Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The prison camp in the forbidden zone changed locations seasonally like the rest of the Royal Court, so the facilities were very poor. Most of the prisoners were subjects who had merely offended the Khan for some reason and might be pardoned at any time, so the prison was not heavily guarded. Unless the supervisors were particularly stressed, the torture equipment like the chains were rarely used. So it was very easy to leave the tent, and one might even be able to visit friends and relatives at another camp if one greased the wheels enough.
But it was very hard to run away. There were cavalry stations every three miles within a ten-mile radius of the camp, and every station had fierce dogs with keen senses of smell. And if a prisoner was ever found fleeing, a manhunt would be launched.
According to the rules of the Norland, attempting to escape was a capital crime and the resulting punishment was to be shot to death immediately.
Xu Yanwei trembled in fear, saying, “The guards said that no one has ever escaped from here.”
Xiao Fengchai was responsible for communicating with the new chief. “Our camp is the strangest. All the monks and nuns were delivered here without a charge. The officials never asked. It was the Immortal Master who gave the orders.”
Later, the Immortal Master came again. This time, Queen Ju bargained hard with him. Although no agreement was reached, it made the other side feel that the four women had no intentions of escaping.
But it was a bit difficult for Shangguan Ru to recover her internal energy to the level she desired.
After hearing her general description of the Indra Fragrance, Fayan shook his head. “Your internal energy is sealed with the drug. If I do something rashly to save you, you may lose your internal energy forever.”
But he taught Shangguan Ru a simple set of method to guide her internal Qi. “Although it can’t help you restore your internal energy, it can calm your mind. You’ll inevitably receive internal injuries if the drug effect persists for too long. But this manual may be able to help you avoid that.”
As they spoke, several monks, ignoring Lianqing’s glare, listened from a distance. Instead of shying away, they listened even more attentively when Fayan taught the manual.
Fayan didn’t lower his voice. Instead, he spoke up loudly, saying, “This set of manual is not a secret one. Those who are fated can learn it.”
As a Buddhist manual, it had certain requirements for meditation. Luckily, Shangguan Ru had once followed Master Lianhua in learning the Essay of Severing Obsession and had also gained some basic skills in meditation, so it was very easy for her to get started.
But just as Fayan had said, this manual was easy to learn but wasn’t useful in recovering one’s internal energy. Shangguan Ru practiced it for several days but her Dantian remained devoid of internal energy.
During these days, the noble officer Azheba kept his promise and tried every mean at his disposal to make use of his former connections in the Court Attendants Army and tell the Khan the truth. From top to bottom, all the prison guards liked Shangguan Ru’s frankness and helped smooth things over, but the feedback was disappointing.
The Khan knew that there were four imprisoned women since long ago. The efforts of Azheba backfired, and orders came from the palace that said that anyone who dared to talk about the four women would be killed without mercy and that his or her family and tribe would also be implicated.
Now few people dared to help Shangguan Ru no matter how highly they thought of her.
Azheba felt quite guilty and hid in his tent. For days he did not dare see her.
The escape plan was put on hold for the time being.
“Well, the guards thought that the Khan didn’t know about us being here and therefore were willing to help us. Now they are afraid to even talk to me.” Xu Yanwei was the first to become discouraged.
“We still have to send a message to the Dragon King.” Queen Ju had once said that she would not trouble the Dragon King, but now she changed her mind. “The Khan asked everyone to keep a secret, which means that he knows he is in the wrong. The Dragon King doesn’t have to rush to rescue anyone. As long as this whole situation made public, the Khan will probably release us and put the blame on someone else while claiming that he didn’t know anything about it.”
It wasn’t easy to achieve this goal even when the guards were drinking with Shangguan Ru. Queen Ju turned to Shangguan Ru and said, “That officer Azheba seems to have some contacts. If Miss Ru can persuade him…”
“I’ll try.” Shangguan Ru wasn’t too sure about it. The more she learned about the soldiers of the Norland, the more she found that these people revered the Khan. Azheba was no exception. Although he occasionally spoke some veiled criticism about the Khan, they were the kind of words that only the faithful would speak.
The main point being that she couldn’t even see Azheba now.
Things changed on the seventh afternoon after Shangguan Ru was captured.
