Doing Good and Accumulating Virtue

"So how do you plan to drum up business? Go knocking door-to-door to ask?" Shi Chan shook his head and retrieved a large banner from his identity jade pendant. The front listed a wide array of services—ranging from exorcising ghosts and praying for children to curing illnesses. It had everything, remarkably comprehensive. On the reverse side was written: "Prices Negotiable." Shi Chan led the two of them to the bustling heart of the city, paid the stall fee, found a small open space, set up his booth, unfurled the banner, and took a seat behind the table with utmost composure. His movements were deft and practiced, looking very much like this was not his first time doing such things. Shi Chan kindly brought out two extra chairs for Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou to sit on. To the left of Shi Chan's stall was a noodle vendor, and to the right was a flatbread stall. Holding up a banner strikingly similar to a fortune-teller's, he was exceedingly conspicuous. Passersby frequently turned their heads, noticing this unconventional monk. Yet precisely because he was so eccentric, not a single person dared step forward to seek his help for a good while. Shi Chan felt rather regretful. Every time he first set up a stall, business was sparse. Only later, when people realized he was indeed a truly capable eminent monk and lined up in droves to ask for help, would he find the crowds and requests overwhelming. Unable to attend to them all, he would simply pack up and leave early. "The people of the world lack an innovative spirit and shy away from novel things. If only I possessed your master's eloquence, I would certainly tell stories in teahouses to propagate the Buddhist teachings to the world." This was the first time Lu Yang had ever heard someone praise his master, leaving him feeling somewhat flattered. If his master down in the netherworld knew of this, he would surely be deeply gratified. "By the way, Senior Brother Meng, have you ever considered joining our Buddhist faith? From what I see, your karmic affinity with the Buddha is profound. You even researched and created the Bachelor Curse Fist all on your own without a master. You are bound to be a future Buddha, just like me." "...Having a Bachelor Spiritual Root doesn't mean I'll go without sex my whole life." A Bachelor Spiritual Root meant being forced to stay single, whereas Buddhism emphasized choosing to remain celibate. Those were two entirely different things. Meng Jingzhou had long since inquired with the Immortal Fairy through Lu Yang: once he achieved immortality, he would no longer be restricted by the Bachelor Spiritual Root and could unleash his sexual desires at will. "Senior Brother Meng falls into a fallacy. Buddhism advocates doing good and accumulating virtue in order to bring good fortune. A bhikkhuni once asked the Buddha whether someone who had intended to commit an evil deed, but inadvertently did a good one due to a twist of fate, could still receive good fortune. The Buddha replied that they could. When judging good deeds, one evaluates the action, not the intent." "And your point is?" Meng Jingzhou was thoroughly baffled, failing to grasp what Shi Chan was driving at. "My point is that one evaluates the action, not the intent. Senior Brother Meng, although you are forced to have no romantic fate with the opposite sex, the fact remains that you have fulfilled the Buddhist requirement of staying far away from lust. This is proof of your profound affinity with the Buddha." Meng Jingzhou: "..." *Just you wait. Let's see when you manage to save enough money for the brothel. I'll book the whole place in advance, pump you full of twenty drops of my aphrodisiac blood, and watch you burst!* With no business for the moment, Lu Yang chatted with the old man selling noodles on the left, while Meng Jingzhou chatted with the uncle selling flatbread on the right. After waiting for about an hour, business finally arrived. The newcomer was clad in opulent garments, dripping with gold and silver, wearing a jade thumb ring on each thumb, and sporting a protruding potbelly. "Master, my luck has been rather poor lately. I've hit a string of bad breaks, and several business deals fell through. Can one pray for wealth here?" Shi Chan appeared completely serene, pressing his palms together. "Benefactor, if I could pray for wealth, I wouldn't be running a stall here." "..." This was the first time the wealthy merchant had encountered such a candid young monk. He had expected the monk to spout a few lines of nonsense, persuade him to donate