Wandering Gods of Day and Night

Li Yutang started learning opera from a young age. Learning opera is hard work, and he had numerous hidden injuries.

Because of this, his family also worshiped the "Medicine King Bodhisattva," hoping this Bodhisattva would bring him more health.

He was originally a Buddhist disciple. Now, seeing Zhou Xuan’s compassionate appearance, naturally, besides being devout, he was still devout, thus prostrating towards Zhou Xuan like a believer.

Zhao Wuya was different. He really walked up like a street thug, with a gait that recognized no one, and approached Zhou Xuan, looking left and right.

While looking, he exclaimed, "Brother Xuan, your disguise as a beggar Buddha is great, this is simply the Great Buddha of my dreams."

The Jigong character Zhou Xuan was embodying now was the self Zhao Wuya dreamed of, with wild unrestrainedness hiding great compassion.

Zhou Xuan waved the broken fan in his hand, shooed away Zhao Wuya, and then said to Li Yutang, "So, Brother Li, does my beggar Buddha look the part?"

"Oh, how can this just look the part?" Li Yutang sincerely praised, "Young Master, to be honest with you, if you said you were an apparition of a temple deity, a Great Buddha descended to earth, I’d believe it."

As soon as Zhou Xuan spoke, the Jigong feeling dissipated a lot, and only then did Li Yutang break away from his devout faith.

He now admired Zhou Xuan even more.

"So, can you give my brother here some good training and guidance?"

"At first there was no method, but now, there is."

Li Yutang was truly a professional; he had been teaching apprentices opera for years and had a few tricks in training people.

Normally, he was quite proud, with his ideas about acting and artistry, he never listened to others—always going his own way.

Geniuses are often so arrogant.

But he was different in his approach to Zhou Xuan, never perfunctory. Before training Zhao Wuya, he would consult with Zhou Xuan.

"Young Master, let’s first align our thoughts, see if this is the way to go."

Li Yutang said to Zhou Xuan, "I think, to have Mr. Zhao portray this beggar Buddha well, mainly requires two points."

"Hmm, which two?" Zhou Xuan, quite appreciative of Li Yutang, replied, as he was meticulous in his work.

Li Yutang said, "The first point is to have Mr. Zhao’s behavior align with that of a beggar, whether it’s eating, drinking, living, traveling, dressing, it must resemble that style. Simply put, the more like a beggar, the better.

The second point is to have Mr. Zhao reveal some Zen insight, Zen philosophy, and Zen demeanor in the beggar’s speech and behavior—this is the finishing touch, with this, the image of the beggar Buddha comes to life."

Zhou Xuan nodded as he listened, but by the end, he turned to Li Yutang and said, "Brother Li, there’s still the most important point you haven’t mentioned."

"Young Master, please enlighten me." Li Yutang was utterly respectful of Zhou Xuan, showing extreme obedience.

Zhou Xuan pointed at Zhao Wuya and said, "You see, Ya Zi’s mouth is particularly incessant, which affects the image, so you need to train him to talk less, as little as possible."

"Less talking? But monks and Great Buddhas, spreading wisdom, need to be eloquent, if he speaks too little... isn’t it...

"Fear not, sometimes, less is more." Zhou Xuan placed a hand on Li Yutang’s shoulder and fell silent.

Li Yutang’s gaze initially appeared dull, but the more he observed Zhou Xuan’s silence, the clearer the Buddha’s compassion emerged.

He understood, and his mind became much clearer, his eyes brightened, and he quickly said with a smile, "Young Master, Little Yutang understands."

"Good, it’s good that you understand. The rest is for you to help with the training. Much appreciated."

After Zhou Xuan finished speaking, he said to Li Yutang again, "By the way, Brother Li, you’ve been learning opera since childhood, you have many hidden injuries, right?"

"Indeed, quite a few joints are not very dexterous, and when it rains, it feels like ants are crawling inside the bones, causing aches and pains."

Li Yutang said honestly.

Zhou Xuan continued, "Last time I sent quite a few precious mountain treasures and medicinal herbs to the Zhou Family’s Troupe. Didn’t Brother Li receive a few pieces?"

"Oh, those herbs of excellent quality were all stored by the Class Leader. As for the ones of moderate quality, being the sixth brother, I received a few pieces, decocted and consumed them, they had some effect, but not as good."

"Then in the next few days, tell the warehouse keeper to give you two pieces of Snow Mountain Palm Ginseng, I approve."

"Thank you, Young Master, thank you, Young Master."

Li Yutang beamed with joy, repeatedly bowing to Zhou Xuan, saying, "Young Master, shall I go prepare now? And then commence the training immediately?"

"What do you need to prepare?" Zhou Xuan asked.

"Oh, I’m going to the street to find a few real beggars, so Mr. Zhao can truly experience what it means to beg."

Li Yutang said.

Zhou Xuan stared at Li Yutang for a long time before finally speaking, "I didn’t expect you to be an experiential type? Your teaching of opera is quite authentic."

"It’s just a way to make a living, it must be meticulous."

After a few more polite exchanges, Li Yutang made his departure.

Just as he left, Zhao Wuya asked Zhou Xuan, "Brother Xuan, I still don’t quite understand why you want me to portray a high monk?"

"Of course, it’s for a great purpose."

Zhou Xuan said, "That Yanfuti, hiding in a space brimming with Buddha energy, I cannot find her, so I have only one way, which is to use Buddha energy to sense Buddha energy,

to create a strong resonance with the Buddha energy in that space, to shake and blast that space apart."