4 A Monk That Loves To Study

Baishi Shū was a straight-A student. He came top in all the subjects in his school, earning himself the respect of his peers. 

His success in his studies was not because he had learned the stuff in his former incarnation or because Japan's high school syllabus was easier. Instead, he attributed his accomplishment to the blessing of Dharma. 

With his newfound spiritual power, his dedication became even more resolute. He could concentrate more easily on his studies and thus, the efficiency of his learning improved greatly. 

However, that was not the sole reason. Once, when he was in class, he suddenly had an epiphany after combining the lesson he learned with the scriptures. The sudden realization did not merely cause the spiritual power within his body to skyrocket but also made him realize the importance of learning. 

Therefore, Baishi Shū made up his mind. From then onwards, he began to put every ounce of energy into studying. 

Truth to be told, he had long completed his high school syllabus. Right now, he was now working on some learning materials that his teacher helped him acquire from a university. 

Although he had learned most of them during his former incarnation, Baishi Shū found them pretty interesting and he always got something new when he looked back at them. After all, he was a pleasure seeker during his university days. He would not strive for excellence in his studies and often lingered at the borderline of passing or failing his examinations. Thus, it was really limited to what he had learned. 

However, things were different now. 

He finally found happiness in learning. Besides, he also had a deep sense of fulfillment when he indulged in the great ocean of knowledge. As for the reason he had to maintain his position as the top-scorer in each exam, it was because he wanted the Hibiya High School scholarship for himself. 

The first lesson of the morning ended when the bell rang. After summing up the last bit of the lesson, the teacher then exited the classroom. 

It was break time. The hush in the classroom ceased and a hubbub of voices that was only comparable with a market soon came to life. Every student was talking or having fun with each other, save for one person. Unperturbed by the noisy environment, Baishi Shū kept his head low as he immersed himself in the university-level biology book in his hand.

He especially liked Biology. As a neoteric as well as a former atheist, even if he became a novitiate, he did not forgo the attempt to explain supernatural occurrences such as spiritual power, demons, and evil spirits scientifically. He wanted to learn more and understand them instead of just going on with his training and dissipating them without doing anything. For this reason, Baishi Shū had approached and talked to several teachers and students in the school. 

It went without saying that their conversation often ended with the topic "do monks really have superpowers?". The only one that could continue the conversation with him was a female Biology teacher named Yohiko Nagayama. 

In order to paint a better picture for his teacher, Baishi Shū had even brought her to a paranormal event that happened around the school. Just as Baishi Shū thought that everything was going very well and that he finally found a bosom friend, the Biology teacher resigned. 

From that moment onward, Baishi Shū realized that he should not take everyone at face value. Someone who looked bold and liked to talk big did not necessarily mean that they could accept ghosts or demons appearing in front of them. Left with no other options, Baishi Shū gave up talking to his Biology teachers and turned to discuss with the old abbot instead. 

Every time Baishi Shū threw a question at the old abbot, he would answer it readily. Not only did he share his vast knowledge with Baishi Shū, but he also helped him to clear the skepticism in the latter's heart. In a sense, he was Baishi Shū's guide. 

"Baishi-san," a sweet, delicate voice chimed out, snapping Baishi Shū out of his book. 

He lifted his head to see a girl with a head of cascading jet-black hair standing next to his table. She had a pair of dewy eyes, and her cheeks were flushed pink. He turned his head slightly and saw another two girls observing them from afar. 

"Is there anything I can do to help, Takai-san?" Baishi Shū asked. 

His voice had a melodic edge to it. There seemed to be some kind of magic about his voice that would melt someone's heart. Even though he sported a shaved head, which gave him the vibe of a delinquent, his fair, impeccable appearance, and soothing voice made up for it. He was a heartthrob among the girls in his school.

His public persona was similar to Tang Sanzang from the great classical novel "Journey To The West", who made countless female evil spirits and even the ladies in the kingdom of women fall for him. 

