The true qi in Kong Chan's body gradually settled. This one of the Five Great Pinnacles of the world had, in the end, still not struck; he asked only, mildly, "Little benefactor, would you be willing to bow to this old monk as master?"
A chill ran down Wang Chong's spine. He had felt it keenly just now: this seemingly youthful old monk had roused a wrathful, murderous intent. Terrified that a single word—"I'd rather not take a master"—might make the old monk turn hostile on the spot and strike, he answered with tact: "This one is an heir of Wudang..."
Kong Chan chuckled. "What kind of Wudang heir are you? You've merely learned some Wudang arts, that's all."
The old monk pressed his palms together before his chest and said, "A monk speaks no falsehood. I see that your demonic karma runs deep, little benefactor—nothing but the supreme dharma of the Buddha can dissolve it. If you will not agree to take this old monk as master, this old monk will have to act and subdue the demon."
Wang Chong was aghast and cried out, "Is that how 'a monk speaks no falsehood' gets used?!"
Great Monk Xuan Gang said gleefully from the side, "That's right—exactly so. My teacher said the very same to me back then. Between life and death and the Buddha's dharma, I chose the Buddha's dharma. Even now I feel the Buddha's mercy. But my teacher is a regular fiend."
"You'd best just agree!"
"This humble monk can vouch that my teacher is in no way blustering with empty threats—that thieving baldy really is not a good man!"
Kong Chan paid his blabbering disciple no mind, his bright eyes fixed on Wang Chong.
At this, Yu Zao abruptly thrust herself forward and cried, "Young master, run! This humble maid will block this old monk for you!" Before her words had faded, Great Monk Xuan Gang shot out a hand and, grasping across the air, sealed Yu Zao's acupoints from afar—then stood smiling, waiting to enjoy the show.
Wang Chong let out a long breath, bent low, and performed the eight obeisances. "This disciple, Wang Chong, greets his master."
Kong Chan gave a laugh. "This old monk has dissolved a demonic tribulation today—boundless merit shall surely be won!"
"Though you have now taken a master, your worldly ties are unfinished. You may cultivate while keeping your hair, and need not enter a monastery. This day I confer on you the dharma name Xuan De!"
Wang Chong hastened to say, "This dharma name is a shade too grand—your disciple cannot bear it."
Was "Xuan De" a name any serious person could go around using? Without a few Martial Saints at his side, a man would hardly dare step out the door.
Kong Chan said, "It is our Buddha who wishes to borrow this name, to press down the demonic aura in your body."
Wang Chong thought to himself: "I recited one passage of the Heart Sutra—how did I end up with demonic karma, a demonic tribulation, and demonic aura all at once? Is the Heart Sutra some kind of taboo in this world? If I'd known, I never would have played the big shot—now I've gone and made a proper show of myself." Right now he wanted only to be off, and said quickly, "Your disciple must still rejoin Constable Li. Let me bid you a brief farewell, Master, and first make a trip to Ruyi Nunnery."
Kong Chan said hastily, "You cannot go to Ruyi Nunnery!"
"Constable Li will be some while yet with her case. Let your teacher expound to you the profound meaning of the Sutra of Mahasthamaprapta Buddha Enlightening the Sea Dragon King to Soar Beyond the Heavens, Attain the True Fruit, and Become a Heavenly Dragon."
Wang Chong dared not refuse, thinking privately: "There must be something wrong with this identity of mine—otherwise this old monk would never behave like this.
"I absolutely must not ask. If anything slips out, I'll die with no place even to bury my corpse." He said quickly, "Master, please let your disciple's maid rise."
Great Monk Xuan Gang patted lightly at the air; a surge of powerful true qi crossed the space, and every one of Yu Zao's sealed acupoints burst open. She rolled to her feet and darted behind Wang Chong, eyes rolling every which way—yet her heart was faintly glad, and she thought secretly: "Today I offered my life in my young master's stead. Hereafter he is certain to treat me differently.
"And if I truly had died for him, would he think of me a few times every year?" For a while Yu Zao's thoughts ran every which way, and she could not have said what she was thinking.
