「Another night passed in the blink of an eye.」
Xu Lei, of course, stayed at Physician Lu's home.
Before bed, Xu Lei chatted quite a bit with Physician Lu.
He learned some basic information about this world.
He now knew he was under the rule of a country called the Da Yu Dynasty.
However, Physician Lu was getting on in years, and he was exhausted from the day's events, so Xu Lei didn't pester him with endless questions.
And so, he went to sleep.
"Divine Monk, my child was just born. Could I ask you to bestow a name upon them!"
In the morning, just as he was getting up, Xu Lei heard someone outside speaking respectfully. "It would be even better if you would be willing to bless the child."
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei glanced over and recognized the man as the owner of the village's general store, who was considered quite well-off. He nodded and said, "Patron, you have an affinity with the Buddha! In that case, this humble monk shall make the trip."
'After all, I don't have a single penny on me right now.'
'Even though I saved Physician Lu's son, I can't just freeload off the Lu Family indefinitely.'
'Initially, my plan was to find a village, gain their trust, and then blend in, maybe even put down roots and become one of the villagers.'
'Then I'd lead the whole village to prosperity, and once I was rich, I'd marry many wives and have lots of children.'
'But now, because of yesterday's life-for-life blood transfusion, these people truly see me as a Divine Monk.'
'It makes me feel a bit awkward about settling down in this village.'
'So, I figure I'll just continue playing the part of a Divine Monk, earn some incense money, and keep learning more about this world.'
'Once I have some funds, I can plot my next move.'
'Whether that's going to a city to do business, or finding another village to blend into and put down roots.'
「Another day passed.」
Xu Lei finished performing the religious service.
He received one tael of silver as incense money.
He had also figured out the monetary system of this Da Yu Dynasty.
It was similar to that of ancient Earth.
They used gold, silver, and copper plates.
One tael of gold was equal to ten taels of silver.
One tael of silver was equal to one thousand copper plates.
In today's world, a single copper plate had the purchasing power of about two yuan back on Earth in 2024.
In a village, such a payment was considered very generous.
'Of course, this money was for the Buddha, even though I was the one who ultimately received it.'
'I was merely collecting it on the Buddha's behalf.'
'I was still a Divine Monk who regarded wealth as a mere worldly possession!'
「Another day passed.」
After the general store owner had come to invite Xu Lei to perform a blessing the day before, other families in the village began to seek him out one after another.
That afternoon, Xu Lei finished a simple religious service.
Meanwhile, Zhao Tieniu and his daughter were preparing to leave the village.
They weren't from this village originally.
They had come the previous day to take care of the daughter's maternal grandmother.
Before they left, Xu Lei wanted to pay them back for the clothes.
'But now, as a Divine Monk, it wouldn't be in keeping with my status to just hand over money directly.'
So, after learning that the tea-picking girl also had a mother and a younger brother, meaning there were four people in their family, he took out five copper plates, explaining that he had performed a ritual and blessed them.
He gave the plates to them.
He told them that their family's good fortune had previously been maliciously eroded.
Now, each person needed to wear one of the copper plates to protect their fortune.
'Originally, I wanted to give them a dozen or so copper plates to completely pay them back for the clothes.'
'But on second thought, giving away a dozen blessed items at once would make them seem less valuable and wouldn't fit my dignified image as a Divine Monk, so I only gave them five.'
The extra one was for her grandmother.
Naturally, Zhao Tieniu and his daughter were deeply grateful for this.
「Three more days passed in a flash.」
Many more families came looking for Xu Lei to perform religious services.
Xu Lei earned some more silver.
He now had a total of five taels of silver on him.
'Although I've been eating, drinking, and living at Physician Lu's expense these past few days and haven't had to spend any money myself…'
'...having some money on me still gave me a greater sense of security.'
Of course, Xu Lei hadn't stayed just by being thick-skinned.
It was because of the strong urging from Physician Lu and the other villagers.
Physician Lu was worried that his son might have a relapse or develop new complications.
So he had fervently pleaded with Xu Lei to stay for a few more days.
Xu Lei had feigned reluctance before agreeing to stay.
Over the past few days, although Xu Lei had been going to other homes to put on a show of performing religious services, he always returned to Physician Lu's house to sleep at night.
For one, Physician Lu's home was indeed quite spacious.
It had a spare room.
'Besides, I did save Physician Lu's son.'
'As his lifesaver, there was nothing to be embarrassed about in accepting this small bit of repayment.'
'If I were to stay at someone else's house, I might feel a bit awkward.'
'After all, I'm not a real Divine Monk.'
'I don't feel bad about performing services and collecting incense money.'
'In my eyes, that kind of thing is basically just selling hope and peace of mind.'
'As a Divine Monk, I was providing emotional value.'
'So, collecting incense money was a legitimate transaction, and I could do it with a clear conscience.'
'But staying in their homes would feel like I was overstepping.'
Of course, after a few days, Physician Lu's son had naturally woken up.
And most of the village families who needed a religious service had already had one.
Xu Lei began to think that perhaps it was time for him to prepare to leave.
