The golden light dispersed as streaks. An old man dressed in the uniform of the Hawkwolf Guard appeared on the Soaring Clouds terrace. He had a soaring, golden hawk embroidered on his chest. Its beak and talons were curved like hooks, their edge shining brightly; it was like a golden-feathered peng bird of legends.
Note: A peng bird is a legendary giant bird from Chinese mythology. It is sometimes translated into “roc”, but that’s inappropriate for this novel. Why? You’ll find out later.
Everyone shivered inside. There was a single set of those clothes in all of the Green province. He was the highest-ranking officer of the Hawkwolf Guard throughout the entire Green province—the Gold Hawk commander.
Across the thirty thousand kilometers of the Green province, the person who possessed the greatest status was obviously the lord of the Green province, the Fierce King of Chu. There were a few Soul Nascence cultivators and Daemon Kings, but there were only a handful who could stand on equal footing with the provincial lord. The Gold Hawk commander happened to be one of them.
The old man did not give off a special bearing. Apart from his clothes that were rather eye-catching, not a single part of him stood out. A gentle smile often stretched across his round face, which made him seem more like a rich man than the commander of an entire province. Moreover, he possessed a very business-related name—Jin Fugui.
Note: Jin means “gold”, which is a relatively common surname in China. “Fugui” basically means riches and honour.
He was born into a merchant’s family, and it was not some great merchant’s great clan, but a small merchant who dealt in regular business. His parents were educated enough to not give him a name like “Gousheng” or “Naowa”, but they were nowhere near educated enough to give him a name that befit his current identity.
Note: Names like “Gousheng” and “Naowa” are basically as unsophisticated as you can get. “Gousheng” means dog’s leftovers, while “Naowa” means useless child. I think I explained the reason why ancient Chinese people gave children vulgar and unsophisticated names in chapter 331. Quoting what I wrote there, “In ancient China, children were frequently given unsophisticated and vulgar names in hopes that they will live longer. They believed that the worse a child’s name was, the hardier they would be and the more likely they would survive to a greater age; this was due to the high infant mortality rate. This comes from local beliefs that when the judges of the dead come to collect souls (basically people die when their souls are collected), they don’t think it’s a name befitting of a human, so they skip the person.”
After all, a long, long time ago, no one would have imagined the chubby, bare-assed child would end up like this today. It basically made perfect sense for him to be called that based on the family he was born into, and they did not place the slightest unrealistic wish on him with his name. They only wanted him to be lucky enough to grow up and inherit the family business firmly and securely.
No one had expected the son of a measly merchant to step onto the path of cultivation one day and undergo the third heavenly tribulation in a single stroke, reaching his current heights. The name was unsophisticated, but it was still a proper name his parents bestowed upon him. He could not change it carelessly, so he just accepted it.
Gu Yanying waved with a smile. “Boss Jin, these clothes still suit you so much!”
“Girl, you’re saying something like that again to piss me off again!” Jin Fugui laughed before feigning a sigh. “The Hawkwolf Guard is fantastic, except for this set of clothes. It’s as tasteless as you can get. If you really have to talk unlucky, it’s all because of this character ‘gold’.” However, who knew how many people wished they could wear such “tasteless” clothes.
Note: Remember, Jin Fugui’s surname is “gold”, and he’s the Gold Hawk commander.
Gu Yanying suddenly became solemn, clasping her fist and lowering her head. “Greetings to commander Jin from subordinate Gu Yanying!”
Si Bao, Li Qingshan, Han Qiongzhi, and the many Hawkwolf guards below the Soaring Clouds terrace all clasped their fists and lowered their heads too. “Greetings, commander Jin!” The other cultivators who were not Hawkwolf guards all bowed politely.
Si Qing bowed. “Greetings from junior Si Qing, commander!”
Jin Fugui turned around, and his smile subsided slightly. He returned the gesture. “Greetings, your highness!” Although there was quite a large difference between their cultivations and identities, Si Qing was still a prince of Great Xia. He was still a subject of the imperial clan.
Jin Fugui studied the Soaring Dragon terrace that was an utter mess and patted a broken pillar gently. “I already know about what happened here. I will report this to the provincial lord and his majesty truthfully. I will neither exaggerate, nor will I try to hide any details.”
He was polite and respectful, but he remained completely straight-faced, worlds apart from the intimacy he showed Gu Yanying. Si Qing knew it was impossible for this person to cover up anything for him. He had known this right from the beginning. If he could refine the Asura Field, it would be nothing even if he lost the position of Marquis of Ruyi, but nothing had turned out as planned in the end. When he thought up to there, he jabbed his fingernails into his hand.
