"Monk Wang Yang, I feel flattered that you think too highly of me. Unfortunately, Buddhism and I are not fated for each other," Yun Ling said with a sigh.

Monk Wang Yang also let out a sigh of disappointment. He should've known Yun Ling would say that. He said that to them before leaving the Great Buddhist Monastery to return to the capital and now with his daughter in the equation, it would be less likely for him to change his mind and devote himself to Buddhism.

"Let's end this discussion here then, but if you ever change your mind, know that you will always have a place in the Great Buddhist Monastery," Monk Wang Yang gently said.

"I'm undeserving."

"Do not say that. Everyone in this world has a place in the monastery. We won't turn down anyone who comes here to seek asylum, even if they happen to be demons."

Yun Ling eyed him for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"You are still far off his level but you're starting to sound more and more like Tathagata even if it's just a bit."

"Do I?" Monk Wang Yang wondered. "Maybe. But I still have more to learn."

"That's what I like about you. You are far different from the hypocritical monks out there."

Monk Wang Yang sighed at what Yun Ling said. He perfectly knew what Yun Ling was talking about and sadly, there were quite a lot of those bad apples inside their monastery.

...

"This will be their room," Monk Wang Yang said as he led everyone into a very spacious room. Before he came to meet Yun Ling, Tathagata already told him to give them a room they could stay in for a while.

"I should thank Tathagata for the hospitality," Yun Ling said.

"There's no need," Monk Wang Yang told Yun Ling.

Shi Zhong who had been listening to their conversation the whole time looked at Monk Wang Yang and asked, "Why?"

Monk Wang Yang smiled at the child and responded, "Do you thank someone for breathing? For walking? For hearing? For seeing?"

"Huh?" Shi Zhong mouthed out, not getting what the monk meant.

Seeing that Shi Zhong didn't understand, Yun Ling caressed his hair as he said, "He means there's no need to thank Tathagata because what he did is only natural. It's just like breathing, walking, hearing, or seeing for him."

"Right..." Shi Zhong said unsurely, still unable to understand them fully.

"However, you're using a poor example Monk Wang Yang. Next time, you should use one that the children can understand easily."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"I noticed. I will do that next time."

While Yun Ling and Monk Wang Yang were talking to each other with Shi Zhong listening to them on the side, the children stared in awe at the room.

They couldn't believe that was their room. The room was so big it would have no problem hosting twenty people and there would still be room for more. They felt quite giddy having that big of a room. They quickly ran around the room, having fun with each other.

Yun Ling was pushing the stretcher with Yue Dongmei on it the whole time. After he finished talking to Monk Wang Yang, he took a mattress that was placed on a table right at the corner of the room and unrolled it on the ground. He then took Yue Dongmei off the stretcher and placed her on the mattress. He made sure to place her in a place that wouldn't get in the children's way while playing.

Monk Wang Yang avoided looking at Yue Dongmei the whole time. He didn't want his still heart to be affected by a person's superficial beauty because in the end, it was just that... superficial.

"You shouldn't keep your eyes off her," Yun Ling said.

Monk Wang Yang looked at him while raising a brow.

"Pardon?"

"Keeping your eyes off her is just like avoiding a problem. It won't solve anything since the problem is still there," Yun Ling said. "What you should do is keep your eyes on her and simply try your best not to be captivated by her beauty..."

Monk Wang Yang stared at him for a few seconds before looking at Yue Dongmei. He felt his heart throbbing for a bit, however, he immediately chanted some mantras in his mind the moment that happened.

After several minutes, Monk Wang Yang felt his heart had become calm again. When he looked at Yue Dongmei, he no longer felt something for her even without the help of his mantras.

Monk Wang Yang looked at Yun Ling and sighed.

"Sometimes, I want to blame you for this. I think you might have corrupted me a little," Monk Wang Yang said.

Before Yun Ling came into the Great Buddhist Monastery, he never felt anything to the other sex no matter how pretty they were. However, when Yun Ling came, Yun Ling would tell him some of his adventurous stories that he had with other pretty women and since then, he started becoming aware of the opposite sex.

Of course, he wasn't a willing listener when Yun Ling told him those stories back then. However, after being forced to listen to those stories nearly every day in the first few months of Yun Ling's stay in the monastery, he was ashamed to admit that those stories finally got into his head.

"Oh..." Yun Ling mouthed out. He remembered doing that. Back then, he was contemptuous of the monks in the monastery after being forced into the place by his father. Because of that, he tried testing Monk Wang Yang by tempting him in various ways. After several months, when he saw that what he was doing wasn't having any effect on the monk, he was actually impressed and he finally stopped doing it. Never did he think that his words actually got the monk a bit.

Monk Wang Yang sighed. He still had much to learn.

"Anyway, I know that you guys are going to the Law God Sect tomorrow because there are also a lot of Sacred Kings in here," Yun Ling said, trying to change the topic. "Is it alright if I come with you? I'm also heading to the Law God Sect as per the order of the emperor."

"Ask Tathagata," Monk Wang Yang said. "Though I'm pretty sure he'll allow you. It's not a big deal really."

"Alright. I'll ask Tathagata later," Yun Ling said, nodding.

"You can ask me now since I'm here," the two heard a familiar voice from behind them.

It was Tathagata who was smiling at them.

His gaze then fell on Yue Dongmei as he said, "This woman is cursed. It is possible to remove this curse through Buddhism."

Yun Ling's eyes widened a bit. Though he had stayed in the Great Buddhism Monastery for a while, he couldn't say that he knows much about curses, much less, how to remove them.

"Really?"

"Tell me... what are you willing to do to remove this woman's curse?" Tathagata looked at him with narrowed eyes that seemed to see through his soul as he asked.