Chapter 744: Put Down

Chapter 744: Letting Go

In the temple where incense curled in endless spirals, Bai Lingmiao sat cross-legged upon a lotus stone table, her long hair cascading over her shoulders. Though her jagged teeth protruded from her lips and black porcupine quills and green snake scales were hidden among her white strands, she had improved greatly compared to before. At least her face now bore two eyes—just two—and though one was still bestial.

Around the lotus platform where Bai Lingmiao sat, monks from the Zhengde Temple of the Great Qi knelt on their knees atop cushions, rhythmically tapping wooden fish. As they chanted obscure sutras, “Lotus Pool Assembly, Amitabha Buddha, Guanyin and Shizhi seated on lotus thrones, guiding souls to golden steps, great vows opened, all wishing to be freed from dust… Namo Lotus Pool, Bodhisattvas of the Great Assembly…”

With each recitation, Bai Lingmiao’s body began to subtly transform. The foreign elements that had once inhabited her were slowly writhing, gradually replacing her pale, ghastly skin with something more familiar.

Many monks displayed signs of celestial beast transformation, but these were quickly suppressed.

After two hours, the change subsided. When Bai Lingmiao lowered her hands and gently touched her face with four fingers, she found that her disfigured features had returned to their original form.

She bowed deeply from the lotus platform and respectfully approached an elderly monk with kind eyes, offering a Buddhist greeting: “Abbot, thank you for your care these past few days.”

“May the Buddha bless you, dear lady. In this path of Shura, I could offer little aid, only what small strength I could contribute here.”

After exchanging polite pleasantries, Bai Lingmiao bid farewell to the abbot of Zhengde Temple and left the rear courtyard, walking toward the front temple, thick with incense.

Inside the main hall, a colossal statue of the Buddha lay reclining upon a treasure table, receiving offerings and worship from the people.

Bai Lingmiao took four sticks of incense, bowed three times like the others, and carefully inserted them into the incense burner.

As she stepped out of the hall, a bustling, chaotic city came into view within her perception.

It was hard to believe that such a vast city had once been under the control of the Law Sect. Now, it remained firmly in the hands of the Great Liang.

The black banners and white headscarves that once adorned the city had vanished. Instead, many bore the white lotus mark on their foreheads.

“Holy Maiden! The Holy Maiden has arrived!”

“Quick! Son, kneel before the Holy Maiden! May she bless your father’s return!”

All the followers of the White Lotus Sect fell to their knees, covering nearly half the street in prostration.

Just as swiftly as the Law Sect had expanded, so too had the White Lotus Sect—especially with the support of the imperial court.

Now, notices were posted throughout the city: no matter what faith one followed, one must follow *some*. Anyone who refused to believe would be executed immediately.

Though crude and brutal, this method proved highly effective in infiltrating the Law Sect. Once one believed in the Mother of the Unborn, few would place hope in the Child God anymore.

If the Mother of the Unborn could do such things, why not believe in something safer?

Bai Lingmiao looked at them with gentle eyes, walking slowly past them.

As her hand brushed across some heads, they felt overwhelming joy, believing they had received the grace of the Mother of the Unborn.

When she saw a wounded beggar crawling toward her, Bai Lingmiao walked over and stood before him.

His eyes were filled with longing. “H-Holy Maiden… my parents and my older brothers are dead. I’ve joined the White Lotus Sect. Can we really avoid becoming wandering spirits? Will we truly live well in the Vacuum Homeland?”

Looking at his bloated belly already infested with maggots and his sickly yellow face, Bai Lingmiao knew he had little time left.

No matter how wars began, it was always the same people who suffered.

“Yes,” she said softly. “Your parents and siblings are already in the Vacuum Homeland.” She lightly patted his head, and his face lit up with genuine joy.

“That’s wonderful! I’ll see them soon!”

Seeing his smile, Bai Lingmiao took out a drum from her waist and struck it gently. With the help of the Bai family's celestial powers, the boy’s appearance immediately improved.

“Your parents told me to tell you to live well and survive. They’re hoping for grandchildren someday.”

“I will! I will! I’ll rebuild our Yao Clan Ancestral Hall! I’ll marry and carry on the line!”

Standing, Bai Lingmiao comforted the youth and then others, one by one.

When she returned to a White Lotus Sect hall, she found Lü Xiucai earnestly answering questions about cultivation for new members.

He had changed completely since his arrival. His left cheek was sunken, his teeth gone, his collarbone wrapped in blood-soaked cloth, the skin peeled away. His left sleeve was empty, and his right hand had only four fingers without fingernails. The scars across his body were countless.

Although *The Record of the Great World* had saved him from the horrors of flesh grinding, it had cost him dearly.

Noticing Bai Lingmiao’s voice, Lü Xiucai grinned and waved his four-fingered hand. “Mistress! Long time no see! Did you see my master?”

The bitter, vengeful Lü Xiucai had vanished, replaced by the easygoing man he once was.

Bai Lingmiao looked at his unhealed wounds with a complex expression. “Go back. Return to Niuxin Village. Your father is only mad—he’s not dead yet. Don’t forget about your little niece.”

Lü Xiucai’s smile remained. “It’s fine. Gouwa and Zhao Wu will look after him. I swore before my father that I’d kill every one of those beasts from the Law Sect before I rest.”

“As long as the Law Sect exists, I won’t go back.”

The bitter Lü Xiucai hadn’t disappeared—he simply learned to hide his pain.

Bai Lingmiao sighed softly. “Xiucai, fighting the Law Sect with so many people, one more or less doesn’t matter. You should let it go.”

It was clear that if this continued, Lü Xiucai would die soon. The Lü Family had already lost too much. She didn’t want him to walk the path of no return.

Hearing her words, Lü Xiucai’s smile faded. He looked at her and asked, “Then, Mistress, have you let it go?”

(End of Chapter)