Chapter 002
Chapter 2: Buddha’s Chosen’s Unusual Dream
At night, Xiao Man dreamed again. The same gray fog floated by her bed, not too near and not too far.
It did not speak. It only hung there like a debt collector.
She felt both scared and annoyed, yet her courage grew. She sat up and stared hard at the fog, saying: “What do you want?”
The fog squirmed, and a sorrowful voice came from inside it: “Sister, I am in such pain.”
She smiled coldly inside but kept a calm face. Lifting the quilt, she set her bare feet on the cold floor and walked toward the fog step by step. The closer she came, the more solid it looked. This time she reached out and touched it with care. It felt strange, soft and furry with a cool edge, a bit like the Old Madam’s Mystic Cat, Little Black.
A thought jumped out of her mouth before she could stop it, as she said: “Tuan Tuan?”
The fog seemed to like the name and rubbed against her fingertip in a friendly way, pleading: “Sister, you have the kindest heart, pity me.”
She pulled back her hand, and the brief warmth vanished. [This thing is a wolf wearing a cat’s skin.] She spoke plainly, voice low but firm, saying: “Take me to see the Eldest Grandson Young Master. Did you not say he is trapped by a nightmare?”
[If it will keep tormenting me day and night, I would rather see the truth with my own eyes.] The fog went still for a breath, then let out a sharp cackle like a weasel that had stolen a chicken, saying: “Sister, you are indeed decisive.”
Before the sound had faded, the fog she had called Tuan Tuan lunged at her. Darkness fell. Her whole body tumbled like it had been sucked into an icy whirlpool. The world spun, and even her insides seemed out of place.
When she opened her eyes again, she was standing beside a vast, endless lake. The water was calm like a mirror. A soft, warm glow rested on the surface. It felt like moonlight, yet carried a solemn grace. The air held a faint sandalwood scent.
Her tight heart loosened. [This does not look like a dangerous place. It feels like a Bodhisattva’s lotus pool.] She thought: [No wonder the Eldest Grandson Young Master is called the Heavenborn Buddha’s Chosen. Even his dream shines with Buddha light.]
A thin, mocking laugh sounded in her head in Tuan Tuan’s cold voice, saying: “Do you really think he is a Living Bodhisattva? Do not be fooled by the outer skin. Walk on in. I promise you, what you see will surprise you. I do not peck an uncracked egg. If his heart held nothing shameful, how could I get in?”
Her heart jumped again. She clenched her teeth and followed the white-stone path along the shore.
After only a few steps, the scene changed. The lake and Buddha light vanished. In their place rose an ancient tree so huge it blocked out the sky. Its branches were gnarled, like countless twisted arms reaching upward. The soil beneath it was black red, as if soaked through with blood.
What truly froze her blood was the sight under the tree. Beside a wrathful Vajra statue stood a womanly Buddha with lowered eyes. The two cold statues, at this moment, held each other and danced like lovesick mortals. In the male Buddha’s fierce eyes, desire and struggle burned. His palm on the female Buddha’s waist moved with an unthinking gentleness. The female Buddha kept her head bowed so her face could not be seen. Her slim waist folded lightly in his hand, shockingly obedient. They were dancing, the steps both eerie and tender.
As they moved, heavy gold paint flaked from their bodies, revealing smooth, jade-like flesh beneath. Where the gold fell away, skin pressed to skin, and a pure lotus glow rose between them. Holiness and desire. Restraint and ruin. The two extremes mixed in a way that made her heart pound.
Near Buddha’s Chosen Lin Qing Xuan, a butter lamp suddenly popped a bright spark. The flash scattered the dreamy glow and broke the steamy vision.
Xiao Man stood stunned. The words slipped out before she could stop them, as she said: “Joyous Buddha?”
She came from a modern world. She understood. Her feet felt nailed to the ground. Her face burned hot, as if it could fry an egg. She raised a hand to cover her eyes, yet her fingers left a thin slit. Those indecent images pressed through like hot iron, burning into her mind.
