Chapter 32: The Miko at Midnight, the Monk in the Morning

Returning to the inn, Minamoto Kiyomoto took a bath and changed into a yukata.

He took a bottle of Coke from the guest room refrigerator and sat on a chair in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

The mountain inn at midnight should have been quiet, but from time to time, he could hear loud shouts.

On Lake Ashi, which was surrounded by the continuous, screen-like Mount Sangoku, the colorful divine power was like fireworks at a summer festival.

There were still cultivators who were not asleep, practicing curses.

Minamoto Kiyomoto placed the Coke he had taken two sips of on the white low table in front of him and turned on his phone, which had been off all day.

“You’re missing out! The May Festival! The Love Research Society is planning to invite an actress! Mana Sakura!!! It’s a pity it’s not my favorite Saeko Matsushita!” (Kishida)

“I’m a fan of her books. Remember to get me an autograph,” Minamoto Kiyomoto replied.

“Minamoto-kun, look what Asana is doing!” a message from Inaba, with a picture.

Picture: Asana’s hand was caressing the face of a human model used in class, as if she were about to kiss it (studying the skull).

“Minamoto-kun, look what Inaba is doing!” This was from Asana, also with a picture.

Picture: Inaba was hugging the human model from behind, her right hand on its right shoulder, caressing its chest (thorax), and her left hand caressing its abdomen (pelvis).

Minamoto Kiyomoto posted the two pictures on Twitter, with Bulma stickers on their faces, and the caption: “Contemporary Female Medical Students.”

In a short while, Asana, Inaba, Kishida, and some other classmates all left comments below, posting embarrassing pictures of each other and making a lot of noise.

There was even a picture of Minamoto Kiyomoto staring at a female corpse’s chest.

Minamoto Kiyomoto himself studied it for a while, not understanding why the picture looked so lewd. At that time, he was clearly focused, thinking, thinking about what?

Oh right, he was thinking: the cardiopulmonary function actually refers to the lungs, which are responsible for gas exchange, and the heart, which is responsible for pumping blood to all parts of the body.

He was thinking about the various organs in the chest.

Of course, he also thought about the chest, after all, it was one of the organs in the chest. Learning had to be solid. He couldn’t just get by by remembering two out of three.

“Knock, knock, knock!” The sound of knocking brought Minamoto Kiyomoto back to his senses.

Putting down his phone, he opened the door. Standing outside was the Suitengu Miko.

‘It is said that she is a slut.’ Kamibayashi Miko’s voice appeared in his mind.

“Suitengu Miko?” Minamoto Kiyomoto remained calm.

“May I come in and sit for a while?” the Suitengu Miko said with a smile, her voice like a spring breeze.

“It’s so late. Is there something you need?” Minamoto Kiyomoto’s voice was friendly, but his body showed no intention of moving aside.

“Actually, what you did today, Your Excellency Minamoto, is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes,” the Suitengu Miko pressed her chest, the miko outfit outlining the full curve of her breasts. “But I’m a hesitant little woman. I can never make up my mind, worrying about Shintoism and the ancestral teachings of the shrine.”

“Everyone has such concerns. There’s no need for the Suitengu Miko to blame herself.”

“It’s too tormenting,” the Suitengu Miko continued. “I want to do it, but I don’t dare. The feeling of anxiety that ‘I can’t go on like this’ is burning in my heart, and the pain makes me want to stir my chest.”

She slightly pulled open the “y”-shaped collar of her miko outfit, revealing a touch of snow-white on her chest.

The Suitengu Miko was panting, and her chest rose and fell with her breathing. Her pretty face looked pained, making one feel sorry for her and want to help her relieve her chest tightness.

“Suitengu Miko…”

“Call me Sui,” the Suitengu Miko’s voice was not charming, but very weak, making one want to both protect and ravage her.

Thinking of her high status as one of the Twelve Miko, and the snow-white chest before him, if it were another man, he would have long been unable to control the impulse and desire in his heart.

Even Minamoto Kiyomoto had the thought of ‘pulling her into the room and pressing her down on the bed’ flash through his mind.

“…Miss Sui, the night is so beautiful tonight. Let’s not talk about these sad things. How about we go back to our own rooms and admire the moon?” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

The moon, which was close to full, hung in the mid-sky, shining brightly. The night wind blew over the soon-to-be-summer Mount Koya. The night was beautiful today.