Holding back his deep regret and fury, he said calmly, “I will obviously bear all the consequences, but before this, there’s something I’d like to report to the commander.”
“What is it?”
“Although many things happened during the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures this time, I did not go completely without learning anything. I discovered that a demon was hiding among the Hawkwolf guards and actually made it to the position of Scarlet Hawk commander, even claiming the title of genius. If he isn’t eliminated soon, he’ll definitely become a great source of trouble in the future.”
“A demon! Who are you talking about?”
Jin Fugui’s smile vanished. A demon had infiltrated the Hawkwolf Guard—this was a sizable matter.
“It’s him, Li Qingshan!” Si Qing pointed out with his finger, like a spear wanting to pierce through Li Qingshan.
“Do you have any evidence?”
Jin Fugui had noticed Li Qingshan a long time ago. He was indeed worthy of his title of genius to possess such a great cultivation at such a young age. And earlier, when he first arrived, this child had lowered his head and bowed like everyone else, but he did not have much respect in his eyes. Even when Si Qing identified him as a demon, he remained extremely calm, even smiling slightly in disdain.
“I saw it with my own eyes, so how could it be false? Everyone below the Soaring Clouds terrace are witnesses, but they’re all good acquaintances of Li Qingshan, so they’ll probably cover for him. Making them tell the truth will take quite the trouble. How about this? Commander, please relieve him of his identity as a Hawkwolf guard, and I’ll immediately ‘inspect’ him. If he doesn’t have a demon heart within him, you can punish me however you like, commander!” Si Qing said viciously.
Clearly, this inspection would not be a gentle body check. Instead, he would dismember Li Qingshan and grind him into dust.
“There’s no need for all that trouble to find out whether he has a demon heart in him or not. Yanying, take a look and see whether he has a demon heart in him or not. He’s your subordinate, so if he is a demon, you can execute him personally!” Jin Fugui said to Gu Yanying suddenly.
Since Si Qing had already said something like that, he was absolutely confident. Although Li Qingshan remained very calm, someone who had been wrongly accused should not have been so calm.
Gu Yanying frowned. He had asked her to do this clearly so that she could personally distance herself from the blame. After all, she would basically be directly responsible as the White Hawk commander if a demon managed to infiltrate the ranks of her Scarlet Hawk commanders.
“Commander!” Han Qiongzhi could not help but speak up. Li Qingshan pulled her hand, expressing to her that she should not worry. “Commander, inspect away!”
Gu Yanying met Li Qingshan’s eyes again and said with her soul sense, “Just what are you thinking? Before boss Jin, you definitely can’t escape even if you expose your true form.”
Li Qingshan smiled. “Why would I want to escape? Come!”
This kid is still hiding another trump card up his sleeve!
Gu Yanying widened her eyes, and her pupils suddenly constricted, like a pair of eyes that belonged to a hawk. Her gaze became almost tangible, piercing through Li Qingshan’s body and sweeping up and down. She basically found the dark-red demon heart before long at all. She sighed and turned around, facing Jin Fugui. “Yes, there is indeed a demon heart!”
Si Qing smiled viciously, but Liu Zhangqing and the others waiting below the terrace all gasped with that.
Jin Fugui let out a sigh, but he also stopped worrying. Fortunately, she had not tried to protect him through lying. She would just be making herself vulnerable for nothing. It would be completely pointless. The cultivation community was not a place where the truth could be hidden so easily.
“Looks like he’s a demon who’s naturally skilled at hiding, even fooling me. Li Qingshan, you might not have done anything bad, but humans and demons cannot coexist. This is written in the very laws of Great Xia. No one can save you. You better end your life yourself!”
With that, Han Qiongzhi felt like lightning had just struck her, becoming sheet-white. There were a series of surprised cries from below the Soaring Dragon terrace.
Li Qingshan said to Jin Fugui, “Commander, just because someone possesses a demon heart, they’re a demon?”
Jin Fugui frowned. “Stop quibbling. If you’re a man, then accept death calmly!”
In everyone’s eyes, this was all a desperate attempt to survive after being caught in a hopeless situation. It seemed both powerless and pitiful.
Although Si Qing felt extremely depressed today, he still felt some delight in seeing a genius who had always caused trouble for him and opposed him meet his end. E Dan took a step forward, rubbing his hands as he smiled viciously. “If you won’t end your life yourself, I can help you out. Though, it won’t be so straightforward.”
