After a long silence, Liu Chuan finally sent Jian Dan a message.
"That lotus is about to become a spirit. What do you plan to do?"
Jian Dan set down the jade slip in her hand and sighed.
"I know. That lotus began cultivating unintentionally after absorbing my aura. Ten years was enough for it to develop spiritual awareness. It won't take long now."
"All because of your golden light of merit. It took advantage of it."
"Ugh, I go through all this effort to earn merit, yet it ends up benefiting others. I even noticed your branches look sturdier now, and your leaves are faintly glowing gold."
"Alright, don't try to twist it into me leeching your merit. I've done my part too."
"Yes, yes, I know. I'm teasing."
Jian Dan casually pinched out a communication talisman, removed the surrounding barrier, and released it. It vanished in an instant, unnoticed even by the shadow guards stationed outside.
In his meditation chamber, Abbot Hui Ming was chanting sutras when a flash of light appeared before him.
"Abbot Hui Ming, I ask you to come to the Lotus Lake. There is something I must entrust to you."
Abbot Hui Ming immediately opened his eyes. A glimmer of golden light passed through them as he caught the talisman. He changed into plain monk robes and made his way alone to Lotus Lake.
As soon as he reached the lakeside, Jian Dan appeared by his side. Sensing the presence, Hui Ming turned and greeted her with a respectful bow.
"Amitabha. Greetings, Senior Shan."
"You're too polite, Abbot Hui Ming. I have something here that I'd like delivered. You're the only one I trust in this place, so I'll trouble you with it."
"You honor me, Senior. May I ask what is to be delivered, and to where?"
With a wave of her sleeve, a white jade vat appeared on the ground, about a meter tall and forty centimeters wide. Inside it bloomed a lotus, its petals pink and translucent, glowing faintly under the sunlight.
"Amitabha. If I am not mistaken, this is the largest lotus in the entire lake."
The implication was clear. This lotus pond belonged to the imperial temple. Just who did she intend to give it to?
But Jian Dan showed no hint of embarrassment. She explained plainly.
"I've been cultivating at Lotus Lake for ten years. During that time, all the lotuses here were influenced by my aura. Not a single one has withered since."
"That is true. Which is why we arranged for guards to ensure you were not disturbed."
"You've been thoughtful. My presence disrupted their natural growth cycle. Spring sprout, summer flourish, autumn yield, winter rest — that is nature's rhythm. I surrounded the lake to help them adjust back into balance. But despite that, one has gone off-course."
"What would you have me do?"
"Take it to Mingfa Temple and give it to the monks there. Let it absorb some of their Buddhist aura. If it can no longer remain at the temple in the future, tell it to seek me out. Its fate will unfold in due course."
"Amitabha. I understand. I will see it done."
By the time Hui Ming looked up again, Jian Dan was already gone.
Back in her mountain cave, Jian Dan looked at the wilting lotuses around her, then cast a spell to collect the remaining lotus roots at the lakebed, storing them into her spatial ring. She hadn't had glutinous lotus root in ages. Now was a good time to make some as a treat.
"You really have a big heart. Just sent the lotus off to a temple like that. Aren't you worried that after it becomes a spirit, those monks will just exorcise it?"
"It's not the same. Something raised by your side is different from one you meet out in the world."
"And yet you pretend to be some lofty senior, spouting things like 'its fate will unfold in due course.'"
"I have an image to uphold. And besides, am I not a high-level cultivator?"
"You're still two realms away from Mahayana."
Jian Dan clutched her chest in mock pain and glared at Liu Chuan.
"You're really stabbing me where it hurts."
Liu Chuan ignored her entirely. Jian Dan didn't mind and pulled out her stock of spirit rice to begin preparing a batch of glutinous lotus root, just like in the cultivation world.
Meanwhile, Abbot Hui Ming had arranged for the vat to be transported to Mingfa Temple.
Jue Ming personally received him at the gate, chanting as he greeted him.
"Amitabha. Abbot Hui Ming, please come inside."
"Amitabha. I hope this won't trouble your temple."
The two monks exchanged formal greetings and entered the monastic quarters. Hui Ming ordered the vat placed beside the main entrance of the Great Hall. He then went alone to meet Ming Jing.
Jue Ming was puzzled. What was the meaning behind this visit? But when he saw the lotus in the vat, he was even more surprised.
Inside, Ming Jing and Hui Ming bowed and sat facing one another on meditation cushions.
"That cultivator residing at Lotus Lake entrusted me to bring this lotus to your temple. She hopes it can be nurtured with more Buddhist energy."
Ming Jing didn't respond directly. Instead, he brought up recent events, then asked,
"Are they the same person?"
"Amitabha. That I cannot say for certain. You may ask her yourself. Whether she will appear, I cannot guarantee."
Ming Jing's cultivation was equal to Hui Ming's. Since Hui Ming addressed the other as a senior, he naturally couldn't act superior. He gave thanks and saw him out.
"Martial Uncle, should we just leave the lotus there?"
"Leave it. During morning and evening lessons, you may bring it into the Great Hall. In the meantime, you're in charge of tending to it."
"Yes, Martial Uncle. And the abbot…?"
"Jue Fa is fine. Do not disturb him. His success or failure lies entirely in his own will."
From then on, the lotus officially took root at Mingfa Temple. Each day, it listened to the monks chanting and meditating, absorbed the piety of visiting worshippers, heard their prayers, and was bathed in the scent of incense. Over time, it grew ever purer and began to cultivate Buddhist intent.
Jian Dan stood on the surface of Lotus Lake, gazing in the direction of Mingfa Temple. Today was the day the lotus could undergo transformation.
That evening, after the monks finished their evening chants, the lotus was not moved out of the Great Hall.
Jue Ming was away on an errand and had left the task to a young novice. The novice found it troublesome to carry the vat back and forth, so he decided to leave it until his master returned.
And so, five nights passed with the lotus remaining in the Great Hall.
Tonight, moonlight spilled through the latticed windows, falling gently over the lotus. Bathed in that silver glow, the lotus began absorbing the moon's brilliance. Its petals shimmered faintly, then grew brighter, until the entire flower was enveloped in a soft halo of light.
When the glow finally faded, a small monk now knelt before the Buddha statue, bowing devoutly. He curled up on the meditation cushion and slowly drifted off to sleep. The vat beside him was now completely empty.
On the lake, Jian Dan scratched her head and muttered to Liu Chuan.
"Chuan, why is it a little monk? Shouldn't it be a beautiful lotus spirit girl?"
Liu Chuan couldn't even be bothered to reply, but Jian Dan was persistent. She rubbed the willow-leaf mark on her wrist, demanding an explanation.
"You became a spirit too. You explain this to me."
Liu Chuan reluctantly extended a willow branch and gave Jian Dan a gentle slap. She didn't react at all.
"By your side, it would've become a fairy. But living in a Buddhist temple, it became a monk instead. It's not surprising. All it's ever seen are monks."
"Mm, that makes sense. Ah well. I said everything would follow fate, so I'll let it be."
Still, Jian Dan quietly flicked a vajra bodhi bead into the little monk's body, masking his aura and making him appear like nothing more than an ordinary child.
Far off, beyond the sea borders of the Diling Kingdom, a grand three-story ship cut through the waves, sailing toward the coast.
Inside the palace aboard the ship, Emperor Xuande was reviewing memorials when his personal guard entered in haste and presented a report.
"Your Majesty, an envoy from Yingzhou has arrived. They've already docked at the harbor."