The Eminent Monk Breaks His Vows

In 384 AD, a general of Former Qin captured Kucha. He got a 35-year-old eminent monk drunk, stripped off his kasaya, and locked him in a room with the 15-year-old princess of Kucha.

"How can an eminent monk fail to leave an heir?"

By the flickering candlelight, the princess clutched a pair of scissors, her eyes red with tears. Everyone waited for the spectacle of a monk breaking his vows.

But when they kicked the door open the next morning, the princess was chanting sutras, and the monk was gazing at the moon.

The general went mad. "What on earth happened between you two?"

The monk pressed his palms together. "This humble monk has left the secular world."

The general said, "Aren't monks men?"

The monk replied, "I am a man, but not that kind of man."

This is a story about an eminent monk forced to break his vows, a princess pursuing her master, and a general doing everything he can to help them along.

It is also a story about what it truly means to cultivate oneself.

And, above all, it's a story that will have you laughing one moment and crying the next.

"A vow may be broken, but a person must not die. In this life, I broke my vows just once. I have no regrets."

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.