Chapter 6

You Shu did not raise his head to look. Instead, he lifted up the stick of candied fruit that was still firmly squeezed in his hand. Mouth by mouth, he bit down and ate it all. Early on during the apocalypse, he developed a habit of 'binge-eating upon suffering shock.' Only the feeling of a satisfied stomach could help him to suppress the fear of having his life on the line. In the apocalypse, there was nothing more precious than food and water.

However, the malt sugar on the surface of the candied fruits had long since been licked cleaned up by him. Now there were only a few half-cooked hawthorns left. After chewing them, the sour taste almost made him weep. He immediately grabbed his cheeks, forcefully kneaded them a few times, then swallowed the whole mouthful of sour fruit flesh into his stomach. Following that, he let out a long exhale.

After eating, the feeling of fear vanished like a bubble. At this, You Shu finally raised his head and carefully sized up the youth in front of him. The other party's appearance was beyond outstanding, furthermore, there was a distinguished air and temperament different from common people. He was currently narrowing a pair of slender phoenix eyes* and using a strange expression to stare at him.

*phoenix eyes:

"Are you alright?" The youth inquired.

"I'm fine, thank you." You Shu wiped away the grains of snow on his face and cupped his hands towards the boy in salute*.

*salute: You probably see this a lot in ancient Chinese dramas;

"Thank me for?" The youth's tone carried slight doubt.

"All in all, thank you." You Shu didn't want to announce all over the fact that he was being haunted by a demon, so he didn't say much. When the demon left, he mentioned "Purple Dragon Energy." This so-called Dragon Energy was supposed to be an attribute possessed by the emperor and could resist all the evils in the world. And right here, there were only he and the youth. Whose body possessed the Purple Dragon Energy went without saying.

In other words, this youth was his saviour. If the other party had not coincidentally arrived, he would have already been murdered by the demon. This body was originally supposed to be the demon's? Already been entered into Old King Yama's life and death book? Hilarious! All ordinary matters have a first-come-first-serve basis. You Shu had slept in his mother's womb for a full ten months. Only when he was born did the demon tardily come, desiring to snatch his body. How did this body become the demon's? Thinking of this, killing intent swiftly swept across You Shu's eyes. Although his emotions were indifferent and he was especially pacifist, he had crawled and brawled for six years in the apocalypse. Naturally, he was not a saint either. Today he had no way to deal with the demon, but this did not represent that in the future he would still be unable do something about him.

The youth still wanted to ask again. You Shu had already swept away the snow on his face and head and staggered far away. His hands were still gripping the bamboo stick that had been used for the candied fruit.

"Odd." The teenager shook his head and idly strolled away as well.

You Shu walked to the empty land in front of the temple hall. Bai Shao had already hung the fortune bag and was anxious looking around in all directions. Seeing him come over, hurriedly went up to meet him, asking, "Young Master, where did you run to just now, it made This Slave anxious to death! Ya, why is your hair and clothing this wet? Definitely had been naughty huh? Go, This Slave will bring you to the kitchen to dry."

Bai Shao bought several roasted sweet potatoes from the monk chef for the Young Master to eat, then took off his outer robes. She used wooden sticks to hold them beside the stove and tightly wrapped the Young Master's thin body with her lined jacket. As long as there was something to eat, You Shu would be especially quiet. Small mouthfuls by mouthfuls, he gnawed on the sweet potatoes. And, intentionally or unintentionally, he asked the monk chef about that wealthy youth's origins. He discovered that the other party was temporarily staying in Kaiyuan Temple to practice Buddhism with an unshaven head*. Hence, his heart had an idea.

*practice Buddhism with an unshaven head: Buddhist monks who devote their entire life to Buddhism shave their heads. Buddhist laymen or ordinary devotees would not shave their head. To practice with an unshaven head would mean to practice Buddhism more casually, as a normal Buddhist and not a highly devote monk.

About half an hour later, Song mama finally came over to find them with a basket of joss sticks. She said joyfully, "Alright, I've given Young Master a longevity plaque*, from time to time we'll come back to add offerings so that Young Master can live to a hundred."