incense money, and then put on a show of praying for his riches. Shi Chan then offered a second option: "If Benefactor insists on seeking wealth, you may ask my senior brother for assistance. Senior Brother Meng has countless family riches, wealthy enough to rival a nation. If you seek wealth from him, you can take out a loan." "Furthermore, Benefactor may perform more good deeds to offset your misfortune." Feeling that this young monk was rather unreliable, the wealthy merchant shook his head and departed. Seeing the merchant leave, the Immortal Fairy shook her head gently with a trace of regret. "Foolish, truly foolish." Inside the Mahavira Hall, the Immortal Fairy wore a monastic robe, sitting upon a lotus dais with a solemn, venerable air—except that her little feet were rather restless, her tender, pearl-pink toes wiggling continuously. "Who's foolish?" Lu Yang asked, mystified. "That wealthy merchant, of course! He fails to recognize good intentions and refuses sound advice." "This fairy has always advocated doing good and accumulating virtue. Doing more good deeds would surely disperse the ill fortune hanging over him." "This fairy's advocacy for accumulating virtue through good deeds comes from the insights gained through my own personal experiences. My life has been smooth sailing from start to finish, all thanks to my habit of doing good deeds, being generous and charitable, and delighting in helping others." "Looking back to before this fairy became an immortal, the world was chaotic, with slaughter running rampant. Whenever two people clashed, it inevitably ended in the death of one party." "I once fought across realms and defeated Immortal Ying Tian and Immortal Kirin. Not only did I spare their lives, but I even cooked meals for them, turning hostility into friendship. For a time, it was extolled by this fairy as a lovely tale." "Buddhism often says that saving a life is better than building a seven-tiered pagoda; the reasoning behind it originated right from this incident." "In ancient times, communication was closed off. If one wished to learn something from another, one had to endure rigorous trials and take solemn oaths. Even so, one was not guaranteed to learn anything real. Masters would always hold back a few secret tricks. Worse yet, some would use cultivation methods to control their disciples, planting hexes, curses, and the like." "This fairy was different. Seeing that Lianyi and Ao Ling showed considerable talent in cultivation, I held nothing back, passing down my culinary arts and teaching them the Art of Playing Dead." "And then there was the Barbarian clan. Seeing that the Barbarians were naturally dull-witted, possessing brute strength without knowing how to wield it, this fairy enlightened their minds, allowing the Barbarians to grow stronger and more prosperous." Listening to the Immortal Fairy recount these past deeds one by one, Lu Yang finally understood the meaning of 'might makes right.' Could it be that he had committed too many sins in his past, thereby attracting a menace like the Immortal Fairy to bring misfortune upon himself? Undeterred by the failure of his first potential deal, Shi Chan continued waiting for a second customer. "Well now, little monk, why are you here? Did you run out of money?" A rather attractive woman stopped in her tracks, looking at Shi Chan with keen interest. "Ah, it is Benefactor Miao Shan." "Who is this?" Meng Jingzhou asked. "Allow this poor monk to make introductions. This is Benefactor Miao Shan from the Chunxiang Brothel, one of the many female benefactors who attended to me last night." The previous night, after refining the twenty drops of pure yang blood, Shi Chan had summoned several female benefactors at the Chunxiang Brothel to test him, all to achieve the finest tempering of his state of mind. "Little monk, if you're short on cash, I wouldn't mind serving you once for free." Miao Shan licked her lips, her expression dripping with allure. "Benefactor Miao Shan jokes. It is true that this poor monk failed to endure the trial last night and fell short in tempering my state of mind. But only a night has passed, and my heart is now as still as water. I will certainly not be swayed by Benefactor's temptations." Seeing Shi Chan refuse, Miao Shan looked quite disappointed. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the services inscribed on Shi Chan's upright banner and asked again, "What if I say I want to pray for a child?" "Then Benefactor must pay." Meng Jingzhou's eyes turned red with envy. Was *this* the reward of Shi Chan doing good and accumulating virtue?