Chapter 110: Can You Be a Little More Serious?

"Come over here and take a picture!"

Chen Shu hurriedly beckoned to the two sisters.

Compared to his enthusiasm and excitement, both sisters appeared very indifferent; the older sister was expressionless, and the younger sister was also expressionless, yet they both stepped forward to follow him, accepting his direction.

Chen Shu looked around, spotted a tall and sturdy Martial Monk, and immediately stopped him:

"Greetings, Brother, could you help me take a photo?"

"Amitabha, of course I can."

The Martial Monk smiled in return and took the Mobile Phone.

"How should I take it?"

"Like this, we'll stand here, you stand there, just make sure to include us and this Bodhi tree in the shot."

"Amitabha." The Martial Monk smiled and shook his head at him, saying patiently, "That won't make for a good photo. Dear patrons, please listen to my instructions."

"Huh?" Chen Shu was taken aback.

"Patrons, please look. It is currently noon, the fog has cleared, and the light is direct and too strong, so standard photography will not look good. However, the shadows of the Bodhi tree's withered branches are cast directly below. You patrons might as well step back a bit and stand under the tree. If I shoot from this angle, I can avoid capturing other tourists and only capture you patrons in the light and shadow, along with the Bodhi tree and the deep red courtyard wall behind you. The frame will appear very clean, and combined with the blurring and lighting effects, it will look much better."

"Let's... let's try it..." Chen Shu was skeptical.

"That cat patron, do not lean so close to the female patron. Keep a distance of one foot... this wide. Sit up straight."

"Woof~"

Taozi actually understood and did as he said, and after finishing, she even looked up at him.

The Martial Monk smiled broadly and nodded repeatedly:

"Very good, very good...

"Allow me to adjust to professional mode."

"Click, click..."

"Dear patrons, please step out and let's take another one."

"Click..."

"Dear patrons, please change your pose. That female patron might as well pick up the cat patron and hold her in her arms."

"Click..."

"Shall we take a few individual shots of you patrons?"

"Click..."

"Patron, you may move about as you please."

"Click..."

"Patron, please come to this side of the corridor, watch my demonstration."

"Click..."

"If you two patrons are a couple..."

"..."

"Patrons, are you satisfied? My photography skills are not refined; if there are any shortcomings, please advise, and I will continue to take photos for you." The tall Martial Monk smiled and handed the Mobile Phone back to him, standing in place waiting.

Chen Shu flipped through the photos and took a look.

Holy crap!

The composition, the lighting—it was perfect to this degree!

Chen Shu was instantly stunned.

He then raised his head and said to the Martial Monk, "Brother, have you eaten your vegetarian meal?"

"I have just eaten."

"That is good. Since your photography skills are so exquisite, you must take a few more for us. I will write a letter of commendation and send it to the Religious Association."

"Amitabha, you flatter me, Patron. To tell you the truth, among the brothers I know, my photography skills are the worst." The Martial Monk pressed his palms together and said modestly to Chen Shu, "However, please do write more than one letter of commendation."

"No problem!"

About an hour later.

Chen Shu squatted in the shade of the corridor, flipping through the photos one by one. Ning Qing stood to his left, looking down at them indifferently.

The little girl squatted with him, leaning in close and staring at the Mobile Phone without blinking.

Taozi also leaned against his knees, poking her head out to look.

They were truly taken so well.

Wonderful memories.

Chen Shu put away the Mobile Phone; now there was only one last thing left.

Testing luck in front of the Diamond Stone.

The Diamond Stone mentioned here is not a diamond; it is a stone in the courtyard in front of the Dharma Protector Hall at Xinzheng Temple. It is said that this stone is very miraculous; when you touch it with a calm and sincere heart, it can tell you whether your luck for the next few days will be good or bad.

Isn't that magical?

But in reality, it is not that useful.

First, it can only tell you whether your fortune for the next few days is good or bad. The principle is to observe your personal mental state for the next few days, which is not necessarily accurate.

Some people have better psychological resilience and do not take minor setbacks to heart, so it cannot measure them accurately.

Second, once you know the result, the answer has effectively already become invalid.

To put it plainly, what it observes is not your "luck," but your state in the next few days along your original trajectory. However, once you know the result, your trajectory has, in all likelihood, already changed.

For example, you originally had no intention of gambling, but after you test for "good luck," you go to gamble; naturally, it becomes invalid.

The same applies in reverse.

Naturally, it is not accurate.

However, it still has a certain effect.

For example, if you test for "bad luck," you can do nothing at home to avoid it.

Or, some people with sufficient self-control can also utilize this rule; for instance, if he is going to buy a stock tomorrow regardless, he can buy a little more after testing for good luck, or buy less if it is bad luck, which is highly likely to be useful.

However, each person can only test once in their lifetime.

This basically makes it of little use.

Thus, Xinzheng Temple placed it in the outer courtyard to provide some amusement for tourists and pilgrims, which also attracted many people to come and check in.

Come to think of it, Buddhism in the previous life traditionally did not practice fortune-telling.

It was only later, with the blending of religious cultures, that the Buddhist Sect "freeloaded" quite a bit of Daoist knowledge, which is why one often sees scenes of monks interpreting lots and telling fortunes on television.

In this world, however, changes have occurred.

Chen Shu led the group to the courtyard of the Dharma Protector Treasure Hall, and he even turned his head to ask Qingqing, "Are you going to go test it?"

Qingqing looked at him indifferently.

"Alright."

Muttering "I am an idiot" to himself, Chen Shu walked to the Diamond Stone and began to queue.

