Lin Chong's Women's Cuju Team

Chapter 36 The Theory of Bodhisattva Reincarnation

Lin Chong was taken aback by Gao Can's inexplicable accusations. He hadn't expected that Gao Can was also after Pan Jinghe. His and Du Shiniang's original plan was for Pan Jinghe to fake disfigurement, then Lin Chong would openly redeem her from the brothel, and then Du Shiniang would recommend her as a member of the Song Dynasty women's football team, giving Pan Jinghe a completely new identity so that she could start a new life.

Seeing that her plan for Pan Jinghe was about to be ruined by Gao Can, Du Shiniang frowned and pondered for a moment. Soon, she came up with a way to deal with Gao Can.

So, Du Shiniang pulled the furious Gao Can down to sit at the table, poured him a cup of wine, and then blinked her almond-shaped eyes at him, saying, "Lord Gao, I don't think you really want Pan Jinghe, do you? It's just because you didn't succeed in coveting Instructor Lin's deceased wife before, so now you want to compete with him for Pan Jinghe. Then where do you put Shiniang?"

Gao Can tilted his head back and drank the wine Du Shiniang poured for him, then his eyes gleamed with excitement. He embraced Du Shiniang and said, "Shiniang, you look so much like Wang Zhixuan, it's just a pity you're not her! She would rather jump off a three-story pavilion to commit suicide than let me kiss her. However, I know perfectly well that you are more intelligent and braver than Wang Zhixuan, and I fell in love with you at first sight. As for Pan Jinghe, she is just..."

"What is Pan Jinghe to you?" Du Shiniang noticed Gao Can's shifty eyes and guessed he was a bit drunk. She deliberately wanted to test his resolve regarding Pan Jinghe. If it was just to spite Lin Chong, she could have Lin Chong declare his dislike for Pan Jinghe, thus voluntarily giving her to Gao Can. Du Shiniang could then use jealousy as a pretext to force Gao Can to give up Pan Jinghe.

Unexpectedly, Gao Can sighed softly, turned his head and stared at Du Shiniang's eyes as if he were drunk, and said, "Pan Jinghe only knows how to dance the Cuju dance. That thing is all show and no substance. When she actually goes to the Cuju field to compete against the Jin women, I estimate that she will definitely make a fool of herself."

"It turns out that Shi Niang was just overthinking things! Lord Gao was actually concerned about the football match between our Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty, not because he was attracted to Pan Jinghe's beauty and wanted to take her into his household." Du Shi Niang put her arms around Gao Can's neck and said to him with a sly look in her eyes.

"Of course, I'm not after Pan Jinghe's beauty; I just wanted to tease that hypocrite Lin Chong! But if my godfather finds out that Pan Jinghe lied to him and secretly came to Zixiang Pavilion to become a member of the Song Dynasty's women's Cuju team, I can't guarantee he won't get angry and then ruin your place, Shi Niang." Gao Can's throat moved slightly, and he slowly exhaled a breath of wine, half-closing his eyes as he spoke to Du Shiniang.

At this moment, Zou Xiaoyan finally settled Chai Nianci, Lu Zhichen, Wu Song, and the others, and hurriedly arrived at Du Shiniang's room. Today, she was wearing a pink ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), a rose-shaped hairpin, and a pair of peony-patterned jade earrings, making her appear both charming and skilled. Gao Jian, upon seeing Zou Xiaoyan, couldn't help but show a delighted expression. He gently pushed Du Shiniang aside and called out loudly to Zou Xiaoyan, "Little Swallow, you've finally arrived! I've missed you so much!"

Seeing that Zou Xiaoyan had finally come to her rescue, Du Shiniang seized the opportunity to get up and sneak away. Lin Chong gave Zou Xiaoyan a wink, and she immediately rushed forward and threw herself into Gao Can's arms, pouring him more wine. Gao Can, unaware of the potency of the strong frost wine, was finally half-coaxed and half-tricked into getting drunk by Zou Xiaoyan, and fell asleep in her arms with his head turned to one side.

So Lin Chong and Zou Xiaoyan quickly carried Gao Can to Du Shiniang's bed. Zou Xiaoyan then said to Lin Chong, "Instructor Lin, go and tell Gao Can's attendant, Lu Minggu, that his master will not be returning to the mansion tonight and will be staying overnight at Zixiang Pavilion."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chong's expression darkened, and he asked Zou Xiaoyan with a hint of doubt, "Madam Zou, you left Gao Can in Du Shiniang's room and deliberately spread the news that he stayed overnight at Zixiang Pavilion. Aren't you afraid that General Zhenyuan's secret guards will find out and harm Gao Can?"

Upon hearing this, Zou Xiaoyan's lips curled into a wicked smile. She said to Lin Chong, "Isn't Shi Niang trying to win over Gao Can? This is a good opportunity. I've heard Wu Song say that most people will be drunk for half a day after drinking three cups of this strong frost wine. Gao Yanei drank more than three cups just now, didn't he? He'll probably be lucky to wake up by noon tomorrow. As for General Zhenyuan, we'll explain to him later."

Lin Chong was well aware of the potency of the strong frost wine; otherwise, he wouldn't have brought it specifically to help Du Shiniang out of her predicament. However, he knew that Zhou Chengquan had sent secret guards to watch Du Shiniang day and night and would absolutely not allow Gao Can to do anything out of line to her. He was afraid that Zhou Chengquan would come in a fit of anger and chop off Gao Can's head, so he decided to go and explain the situation to Zhou Chengquan's secret guards as soon as possible.