Tuan Tuan laughed again, full of mean delight, saying: “I knew you, an Otherworldly Soul, know plenty. My good Sister, do not cover your eyes. This is the best part. This is the Lust Trial, a road your Eldest Grandson Young Master must pass in Cultivation. Look at him. Our Buddha’s Chosen who keeps away from women has been stuck here more than a day or two. I found this fine place the moment I came in. Tsk, the desire in his heart is heavier than ordinary men put together. Too bad my skill is not enough to form a woman’s body. Otherwise, why would I need you? I would have jumped him myself.”
Her head buzzed like a hornet nest. [Does this Spirit Creature know I came here by Transmigration?] The sticky voice and the shameless scene felt like red-hot needles stabbing at her eyes.
Just as the foul air was about to make her faint, the giant tree on the dark earth shuddered. Every tangled figure froze for a heartbeat. In the very center, a ring of gentle Buddha light spread like ripples, pushing those bodies outward. A figure slowly formed in the heart of the glow.
Lin Qing Xuan appeared. He wore snow white monk’s robes and sat cross-legged with eyes closed, face solemn. Yet fine sweat beaded his chiseled face, and his brows knotted tight, showing deep pain. Golden light rolled off him in circles, but gray halos steamed off those bodies and wrapped around him like snakes, trying to burrow in. Gold and gray clashed and tore all around him.
Tuan Tuan’s voice trembled, half thrilled, half afraid, saying: “Look, the star has arrived. He is using his own power to press down the Heart Demon. Too bad. The harder he presses, the stronger it kicks back. This Joyous Buddha is a seed he planted. Now it has borne fruit, and he cannot pull it out.”
Lin Qing Xuan snapped his eyes open. What eyes they were. Gone were his usual calm and mercy. Only blood red struggle and thick confusion were left. His gaze had no focus. Like a drowning man, he swept his eyes across this swamp of desire, hunting for a straw to grab.
All at once, his sight swung toward where Xiao Man hid. The distance was far, and his eyes still looked unfocused, yet Xiao Man’s heart felt crushed by an invisible hand and almost stopped. [He saw me?] No. What he sensed was not her face, but a clean breath that did not belong to this dirty dream.
Tuan Tuan shrieked, now truly panicking, saying: “Darn it. He found us. The Buddha’s Chosen’s Sarira Relic on him has an Empathic Link with your Otherworldly Soul.”
The next instant, a huge force yanked Xiao Man from behind. She had no time to react. The fog wrapped her up. The world flipped like clothes in a wash tub. Darkness swallowed her again.
When she woke the next day, her head pounded. All night long she saw that tree, the Joyous Buddha, and Lin Qing Xuan’s handsome face twisted in struggle. The Eldest Grandson Young Master who was always calm, polite, and about to enter the temple held such shameful things in his dream. She drifted through the day in a daze.
While wiping a carved fruit plate in the Old Madam’s room, her hand slipped. With a crack, the plate broke into pieces. Thankfully it was not a precious antique. Xiu He, the maid over the second-class maids, marched over with hands on hips and arched brows, scolding her, saying: “Xiao Man, did you skip breakfast or lose your soul today? You cannot even handle a small task. If you frighten the Old Madam, watch your skin.” In the end, she fined Xiao Man the price of the plate. That was half a month’s pay. Xiao Man’s heart cramped with pain, but she did not argue.
At last night fell and it was time to rest. She lay on the hard bed in her small room, but her heart beat like a drum. She was scared. She feared that once she shut her eyes, the Spirit Creature called Tuan Tuan would drag her into the Eldest Grandson Young Master’s dream. [That feeling is worse than standing naked in front of people. It is like peeking at the darkest secrets in someone else’s heart.] She rolled over, comforted by one thought: [Thank goodness I work in the Old Madam’s courtyard. If I served in Lin Qing Xuan’s, seeing him every day, how could I face that Buddha’s Chosen?] And what did “Sarira Relic” and “Empathic Link” with an Otherworldly Soul mean? Every time she pictured his pure, desireless face like a Buddha’s Chosen, the giant tree and those naked bodies leapt into her mind. [Maybe this Living Bodhisattva has long been soaked through with desire.]