Chapter 63: Living Buddha, this disciple has attained enlightenment!

The five nether spirits sat somewhat uneasily beside Du Yuan, quietly waiting for the innkeeper to serve each of them a bowl of plain noodles.

As time passed, however, one of them finally plucked up the courage to ask Du Yuan:

"Master, are you specifically waiting for us here?"

Du Yuan replied:

"Why would you think that?"

They exchanged glances before speaking with careful consideration:

"Because, because... at this hour, let alone in the city, having a tea shack open out here in the barren wilderness is truly unusual."

In the end, lowering their heads slightly, one of them added:

"And you were even willing to treat the likes of us..."

Before they could finish, Du Yuan cut in and supplied the word for them:

"Human beings!"

The few nether spirits froze once more.

If they had previously thought it was mere kindness, now it was a firm affirmation.

Such benevolence only compelled them to ask even more urgently:

"Why is the Master willing to call us human?"

Du Yuan countered with another question:

"What, in your view, is considered a human being?"

The nether spirits became increasingly perplexed as they asked:

"Master, why on earth are you always so willing to call us human?"

Du Yuan responded without answering directly:

"And what on earth do you consider a human being?"

A seemingly simple question left the nether spirits momentarily speechless.

After hesitating for a long while, one of them tentatively spoke up:

"At least... one has to be alive, right?"

"Heh, you are quite mistaken," Du Yuan smiled. "Among the living, how many are there who are heartless and cruel, how many are mere monkeys dressed in official caps, how many are beasts in human clothing? When have they ever deserved to be called a human?"

Before the nether spirits could reply, Du Yuan delivered a resounding conclusion:

"Therefore, many living people possess nothing more than a human shape!"

Such a perspective was unlike anything the nether spirits had ever heard.

Even the innkeeper, who frequently listened to customers chatting and gossiping, found it somewhat thunderous to the ear.

After a long silence, the five nether spirits asked with parched throats:

"But Master, are we... are we truly not of that ilk?"

Du Yuan waved his hand with a smile:

"Naturally, you are not. After all, why don't you each take a look at your own sleeves and pockets?"

Reminded by Du Yuan, the five nether spirits immediately began searching through their own garments.

Soon, they let out successive cries of surprise as they fished out several items they had no recollection of possessing.

One found only half a piece, another held a single piece, and yet another grasped two.

Without exception, they were the stiff paper copper coins that the soldiers had once handed over to the innkeeper.

Puzzled, they looked at the objects they had never seen before. A moment later, holding these paper copper coins in cupped hands, they implored Du Yuan:

"Master, do you know what these are?"

Du Yuan pointed to the paper copper coins in their hands and said:

"These are your virtues! And those people who merely possess a human form could never accumulate such a thing! Therefore, compared to them, how could you not be called human?"

These were the items Du Yuan had noticed materializing out of thin air on them ever since they took their seats.

Considering their various changing appearances, it seemed they had laid down their evil thoughts, prompting heaven and earth to return the virtue that rightfully belonged to them.

The amount might have been meager, but the difference between having it and having nothing was as vast as heaven and earth.

Thus, Du Yuan had called them human.

Just at that moment, the innkeeper brought over the freshly cooked plain noodles.

"Noodles don't taste good if left too long, so please enjoy them while they're hot."

Du Yuan's voice seemed imbued with a certain magic; simply hearing it made them instinctively want to obey.

Therefore, they temporarily suppressed their doubts and bowed their heads to eat the noodles.

As they ate, the sound of sobbing gradually arose among them.

It was impossible to tell who it was, or rather, impossible to distinguish whose voice it was.

The weeping grew louder, yet not a single tear fell. Realizing this, the invisible grief in their hearts grew heavier still.

In life, they had been nothing more than ordinary objects by the kitchen stove, but now it felt as though all the sorrows of their past lives had been boiled into the broth. Every bite burned their innards with pain, yet they could not stop themselves from wanting more.

