Chapter 2: Chen Deng Pays a Visit! A Monk?

  Lü Bu didn't stay in Lü's mansion for long, after all he couldn't live here. Lü Bu had Murong Ping lead a hundred elite soldiers to guard the mansion and then left with Xu Shu and Dian Wei back to Cao Cao's residence, the governor's mansion of Xuzhou.

  "Lord Hou! Magistrate Cao requests your presence for a moment. Messrs. Chen Ke and Chen Deng have arrived at the Governor's mansion."

  "Hmm, I see!" Lü Rui was practicing martial arts in the courtyard when Chen Gui and his son arrived at the Taishou Mansion. These two big foxes must have come to curry favor with Cao Cao and get something good for themselves!

  "See Uncle Zhong!"

  "Old Master Chen, Brother Yuan Long!"

  "Little Master Hou!" After Lü Rui entered the main hall and exchanged greetings with the three of them, they sat down in order of seniority. The servants brought tea and then left, leaving only Cao, Lü Rui, Chen Jiao, and Chen Deng in the room.

  "Governor Chen, Yuan Long, what brings you to the governor's mansion today?" Cao still had to win over Chen Gui, a renowned scholar from Xuzhou, because his own foundation in Xuzhou was still shallow and without the support of the Chen family, he would not be able to stand firm.

  "Sir, you're too kind. I've brought my son today to thank you for your kindness to the Chen family. Yuan Long becoming the governor of Guangling is also a glory to our ancestors." Chen Gui leaned on his cane and smiled at Cao Cao.

  Old fox, Chen Gui is really an old fox. He abandoned the official position of Xuzhou and stubbornly defended Guangling, becoming the King of Guangling. This made Cao's wife, who had always been against aristocratic families, unable to make a move. Others welcomed him with smiling faces, but you can't just beat people up! Guangling is an important stronghold in Xuzhou, controlling Jiangdong and overlooking Moling. With Guangling under control, Xuzhou would be in their grasp. The Chen family of Xuzhou still had some influence in Xuzhou.

  "Chen Gong, the Chen family is a prominent family in Xuzhou. Without Yuan Long's uprising in Guangling, how could our Prime Minister have obtained all of Xuzhou so easily? Our Prime Minister owes much to Yuan Long!"

  "Thank you, Sir Sikong, for your trust and support. I will definitely live up to your expectations, govern Guangling well, and defend Jiangdong!"

  "Good, Yuan Long is indeed a wise strategist of Xuzhou. With Yuan Long, Guangling can be safe and sound!" Cao stroked his beard and thought: Such an intelligent person has actually thought of the possibility that Sun Ce might launch a surprise attack on Xuzhou.

  "The old man has come today and there is one more thing to ask of Lord Cao, I hope Lord Cao will agree!"

  "Mr. Chen, please go ahead!"

  "I am old and worn out, having lived in Xuzhou for a long time, I am tired of it. Please, Sir Cao, allow me to take up a leisurely post in the court, so that I can spend my days playing Go with you and young Master Cao at your manor, enjoying my twilight years!"

  "Huh?" Cao narrowed his eyes. A famous scholar entering the court could be either good or bad. If he was another Kong Rong, wouldn't that be asking for trouble?

  "Cao Gong, Chen Gui is willing to donate half of the Chen family's wealth to support the Lord of Sima, please fulfill it!"

  Isn't it? Chen Gui actually used half of his family's wealth to support Cao? This is not in history! Butterfly effect? The Chen family wants to cling to the big tree of Widow Cao!

  "Mr. Chen misunderstood, I was just surprised that Mr. Chen didn't want to stay by his son's side. Since Mr. Chen is willing, I am delighted. Mr. Chen can follow me back to Xudu and live in the Prime Minister's mansion!" After all, they donated half of their family's wealth, so they should be treated well.

  "Thank you, Sir!"

  "Your Excellency, my father and I have prepared a grand gift for you, please accept it with a smile!"

  "Oh? Xuzhou is rich in goods and abundant in people, I wonder what precious items Yuan Long has to offer to our Lord?"

  "Come on in!"

  "Karlo has seen Lord Sikong!"

  Lü Rui was taken aback, and the monk, actually a monk? Or an ordained monk? Currently in China, monks have not been ordained, only their hair has been shaved off. Is this a Western monk? An ancient Indian monk? Can he speak Chinese?

  "What?" Cao saw a monk who was also very surprised, and this monk seemed different from the monks of the Great Han.

