The old monk did not answer. He merely let his gaze sweep carefully over the two children, and could not help looking a few more times at Lin Jingyu. He thought to himself, “Such fine aptitude—yet why is his nature so extreme?”
At that moment, Zhang Xiaofan stepped forward and said, “Hey, who are you? How come I’ve never seen you before?”
Grasstemple Village lay near Qingyun Sect, and here Daoism was revered above all. Buddhist disciples were exceedingly rare, which was why Zhang Xiaofan asked.
The old monk glanced at him, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. He asked in return, “Young benefactor, just now your life hung by a thread. All you had to do was admit defeat. Why insist on holding out so bitterly? Had this old monk not intervened, you would likely have thrown your life away for nothing!”
Zhang Xiaofan was stunned. In his heart, he felt that the old monk’s words were not without reason. Yet when it came to it, he still could not explain why, and could only stand there blankly.
Lin Jingyu glared at the old monk, took Zhang Xiaofan by the hand, and said, “Xiaofan, this old monk is strange and weird. Let’s not bother with him.” With that, he pulled him outside. The other children all followed after them, clearly accustomed to taking him as their lead.
Zhang Xiaofan also began walking without thinking, but after he had gone some distance beyond the temple gate, he could not help looking back into the temple. He saw that the sky was gradually darkening. Vaguely, he could still make out the old monk standing there, though his features had already become indistinct.
※※※
Deep night.
A peal of thunder rang out. The wind swept away the remaining clouds, while black clouds roiled at the edge of the sky.
Wind and rain were about to come, and a chill killing intent filled the air.
The old monk was still inside the thatched temple, sitting cross-legged on the ground. Lifting his eyes, he saw that the distant Qingyun Mountain had become nothing but a hazy blur. All around, not a human voice could be heard; there was only the raging wind and thunder filling heaven and earth.
What a fierce gale!
A bolt of lightning tore across the sky, briefly illuminating the little thatched temple standing alone in the wind. In that instant, the old monk was already standing at the temple entrance, his face solemn. He raised his eyes to the sky, his brows knitting tighter and tighter.
In the village to the west, at some unknown time, a mass of black qi had arisen, thick as black ink and churning without cease. Standing within the thatched temple, the old monk stared fixedly at that black qi.
Suddenly, the black qi rolled, coiled upward, and flew straight out of the village, heading directly toward the thatched temple. Its speed was astonishing; in the blink of an eye, it had arrived. The old monk’s eyes were sharp, and with one glance he saw that within it was a child—Lin Jingyu, whom he had seen during the day.
The old monk’s face darkened. Without further hesitation, and without any visible motion on his part, his withered body abruptly rose from the ground and plunged straight into the black qi.
From somewhere in the darkness came a voice tinged with surprise. “Hm?”
Several muffled sounds rang out. The black qi abruptly stopped, circling above the thatched temple without leaving. The old monk, Lin Jingyu tucked under his arm, slowly descended, but a piece had already been torn from the kasaya on his back.
By the faint light, Lin Jingyu’s eyes could be seen tightly shut, his breathing steady. It was impossible to tell whether he was asleep or unconscious.
The old monk did not put him down. He lifted his head and looked at the mass of black qi in the air. “Your cultivation is profound, sir. Why would you strike at an ignorant child? Would that not demean your status?”
From within the black qi came a hoarse voice. “And who are you, to dare meddle in my affairs?”
The old monk did not answer. Instead, he said, “This place lies beneath Qingyun Mountain. If Qingyun Sect were to learn that you were acting recklessly here, I fear your days afterward would not be easy.”
The man gave a “pah,” his tone full of disdain. “What does Qingyun Sect amount to? They merely rely on having many people. Old bald donkey, stop your chatter. If you know what’s good for you, hand that child over at once.”
The old monk pressed his palms together. “Amitabha. Those who have left the household take compassion as their heart. This old monk absolutely cannot watch with open eyes as this child falls victim to your vicious hand.”
