392: Auspicious Goddess dice

"Amituofo! So it is the Ninth Young Master, the legitimate son of Prince Fu. This old monk is Zhishen, the abbot of Fahua Temple!"

"So it is Great Master Zhishen! May I ask what Great Master is doing here?" Long Yuan asked.

"The Ninth Young Master might not be aware, but not long ago, War Bear Country invaded our Great Ming, and this place was one of the battlefields. Now that the armies of both countries have retreated, this old monk has brought Tianbao here to perform rites for the deceased... I hope they can transition well into Reincarnation. Sigh, it is also a wish of this old monk..."

"Great Master is truly virtuous! Speaking of performing rites for the deceased, I saw many fallen soldiers in the city when I left. Great General Xu even seemed to have mentioned inviting the virtuous high monks of Fahua Temple to perform rites for them. I didn't expect to run into you and your disciple here; what a coincidence!" Long Yuan said.

Great Master Zhishen was startled upon hearing this and realized, "Indeed, many of the sacrificed soldiers must have been transported back to the city. They certainly need rites as well, but here..."

"What is Great Master worried about?"

"Ninth Young Master, there are so many dead here. If rites aren't performed for them soon, I fear a plague will break out in a month, and it could potentially spread into the Great Ming territory. The consequences would be unimaginable!" Great Master Zhishen sighed.

"I see! Then what about the dead inside the city?"

"This... let this old monk notify the Senior Brothers and others in the temple to bring people over!" Great Master Zhishen pondered.

"Great Master, I wonder if Tianbao can perform the rites for them?"

"Tianbao? Of course he can! Ninth Young Master, do not underestimate Tianbao. He is a Genius that our Fahua Temple sees only once in a thousand years. Despite his young age, he is already a Martial General, and his Comprehension Ability is extremely high. He is proficient in Buddhist principles; even this old monk sometimes cannot best him in a debate!" Great Master Zhishen said.

"Is that so? I didn't realize Tianbao was so formidable. Hmm, I have an idea. Why don't I take him into the city to perform the rites for those fallen soldiers? Wouldn't that be more efficient?" Long Yuan said.

Great Master Zhishen hesitated slightly upon hearing this, but after sensing that aura of the Xuanhuang Bloodline on Long Yuan that felt almost tangible, he nodded and said, "The Ninth Young Master makes sense! Then let Tianbao go with you to the city first to perform rites for the dead. This old monk will call for more Senior Brothers and disciples to come. This matter truly cannot be delayed any longer..."

"Thank you, Great Master!" Long Yuan said quickly.

The two soon arrived at where Tianbao was. Seeing his master arrive with a youth, Tianbao quickly stood up to greet them.

"Tianbao, come greet the Ninth Young Master of the Great Ming's Prince Fus Mansion!" Great Master Zhishen said.

"Ninth Young Master? From the Prince Fus Mansion?" Tianbao was startled. He widened his eyes to size up Long Yuan, a look of doubt appearing on his face.

"My name is Zhu Deyuan, the ninth son of Prince Fu!"

"You... aren't you Long Yuan?" Tianbao asked in surprise.

"Long Yuan?! You know him?" Great Master Zhishen was stunned and looked at Long Yuan with suspicion.

"Master, he is Long Yuan! A few days ago at the concert held in Nan Yue City, he single-handedly performed a history of the Human Race's wars. His Music Dao is so high it is breathtaking. And there is that song 'lone brave' he sang, as well as those hit songs he sang before—every single one is a classic!" Tianbao spoke eloquently.

Long Yuan smiled and said, "You flatter me! However, besides being Long Yuan, I am also the ninth son of Prince Fu. I've only shared this secret with the two of you!"

"This... please rest assured, Heir Apparent, this old monk will not speak of it to others!" Great Master Zhishen said quickly.

"I won't tell either!" Tianbao said excitedly. Being shared a secret by a royal Heir Apparent gave him a strange sense of excitement.

Great Master Zhishen looked at him like this with a helpless expression. It seemed the young monk's Heart-Nature had not been tempered well yet, as he was still deeply immersed in the Mortal World... After giving Tianbao some earnest instructions, he let him follow Long Yuan away. Watching their departing backs, Great Master Zhishen suddenly felt as if he had lost a precious treasure, as if his good disciple Tianbao was drifting further and further away from him... "Surely not? Could there be a problem with this Heir Apparent Zhu Deyuan?" Doubt suddenly rose in Great Master Zhishen's heart, and he quickly took out his divination tools to calculate... The tools he took out were a pair of moon blocks. After chanting silently in his heart, he began to toss the blocks. The first toss resulted in 'one yin and one yang.' His expression softened slightly. Then he tossed again, and it was still 'one yin and one yang.' Now he actually became a bit nervous. He quickly chanted again, closed his eyes, and continued to toss. He slowly opened his eyes and saw it was still 'one yin and one yang.' A smile couldn't help but spread across his face. Three consecutive results of 'one yin and one yang' was a 'Divine Answer,' indicating that heaven had already responded and given its promise. At the very least, his little disciple Tianbao would not meet with any mishap. Moreover, since the divination was so smooth, it might even be beneficial for Tianbao!

However, because Tianbao was too important to Fahua Temple—as the temple would surely be handed over to him in the future—he could not afford any carelessness. Thus, Great Master Zhishen solemnly took out three dice. These were called the 'Palden Lhamo Dice.' Each die had six sides, with dots from one to six.

This time, what he wanted to divine was not Tianbao's safety, but that Heir Apparent Zhu Deyuan he had just met. For some reason, this Heir Apparent always gave him an unfathomable feeling that he couldn't see through, so he invited the Heavenly Mother to help take a look... "Just what kind of sacred being is Heir Apparent Zhu Deyuan? Please grant your instruction, Heavenly Mother!!!" Great Master Zhishen growled low and tossed the dice!

He stared intently at the three dice, watching them spin incessantly until they finally stopped simultaneously. "Huh?!!!"

Great Master Zhishen's eyes widened, an incredible look appearing on his face as his entire body began to tremble violently. This was because the upward-facing side of all three dice showed the number 'six'!

Six, six, six—that was eighteen. This was the ultimate number of the 'Palden Lhamo Dice' set. According to the hexagram, this person must be of the most noble and exalted kind!

Great Master Zhishen had never tossed such a hexagram before. Even when he had once tossed for the current Great Emperor and Prince An, the results were only middle numbers; no one could exceed 'ten' at all. The only one to reach 'ten' was Tianbao, which was also one of the primary reasons he had taken Tianbao as his disciple and established him as the Buddha Son.

However, Zhu Deyuan's situation completely shattered his established impressions, leaving him unable to believe it. Thus, he circulated his Xuan Power and tossed again. As the three dice began to spin, Great Master Zhishen's heart was also suspended high in his chest. It wasn't until they settled again that he cried out in shock, "Eighteen again?!!!"

*Bang* *Bang* *Bang*

Three explosive sounds rang out as the three dice suddenly burst apart, turning into a cloud of powder that scattered away!

Great Master Zhishen was knocked to the ground by a massive force. He looked at the cloud of powder in horror, his face filled with daze and grief... "My dice!!! Heavens..." He never dreamed that this set of Palden Lhamo Dice, which he cherished as a treasure, would be destroyed because of divining Zhu Deyuan. Had he known, he wouldn't have used them for this divination even if it killed him!

...