In the past few days, Xu Lei had already gotten what he wanted.
In addition to his various conversations with the villagers, he found that Physician Lu's home also had a collection of books.
Xu Lei had been reading them over the past few days.
As a result, he now had a general understanding of this world.
"Amitabha Buddha!"
However, before Xu Lei could announce his departure, a Buddhist chant suddenly rang out from outside Physician Lu's door.
"Hm?"
Xu Lei turned his head to look.
He saw a bald old Monk appear, accompanied by a burly young Monk and a similarly well-built adolescent Monk.
"I had heard that a young, accomplished Divine Monk with vast Divine Power and an extraordinary presence was passing through this small village. Seeing you in person today, I know the rumors were true!"
The old Monk had a kind and benevolent face. He raised a hand in salute and asked in a clear voice, "Might I ask which temple this Divine Monk hails from?"
Xu Lei's heart instantly leaped into his throat.
'The old Monk might look kind, but the two Monks behind him were strong and sturdy.'
'Have I been infringing on their interests by performing services and collecting incense money in the village these past few days?'
Xu Lei couldn't help but wonder.
'The Daoist Sect and the Buddhist Sect were major religious powers!'
'Here, just like in the history of ancient Earth…'
'...they held a rather special status.'
'For instance, every trade and industry in the world had to pay taxes!'
'But the Daoist and Buddhist Sects were exempt!'
'Dynasties rose and fell, but the Daoist and Buddhist Sects remained standing.'
'Moreover, with Buddhist temples scattered all over the world, the Buddhist Sect was essentially the largest real estate group owner.'
'And with all the strong young Martial Monks in every temple, it wouldn't be entirely wrong to call them a large-scale criminal syndicate.'
"Amitabha Buddha."
Therefore, Xu Lei immediately put his palms together and said, "This humble monk is merely a lowly Wandering Monk. I know not where I came from, nor where I am going. The sky is my blanket, the earth my mat; I wander the world with a heart devoted to the Buddha.
I happened to pass through this place by chance. If I have disturbed the local Buddha, it was truly unintentional. As for the incense money, this humble monk only collected it on behalf of the Buddha because it was difficult to refuse the villagers' great hospitality."
'After all, I really can't afford to provoke them right now.'
'Even though I have over nine thousand lives…'
'...I still need to be careful.'
'Regardless of whether they came for the incense money…'
'...it's best to act submissive first.'
Of course, Xu Lei wasn't overly panicked.
'After all, I still need to maintain my image as a Divine Monk.'
'Physician Lu and his son are watching, after all.'
Still, he had subtly expressed that his actions were unintentional and that he had no desire to steal their business.
"The matter of incense money is of no consequence."
But unexpectedly, the old Monk said, "This old monk has heard that the Little Divine Monk possesses vast Divine Power, that you can move blood to save a life, seize a person's soul, defy the laws of nature, and bring the dead back to life? Is this true or false?
I wonder if I might ask the Little Divine Monk to save my junior brother? My junior brother is injured. We sought a physician, but his high fever still won't subside! As we are fellow Buddhist Disciples, I implore you to lend your aid!"
"Hm?"
Xu Lei was taken aback. He had thought they were here to cause trouble, but it turned out they were seeking help.
He breathed a sigh of relief internally.
'And from the sound of it, the patient probably has a fever.'
'I still have some Anti-Inflammatory Medicine in my backpack.'
'It wouldn't be impossible to save him.'
But Xu Lei didn't go with them.
Instead, he said, "Brother Monk, you exaggerate.
This humble monk's meager Magical Power is but a ten-thousandth of the basics I learned from my master; it cannot be considered vast Divine Power.
As for the injured person you mentioned, Brother Monk, if you truly wish for this humble monk to take a look, you may bring him here!
Of course, whether or not he can be saved, this humble monk dares not say for certain!
I must see him with my own eyes.
I can only say that if he can be saved, this humble monk will certainly do my utmost."
'It was possible, after all, that the old Monk was just making an excuse.'
'He might be trying to lure me out of the village to strike a fatal blow in retaliation for me stealing their incense money business!'
'Here in the village, the villagers, especially the Lu Family, were either indebted to me or had unwavering faith in me.'
'If these Monks were to attack me in the village, they certainly wouldn't come out on top.'
'But once I left the village, that might not be the case.'
Therefore, Xu Lei couldn't possibly leave with them at this time.
But he also didn't dare to outright refuse the request for treatment.
'Regardless of whether I could actually treat the person later, I had to give them enough face for now.'
'If I didn't give them face and ended up truly offending this group, I wouldn't fare well either.'
'After all, I can't just keep freeloading in this village forever.'
Moreover, in his speech, Xu Lei had also subtly invented a 'master'.
'The hope was to show that I also had a mysterious master as a backer.'
'That way, if they really had any ill intentions, they might think twice before trying to make a move against me.'
"Master?"
Just as he expected, the pupils of the old Monk and the young and adolescent Monks beside him constricted. "The art of exchanging blood for life is but a ten-thousandth of the basics you learned?"
The thought alone was terrifying. If that was the case, just how powerful must this 'master' be?