Chapter 82 — Ten
劍問蒼天 · Page 2 of 10
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.