The First Lackey Under The Empress

Open eyes? No… What does this mean? This situation isn't recorded in the booklet Old Zhang gave me…

On the high platform, Zhao Du'an, who had been giving a passionate speech and completing the debate, was stunned for a moment. He suddenly raised his head, his pupils suddenly constricting.

Only to see that in the center of the vast cloud layer in the sky, the huge and mysterious phantom of the Buddha's head overlooked the earth as before.

However, the cloud layer centered on the Buddha's head suddenly rippled with circles of golden light.

Like the violently shaking surface of water, the Buddha's head's tightly closed eyes slowly opened at this moment.

In an instant, a pair of majestic and compassionate giant golden eyes filled Zhao Du'an's entire field of vision. He was stunned, feeling his whole body suppressed by an unspeakable great power.

Then, before he could react, two pillars of Buddha light descended from the "World Honored One's" eyes, connecting heaven and earth. The Buddha light merged into one, enveloping the entire high platform.

"Ah…"

The Red Sect Lama and the Debating Monk cried out at the same time, pushed off the high platform by a gentle force.

Thus, only Zhao Du'an was left bathing in the Buddha's light, like a deity.

"Wait… This is bad…"

Zhao Du'an's expression changed. He felt no joy in his heart. Instead, he remembered a long time ago when Zhenbao first opened his "Heavenly Eye," she had warned him not to look directly at the "World Honored One."

Otherwise, this deity who held the authority of "Wisdom" would forcibly instill wisdom, causing dizziness at best and complete idiocy at worst.

The moment the thought arose, Zhao Du'an felt as if his whole body was in a hot spring.

The expected torrent of information that would burst his brain did not descend.

On the contrary, his mind was clearer than ever before. The injuries that remained in his body from the Great Purification Master's sneak attack quickly disappeared at this moment.

In the time it took to breathe, he returned to his peak state.

His Qi Sea was boiling, the Qi in his Dantian was covered with golden light, and in the center of his brow, a faint blue flame appeared, flashing and disappearing.

Faintly visible within the flame was a swaying blue lotus.

"The World Honored One's Baptism!"

On the square, after being stunned, some monks cried out in a low voice, and then almost everyone showed a sourness as if they had tasted a lemon.

"What is that?" The little monk Dan Che looked bewildered.

Stepping down from the platform, the Red Sect Lama, whose expression showed no颓丧 but was radiant and whose eyes faintly revealed a fanatical color of conversion, explained in a low voice:

"Only those who have made great contributions to Buddhism and pioneered the path of wisdom throughout the ages will be favored by the gods and receive the World Honored One's Baptism… Throughout history, in all dynasties, none who received the baptism failed to become sages later on, but a non-Buddhist person receiving this honor is still the first case!"

The Red Sect Lama stared intently at Zhao Du'an bathing in the Buddha's light on the stage, muttering:

"Those who are baptized will have their souls greatly nourished. For example, they can read ten lines at a glance and memorize them. These are just incidental benefits. The real benefit is to receive the World Honored One's blessing, planting a blue lotus in the sea of consciousness, with endless energy…"

"It may not seem special at a low level, but the higher you go, the greater the benefits. If you practice Buddhist techniques, you will achieve twice the results with half the effort…"

Dan Che listened in a daze, opening his mouth, wanting to ask:

Could it be that this great traitor is the "Wisdom" that Master is looking for? The incarnation of the World Honored One in the world?

But… is this reasonable?

"The World Honored One's Baptism… The debate is over…"

Bodhisattva Prajna had already stood up in shock. This plump female bodhisattva, with her mind full of dual cultivation, had a dull expression. Her chest rose and fell sharply, and her gaze towards Zhao Du'an was extremely complicated.

Back then, after Mr. Zhengyang was defeated and fled, the reason why she forcibly broke into Zhao's mansion was that she sensed that Zhao Du'an had great potential in Buddhism.

At that time, she had already given up after being driven away by the genuine girlfriend, the Empress.

