Xu Lei looked at Zhao Xiaocha, knowing she had already made her decision.
She just couldn't accept giving her untouched body to some unknown man for nothing.
This was her one remaining hang-up.
"If you've truly made your decision."
Xu Lei thought for a moment before speaking. "On the day you come to ask for a child, I can personally perform the Charitable Giving for you."
After all, Zhao Xiaocha's situation was special.
So, Xu Lei decided to handle it in a special way.
In any case, Xu Lei certainly had no intention of destroying her family afterward.
After all, Zhao Xiaocha had already made her choice. She couldn't give up everything her husband's family had given her, nor did she dare face the immense pressure that would follow a divorce.
But while she wanted to ask for a child, she was unwilling to give her innocence to a stranger.
Therefore, Xu Lei decided to be direct.
He was, after all, someone she was familiar with.
This would solve Zhao Xiaocha's dilemma.
And Xu Lei would gain a new subject for his Charitable Giving.
Moreover, this subject was an untouched maiden.
This caused a slight, unusual flutter in Xu Lei's heart.
He had thought that as a Zen Master Bu Zhong, he was fated only to sleep with young married women.
He never expected that he might now have the chance to perform Charitable Giving for a pure maiden.
"What?"
Zhao Xiaocha was so startled she thought she had misheard. Her pretty face flushed as she stammered, "You... you will perform the Charitable Giving for me?"
Her beautiful eyes widened in disbelief. In her heart, Xu Lei had always been the image of a handsome, extraordinary Divine Monk in white robes, high and unattainable.
She had never dared to have any profane thoughts about him.
"You are unwilling?"
Xu Lei said, "Then I can do nothing more."
"Of course not."
Zhao Xiaocha shook her head repeatedly, her ears turning bright red. "It's just... it's just that I never dared to dream that you, Divine Monk—"
"My Buddha is merciful."
Xu Lei replied, "For a Buddhist Disciple, the physical body is but a vessel; merit is what is eternal. Of course, you must promise that after you have received a child and departed, you will not give rise to greedy thoughts, abandon your husband, and hope that I will renounce my vows to live with you forever..."
"Amitabha Buddha."
Zhao Xiaocha pressed her delicate hands together. "Rest assured, Divine Monk. For you to sacrifice your body for this Charitable Giving is already a great kindness. I wouldn't dare to have such fanciful notions."
「Three days later.」
That night, as darkness fell, Zhao Xiaocha appeared in the Almsgiving Room.
The reason for the three-day delay was that Xu Lei had told Zhao Xiaocha to go back and deliberately not bring up the matter herself.
Instead, she was to have her husband and parents-in-law be the ones to beg her.
That way, when she returned after coming here to ask for a child, she would be treated well.
Everything went as Xu Lei had predicted. After she returned home, Zhao Xiaocha's husband quickly told his parents about the matter of seeking a child at Longyuan Temple.
At that point, Zhao Xiaocha pretended to ask for a divorce.
Soon, her entire family-in-law was on their knees, begging Zhao Xiaocha not to divorce, pleading for her to stay on account of the help their family had given hers in the past.
And they begged her to go to Longyuan Temple to receive a child.
Zhao Xiaocha reluctantly agreed.
"Amitabha Buddha."
At this moment, Xu Lei entered the Almsgiving Room through a small door. He said softly, "Patroness, are you certain you want me to perform this Charitable Giving for you?"
"Little Divine Monk."
Zhao Xiaocha's face was completely red, and she grew nervous, but she still said, "Mhm, I'm certain. I ask the Divine Monk to perform the Charitable Giving."
Hearing this, Xu Lei said nothing more. He walked forward and gently, tenderly pulled Zhao Xiaocha into his embrace.
Of course, he didn't immediately do anything else, but simply let her feel his body heat and heartbeat, allowing her to get used to his closeness.
"Don't be nervous."
Xu Lei whispered to her, "The one kissing you now is not a man, but the Buddha. What we are doing is not in the least bit lewd; it is a sacred act of merit. If you cannot help but cry out, then call 'Amitabha Buddha' and let the light of the Buddha transform your lustful thoughts."
