In response to Xu Lei's question, Qi De patiently explained, "There are indeed other disciples in the temple who are uninjured and able-bodied. But they aren't handsome enough. Junior Brother Wu Tan, the reason I sought you out is because you have refined features, strong brows, and bright eyes."
"Huh?"
Xu Lei was taken aback. "There's an appearance requirement for being this kind of Zen Master?"
"But of course."
Qi De said with a perfectly straight face, "A Zen Master is a Zen Master. We are performing the Charitable Giving of a child, not raping women or indulging in carnal pleasure.
There are many rules for the Charitable Giving of a child, and all must be strictly followed.
For instance, you must not let the female Devotee know that you are the one bestowing the child.
Also, a Zen Master Bu Zhong must never disturb the Devotee's life afterward.
And so on and so forth.
These rules all exist to better acquire merit from the Charitable Giving.
The appearance requirement is also on that list.
Of course, this doesn't mean you have to be strikingly handsome to be a provider.
If we encounter a case where the husband of the female Devotee seeking a child is sharp-featured and gaunt-cheeked, and the female Devotee herself is also plain,
then we cannot allow someone as handsome as you, Junior Brother, to perform the Charitable Giving!
After all, if the child is born and there's too great a discrepancy between their appearance and their parents', it will cause gossip.
If that leads to discord in the Devotee's home and ruins her life, then the sin will be ours."
"I see. Thank you for clearing up my confusion, Senior Brother. I have learned a great deal."
Xu Lei put his palms together. "You can rest assured, Senior Brother. In that case, I will accept this task!"
"Junior Brother, you have a deep understanding of Buddhist principles. Excellent, excellent."
Qi De nodded. "There is a Buddhist saying: 'Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda.'
The merit from Charitable Giving is no less significant.
And this is indeed a meritorious deed.
After all, there are always couples in this world who love each other dearly,
but simply cannot have a child.
Because of this, they might be subjected to gossip in their daily lives.
Or they might have a vast family fortune with no one to inherit it.
Or their elders might have no grandchildren to hold, leading them to complain and curse day after day.
It could even cause the couple to gradually drift apart and separate.
But if someone can help them conceive,
and give them an heir,
then it solves a major problem in their lives.
In truth, this is just 'borrowing a seed.'
Some common folk arrange this themselves with someone they know.
But that method has many drawbacks and is often improper.
If they're not careful, it can escalate into the wife and her lover having an affair and murdering the original husband.
Then the wife and her lover both end up in prison.
Such things are not uncommon.
Moreover, with that method, the child and others often know that the child is not biologically related.
Our existence is to ensure that affairs and the murder of husbands no longer happen.
Furthermore, we ensure that the child and everyone else believes the child is their own flesh and blood.
Only then is it a meritorious deed."
Xu Lei nodded.
'I'm reminded of some records from Earth's history,' he thought. 'In ancient times, science wasn't advanced. There was no such thing as in vitro fertilization. Sometimes, there really were no other options. Besides, this sort of thing has even appeared in movies on Earth, ones made by famous directors. That proves it's a real phenomenon. This Otherworld is more or less the same. It's just that now, I've become one of the people involved.'
「The following evening.」
As expected, the young female Devotee returned to Longyuan Temple.
This time, however, her husband did not accompany her.
After all, even though he knew full well what was happening, he had no desire to stay at the temple and "play the flute to liven things up."
Meanwhile, Xu Lei entered the room prepared for the Charitable Giving through a small door.
The female Devotee was already wearing a mask and sitting nervously on a small bed with her back to him.
According to what Qi De had said, the Zen Master Bu Zhong was not supposed to know the identity of the recipient.
Therefore, the female Devotee had entered the temple secretly.
Then, she was led to this waiting room by the staff of Bu Zhong Hall.
Of course, the temple still needed to know who was requesting the Charitable Giving; otherwise, they couldn't provide a "precise merit service" to the one seeking a child.
In this way,
neither the giver nor the recipient would know who the other was.
After their act of love,
they would go their separate ways and forget each other.
However, in practice, it was difficult to say that neither party could guess the other's identity.
For instance, Xu Lei had accidentally run into this female Devotee before. Because she was beautiful and had been pulling at her husband while crying, Xu Lei had remembered her distinctly.
Now, just by looking at her back, he knew it was definitely the young woman he had seen that day.
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei, now also wearing a mask, was the first to break the silence. Of course, he deliberately lowered his voice slightly, as this was also part of the rules.
The female Devotee was not supposed to be able to identify which Zen Master Bu Zhong it was based on his voice.
According to Qi De, sometimes two Zen Masters Bu Zhong were even required to perform the Charitable Giving together.
This would supposedly increase the chances of a successful conception.
In the end, not even the Zen Masters Bu Zhong themselves would know whose "seed" had been successfully planted.
Of course, at Longyuan Temple right now, according to Qi De, Xu Lei was the only one suitable to perform the Charitable Giving for this particular female Devotee.
After all, the others weren't good-looking enough.
Xu Lei had seen this female Devotee's husband that day.
He really did look like one of those "little fresh meat" celebrities from Earth—a pretty boy.
If a homely child were bestowed upon a man like that,
there would surely be problems after the child was born.
The female Devotee jumped in fright and immediately turned to look at Xu Lei.
"Greetings, Young Master," she then said softly.
She was a little surprised.
Although Xu Lei had disguised his voice,
and the timbre had changed,
his youth was still audible.
She had originally assumed the one coming to perform the Charitable Giving for her,
would be some middle-aged, fat monk.
She hadn't expected a Monk who sounded even younger than she was.
"There is no need for words."
Xu Lei said, "What happens tonight, once we leave this temple, will be unknown to heaven, earth, you, and me. It will all be like a dream, a phantom, a bubble's shadow, like wind scattering the smoke."
With that said,
Xu Lei stepped forward, reached out his hands, and slowly wrapped his arms around the female Devotee's waist from behind, pulling her soft, delicate body into his embrace.
The female Devotee's delicate frame trembled.