Before Zou Xiaoyan brought Chai Nianci and the others back to Zixiang Pavilion, Yang Bingnan had already sent a message to Du Shiniang via carrier pigeon. Therefore, after leaving her room, Du Shiniang greeted Xu Gui, the head steward of Zixiang Pavilion, who was standing outside the door: "Head Steward Xu, do you know which room Master Wuyuan has been arranged in? I need to go and see her now."

"Your Highness, Master Wuyuan, the great monk, and the tiger-slaying hero have all been arranged by me to stay in the west wing of the north pavilion. The guards and maids of Zixiang Pavilion generally don't go there, so it's relatively secluded and safe." Xu Gui bowed and answered Du Shiniang's question in a low voice, then led her directly to the north pavilion before turning around to attend to other matters.

Du Shiniang lingered outside Chai Nianci's door for a while. Through the crack in the door, she heard a gentle female voice softly chanting Buddhist scriptures. Instantly, she felt her agitation from the Advisor's earlier actions subside, and her mind and body became as calm as if she had bathed in a clear spring. Only when she could no longer hear the chanting did Du Shiniang gently knock on the door, calling out, "Master Wuyuan, please open the door. It's me, Du Shiniang."

However, it wasn't Chai Nianci who opened the door for Du Shiniang, but a fat monk with thick eyebrows and big eyes. Du Shiniang guessed that this person must be Lu Zhichen, so she greeted him after entering the door, saying, "Master Zhichen, so you're here with Master Wuyuan too."

"So you're Du Shiniang from Zixiang Pavilion?" Lu Zhichen said in a rough voice, looking Du Shiniang up and down. "I think you're just average-looking, not as pretty as my junior sister. Only Lin Chong has such poor taste that he was bewitched by you."

Faced with Lu Zhichen's questioning, Du Shiniang felt a little annoyed. What right did this big monk have to talk about her and Lin Chong's affairs? She hadn't even questioned why he was alone in a room with Zi Nianci.

Just as Du Shiniang was about to scold Lu Zhichen, she heard Chai Nianci say to Lu Zhichen, "Senior brother, you weren't concentrating when you were chanting the sutras, and now you're creating bad karma with your words. I think you'd better apologize to Du Shiniang quickly." As Chai Nianci spoke, she approached Du Shiniang, put her hands together, and said to her, "Amitabha! I, Wuyuan, apologize to Shiniang on behalf of my senior brother."

“Master Wuyuan, Master Zhichen was just being blunt, and Shi Niang didn’t take it to heart. I came here to have a private talk with you,” Du Shiniang said gently to Chai Nianci, her eyes full of sincerity.

Seeing this, Chai Nianci quickly turned to Lu Zhichen and said, "Senior brother, Du Shiniang and I have something to say. Please go outside and have someone prepare some vegetarian dishes for us. Also, please close the door behind you."

Lu Zhichen pursed his lips and said somewhat reluctantly, "I don't eat any vegetarian dishes. I've already made plans to drink and eat meat with Wu Song and Lin Chong later." After saying this, he said gruffly to Du Shiniang, "I was just being blunt, Shiniang, please don't take offense! But I'm warning you, don't make a move on my junior sister. She's only here to take refuge. Don't try to trick her into doing anything shady for you."

Du Shiniang quickly assured Lu Zhichen, "Master, please rest assured! Shiniang would never deceive Master Wuyuan. Besides, my Zixiang Pavilion never does anything dirty like forcing good people into prostitution. You are welcome to stay here as long as you like."

"Du Shiniang, have you thought this through? If you want me to stay here, you'll have to treat Wu Song and me to the best wine and meat every day. But we're not pushovers either; we'll do our best to help you if you need anything in the future," Lu Zhichen said to Du Shiniang in a serious tone.

Du Shiniang was stunned by Lu Zhichen's straightforwardness and generosity, and quickly replied, "Of course! As long as you stay in my Zixiang Pavilion, I will treat you to the best wine and food. You are Lin Chong's brothers, so you are also my friends, Du Shiniang."

Lu Zhichen laughed a few times and left, making sure to close the door behind him as he went out.

Seeing that Lu Zhichen, this formidable figure, had finally left, Du Shiniang walked up to Chai Nianci, wanting to get a good look at the "Buddha's Crown Bead" that Yang Bingnan had mentioned. Unexpectedly, Chai Nianci was twirling the prayer beads in her hand, her gaze fixed intently on Du Shiniang's face. After a moment, she suddenly bowed deeply to Du Shiniang and respectfully said, "Sister Du, you are truly the reincarnation of Guanyin Bodhisattva! I bow to you here without complaint, Amitabha!"

Du Shiniang was astonished to see that Chai Nianci regarded her as the reincarnation of Guanyin Bodhisattva. She asked in confusion, "Master Wuyuan, why do you say that I am the reincarnation of Guanyin Bodhisattva? However, I am indeed a reincarnation. I died unjustly in my previous life, so in this life I want to fight for myself and all the unfortunate women in the world!"

"Just by looking at Sister Du's face, I knew you were no ordinary person. And after hearing Sister Zou say that you saved her and other women from dire straits, I said you were the reincarnation of Guanyin Bodhisattva. After hearing your bold words just now, I am even more convinced that you are a divine being." Chai Nianci blinked and slowly expressed her admiration for Du Shiniang.

Du Shiniang was delighted to hear this. She pondered for a moment and thought that since Chai Nianci admired her so much and regarded her as an immortal, it shouldn't be difficult to persuade her to join her women's Cuju team. However, she was afraid that the girl would still be fixated on the matter of avoiding marriage. Therefore, she would need to guide her step by step to let go of her obsession and resentment before she could win her over and make her work for her.