Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Old Man Mu hid himself in the corner, staying quiet without prodding into the situation. He was powerless, it was totally dark, but he could hear everything. He was well aware that the Dragon King was in a disadvantageous position.
“Old Man Mu.”
Unexpectedly, the Dragon King called out for him. Old Man Mu gave a fairly hesitant response, feeling deeply concerned.
Upon hearing the call, Lü Mian was just about to locate the Dragon King by tracing the source of the sound and launch an attack when he stopped – the Dragon King was sly, so he should be more cautious than usual. He had a strong advantage in this fight, so there was no need for him to take needless risks.
Deng Yuanlei became more and more anxious as he stood at the door, wishing that he could go inside and kill the Dragon King himself.
“Have you ever heard of the story that one must sacrifice their body to verify the Dao?” Gu Shenwei asked. This was a constant knot in his heart, and he would be in no mood to fight as long as it wasn’t undone.
The reason why he was obsessed with this story was that it closely matched his method of practicing the Death Scripture.
There was a time when he and Lotus had been studying the Death Scripture together; however, their opinions on the right way of practicing it diverged widely when they reached the mid-to-late stage of their comprehension. Lotus focused on “killing enemies,” while he focused on “killing one’s self.” Though the two paths led to the same destination, ruthlessly killing the target in a single move as the final goal, their mentality and moves were completely different.
“Killing one’s self” sounded very similar to the idea of “sacrificing one’s body to verify the Dao.” Gu Shenwei had always deeply believed that his interpretation of the Death Scripture was the correct one, and this questionable and thin book seemed to have proven it.
Old Man Mu was numbed by the Dragon King’s question, and he hesitated for quite a while before giving his answer. “Of course I have. It’s a deceptive story.”
“Deceptive?”
“Haha, all Buddhist stories are deceptive.”
“Why’s that?”
“You know about the Convenient Method, right?”
Gu Shenwei nodded, but immediately realized that no one could see him. He quickly said, “I do.”
Confusion exacerbated Deng Yuanlei’s anxiety. Although this was a mausoleum full of treasures, he still felt depressed and wished that he would be able to leave as soon as possible. In his desperation, he called out, “Sect Leader?”
“Humm,” Lü Mian replied in a morbid tone, seemingly also pondering over the Dragon King’s question.
Deng Yuanlei didn’t dare prod again.
Realizing that there was no imminent danger, Old Man Mu gathered some courage and gave out two coughs. “Buddha says that mortals have different natures, so Buddhist knowledge shouldn’t be imparted in a single fixed way – it’s similar to the idea of teaching different students with different teaching methods, but in even more various approaches. There are many sects and schools, and sometimes they seem to have contradictory opinions. But as long as the method leads to the Buddhist Dao, it’s a good method and the most suitable method for you – this is called Convenient Method, and is named due to its convenience for both the learner and the teacher.”
“How is this deceptive?” Unexpectedly, this time it was Lü Mian who asked.
“This is surely deceptive,” Old Man Mu replied in an indisputable tone. “It’s because the monks believe that since their original intentions are favorable, it’s okay for them to be deceitful, and that’s why they also say ‘abandon the boat after disembarking,’ which means that one should abandon the boat once he gets ashore. But in fact, the boat is not real and it doesn’t exist. Buddha is concerned that people might hold grudges against him, so he foreshadows his own subtexts, which actually is saying ‘look, I guided you to the most perfect situation, so forget my previous deception; you wouldn’t have agreed to come if I didn’t do that.’”
“You’re indeed an evildoer,” Lü Mian sneered.
“Huh,” Old Man Mu snorted in derision. “I’m an evildoer? I’ve read more Buddhist scriptures than that you have heard of. Nine elder monks debated with me consecutively and three of them ended up splitting blood until they died. You tell me – am I good?”
“They must have either been killed or scared to death by you,” Deng Yuanlei shouted stauntly, refusing to believe Old Man Mu’s words as well.
Old Man Mu almost got carried away and walked out of the corner, but he restrained himself and instead replied, “You two are not even monks. Young and stupid, you don’t know shit! As universal as Buddhism is, there’s no Convenient Method that suits you. So just behave yourselves and practice the Qingcheng swordsmanship as you wait to be reincarnated into beasts.”
