Chapter 56: Mount Xumi (Part 3)
On the top of Mount Sumeru is the city of Shanjian.
Yinglong and Siyuan were sitting in Shanjian City drinking tea. The tea tray in front of them was decorated with golden Udumbara flowers, which were very precious. It was said that they bloomed only once every three hundred years, and only in the short period between the dawn and the rising sun. During the flowering season, they bloomed at dawn, and withered when the first rays of the morning sun shone on the petals.
It's like a dream of yearning for light and then dying in the light.
It is said that the nectar of this flower is very delicious, and the freshly picked Udumbara flower is so delicious that it is rare in the ten realms.
Of course, Si Yuan and Ying Long’s purpose of coming here was not to drink tea, they were here to claim compensation.
Si Yuan put down the teacup, then looked at Shakya at the top and said nonchalantly: "As I said before, Shanjian City Realm Bureau should compensate for all the losses of the human world."
Yinglong listened to Si Yuan's words and unconsciously raised his head to look at Sakya, the governor of Shanjian City Boundary Office who was sitting there.
The legendary Buddha of Shanjian City did not have three heads and six arms. On the contrary, he was a young man with a smile on his face. He looked ordinary. You always felt that you had seen him somewhere, but you couldn't remember where you had seen him. He could blend into the crowd quietly without being discovered, just like a drop of water merging into the ocean. He looked ordinary, just like your neighbor who lived next door. You would see him on your way to and from get off work. You couldn't call his name, but he was not a stranger.
But it was obvious that Shakya was not as easy to talk to as his neighbors.
Shakya looked serious, even leaning to one side and frowning slightly, as if he was listening carefully to Si Yuan's words. He was wearing a white cotton and linen gown, and because of his sideways movement, he revealed a string of Buddhist beads wrapped around his wrist, a total of 108 beads. Although he seemed to be thinking about what Si Yuan had just said, a closer look revealed that he was fiddling with the Buddhist beads in his hand from time to time, just like someone who was unconsciously slacking off during a meeting.
Shakya did not, and would not, take Si Yuan's words seriously. Of course, this understanding was already a consensus among everyone present before the conversation began.
This conversation was more like a test.
Yinglong had known for a long time that Si Yuan had no intention of getting any compensation from the Shanjian City Boundary Bureau. What Si Yuan wanted to know was the attitude of the Shanjian City Boundary Bureau.
The last time the two worlds met with Shanjian City was a thousand years ago. Si Yuan needed to confirm whether Shanjian City was still the neutral Shanjian City that it had been back then.
After all, an evil Buddha who appeared in the human world with a vajra was more like a signal that Shanjian City was not going to remain peaceful any longer.
Shakya pondered for a while before speaking: "The responsibility for this matter lies with the Shanjian City Realm Division. We are duty-bound to take responsibility for the loss of the human world." He paused and continued, "In addition, Indra's vajra...should it also be returned to its original owner?"
Si Yuan agreed to Shakya's request: "Of course. But the Vajra is the evidence of this incident. Once everything is investigated, it will be returned naturally."
Yinglong couldn't help laughing in his heart after hearing this: "Wait until everything is investigated clearly"? How to investigate? When will it be clear? It's still up to the person in charge of the investigation.
By that time, the delay would last for hundreds or even thousands of years, and the return of the Vajra would be a long way off.
Of course, Yinglong also knew that Shanjian City's boundary officer would definitely not agree to such a condition: Indra's vajra contained the power of time and space, which could break all barriers of time and space. Indra once held the vajra in the thirty-three heavens and slaughtered 100,000 Asuras in one night. He was very famous.
Indra holding the vajra is the sharpest knife in the city of Sudhana. No one is willing to give up his knife.
But Shakya did not rush to refuse. He would not easily show his panic. They were all thousand-year-old foxes, and no one was more anxious to show his tail than the other. He picked up a golden Udumbara flower from the tea tray, but smiled without saying anything.
Garuda, who was serving beside Shakyamuni, seemed to understand the intention of Shakyamuni's action. He bowed to Si Yuan and Ying Long and said respectfully: "You two must be tired after coming from a far distance. Why don't you come with me to rest first? It's not too late to discuss these important matters later."
An obvious delaying tactic.
Yinglong looked at Si Yuan, waiting for his instructions.
Si Yuan shrugged his shoulders and did not refuse Garuda's invitation. He followed Garuda's footsteps and slowly walked out of the hall. When he was about to leave the hall, Si Yuan paused. He seemed to remember something. He looked back at Shakya and said to himself, "By the way, is the day predicted by Dipankara approaching?"
No one in the hall responded. Yinglong turned around and saw Shakya still in the same position. The hall was half-lit and half-dark, so that half of his face was submerged in the shadows, and it was hard to tell whether he was happy or angry.
Si Yuan didn't seem to expect any response from Sakya. He didn't even turn his head. After saying this, he raised his foot and continued to walk forward.
When the three of them walked a few meters outside the hall, Yinglong clearly heard the sound of tea cups falling to the ground inside the hall.
…
At the foot of Mount Xumi, in an unknown tavern.
At this moment, Lu Ren, holding the wine jug, looked like a newly placed sculpture in the tavern, his whole body stiff.
He stood expressionlessly in the same posture, standing beside the mysterious guest who had asked him to serve for a long time. Unlike Lu Ren's inner voice full of swear words, he seemed to be conscientious and even attentive to refill the guest's glass when it was almost empty.
