Immortal after a Hundred Reincarnations

She didn’t cry.

She was so overwhelmed by grief, the tears wouldn’t come.

She had three sons. The eldest had even started a family and had a child, but all of them were dead.

And now, even Zhi Shan, who had become a monk, was said to be gone.

The shock was too much for her to bear.

The monks at the temple quickly helped her inside.

She stayed in the temple for most of the day.

But Zhi Shan never returned.

Her heart filled with despair, she bid farewell to the monks and started down the mountain.

"Amitabha Buddha."

However, just a short while after the old woman had left the temple, before she had even reached the bottom of the mountain steps, Xu Lei caught up to her. "Ma’am, please wait a moment."

"Ah Shan!"

Seeing Xu Lei, the old woman rushed forward and grabbed his hands. "You’re alright?

Didn’t the monks at the temple say you perished in the earthquake?"

"Amitabha Buddha."

Xu Lei said, "Ma’am, I am not Zhi Shan.

I just happen to look very much like him.

Zhi Shan did indeed perish in the earthquake.

That day, I was with him and many others, rushing to save the refugees in their moment of crisis.

He saved many people.

But tragically, during another aftershock, he was killed in a secondary collapse.

This is what I pieced together from what the men from the Government Office who were part of the rescue efforts told me.

As for Zhi Shan’s body, it was never found.

But it’s highly probable that he is gone."

"What?"

The old woman stared in shock, her eyes filling with tears. "You’re not Ah Shan?

But how can you look so much like him?

So something really did happen to him?

He was always so kind, earnest, and righteous, even as a child.

But he never knew how to look after himself.

’I never thought... I never thought... Oh, Ah Shan, I should have never agreed to let you become a monk.

No, that’s not right. Even if he hadn’t become a monk, he might not have escaped the earthquake!

An earthquake... it’s fate. There’s no escaping it.

I thought that since Ah Shan was here at the temple, on the mountain, he might be spared.

I never imagined that foolish boy would still...’"

"Amitabha Buddha. Zhi Shan may not have been clever, but his meritorious deeds are worthy of respect."

Xu Lei said, "Ma’am, please accept my condolences.

Now that he is gone, if you would not be opposed, I can renounce my vows and return to secular life.

I can take on Zhi Shan’s identity and live in the secular world.

I will care for you in your old age in his stead and continue your family line.

Even if I am not of your blood.

At the very least, it would spare your family from the gossip and pitying stares of others in the secular world."

"Is this appropriate?"

The old woman was stunned. "Young Monk, you would renounce your vows for this? But... but..."

"Amitabha Buddha."

Xu Lei said, "It is no trouble. I was already planning to return to secular life.

Besides, my own family in the secular world has many descendants to continue the line.

One more or one less of me makes no difference to them."

「One day later.」

Xu Lei returned with the old woman to her home in the secular world.

The reason Xu Lei looked so much like Zhi Shan was, of course, because he had used a Human Skin Mask.

The Human Skin Mask couldn’t replicate just any face, but Zhi Shan’s facial structure was already somewhat similar to Xu Lei’s.

Thus, the transformation was possible.

However, even if his face was a match, he would surely be found out when living with the man’s closest kin.

That was something he couldn’t hide.

Therefore, Xu Lei had been completely honest with the old woman.

And, naturally, the old woman had agreed.

Even if he wasn’t her real son, having Xu Lei return home in Zhi Shan’s place to live was a blessing for her.

At least to outsiders, her family would still have a male heir to carry on the name.

But what about their relatives, neighbors, and others from the secular world who knew Zhi Shan? Would they see through the deception?

That, too, was easily solved.

They would simply say that Zhi Shan was injured in the earthquake, suffered a head injury, and lost some of his memories. That would settle the matter.

Since the face was a match and he had the old woman—his biological mother—to vouch for him, there shouldn’t be any problems.

There would be some differences in height, build, and so on.

But Zhi Shan had entered the monastery as a teenager and hadn’t been home in years.

It was perfectly normal for someone to change a bit after several years. No one could say otherwise.

This time, Xu Lei truly did intend to perform a good deed.

He couldn’t bear to see the mother of a hero like Zhi Shan, who had sacrificed himself saving others, left all alone in her old age.

At the same time, Xu Lei could use this identity as another "burrow for the crafty rabbit," so to speak—a chance to sire more offspring and add another layer of security for his future reincarnations.

As for the matter of renouncing his vows, Xu Lei’s status as "Hui Yuan" at Guangyuan Temple was not insignificant.

While his rank wasn’t as high as the True Monks, he still had the authority to handle matters such as an ordinary Monk’s request to return to secular life.

Issuing a certificate of laicization for "Zhi Shan" was a simple matter.

And what of Xu Lei’s identity as Hui Yuan? He would, of course, remain at Guangyuan Temple as Zen Master Bu Zhong.

The village wasn’t very far from Guangyuan Temple, after all.

Moreover, if he happened to encounter suitable female devotees in the secular world who wished to pray for a child...

...he could use the credibility of his secular identity to recommend they visit Guangyuan Temple to pray for a child.

This would make Zen Master Bu Zhong’s "business" much less passive than it had been in recent years.

He wouldn’t have to just wait idly by, as he had for the past three years without finding a single suitable candidate for his "Charitable Giving."

"Mother!"

Just as they stepped through the door, an eight or nine-year-old girl ran out and threw herself into the old woman’s arms. "You’re finally back!"

Though her clothes were simple, they couldn’t hide her natural beauty.

With her ruby lips, pearly teeth, and large, expressive eyes, she was incredibly cute and lively—already the spitting image of a future beauty.

She naturally noticed Xu Lei with his large, bald head, and cast a few curious glances his way.

"Call him Second Brother!"

The old woman pointed at Xu Lei and said to the little girl, "Have you forgotten?