Chapter 339: Spindle

Chapter 339: The Spindle

Lamentations echoed across the Temple of Buddhist Bones. Monks and pilgrims alike strove to rescue those buried beneath the rubble of the collapsed sanctuary.

More gathered of their own accord to clear the ruined shrine, frantically dragging from the debris the preserved bodies of flesh-and-blood bodhisattvas.

Amidst the panic-stricken crowd, no one paid any mind to a black spindle that had rolled into a corner against the wall.

Two blood-stained iron spikes reached down, pinching the forsaken spindle like a pair of chopsticks.

With a slight furrow of his brow, Li Huowang scrutinized the object Zhuge Yuan had previously bestowed upon him.

The spindle was fashioned from a yellowed old bone, thick at the ends and narrow in the middle, its surface etched with lines that suggested a considerable age.

Strands of pitch-black thread were wound tightly around it into a dense ball, making the artifact true to its name—resembling a hammerhead devoid of a handle.

"What is this thing?" The first question surfaced in Li Huowang’s mind, swiftly followed by a second. "Could there be some hidden danger lurking within it?"

Once again, he recalled the goodwill Zhuge Yuan had shown him. If Zhuge Yuan was indeed the one who had slain Facai, his strength must far exceed his own. Had he wished to harm him, Li Huowang would have possessed no power to retaliate.

Holding the bone spindle with his torturer’s spikes, Li Huowang sat upon a nearby step and began to untangle his thoughts from the very beginning. "Zhuge Yuan... Zhuge Yuan..."

"First, it is certain that Zhuge Yuan must hail from some other faction, given how that dead eunuch turned pale with terror upon hearing his name. Moreover, this faction must be formidable—at least stronger than the former Zhengde Temple and Anci Nunnery."

"The genesis of this affair arose from the struggle over the Mind-Muddy between three parties: the Society of Sitting-Forgetful, the Bureau of Heaven-Monitoring, and Zhuge Yuan. The final outcome is already clear. Zhuge Yuan killed Facai, bypassed Jixiang, and ultimately seized the Mind-Muddy, emerging as the victor of this incident."

Having spent so much time in this wretched place, Li Huowang understood the sheer weight of the Bureau of Heaven-Monitoring. For such an entity to harbor dread for Zhuge Yuan made it difficult for him to fathom just how powerful the man truly was.

And then there was Zhuge Yuan's capability. Though he dressed in the garb of a scholar, a mere scholar could hardly have disposed of Facai, one of the three foundational pillars of the Society of Sitting-Forgetful.

Li Huowang recalled the cryptic question Jixiang had previously posed to him.

"Allow me to ask you all: when you arrived at that Temple of Buddhist Bones, did you sense anything peculiar? Did anyone do something ridiculous, yet entirely reasonable?"

Those were his exact words, but Li Huowang could not comprehend them. What did it mean for something to be ridiculous yet entirely reasonable? What did it have to do with Zhuge Yuan, and why had it frightened the eunuch to such a degree?

Closing his eyes, Li Huowang replayed every occurrence at the Temple of Buddhist Bones in his mind. If anything could be called ridiculous yet entirely reasonable, it was Abbot Xinchid’s sudden accusation that he belonged to the Society of Sitting-Forgetful.

Xinchi might have been narrow-minded, but to strike at him while constantly under the threat of an ambush by the Society of Sitting-Forgetful seemed strange no matter how one looked at it.

Furthermore, when the imposter pretending to be Li Huowang appeared, Xinchi could easily have argued that this Li Huowang was an accomplice, and that the two Sitting-Forgetful were performing a double act.

Yet he had said nothing. Instead, like an impetuous youth, he offered not a shred of defense and simply let the matter drop.

Seated on the steps, Li Huowang parsed the details inch by inch, but the more he reflected, the more the suspicions multiplied.

"Is this Zhuge Yuan's ability? Can he alter a person’s actions without anyone noticing? What kind of divine power is this? Is it mind control?" Li Huowang guessed wildly.

"Wait. If he can control others, why didn't he use it on me before?"

If he truly possessed such a singular divine power and wished to achieve some purpose, there would have been absolutely no need to waste words; he could have simply controlled him to do his bidding.

"Unless..." Li Huowang’s pupils contracted slightly, his heart skipping a beat. "Unless he has no purpose at all."

At this thought, Li Huowang looked down at the spindle before him once more. "Then why on earth did he give me this? Could he be inherently kind? Did he see how pitiful I am and want to help me? How could that be! It defies logic! There are no such good people in this world! I don't believe it! He must have some other design on me!"

Just then, the hallucination of the monk walked over from the side, a peculiar expression on his face as he spoke, "Daoist, you cannot say that. Didn't I become a monk just to do good deeds? And wasn't Abbess Jingxin a good person?"

Hearing these words, Li Huowang stood rooted to the spot for a long time, thinking until his head throbbed, yet he could arrive at no conclusion.

He shook his head violently and let out a deep sigh. Long accustomed to malice, the current Li Huowang feared kindness far more.

He would have preferred it if Zhuge Yuan had simply attacked him outright like the others. Whether he lived or died in the end, at least he would not be as conflicted as he was now.

"Amitabha. Greetings, benefactor." Li Huowang looked up to see an old monk clad in a kasaya robe, standing before him with a countenance of boundless compassion.

"Benefactor, I know that great deeds require no regard for trifles, and I know the Bureau of Heaven-Monitoring harbors lofty ambitions. But I implore you, do not add to the slaughter. Because of your actions, five disciples of the Buddhist sect in this temple have already entered Nirvana." The old monk pressed his palms together and knelt before Li Huowang.

Looking at the nine ordination scars upon the monk's head, Li Huowang pushed himself up from his knees, turned, and walked toward the gates of the Temple of Buddhist Bones. "Another good person? Perhaps, but I still cannot bring myself to trust."

By the time he stepped out of the temple, Li Huowang had already decided upon his next course of action. "Rather than staying here and making wild guesses, it would be better to find a way to extract some answers from Jixiang. That old eunuch must know exactly where this Zhuge Yuan comes from!"

"Once I understand the man's origins, I can decide what to do with this spindle!"

Li Huowang looked down, wrapped the spindle securely inside the leather pouch he used for his torture implements, and swung himself onto his horse.

The iron-shod hooves rose and fell continuously, kicking up the mire from the ground before letting it drop back.

Cold rainwater lashed against the horse’s back and beat upon Li Huowang’s face.

Li Huowang glanced up at the gloomy sky overhead, then returned his gaze to the increasingly muddy dirt road before him.

He had come by carriage, and despite his lack of fear for rain, the sky had been entirely cloudless. Yet now that he was returning on horseback, the heavens seemed to have sprung a leak, pouring without a moment's pause.

It was already the dead of night, and given the downpour, he ought not to have been riding. But standing still to be drenched in such an environment was even worse; Li Huowang needed to find a place to shelter from the rain as quickly as possible.

When he spotted a banner bearing the character for "Station" swaying violently under the wash of the rain, Li Huowang's eyes brightened. Stepping onto the stirrup with his left foot, he dismounted in one fluid motion and burst inside.

The courier stations within the Great Liang Empire were establishments meant for the transmission of military intelligence and for the lodging, dining, and horse-changing of officials on the road.

When the station official, yawning heavily and carrying a lantern, opened the door, he was met with the token of the Bureau of Heaven-Monitoring thrust right into his face.

The half-asleep official instantly shuddered all over, completely startled awake.

Before long, the stable boy arose and led Li Huowang’s horse away, tending to it as though it were his own father.

The cook awoke as well, and every presentable dish the courier station could muster was brought up to Li Huowang’s guest room.