But she didn't expect that things would take a turn for the better, and this excellent cauldron would help her improve her Chan Buddhism today.

"After the baptism, he will be a natural Buddha, and dual cultivation will be twice as effective…"

Prajna bit her lip, her legs closed and rubbed together, and then sensed a sharp gaze coming from a distance. Helplessly, her eyebrows drooped, and she sighed softly:

"Too bad…"

…

Inside the Water Viewing Tower.

The court officials, led by the Empress, had all stood up, looking in astonishment at the magnificent scene in front of them.

Xu Zhenguan's eyes were full of splendor. As a Celestial Being, she clearly knew that the World Honored One's Baptism would be beneficial to Zhao Du'an without any harm, so she did not stop it.

She just watched quietly, with a thousand thoughts in her heart. Suddenly, she understood a little why the Dragon Soul of the Emperor Taizu would choose him.

However, when she glanced at the shameless nun Prajna on the edge of the square, a sense of crisis arose.

"Why would the gods of Buddhism favor a great villain?"

Princess Wenzhu stood beside her in a daze, her mind in a mess.

She was a little puzzled. At this moment, she wanted to meet this man of her niece in person and find out the truth in person.

…

Zhao Family.

"Mother, look!"

In the courtyard, Zhao Pan, wearing a cotton-padded jacket, pointed excitedly at the Buddha's light descending from afar, marveling:

"It looks very lively. I just don't know which side won. When Big Brother comes back, I have to ask him carefully."

And then gossip with her newly acquainted young ladies…

You Jinhua, with the Pekingese dog wrapped around her legs, tried to drive the puppy that was hugging her leg down. Hearing this, she raised her head, looked at the sky in surprise, and muttered:

"These bald donkeys are quite bluffing."

…

Tianshi Mansion.

One divine official after another walked out of the building, pointing and commenting on the distant phenomenon.

Even Jin Jian and Gongshu Tianyuan walked out of their residences curiously, using the latter's strange inventions to watch remotely.

Deep in the ancient banyan tree, the branches and leaves swayed.

Zhong Pan, with his naturally fierce appearance and carrying a scarlet greatsword, crossed his arms, looked at the distance in surprise, and said:

“Master, did you foresee this step? Hehe, this is getting interesting. Shenlong Temple and Zhao Du'an were at odds just before, and then the World Honored One's baptism... A slap in the face, a resounding slap, tsk tsk...”

The Old Celestial Master, tall and with narrow eyes, held the Heavenly Book, appearing as a wise and resourceful figure, his expression calm.

As if everything was under his control.

In reality, he was inwardly gasping for breath:

“This guy... this guy... I told you to cause trouble, not to make such a big deal out of it... Fortunately, that stupid baldy Xuan Yin formed a grudge with this strange little fellow first, otherwise it would be terrible if he were dragged off to become a monk...

It's still that girl from the Xu family who acted early... Jin Jian'er, why are you so useless? What a pity, what a pity...”

...

At this moment, believers in the city close to Shenlong Temple were kowtowing at home, revering the Buddha.

Little did they know that when they found out that the one receiving the baptism was the very culprit they had been cursing all day, the one who had brought about the "Buddhist ban", what wonderful expressions they would have.

Finally.

The Buddha's light lasted for about a dozen breaths, then gradually dimmed and narrowed, returning to the clouds.

The huge Buddha's head also slowly closed its eyes, gradually fading away, disappearing with the dispersing clouds.

All the strange phenomena disappeared. Zhao Du'an felt refreshed all over, looking at his body with surprise and uncertainty. He felt full of energy, as if he had inexhaustible strength and nowhere to vent it.

Below the stage, a group of monks looked at each other:

The World Honored One has disappeared, so this debate... should it continue?

It seemed that they hadn't even started, and everything was already over.

The feeling of all the prepared lines being wasted...

Suddenly, a cold winter wind stirred up a huge gust, and from a distant building, a figure fluttered out, appearing in mid-air above the plaza in the blink of an eye.

