Chapter 82 — Ten

The furious voices of accusation finally began to subside. Facheng paid no heed to anyone else—not even to the murderous Zhanlong Sword in Lin Jinghong's furious grip—his eyes fixed only on Zhang Qingyue, filled at once with worry and with grief.

Only when the crowd had fallen completely silent did Facheng slowly continue.

"That murderer is my third martial uncle—Master Puzhao, one of the Four Great Divine Monks."

At these words there was another stir, and the crowd was left utterly stunned.

Zhang Qingyue's body swayed, then swayed again; he could feel nothing anymore, as though the entire sky had caved in upon him, and he himself was nothing but a ridiculous, pitiful creature...

That sorrow, deeply carved into the depths of his soul, now seemed to turn into a vengeful ghost, savagely gnawing at his heart!

After grief, what is left of you?

The black iron staff slowly began to glow—a faint green radiance shot through with pale gold—yet none of it could conceal that layer of cold red blood-light. A malevolence more intense than ever before, as though the bloody aura of countless millennia had gathered within the Blood-devouring Bead and the Soul-Snatching Staff, together with the despair of numberless vengeful spirits howling in fury, poured all at once into his breast!

And amid the chaos, Facheng's voice continued clearly from the front: "In those years, Uncle-Master Puzhao came to Qingyun and met with Sect Master Daoyan, urging that the true arts of Buddhism and Daoism be cultivated together, that the mystery of immortality might perhaps be unlocked—but the Sect Master politely declined."

Daoyan was taken aback, then nodded: "That is so. There was indeed such a matter."

Facheng went on: "That day Uncle-Master Puzhao descended the mountain in disappointment and wandered on foot into Liumiao Village. Seeing that night was falling, he lodged in the ruined temple there. And it was on that very night..."

His voice suddenly stopped. The great hall was utterly silent, not a sound to be heard—only Zhang Qingyue's breathing, growing rougher and rougher.

Facheng composed his feelings and steadied his mind, but his eyes never left Zhang Qingyue. "On that very night, Uncle-Master Puzhao suddenly discovered that a man in black had stolen into Liumiao Village by night, intending to abduct this junior brother Lin Jinghong."

Lin Jinghong started, and everyone turned to look at him. Facheng continued: "Uncle-Master Puzhao at once struck out to save him. But the man in black harbored treacherous designs—outwardly he seemed to be abducting a boy, but in truth he had come to deal with Uncle-Master Puzhao, coveting the demonic relic hidden upon his person: the Blood-devouring Bead!"

The crowd erupted.

Facheng said: "The Blood-devouring Bead was found by chance years ago by Uncle-Master Puzhao in the great western marshes. To keep it from bringing further disaster upon the living, he sealed the evil bead with the true arts of Buddhism and suppressed it with the sacred treasure of Fanyin Temple, the Jade Prayer Beads. How that mysterious man in black learned of this, I know not—but he first hid a deadly Seven-tailed Centipede upon Junior Brother Lin, which bit Uncle-Master Puzhao..."

Tian Buhui said in astonishment: "The Seven-tailed Centipede—could it be Cangsong..."

This time it was Lin Jinghong whose face turned even paler.

Facheng paused, then continued: "Thereafter, though terribly poisoned, Uncle-Master Puzhao fought that man to the death, and was at last gravely wounded by the Canglan Sect's 'Divine Sword Summons Thunder' that the man unleashed, his vital force nearly spent; yet he in turn struck him a heavy blow with the Maha Prajna, sending the man in black fleeing in alarm. And in the midst of that fierce struggle, Junior Brother Zhang Qingyue also came to the thatched temple."

The faces of the Canglan Sect members were now as ugly as could be. Facheng continued: "Afterward, Uncle-Master Puzhao knew he was certain to die, yet his lifelong wish had never been fulfilled, and he could not bring himself to accept it. It was then that he suddenly conceived a—a—a wildly fanciful idea: to pass the supreme Maha Prajna of Fanyin Temple to a disciple, and then have this young boy enter Qingyun to study the Daoist arts of Qingyun, so that the two true arts, Buddhist and Daoist, which had never before been joined, might be cultivated together in one person—and thus his lifelong wish would be fulfilled."

Master Daoyan gave a cold laugh. "Brother Puzhao was indeed formidable—far-sighted and deep-thinking. But why did he not pass it to Lin Jinghong, whose aptitude is better, and instead choose this Zhang Qingyue?"

Facheng paused. "Uncle-Master Puzhao believed that Junior Brother Lin's aptitude was too outstanding—that if he entered the Canglan Sect, he would surely draw the attention of the elders, and would likely be seen through easily. So..."

The Canglan Sect members exchanged glances. Tian Buhui shook his head. "Formidable, formidable..."

Facheng went on: "And so, because Uncle-Master Puzhao genuinely liked Junior Brother Zhang's simple, honest nature, he privately transmitted to him the Maha Prajna, which for a thousand years had never been passed outside the temple. Afterward, fearing that if the Blood-devouring Bead remained on his own person and the man in black should return, it might fall into wicked hands, he gave the bead to Junior Brother Zhang and told him to cast it away over some cliff where no one would know. Only"—here Facheng could not suppress a sigh—"I fear Junior Brother Zhang, out of old attachment, kept the evil bead upon his person all along."

In the great hall, the crowd at last had one mystery unraveled: so this was the origin of the Blood-devouring Bead, and so too had Zhang Qingyue come by the true arts of the Maha Prajna.

Now a look of anguish appeared on Facheng's face. He said slowly: "Even so, Uncle-Master Puzhao would have been guilty only of acting willfully. But no one could have foreseen that at this moment a... Uncle-Master Puzhao had acted from a heart of compassion, willing to endure all the torment of the bead's evil power himself so long as his own Buddhist arts could suppress the evil thing. But as days lengthened into years, the evil power of the Blood-devouring Bead secretly seeped into the depths of Uncle-Master Puzhao's soul. Ordinarily, protected by his Buddhist arts, he was wholly unaware of it. But that day, his vital force spent, he had just left Junior Brother Zhang and the others and come into the village when he suddenly realized: even though he had passed the Buddhist true arts to Junior Brother Zhang, the boy might not succeed in entering Qingyun!"

Facheng's expression was harrowed, and even his voice trembled slightly. "At that moment Uncle-Master Puzhao's Buddhist power was greatly diminished, and the evil power invaded him as though a ghost had possessed him. He actually conceived the idea—conceived the idea—of slaughtering every villager in Liumiao Village, so that the Canglan Sect, out of pity for the orphans, would surely take the two children into the sect. And so, and so..."

"Ah!" Lin Jinghong let out a savage roar, unable to contain himself any longer, and threw himself with the Zhanlong Sword at Facheng. Daoyan cried urgently: "Quick, stop him!"

Before his words had even fallen, Tian Buhui and the others had already restrained him. Lin Jinghong wept, tears streaming down his face, struggling without cease against their hold, his voice hoarse: "I'll kill you all, kill you all..."

In Fanyin Temple, with Pucheng and Pukong at their head, all the monks bowed their heads, shame on their faces, murmuring the Buddha's name without cease.