022 The Debate of the Six Realms

With such a description, Jiang Qingyun instantly guessed who it was—it had to be that Monk Tianji. It was definitely him.

His intuition told him that Monk Tianji was dangerous, yet he could not help but want to make contact. Perhaps it was simply an excess of curiosity.

The construction site remained busy. Stacks of red clay bricks were piled high like mountains. People at this time were accustomed to gray bricks and had never seen red ones, so passersby clicked their tongues in amazement. Jiang Qingyun himself disliked the complex layouts of gray-brick courtyard houses; he wanted to gradually promote bright, vibrant red-brick villas throughout the capital of Beijing. Firing red bricks involved no technical difficulty; with a little guidance, the craftsmen had managed to produce them after just a few trials. Before he had traveled to this time, red-brick houses were often criticized for having short lifespans, prone to swelling, cracking, and crumbling over time. In reality, that was the fault of shoddy workmanship! As long as the masonry technique was sound and the mortar between the bricks was filled properly without leaving gaps, rainwater could not penetrate, and the red bricks would neither expand nor shatter. A hundred-year structure was perfectly feasible.

...

It was only a short distance from Shijia Hutong to Chongfu Temple; it was even faster on horseback. The mountain gate was solemn and majestic. The guest monk immediately stepped forward to take his horse. Jiang Qingyun stopped him and asked, "Are there any wandering monks staying in the temple recently?"

"Yes, there is a Master Tianji from Mount Wutai."

"Is he staying for a long time or just passing through?"

"That, I do not know. The Abbot often debates scriptures with him. Master Tianji is clever and skilled in debate; even the Abbot has occasionally been bested."

"You may go."

A temple supervisor heard the news and approached with a beaming smile. Jiang Qingyun tactfully donated one tael of incense money—not much, as he would truly be reluctant to part with more. In a place like Beijing, where powerful people were as numerous as clouds, this amount of incense money was nothing. If the Commander of the Southern City Military and Police Office were not a man of immediate authority who required a bit of face, the supervisor likely wouldn't have bothered to pay him any heed.

...

"Amitabha, benefactor, we meet again," Monk Tianji said, standing before the Hall of Heavenly Kings.

"Master, have you been well lately?" Jiang Qingyun also pressed his palms together in greeting.

"You know each other? Then the two of you chat; this poor monk has matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave first." The supervisor hurried away.

Chongfu Temple had a pleasant environment and a considerable area. As they walked to a small hut, Monk Tianji suddenly said, "The two emperors, Hui and Qin, once stayed here during their trek to the north."

"Is that so?" Jiang Qingyun really didn't know, and the topic was too sensitive, so he brushed it off.

...

"Benefactor, you came looking for me—is something the matter?"

"Ah, nothing in particular. I am the Commander of the Southern City Military and Police Office, and I have been overseeing the construction of a charity house in Shijia Hutong to take in refugees and abandoned infants. It was on my way, so I thought I’d stop by."

Monk Tianji suddenly turned around and chanted a Buddhist title loudly.

"Amitabha. Benefactor, you are an Arhat reincarnated. You cannot bear the suffering of this world. Once your merits are complete, you will naturally ascend to heaven and take your place among the immortals."

"Master, do you use this same line on everyone you meet? Don't you feel awkward?"

"If I can persuade even one person, it is worth it."

...

Walking into a pine forest, Jiang Qingyun suddenly wanted to test the mettle of this monk.

"Master, do you think this world is good?"

"It is not."

"I would like to hear your reasoning."

"What is called the human world is nothing but a cycle of inversion and repetition: great chaos, followed by great order, then great chaos, and then great order again."

"And heaven?"

"Heaven is like the Forbidden City—strict in rules, rigid in hierarchy, orderly, and possessed of extreme luxury. It would be perfectly fine, were it not for the demons of the three realms breaking in."

The wind whistled through the pine forest. Jiang Qingyun thought to himself that while he was probing the monk, the monk was surely probing him as well.

"Why does the benefactor sigh?"

"I view white bones as beauties, while you view beauties as white bones. I sigh because I feel inferior to you."

"Benefactor, there is no need for such modesty. You executed the officials of the Imperial Observatory, quelled the gangs of the Southern City, and hold compassion for abandoned infants and refugees. This is enough to prove that you are one whose nature is blurred across the three realms."

