Chapter 28: The Mystery of Origin

The scene became somewhat awkward for a moment.

Before coming here, Xie Sui had never imagined that the monks of Shikong Temple would be so… well, grounded.

He had originally thought he could use rhetoric to persuade the people of Shikong Temple to handle that evil cultivator. He hadn’t expected that before he could even speak, the conversation would be shut down.

It was true that no one would charge into battle for a total stranger based on a few words. In this world, the only people who would protect you unconditionally without asking for a reason, aside from your parents, were the members of the Law Enforcement Team.

Furthermore, one had to pay a fee even for simple errands. There was no reason to expect someone to work for free on a dangerous task like killing an evil cultivator, which could result in injury.

Fine, if it costs money, it costs money. There may be no fate between us, but my money will bridge the gap. In short, as long as that evil cultivator could be dealt with smoothly, it would be worth it.

Anyway, he didn’t have to pay right now. It would be his future self a month from now paying the bill, so he would just leave the trouble to his future self.

Wait, three hundred thousand, one month from now…

Xie Sui frowned as he suddenly realized something.

Even if Liaokong could have obtained information about the Shiduo Hariti through other channels, this precise price quote matched the offer he had just received for the supernatural variety show.

The appearance fee for the variety show he had just accepted was exactly three hundred thousand a day, and it would also be received in a month’s time.

Xie Sui thought of something and steadied his mind, instantly discarding all stray thoughts.

No wonder when he was complaining about Taoist Master Ganchen in his head earlier, Liaokong had choked on his tea and suppressed a laugh.

This old monk actually knew Ceto-pariya-nana¹.

Ceto-pariya-nana was one of the six supernatural powers of Shijiao, allowing one to know the thoughts of others.

To be able to cultivate such a divine power, this Master Liaokong must indeed possess profound cultivation.

Fortunately, while listening to Taoist Master Ganchen’s rambling earlier, he hadn’t thought about anything regarding his own identity, otherwise he would have been exposed just now.

However, this kind of divine power that allowed one to peek into others’ thoughts at will was truly disgusting.

Xie Sui’s impression of Liaokong instantly plummeted.

Prying into people’s privacy at will, and clearly knowing the actions of the evil cultivator yet speaking of nothing but money—he didn’t seem like the righteous, high-ranking monk Xie Sui had imagined at all.

Feeling quite displeased, Xie Sui couldn’t help but mock the master: “I thought monks believed the Four Elements are Empty²? You keep talking about money; does your Buddha know about this?”

Liaokong smiled indifferently. “Then let me ask you, benefactor, what do you think the ‘Four Elements are Empty’ means?”

Xie Sui blurted out almost instinctively, “Alcohol, lust, power, and wealth—all four are empty?”

“No, no.” The old monk shook his head gently. “That is merely a common misunderstanding.”

“In Shijiao, the concept that the Four Elements are Empty is an attitude toward all things in the world, referring to the fact that everything is inherently void.”

Liaokong pressed his palms together and chanted a Buddhist name. “The twenty-fifth chapter, fifth section of the Tao Te Ching once said: ‘Therefore the Dao is great, Heaven is great, Earth is great, and Man is also great. These are the four greats in the universe, and Man occupies one of them.’ The Dao, Heaven, Earth, and Man mentioned here—these four voids are what our Shijiao refers to when we say the Four Elements are Empty.”

Xie Sui suddenly felt the urge to complain. This Master Liaokong was a monk, so why did he have the Xuanmen’s Tao Te Ching memorized so fluently?

Taoist Master Ganchen and Master Liaokong were truly interesting. One was a Xuanmen Taoist who used Shijiao’s Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva as an example when advising others, and the other was a Shijiao master who used the Tao Te Ching to interpret Buddhist dharma. Were they exchange students between Xuanmen and Shijiao when they were young?

Xie Sui followed Liaokong’s logic and continued, “Since the Four Elements are Empty means viewing everything in the world as void, then money is naturally void as well. Why should you care so much about something that ‘does not exist,’ Master?”

“Benefactor, you are caught in appearances.” Master Liaokong shook his head with a smile. “Monks are also human. As long as a person lives in this world, they cannot achieve true purity of the six senses³ or the emptiness of the four elements. That is precisely why we must practice cultivation.”

“Cultivation is not achieved by simply abstaining from food and drink. No one living in this world can survive without money. Money is not evil; it is merely a tool for exchange. It is the human desire for excessive wealth that stains it with other colors. If you feel uncomfortable, benefactor, you may refuse me directly.”

“What makes me uncomfortable isn’t the act of asking for money, but your attitude, Master,” Xie Sui sighed.

“It is said that monks are compassionate. I thought that after learning about the victims’ experiences, you would at least express some anger, or at the very least condemn the evil cultivator, rather than abruptly saying ‘the evil cultivator is not a traitor of my Shijiao’ and then immediately talking to me about money.”

