Talking about Buddhism

The next day arrived and Yun was wearing the clothes prepared for him while having a pouch with silver needles on the right side of his belt while a sword decorated the left side.

Zhen Luo was wearing the prepared clothes as well while having a whip attached to her belt just to intimidate some evildoers trying to take advantage of her while wearing a cheap veil that covers her face from under the eyes to her chin.

Yun was placing on Thunder the reigns so Thunder could pull the carriage while Shadow landed on the carriage sitting in the place Yun made for her on top of the carriage.

Dian Wei looked at Yun worried since he was his bodyguard and was going to be left behind. He would give himself the fault if something were to happen to Yun but his duty at the moment was to protect Madam Su and Yun's children.

Yun was holding his mother in his arms while kissing her forehead before he took Yang into his arms telling the boy that doesn't understand him yet that everything is going to be alright.

He handed Yang over to his sister before talking to his other children that do understand him while telling them to look after their younger brother and grandmother in his absence.

Yun then walked towards the carriage and boarded it taking the reigns in his hands when he looks back at his children before taking a deep breath to concentrate again.

"Are you alright?" asks Zhen Luo seeing Yun this conflicted.

"I will be," says Yun before Thunder begins to pull the carriage.

They leave Puyang and begin their travel which Yun estimated would take a month and a half since they are going all the way around to avoid Yuan Shao's influence.

They could go faster but it would only arouse suspicion upon them which could lead to danger and Yun wanted to avoid that at every cost since it would make him look like he killed Zhen Luo himself covering it up as an ambush planned by bandits.

They traveled through small villages in which Yun practiced medicine in exchange for food or a roof over their head which was ten times better than sleeping in the carriage since it was quite small for two people to sleep in.

They arrived at Luoyang after a week thanks to Thunder's speed which made Zhen Luo get nausea from since the cart would shake with every bump on the road.

The former capital was still recovering from what happened years ago and Zhen Luo looked at it feeling disappointed when Yun says, "Once it was a marble that you would never forget. Now it looks like a city without life."

"You were here before the days of the Coalition?" asks Zhen Luo as Yun nods.

"It was back in the days of the Yellow Turbans Rebellion. I came here to report that Lu Zhi didn't go against the Imperial Order as he was accused of and the heads of Zhang Jiao and Zhang Liang. They were two of the three leaders of the Rebellion," says Yun as they passed the old inn in which he and Diao Chan stayed back then.

The roof wasn't red any longer but black and half of it was still missing making it clear that the innkeeper must have left Luoyang a long time ago to find fortune in another place.

Zhen Luo looked at him curiously for more information when Yun sighs and says, "The city was brighter than any other city and the streets were filled with people making it difficult to walk. The Palace was radiant and had an aura which really represented the heaven."

Zhen Luo was getting satisfied by everything Yun was telling her when they come across a girl and a boy which seemed to be injured. She felt pity for them as did Yun but helping them wouldn't change their destiny in his eyes.

She got off the carriage and walked over before Yun could stop her as she walked over towards them. Once she was near enough she could see the dead eyes on their face.

They were like living dead Yun stopped the cart and approached Zhen Luo who was trying her best from what she learned from watching Yun perform his medical skills.

"It is a miracle that they are still alive," says Yun looking at them closer seeing their bones almost sticking out of their skin that's how skinny they are as their clothes seemed to weigh more than them going by the visuals he was seeing.

"Can't we do anything?" asks Zhen Luo seeing that the children seemed to be on the brink of death when Yun noticed a familiar woman walking towards them.

She is wearing black clothes and her skin is as pale as snow with black hair and eyes. She approached them and Yun know right away who she was as she pulls Zhen Luo away from the children and walks to the carriage dragging her behind him.

"What are you doing? We can still help them," says Zhen Luo thinking that Yun was heartless when Yun points at the woman that is approaching the children.

"They are already dead. She came to collect their soul," says Yun as Zhen Luo was confused as Yun was pointing at the air.

She couldn't see the woman unlike Yun who has the third-eye which allowed him to see her when Yun sees the woman touch the children before their bodies fall to the ground.

The woman then disappears and Zhen Luo sees the children have died right before her eyes when Yun says, "They are now in a better place in which they will be taken care of not like here where they had to fight to survive every single day."

