Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 314 Maitreya

As evening fell, the five monks, panting heavily, fled into a village.

Under the old locust tree at the village entrance, a skinny donkey was tied to a stone trough, its ears drooping as it chewed dry grass. The setting sun cast long shadows of the tree, stretching all the way to the half-closed wooden gate.

Kuang Putian was sitting on a futon in the Buddhist hall, with an offering table in front of him, on which was a statue of Maitreya Buddha.

This image is not the usual bare-chested, smiling face, but rather the "reincarnated Maitreya" of the White Lotus sect, holding a lotus flower, with a solemn expression, and three incense sticks burning in front of the image, with wisps of smoke rising.

He was in his thirties, bald, and wearing a gray monk's robe made of rough material that had faded from washing. In fact, the White Lotus Sect did not require ordination; one could practice at home. However, when Kuang Putian first came to Jiangdong, he did not preach under the name of the White Lotus Sect. Now that his foundation was somewhat stable, he had become accustomed to his previous appearance and was too lazy to change.

He held a string of sandalwood prayer beads in his hand, the beads polished to a shine, each engraved with the four tiny characters "Maitreya's Descent." Inside the room sat seven or eight believers, men and women, all from nearby villages, dressed in patched clothes, their expressions devout. An old woman knelt on a prayer mat, muttering incantations, her forehead touching the ground as she kowtowed, refusing to rise for a long time.

Kuang Putian, twirling his prayer beads, spoke in a low voice with a Jiangxi accent: "The future Buddha (Maitreya Buddha) is compassionate and will descend to earth to liberate all sentient beings. Now that the Hu Yuan dynasty's fate is nearing its end, it is the time for everyone to work together to accumulate merit. When our merit is sufficient, Maitreya Buddha will come to guide us to the Pure Land, where we will no longer suffer." Before he could finish speaking, hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard, accompanied by a hushed call: "Master Putian! Master Putian!"

Kuang Putian frowned and stopped fiddling with his prayer beads.

The door was pushed open, and five people filed in, all panting and covered in sweat.

The leader, whose Dharma name was Juekong, was a disciple developed by Kuang Putian in Huaixi, and could be considered a grand-disciple of Master Peng Yingyu.

Juekong was only one year younger than Kuang Putian. He was originally a carpenter, but he joined the religion after offending an official.

At this moment, there were a few dark red splatters on his monk's robe, and a section of the cuff was torn, revealing a pocket inside—a short knife hidden in the pocket, the scabbard still intact, the knife stained with blood that had not been wiped clean.

The other four were also in a sorry state. Two of them had bruises all over their faces, one was limping, and the other had a crooked bundle on his back with something hard inside.

The believers were stunned by what they saw. The old woman raised her head, her mouth wide open, and forgot to close it.

Kuang Putian remained expressionless, first waving his hand to the believers, and said in a calm voice: "Go back first, and come again for tomorrow evening's service. Make up for today's lessons at home, and recite 'Namo Maitreya Buddha' three more times."

The believers dared not ask any more questions, and they all got up, bowed their heads, squeezed past the five monks, and went out the door.

The last man to leave glanced back, and Kuang Putian shook his head slightly. The man then quickly closed the door.

As soon as the door closed, Kuang Putian's calm expression vanished.

"What happened?" he asked in a deep voice.

Juekong first put his palms together and bowed.

After finishing the ceremony, he plopped down on the prayer mat, grabbed a teacup from the offering table, and gulped down a mouthful of water, which streamed down his chin without him bothering to wipe it away. "Murder," Juekong whispered. "This morning, there was trouble at the gate of the Prince of Zhennan's residence..."

Juekong recounted the events in great detail, explaining how they had spied on the rioters and how they had dodged when the officials came to disperse the crowd. He paused at the end, then said, "The corrupt officials wanted to requisition our houses, and they were incredibly arrogant. I didn't want any trouble; I only asked to be allowed to return home to retrieve my belongings, but the soldiers wouldn't allow it and even tried to beat me. I was furious and drew my sword, stabbing one of them to death. Juewan also killed one, and then… then we ran back." Juewan nodded, saying, "That person was blocking our path. I caught him off guard and killed him with a single blow, then we fled." Kuang Putian's face turned pale.

The prayer beads in his hand spun rapidly, the sandalwood beads colliding with each other and making a soft "tap-tap" sound.

"Is someone watching us?"

"Absolutely not," Juekong said. "The guards under the Prince of Zhennan are just as fat as the constables. They can't keep up after a few steps and have fallen far behind us."

Kuang Putian remained silent for a long while, still feeling uneasy.

The house in the city was donated by believers to facilitate their missionary work in Changzhou and to allow them to contact wealthy households and officials. Kuang Putian had been there several times, so many believers should know him.

As for the temple in this village, it was also built with donations from believers. There was no other way; he hadn't brought much money with him when he came to preach, and the only fifty ingots he had were a gift from Zuo Junbi. It was impossible not to utilize local manpower, resources, and finances. And once resources were utilized, more traces were left behind. Kuang Putian stood up, walked to the offering table, and lit three more incense sticks for the Maitreya Buddha, carefully placing each one neatly.

After inserting the needle, he took two steps back, respectfully kowtowed three times, his forehead touching the ground, and softly recited a verse: "Maitreya is the true Maitreya, manifesting in billions of forms. He constantly reveals himself to the world, yet the world does not recognize him."

After he finished reading, he turned around. His expression had calmed down, but his eyes were more complicated than before.

"Our patriarch (Peng Yingyu) sent us to Changzhou to do two things," Kuang Putian said, holding up two fingers. "First, to spread the Dharma and save people, accumulating merit. Second, to inquire about Shao Shuyi, the top archer in Taicang. But we weren't told to go after the Prince of Zhennan's men."

