Chapter 21: Seeking a Master in the Mountains
The ones most shocked by Master Guanghong's case were the nobles of the city.
Ordinary people seldom interacted with Master Guanghong. At most, they have seen him when they visited Taian Temple to offer incense and knew that he was a senior monk there. However, most of the nobles who aspired toward the Immortal Dao, and Buddha had interacted closely with him. They frequently invited him to their homes for tea and sutra discussions or often visited him at the temple, even sharing their personal worries with him.
They never imagined that this senior monk could have this kind of character.
What shocked them most was his death.
They had witnessed Master Guanghong's abilities. For example, making paper soldiers, sending dreams at midnight, owning Yaksha protectors, as well as all kinds of wonderful techniques. They could even believe he might be a living Bodhisattva. Now, they experienced what it means that there are always greater people and higher mountains[1].
The prefect of Yizhou, Yu Jianbai, was the runner-up in the imperial exam held in the second year of Changyuan[2]. He also aspired toward the way of gods, Buddha and immortality but he had little contact with Master Guanghong.
It wasn't that he had foreseen this outcome or knew that Guanghong harbored evil intentions. It was simply because Prefect Yu was picky and discerning. He had heard about Guanghong's interactions with other nobles in the city, including significant financial dealings. Thus he really had a hard time thinking of Guanghong as a true master in his heart.
Someone like this who couldn't achieve immortality or become a Buddha himself, how could they possibly lead him onto the path to immortality?
Recently, after hearing the details of Master Guanghong's case from the county head magistrate of Yidu, Yu Jianbai had become interested in the Daoist priest from Tianshui Alley. He had called up the constable in charge of this case and inquired in detail about that Daoist priest. He felt that although that young Daoist priest didn't match the image of an otherworldly immortal in his imagination, he was indeed a rarely seen master in this world.