A monk stood in front of the Diamond Stone to interpret for everyone, because the Diamond Stone does not provide results directly; only disciples of the Buddhist Sect can learn its answer. If it is good luck, this monk will say, "I wish the benefactor smooth fortune in the coming days," and if the fortune is bad, he will bow and say, "Benefactor, please take care in the coming days." In any case, he won't tell you directly whether your luck is good or bad, so if the calculation isn't accurate, you can't blame him either.

The long line reached its end.

Chen Shu walked over, pressed his palms together, and bowed sincerely: "I leave it to you, Master."

"I wouldn't dare."

The monk made a gesture of invitation, his tone gentle.

So Chen Shu placed his hand on the Diamond Stone.

It felt hard and cold to the touch.

He felt nothing at all.

The monk beside him nodded at him and said, "I wish the benefactor smooth fortune in the coming days."

Chen Shu grinned and returned the gesture with palms pressed together.

This result had been expected long ago.

This stone was completely useless to him; with Chen Shu's mindset, very few things could affect him. Even if he suffered social death in a silly group chat, with his personality, he would at most be sad on the surface, while actually finding it quite interesting inside. It was hard for any setback to truly make him despondent.

He turned and left.

The little girl was standing right behind him; it was her turn.

She was seen imitating her brother-in-law, placing her hand on the Diamond Stone, and then turning to look at the monk.

The monk pressed his palms together: "I wish the benefactor smooth fortune in the coming days."

The little girl hurriedly imitated the gesture to return the salute, then ran back to her brother-in-law with light steps and said to him:

"Brother-in-law, I have good luck!"

"I've discovered that most people have good luck," Chen Shu whispered to her.

"Ah..."

The little girl's face showed disappointment.

The two continued to cast their gaze toward the courtyard.

They saw that monk press his palms together, lower his head, and say to a kitten at his feet that had placed its little paw on the Diamond Stone: "I wish the benefactor smooth fortune in the coming days."

"Woof~"

The kitten ran back quickly.

"..."

"..."

It seems this thing is indeed not accurate at all.

The three people and one cat walked out of the temple, preparing to wander around a bit more and take a few photos before heading down the mountain.

As they walked, the corridor ahead suddenly became quiet; the tourists seemed to have disappeared without a trace, and a tall, red-robed monk stood at the end of the corridor. Chen Shu once thought that they had inadvertently wandered into the inner courtyard; if that were the case, how embarrassing it would be.

The current situation was somewhat eerie, and even Taozi realized it, quickly twisting her head, looking left and right with a bewildered expression.

But if it were happening at Xinzheng Temple, there was naturally nothing to fear.

Chen Shu walked forward slowly.

From a distance, this figure looked like a deity, high and mighty and unfathomable, but the closer he got, the more ordinary he became. By the time he reached him, he had become the same as an ordinary monk. Only this red robe indicated that he possessed at least a High-Tier level of cultivation.

"Amitabha."

The monk pressed his palms together and bowed to him.

"Amitabha."

Chen Shu at least had a certificate of conversion and had freeloaded quite a bit of food from them, so he returned the salute in a proper manner and then asked, "Is the Venerable looking for us?"

The red-robed monk smiled gently: "I would like to ask the benefactor, what did you say to my Buddha while at the Spiritual Luck Treasure Hall?"

Is it this direct?

It seems something really did go wrong.

What caused it? There should be quite a few people coming to ask the Buddha such questions, right? If the Buddha can hear everything, can He really stand it?

While thinking, Chen Shu answered honestly: "I asked, where have you all gone?"

"Thank you, benefactor."

The red-robed monk bowed again, smiling all over his face: "This humble monk has come to answer the benefactor on behalf of the Bodhisattva. He says that there is immense interest in the process of searching for answers, and one can often obtain more than just the answer itself. If the benefactor is willing to seek the answer, you may first head west. But if the benefactor is unwilling to seek the answer, you may ask Him in person when we meet next time."

"Bodhisattva?"

"The Bodhisattva of Tribulation."

"Where is the Zheng Guang Buddha?"

"My Buddha cannot answer the benefactor."

"Why?"

"The Bodhisattva says, when you meet, you may ask Him yourself."

"But I didn't ask him."

"The Zheng Guang Buddha is a Buddha, and the Tribulation-Response Buddha is also a Buddha; the benefactor was merely speaking to a statue."

"Then isn't the Venerable here just to tell me a bunch of... meaningless nonsense?"

"It is all to form a connection with the benefactor."

"Interesting, so when will we meet?"

"We will meet when we meet."

"Emmm..."

Chen Shu turned his head to glance at the little girl behind him.

The little girl stared blankly at the monk.

"Amitabha."

The monk chanted the Buddha's name again, then said: "I have two more disciples who have a connection with the benefactor; when you meet in the future, I ask that the benefactor take care of them... With that, this poor monk will not disturb you further; if we are fated, we shall meet again."

After saying this, he vanished.

The corridor suddenly returned to normal—

A middle-aged man nearby was taking photos of a middle-aged woman, speaking entirely in dialect; in the distance, five young ladies in revealing outfits were dancing a spicy dance for the Buddha; the ears of the three people and one cat were filled with the music they were playing, and honestly, they were dancing quite in sync.

The suddenly appearing noisy sounds were a bit hard to get used to.

Chen Shu scratched his head and said to the little girl behind him: "Look, when you say things, they are just nonsense, but when others say them, they seem profound and mysterious. Can you reflect on where the problem lies?"

The little girl nodded heavily, falling into deep thought.

Ning Qing was expressionless.

These two people...