“Sect Leader, let me kill him.” Deng Yuanlei grew resentful at the taunting words.
“You were provoked so easily. Are you really a disciple of Qingcheng Sect?” Lü Mian reprimanded, and then he lowered his voice. “The Dragon King hasn’t talked yet even though this is his dilemma. What’s the hurry?”
Deng Yuanlei blushed slightly, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t subdue his anger. As he gripped his sword, he was so eager to make his move that he didn’t even notice the trembling of his wounded left leg.
“The original intention was kind, yet the tactic is deceptive?” Gu Shenwei came to a conclusion.
“You’re much smarter than those two, Dragon King.” Old Man Mu outwardly gave a compliment while actually thinking that he had explained it so clearly that anyone should have been able to understand it. “And it’s the same with ‘sacrificing the body to verify the Dao.’ As far as I’m concerned, it is indeed a lie. But a Buddhist monk will tell you that ‘piety will always be rewarded,’ and he will back it up with a lot of obscure reasons, like ‘formless me, formless thou, formless mortals, formless elders’ and ‘all forms formless,’ but they actually just want to confuse you to death.”
“All forms formless,” Gu Shenwei repeated, recalling that the palm technique he had learned from the monk, Lianqing, was called the “Formless Prajna Palm.”
“Ha.” Old Man Mu misunderstood the meaning behind the Dragon King’s words. “You see? This is the trap of the Convenient Method – now you feel confused and want to seek an answer, right? Then you’ll have to read Buddhist scriptures, consult a master, and kowtow to the Buddha, at which point you’ll be in ‘too deep.’ There was a time when a bunch of monks told me that I had roots of wisdom, yet I ignored them thoroughly and instead chose to hold onto my freedom – though the scenery on the opposite side is good, I enjoy the present side better, Ha-ha.”
Lü Mian snorted. “Are you done talking? You want to ‘sacrifice the body to verify the Dao’ and become a Buddha? Now is the time.”
“I’m done talking,” Gu Shenwei replied in a fairly hesitant voice. Old Man Mu had cleared up many of his questions – more than what Old Man Mu thought.
A string of footsteps echoed out from the corridor and Deng Yuanlei was startled, but then he realized that Han Fen was the only possible source of these footsteps.
Han Fen had indeed returned and with only one thing from the room of the Waning Moon Hall – a statue of the Master Commander about half a man’s height tall. She acted like she had found the most precious treasure in the world, hugging it tightly as she ran and laughed.
“Look, Dragon King! It is indeed the Master Commander.”
At the door of the book chamber, Han Fen suddenly stopped. “Why did you put out the lamps? Are you not afraid of ghosts? Why are you pointing your sword at me?”
A venomous look appeared in Deng Yuanlei’s eyes as he darkly explained, “Sect Leader is about to kill the Dragon King. You’d better stay outside.”
“Why do you want to kill the Dragon King?” Han Fen widened her eyes. “The Master Commander never said anything about killing the Dragon King. You are not behaving.”
Deng Yuanlei couldn’t hold it in any longer, “Master Commander this, Master Commander that; who told you that the Qingcheng Sect has to follow the orders of the Waning Moon Hall? You’ve always been so intimate with Dragon King, I can tell at first sight that you have no sense of loyalty or righteousness. I’ll kill you first.”
Deng Yuanlei stabbed out with his sword, and Han Fen twisted one arm around the wooden statue. Then without any signs, a puff of powder shot out from her sleeve.
Deng Yuanlei had been hit by the powder once already and learned his lesson, so he held his breath as he made his move. With a speed faster than that of Han Fen’s, he moved to her left side instantly and stabbed at her with the sword.
Han Fen’s kung fu skill was not very good, and the heavy statue only slowed her down further, so she was no match for the Qingcheng Sect swordsman. With a scream, she covered her wound with her left hand, but she still refused to loosen her right arm. She backed up several steps and leaned against the wall. In a tearful voice, she cried out, “Help me, Dragon King. I don’t want to die here.”
“Finish the job,” Lü Mian ordered in the darkness. He also had a grudge against Han Fen, and now that they had started fighting, it could only be finished through her death.