  "Your Excellency, this man is called Galodi, a monk from the Western Regions, a master of jing tong's magical arts! He has been in Xuzhou for ten years now."

  Look, this is the naked truth of bribery in ancient times. This is a Buddhist propagator, not an alchemist. Do you understand? Alas, Buddhism did not rise in China, and all monks were classified as alchemists!

  "Oh? Yuan Long truly understands Master Cai's heart, Master Cai will take this person into his household!"

  "Thank you, Lord Galadriel!"

  Gallagher? Actually, starting with this name is really a blasphemy to Buddhism. However, Buddhism, can't it be utilized? Lv Rui saw the monk suddenly having an idea, using religion to cripple Eastern Wu, isn't Sun Quan advocating for Buddhism?

  "Your Excellency, if there's nothing else, the old man and his son take their leave!" Chen Gui bowed his hands and saluted Cao.

  "Mr. Chen, you're too polite. Rui'er, see Mr. Chen and Yuan Long off for me!" Ah, Cao's wife, do you need to be so anxious? Now that you have this bald donkey, are you going to try it out? Be careful not to get yourself killed! Studying the art of seducing women is old Cao's favorite pastime... alas, everyone has their flaws.

  "Yes, Uncle Cao!" Old Cao's temper is rising, nobody wants to provoke him!

  Lü Rui and Chen Gui, father and son, left the main hall and arrived at the garden. Chen Gui smiled and said: "Young Master Hou, I have also prepared a gift for Master Hou, let Deng'er deliver it to Master Hou. I am old and need to return to my mansion!"

  "Thank you, Mr. Chen! Mr. Chen, slow down!" It's indeed a bribe for himself, heh heh, it must be something good!

  "Yuán Lóng, I'm waiting for you inside!" Seeing Chen Deng's empty hands, the gift must not be here, it should be in a side hall of the Taishou Mansion guarded by servants.

  "Yes, Chen Deng took the gift and went to Master Hou's room!"

  Soon, Chen Deng arrived at Lü Bu's quarters. "Greetings, Your Excellency!"

  "Please sit down, Yuan Long!"

  "Thank you, Lord Hou!"

  "What gift does Yuan Long have to give to His Excellency?" Chen Deng's gesture was certainly extraordinary, after all, he was a great family of Xuzhou!

  "Chen Deng knew that Lord Hou liked strange and unusual things, and also liked to raise brave warriors. Chen Deng specially sent four people to Lord Hou today, known as the 'Immortals!', these four people have extremely high martial arts skills, are good at defense, and their speed is as fast as a fine steed!"

  "What? There is such a strange person, Yuan Long quickly summoned him to see the Marquis." Upon hearing Chen Deng's introduction, Lü Rui was stunned. What kind of freak was this? Even with two thousand years of knowledge, Lü Rui had never heard of it!

  "Come on in!"

  Four bald monks entered Lü Rui's room, and the four looked exactly alike. Really? Another monk, four monks, or quadruplets who had taken vows? They were definitely not local monks. Did Chen Gui and his son have a fondness for monks? With so many monks under their command? Xu State was the Buddhist capital of Eastern Han, and the father-son duo wouldn't have a fondness for monk's sleeves, would they?

  "Yuán Lóng, what's this? Four monks? And Jing Tong again? Refining elixirs? I'm still young! No need for that! Besides, who knows if the refined elixir is poisonous or not, physical training is the best way!"

  "Your Excellency, these four Taoist priests are monks from the Western Regions. Their martial arts skills have a unique flair to them. Even if they were to face a fierce general who could take on ten thousand men, they would likely be at a loss for what to do!" Chen Deng chuckled and looked at Lü Rui.

  "Oh, is that really so?"

  "Bring it on, let me try them out! Right, go to the courtyard and try it out, it's too narrow here!" After that, Lü Rui and others came to the courtyard.

  Dian Wei and the four monks stood in front of the courtyard, Dian Wei looked at the four monks with disdain. The four monks were of medium build and average height. In Dian Wei's eyes, they were just like four green vegetables that could be easily taken care of with one or two moves. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking arrogant.

  "Lord Hou? Do you really want us four to engage in a martial arts competition with this General?" A monk stepped forward and asked.

  "Of course it's true! What's wrong? Test your martial arts!"

