"Before I could even finish speaking, Da Xing the Mad Monk slammed the table and stood up in a rage, glaring furiously at Gu Qingfeng and shouting, 'What nonsense is this! A convenient favor? I say, Gu kid, how can you even utter such words? Have you no conscience at all?'
'What of it?' Gu Qingfeng sat casually in his chair, looking at him with a smile and replying nonchalantly, 'Isn't that the case?'
'You!' Da Xing the Mad Monk was furious and exasperated, but because he needed Gu Qingfeng's help, he dared not vent his anger and could only say helplessly, 'Forget it, forget it. This Old Monk won't argue with you.'
'It makes sense that the Eight Buddhist Sects of the Western Heaven want to get rid of you, but why don't even the Elders of your own Chan Sect trust you? Do they also want to eliminate a troublemaker like you?'
'Sigh!' Da Xing the Mad Monk sighed repeatedly. 'It's not that serious. Although the Elders of our Chan Sect don't trust me, they aren't to the point of wanting to get rid of This Old Monk. At most, it's just that This Old Monk and they don't see eye to eye.'
'How come you don't see eye to eye?'
'How should I put it...' Da Xing the Mad Monk gathered his thoughts and continued, 'You know as well as I do that there are many opportunities in this Present Era. The more opportunities one seizes, the greater their say in the Present Era. Whether it's dominating the Present Era or aiming for supremacy in the future Daoless Age, one can gain an advantage. The Eight Buddhist Sects, led by the Pure Land Sect, have been scheming for this, seizing quite a few opportunities in the Present Era, with all kinds of Heavenly Mandates and Original Sins at their disposal.'
'As for our Chan Sect, we haven't been idle all these years either. Although they don't seek to dominate the Present Era, they don't want to miss out on the Daoless Age either. So, they've also been secretly seizing various opportunities and covertly nurturing Original Sin bearers.'
'Originally, I didn't want to get involved in the Chan Sect's affairs. I let them do as they pleased, too lazy to bother. But then one day, those old fogies found out I had taken a disciple—that kid Bu'er.'
'Your disciple is no simple existence,' Gu Qingfeng said with a laugh. 'The number of fortunes on him even makes me a little envious.'
'Nonsense! Take a look at whose disciple he is. If he were an ordinary existence, would This Old Monk have taken him as a disciple?' When speaking of Monk Bu'er, Da Xing the Mad Monk's expression was quite proud, but he soon added gloomily, 'Having said that, it's precisely because of this disciple of mine that This Old Monk completely fell out with the Chan Sect Elders.'
'How so?'
'The reason is simple. The Elders of the Chan Sect recognized Bu'er's extraordinary qualities and wanted This Old Monk to bring him back to the Chan Sect to be trained by them. This Old Monk obviously disagreed. My own disciple—why should I hand him over to them for training? Besides, those old fogies are each more pedantic and stubborn than the last. What good could they possibly teach? If This Old Monk handed Bu'er over to them, his life would be ruined.'
Gu Qingfeng nodded. 'So, you fell out with the Chan Sect Elders?'
'Pretty much.'
'And then they suspected you were the traitor?'
'They don't just suspect me. Shuiyue Nun, whom you saw earlier, is also a disciple of our Chan Sect, and she's even my junior sister. After she entered the Little Zen Hidden Realm, she was also driven out. Right now, apart from those Elders within the sect, none of us Chan Sect disciples can enter the Little Zen Hidden Realm. Especially disciples like This Old Monk and Shuiyue Nun who don't often return to the Chan Sect—we've all become suspects.'
'Your junior sister Shuiyue Nun—she herself is a suspect. Even so, she still suspects you're the traitor?'
'Don't even mention it. My junior sister has always held a great prejudice and deep misunderstanding against me. Even without this matter, she wouldn't give me a good look. For many years, she's always disliked me, always thinking I have ulterior motives.'
'Then who do you think in your Chan Sect could possibly be the traitor? Who would plot against your own sect's supreme treasure?'
'This...' Da Xing the Mad Monk scratched his big bald head, his face full of worry. 'If you ask me who in our Chan Sect might be the traitor, This Old Monk really can't say. I haven't returned to the Chan Sect for a long time, and I have no idea what the situation is like there now... Even if you asked me to guess, I couldn't.'
'Could it be your junior sister?'
'Impossible!' Da Xing the Mad Monk shook his head without even thinking. 'I know my junior sister. Although she's a Chan Sect disciple, she left back in the Ancient Era and never returned since. Back then, she entered the Chan Sect to cultivate Buddhism because she was weary of the strife and deceitful struggles. But after cultivating Buddhism, she found that the so-called pure land of the Western Heaven Buddhist Path wasn't pure at all. So, she left the Chan Sect. My junior sister's heart is as calm as water; she only seeks the Great Dao and has no interest in other matters. She would never plot against our Chan Sect's supreme treasure.'
'Are there many Chan Sect disciples wandering outside?'
'Not many, but not few either. However... most have vanished without a trace. Forget the Present Era; there's been no news of them since the Primordial Era, even the Ancient Era. To this day, it's unknown whether they're still alive or not.'
'In that case, the traitor is likely among your Chan Sect Elders.'
'I've considered that possibility too, but after thinking it over carefully, it doesn't seem very likely. Although our Chan Sect Elders are a bit pedantic, their character is trustworthy. To say they would collude with other Buddhist sects to plot against our own treasure—I don't think they would. Moreover, what reason would they have to do so? Think about it: if our Chan Sect's supreme treasure manifests, it would naturally belong to our Chan Sect. If they colluded with other Buddhist sects, wouldn't that be handing over their own treasure to others? What would they gain?'
'All the Elders of your Chan Sect definitely wouldn't collude with other Buddhist sects,' Gu Qingfeng analyzed. 'But what if there's one Elder among them who has long been discontent, or has always wanted to take over the Chan Sect? By colluding with other Buddhist sects to eliminate the Elders within the sect, they could both obtain the Chan Sect's supreme treasure and ascend to become the master of the Chan Sect.'
After a pause, Gu Qingfeng continued, 'The reason the Eight Buddhist Sects have always wanted to eliminate your Chan Sect is because your Chan Sect hasn't colluded with them. If the Eight Buddhist Sects secretly bribed one Chan Sect Elder and supported him to become the master of the Chan Sect, wouldn't your Chan Sect then smoothly integrate into the Eight Buddhist Sects?'
Hearing Gu Qingfeng's words, Da Xing the Mad Monk felt as if a light had dawned. He lowered his head in thought for a moment, muttering to himself, 'Your words really hit home for This Old Monk. Thinking about it carefully, that really is a possibility. But the key is, how do we expose that traitor? Gu kid, think of a way for me, will you?'
'You want me to think of a way?' Gu Qingfeng said casually. 'If you ask me, just let it be. Don't bother trying to expose any traitor.'
'What do you mean, let it be? I'm telling you, Gu kid, this concerns the very survival of our Chan Sect! Can't you help out?'
Gu Qingfeng raised his cup to drink. 'You said it yourself earlier: ever since this incident happened, your Chan Sect has been thrown into chaos. Everyone is suspicious of each other. If you try to expose the traitor now, you'll only make the situation worse. By then, forget about guarding your Chan Sect's supreme treasure—you'll probably start fighting among yourselves first. That's exactly the result the traitor hopes to see.'
'Nonsense! This Old Monk knows that, of course. That's why I'm asking you to come up with an idea, to think of a way!'