Deng Yuanlei had been waiting for this moment for a long time. The sword in his hand was like an uncontrollable venomous snake. It had just finished its probing attacks, and it had been longing to strike out with a lethal bite a long time ago.
At this moment, Dragon King’s voice wandered over, “You feel anxious and impetuous. Have you wondered why?”
Deng Yuanlei was shocked. He lowered his head and noticed his trembling wounded leg for the first time. Suddenly, his whole body started shaking, “What, what did you say?”
“Churning blood, quivering limbs, violent heartbeats, and finally dying from spitting up blood – Han Fen, what’s the name of this powder?” Gu Shenwei had walked to the position where the lamplight met the darkness, revealing a faint shadowy figure.
“I know,” Han Fen yelled happily, but this movement strained her wound. She coughed twice in pain then resumed talking. “The Boiling Blood Powder. Eek, why do you have that? That’s a poison.”
Deng Yuanlei wielded his sword, trying hard to control his trembling body, and sternly said, “I didn’t take it.”
“But you consumed the antidote to Indra Fragrance… let me think… Actually, you took it first. Sect Leader Lu took it after it was proved effective, so the poison is affecting you first.”
Gu Shenwei cleared up some confusion and also bought himself some time. When he had been knocking down those possibly fake books, he had suddenly understood that Lotus would never hand over the genuine antidote. Back when they wanted to please the Khan, Waning Moon Hall had to show complete obedience to him, but sycophancy was the secret art they were best at.
Deng Yuanlei had been standing under the lamplight this whole time. His restless behavior was just further proof of Gu Shenwei’s speculations.
Deng Yuanlei fixedly watched Dragon King’s faint figure, and then looked back at Han Fen who was sitting on the ground. Suddenly he screamed, “I don’t believe it!” and stabbed the sword at her.
Deng Yuanlei was five steps away from Han Fen while Gu Shenwei was ten steps away, and yet the saber was faster than the sword.
The body fell down with a thud. The last strike didn’t even register in Deng Yuanlei’s mind.
Han Fen lightly kicked at the body, her left hand still clamping down on her wound. She turned the statue around and let it face the Dragon King, and with both a painful frown and heartfelt delight on her face, she said, “Look, it’s the Master Commander.”
It was an unfinished wooden statue. The face was the only distinguishable part, and even that could be faintly identified as the face of a female. Yet, the intrinsic apathy resembled that of Lotus very much. The part beneath the neck was still rough trunk.
Gu Shenwei turned around slowly. The moment when he had killed Deng Yuanlei was also the moment when his defense was at its most vulnerable, but Lü Mian hadn’t made a move, and even now he wasn’t showing himself.
Old Man Mu made a detour and sneaked his way past the Dragon King into the corridor. Giving a sigh of relief, he saw the statue in Han Fen’s arms and softly said, “It bears a great resemblance to her.”
“Cooperating with the Waning Moon Hall was the biggest mistake in my life,” Lü Mian’s voice was calm and peaceful, not at all like that of someone suffering from poison. Yet he still refused to come out of the darkness.
“What did she promise you?” Gu Shenwei asked, just as calmly as Lu Mian.
“The Khan’s head.” LüMian bypassed the bookshelf and came out. “And the Death Scripture swordsmanship.”
Any swordsman would yearn for that unique swordsmanship after seeing it just once, but Gu Shenwei knew that Lotus would never impart that swordsmanship to other people – that was something that would only ever be jointly owned by her and the Dragon King.
“Very well. It happens to be the swordsmanship I’m about to perform anyway.”
“You don’t have a sword.”
“The Convenient Method’s a lie, and so are sabers and swords. As long as it reaches the other side of the river, it makes no difference whether you use a saber or a sword.”
Old Man Mu scratched his sideburns. “Dragon King, you misunderstood. That’s not what I meant. Actually, there is no ‘other side.’ Once you get on the boat, you’ll end up drifting across the sea of misery forever.”
Gu Shenwei didn’t answer. At this moment, he could only see the enemy.
The two made their moves at the same time. A saber and a sword – there was a difference between them from whichever perspective they were seen.
The two clashed at the same time.