“It gives me the impression that the lives taken by that evil cultivator are just business transactions to you, measurable in currency.”

“If I refuse this deal, will you just sit idly by while that evil cultivator harms ordinary people?”

Thinking of the children persecuted by the evil cultivator’s Life-Swapping Talismans and the pregnant women who had died mysterious, tragic deaths, Xie Sui’s tone became uncontrollably heated. “Those evil cultivators who come from Xuanmen or Shijiao use the techniques you gave them to do evil. You should share a portion of the karma for these crimes. Restraining the behavior of your disciples should be your duty. Since you’ve known for a long time that an evil cultivator is committing crimes, why must you wait for someone to come and beg you before you’re willing to act?”

Master Liaokong was not provoked by Xie Sui’s heated words at all. Instead, he looked at Xie Sui with a face full of astonishment, as if he completely failed to understand what he was saying. He raised his snowy white eyebrows and asked in great surprise, “What victims?”

Xie Sui felt a bit exhausted and didn’t want to entangle with him further, so he went straight to the point. “Stop pretending, it’s pointless. Haven’t you already used Ceto-pariya-nana to learn all the information about that evil cultivator from me?”

Hearing this, Master Liaokong’s expression suddenly turned solemn. “Amitabha. Using Ceto-pariya-nana to pry into someone’s privacy damages one’s merit and blessings. I never use this divine power for personal matters. It is only because your thoughts just now were too intense—your anxiety regarding the evil cultivator and your joy over that three hundred thousand appearance fee. These overly active emotions were all floating on the very surface of your mind, which is why I was made aware of them passively.”

“I only vaguely knew that you were troubled by an evil cultivator and wanted our help to deal with him; I knew nothing else,” Master Liaokong paused. “I thought this was an ordinary commission, a private grudge between you and that cultivator. Please, benefactor, tell us exactly how this evil cultivator has committed his crimes.”

Xie Sui waved his hand, and the venetian blinds in the wing room instantly snapped shut, plunging the interior into dimness.

Immediately after, a weak, black phantom slowly separated from his shadow. This was the soul of the Shiduo Hariti that Xie Sui had taken into his shadow.

The moment the phantom appeared, a sharp cracking sound rang out. Master Liaokong had actually crushed the teacup in his hand with his bare grip.

Master Liaokong’s long eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened, staring fixedly at the phantom with a terrifying intensity.

With his level of cultivation, he naturally recognized at a glance that this was an artificially created vengeful spirit. Her entire aura of resentment had been forged through raw torture. Furthermore, this weakened ghost-god actually possessed a trace of the divine charm of Shiduo Hariti.

He had assumed that Xie Sui had discovered the evil cultivator in the process of preparing to create a ghost-god, which was why Xie Sui had come to Shikong Temple for help.

He never expected that the evil cultivator would be so audacious as to have actually completed the creation of a Shiduo Hariti! And he had refined it using the soul of a living human!

Seeing someone harm life so cruelly and insult a guardian deity of Shijiao, Master Liaokong’s mental state, honed through years of cultivation, nearly shattered from pure rage. In all his years, he had never seen an evil cultivator act with such cruelty. Those wretches were becoming bolder by the day.

Just moments ago, Master Liaokong had been treating Xie Sui like an elder humoring a junior. He never imagined that the reason Xie Sui had come to him was for such a heinous matter… no wonder Xie Sui had been so furious.

Xie Sui looked at Master Liaokong with some surprise. Seeing the old monk’s reaction, it seemed he truly had been in the dark.

Master Liaokong’s entire aura had changed.

If the old monk had previously given off the impression of a mundane, money-loving, balding old man, he now looked like a statue of a Wrathful Vajra⁴ come to life. A heavy, oppressive pressure, as solid as a mountain, emanated from him, making one instinctively want to hold their breath.

Master Liaokong silently stepped down from the monk’s couch and walked to the side of the black shadow. Looking at this phantom that was so weak it was nearly transparent, his eyes showed a profound, heavy sorrow.

He let out a long sigh, appearing to age many years in an instant.

Master Liaokong performed a deep Buddhist salutation to the innocent soul, then looked at Xie Sui. “I apologize to the benefactor for my earlier flippancy.” Having said that, he actually prepared to bow to Xie Sui in apology.

The old monk looked to be over eighty. Xie Sui didn’t dare accept such a gesture and quickly dodged to the side. “It was all a misunderstanding. It’s fine now that everything is out in the open. I was a bit impatient myself.”

“That evil cultivator didn’t just murder a pregnant woman to create the Shiduo Hariti; he also planted Life-Swapping Talismans on innocent young children…” At this point, Xie Sui looked toward Taoist Master Ganchen. “The man’s surname is Zhang, a traitor of the Zhengyi Celestial Master Sect⁵. You should know what Life-Swapping Talismans are. Does your Xuanmen intend to handle this?”

