In the land between Shu and Zhao, many savage streams flow. The late Emperor of Liyang once toured this area, where someone dared to attempt an assassination. Even more inexplicably, despite the relentless efforts of the spy agency “Zhaogou,” the assassin has never been found. Han Shengxuan, the former Grand Secretary of the Directorate of Ceremonial, once stayed here alone for several months but returned empty-handed. Today, unrest brews within the former territory of Nan Zhao due to an imperial timber case, causing commoners to rise in rebellion. This chaos has created a surge of refugees, who in turn join the rebellion, worsening the crisis. To make matters worse, the once peaceful tribes have also become restless. Even Rui Junwang Zhao Zi, the Emperor’s younger brother who had long governed Nan Zhao, was caught in the turmoil. His Junwang mansion was burned to the ground by the so-called “Righteous Army.”
Then, a military unit of no more than sixty men stealthily infiltrated this savage, malarial region. As the chaos subsided, the truth gradually emerged. This was an elite unit under General Chen Zhibao, another non-imperial Wang following Xu Xiao. The local authorities in Nan Zhao dared not interfere with these troops, only sending secret reports up the chain of command to the capital. Once the reports reached Taian City, they disappeared without a trace. With no response forthcoming, the local military in the southwest chose to ignore the situation. Fortunately, these sixty men did not disturb the locals nor interact with the authorities. As they advanced southward, this unit of fewer than a hundred men managed to eliminate sixteen tribes of varying sizes that had taken advantage of the chaos to commit atrocities. The powerful tribes of Upper, Middle, and Lower Streams were no match for them, leaving only the obedient Lower Stream. The Zhou family of Longci suffered a tragic fate. More than six hundred people, including women and children, were slaughtered and hung from stilted houses.
When word spread that the elite troops of Prince Chen Zhibao of Shu had come to quell the rebellion, no one dared to provoke them. The remnants of Shu and Zhao still harbored deep hatred for the infamous strategist Li Yishan and the gluttonous general Lu Qiu’er, who had played key roles in the conquest of Shu. Although Chen Zhibao had merely watched coldly at the time, the people of Shu and Zhao, terrified by the bloodshed, dared not provoke anyone from Beiliang, whether it was Chen Zhibao, a former Minister of War, or any other figure from the old three provinces of Beiliang. Over the past decade, even the defiant tribes of Shu and Zhao who resisted reform and refused to heed advice treated Northern Liang merchants with respect, taking only their goods while sparing their lives, so profound was the scar left by Xu’s rule in Shu and Zhao.
In the vast wilderness of ten thousand mountains, countless Miao villages are scattered like stars across the land. Those Miao tribes that have contact with the outside world are called “Shu Miao” by officials, while those who remain isolated are known as “Sheng Miao,” both terms carrying a condescending tone. In the heart of the former Nan Zhao territory, a group of men rested midway. Beneath their feet lay an unusual dirt path winding through the mountains. Beside the road were three white stones stacked together, indicating a nearby Miao village. These men were all clad in armor, bearing crossbows and swords. Their inner garments were tattered, but they wore sturdy grass shoes they had woven themselves. Each man was strong and fit, showing no sign of fatigue despite their long journey. Their eyes were sharp, like hawks scanning the mountains.
Near the stone pile stood a man who appeared to be in his early thirties, his demeanor calm. His iron armor and weapons were indistinguishable from those of the soldiers around him, making it difficult to discern his rank. However, a tall, formidable man stood beside him, exuding a martial aura that made him seem more like a commanding general. Apart from six men who took turns scouting ahead, the fifty-odd soldiers nearby followed strict military discipline even in their rest. They grouped in fives, with five fives forming a unit. Whether sitting, squatting, or standing, each group maintained clear boundaries and distances.
