Jiumozhi pursued the Old Freak of Xingxiu for five days and five nights. In the end, unfamiliar with the terrain, he lost the trail, his heart full of disappointment.
While asking after the Old Freak of Xingxiu's whereabouts, he finally learned of the rumors going around the jianghu.
"This humble monk and Duan Zhengchun fought over Ma Dayuan, and, even after his death, remained hopelessly infatuated and stole his corpse away to keep, until at last Qin Zheng, the Great Hero of Guanzhong, seized the corpse back?"
"Utter nonsense. Has this humble monk gone mad, or have you?"
Jiumozhi seized a man of the jianghu by the collar, so furious he was fit to burst, wishing he could tear the rumor-monger before him to pieces.
The man he had grabbed trembled all over, his face full of terror. "Master, I didn't say it. The whole jianghu is spreading it this way!"
Jiumozhi said, his gaze sharp, "I trust you wouldn't dare." With that he let the man go and watched him run off into the distance.
Before long, a foreign monk from the Western Regions found the inn and bowed. "State Preceptor, the Zanpu has a secret order for you."
Jiumozhi took the envelope, tore it open, and his pupils shrank at once.
Murong Bo had faked his death to slip away and had been hiding in Shaolin all along—and the Murong father and son had also obtained the Heirloom Seal of the Realm?
In the letter, the king of Tubo ordered him to go to Shaolin Temple, seek out the Murong father and son, and secretly seize the Heirloom Seal of the Realm.
Jiumozhi had long wanted to fight his way up to Shaolin and subdue the monks of Shaolin by force, to prove that he alone was the foremost master of the Buddhist sect. Only certain unexpected events had delayed his steps.
Now that the secret order had come, he thought for a while, decided to set aside his pursuit of the Old Freak of Xingxiu for the time being, and at once set out for Shaolin.
At the same time, inside Shaolin Temple.
Master Zhiguang and Zhao Qiansun had already gone up the mountain and begun questioning Xuanci, abbot of Shaolin. Seated beside them was Xuan Nan, First Seat of Damo Hall.
Facing Xuanci, whose face was full of worry, Zhao Qiansun glared and demanded, "Xuanci, I ask you: in the Battle of Yanmen Pass back then, did you have ulterior motives? Did you mean to use Xiao Yuanshan's hand to eliminate the masters of the jianghu and fulfill your ambition to dominate the jianghu?"
Xuanci was already troubled by the rumors in the jianghu. At this questioning his body gave a tremor, and he argued, "Where does this talk come from? In the Battle of Yanmen Pass that year, I received a letter from a good friend and mistakenly believed the Khitans were coming to Shaolin Temple to seize the secret manuals. Only then did I gather masters from every quarter to go and ambush them. I made this matter clear to all of you back then, did I not?"
Zhao Qiansun gave a cold laugh. "That letter—take it out and let me see it."
Xuanci chanted a Buddha's name. "The man who delivered the letter has been dead for many years. I cannot bear for him to bear a charge even after death. Let this matter be reckoned against this humble monk."
Zhao Qiansun rose in anger. "Reckoned against you? That letter was fabricated by you in the first place, so of course it is to be reckoned against you!"
Xuan Nan, at the side, spoke. "Senior Brother, was that letter written to you by Murong Bo?"
Xuanci gave a start and looked at Xuan Nan in puzzlement.
He alone had seen that letter. How did Xuan Nan know it had been written by Murong Bo?
Xuan Nan glanced at his reaction, sighed silently, and said, "I went to Yanziwu to investigate Senior Brother Xuan Bei's death and met Benefactor Qin Zheng. He said Murong Bo had faked his death to slip away and has been hiding in Shaolin all these years, and that Senior Brother Xuan Bei died at Murong Bo's hand."
Xuanci's expression shifted through several changes. After a spell of silence, he sighed. "I have long had some suspicions. Benefactor Murong was always in fine health—how could he have died so suddenly? I simply never thought he had faked his death to slip away."
Zhao Qiansun said, his face full of scorn, "You and he are clearly in league. Otherwise, how could he have hidden in Shaolin for years without your knowing?"
Xuanci sighed, utterly helpless. "Alas, it seems this humble monk has no way to clear his name..."
Master Zhiguang spoke. "Abbot Xuanci, this old monk also has a matter to ask."