Silky black hair fluttered, white clothes like snow, with unparalleled beauty.

“Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty!”

Zhao Du'an shuddered, feeling inexplicably weak in his heart, and shamelessly took the lead in bowing.

The other monks then came back to their senses, suppressing their emotions, and bowed to the Empress.

Xu Zhenguan silently stared at the little Zhao, who was acting like a loyal bootlicker, and suddenly felt an inexplicable urge to laugh, but she forcibly restrained herself.

She forcefully maintained her majesty, nodded to Xuan Yin and the Red Sect Lama, then looked at Zhao Du'an and said:

“I will be waiting for you in the palace.”

After speaking, the Empress transformed into a gentle breeze and disappeared into the heavens and earth.

Wait... you just came to deliver a message? Zhao Du'an was stunned for a moment, and then realized that the reason the Empress had shown her face was actually to "protect" him.

To prevent him from being targeted by irrational monks from both Buddhist factions.

“Your subject obeys!”

Zhao Du'an feigned a salute, then glanced at the monks, said nothing, and strode straight away.

The monks looked at each other, unwillingly making way, intimidated by the Empress's power.

Zhao Du'an left, leaving only two groups of monks looking at each other.

“Since things have come to this, we will take our leave first.”

The Red Sect Lama suddenly spoke first, breaking the awkward atmosphere, and after leaving these words, he turned and led the bewildered Western Region monks away.

“Abbot... what do you think...”

Bianji's face looked like he had lost a loved one. He didn't understand why a good debate had turned out like this.

The Dragon Tree Bodhisattva didn't say a word. He hadn't come back to his senses yet and was in a daze.

Countless gazes were cast towards Xuan Yin.

Abbot Xuan Yin, who hadn't said much since his appearance, remained silent, deeply gazing at Zhao Du'an's departing figure for a while, then suddenly turned and walked towards the temple.

At the same time, Xuan Yin's old voice echoed in Bianji's ears:

“Return to the temple, you and I will discuss this person in detail.”

Abbot Xuan Yin, who had ignored worldly affairs for many years, and had not paid much attention even to the previous Buddhist-Taoist competition, finally remembered the name "Zhao Du'an".

...

As the Empress and the monks left one after another, the court officials on the Guanshui Tower also went downstairs, each with complex feelings, and quickly left in their carriages.

“Princess...” The tall female warrior helped Princess Wenzhu into the carriage and said, “Where are we going?”

Princess Wenzhu hesitated for a moment, then said, “First go to Jin Feng Pavilion to meet the 'Holy Monk', then return to the palace.”

“Yes.”

On the other side, Ma Yan led a group of Embroidered Uniform Guards out when suddenly a subordinate ran up from a distance and whispered:

“Director, there's news about that Lin Ke that His Majesty ordered to be investigated.”

Ma Yan was stunned for a moment, his eyes narrowed, he took a folded piece of paper handed over by the subordinate, opened it and glanced at it, his expression became extremely interesting.

“...Wait a moment, send it to the palace for His Majesty later.”

“Uh, later, how late is later?”

Ma Yan was silent for a moment, then said, “See when Zhao Jisi enters the palace, and send it about an hour after him.”

“Oh.”

...

...

The crowd dispersed, and news about today's debate began to spread like wildfire with the flow of people towards the entire capital.

At the same time, Zhao Du'an, who had left the scene, rode the horse that had been prepared in the alley in advance, da da da, and galloped straight towards the palace.

Before long, Zhao Du'an arrived at the winter palace gate, and after reporting, he entered on foot.

He found a familiar female official to inquire, and learned that Zhenbao had indeed already returned to the palace.

“Flying is indeed fast... You didn't even take me back with you, why did you have me make a trip...”

Zhao Du'an muttered in a low voice, walking straight through the palace walls to the outside of the Empress's bedroom.

After a while, a palace maid walked out, her expression strange, and said:

“Lord Zhao, Her Majesty said she doesn't want to see you.”

...

Today's ten thousand words are offered

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