In theory, this group of over sixty men should have included at most three unit commanders and a dozen squad leaders. Yet even the most naive commoner could sense that none of them were mere squad leaders. In fact, when they had entered Nan Zhao from Shu, there were seventy men in total. The lowest-ranked among them was a powerful commander within Shu, with twenty officers of the rank of Xiaowei and four generals. Though they came from different backgrounds and had different experiences, they shared one striking trait: youth. None of them was older than forty. Thus, when the “Little Butcher” left the capital to become a prince in the Western Shu Circuit, the young military officers followed en masse. The highest-ranking among them was General Dian Xiongchu, a trusted confidant of the new Prince of Shu. Before entering Shu, Dian had been a third-rank general in Beiliang, commanding six thousand heavily armored cavalry. He and Wei Fucheng had both been trusted aides to Chen Zhibao, the former Beiliang Commander. The other three generals were General Fu Tao, stationed in Wenshan; General Zhao Lie Wang Jiangwu; and Deputy General Huyan Naonao of Shuzhou. All three were around thirty-five years old. Their titles were not empty honors. Fu Tao was the former Prince Consort of the fallen Western Shu, Wang Jiangwu was a nobleman from the old Southern Tang dynasty who had migrated to Shu, and Huyan Naonao was a native of the barbarian tribes. His elder brother, Huyan Baobao, was the only general in the Western Shu Circuit capable of rivaling Lu Shangxiang. With such formidable warriors gathered together, it was no wonder they could move through the former Nan Zhao territory as if it were uninhabited. They had fought over forty battles, losing only eight men, two of whom had died of illness. Except for the time they encountered three thousand rebels on the border, when Generals Dian Xiongchu and the other three personally joined the battle, they mostly watched from the sidelines. Even if their military achievements and casualties were reported, few would believe them.
Dian Xiongchu, his unruly hair like a lion’s mane, gritted his teeth in anger: “According to the intelligence from Zhaogou, that traitorous Su from Western Shu has been hiding in the village ahead. When I catch him, I’ll skin him alive and rip out his tendons to prevent him from dreaming of restoring his kingdom.”
As Dian muttered to himself, no one around him dared to respond, further highlighting the voice of this former one of the Four Tigers of Beiliang. On this “journey,” Wei Fucheng, the scholar-general, had stayed behind in Western Shu to manage affairs, while Che Ye, the young northern barbarian, had also remained in the region to enjoy the comforts of home. Only Dian was cursed with the hardest fate. Whenever there were enemies to kill, he had to restrain himself from joining the fray, just like watching a beautiful woman undress and tease him from the bed without being allowed to touch her. He couldn’t even drink a drop of wine on the march, let alone find a delicate, fair-skinned girl to relieve his frustrations. Dian was on the verge of internal injuries from holding back. Yet, despite being the most powerful military commander in Western Shu, second only to the prince, and a “Dragon-supporting Minister” who had followed the new Prince from Beiliang to Shu, he still dared not defy military orders.
At that moment, two scouts not patrolling in the direction of the Miao village returned, escorting a young boy and girl. Dian’s eyes widened. “Damn it, where did these two kids come from? They must be asking for death to wander into this savage Miao land!” However, although Dian had often been teased by Wei Fucheng for having his head kicked by a horse as a child, he wasn’t truly foolish. After a few glances, he noticed something unusual about the two children. The boy was bald, wearing Buddhist robes, clearly a monk from the Central Plains, though Dian couldn’t identify the style of his robe. It looked tattered but carried the aura of a senior monk from a great monastery. The girl was delicate and fair, her skin darkened by sun and wind, but her eyes were clear and bright. Although Dian was passionate about martial arts and bloodshed, he was not a notorious general. During his years in Beiliang, there were no rumors of him harassing civilians. As for how merciless he was toward the Northern barbarians, it didn’t affect his excellent reputation among the border troops. In fact, under Chen Zhibao’s command, there could be no monsters like Lu Qiu’er who defied the law; they would have been executed by the “Little Butcher” long ago. That said, Dian not harming civilians didn’t mean he was easy to get along with. Encountering such strange figures in such a remote place, he took a big step forward to question them sternly, but the silent, handsome man beside him also stepped forward, and Dian immediately fell silent.
The man looked at the young boy and girl, whom he had never met but knew well, his expression unchanged.
The young monk, Common name Wu Nanbei, was the youngest and most respected lecturer at Liangchan Temple. His master was the White-robed Monk, of whom it was said that eating his flesh could grant immortality. His master’s master was the legendary abbot of Liangchan Temple, the famous monk Longshu. As for the little girl, named Li Dongxi, she was the daughter of Li Dangxin. While there were many emperors’ daughters in the world, there were hardly two daughters of monks living in temples.
