### Chapter 4: Shattering the Aurous Body and Entering Reincarnation to Settle Previous Life's Debts - Ah? The Wives I Abandoned Turned Out to Be Real

### Chapter 4: Shattering the Aurous Body and Entering Reincarnation to Settle Previous Life's Debts After Fahai departed, he never sought you out again. Your days were filled with playing carefree with your little companions. However, on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, Su Donglai personally took you and your mother to Jinshan Temple to apologize in person. As you set foot in Jinshan Temple, the bell on the temple's rear mountain rang thrice on its own. Everyone heard it and speculated that something significant had happened in the temple. Even the monks from the front mountain hurried to the rear to see what was going on. It was then that Fahai appeared. He was very welcoming upon your arrival. Your father and mother proceeded to the Mahavira Hall to offer incense and apologize to Fahai for previous incidents, while you, full of curiosity, ran around the temple grounds, eventually wandering into the Sutra Library of Jinshan Temple. In the library, you perused many Buddhist scriptures, losing track of time until nightfall. Your parents and all the monks at the temple searched for you anxiously. Finally spotting you in the library, they breathed a sigh of relief. Upon returning home, the teachings of the Buddhist scriptures occupied your thoughts day and night as you contemplated their profound meanings. Noticing your sudden silence and vacant gaze, your mother feared you had been possessed at Jinshan Temple. Consequently, she sought the help of a Taoist priest named Qingfeng from the nearby Qingyun Temple to exorcise any evil spirits. Though Qingfeng was a rather inept Taoist priest, he had opened his spiritual eye and could perceive the yin and yang, communicating with spirits. Upon seeing you, his eyelids twitched uncontrollably. Behind you, he saw a three-zhang tall golden Arhat with half-closed eyes. But this Arhat was not majestically dignified; its gold paint was chipped, holding a chipped purple-gold alms bowl in its left hand and half of an immobile Wisdom King Mudra in the right. Qingfeng immediately realized you were an Arhat undergoing tribulation, having shattered your aurous body to enter reincarnation, aiming to resolve past life's karmic debts. Not wanting to entangle himself in Buddhist karma, he advised your mother that sending you to a temple to become a monk for ten years would restore your normalcy. The thought of you becoming a monk made your mother's vision go black, and she fainted on the spot. However, Su Donglai, your father, was more open-minded. The next day, he sought out Elder Fahai, wishing for you to take monastic vows, with the thought that after fulfilling your duties, you could return to secular life. Fahai was delighted by your presence. Through twists and turns, you inevitably became a disciple of Buddhism. After taking the vows, you became Fahai's disciple, stirring envy among monks across Jinshan Temple. In their eyes, becoming Fahai's disciple was akin to being the future abbot. However, you felt no particular value in this, as the study of Buddhist scriptures had transformed you into someone calm and detached, a stark contrast to your previously mischievous nature. Pleased with your progress, Fahai began teaching you Buddhist arts for exorcising demons. You mastered the Buddhist Lion’s Roar, Vajra Protective Body Divine Art, and the Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon Mudra. Time passed. By the time you turned eighteen, your comprehension of Buddhist doctrines surpassed many virtuous monks who had practiced for years. Your mastery of Buddhist arts reached perfection, and exorcising demons was no difficult task. On this day, your parents came to take you back to secular life. ... At this moment, you must choose: **Option 1:** Reject your parents' wish for you to return home, stay at Jinshan Temple, and devote yourself to studying Buddhism with the ambition to become a virtuous monk. **Option 2:** Leave the temple with your parents, grow your hair back, and study the Four Books and Five Classics to take the imperial examinations. **Option 3:** Kill Fahai, poison the 209 monks of Jinshan Temple, and fall into demonic ways. ... Without much thought, Su Mo chose the third option in the "Romance of Life" simulation. Years of studying Buddhist scriptures had become tedious, nearly lulling him to sleep—it was time for something thrilling. **You chose to kill Fahai and poison the 209 monks of Jinshan Temple.** You declined your parents' invitation to return home, staying instead at Jinshan Temple, which delighted Fahai but displeased the other monks. After your parents left, Fahai planned to pass on his teachings to you, wishing you to descend the mountain to exorcise demons and uphold righteousness. On screen, Fahai, clad in plain clothing and exuding dignity, solemnly handed you his sacred items. Observing this, Su Mo felt a sense of anticipation. Although Fahai was not inherently a bad monk... He had made his choice already—he was curious to see what would ensue. He would play the chaotic evil role this time. Next time, he planned to try a lawful good stance. It would only be fun this way. ... **You did not refuse, for without the protective artifacts, Fahai would be easier to kill.** **You obtained Jinshan Temple’s treasured item: "Golden Alms Bowl."** **Golden Alms Bowl: Gifted three years ago by the Tathagata Buddha to aid Fahai in exorcising demons, it perceives the mysteries of heaven, foresees past and future, and its golden light reveals and binds demonic entities, preventing their escape.** ... Reading about the bowl's ability to see future events gave Su Mo a shiver. Goodness. Given Fahai could foresee the future, he must be aware of the plan to kill him and poison all the monks of Jinshan Temple. If that were true, why pass on these teachings and items? Could Fahai have some hidden plan? He must exercise more caution next time. Otherwise, he would end up restarting the scenario. Having randomly entered the "Legend of the White Snake" storyline, he didn’t want to waste it. The simulation’s realism drew Su Mo in. He now felt a mix of anticipation and anxiety about how Fahai might respond next. ... **You obtained Jinshan Temple’s sacred item: "Holy Garment Kasaya."** **Holy Garment Kasaya: Impenetrable by weaponry, immune to fire and water, it can transform into various forms through magic.** ... **Now possessing two of Fahai’s three treasures, only the Azure Dragon Meditation Staff remains—a staff forged from eternal diamond iron, sensing demonic energies within a hundred-li radius, also symbolizing the abbot's position at Jinshan Temple.** **As you have not become the abbot, it is not bestowed upon you.** **On the night you obtained the treasures, you went to the nearby mountains to collect deadly herbs, preparing to cook porridge for everyone the next morning.** **Returning, you found Fahai waiting on your path.** **He couldn’t fathom why, as a reincarnated Arhat, your heart could harbor such malice. Initially, he couldn’t believe the alms bowl’s warnings, but the truth before him made disbelief impossible.** **Panicked, you tried to escape, but Fahai gave you no chance, reclaiming the alms bowl and kasaya and using the bowl to suppress you beneath a mountain, intending to imprison you for eternity!** **In despair, you struggled to flee, but the alms bowl’s power was too great, leaving no escape.** "Wow." Watching this, Su Mo realized he might have pushed things too far. Being suppressed by Buddha’s alms bowl... Who knows when he would be able to break free! (End of Chapter)