The Suitengu Miko spread her arms, hooked them around Minamoto Kiyomoto’s neck, pressed against him, and looked at him from his embrace, saying softly:
“I am the night.”

“…”

“Kiyomoto… Kiyomoto,” the Suitengu Miko’s voice murmured, calling out one after another.

“…”

The Suitengu Miko realized that something was wrong. Following Minamoto Kiyomoto’s gaze, she looked to the right of the corridor.

Kamibayashi Miko, wearing a yukata with a butterfly pattern, was looking at them coldly.

The Suitengu Miko nonchalantly let go of her hands and straightened her collar.

She bowed to Kamibayashi Miko, then smiled gently at Minamoto Kiyomoto and nodded, disappearing to the left of the corridor.

Kamibayashi Miko walked over, her clear eyes staring at Minamoto Kiyomoto.

“…Please come in,” Minamoto Kiyomoto moved aside. Kamibayashi Miko gave him a deep look and walked into the room.

“I’m glad you came,” Minamoto Kiyomoto closed the door.

Kamibayashi Miko ignored him and sat down by the window.

Minamoto Kiyomoto took a bottle of orange juice from the refrigerator for her, sat opposite her, and took two sips of Coke.

The Coke can was covered with water droplets, and his hands were wet.

Kamibayashi Miko seemed to have just taken a bath. Her hair was tied up, with only two strands hanging down on her shoulders. The thin yukata was lightly wrapped around her slender and delicate body.

Looking at her up close, she looked even more beautiful and otherworldly.

“‘Her eyebrows are like kingfisher feathers, her skin is like white snow; her waist is like a bundle of silk, her teeth are like shells containing pearls.’ This is a compliment that couldn’t be more cliché.”

After a pause, Minamoto Kiyomoto sighed:

“But what can I do? At this moment, to describe the Miss Kamibayashi before me, this saying is still unavoidable because it is too fitting.”

In the past, when he praised Kamibayashi Miko, she would say thank you. This time, she couldn’t even be bothered to be perfunctory.

She took two sips of orange juice, put down the cup, and said in a cold voice:

“People with good talent are prone to being too arrogant, thinking that everything is under control. They lose their guard against those evil people with flowery words, especially you, whose capacity itself is arrogance.”

“Understood,” Minamoto Kiyomoto sat up straight, with the look of someone receiving an education.

“You acted righteously tonight, and everyone looked at you with admiration, but there are more people who are jealous and hate you.

“When the news spreads, there will be people who want to kill you because of your capacity; there will be people who want to kill you because of the ‘Mahavairocana Sutra’; and even people who simply don’t like you and can’t stand to see others do well will come to kill you.

“At that time, those who admired you today, when others find an opportunity to frame you, ruin your reputation, and kill you, even if they are not deceived, they will not stand on your side. In the final analysis, this world is all about interests.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto had originally thought that Kamibayashi Miko was talking about the Suitengu Miko. After hearing her long speech, he knew that it was not, and he couldn’t help but become serious.

And every word, every sentence she said, was from his perspective, considering him in every way. A warm current surged in Minamoto Kiyomoto’s heart.

Kamibayashi Miko saw his serious expression, and her icy expression softened slightly. She continued:
“The light is as bright as the sun, burning for 4.5 billion years, but it can’t even illuminate the entire earth, let alone the human heart.

“The Eight Divine Thunders are divided into four. I have two, Kansai has two, Hokkaido has two, and Shintoism has two. The ‘Mahavairocana Sutra’ is not weaker than the complete Eight Divine Thunders. Fortunately, you shared it. Otherwise, the one who came tonight would not have been the slut of Suitengu.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto understood.

Kamibayashi Miko was not only worried about him, but also about the Suitengu Miko.

“What should I do now?” he asked.

“Unite all the forces that can be united,” Kamibayashi Miko said. “Those cultivators who live in constant peril, those cultivators who hate fighting, those cultivators who have experienced the death of their relatives and friends, win them over.”

After a slight pause, she warned again:

“In the future, whether you are doing it to compare with Shakyamuni or for peace, you must say that you are doing it for peace, and don’t tell anyone your true thoughts.”

“Not even Himemiya Izayoi?” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at her.

“Except for me, you’d better be wary of everyone else. Alright, tell me the ‘Mahavairocana Sutra’ again,” this was Kamibayashi Miko’s fifth sentence.