The man said angrily, “Fine, you thieving bald donkey. You’re courting death.”
As his words fell, within the black qi that had been circling all along, a strange dark-red gleam flashed. In an instant, around this tiny thatched temple, sinister winds rose wildly and ghostly qi surged.
“The Poison-Blood Banner!” Fury suddenly appeared on the old monk’s face. “Evil creature! You actually dared cultivate such a wicked thing that destroys all conscience and brings calamity to the mortal world. Today, I will not spare you!”
The hoarse voice gave a cold laugh, but did not reply. A sharp whistle rang out, and the red radiance swelled. From midair, a foul, bloody stench billowed forth, and a red banner two zhang long was slowly summoned. At this moment, the sound of ghostly weeping grew even more miserable, as if countless resentful spirits were crying in the night. Amid it, there was also the faint sound of bones clattering, chilling the heart of anyone who heard it.
“Thieving bald donkey, die!” The person within the black qi barked. From atop that blood-red banner, a savage ghost face suddenly appeared, triangular and four-eyed, with pointed teeth and tusks. Amid a chaotic clattering of bones—“ka, ka, ka, ka”—all four of the ghost face’s eyes suddenly opened. With a roar, it actually took solid form and rushed out from the banner, carrying an incomparably bloody aura as it struck toward the old monk.
The anger on the old monk’s face grew even heavier. He knew that the greater the might of the Poison-Blood Banner, the more innocent people must have been killed during its refinement. To cultivate it to such power as the sight before him, it would likely require the essence blood of more than three hundred people as sacrifice to the banner.
This evil man truly had no conscience left!
Seeing that the ghostly creature was about to charge right before him, the old monk still did not put down Lin Jingyu beneath his arm. He merely used his left hand, which held the jade prayer beads, to trace a circle in the empty air before him, forming the Buddhist Lion Seal with one hand. His five fingers bent and extended, golden light faintly shining from their tips. In moments, he had manifested a golden Dharma wheel before him, brilliant with golden radiance, holding the ghostly creature at bay in midair.
“Such petty tricks, and you dare show—” Before he could finish the word “off,” his entire body suddenly shook. He felt that at the wrist of the hand with which he was holding the child Lin Jingyu, something had bitten him. A numb, itching sensation immediately spread through half his body. His vision went black, and the Dharma wheel before him instantly began to totter.
At precisely that moment, the ghostly creature before him underwent another strange transformation. In the center of its forehead, between its four eyes, there came two “ka, ka” sounds, and another enormous blood-red eye opened. A foul wind rose, and its power became even more oppressive. With a ghostly howl, blood-red light flashed, and the creature smashed the golden Dharma wheel to pieces, striking heavily against the old monk’s chest.
The old monk’s entire body was sent flying backward, and Lin Jingyu, who had been under his arm, also fell to the ground. Along the way, several muffled cracks sounded; likely all his ribs had broken. A moment later, his withered body crashed into the wall of the thatched temple with a boom, dust flying everywhere as an entire wall collapsed.
“Hahahahahaha~~~~~~~~” The person within the black qi burst into wild laughter, immensely pleased.
The old monk trembled as he stood. Heat rose in his throat, and he could not stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of hot blood, staining the monk’s robe before him red. He only felt golden stars flashing before his eyes, pain wracking his entire body, while that numb, itching sensation crept ever closer to his heart.
He forced himself to steady his mind. The corner of his eye swept over Lin Jingyu, who still lay unconscious on the ground, and he saw that from within the boy’s lapel, a multicolored centipede was slowly crawling out. It was as large as a palm, and strangest of all, its tail split into seven forks, making it look as though it had seven tails. Each one was a different color, brilliant and dazzling, yet there was something terrifying within its beauty.
“Seven-Tailed Centipede!” The old monk’s words sounded like a groan.
