After Descending the Mountain, Seven Big Brothers Spoil Me

Chapter 1116: The Reason for the Stagnation of Merits

Zhouzhou already had quite a bit of merit, but when the Buddha's merit arrived, it didn't fill in the missing part—it simply added another layer to the areas where she already had merit. The areas where her merit had already been accumulated grew even brighter, making the gap in the middle more obvious.

Upon hearing this, Zhouzhou froze for a moment. Quickly, she came to her senses. She let out a little yelp, immediately covering her head and pouting with a pitiful look at Yiyun.

"I don't know what happened," she said, almost on the verge of tears. "I've been working so hard, but there's still one piece missing."

She could almost taste the victory that was within her reach, yet there was still that tiny bit of progress lacking, and it made her start to doubt whether Ancestral Master had been tricking her all along. There was no such thing as adjusting her fate to gain wealth—he just wanted her to do his bidding.

At this thought, Zhouzhou shot Ancestral Master a resentful glance.

Ancestral Master, understanding the meaning in her eyes, immediately jumped up, "What? I'm also missing a piece, you know!"

He was feeling wronged. Both of them were victims—one with a skin condition, and the other with a receding hairline. Why was she blaming him?

Yiyun thought for a moment and then asked, "Would you mind telling me how you earned your merits?"

Zhouzhou nodded eagerly. "Of course!"

She had nothing to hide!

She proceeded to explain everything, leaving out only the name of the Fourth Bureau. She talked about how over the years, while carrying out various tasks, she had captured many criminals, which was how she had accumulated so much merit.

Yiyun listened attentively before asking, "Is that all?"

Zhouzhou nodded, "Yes."

Seeing his puzzled expression, Zhouzhou quickly asked, "Abbot Master, is there something wrong?"

Yiyun countered her question, "Think carefully. When you first started accumulating merit, what was your goal?"

Zhouzhou thought for a while and then replied, "To help Ancestral Master achieve enlightenment."

"Back when Ancestral Master was in such a poor state, my master said it was because the temple had gone bankrupt and there were no visitors, so that's why things had turned out like that. He told me to go down the mountain and do good deeds to accumulate merit."

Yiyun nodded. "Doing good deeds is definitely not wrong, or else you wouldn't have gathered so much merit."

"But, have you forgotten your original intention?"

Zhouzhou was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Yiyun continued, "Your original intention was to promote Qingyun Temple and bring glory to the Mystery Sect. Have you done that?"

Zhouzhou froze. No, she hadn't.

She had been so focused on completing the Fourth Bureau's tasks for the past few years that she had forgotten all about the original purpose. When she was younger, she used to set up a stall after school to read fortunes for people, but as time passed, she had spent more and more of her evenings doing homework and less time with fortune-telling.

Yiyun clasped his hands together and softly chanted a Buddhist mantra, "Amitabha." He then said, "This is just some of my humble conjecture. I'm not sure if it's useful, but please take it as a reference."

Zhouzhou, stroking her chin thoughtfully, said, "I think Abbot Master's words make a lot of sense."

Over the years, she had completed countless tasks, but since two years ago, the missing piece of merit above her head had remained absent. Even though she had accumulated more merit, it was only layering on top of what was already there.

This meant that the missing part wasn't something that could be earned through the usual kind of merit.

Perhaps what was lacking was a return to her original intention.

At this thought, Zhouzhou looked at Ancestral Master.

Ancestral Master, usually lighthearted and carefree, now wore a serious expression as he pondered Yiyun's words. Although he didn't want to admit it, his intuition told him that what Yiyun said was very likely true.

What a disgrace. After all these years of struggling, it took a bald monk to point it out for him.

He thought about how to face others if this ever got out.

Seeing his expression, Zhouzhou knew what was going on.

Her eyes twinkled as she looked at Yiyun and said with a smile, "Abbot Master, you're amazing! Even Ancestral Master agrees with what you said. When his golden body is complete, you'll be the one who gets the credit!"

Yiyun remained calm and didn't take any credit. With a humble smile, he said, "Amitabha. I am but an outsider. I simply have a clearer perspective from the outside. Even without me saying anything, you would eventually come to this understanding on your own."

Zhouzhou smiled brightly at him and said, "Still, it would have taken a long time without you. You're too modest! Once I've fixed my destiny, I'll send you a few golden Buddha statues!"

Upon hearing this, Ancestral Master coughed violently a few times and shot Zhouzhou a glare.

This unfilial disciple! She was earning money, yet she wasn't thinking of donating some to their temple, but instead planned to send golden Buddha statues to the neighboring temple! What was she thinking?

Zhouzhou pretended not to hear him. She didn't care. After all, she had been part of the temple before. Both places were like family to her. As for her own family, it had to be adorned in gold!

Yiyun gently touched her head and spoke warmly, "Alright, then thank you."

Zhouzhou's sincerity was clear, and since this would help promote Buddhism, Yiyun didn't want to refuse her offer.

Zhouzhou grinned at him, happy to see his response. She didn't like people who were overly polite and formal—too much hassle.

Noticing Ancestral Master's sour expression, she glared at him and said, "Ancestral Master, aren't you going to thank Abbot Master? It's really impolite if you don't."

She nudged him with her elbow.

Ancestral Master was bursting with complaints, but he finally said to Yiyun, "Thank you."

After saying that, he felt much better. If what Yiyun said was indeed true, then his golden body would be completed soon. Saying thank you was the right thing to do.

Zhouzhou had conveyed his thanks.

Yiyun recited another "Amitabha" with a gentle smile on his face.

Li Yuanming, surprisingly, didn't glare at him this time.

This was the most harmonious moment they had shared in years.

Zhouzhou looked at them, feeling overjoyed.

That's how it should be. They simply had different beliefs. They weren't enemies, so why act so confrontational?

This was so much better.

It was a shame, though, that Abbot Master couldn't go to their Daoist temple, and her master couldn't enter the Buddhist temple. Otherwise, they could visit each other sometimes, sit down, drink tea, and chat. That would have been nice.

It seemed that Yiyun could see through her thoughts. He gently rubbed her head and said, "The way things are now is for the best."

They each followed their own beliefs, and there was no need to be bound by formalities. What mattered was staying true to one's own heart.

Zhouzhou nodded in agreement and decided not to dwell on the matter anymore.

Just then, Jingkong's voice rang out from the distance, "Zhouzhou, it's time to eat."

Zhouzhou's eyes lit up, and she dashed inside.

Seeing her leave without a second glance, Li Yuanming stomped his foot in frustration. "I haven't eaten my food yet! Why is she running off to eat at someone else's place?"

He shot another glare at Yiyun.

He knew it. Yiyun was trying to steal his disciple!

Yiyun pretended not to see anything and gave him a small nod before walking into the temple.

What could he do? He was injured. His little disciple was just showing him some concern. It was perfectly normal.

Ancestral Master rolled his eyes at Li Yuanming, kicking him lightly. "All the books you've read, and you still couldn't figure out something so obvious?"

Li Yuanming, kicked and disgruntled, didn't dare speak up. He muttered to himself, "Ancestral Master, this is so obvious, but you didn't think of it either."

"Don't talk back!" Ancestral Master glared at him.

Li Yuanming quickly swallowed his words.

It was always him, the unreasonable one!

Hmph!