“…”

So it was neither because she was worried about him, nor because of the miko of Suitengu, but because of the ‘Mahavairocana Sutra’.

Of course, this was a joke. Kamibayashi Miko was again using a clumsy way to try to make Minamoto Kiyomoto hate her and doubt her.

Minamoto Kiyomoto began to talk about the ‘Mahavairocana Sutra’.

This curse was extremely complex and required a large amount of Buddhist teachings to understand.

Minamoto Kiyomoto was adept at learning the Eight Divine Thunders, but he had not even entered the door of the ‘Mahavairocana Sutra’ yet.

Ten minutes later, Kamibayashi Miko said again, “Everyone has a selfish and jealous heart. You remember this.”

“I remember every word you say,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a smile. “But it is precisely because the world is not perfect that I must do my best to create a better world.”

“You should maintain this positive attitude towards others in the future. If you really think so, that would be for the best.”

“Of course it’s sincere,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said. “I’m wary of everyone except you.”

He looked at Kamibayashi Miko. Against the backdrop of the two strands of black hair on her shoulders, her otherworldly cheeks looked even fairer.

“I trusted you from the beginning,” he said. “Just now, when I heard you warn me, my body felt like it had returned to my childhood, lying in a swaddling cloth, the gentle rocking of the baby basket.”

Faced with Minamoto Kiyomoto’s gaze, Kamibayashi Miko’s beautiful face showed no expression.

She spread her right hand, and a golden butterfly rested on her snow-white middle finger.

“This is a clone of the little butterfly. For your safety, I want to leave her by your side, but you will have no privacy from me. Whether you want it or not, you decide.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto smiled and spread his hand. The golden butterfly danced and landed on his hand, then flew into his hair.

Although it was golden, after landing in his hair, it disappeared in a blink of an eye.

“I really want to hold you in my arms, kiss you, and say to you: I’ll listen to everything you say,” Minamoto Kiyomoto sighed.

“Listen to everything I say?” Kamibayashi Miko’s eyebrows raised beautifully. “Then you still dare to run to Chiba alone? Did I allow it?”

“…You’re too good at bringing up old scores. How long ago was that?”

Kamibayashi Miko ignored him, stood up, and walked towards the door, leaving behind a sentence, “Lock the door. Don’t let any more little waters in.”

That night, no miko came to his door.

The next morning, Minamoto Kiyomoto went to the Honkan-ji Temple, where the monks of Mount Koya were temporarily staying.

The path along the way was planted with green pines and emerald cedars. The scenery was pleasant and secluded from the world.

“Your Excellency Minamoto, we were wrong about what happened last night. We’re sorry,” as soon as he sat down in the Buddha hall, all the monks except the Venerable Manjuan put their hands together and bowed to Minamoto Kiyomoto.

“I was the one who rashly requested to join the ‘swastika’ wheel of light. It was my fault,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said quickly.

“Your Excellency Minamoto did not take the curse to heart and was single-mindedly for the sake of all sentient beings. We were not only wrong, but we also broke the precepts,” the one who spoke was the tall monk who had wanted to compete with Minamoto Kiyomoto last night.

“His Excellency Minamoto is right,” the thin monk who had debated with Minamoto Kiyomoto said. “Back then, when our ancestor Kukai went to the Tang Dynasty to study the dharma, not only did Qinglong Temple not despise our ancestor for being a foreigner, but they also bestowed upon him the honorary title of ‘Henjo Kongo.’ Now, with a great enemy before us, we are still putting our own selfish desires first. We are ashamed of our ancestor.”

“If I hadn’t seen the newcomer commit suicide and the cultivator humiliate the weak, I wouldn’t have done what I did yesterday,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

He looked around at the crowd and continued:
“No one is born knowing everything. Shakyamuni also dismissed his servants and wore ragged clothes after he began to cultivate. This is the meaning of cultivation.”

“Namu Da-hossu Henjo Kongo,” the Venerable Manjuan couldn’t help but chant.

“Namu Da-hossu Henjo Kongo,” all the monks lowered their heads, convinced by Minamoto Kiyomoto.

What happened last night came to an end with the sound of the Buddha’s name.

The Venerable Manjuan taught Minamoto Kiyomoto the heart formula and incantation of the ‘swastika’ wheel of light in detail.

Although the ‘swastika’ wheel of light was difficult, it was much simpler than the ‘Mahavairocana Sutra.’ Minamoto Kiyomoto pondered for a moment and immediately entered the door.