"Ah?"
Zhao Xiaocha was taken aback for a moment, but then a holy expression appeared on her face as she said, "Yes, I will follow the Divine Monk's words."
And Xu Lei pressed his lips to her tender ones, sharing her slightly clumsy first kiss.
'She really is a maiden.'
Xu Lei sighed to himself. 'She's definitely different from the two married female Devotees before.'
「A dozen or so days later.」
Zhao Xiaocha came to the Almsgiving Room once again.
She hadn't gotten pregnant yet.
This was mainly because Zhao Xiaocha had been a virgin; after the first night, she had rested for a few days before coming again to receive the Charitable Giving.
On this day, the young woman no longer had the naivete, shyness, restraint, and nervousness of a dozen days prior.
"Little Divine Monk, tonight, let me..." She even pushed Xu Lei directly onto the bed and began kissing him relentlessly.
"Amitabha Buddha," Xu Lei chanted the Buddha's name.
Watching a pure, shy maiden transform and bloom so brightly under his tutelage stirred something in Xu Lei's heart.
"Amitabha Buddha," Zhao Xiaocha also cried out flirtatiously.
「Another month later.」
By this time, Zhao Xiaocha was, of course, already pregnant.
The display on the Ten Thousand Lives Book had changed to: [Current Number of Descendants: 3]
In truth, she had conceived half a month ago. The time since then was just Xu Lei thoroughly enjoying her beauty.
Of course, Xu Lei thought, 'I'm not doing this for myself. I'm just thinking about how pitiful it will be for Zhao Xiaocha when she goes home. Her husband is completely useless. That's why I'm continuing to let her savor the pleasures between a man and a woman.'
On this day, Zhao Xiaocha and her husband came to the temple to fulfill their vow, offering incense and donations.
Her husband was all smiles, extremely happy.
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei said, "The two of you are very thoughtful."
Zhao Xiaocha gazed at Xu Lei with her beautiful eyes but ultimately said nothing.
She only chanted the Buddha's name once more before heading down the mountain with her husband.
After all, she had promised back then that she would not entangle herself with him afterward.
Besides, she couldn't possibly give up her secular life.
Xu Lei also said nothing, simply watching Zhao Xiaocha's departing figure.
He recalled the image of Zhao Xiaocha constantly crying out "Amitabha Buddha" in the room.
A sense of melancholy filled his heart.
But as a Zen Master Bu Zhong, he had to learn when to stop.
'Wu Tan, Wu Tan.'
Xu Lei shook his head and smiled. 'The Buddhist name I casually gave myself was truly fitting. As a Zen Master Bu Zhong, one must learn to control one's own greed.'
After that, time once again flowed by like water.
「A year later.」
During that year, the rumored visit from a Saint turned out to be nothing more than a groundless rumor.
The so-called Saint never arrived, and the Palace that had been built with such great effort now sat empty.
It all seemed rather ironic.
Of course, none of this had anything to do with Xu Lei.
The only thing he cared about was the number of children he had.
On this day, Xu Lei frowned slightly as he looked at the number of offspring displayed in the Ten Thousand Lives Book.
A year had passed.
And the number of his descendants was still 3.
Zhao Xiaocha had, of course, already given birth to her child.
But in the year that followed, not a single beautiful female Devotee suitable for Xu Lei's Charitable Giving had come to Longyuan Temple seeking a child.
After all, under normal circumstances, if a wife was infertile, her husband would simply take a concubine. The matter would be settled, and they wouldn't come to a temple to pray for a child.
Only when the husband's body was failing, or his "seed" was no good, would they come to a temple to ask for a child. Moreover, according to the rules of the Bu Zhong Hall, the woman also had to be beautiful for Xu Lei to be allowed to perform the Charitable Giving.
With such requirements, suitable targets were indeed few and far between.
Deciding he could no longer just wait for opportunities to fall into his lap, Xu Lei resolved to go down the mountain for a walk.
He hadn't been off the mountain for long when he happened to hear that an old acquaintance was in trouble.
It was the family of the very first married female Devotee to whom Xu Lei had given his Charitable Giving.