The black qi on his face grew heavier and heavier, and blood kept flowing from the corners of his mouth. It seemed he could hardly hold on, yet he still forced himself not to fall. Looking at the mass of black qi in midair, he said, “You placed this rare venomous creature upon that child, then deliberately concealed your strength, waiting for the right chance to wound me in one strike. You came for me, did you not?”
The person within the black qi chuckled coldly. “That’s right. I came specifically for you, Bald Donkey Puzhi. If not for that, with your Buddhist cultivation from Tianyin Temple, you would not have been easy to deal with. Enough. Now hand over the Blood-Devouring Bead, and I will give you the antidote for the Seven-Tailed Centipede and spare your life!”
Puzhi gave a miserable laugh. “To think my name contains the character ‘wisdom,’ yet I never thought that since you refined such an evil object as the Poison-Blood Banner, how could you possibly not covet the Blood-Devouring Bead?” His expression turned solemn, and he said decisively, “For me to give you this most vicious object in the world—keep dreaming.”
The person within the black qi flew into a rage. “Then go meet your Buddha!” Red light flashed, and the Poison-Blood Banner fluttered in the wind. Ghosts wailed again and again, and the enormous ghostly creature reappeared. After circling slightly in the air, it once more charged toward Puzhi.
Puzhi let out a great shout. His robes billowed without wind, and his originally thin, small body seemed to swell much larger. As strength gathered in his left hand, a crisp crack rang out; the string of jade prayer beads had been snapped apart by him. More than a dozen crystal-clear beads did not fall, but instead spun round and round, each emitting azure light as they floated before Puzhi. Only that one deep-purple round bead fell straight down.
Puzhi turned his palm and seized the deep-purple bead in his hand. His two hands then formed the left and right Vase Seals. His eyes opened wide, faint golden light glimmering over his entire body, and he recited, word by word, “Om, ma, ni, pad, me, hum!”
“The Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra.” The tone of the person within the black qi immediately grew several degrees more grave.
As Puzhi’s final “hum” fell, in an instant all the jade prayer beads burst forth with brilliant light. At the same moment, the ghostly creature summoned by the evil man had already charged right before him, its bloody stench rushing into his face. But the moment it touched the azure light of the jade beads, it at once dissolved into nothingness and could advance no farther. Thus they remained locked in stalemate in midair.
Even so, Puzhi’s body swayed again. The Seven-Tailed Centipede was one of the most poisonous things under heaven; even with his several hundred years of cultivation, it was still difficult for him to withstand it. Yet on his face, now faintly suffused with black qi, there appeared a faint smile, bearing a trace of awe-inspiring resolve.
“Ha!”
Puzhi shouted, like a lion’s roar, his voice shaking the four fields. Driven by Buddhist power, the jade prayer beads before him shone even more brightly. Suddenly, one bead shattered with a “puff,” transforming in midair into the character “Buddha” and rushing swiftly forward to strike the ghostly creature in the face.
“Waaah~~~~~ya!” The ghostly creature let out a miserable howl and immediately retreated several steps. The red light around its body greatly diminished; clearly, it had been wounded. The person within the black qi said angrily, “You damned bald donkey!”
He was about to act, but in that instant, faster than words could be spoken, seven or eight prayer beads had already transformed into Buddhist true words and struck the ghostly creature. The creature howled incessantly and retreated again and again, showing terror. When it was struck by the ninth jade prayer bead, it finally let out a long howl. All five of its eyes burst apart at once, its bones clattered chaotically, and with a boom it fell to the ground. After struggling a few times, it went stiff and motionless, slowly turning into bloodwater, its stench unbearable.
At the same time, Puzhi gave a “wah” and spat out another great mouthful of blood—and the color of the blood had already turned black.
“Ah!” A sharp cry came from the entrance of the thatched temple at this crucial moment in the duel between the two great experts.
Both Puzhi and the evil man were startled. The black qi in the sky shifted, and Puzhi also looked toward the entrance at the same time. He saw that the child he had met during the day, Zhang Xiaofan, had for some unknown reason come before the thatched temple and was standing at the doorway, staring dumbfounded at the strange scene inside.