“The dharma body is everywhere, and the capacity is without distinction!” As soon as the incantation was uttered, his whole body was enveloped in a water-drop-shaped black divine power.

His dharma form was solemn, like a Bodhisattva.

The monks of Mount Koya already knew that Minamoto Kiyomoto’s capacity far exceeded that of ordinary people, but they were still frightened by his talent.

As they had said last night, in the 1,200 years of Mount Koya, only one or two had learned the ‘swastika’ wheel of light in a short time, but the short time here was at least a week.

“The dharma body is everywhere, and the capacity is without distinction!” the Venerable Manjuan chanted the incantation.

The other monks changed their seats and also chanted the incantation.

In the Buddha hall, the capacities of all the people were connected, forming a huge golden ‘swastika’.

Minamoto Kiyomoto instantly understood the mystery of the ‘swastika’ wheel of light.

This was to combine the divine power of all the people into one, to be controlled by the person presiding over the wheel of light. The greater the capacity of the person leading the curse, the more fully this divine power could be exerted, and the greater the power of the ‘swastika’ wheel of light.

He immediately thought of himself presiding over the curse, but then immediately gave up.

After all, he was an outsider. He was thinking of exerting the power of the curse to subjugate the yokai and reduce casualties, but not everyone thought so.

The divine power converged, and the Buddha hall returned to its original appearance. The sunlight cast the shadow of the pine tree on the face of the Buddha statue.

“Your Excellency Minamoto, I have a matter I would like to ask of you,” the Venerable Manjuan said.

“Please speak, Venerable,” Minamoto Kiyomoto replied respectfully.

“When subjugating the yokai, please preside over the ‘swastika’ wheel of light, Your Excellency.”

The monks present were all surprised, but they did not refute.

“I have only cultivated for a month and have only killed one three-meter-tall cherry blossom yokai. My experience is shallow. For such an important matter, it is best for the Venerable to preside over it himself,” Minamoto Kiyomoto refused.

The Venerable Manjuan said with a smile:
“Your Excellency also said, if you are afraid of this and that, when will you be able to take the first step? Although we do not have the same great capacity as Your Excellency to make the curse public, we still have the capacity to let Your Excellency preside over the curse.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto glanced at the others. They all looked at him with affirmation.

From a young age, he had firmly believed in his heart that as long as he wanted to do something, he could be better than anyone else. Of course, he was not afraid.

“Alright!” he said loudly. “Then let us take this first step!”

“Namu Da-hossu Henjo Kongo!” The monks were also filled with heroic spirit and their blood boiled.

“Your Excellency Minamoto,” the Venerable Manjuan said again. “There is one more thing.”

“Please speak.”

“Back then, when our ancestor Kukai was able to cultivate into ‘Henjo Kongo’ in three years, he actually received the ‘Garbhadhatu Mantra’ initiation from Master Huiguo of Qinglong Temple.”

“‘Garbhadhatu Mantra’?”

“To transmit all the Buddhist teachings one has learned to one person.”

“Is the Venerable going to transmit it to me?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked with confusion.

The Venerable Manjuan nodded and said, “Pulling up seedlings to help them grow is forbidden in Buddhism. Back then, our ancestor Kukai was a foreigner and couldn’t even speak Chinese. Master Huiguo made an exception and gave him the initiation.”

Speaking of this, he praised again, “Master Huiguo gave our ancestor Kukai the initiation and taught him the Buddhist teachings. This is a true master.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto was happy in his heart. He was just worrying about how to learn the ‘Mahavairocana Sutra,’ but then he suddenly thought of something.

“If the Venerable gives me the initiation, will it be harmful to you? If so, then forget it. I can learn it quickly on my own,” he said.

“I will be weak for a year or two,” the Venerable Manjuan said.

“Then no!” Minamoto Kiyomoto quickly refused. “A year or two. What if I encounter a yokai? Wouldn’t that be a senseless death?”

“Your Excellency, please rest assured,” the Venerable Manjuan said with a smile. “There are tens of thousands of monks on Mount Koya. Everyone knows that I am giving the initiation to the successor of the ‘Mahavairocana Sutra,’ and they are willing to fight for me.”

“Venerable, count me in for the initiation!” the tall monk stood up and said. “Your Excellency Minamoto, please don’t despise me. My understanding of the Buddhist sutras is not as good as the Venerable’s, but I also have some of my own shallow opinions.”

