"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei was taken aback, then said, "Patroness, why have you returned?"
"I will not be coming tomorrow."
The beautiful woman then stepped forward and embraced Xu Lei. "Little Divine Monk, I came to bid you farewell tonight. The fate between us ends this evening."
「A few days later.」
The Lord County Magistrate came to the temple during the day to offer incense and also donated some incense money.
However, to show that he was an uncorrupted official, he naturally couldn't be as lavish as a merchant family.
But as an official, his visit alone carried significant meaning.
Qi De received the Lord County Magistrate.
Meanwhile, Xu Lei was staring blankly at a Buddhist Scripture.
Suddenly, a young monk appeared outside the door to summon Xu Lei.
He said the Lord County Magistrate was asking to see Xu Lei, the Divine Monk, again.
After all, Xu Lei had spoken with the Lord County Magistrate at length during the Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse incident.
So, Xu Lei went out to join Qi De and the Lord County Magistrate for tea, where they discussed some Buddhist principles.
He did not see the Lady of the County Magistrate accompanying him.
Just as she had said, the previous night was their final connection.
Xu Lei understood this in his heart and said nothing about it.
Although the Lord County Magistrate knew his wife had come here to pray for a child, he had no idea who had performed the "Charitable Giving" for his wife.
He confirmed that Longyuan Temple indeed upheld the professional ethics of its monks and that the matter of his child would certainly not be leaked.
When the child was born, it would definitively be his own.
This set his mind at ease.
He then descended the mountain and left.
Although he was an official, he was infertile.
In truth, he felt quite distressed about it.
Without a child, he would inevitably lose face.
It could even affect his political career.
After all, being a solitary man without a family was not suitable for navigating the world of officialdom.
Longyuan Temple would never expose the identity of the one who performed the "Charitable Giving" for his wife.
If the County Magistrate wanted to silence someone by killing them, he would have to go against the entire Buddhist Sect.
The fact that the Buddhist Sect could stand strong, and even be exempt from taxes, meant it naturally had its own deep-seated power.
A mere County Magistrate would never want to oppose the entire Buddhist Sect.
Of course, the Buddhist Sect's current standing was also due to the various rules it imposed upon itself.
For example, the existence of the Zen Masters Bu Zhong, while seemingly licentious and absurd, genuinely addressed a critical need for a certain segment of the population.
After all, if there were no rule-abiding Seeders like the Zen Masters Bu Zhong, then in the secular world, those who couldn't have children but wished to "borrow a seed" could only turn to acquaintances.
But in many cases, that would evolve into the woman having an affair with the seed-provider, sometimes even ending with the murder of the original husband—a true tragedy in the Mortal World.
Even some powerful and influential people might find someone of low status for breeding, only to kill them after the deed was done.
But this way always resulted in the loss of life.
In any case, Xu Lei's "seeding" was thus completed once again.
「Ten days later.」
During this time, another female Devotee came seeking to have a child.
Moreover, she wasn't from the local county but had come from the one next door.
She had come specifically after hearing of Xu Lei's fame as the Divine Monk.
However, this female Devotee was very plain-looking.
Xu Lei could only let another disciple perform the Charitable Giving.
As for Xu Lei, he slept alone.
The Lady of the County Magistrate truly never came again.
Relatively speaking, there weren't that many beautiful female Devotees who came seeking a child.
But Xu Lei wasn't in a hurry.
He was only twenty years old.
He could take his time.
"Little Divine Monk! Fresh oranges! My dad told me to bring you some more!"
But on this day, to his surprise, Zhao Xiaocha came looking for Xu Lei again, carrying oranges grown by her family.
Unexpectedly, as she trotted over with the fruit, her foot caught on a small stone, and she instantly lost her balance.
She was about to fall to the ground.
"Careful!" Startled, Xu Lei quickly rushed forward and caught the girl's soft, delicate body in his arms.
To be honest, back when Xu Lei was on Earth, he'd never had the experience of catching someone who was about to fall.
But now, after coming to this world, he had been practicing the fist techniques of Longyuan Temple for some time.
Although these techniques weren't Extraordinary, he found they truly did strengthen his body.
Because of this training, Xu Lei's reaction speed and other abilities were much better than before.
That was why he had managed to rush over and catch the girl just now.
If it had been the old Xu Lei, he probably wouldn't have been fast enough.
"Ah!" The girl was startled as well.