"Which three realms?"

"Demon, God, and Human."

Jiang Qingyun's gaze grew cold, and his hand instinctively moved toward the hilt of his sword.

"Benefactor, do not be angry. Even if I had the heart to harm you, I lack the power to do so."

...

Jiang Qingyun was so annoyed he laughed, deciding instead to sit cross-legged on the ground.

"I have nothing to do today, so come, sit down, and let me listen to the ramblings of a mad monk..."

Monk Tianji sat down as well, picking up fallen pine cones and placing them between the two of them.

"The universe consists of six realms: God, Immortal, Human, Demon, Fiend, and Underworld. The Jade Emperor only controls three—God, Immortal, and Human, also known as Heaven, Earth, and Man."

"The Heavenly Court governs the realms of God, Immortal, and Human, and occasionally has influence over the Underworld."

"The human realm is the most humble and the most powerless. Even the so-called emperors are merely among the strongest in the human sequence."

"The demon realm has no master; they are scattered everywhere. Demons are ever-changing, dispersed throughout the realms, hiding their names. They cannot unite, and in the end, their power is limited."

"The fiend realm is full of talent, ambitious, immensely powerful, and cruel. They are constantly thinking of breaking the existing order; they are the greatest enemy of the Heavenly Court."

...

Monk Tianji toyed with the pine cones, occasionally connecting them with pine needles. Suddenly, he looked up and smiled:

"Gods and Immortals can all be called Buddhas in the human world. Benefactor, do you know the difference between a Buddha and a Fiend?"

Jiang Qingyun shook his head silently.

"A Buddha is a Fiend who has reached the shore, and a Fiend is a Buddha who has lost control. Benefactor, you possess both a Buddha's heart and a Fiend's desire. The most wonderful thing is that within you, the Buddha's heart and the Fiend's desire coexist, and neither can overcome the other. What is called 'Buddha and Fiend as one'—a single thought can make one a Buddha, a single thought can make one a Fiend. It all lies in a single thought."

Boom!

A summer thunderclap erupted, and a cold wind mixed with the smell of earth suddenly arose. The heavy rain had arrived. The busy monks and pilgrims in the distance scrambled for shelter. Only Monk Tianji and Jiang Qingyun remained sitting opposite each other, their faces covered in rain—there was no need to wipe it away, for even if they did, it would never be clean.

On the horizon, bolts of lightning struck the earth like silver snakes!

...

Rolling thunder struck in rapid succession. Jiang Qingyun could only see Monk Tianji's mouth opening and closing, his hands raised high, roaring madly toward the sky.

"The world does not belong to the Zhu family, nor does it belong to the Aisin Gioro clan."

"The human realm repeats its tragic cycle because the power of mortals is ultimately limited. The Heavenly Court has no intention of changing the existing order, demons cannot face the light of day, and fiends are too murderous."

"Therefore, mortals cannot rely on anyone."

"Although the human realm has a handful of people who see through the six realms, their hearts are ultimately too soft, and their methods too weak. They can only fill themselves with complaints, writing sour, pedantic essays in a vain attempt to awaken the world."

"Can ants save themselves? Can ants save themselves?"

"Benefactor! Only those of us who possess the nature of a fiend yet hold compassion in our hearts can change this filthy world. That day you killed the officials of the Imperial Observatory—that was brilliant. They observed the stars at night, and they were the most dangerous stumbling blocks."

...

The rain hit the ground, gradually turning into mist. The pine forest was shrouded in a thick fog. Monk Tianji's eyes were blood-red:

"Four years ago, I traveled the world. Along the way, I saw generals killing, soldiers killing, and bandits killing. Everyone was doing the same thing: killing."

"By the Yangtze River, I saw a Qing soldier hack more than ten people to death, covered in blood. I walked over and stared at him. He actually pulled out his own rations and gave them to me to eat. I asked him, 'Why don't you kill me?' He actually replied, 'I do not kill monks or Taoists for fear of divine retribution.' Ha! A man who mows down lives like grass is afraid of divine retribution?"

"Master Jiang, tell me, is there truly such a thing as divine retribution in this world?"