As the bowls of plain noodles scraped bottom, they suddenly set down their chopsticks and wept aloud:

"I remember who I am now! I am Zhang Ergou, Zhang Ergou from the west end of Zhang Village. My father is Zhang Dazhuang, and my mother is Zhang Xiaohua. I finally remember! I have failed my parents—how could I have drowned without leaving behind an heir?!"

"I remember too! I am from Jizhou, my home is in Chen County, Jizhou... How, how did I end up dying in a place so far from home?!"

...

Seeing this, the innkeeper, who had walked up behind Du Yuan, suddenly spoke to him:

"Living Buddha, this disciple finally understands."

"Hmm?"

Understands? What do you understand?

Du Yuan was somewhat puzzled.

The innkeeper continued:

"Previously, I always wondered: even if people came to my little shop to rest and dine, how could such a trifle ever be worth piece after piece of nether-virtue treasure coins?"

"Now, I finally understand."

"You wanted me to help these helpless, lonely souls put their worldly attachments to rest so they could peacefully move on to reincarnation!"

The innkeeper knew nothing of cultivation, nor of ghosts and deities.

Yet having lived for more than fifty years, he always remembered that the dead must be properly buried and return to their ancestral roots.

And those who drifted to his place were presumably like these souls—either helpless or having died away from home as lonely ghosts.

At this thought, the innkeeper stepped forward and spoke to each of them in turn:

"You said you're from Zhang Village? Is that the Zhang Village near River-Gully Town? I know that place. Do you remember where you drowned? I can't find you a wife to continue your lineage, but I can fish your remains out and bury you properly, so you won't be left without even a grave mound after death!"

"You are from Jizhou? I've never been to Jizhou, but do you have any messages you want conveyed to your family? I can help you send a letter through the post station; who knows, perhaps your family might even come to take you home!"

...

One by one, the innkeeper questioned the lonely souls, and one by one, he accepted their entrustments.

Having done all this, the innkeeper bowed deeply to Du Yuan:

"Living Buddha, this disciple has awakened none too late, have I?"

To put the worldly attachments of passing nether spirits to rest was not something one could figure out on one's own; had the Living Buddha merely given a direct order, he might have found it difficult to maintain.

After all, wanting to do it oneself and being told to do it by someone else were two entirely different things.

Fortunately, he was not truly hopelessly dull; he had not seen through the mist only to miss the true meaning, nor had he failed the Living Buddha's earnest teachings.

After a moment of astonishment, Du Yuan looked at him and praised:

"Good, a great good!"

With that, Du Yuan looked away with a trace of shame, thinking to himself: *Innkeeper, oh innkeeper, you are the true Buddha here.*

The innkeeper let out a long breath.

"In that case, this disciple can rest easy."

Du Yuan did not reply, merely nodding with a smile.

Suddenly, one of the five lonely souls cried out:

"Oh no, Living Buddha! I remember now—we actually have several companions left behind. They are not like us; they look fiercely vicious, and it seems someone used sorcery to abduct them into the city!"

"Right now, they must be harming people!"

Hearing this, all the lonely souls became extremely anxious.

Du Yuan, however, brightened up, raised a hand, and said:

"Do not fret, leave this to me!"

Ah, at last, I have a chance to put my skills to use!

With that, he made a summoning gesture, and the porcelain bowl enshrined by the innkeeper in the inner room flew straight into Du Yuan's hand.

Under the gaze of the lonely souls, Du Yuan poured a bowl of hot water into the porcelain bowl. Glancing at them, he pointed to the hot water in his bowl and said:

"Watch how I subdue them right now."

Inside the porcelain bowl, the five Buddhist mantras—"Prajna Paramita Hum"—which Du Yuan had personally crushed temple roof tiles to use as ink and written down, began to glow one by one. Seeing this, Du Yuan hurled the porcelain bowl fiercely in the direction of Qingzhou:

"Here they come!"

As the hot water hit the ground, the wails of the fierce ghosts within Qingzhou City echoed along with it.