Chapter 43: Buddha

Chapter 43: Buddha

"He has attained Buddhahood." Hearing the abbot utter these words in a flat tone, Li Huowang felt an instant chill crawl down his spine.

He jerked his head up to look at the five colossal golden Buddhas surrounding him; figures that had just been solemn and majestic now seemed to have instantly swapped their countenances for something far more sinister.

Just as he was about to rise, Li Huowang glanced at the bright, sunlit sky beyond the door, then turned his gaze back to the abbot before him.

The old abbot remained exactly as before, seated with unwavering composure, devoid of joy or sorrow, as if those words had never passed his lips.

"Wait, don't scare yourself; it might not be what I'm thinking."

After pondering carefully for a moment, Li Huowang spoke up again, "Abbot, the Zhengde Temple and Danyangzi must have had some bad blood, right?"

"Indeed, he previously roamed about abducting and slaughtering people, causing utter chaos; I once dispatched the warrior monks of our temple's Bodhidharma Hall to apprehend him, yet he escaped time and again."

"If you can devise a way to eliminate this man, it shall be counted as a meritorious deed."

"Then may I ask, Master, how could such an unpardonable villain attain Buddhahood? How is it even possible for him to become a Buddha?"

"Amitabha, what he is now matters not what he was in essence; this old monk harbors the Buddha in his heart, and in my heart, he is the Buddha."

Hearing these words, Li Huowang felt a surge of irritation; this old monk refused to speak plainly, instead tossing riddles at him.

"Benefactor, Danyangzi has now merged into the vast cosmos; what I deem him to be is of no consequence, what matters is what you deem him to be, for whatever you believe him to be, that is what he is, after all, his karma now rests upon you, not upon this old monk."

Xinhui's voice remained as even and placid as ever, but this time Li Huowang grasped the meaning he was trying to convey.

"Are you saying Danyangzi has now turned into a formless mass, something that can shift and change according to people's thoughts? Something like Lord You?"

"Precisely."

"But why? How did he turn into that sort of monstrous thing? Those cultivation techniques for ascending to immortality were all made up by me, and with so many highly toxic ingredients, consuming them should have killed him outright!"

Li Huowang racked his brains but simply could not fathom the answer to this question.

"This old monk does not know."

Such a candid reply caught Li Huowang completely off guard. "You don't know?"

"This old monk is not the Buddha of the Future, unable to achieve omniscience and omnipotence; a monk does not speak falsehoods, not knowing simply means not knowing."

After reflecting for another moment, Li Huowang posed another crucial question.

"Abbot, is there any way to thoroughly eradicate Danyangzi? Since he is our common foe, leaving him in this lingering state is hardly a solution."

He had gone to great lengths and traveled all this way precisely to resolve this very issue.

No matter what Danyangzi had truly become, he had to eliminate him.

This time, Xinhui did not answer so quickly; instead, he pondered for a while before raising his right hand. "Come closer, I need to take another look."

Gazing at that pale, deeply wrinkled hand, Li Huowang hesitated.

"Benefactor Xuanyang, if you still suspect me of harboring ill intent, you should never have stepped through the temple gates in the first place."

After a moment's thought, Li Huowang pressed his forehead against the abbot's palm.

With a resonant hum, Li Huowang felt all the colors around him instantly intensify several times over, his entire body enveloped in a weightless, floating sensation.

This wondrous feeling came and went in a flash; when everything returned to normal, Li Huowang found himself inexplicably hollow inside.

He understood that, if nothing else, this old abbot certainly possessed some extraordinary Buddhist supernatural powers.

"Hmm... this matter is of grave importance, and this old monk must deliberate with the other elders on a course of action; stay at the temple for now, and I shall give you an answer tomorrow."

At the mention of staying behind, Li Huowang grew instantly tense. "I have friends waiting outside the temple; they will worry if I don't return."

Seeing Li Huowang refuse, the abbot's tone remained unhurried and calm.

"You are free to stay or leave; the Zhengde Temple opens at the hour of the Dragon tomorrow. Benefactor Xuanyang, please do not break your promise, for you know well that if this trouble is not eliminated, it will remain a great hidden peril for both you and the common people of the world."

As Li Huowang stepped out of the hall and stood in the sunlight, he glanced back inside to find the abbot had already turned around once more, resuming his chanting before the colossal golden Buddha.

Li Huowang looked up at the midday sun blazing overhead, then surveyed the tranquil and peaceful Buddhist temple around him; nothing about the scene suggested anything amiss.

Yet, just as Li Huowang turned and took a few steps away, the bald back of the chanting abbot's head began to writhe and squirm.

Moments later, the smooth skin beneath the Five Buddha Crown slowly split open, and a massive, fist-sized vertical eye emerged, staring fixedly at Li Huowang.

At that moment, the old abbot's chanting suddenly swelled in volume. "Form is not self... if it were self, form would not be subject to affliction and suffering. I wish for form to be thus... I do not wish for form to be thus... as one desires. Therefore, one should know..."

After winding his way through the labyrinthine paths of the temple, Li Huowang finally emerged at the bustling main gate thronged with pilgrims, feeling as though he had returned to the mortal realm.

Standing amidst the crowd, he glanced back at the alleyway he had just left. "Should I trust him?" Li Huowang felt a wave of hesitation.

"Hey! Daoist! I'm over here!" Hearing someone call out to him, Li Huowang turned to see the old beggar from the road not far away, waving at him excitedly.

"You came to the Zhengde Temple? And they actually took you in?"

The old beggar nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, the monk just said, taking pity on me, I could stay and work here in the temple."

"That's good, work hard here; it's certainly better than digging for wild vegetables and eating dead men's offerings out there. I have matters to attend to, so I'm off. By the way, I never asked your name."

"Just call me Monk, I like being called Monk. Come visit the temple when you have time."

"Heh, to use your Buddhist phrasing, let it be as fate decrees."

Bidding farewell to the old beggar, Li Huowang left the Zhengde Temple.

When he arrived at the pre-arranged inn, the others immediately swarmed around him; Li Huowang raised a hand to stop their questions and said, "I have a task for you all. Scatter and ask the locals about the Zhengde Temple."

Although his interactions with the monks today had seemed perfectly normal, he still intended to hear the locals' views on the temple before making any plans.

The others didn't ask any questions, simply nodding before turning and heading out of the inn.

As time ticked by and the sun set, the seven scattered members gradually returned, beginning to report their findings to Li Huowang.

"From what they say, the Zhengde Temple is the largest in the entire Western Capital, with the most flourishing incense and worship."

"I heard those monks are deeply devout and strictly observe the monastic precepts; last time a monk was caught secretly eating meat, they expelled him from the temple outright."

"I heard the Emperor from the palace also goes to that temple to worship the Buddha; if you're lucky and get a good spot, you can even see the Emperor!"

"What I gathered is pretty much the same. Senior Brother, why did you have us inquire about the Zhengde Temple?"

Li Huowang did not answer; he didn't want to tell them the terrifying possibility that Danyangzi might still exist, lest he cause them undue fear and anxiety.

He carefully mulled over their findings, but after turning it over in his mind, Li Huowang realized he had no grounds for refusal.

If he didn't trust these monks, he would have to face the "Buddha" Danyangzi entirely on his own, a choice that was undoubtedly courting death.

Having finally weighed the pros and cons, Li Huowang made up his mind to return to the Zhengde Temple tomorrow.