“You know that you are always welcome here,” said Ryōseki, “Please seat yourself at ease. . . . Well, I am sorry to tell you that Hagiwara Sama is dead.”
Yusai wonderingly exclaimed:—
“Yes, he is dead;—but how did you learn of it?”
The priest responded:—
“Hagiwara Sama was suffering from the results of an evil karma; and his attendant was a bad man. What happened to Hagiwara Sama was unavoidable;—his destiny had been determined from a time long before his last birth. It will be better for you not to let your mind be troubled by this event.”
Yusai said:—
“I have heard that a priest of pure life may gain power to see into the future for a hundred years; but truly this is the first time in my existence that I have had proof of such power. . . . Still, there is another matter about which I am very anxious. . . .”
“You mean,” interrupted Ryōseki, “the stealing of the holy mamori, the Kai-On-Nyōrai. But you must not give yourself any concern about
