Chapter 24: Becoming a Monk at Tansong Temple

Chapter 24: Becoming a Monk at Tansong Temple

During my time at the underground base, through observation, covertly reading files, and stealing abilities, I came to realize that ordinary police forces and the military were no match for AI-modified Sweepers. That was why the police and military rarely interfered with Sweeper operations.

Technically, the Sweepers truly had no evidence I’d used AI. I genuinely hadn’t used artificial intelligence. Or perhaps my same-frequency sensing simply wasn’t that important to them. Combined with the invisible person’s truly formidable backing, I was finally released.

Which raised the question: who exactly was this mysterious invisible person?

All I knew was they had connections to the Soul Hunter List. Everything else lay beyond my current reach.

The Sweepers were already an incredibly powerful organization. So what kind of entity were the Soul Hunters? What relationship existed between them and the Sweepers?

Whatever. None of my business for now.

As I walked out of the Sweepers’ Tansong Mountain compound and finally breathed free air, I never expected to be greeted by a stunning woman, trailed by several monks from Tansong Temple.

What kind of combination was this?

The beauty held an enormous bouquet of flowers, flanked by four bodyguards. She threw herself at me, tears streaming down her face, small fists pounding my chest.

I knew who she was: Du Xinlang, sole heiress of the Du Group.

This had nothing to do with me. Xuanhong had caused this trouble.

Xuanhong had become a monk at Tansong Temple precisely to escape her.

The senior monk leading the group behind Du Xinlang wore ancestral robes whose material and style marked him as someone of abbot rank. His prayer beads were distinctive as well.

The monk waited until our exchange paused, then approached, pressed his palms together in salute, and introduced himself:

“This humble monk, in the Dharma succession, serves as First Seat of Tansong Temple. My Dharma name is Guanghuai, and I am currently acting as temple administrator. I have brought the four halls of Tansong Temple to respectfully welcome Junior Brother Xuanhong home to assume the abbotship.”

I knew who he was, but I still produced my ordination certificate, returned his salute, and replied:

“This humble monk took tonsure at Mumen Temple in Sichuan. My Dharma name is Xuanchen, not Xuanhong.”

Guanghuai approached with a smile and grasped my hand firmly.

“Junior Brother Xuan, you misspeak. Two years ago, when our master passed into seated nirvana, he declared before everyone: ‘In all worldly phenomena, Hong and Chen are one.’ At the time I didn’t grasp his meaning. Only today do I understand the workings of Heaven.”

That mystical?

I didn’t know if this had truly occurred—ordained by the Way of Heaven—or if Guanghuai was improvising out of expediency. Either way, there was no one left to verify it. Master had passed into seated nirvana.

Still, since I’d inherited Xuanhong’s thoughts and memories, it did suggest that somewhere in the unseen realm, my fate was being directed. Otherwise, why would the joined green jade tokens recognize me as master? Time suspended in stillness wasn’t normal physics either.

Some extraordinary secret lay hidden behind all this.

Guanghuai continued, “Three months ago, Street Chief Lu Linfeng made a special trip to Tansong Temple to report Junior Brother’s imprisonment. He also described the benevolent-practice Dharma service you performed at the disabled settlement. When our temple’s monks learned CWP had detained you, we immediately submitted collective petitions and appeals. The four halls went between the United Nations and CWP’s Pingdu headquarters. We’ve also come at the request of Chairman Gu Qiutang.”

So Gu Qiutang had been involved in arrangements too? That meant he didn’t intend for me to return to company work—he wanted me stationed long-term at Tansong Temple.

Tansong Temple was the place of Xuanhong’s Dharma succession…