raised as a novitiate of the temple. Although the temple looked hideous from outside, the abbot was capable. The Buddhist scriptures the abbot taught and wanted Baishi Shū to practice at a young age were out of this world.
Baishi Shū still clearly remembered how furious he was when he saw what the "kid" had done. A kind of warm power that he had never felt before in both his incarnations erupted within his body. Then, he went forward and dissipated the "kid" on the spot.
The underworld was empty, and evil spirits walked the earth. So what if Buddha did not exist? But that did not matter. As long as he believed Buddha in his heart and did everything he could to shuffle the world off the mortal coil, there would be infinite merits. Perhaps that was the reason why he was reborn in this world.
Baishi Shū finally saw the light and acknowledged his identity. He would rescue the world with his mortal body.
After all, Japanese monks did not abstain from the use of animal products and they were allowed to get married. They did not have to follow monastic rules and precepts, and they did not necessarily have to go totally bald. All in all, as long as they believed in Buddha, monks in Japan could do as they pleased, be it smoking, consuming alcoholic drinks, becoming rock stars, working as a bartender, or even perming their hair.
On this point, Buddhism in Japan had its own characteristics and was different from orthodox Buddhism in other parts of the world. There was this Japanese monk who played music when he was still alive and had this famous saying: You don't necessarily have to convert to Buddhism. As long as you are happy, Buddha is happy.
He felt the allegorical saying was quite meaningful.
Hence, being a monk was merely an occupation in Japan. Besides not being any different from other professions, a monk could work part-time as well.
This was also the reason Baishi Shū was willing to accept his identity as a monk rather than taking off his monk robes and finding another job. However, there was still something he could not fathom.
In order to help a traveler adapt to a new identity, especially when he or she was thrown into a particular profession, a mysterious organization was bound to appear and specially assign them a system. So long as the traveler refused to take on the job or quit halfway, he or she would be eliminated…
What about him though? Baishi Shū had been looking forward to the system. No matter if it was the strongest monk system, the most powerful temple system, the ultimate abbot system, or the heavenly abbot system, he hoped that he would get one.
He was destined to be disappointed. It had been two years since Baishi Shū came to this world. In the first year, all he did was study and training. Then, everything remained the same in the following year except for him starting to take on some exorcism jobs to make money during his free time. Until now, even after he had established a reputation as a ghostbuster in Tokyo, the system still did not appear.
Finally, Baishi Shū had no more illusions about the system. God helped those that helped themselves. He reckoned that it was better to study harder and work more diligently on cultivating the Buddhist doctrine compared to hoping for a free lunch.
Baishi Shū sighed as he stepped into the last commute to return to the temple, his home in this world.
Shibuya, Tokyo.
As the special ward and major commercial and business hub in Tokyo, Shibuya was otherwise known as the sleepless city. It was already past midnight, yet it was still ablaze with a myriad of lights and was crowded with pedestrians.
After Baishi Shū walked several streets down, the crowd began to thin out and silence returned. He continued to walk forward for a few more steps before he arrived at a huge forest shrouded in darkness. The forest was about 70 hectares wide. It was difficult to believe that there was a lush forest of this extent in the heart of Tokyo next to the sleepless Shibuya, where an inch of land was equivalent to an inch of gold.
The forest was the home of the largest and the most visited shrine in Tokyo, the Meiji Shrine.
There was a bridge known as the Jingu Bashi in front of the entrance of the Meiji Shrine. The stone lanterns at the end of the bridge emanated a dim light and cast a dreamy effect on the concrete bridge. As Baishi Shū mounted the bridge, he ran his fingers across the Jingu Bashi out of admiration. Then, he walked down from the bridge and turned around to walk into a secluded meandering pathway.
The pathway was paved with cobblestones and a layer of dried fallen autumn leaves that rustled under Baishi Shū's feet. There were no street lights at all along the pathway, and the stars and moon were shrouded by the foliage. It was extremely dark, and the only companion Baishi Shū had was the occasional birdsong and the hum of insects. However, Baishi Shū knew that these wonderful sounds would disappear when late autumn arrived.
Enveloped by the sound of nature, Baishi Shū continued to walk down the winding path. Soon, he saw light at the fringe of his vision followed by a small temple that sat amongst the woods.
Under the night sky, the temple looked dilapidated. It was entirely built of wood and painted with bands of red and white. On the facade of the building, there was a plaque nailed on top of the door which read "Reimei Temple". The lamps were dimly lit and they flickered with every puff of the breeze.
Stepping into the temple, there was only a Buddha statue enshrined in the main hall. The statue was rather dull under the flickering candle. The kasaya that draped over its golden body was mottled and the red painting on the wooden pillars were peeling. Nevertheless, putting aside its ramshackle appearance, the temple was clean and tidy.
Baishi Shū made his way along a well-trodden path towards the back of the temple where there was a wooden house that was divided into two sections, one of which was the monk's residence while the other was the sutra depository.
When Baishi Shū first came here, he could not believe that there was a depository used to store sutras in this unmaintained temple. Likewise, he found it tough to believe that there would be a small temple that nobody knew next to the Meiji Shrine, the largest shrine in Tokyo.
Besides, counting the abbot and himself, there were only two monks in this temple. Baishi Shū had asked the abbot about this more than once, but the abbot would always prevaricate and would not give him a straight answer.
Thus, Baishi Shū was certain that there must be some history behind this tiny temple.
After all, all the scriptures he practiced were the real deal and not some cannon apocryphal. In just two years, Baishi Shū had activated his Divine Eye. He could observe souls and he had attained perception beyond ordinary sight. In addition to that, his power had grown exponentially and he could eliminate ordinary evil spirits with practiced ease.
Holding veneration for the temple and the abbot in his heart, Baishi Shū headed to the washroom to clean himself up. After that, he quietly opened the door to the living room as he did not want to disturb the abbot who was resting inside.
His attempt was futile as the abbot's aged but firm voice rang out from the dark.
"Shinsei, is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"Alright, have a good rest."
"Goodnight, abbot."
Then, the night fell silent again. Baishi Shū took off his shoes and climbed into bed.
The abbot was old, so he was a light sleeper. He would be woken up from his slumber easily even at the slightest noise.
Lying on the bed, Baishi Shū thought inwardly, 'Hmm… half a million yen is still not enough. I still need to earn more so that I can build another room beside this one.'
This way, not only would he not disturb the abbot if he came back late, but he would also have a space of his own.