Lianqing rushed in in a panic which startled Queen Ju, who immediately drew Xu Yanwei to the front to block him.
“My Master is sick, seriously sick. The guards don’t care. Little girl… Instructor… Queen, you are familiar with them. Please ask them to send a doctor here. And also, my Master wants to meet you.”
Shangguan Ru and Xu Yanwei went to see the head of the camp first. The head appeared quite reluctant to cooperate but couldn’t bear Xu Yanwei’s sarcasm and in the end agreed to find a doctor.
Then the two went into the big tent to visit Fayan.
Fayan was still wearing his iconic smile but his face was very dark, his lips purple, and his eyes bloodshot, which made him look very old and not like an eminent monk at all.
Several monks were standing nearby gossiping like unconcerned bystanders. “There will always be visions when an eminent monk passes away. Look at this one, there are many visions but none of them are normal.”
“Buddha is not gullible. One can cover himself up in ordinary times but will be exposed when one is dying. ”
…
Lianqing knelt before his Master with tears in his eyes. His eyes were fixed on his Master and he didn’t even refute the monks’ taunts.
Shangguan Ru was surprised and asked, “Has the master been poisoned?”
Lianqing shook his head, “Impossible. Master hasn’t eaten for four or five days. The food we ate before that was the same, so it’s impossible for him to be poisoned while I’m still fine.”
Fayan’s voice was weak and his tone was as calm as ever, as if every word he said carried with it heavy significance. “You are here.”
Shangguan Ru sat down on her knees on a futon. “I’m here, but the monk is not ill.”
Lianqing, who had been flustered, finally realized the problem and asked, “Master, what is going on? Someone stabbed you in the back, didn’t they? Tell me who is it, and I’ll avenge you…”
“Silly disciple. Favor is illusory and so is hatred. I asked you to give up avenging your brother, so how could I let you avenge me?”
“But… But…” Lianqing was choked with sobs and could no longer speak.
“You can go out for a while. I need to have a word with the benefactress.”
Lianqing was very reluctant to leave but he could not disobey his Master’s order. So he got up and said to the rest of the monks, “All of you, get out if you don’t want to be beaten.”
The monks did not move. Lianqing growled and stormed towards them, causing more than half of the thirty or so monks immediately ran out. Only Kumie relied on his identity and didn’t move, and his fellow disciples also followed in staying motionlessly.
“I haven’t cultivated much in this life, so I don’t care if it’ll be ruined or not,” Lianqing shouted with his eyes wide open. It seemed that he did not care even if he had to kill someone.
Kumie retreated half a step and said to Fayan who sat behind Lianqing with a trembling voice, “Are the senior monks of the Four Noble Truths Temple all so arrogant?”
While struggling to speak, Fayan took a few deep breaths before saying, “Lianqing, do not disturb the senior brothers.”
Lianqing shot a vicious glance at Kumie and strode out of the tent, guarding the door and not letting anyone else in.
Shangguan Ru asked in a low voice, “Is it the disciple of the Essence Pavilion?”
“Yes and no,” Fayan replied.
Xu Yanwei frowned and said, “Old monk, you are so sick now; can you please stop talking ambiguously.”
“I have no intention of revenge, so it doesn’t matter who injured me. It was more than a month ago that I had a kung fu competition with him. I was defeated and I admitted it, but I couldn’t hand over that thing. I could only promise to stay in the prison and not leave without permission.”
Shangguan Ru glanced back at Kumie and his fellow disciples before asking in a very small voice, “What is it?”
“The Sumeru Mustard Mantra.”
Shangguan Ru was slightly stunned, “But in the Stone Kingdom…”
“I gave it to two young people.”
Gu Shenwei and Lotus had almost effortlessly gotten this internal energy manual, and it was exactly this manual that had laid the foundation for the Three-in-One Power.
Shangguan Ru learned of this when she was still keeping up a regular correspondence with the Dragon King and thought that the monk did not care.
Fayan had been defeated in a kung fu competition and received a very serious internal injury. He thought that he could recuperate on his own, but did not expect that the issue would break out a month later and ferociously attack him. He knew that he would not last long so he tried to explain the situation as briefly as possible. “The Dragon King and Lotus still have goodwill between them so the mantra is good for them, but some people are lost and hard to change, and the mantra will only help them perpetuate wicked deeds.”