"But at who were you pointing? There was nobody there," says Zhen Luo feeling a bit hopeless since the children she tried to save died in the end.

"It was the wife of my Godfather, Lorena," says Yun since Zhen Luo already found out about Shura by accident when she entered his office to report to him about Yang's healthy state to find a chess piece floating in mid-air before landing on the board perfectly.

"You might not be able to see her but once she touches you your fate is sealed and you will die when she demands it," says Yun explaining to Zhen Luo from who he just saved her.

"Is she a bad immortal?" asks Zhen Luo as Yun stopped for a moment.

"She isn't, but it is her duty to collect the souls of the living and take them to the realm which is foreseen for them before they get reincarnated again. She is known as the Goddess of Life and Death," says Yun as he moved again.

He helped Zhen Luo on the carriage before sitting down again and taking the reigns. Thunder begins to move again since they couldn't stay in Luoyang any longer.

"So she doesn't take pleasure from killing those children?" asks Zhen Luo looking affected by what happened even when she couldn't see Lorena.

"I don't think so. She wouldn't have given them life just so they would die young. From what I know she wants a mortal to live a long and fulfilled life before she collects them again," says Yun telling her what he had previously heard from Shura's butler, Alfred, by accident.

"But why couldn't I see her?" asks Zhen Luo confused when Yun sighs.

"The Immortals follow strict rules which my Godfather has to enforce. They aren't allowed to interact with mortals which makes Lorena's duty quite difficult. So she needs to be invisible to the mortals' eyes to perform her duty. Only those that are about to die can see her and feel her comfort. If she were to show herself to a mortal's eyes again my Godfather would have to punish her," says Yun explaining why Zhen Luo couldn't see her.

She was now confused because Yun could see her making her ask, "Are you dying?"

Yun looked at her surprised before Shadow moved from the roof of the carriage to Yun's shoulder. She spread her wings threatening Zhen Luo for wishing for Yun's death.

Yun stopped the eagle knowing that it was an innocent question from Zhen Luo and he asks, "How much do you know of Buddhism?"

Zhen Luo was confused by Yun's question since Buddhism was a recent religion that arrive in the Empire coming from the west which monks brought over.

"Not much, just that they worship someone named Buddha I think," says Zhen Luo not a Buddhist herself.

"You aren't completely wrong with that since Buddha holds the highest rank in Buddhism. A friend of my Godfather is one of the Gods under Buddha and he gifted me with the ability to be able to see what normal people can see. This should explain why I could see Lorena while you couldn't," says Yun explaining to Zhen Luo why he could see Lorena and she couldn't.

Zhen Luo now seemed interested in the topic of what Yun was thinking of Buddhism which Yun responded favorably to it since he became a participant thanks to Erlang Shen who opened his mind to not only follow his own religion which is Catholicism.

He believed in all the Gods since he met some of them and learned from them. But he didn't follow all of their rules but just those that he can compromise with.

Yun continued talking about Buddhism with Zhen Luo for two more hours before they made camp between Yewang and their next station which is Zhangzhi before traveling to the city of Huguan.

Zhen Luo was fascinated with how much Yun knew about Buddhism making her want to go from Confucianism to Buddhism but Yun stopped her telling her that it was alright to practice both since Buddhism was quite new in the Empire while Confucianism was recognized by everyone in the Empire.

Zhen Luo nods before asking how to pray in Buddhism and Yun went to his knees and pulled out a chain with black beads on it and a meditating Buddha hanging at the end.

Shura gifted them to him when he found out that Yun began to adopt other religions in his faith. It was a simple gift that Yun appreciated from Shura but he tried to keep it to himself to not stir panic in the Zhao household.

Yun began to pray following what Erlang Shen taught him before to clear his mind and find enlightenment while Zhen Luo tried to follow his guidance trying to connect with Yun who felt that Zhen Luo had problems following his speed because she couldn't keep her mind in blank.

He followed to her side and handed her his chain and told her to relax since it was her first time. She begins to relax as Yun guides her as did Erlang Shen before for him.

She got a hang of it as she seemed to fall into a trance while performing her prayers when Yun joined her.