Chapter 49: Xinsu

Chapter 49: The Pure Heart

Clack, clack, clack, the black donkey's hooves struck the hardened road in a steady rhythm, ringing out with crisp, clear notes.

The others, their faces etched with lingering panic, jogged alongside the donkey cart in a hurried trot.

As they walked, they cast anxious glances over their shoulders from time to time, as if dreading some unseen horror closing in from behind.

"Senior Brother Li, why are we in such a rush to leave the pass?" Gouwa asked, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

"If Zhengde Temple has stood in the bustling market for so long, thriving amidst such a clamor of voices, why do you think we must leave the pass?" Li Huowang's expression was grim, dark as a gathering storm.

Hearing Li Huowang's retort, Xiaoman, covered head to toe in black fur, spoke up: "The very fact that Zhengde Temple shares the same city as the Imperial Palace and has coexisted in peace for so long speaks volumes. Whether the rulers of Xijing are complicit in their corruption or have been thoroughly infiltrated, the local authorities here cannot be trusted."

Li Huowang nodded in agreement.

It was one thing for an ordinary man like him to be deceived, but to believe that the entire ruling class of such a vast nation had been fooled was something he would deny to his dying breath; they were surely entangled in some sordid, shadowy dealings.

"Besides, we've stayed in this place long enough, and we've passed on all our last words to Zhao Wu. Our next step was always to head out of the pass anyway."

With a rustling sound, Li Huowang spread a map across the bed of the donkey cart.

A map unobtainable anywhere else had finally been found in Xijing, even if its lines remained exceedingly crude.

Li Huowang's fingertip traced slowly across the parchment, charting the course for their journey ahead.

Spanning the three realms of Siqi, Houshu, and Qingqiu, their ultimate destination was Bai Lingmiao's homeland, the State of Liang.

"Yes, let's go to my home. We don't have monks as terrifying as these; the monks in our lands are all very kind and gentle."

Hearing Bai Lingmiao's words, Li Huowang raised his head to glance at her before turning his gaze back to the map.

To be perfectly honest, he trusted no one now; he could not discern whether the monks in Bai Lingmiao's tales were truly benevolent, or if they were merely another layer of illusion.

A group of ordinary mortals like themselves was far too vulnerable when pitted against such unfathomable and enigmatic beings.

And so they walked on, trudging until the sky bruised into twilight, and only halting to rest when their legs utterly refused to take another step.

Staring at the campfire before him, Li Huowang felt a gnawing anxiety; their pace was simply too slow.

Truth be told, he was not short of silver now; if push came to shove, he could pawn that jade pendant, which should be enough to secure a horse for each of them.

The problem was, not a single soul among them knew the first thing about riding.

"We can't keep traveling like this, and we must avoid the main roads. It's far too easy to be tracked. As soon as we finish eating, we'll plunge into the woods."

"Senior Brother Li, here are your noodles. We have a long journey ahead, so I added plenty of lard to keep your hunger at bay."

A steaming bowl of noodles was placed before Li Huowang, with tiny morsels of minced meat bobbing up and down in the rich broth.

Sitting quietly beside him, watching Li Huowang devour the noodles in great, hungry mouthfuls, Bai Lingmiao rested her chin on her knees and said, "Since the monks of Zhengde Temple are no good, what will you do about your troubles, Senior Brother Li? Must it be monks? What about nuns?"

Swallowing the noodles in his mouth with a heavy gulp, Li Huowang lifted the bowl, blew gently on the surface, and slurped a large mouthful of the savory broth.

"It's fine, just a minor nuisance. Compared to those monks hunting us down, these matters can hardly be called troubles at all."

Since the monks had deceived him, every word they had ever spoken now bore the heavy weight of doubt.

Perhaps they were utterly incapable of dealing with Danyangzi, or perhaps Danyangzi was not at all what they had made him out to be.

The Danyangzi who might or might not exist could very well be set aside and dealt with at a later time.

"Is the portion too small? If it's not enough, I can ladle you some more. There's plenty left in the pot."

Li Huowang shook his head, handed the bowl to Bai Lingmiao, and stood up to walk over to the fool, rising on his tiptoes to pat the man's large, bald head. "Come on, stop eating. Come with me into the woods to relieve ourselves."

"Oh..."

In the small grove, Li Huowang and the towering simpleton stood side by side, fertilizing the saplings before them.

Turning his head first to cast a sidelong glance at the campfire behind them, Li Huowang murmured low instructions to the giant.

As nightfall descended, the gates of Zhengde Temple began to close for the evening.

The monks filed in one after another for their evening prayers, and the entire temple resonated with the rhythmic, undulating chants of sutras.

Jian Dun walked through the temple at a measured, unhurried pace, his right hand turning a string of prayer beads in front while his left hand remained clenched in a fist behind his back.

Soon he arrived at the Hall of the Five Buddhas, where he saw the Abbot seated inside, wholly absorbed in stringing prayer beads.

"Abbot, I went to check just now and found that Benefactor Xuanyang has departed."

Seated cross-legged on a rush cushion, Abbot Xinhui lifted the prayer beads from the water, holding them suspended in the air for inspection.

After a long moment, he set the wet beads down on the floor and reached into a nearby cradle to lift an infant.

"Alas, poor little thing. If we hadn't found you in time, your own father would have drowned you," he murmured, gently rocking and soothing the baby girl in his arms.

"Abbot, Benefactor Xuanyang has departed."

"This old monk is not deaf yet; there is no need to speak so loudly. Mind you don't wake the child. Strike the wood."

Clack, clack, clack, clack—the rhythmic beating of the wooden fish echoed all around, lending a solemn gravity to the Hall of the Five Buddhas.

Xinhui carefully laid the child upon the floor and, with delicate, gentle hands, wrapped the newly strung prayer beads around her tiny body.

Then, accompanied by the steady cadence of the wooden fish, Xinhui began to chant in a low murmur, reciting not a Buddhist sutra, but something else entirely.

"The moon hides the jade rabbit, the sun hides the crow, ah, where the tortoise and serpent naturally intertwine, ah..."

As the incantation rose, the prayer beads wrapped around the infant's body seemed to come alive, tightening their grip.

"Intertwined and bound, life stands firm, yet a golden lotus can be planted within the fire, ah..."

Xinhui formed his hands into the lotus mudra and thrust a forceful, piercing finger toward the mangled, flesh-and-blood child.

The wailing gradually morphed into laughter, the laughter swelling louder and louder, until even the lips of the five colossal Buddhas in the hall seemed to curl into smiles.

"Gathering the five elements in reverse, ah, when the work is done, one becomes a Buddha or an immortal, ah..."

The sound of the wooden fish gradually faded, and the sharp-eyed Jian Dun quickly hurried forward a few steps, lifting a long-prepared vase and presenting it to Xinhui.

After a bout of meticulous work by Xinhui, a vase maiden identical to the one once kept in Danyangzi's chamber was brought into being.

Having finished all this, the cross-legged Xinhui picked up a new thread and resumed stringing his prayer beads.

"Since he has left, you shall go and bring him back."

"Yes, this disciple obeys."

"Be careful. Though that boy remains ignorant of everything, his potential is not to be underestimated."

"That thief Danyangzi, if nothing else, has truly remarkable luck; who knows where he managed to find such a rare Pure Heart."

(End of Chapter)