The person within the black qi gave a cold snort. Without any visible movement from him, the Seven-Tailed Centipede that had originally been crawling on Lin Jingyu suddenly flicked its tail and took flight, swift as lightning, shooting toward Zhang Xiaofan.
Puzhi’s brows stood upright. He pointed with his right hand, and a jade prayer bead rushed forth. The Seven-Tailed Centipede seemed almost sentient, knowing how formidable it was. It did not dare resist. With a flick of its tail, as though using wings, it veered upward and plunged into the black qi, where it vanished without a sound.
The person within the black qi said sinisterly, “Heh heh. As expected of one of the Four Great Divine Monks of Tianyin Temple. Even gravely wounded, you could still destroy my Poison-Blood Corpse King. But you took a blow from the Corpse King and were poisoned by the Seven-Tailed Centipede as well. How much longer can you hold on? Be obedient and hand me the Blood-Devouring Bead.”
At this moment, black blood had begun to flow even from the corners of Puzhi’s eyes. He gave a miserable laugh and rasped, “Even if this old monk dies here today, I will still eliminate you, demon.”
As soon as his words fell, all the jade prayer beads before him lit up at the same time. The person in the air immediately went on guard. Suddenly, with a whistle, something flashing with azure light crashed into the black qi from behind. It was the jade prayer bead that had just struck at the Seven-Tailed Centipede; after flying a distance through the air, it had been secretly controlled by Puzhi, arcing around behind the black qi to launch a sudden attack.
An angry roar rang out from within the black qi. Clearly, the man had been caught off guard. Several chaotic sounds—“bang, bang, bang”—rang out. Where the azure light flashed, the black qi scattered, finally dispersing in all directions and vanishing into nothingness. From midair, a tall, thin person slowly descended. His entire body was tightly wrapped in a black robe, making it impossible to see his face or age. Only a pair of eyes could be seen, gleaming with vicious light. On his back, a long sword was also strapped.
Puzhi said in a low voice, “With such cultivation as yours, why do you not dare show your face?”
A fierce light flashed in the black-robed man’s eyes. He said sharply, “Bald donkey, today I’ll make sure you die without a burial place!”
With that, he reached back and, with a swish, drew the long sword from his back. The sword was clear as autumn water, bright yet not dazzling, with a faint pure radiance clinging to it.
“A fine sword.” Puzhi could not help exclaiming.
The black-robed man gave a low snort. His hand formed a sword incantation, and his feet stepped according to the Seven Stars. After seven consecutive steps, the long sword abruptly stabbed toward the sky, while he muttered an incantation:
“Nine Heavens Mystic Tempest, transform into divine lightning.
Majestic heavenly might, be guided by this sword!”
In moments, the dark clouds in the sky immediately roiled without cease. Thunder rumbled, and lightning flashed constantly along the edges of the black clouds. Between heaven and earth, killing intent filled the air, and wild winds raged.
“Divine Sword Lightning-Controlling True Art!” Puzhi’s face turned ashen pale in an instant. What rose after that was astonishment, a trace of despair, and a little inexplicable fervor.
“You are actually of Qingyun Sect!”
——
P.S.
The “Om, ma, ni, pad, me, hum!” recited by Puzhi in the text is the famous “Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra,” also known in Buddhist classics as the “Avalokitesvara Inspired True Mantra.” The Buddhist scriptures record that this mantra connects with the workings of heaven and earth; by reciting it, one may cast off worldly dust, cleanse the mirror of the heart, and reach the realm of great joy and ultimate bliss. It is one of the most renowned classic true-word mantras in Buddhism.
The full text is appended below:
Om mani padme hum, ma ge ni ya na, ji du te ba da, ji te xie na, wei da li ge, sa er han er ta, bu li xi ta ge, na bu luo na, na bu li, diu er ban na, na ma lu ji, shuo luo ye suo ke.