It seemed that this mysterious guest really came here to drink. He drank slowly and occasionally listened to the teasing words of his subordinates. He neither made things difficult for Lu Ren nor did he do anything inappropriate that exceeded the rules.
After the customer came in, he specifically asked for Lu Ren's service. The proprietress didn't think there was anything wrong with that. After all, besides the proprietress herself, there was only one waiter in the store, Lu Ren. Regardless of whether the customer specifically asked for service or not, Lu Ren would be the one to serve.
As soon as Lu Ren appeared, the guest scanned him from head to toe as if he were examining an object. Finally, he turned his head away in disappointment, and then refused to even glance at Lu Ren.
Lu Ren: Please don’t look like you’ve been scammed.
In fact, this mysterious guest just wanted to find a place to drink today. Now that he is in the realm of the voice-hearers, he didn't expect to have any good places to go.
When the four realms of Shanjian City first merged, the entire Mount Xumi was like a cup of muddy water. It was indistinguishable between clear and turbid. However, as time passed, the muddy water began to separate, the muddy sand began to sink, and the clear water began to rise. The foot of the mountain became a place where foul air gathered, while the top of the mountain was unusually clear.
In the past, it was still Dipankara who ruled the city of Suddhana. He had the sentient beings in his heart and wanted to go to the foot of Mount Sumeru to preach the Dharma. Thousands of disciples tried to dissuade him, but Dipankara was determined to do it: "I want to save all sentient beings, and I will not abandon even one person."
Unfortunately, Dipankara did not succeed, and he eventually passed away in the realm of Śrāvakas.
Then, Shanjian City welcomed a new master, Shakya. Shakya divided Mount Xumi into the foot of the mountain, the foot of the mountain, the middle of the mountain, and the top of the mountain, and then placed the four realms in order.
The four realms have finally settled down, but that’s all they are.
Everyone knows that the realm of the Śrāvakas is a hopeless place.
If he hadn't been carrying out a mission, this guest wouldn't have come to the world of voice-hearers. He was bored and overheard people in the town talking about the waitress in this tavern, all of whom seemed to be talking about it with great interest, so he couldn't help but want to come over and see for himself.
But when I actually met her, I found that this waitress didn't seem to be anything special. She was wrapped up tightly, and although she was tall, her body was skinny and had no figure. Her face was also wrapped up tightly, and although she had a pair of black and shiny eyes, it was obvious that she was still a far cry from the "peerless beauty" touted by the people in the town.
The guest frowned slightly, somewhat displeased. With such a beauty, she could only crawl obediently in front of the palace to wash the floor in Shanjian City, and she was not even qualified to see him.
But it was also his fault. After all, this was the realm of the Śrāvakas, and he seemed a little ridiculous for having such expectations.
Although the so-called beauty disappointed him, the wine here was not bad, clear and refreshing, and it was a good entertainment.
The mysterious guest's lack of interest greatly relieved Lu Ren. After all, this guest who came to drink with his men was obviously the embodiment of trouble. Lu Ren now only prayed that he would finish his drink honestly and take his men away quickly. As long as he didn't cause any more trouble, he could spend another day in peace and be one step closer to returning home.
However, according to Murphy's Law, nothing can go smoothly, especially when people are unlucky.
The pub was full of customers, some familiar, some unfamiliar. In the past, even if someone got drunk, they would be considered well behaved, but today, a few people suddenly got drunk and stood up, forcing people at the next table to drink with them.
Seeing this, the proprietress stepped forward to dissuade him: "Don't get excited, don't get excited! Pay the bill first." The proprietress smiled and pointed a number with her hand, "It's this amount in total. What? The bill you saw before wasn't this much? Aren't you drunk? How can you remember it clearly? It's this amount."
Lu Ren: Madam Boss , you are thinking so loudly in your mind that I can hear it clearly even from such a distance.
But the drunk seemed unmoved. He waved away the proprietress and staggered towards Lu Ren's table.
The proprietress followed behind and shouted, but the drunkard ignored her. Lu Ren noticed that although the people at the table seemed to be keeping still, their muscles under their clothes were obviously tense.
When the drunkard approached the guest in front of Lu Ren, he staggered forward as if he was about to fall, then he made a feint, stood firm quickly, and pulled out a shining dagger in the blink of an eye.
The assassin, who was pretending to be a drunk, held the dagger in both hands and stabbed the mysterious guest straight at it. The assassin also changed his previous confused look, his eyes were clear, and he let out a vicious roar: "Go to hell, Emperor Shitian!"
Indra did not move at all. He did not even turn his head to look at the assassin. His gaze was looking straight ahead, but there seemed to be a barrier around his body that prevented the drunkard from moving forward.
The assassin's roar became louder, and the dagger was struggling with the unknown force in the void, almost sending sparks.
Emperor Shitian seemed to have finally grown impatient with the noise made by the assassin. He frowned, turned his head in displeasure, and glanced at the presumptuous Tinu. Then, the power in the void suddenly increased, the dagger in the assassin's hand was bounced out, and the assassin himself was also knocked to the ground.
The dagger in the assassin's hand slipped out and fell at the feet of Lu Ren who was sneaking away from the battlefield.
Lu Ren: “QAQ”