"I made a mistake during the test, and I didn't understand what the teacher said either. So I wonder if Baishi-san could help me with the question," Marie Takai said, her cheeks red from embarrassment as she pulled out a notebook from her back. 

Baishi Shū took the notebook and studied it. There was a question written with beautiful handwriting on the page. 

"Sure, no problem," he answered. 

Baishi Shū found no reason not to help others, no matter if it was from the perspective of a student or a monk. He thought for a short beat and then began to write down several ways to solve the question succinctly. After that, he returned the book to Marie Takai. 

"Okay, it's done."

"Hmm? Huh?" 

The redness on Marie Takai's face faded in that instant. She gaped at the notebook in front of her, not knowing how to respond. 

'It shouldn't be like this!' She took the notebook back as she wept inwardly. 

According to her imagination, Baishi Shū should have whispered the method to solve the question step by step into her ear in his soothing voice while grabbing her hand to write down the correct answer in the notebook.

You could say that she was delusional, but reality should not be too far-fetched from her imagination. At the minimum, he should be using his mellow voice to teach her how to solve the question!

But no, none of that happened. After writing down the correct steps and answers, Baishi Shū turned his focus back on the book "Introduction to Life Science" in his hand. 

Teaching her step by step? No, Baishi Shū was not going to do that. He was not going to sacrifice his precious time for something like that. 

Imagine this. If every student came to him and he had to explain everything from A to Z, it would take him a lot of time. If that happened, he would have not enough time to do his own thing. As a young man who cherished his time, he would never allow that to happen. 

After he sent Marie Takai away, Baishi Shū continued to read the Biology book. Then, he thought inwardly, 'Is spiritual power a kind of energy? Where did it come from? If it comes from our body, then where is it stored? Is it in the cells or the so-called Dantian? Besides, what is the mechanism behind the power? How could we control it with our minds like how we maneuver our muscles to have the intended effect? Also, what is a soul made up of?' 

It was impossible to find all the answers to his questions from a single book. The level of human technology at present could not explain everything yet, so Baishi Shū was just thinking.

It was only when the bell rang that he forced himself out of his thoughts. He stuffed the book away and listened attentively to the teacher. Although he already knew all the things that were taught, it was always good to revise. Besides, there were some differences between the knowledge acquired from a textbook by self-studying compared to what was taught by the teacher. Often, their teacher would give them some knowledge that he could not find in the book.

Be that as it may, things often did not work out the way one wanted. 

Not long after the class started, a bespectacled middle-aged man knocked on the door and called Baishi Shū out. The moment the door was closed, a murmur quickly spread amongst the students. The middle-aged man was the dean of Hibiya High School, Mr. Hirao. Why would the dean call Baishi Shū out in the middle of the class? None of them, including the teacher on the podium, knew the reason. 

"Student Baishi, did you help a man named Hiroshi Nishimura to dissipate an evil spirit in his house at Arakawa City last night?" Dean Hirao asked sternly as they walked down the corridor.

"Yeah, I did." Baishi Shū nodded. 

Hibiya High School had recorded his novitiate identity in his profile, so it was unnecessary for him to hide anything from them. 

Monks in Japan enjoyed a rather high status and were well-respected. He did not face any difficulties from his peers and teacher. Instead, he received a lot of help from them. Therefore, in return, he had once helped Hibiya High School investigate and solve a paranormal threat before. So, when he heard Mr. Hirao's question, his gut feeling told him that something was wrong. 

"Did something happen to the house again?" 

'This is impossible. I remember very clearly that I exorcised the fire ghost…'

Mr. Hirao shook his head. 

"Nope, the house is fine. The problem is the owner. Hiroshi Nishimura was found dead. According to the autopsy report, it showed preliminary findings that he was killed at approximately midnight yesterday. Since you are the last person he met, an investigator from Arakawa is here to ask you something."