"There's still Young Lady…" Once Bai Shao said this, she recalled that the young Master did not know his own origins and hastily stopped speaking.

Song mama didn't wish for the young master's personality to be clouded by hatred and revenge. After he grew up, became successful, it wouldn't be too late to tell him the entire truth. Thus, she fiercely glared at Bai Shao and pulled up the Young Master, wanting to return home.

You Shu silently followed behind Song mama. When they had walked to the entrance of the temple, he finally said, "Mama, I want to stay at Kaiyuan Temple to practice Buddhism with an unshaven head."

"Young Master, what did you say?" The bottom of Song mama's feet slipped and she almost fell.

"I said that I want to stay in Kaiyuan Temple to practice with an unshaven head." You Shu supported her, repeating. The forty-two tales of silver had already been spent. The demon believed that the debt had been paid off, and hence steeled his heart, desiring to pull him down to hell with him. If he left that youth who carried Dragon Energy on his body, there was only a road to death.

"You this child, why would you suddenly want to leave home? Did someone say something?" Song mama's gaze was cold and severe as she looked towards Bai Shao. The alarmed Bai Shao anxiously waved her hands.

"Nobody said anything to me." He looked at the surroundings, saw that no one else was nearby, then whispered, "I won't hide this from mama. Recently I've been haunted by a demon, always saying that this body should be his, that he came to collect a debt. He also said something about forty-two silver coins that have already been spent, so I must die. In the recent days, he would often harm me, pushing me into the pond, pushing down the steps, repeatedly carrying out sabotage. Just now, in the temple, he even grabbed the back of my head and pushed me into the snowdrift to suffocate. Fortunately, a temple guest who had an honourable air passed by, so he retreated. If I return with mama, it's uncertain what day I will meet with the demon's plot again. It's not as safe as waiting by the rich person's side. Moreover, this is a temple, perhaps Bodhisattva will also bless me."

Of course, You Shu absolutely did not believe that last sentence. If Bodhisattva could really save people, vanquish demons and subdue devils, how could the demon be this rampant, setting down its killing hand in the midst of a temple. This showed that Kaiyuan Temple wasn't any kind of sacred and inviolable sanctuary.

Song mama and Bai Shao were stunned as they listened. When they recovered their spirits they hurriedly went to check the back of the Young Master's head, and really saw a faint crimson hand-print on the white and tender skin of his head. Looking at the size, it should belong to an adult man. Connecting the thought of how Jade Water Village frequently had people meeting misfortune, then thinking of five years ago, when Young Master had been born and both Master and Young Lady had the same dream – Song mama and Bai Shao were already deeply and doubtlessly convinced of the ghost.

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What was 'body should be his' supposed to mean? Was this to say, the debt-collector ghost had not been able to reincarnate into Young Lady's stomach, and Young Master had occupied it first instead? Young Master was not some ghost, he was the Young Lady's own flesh and bones that she had bitterly nurtured for ten months in her womb ah! Song mama was ecstatic one moment, and mournful the next. Hugging You Shu's thin and small body, she sobbed so much that she couldn't speak, stuttering, "My, my Young Master you've had a bitter life ah, you've suffered such a huge wrong, why didn't you say it earlier ah! If Old Slave had known, Old Slave would have certainly begged an expert* to come save you."

*Expert: Also known as Buddhist / Taoist masters, or other spiritual experts.

"Mama, there's no need to blame yourself, most experts are swindlers." You Shu clumsily patted Song mama's back. "Those experts the village had invited, all of them can't do anything to the demon, only when he saw that honourable person did he retreat."

"Who is the honourable person? Mama will beg him to shelter you." Song mama pulled away from her grief, picked up the young master in a hug and walked into the temple.