“Amitābha. Some matters in the world just seem unresolved despite being already resolved, so wouldn’t it be better for them to just be left unresolved? In my opinion, those who possess demon hearts are not necessarily demons!”
A grand, vast voice boomed out from the horizon. Jin Fugui looked back, only to see that the voice originated from a figure the size of a mustard seed. The figure took a step and already grew to the size of a fist. With another step, he grew to the size of a child. When he took the final step, he had already made it onto the Soaring Clouds terrace. He was a large, plump monk in large, fluttering robes with his chest and belly showing.
He took three steps through the air, but he had already crossed several hundred kilometers. Originally, he possessed quite the bearing of an eminent monk, except he held the golden leg of a lamb in one hand and a great alcohol gourd in the other, completely destroying his image of an eminent monk of buddhism.
The Iddhi-vidhā, or the Divine Foot knowledge!
Si Qing remembered something. Buddhim had six abhijñā, or six types of knowledge or powers. Only Monk Kings that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation at the very least possessed the right to practise them. This move alone explained this person’s cultivation.
Note: Abhijñāis special knowledge or powers obtained through buddhist cultivation. There are a total of six of them, which are iddhi-vidhā, dibba-sota, ceto-pariya-ñā?a, pubbe-nivāsanussati, dibba-cakkhu, and āsavakkhaya, or translated literally from Chinese, the Divine Foot knowledge, the Heavenly Ear knowledge, the Mind of Others knowledge, the Past Lives knowledge, the Heavenly Eye knowledge, and the Elimination of Mental Defilements knowledge. Basically, iddhi-vidhā, or the Divine Foot knowledge, provides the ability of flight, transformation, and instant teleportation, which is what the Unraging monk used here.
He had begun gathering information about the Green province even before he came to the Green province, and he had mulled through everything he needed to know about every single third heavenly tribulation existence of the Green province. He could vaguely guess the identity and origins of this monk, except he did not know why he had suddenly rushed over. He felt rather uneasy inside. Was it because of Li Qingshan? But the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga should have been even more antagonistic towards demons!
“So it’s you, the monk who eats meat and drinks. I thought you were going to guard the back of Great Buddha mountain for the rest of your life. Why have you suddenly come out?” Jin Fugui asked jokingly.
There were only a handful of people with their cultivation in the entire Green province, so they all knew one another.
Although the Unraging monk had already remained behind Great Buddha mountain for an entire century, the Raging monk of the past was infamous. He had committed countless murders, a renowned disaster throughout the entire Green province. If he had not originated from the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga, the Hawkwolf Guard would have eliminated him a long time ago. There had been plenty of contact between them in the past.
The Unraging monk smiled. “I was originally reluctant to step into the secular world again, but unfortunately, I’ve become involved with a hint of bad karma. It’s stopping me from finding peace in my six senses, or sadindriya.”
Li Qingshan said, “Master, you’ve come too slowly. If you had come a little later, someone else would have ended me.”
The Unraging monk’s face changed, pointing at Li Qingshan with his index and middle finger while scolding. “Damned disciple, I keep my eye off you for a single day and you leave the mountain and make trouble. Why don’t you get over here and greet your master?”
Li Qingshan rolled his eyes, walked over, and brought his palms together, saying unenthusiastically, “Master, are you well?”
Everyone was taken aback, doubting their ears. They actually referred to one another as master and disciple.
Gu Yanying blinked her eyes, struggling to hold back her laughter.
Jin Fugui was taken aback. “Unraging, he’s your disciple?”
“He’s a damned disciple of mine, but if you have to, you can say that he’s my first disciple.”
The Unraging monk looked at Li Qingshan and nodded in satisfaction. He was already close to the second heavenly tribulation. He could not help but admit that when it came to cultivation, this disciple of his could leave any master satisfied.
“But he’s not a monk!” Jin Fugui exclaimed. Having been deemed as the first disciple, he would not be a regular disciple. Instead, he would inherit the Unraging monk’s legacy.
“A secular disciple! I’m not one right now, but I’ll definitely be one in the future!” Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. “Actually, I definitely won’t be one in the future either!”
Jin Fugui was left speechless for a moment. It was a petty matter, yet a colossal existence like the Chan Monastery of Deva-Nāga had suddenly become involved, and the one who stepped forward was even that bastard, the Unraging Monk. Suddenly, everything had become troublesome.
Si Qing said sunkenly, “Master, your disciple is a demon!”
The Unraging monk smiled. “I’ve already said that those who possess demon hearts are not necessarily demons. I said it so loudly. Sir, are you perhaps deaf?”