  "If we had thousands of troops, the four of us could take on a general without any problem. But since it's just one general, if the four of us gang up on him, he'll definitely lose in one move. It would be better for the general to have a one-on-one match with one of us, that way our martial arts skills will truly shine!"

  What? The four of you can take down Evil Coming with one move? You're bragging! Lü Rui smiled and said, "If the four of you can defeat Evil Coming with one move, I'll reward each of you with a gold brick!"

  "Thank you, Master Hou, for your gift!" The lead monk put his hands together and bowed to Lü Rui.

  "Alright, let's begin!" Lü Rui sat in the courtyard, eating a pear and watching Dian Wei and four monks.

  "Looking for death!" Dian Wei heard the monk's words and was also very angry, Lv Rui gave an order, and Dian Wei rushed up.

  A loud rumble, only to hear a loud rumble, the courtyard was filled with dust! Lü Rui was shocked and stunned, Dian Wei fell in the middle of the courtyard, four monks each wrapped around Dian Wei's limbs like snakes, Dian Wei was motionless on the ground like an overturned turtle!

  "Bastard!" Dian Wei's face turned red with rage as he strained every muscle in his body to try and break free, but failed.

  "Halt! One at a time!" Lü Rui saw that Dian Wei was like this, and immediately shouted for them to stop. These four monks were not bluffing.

  Four monks jumped back and released Tie Wei. Tie Wei stood up, dusted himself off, and shouted: "You ambushed me, that doesn't count! Come one by one!"

  A monk stepped forward, clasped his hands together and said: "General, please!"

  "You're killing me! Take this!" Dian Wei charged at the monk.

  With a swish, the monk grabbed Dian Wei again like a snake, but this time he was alone. Dian Wei let out a loud roar, grasped the monk with both hands, pulled him off his body and threw him away!

  "Evil comes, stop!" Dian Wei was furious, and not only did he throw the person out, but also gave him a powerful kick when the monk left his attack range!

  A loud crash, the monk was knocked down beside a large tree, and the big tree behind him was hit and split open. Lü Rui shook his head, unfortunately, one of the monks died.

  "Haha, what a waste!" Di Wei burst out laughing

  "General's strength is great!" The monk stood up from the dust with his hands together and smiled at Dian Wei.

  "What?" Lü Rui's pear fell from his hand, and the monk was hit by Dian Wei's heavy blow, but he didn't seem to be hurt. Dian Wei had clearly struck his spine! How could he not be hurt? Even a tiger would have its ribs shattered by Dian Wei!

  Dian Wei stared at the monk with an unbelievable gaze! "Enough, no need to compare, you come over here!"

  Four monks walked up to Lü Rui's front with their hands clasped together and said: "Greetings, Lord!"

  Lü Rui glanced at the four people, his eyes rolled around, and he said a sentence in Sanskrit: "YUJ."

  The four monks all showed surprised expressions. The lead monk stepped forward and said, "So young Master Hou also knows Sanskrit? Does he know the origin of our martial arts?"

  Lü Rui was reborn with an extremely high language talent, and since he liked ancient culture, he studied ancient Sanskrit, but only had a basic understanding, after all, the Silk Road is not smooth now.

  "You know a thing or two, are you Buddhists? What Buddhist teachings do you believe in?"

  The four people then explained the Buddhist teachings they believed in, and Lü Rui had a preliminary understanding. The Buddhist teachings they believed in were Mahayana Buddhism. And they were actually pioneers of the Yogacara school! The Yogacara school, as its name suggests, uses yoga to interpret Buddhist teachings, and this school was established and flourished in ancient India in the 4th century in Lü Rui's memory, while the Kushan Empire in India should be a period of struggle among various Buddhist doctrines.

  Haha, unexpectedly met a master of ancient Indian yoga, these four people can be bodyguards, their bones are probably all soft, not even afraid of Di Wei's heavy blow. With these four people, assassins don't have to be feared! One lock and it's done, even if it's Master Wang Yue himself, it's easy to deal with! The Three Kingdoms is an era where assassins roam freely, this needs to be careful, Cao Wei's Ming star, can't guarantee that one day won't encounter an assassin.

  "Alright, you four can stay in the mansion from now on, and I, the lord, will treat you very well!"

  "Thank you, Lord Hou!"

  Chen Deng sent the gift and chatted with Lü Rui for a few words before leaving.

  At night, Lü Bu was thinking about a problem on his bed: Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism? These three thoughts must be used well, how can Cao Wei unify as soon as possible, this is the current focus!