Taoist Master Ganchen nodded slightly, his gaze remaining fixed on Xie Sui. “Now that our young friend has put it that way, how could I possibly stand by and do nothing?”

Xie Sui frowned, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze. “Don’t make it sound like I’m forcing you.”

“Hmph, weren’t you just trying to guilt-trip us?” Kunyi rolled his eyes grandly. “‘Those traitors use our sect’s techniques, so we are accomplices to the evildoers’—that’s quite a heavy accusation to drop on us. By that logic, if a murderer kills someone, the Law Enforcement Team should arrest the knife salesman too?”

“If you’re so good at arguing, why aren’t you working at a construction site?” Xie Sui was so angry he laughed. “A knife salesman doesn’t know if his customer is a murderer because criminals don’t write ‘murderer’ on their foreheads. But doesn’t your Xuanmen vet the character of disciples before taking them in? You take everyone regardless of whether they’re good or bad. Does every sect have a year-end KPI for recruitment numbers? Does the losing sect get their year-end bonus docked?”

Kunyi was fuming, pointing at Xie Sui for a long time before he could squeeze out a rebuttal: “You… you’re just twisting words!”

Xie Sui replied unceremoniously, “Who’s the one twisting words? I seriously doubt how you managed to understand your sect’s cultivation mantras with your level of reading comprehension.”

“Enough. Kunyi, haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough?” Taoist Master Ganchen stopped Kunyi, who wanted to say more. “When we return, go to the meditation room and reflect in seclusion. You are not permitted to leave the mountain for three years.”

The young Taoist pursed his lips aggrievedly but ultimately didn’t dare talk back to Taoist Master Ganchen, retreating silently to the side.

“Let this ghost-god’s soul be Entrusted to our Shikong Temple. I will personally transcend the resentment within her,” Master Liaokong said, pulling a lotus-shaped lamp from the sleeve of his patchwork robe. With a gentle wave, the black shadow automatically flew into the wick.

After completing this, Master Liaokong looked at Xie Sui again. “I wonder if the benefactor has the ghost-god’s physical remains? Looking at her state, she must have been made into a Flesh Body Bodhisattva⁶. If possible, could you hand over her body to me as well, so it can be placed in Shikong Temple alongside her soul for transcendence?”

“Her body is within the Yin-Yang Gap. The talisman to open the gap is with my companion. I’ll take the Shiduo Hariti’s body out and give it to you in a moment; my companion is waiting outside.”

Xie Sui let out a weary sigh. “Then the deal is settled? I’ll give you three hundred thousand, and you, Master Liaokong, will send people to help me eliminate that evil cultivator.”

Master Liaokong gave a somewhat embarrassed smile. “The benefactor must be joking. We cannot accept this money.”

Xie Sui waved his hand. “No, the money must be given. Just as you said, everyone has to eat. I can’t have you working for free, and I don’t want to owe any favors.”

“Master Liaokong, I will contact you in three days. I hope you will keep your word then.” Having said his piece, Xie Sui didn’t want to stay in the wing room any longer and turned to walk toward the exit.

Communicating with this monk and Taoist duo felt more exhausting than fighting a battle against Shiduo Hariti.

Seeing the situation, Taoist Master Ganchen looked at Kunyi, who was standing to the side. “Kunyi, go out with our young friend and help him retrieve Shiduo Hariti’s physical body.”

“Yes,” Kunyi replied reluctantly, then followed Xie Sui out of the room.

After Xie Sui and the Taoist Kunyi left, only Taoist Master Ganchen and Master Liaokong remained in the wing room.

Master Liaokong looked at the lotus lamp in his hand, which contained Shiduo Hariti’s soul, and let out a long sigh.

Taoist Master Ganchen looked at him. “Well?”

Master Liaokong shook his head. “It is unclear. That benefactor’s Fate Pattern is suppressed firmly by a strange aura, making it completely impossible to see through. However, when you spoke to him, his emotions fluctuated intensely. It is indeed very likely that he is the Spiritual Child Reincarnation of your Xuanmen.”

“Only ‘very likely’ and not ‘certain’… Sigh.” Taoist Master Ganchen’s expression was somewhat troubled. “Young friend Xie gives me a very close feeling. Twenty-five years ago, the age matches, and his birthplace is in Xiangcheng. He appeared in both instances of the master-disciple destiny I calculated. It is truly difficult not to overthink it.”

“Oh? Brother Ganchen’s physiognomy and face-reading skills have progressed so much that you can discern that benefactor’s age and birthplace with just a glance?”

“It was not through face-reading.” Taoist Master Ganchen silently pulled the latest model of a smartphone out of his tattered cotton jacket pocket and pressed the screen to light it up.

On the screen was a video of Xie Sui broadcasting the news.

“Young friend Xie is a somewhat famous host. A quick search on the internet reveals his basic profile, including his age and birthplace.”

“I see. Amitabha, modern technology truly is convenient.”

Translator’s Notes