After speaking, he glanced at everyone.

Juekong opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but Kuang Putian stopped him with a wave of his hand.

"I don't blame you," Kuang Putian sighed. "When things get chaotic, no one can predict everything. But with this stab in the back, the authorities will definitely investigate. In the end, we've revealed too much of our activities in Changzhou."

He walked back to the meditation cushion, sat down, fiddled with his prayer beads, and closed his eyes for a while.

A candle was lit inside, its flame flickering in the wind that seeped in through the crack in the door. The Maitreya Buddha statue on the wall glowed and dimmed, and the lotus flower in the shadow seemed to come alive.

"The five of you will all leave first thing tomorrow morning." Kuang Putian opened his eyes, looked at Juekong, and said, "Go to Danyang first, find Senior Brother Jueming of Miaoxin Nunnery, and have him arrange for you to cross the river and return to Jianghuai. I will report to the Ancestral Master myself."

"What about the situation in Changzhou..." Juekong said with some reluctance.

"We'll continue with what needs to be done," Kuang Putian said. "There are still a dozen or so brothers spreading the Dharma, all locals, so they won't attract attention. As for the news about the man surnamed Shao—" He paused, then pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper from under the prayer mat, unfolded it, and looked at it by the lamplight. On the paper was a simplified map of Jiangyin, with the location of Ma Tuosha circled in charcoal, and the character "Shao" written next to it, along with a few horizontal lines.

"Although he has repeatedly clashed with the fishermen of Chaohu Lake and made many enemies, the founder still admires him and wants to convert him into the sect." Kuang Putian folded the paper again and stuffed it into his sleeve, saying, "Especially in the past two years, he has been raising refugees and selling smuggled salt in Ma Tuo Sha. His strength is considerable. If he can be converted into a member of the sect, that would be even better."

Juekong and the others listened and nodded in agreement.

"Your commotion today might have alerted the enemy," Kuang Putian said, twirling his prayer beads between his fingers. He sighed and continued, "Our operations in Changzhou have only been going on for a little over a year; our foundation is weak, and it's not the right time to make a move. If the authorities follow the trail and put in the effort to investigate, they might just find their way here..."

Juekong lowered his head, put his hands together, and said, "This disciple was reckless and begs Master for punishment."

Kuang Putian glanced at him but didn't reply. Instead, he got up and took a ceramic jar from a wooden cabinet in the corner. The jar contained talismanic water used by the White Lotus Sect when performing "meritorious deeds".

He poured a bowl and handed it to Juekong.

"Drink it. It'll calm you down." Juekong took it and tilted his head back to gulp down half a bowl.

The talisman water was bitter and astringent, but he drank it without even flinching.

The other four people took the bowl one by one, each taking a sip, and drank it all.

Kuang Putian then took out a bag of dry food and a few crumpled Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS) banknotes from the cabinet and placed them on the table.

"Tonight, hide in the bamboo grove behind the village and leave before dawn. There are clean clothes in the small hut in the grove; change into them and burn your monk's robes," he said. "Before you leave, kowtow three times to Maitreya Buddha and recite the 'Sutra of Descent to Earth' once."

The five people responded.

Kuang Putian paused, fiddling with his prayer beads, and looked out at the twilight.

"Master, what will you do if the authorities find out about this?" Juekong suddenly asked.

Jue Wan and the others also looked over with worried eyes.

Kuang Putian shook his head without answering, only saying, "Jueming has cultivated for many years, but he has a volatile temper. You should try to persuade him not to act rashly. I have my own plans."

Everyone fell silent.

Indeed, if something goes wrong, you can run away, but more than a year's worth of hard work will be wasted because the believers can't run away, which is still very frustrating.

"Master, won't this ruin the Patriarch's grand plan?" Juekong couldn't help but ask, "Western Zhejiang is adjacent to Jiangxi, it's very important." Kuang Putian remained silent.

In the past two years, the patriarch has been busy. He recruited Xiang Nuer, a wealthy man from Raozhou, as his disciple, gave him the name "Xiang Pulue", and ordered him to preach in Jiangxi and secretly develop followers.

As for Kuang Putian, he should have returned to Jiangxi, but he ended up in western Zhejiang by a twist of fate, which is probably inseparable from Shao Shuyi.

But that's not a big deal. In western Zhejiang, as long as you don't go to Jiangyin, Pingjiang, Songjiang, Jiaxing, Hangzhou, etc., and just stay around Jiqing, Zhenjiang, and Changzhou, it's not that difficult to spread the word.

Moreover, western Zhejiang is adjacent to Jiangxi, so if an uprising were to break out in the future, they could support each other and create a sweeping effect.

As for the patriarch himself, he preached in Huaixi and even northern Huguang, and has already achieved some success.

According to the plan, they should accumulate "merit" for several more years before launching a coordinated attack to overthrow Hu Yuan's rule in Huaixi, Huguang, Jiangxi, and Liangzhe, and establish a "Buddhist Kingdom on Earth." However, the time was not yet ripe, and they had to be patient to avoid a repeat of the painful lesson of the Yuanzhou uprising. Seeing that Kuang Putian remained silent, Juekong and the others had no choice but to leave the temple. They first traveled by land, then by boat, secretly heading to Danyang. Meanwhile, at the foot of Huashan Mountain, more than a hundred li west of Danyang, a group of people were swaggering along, carrying several severed heads.

The leader was a woman, burly and imposing, even wearing a suit of iron armor.

"Go inside and search, take everything you can use," the woman ordered, pointing to the newly established patrol station, which had been set up less than a month ago.

More than ten people responded to the order and rushed into the now empty Huashan Patrol Office.

The woman, along with the rest of the people, personally gathered dry grass and firewood, preparing to burn the patrol station to the ground and embarrass Jurong County and Jiqing Road.