Kong Chan took Wang Chong through the scripture once, and Wang Chong listened with patience for half a shichen. The text was very short, yet its fame in the Buddhist school was immense; it was also called the Sea Dragon King Sutra, and likewise the Heavenly Dragon Sutra, and it held meanings most deep and subtle—foremost among the Buddhist school's scriptures for spreading the dharma.
When Kong Chan finished the exposition, he questioned Wang Chong over and over, and Wang Chong answered every question without a hitch. Only then did the old monk say, smiling: "From this day you must recite it morning and night; do not let it slip from memory. This scripture bears greatly on your future attainment. In time you will come to know your teacher's painstaking heart."
Seeing that his master's mood had softened, Wang Chong made haste to take his leave. Great Monk Xuan Gang escorted this junior brother of his out past the gates of Jinguang Temple—this time making no show of not knowing him—and said, "When you find some idle hours, come to Shaolin and have some fun. There's no use thinking you can get out of it. Our master's methods are ruthless; he'll be sure to force you here."
Wang Chong raised a hand in farewell and would not give up half a sentence. In his heart he only grumbled: "Who on earth am I? That thieving baldy Kong Chan could actually recognize me—I must be somebody grand! This background of mine grows more tangled by the day."
He brought Yu Zao to the gate of Ruyi Nunnery and waited a little while, until Li Qingge came out leading a beautiful nun. Seeing Wang Chong, she said, "Master Li Miaomiao worries that the lecher, having failed once, has not let his lust die and will not let the matter rest—he may come looking again. She wants to lodge with us for a stretch of time."
Li Miaomiao's mind was elsewhere. The moment she saw Wang Chong press his palms together in greeting, her face went as though she had beheld an evil ghost or yaksha, her terror past all bounds. In a trembling voice she said, "Actually, I am quite well staying here at Ruyi Nunnery."
Wang Chong nearly lost his composure as well, thinking: "The timelines don't even line up. I might be White Chrysanthemum, but I absolutely cannot be the White Chrysanthemum who tried to violate you. What is with that terrified look, you thieving nun?
"If you dare frame me, I'll end you with one palm...
"Hm—forget it. Something as classless and rotten as rape first and murder after, I won't do. I'll just make it quick for you."
He bared his teeth in a grin. "Master Li Miaomiao has no need to worry. My martial arts are in no way beneath Constable Li's—White Chrysanthemum will never dare come to harm you, Master."
At these words Li Miaomiao's teeth chattered softly, clacking in disarray. Li Qingge could see something was wrong and asked, "Master Li Miaomiao—are you acquainted with young master Wang Chong?"
Li Miaomiao cried out loudly, "Not acquainted! I... with young master Wang—this is a first meeting!"
"In that case, Li Miaomiao entrusts herself to young master Wang's protection." As the beautiful nun spoke these words she looked ready to weep—and the scared-into-tears kind at that. Had Li Qingge not tested Wang Chong and come to believe he was not White Chrysanthemum, she would have struck and seized him long before. Even so, this great constable's suspicions sprouted thick and fast, and she thought: "I must find some way to bring Wu-Hook Frost-Snow and her junior brother to meet this Wang Chong—otherwise the doubts in my heart will never be dispelled."
Wang Chong felt exactly like a lump of tofu fallen into an ash pile—too delicate to blow clean, too delicate to smack clean, prickling all over and at ease nowhere. In his heart he cursed without pause: "Thieving baldy, thieving nun—just look at the fine mess you've made! Even I'm beginning to suspect I'm no good man.
"What the hell is my identity, that it throws Kong Chan and Li Miaomiao into such disarray?"
Li Qingge and Li Miaomiao rode double on one horse, and she probed at the nun all the way, but Li Miaomiao would say nothing at all. And the more she said nothing, the larger the suspicion grew—until, by the end, Li Qingge's gaze at Wang Chong had turned quite strange.
Wang Chong cursed inwardly the whole way: "Thieving nun, thieving nun, thieving nun..."
He was well and truly aggravated—so much so that he forgot to mention to Li Qingge that he had also just met Kong Chan and Great Monk Xuan Gang.
...Li Miaomiao: Y-you—don't come any closer...
Chapter 34