The young monk Nanbei stood protectively in front of Dongxi, joining his palms in greeting.
The man nodded slightly and calmly said, “You two may continue on your way, but be sure to detour around the Miao village ahead.”
The young monk hesitated for a moment but couldn’t help saying, “May the layman, who possesses the Buddha’s bones, create less karma through killing.”
The man merely smiled without speaking. When he raised his arm, the “infantrymen” and “small squad leaders” who were always ready to draw their swords and kill relaxed their grips on their weapons and voluntarily made way.
Wu Nanbei and Li Dongxi passed through the formation. The latter, out of curiosity, turned her head to look back at the man, but the young monk quickly pulled her sleeve and quickened his pace.
Half a mile down the road, Li Dongxi blinked and asked, “Who was that guy? Is he the leader of the Nan Zhao government troops? Although his armor was ordinary, he looked pretty formidable. His subordinates were far superior to the Nan Zhao soldiers we encountered earlier.”
The young monk shook his head. “I don’t know, but that person is indeed very powerful.”
She immediately smiled, her eyes narrowing into crescent moons. “How powerful? More powerful than my dad? More powerful than Xu Fengnian?”
The young monk thought for a moment and still shook his head. “I don’t know.”
The girl rolled her eyes. “Stupid Nanbei, if you wander the martial world, people will surely mock you as the ‘Don’t-Know Monk.'”
The young monk chuckled.
“Stupid Nanbei, we agreed that I’m only accompanying you to see Xu Fengnian in Beiliang once, and then we’ll leave!”
“Yeah! Actually, it’s fine if you take a few more glances.”
“Sigh, my mother used to point at a woman who came up the mountain to burn incense just to sneak a peek at my dad, saying she had high cheekbones that could kill a husband without a knife. Stupid Nanbei, do you think my cheekbones are high?”
“I haven’t really paid attention to whether other women’s cheekbones are high or low. Dongxi, yours shouldn’t be too high, right?”
“Tsk tsk, that’s true. Last time on the street in Wuping County, your eyes nearly fell into that woman’s bosom. How could you even notice her cheekbones?”
“Amitabha… Dongxi, you’ve mentioned this eighty times already. I just happened to glance at that female devotee once, and I forgot all about her immediately. It’s the truth, monks don’t lie!”
“I hate how you baldies keep chanting ‘Amitabha, Amitabha’ all day long! Stupid Nanbei, let me ask you, I once heard from the disciple of the abbot’s disciple of our neighbor’s temple, that is, the big bald head’s disciple’s little bald head’s disciple, that he said something like reciting Avalokiteshvara’s name for a hundred aeons is not as good as reciting Ksitigarbha’s name for a moment, and reciting Ksitigarbha’s name for a great aeon is not as good as reciting Amitabha’s name once. Is that really the case?”
“Dongxi, I haven’t become a Buddha yet, so I don’t know.”
“Then tell me, if someone asks you about this Buddhist teaching, what do you think?”
“If someone asks me that, I will only say what I truly believe. I will say that Amitabha has already attained perfect enlightenment, surpassing all other states, while Bodhisattvas have not yet reached the state of Buddhahood, and their fruits are not yet complete. However, this does not mean that reciting their names separately will result in vastly different merits. My master said that Buddhist practice is not like bureaucratic advancement, which emphasizes the strength of one’s patrons, but rather focuses on self-liberation through self-observation and natural ease. Tathagata, Buddha, Tathagata, seeing the Tathagata as he truly is.”
“Then you didn’t say anything at all!”
“Ha.”
Liangchan Temple has two Chan practices, but the young monk Nanbei only has one.
Buddhism emphasizes the Three Refuges: taking refuge in the Buddha, taking refuge in the Dharma, and taking refuge in the Sangha.
But Wu Nanbei felt he had an extra refuge.
Nanbei takes refuge in Dongxi.
Wherever she is, that is his Pure Land.
Then he felt a little guilty. It had been a long time since Dongxi bought any rouge.
The young monk touched his bald head, frowned, sighed softly, and thought to himself that he probably couldn’t become the kind of Buddha that the world would recognize.
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