Chapter 213 — Demanding the Blood Debt
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
A monk half in the world and half out of it, he could scarcely bring himself to harden his face and set his disciples' morals in order.
Indecent goings-on occurred at the Nantuo Annex from time to time, and Sun Nantuo turned a blind eye. Yet he still hated evil like an enemy, and showed no favor whatever to officials of the court who came from the demonic path, rebuking them to their faces in open court.
That day a clamor arose outside the Nantuo Annex. The monks of Nantuo Temple came running out one after another, and even many of Sun Nantuo's own disciples poured out, crying: "Someone is selling a Buddhist treasure out there! The Pagoda of a Thousand Banners—of one lineage with our Nantuo Temple's spirit treasure, the Immovable Zen Art—it is the treasure that vanished from our temple several hundred years ago! " The crowd came outside the Annex, and there indeed was the Thousand-Banner Pagoda, the missing treasure of Nantuo Temple.
A great knot of monks had gathered, choking the street so completely that no one could pass, and a number of women were squeezed in among them. In the midst of the crowd stood a pagoda. That pagoda was formed of a thousand banners, each of them carved from jade.
It had seven tiers, and each tier was a cylinder inscribed with sutra texts, able to revolve; when it turned, the sutras upon it burst into light and gave forth Buddhist sound. Within each tier of banners were hidden treasures too: lapis, jade necklaces, relics, lamps, yellow jade, agate, and other precious things. A thousand banners, stacked together, composed one pagoda. This was the famous treasure of Nantuo Temple, the Pagoda of a Thousand Banners, also called the Thousand-Banner Pagoda.
Such a treasure had long since gone missing, lost in a time of turmoil—and now, unexpectedly, it had reappeared in the world.
The monks of the Nantuo Annex looked on red-faced and burning-eared, itching to rush up and seize the pagoda back. But after all, this was the capital; they could not act as they pleased.
The one selling the Thousand-Banner Pagoda was a young man of foreign appearance, standing beneath the pagoda and spurring it into motion. The Thousand-Banner Pagoda had not been tall to begin with; each banner was only a few cun high. But stirred by this young man, each banner grew to more than a zhang, and the pagoda's whole height reached sixty or seventy zhang—a fearsome sight.
The sutra cylinders of the thousand banners revolved, and without cease texts emerged glimmering with light; the Buddhist sounds rolled and surged.
It was a magnificent spectacle.
The barbarian's voice was loud and ringing: "This is my family's heirloom treasure, to be given only to the fated. I come from the grasslands beyond the frontier; I am a shaman of the Golden Palace of Loulan. This treasure was passed down from my forebears. An old monk once saved my ancestor's life, and that old monk gave him this treasure.
This time I have come to the Kingdom of Jingping, wishing to behold the heroes of your exalted land, and to seek out for this treasure one who is fated to have it. " "Brother Yuanjing, is this not our Nantuo Temple's treasure? " a monk asked in a low voice of the handsome, clear-featured monk beside him. Though Brother Yuanjing was young, he was a personal disciple of Sun Nantuo and of considerable standing; having followed Sun Nantuo in cultivation for many years, he knew Nantuo Temple's history like the back of his hand. He nodded: "It is indeed our temple's treasure, the Thousand-Banner Pagoda.
Inscribed upon it is the Arhat Nantuo Sutra, empowered by the Dharma of generations of abbots.
It could not be faked. " Yuanjing's eyes flickered. Suddenly he called out loudly: "You barbarian! This is a treasure of our Nantuo Temple—return it to its rightful owner at once! " Shen Mu glanced at him: "Monk, this treasure was given me by a great monk of virtue. Since it was given to my family, it is mine.