“And me!” the thin monk also stood up. “I have no other skills, but I have memorized all the Buddhist sutras I have read. Let Your Excellency remember them more proficiently!”

“And me!”

“Me too!”

In a blink of an eye, except for the Venerable Manjuan, all forty-eight monks who had come from Mount Koya this time stood up.

Before Minamoto Kiyomoto could refuse, the Venerable Manjuan spoke to the monks:

“Are you trying to help His Excellency Minamoto, or are you trying to escape the ‘battle’ and hide in the mountains to cultivate?”

“Hehe,” the tall monk scratched his buzz cut in embarrassment. “A little of both.”

“After meeting His Excellency Minamoto, I realized my own shortcomings and wanted to return to the Okunoin to continue my ascetic practice,” the thin monk said.

Everyone had their own reasons.

Some admired Minamoto Kiyomoto, some were grateful to him for teaching the ‘Mahavairocana Sutra,’ some wanted to escape the ‘battle,’ and some wanted to see if ‘Minamoto Kiyomoto’ could become a Buddha after receiving the initiation.

‘This is a force that can be united,’ Minamoto Kiyomoto thought.

“Your Excellency Minamoto,” the Venerable Manjuan said to him. “Just agree to them.”

“Thank you, masters,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a smile. “When I become a Buddha, you will all be my dragon-following ministers. Each of you will be a Vajra, and everyone will be a Bodhisattva!”

“No, no, we don’t do that in Buddhism!”

“Alright, alright. This is called one person attaining the Way, and his chickens and dogs ascending to heaven!”

“I want to stand shoulder to shoulder with our ancestor Kukai and be a Vajra together?”

The crowd below was in an uproar. Some were chanting Buddhist teachings, some were overjoyed, and some felt that it would be difficult for Minamoto Kiyomoto to become a Buddha.

The Venerable Manjuan ignored them and said to Minamoto Kiyomoto, “Your Excellency’s capacity is profound, and you have the world in your heart, but you must still guard against pride and arrogance.”

“I was joking. Don’t take it seriously, Venerable.”

“That’s for the best,” the Venerable Manjuan nodded. “As for the initiation, when the yokai appears and the ‘swastika’ wheel of light is cast, the capacities of everyone will be combined. As the person presiding over the curse, for every stream of divine power you use, the effect of the initiation will be even better.”

“The Venerable has arranged it well,” Minamoto Kiyomoto was happy about the initiation, but not very eager.

“Also, it would be best for Your Excellency to learn some Chinese.”

“Chinese?”

The Venerable Manjuan nodded and explained:

“When our ancestor Kukai went to Chang’an to study the dharma, he once wrote a book on the study of Chinese poetry called ‘Bunkyo Hifuron.’ Many of the sutras on Mount Koya require the use of Chinese thought. I myself went to Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong and studied Chinese philosophy for seven years.”

“I also studied abroad in China,” the tall monk said. “My Facebook name is ‘Lu Zhiqian’.”

This was said in Chinese, with a Fujian accent.

The others also talked about their study abroad history. It turned out that more than half of them knew Chinese.

Minamoto Kiyomoto felt even more friendly towards these people.

After the matter was settled, the Venerable Manjuan let the other monks cultivate and saw Minamoto Kiyomoto off himself.

The cedar trees were towering, and many of them were ancient trees that were hundreds of years old. The morning air was cool, and the sunlight shone through the gaps in the trees, turning into a game of light and shadow.

The two of them walked on the long stone path.

“Your Excellency Minamoto, actually, I have my own selfish reasons for giving you the initiation.”

“Selfish reasons?”

“Your Excellency’s capacity is so great that I have never seen anything like it in my fifty years of life. Even the World-Honored One has transmitted the ‘Mahavairocana Sutra’ to you. But the difference between a Buddha and a demon is but a single thought. I hope that in the future, when Your Excellency faces the demonic path, you will remember us, the firewood-gatherers who know our mistakes and are willing to give you the initiation.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto was speechless.

The cry of a crow came from the distance.

“Venerable, what is the image of a crow in the hearts of the Japanese?” he asked.

The Venerable Manjuan did not know why he suddenly asked this, but he still replied calmly:
“There are two sayings. One is that it is unlucky; the other is that it is a god leading the way.”

“I hope it’s the latter,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

(End of Chapter)