Xuanci said respectfully, "Please speak, Master."
Zhiguang asked, his expression complicated, "More than twenty years ago, were you entangled with a woman? Did you have a romantic affair?"
Xuanci's face turned ashen all at once. He closed his eyes and chanted a Buddha's name. "Amitabha. Sin, sin. This humble monk's Buddhist heart was not firm. I failed to keep the precepts and am ashamed before the Buddha's teachings."
Seeing him admit it, Zhao Qiansun raised his palm, bent his fingers into a claw, and grabbed toward the crown of Xuanci's head. "Good that you admit it. Today I will rid the jianghu of a scourge and do away with you, this scum of the martial world!"
Xuanci still thought he was speaking of Ye Erniang. Feeling he had wronged Ye Erniang and the child, out of guilt he did not strike back.
But Xuan Nan beside him could not stand idle. With one palm he struck Zhao Qiansun's hand aside and sealed his acupoints. "Amitabha. Xuanci is the abbot of our Shaolin. If he has broken the precepts, the temple rules will punish him. Benefactor Zhao, you have overstepped."
Zhao Qiansun burst into curses. "Shaolin harbors filth, bullies the weak with its strength, and conceals evil intent. I, Zhao Qiansun, have truly seen what you are today!"
Seeing him ranting wildly and fearing he would stir up a disturbance in the temple, Xuan Nan reached out and sealed his mute acupoint. His expression grim, he said, "Forgive the offense. Calm yourself for a few days. Once our temple has dealt with the enemies coming to attack, this humble monk will make amends to you."
Seeing them come to blows, Zhiguang rose expressionlessly. "Since that is how it is, this humble monk will take his leave first."
Xuanci hurriedly urged him to stay. "Master, it is already late. Why not rest a night in the temple, and tomorrow..."
Zhiguang's face went cold, and he cut him off. "What, do you mean to detain this humble monk as well?"
Xuanci's voice caught. With a bitter smile he said, "I would not dare. I will see you off."
With that, he and Xuan Nan escorted Zhiguang down the mountain together. Only when they watched him walk out through the mountain gate did they breathe a slight sigh of relief.
Zhiguang had his origins in Shaolin. After the Battle of Yanmen Pass he felt he had been deceived, left Shaolin in defiance, and for many years had gone from place to place healing the common people. His reputation among the people far surpassed Shaolin's.
If they truly detained him, that would give rise to great turmoil indeed.
Watching Zhiguang's gradually receding figure, Xuanci said, full of remorse, "How did it come to this? How did it come to this..."
Xuan Nan said, "Things have already come to this. More words are useless. Better to think how we will face the Beggar Gang and the fellows of the martial world who are about to arrive. The heritage of our Shaolin, hundreds of years old, must not be destroyed in the hands of our generation."
Xuanci nodded slightly and said, "You take men to search the temple for Murong Bo. I will go and ask Junior Brother Xuanku to come out of seclusion. Junior Brother Xuanku is the master who taught Qiao Feng, and he holds great weight in Qiao Feng's heart. If we can invite him to come down from the mountain, perhaps he can persuade Qiao Feng to leave."
While Xuanci and the others were plotting how to drive the enemy off, Qiao Feng had already led the experts of the Beggar Gang to camp at the foot of Mount Shaoshi and joined Qin Zheng at the Mountain God Temple below the mountain.
Seeing Master Zhiguang coming down from the mountain, Qin Zheng stepped forward to greet him and said with a smile, "Master Zhiguang, not sleeping in the dead of night—are you off to Chengtian Temple to look for Zhang Huaimin?"
Zhiguang did not know whether to laugh or cry. "How many years has it been since Layman Zhang lodged at Chengtian Temple? Don't joke about him anymore. I went up to Shaolin with Zhao Qiansun to question Xuanci. At a word of disagreement Zhao Qiansun came to blows, and now he has been detained by Shaolin. I have come to you for help." As he spoke, he told Qin Zheng what had happened before.
When Qin Zheng heard him recount the whole cause and consequence, his eyes lit up at once.
From the drift of Zhiguang's words, Xuanci had actually admitted to his illicit affair with Kang Min?
He truly dared to admit it!
Worthy indeed of the abbot of Shaolin—truly one who dared to act and dared to own it, and even dared to own what he had never done!
Chapter 29