“The Sumeru Mustard Mantra is like the Essay of Severing Obsession?” Shangguan Ru was surprised and delighted. This was actually her wish. She didn’t expect that the old monk had already secretly fulfilled it for her.
Fayan slowly shook his head, “The mantra doesn’t have the effect of changing a person’s heart, and neither does the Essay of Severing Obsession. It only has a temporary effect. You must already know of the Grand Enlightenment Sword Sutra?”
Shangguan Ru nodded. She also knew that the Dragon King and Lotus called it the Death Sutra.
“I have… a guess. The Grand Enlightenment Sword Sutra might be part of the reason why they are acting so evilly, so I wanted to use the mantra to counteract the effects of the sword sutra.”
“Is it really possible?” Shangguan Ru was so eager that she almost forgot about Fayan’s serious ‘illness.’
“I don’t know. It’s just a guess but unfortunately, I won’t be able to see it through. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“To me?”
The smile on Fayan’s face suddenly became bitter. “I’m just like Lianxin and Lianhua. Even though I know that people’s minds are very unpredictable, I still persist in reforming it. After all, I can’t escape the mortal rut.”
Shangguan Ru didn’t know what to say. She very much wished that everyone could give up hatred and cruelty, especially the Dragon King.
Fayan did not speak for a while and his smile looked a little stiff. Xu Yanwei whispered, “Did he… pass away?”
Kumie and three disciples approached, “What did the senior monk say? What did he leave to you?”
Fayan suddenly let out a breath. Then a low humming sound came from his thin chest, which was not loud but it clearly reached everyone’s ears, making the listener feel both comfortable and heavy at heart.
Shangguan Ru suddenly came to her senses and found Xu Yanwei, Kumie, and other people looking dull. Although they were standing still, it seemed that they had lost their consciousness. Fayan was the opposite, sweating profusely and dying.
“The timing is just right.” Fayan couldn’t even keep his smile up now.
“You…” Shangguan Ru was surprised and even a bit frightened. She felt that she had only fainted for a moment, and could not have imagined the monk would do such a thing, “You’ve transferred all your internal energy to me?”
“I can’t help you recover, so I can only give you mine. I’m sorry, but your original power will never be restored.”
Shangguan Ru was stupefied. She did not care about the original Daoless Divine Power but felt that the senior monk’ behavior was really unbelievable.
“Promise me one thing.” Fayan appeared to be in a bit of a hurry.
“Please go ahead, master.”
“The Grand Enlightenment Sword Sutra can turn people into demons but also can make people become Buddhas. You need… you need to…” Fayan seemed powerless to go on.
“Send it to the eminent monks of the Four Noble Truths Temple?” Shangguan Ru didn’t quite understand why the Death Sutra could make people become Buddhas, but she knew that many people were interested in this set of sword techniques and perhaps the monks were no exception.
“Destroy it.” Fayan let out a long breath and finally finished what he wanted to say. “A man of understanding doesn’t need it. Those who have no understanding will only use it to do evil. I’m glad that I did not see this scripture when I was alive. To become a Buddha was my greed and even I cannot resist it.”
“I’ll try my best, but the Dragon King and Lotus…” The scripture had been so deeply imprinted on the two’s mind that Shangguan Ru couldn’t get rid of it.
Fayan decided to spend the last parts of his life in confession. It was not until he reached the state of absolute nothingness did he finally realize that his desire was no less than a commoner’s, just in a different direction. He looked at Shangguan Ru who had no more killing desire and believed that his choice was right.
The manual that he had taught Shangguan Ru a few days ago wasn’t an internal energy manual, but rather the groundwork of accepting another’s internal energy. From then on, Fayan had made the decision that he couldn’t pass his internal energy to his disciple. Although Lianxin was loyal and trustworthy, he still had a killing desire and enhancing his internal energy would only incite him into taking revenge.
Looking at the old monk, Shangguan Ru felt that she already understood what the other side had meant. If the Sumeru Mustard Mantra didn’t work on the Dragon King and Lotus, there would be only one way to destroy the Death Sutra, the way that she was most unwilling to use.
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