She hadn't expected to suddenly fall into the young Divine Monk's arms.
Feeling the young Divine Monk's body heat, her pretty face couldn't help but turn crimson.
'How is this plot so much like a cheesy idol drama from Earth?'
Xu Lei froze, unable to stop himself from complaining inwardly: 'The handsome male lead, the beautiful female lead... then, the heroine accidentally falls, the hero catches her, their skin touches, body heat is transferred, the atmosphere turns ambiguous, and their eyes meet.'
Of course, just as Xu Lei was thinking this, Zhao Xiaocha had already steadied herself.
"I can't believe I tripped. Thank goodness for you, Little Divine Monk."
She blushed, stepped out of Xu Lei's embrace, and said quickly, "Oh, right, Little Divine Monk, I'm getting married. I wanted to ask... I don't know if it's possible, but when I get married, could you, Divine Monk...?"
'So much for idol dramas. They're all lies.' Xu Lei was stunned, grumbling to himself, 'Idol drama, my foot. In the blink of an eye, the heroine is getting married off.'
"Amitabha Buddha."
Of course, Xu Lei would never let his inner thoughts show on his face. Maintaining his posture as a Divine Monk, he pressed his palms together and said, "Thank you for the fruit, Patroness.
And congratulations on your impending happy occasion.
However, this humble monk is one who has left the secular world and is not suited to attend such worldly weddings.
I must be absent.
From here, this humble monk wishes you, Patroness, a beautiful and happy life after your marriage.
May you and your husband be loving and harmonious, and may you be blessed with a child soon."
Hearing that the first pretty girl he had met after descending the mountain in this new world was getting married, Xu Lei felt a little conflicted.
But as a Monk, there was naturally nothing he could do.
Besides, the girl couldn't have just suddenly decided to get married.
She must have had a long-standing relationship.
Even if Xu Lei weren't a Monk, it was unlikely he could have gotten together with the girl before him.
Unless... a non-monk Xu Lei had earned a lot of money and then heartlessly, tyrannically, and cruelly snatched the girl from her lover's hands.
Of course, that was unrealistic.
Therefore, Xu Lei could only offer his blessings.
Zhao Xiaocha was just making conversation; she couldn't possibly expect the Divine Monk to actually attend her wedding.
"Thank you, Divine Monk."
Zhao Xiaocha said, "He's the older brother from a family that was a benefactor to ours. They live in the county town.
That older brother seems like a very good person. He's a scholar, you know.
Refined and well-mannered, a true gentleman.
I originally thought I wasn't good enough for him.
After all, I'm just a country girl.
But I never expected that he would take a liking to me, too.
I heard his family came to my dad to ask for my hand in marriage.
I could hardly believe it.
It was like a dream."
"You are quite good-looking yourself, Patroness."
Xu Lei smiled. "It's only natural that the young master would be smitten."
"Oh, stop."
Zhao Xiaocha covered her face shyly. "Little Divine Monk, am I... am I really pretty?"
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei said, "A monk does not tell lies."
Of course, having said that, Xu Lei didn't continue to listen to Zhao Xiaocha's rambling.
He simply said he needed to continue his cultivation and sent Zhao Xiaocha on her way.
It wasn't that Xu Lei felt every beautiful woman in the world should belong to him.
But watching a pretty young woman about to fall into another man's arms, he naturally wasn't in the mood to cheerfully listen to her go on and on about her happiness.
She would marry her ideal husband and live her happy, blissful little life.
And Xu Lei would continue being Xu Lei, the Zen Master Bu Zhong, and continue sleeping with the beautiful young married women who came seeking a child.
What frustrated Xu Lei, however, was that another ten-plus days passed without a single beautiful young woman coming to Longyuan Temple to seek a child.
But then, unexpectedly, Zhao Xiaocha appeared at Longyuan Temple once again.
She had come to see Xu Lei again.
And she brought with her a handsome young man who looked to be a few years older than her.
One look was all it took for Xu Lei to understand that this young man must be Zhao Xiaocha's husband.
'They're newlyweds. Instead of being lovey-dovey at home, they run off to find me? What's that about?' Xu Lei initially grumbled to himself.
Of course, Xu Lei quickly realized something was wrong, because there was no hint of a smile on either Zhao Xiaocha's or the young man's face.
They didn't look like sweet, blissful newlyweds at all.
Zhao Xiaocha was pulling the young man along, while he wore an awkward expression, looking hesitant and fidgety.