"Would ordinary people dare be tainted by the matters of gods and ghosts? Not mentioning it would be fine, but once said, he would definitely want to drive me away. Mama definitely must not be impulsive. I can stay in the temple and thus be able to protect myself while devoting myself to Buddha every day, making the demonic ghosts retreat. Here is the Buddha's holy land, it won't be easy for evil to commit evil." You Shu had never said such a long speech in one breath before, but in order to dispel Song's mother's thoughts, he had to patiently persuade her.

This so-called honourable noble person was far beyond the understanding of Song Mu and Bai Shao. If they rashly went forward, provoking his suspicion wasn't as important; he was afraid that the other party prohibited any talk of the supernatural, and would instead close his road to survival. So why not stay in the temple and become an amateur disciple practitioner. After he slowly grew closer to youth he'd plot the rest.

Song mama was persuaded. She praised the Young Master for being thoughtful while finding the head of Kaiyuan Temple, saying that she wanted to foster the child there. Some children had hard Eight Characters*, their fortune and fate fragile. Parents would fear their children dying young, and thus send them to a nearby temple to be fostered. Every month, they would come to send donations. This was one of the methods to enter the temple, and the temple head had no reason to refuse. Immediately, he accepted You Shu.

*hard Eight Characters: their fate and future life – derived using Chinese astrology and their birthdates – will be hard / difficult / unfortunate.

You Shu sent away Song mama and Bai Shao who were reluctant to part. Only after that did he return to his room and change to a moon-white monk's robes. He turned around the surroundings and discovered that a courtyard in the east was the most spacious and orderly. From time to time, there would be two strong men standing guard at the round archway. You Shu couldn't understand – a kinsman of the excellent imperial family, why would he stay at an obscure small temple. Judging from the actions taken by the monks indifferently, the true identities of the teenagers seem to be unknown. However, Liangzhou was the place where Longxing was located, and where the elites gathered like clouds. Kaiyuan Temple was one of the closest temples to the Imperial Mausoleum. Thinking of it this way also made sense.

You Shu squatted at the corner of a wall, quietly observing the scenery inside the courtyard. His hands weren't idle either, with two or three movements he piled up a half-a-meter tall small snowman. He used black stones for its eyes, yellow tree leaves for its mouth, and two dead branches as its hands. At a glance, it was quite childlike. For a long time, he did not see the boy exit the door. Seeing that meal time was approaching, he rubbed his belly and "deng deng deng" ran towards the kitchen. Eating was eternally his top priority.

Not long afterwards, the youth dressed in a sable fur coat slowly walked out of the courtyard. When he passed the corner and saw the little snowman quietly standing in the icy wind, he involuntarily stopped his steps, his gaze revealing fondness and nostalgia.

The two subordinates hastily hung their heads to hide their sympathetic expressions. In their hearts, they knew the Master must have thought of the late Empress again. That year, the late Empress also loved to pile two small snowmen in front of the master's palace, saying that it was to let the little snowman represent her in guarding him, the imperial son. If the late Empress was still here, would the master have fallen to this place?

The youth seemed very knowledgeable on how to control emotions, and in only an instant he vanished the fragility in his eyes. He continued to move forward and suddenly stopped again, saying lightly, "Bring it inside the courtyard, it would be hard to avoid it getting kicked by novice monks if it's left here."

The two brawny men softly agreed, and carefully lifted the snowman, placing it under the plum tree in the courtyard. The master just needed to open the window to see it, as if it was one of those the late Empress had personally made for him in past years.

The demon seemed to have suffered a fright, for one and a half months he did not appear once. You Shu ate well, slept well. His thin body grew a little flesh, but at a glance still looked very feeble, as if it could float away once the wind blew. Recently he became addicted to the scriptures in the sutra library and often ran in secretly to read. Endlessly absorbing new knowledge was the instinct of a Super-Brain Aberrant. He had no way to control it. As long as it was a book he had never seen before, he would have to read it until he understood, read it until it was transparent to him, then store it in his brain which could be compared to a computer.

Today, after reading the last scripture, he took out a steamed cornbread* from his bosom and gnawed as he walked. He passed by a huge water tank. Suddenly, he felt a Yin wind howling as it swirled over.

*Steamed cornbread: 窝窝头;