The old man's words instantly made me very disappointed and discouraged. I thought he could be righteous and go with me to Zhejiang, but he said he didn't want to travel far and wanted to introduce other helpers to me. What use are other helpers? I don't even like them at all, and when we get there, they might even hold us back.
"Don't grumble. Master is not fooling you. The helpers I introduce will satisfy you," the old man comforted me when he saw my dissatisfaction.
Hearing his words, I couldn't help but feel hopeful again, so I asked him: "Master, is that person your friend? Is it a master of martial arts?"
"Heheh... let's eat first. After eating, I'll take you to see," the old man ignored my question and fiercely picked up a piece of cooked radish from the dish with his chopsticks and crushed it before finally picking up a piece of pork for himself.
Seeing how the old man responded, all I could do was suppress my anxiousness and slowly eat with him.
After finishing our meal, we left the restaurant where the old man hailed a taxi for us. He invited us in then told the driver: "Go to Fulu Temple."
Fulu Temple is located on the eastern outskirts of our county town; it's known for being efficacious which makes its incense offerings popular among locals.
When we heard what the old man said about going there instead of somewhere else despite being Taoist ourselves made me curious as well as suspicious about why we were going there - did he plan on abandoning Taoism?
"You brat! How many times have I told you that Buddhism and Taoism aren't different; they're both just practices! What difference does it make?" The old man raised his cane then hit my head before saying: "Besides that isn't some small temple; It's a formal large temple, understand?"
"Oh, I see," Sherry sat beside me and listened to our conversation. She curiously asked: "What's the difference between a temple and a monastery?"
"A temple has a grand hall while one without is called a monastery," the old man replied.
"I see," Sherry nodded her head as if she learned something new.
I rolled my eyes then interrupted: "So what are we doing there? Are you planning on inviting an enlightened monk to accompany us to Zhejiang?"
"Ha! You wish! An enlightened monk wouldn't bother with your trivial matters." The old man rolled his eyes before saying: "At most it'll be just some little novice."
"Little novice? A young monk?" Hearing this made me even more curious.
After walking for awhile in the quiet forest, we arrived at the entrance of a small thatched cottage. It looked like any ordinary farmhouse; there were even cows and donkeys tied up outside. A boy wearing grayish-blue robes was feeding them grass when he saw us coming over. He ran into the courtyard shouting: "Master, Master! Mr.Tianyan is here!"
As soon as he finished speaking, an elderly nun wearing yellow robes walked out from inside.
Old blind man, what are you doing here again?" The old nun wore a hat and had a dignified appearance with kind eyes, but she didn't seem to like the old man very much.
"Hehe, Qinhua, as a monk I should watch my words. How can you call me 'old blind man'? That's breaking the precepts," said the old man jokingly as he approached her.
"I am known as Tian Nong. Don't call me by my secular name or else I'll use my disciplinary stick on you. Just because you're blind doesn't mean I won't hit you!" The old nun glared at him.
"Alright then, hello Master Tian Nong. Please forgive me for any offense." The old man smiled slightly and bowed before leaning in close to ask mysteriously: "So how is that disciple of mine? Have you trained him well?"
"Do you think I'm a god? It's only been a few days; it's impossible to train him so quickly," replied Master Tian Nong with furrowed brows.
"So how far has he progressed now?" asked the old man hopefully.
"He just learned how to use Baobaoqi (Eight Treasure Instrument), but he hasn't reached the level of Feitian Tulong (Flying Dragon Slaying in Midair). His strength is limited," said Master Tian Nong pausing briefly before looking at the old man and saying: "I actually wanted to discuss something with you. This child has good aptitude; if he follows your path, most likely his life will be wasted. Why don't'you give him to me as an apprentice instead? I can teach him Dharma teachings from Lotus Sutra and guarantee that he will become an outstanding monk."
"Forget it! My disciple wants to get married and have children; following your path would ruin his life forever! Let's not talk about it anymore. You train him as much as you can and let him come out soon. I have something important to tell him." The old man refused Master Tian Nong's proposal.
Seeing this, Master Tian Nong could only shake her head helplessly and warn the old man: "Alright then, I'll go get him for you. But if you take him away from me, consider our debt paid off; don't bother me again while I'm meditating."
"Don't worry, don't worry. I won't disturb you unless necessary," said the old man as he took out a cigarette box and lit one up while puffing smoke into the air before turning to me saying: "Kid, watch closely! Your chosen helper is about to come out."
Hearing his words, I couldn't help but nervously look towards the gate of that small courtyard.
Master Tian Nong had already gone inside to call someone out.
After a moment of waiting in curiosity, a young monk wearing blue robes with a shaved head appeared at the gate carrying a bamboo basket on his back.
Then when I looked closer at that person's face...I was stunned!
How could it be Jietou? Wasn't he locked up in juvenile detention center? Didn't he become mentally disabled? How did he end up here?
For quite some time, I stared blankly at Jietou's figure without being able to say anything or understand what was going on.
"Hey! That little monk looks just like your brother who got locked up!" At this point Sheryl also noticed something strange and couldn't help but speak up.
"Not just similar; they're exactly alike," muttered me under my breath before turning my head towards the old man asking: "Master can you give us an explanation? What's going on?"
"An explanation huh? Ask him yourself along the way. There are only two long-distance buses from our county to Hangzhou each day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The afternoon bus leaves at 3:30 pm, it's almost 2:30 now. If you want to catch it, you need to hurry up a bit; I won't accompany you any further. I have some old friends that I need to catch up with." After finishing his words, the old man left us behind and walked towards the courtyard of the old nun.