劍問蒼天 - 第176章 俗世佛堂 - 翰墨軒

Fa Cheng smiled slightly, turned and shut the door, then said to Ming Li: "How do you feel today? Does your chest still pain you?"

Ming Li stirred, slowly opened his eyes, glanced at Fa Cheng, and said mildly: "You ask that every time you come. Doesn't it weary you?"

Fa Cheng smiled and shook his head. His gaze shifted, and he walked to the wall on the other side, to the scroll depicting the Bodhisattva Guanyin, took three slender sticks of sandalwood incense from the offering table, lit them at the slender candle kept burning beside it, and set them into the bronze censer.

Thin smoke curled upward and dispersed into the air. The image of Guanyin seemed suddenly to blur, and a faint scent of sandalwood began to drift through the room.

Fa Cheng pressed his palms together and bowed three times before the image of Guanyin, then turned back, looked at Ming Li for a long moment, and said suddenly: "Will you not come and bow?"

Ming Li was taken aback and found himself looking toward the scroll. The Guanyin in the image had a face of compassion, dignified and beautiful; her long, narrow, wise eyes seemed lifted slightly, as though gazing upon all the myriad beings of the world—and at this moment, as though gazing with compassion upon him.

Something stirred in his heart, but at once he laughed coldly: "Why should I bow to her? If she truly had divine power, I begged the heavens and all the gods and Buddhas more times than I can count—and never once saw them show compassion!"

Fa Cheng looked at him a long while. Ming Li met his gaze levelly, the cold smile still on his lips, showing not the least sign of remorse. At length Fa Cheng gave a long sigh, turned, and bowed his own head before the image of Guanyin, murmuring softly under his breath words that could not be made out.

Ming Li watched him from behind, sneering without cease.

His reverence finished, Fa Cheng turned around. The compassion on his face gradually faded, replaced by a calm smile, and he said: "You look well today, and your body has largely recovered these past days. Still—let us go out."

At this Ming Li was startled. "Go out? Go where?"

Fa Cheng smiled. "To the place you wish to go. To see the person you wish to see."

Ming Li frowned, then raised his brows. "What—could it be that Elder Pu Cheng...?"

Fa Cheng nodded. "Indeed. My honored master heard that you were recovering and was greatly pleased. He bade me come today to see you, and said that if you were not too fatigued, you two might meet. What say you?"

Ming Li regarded Fa Cheng for a long while, then laughed suddenly: "Good, good, good. I have waited a long time for this day. Of course I will see him. Never mind that I am well—even on that day when my wounds were grave, had he been willing, I would have crawled to see him."

Fa Cheng pressed his palms together. "The benefactor speaks too gravely. Please, follow me."

With that, he led the way, walking first to the door, opening it and stepping out. Ming Li followed at once. But as he was about to leave the room, for some reason he turned back and looked again at the scroll of Guanyin hanging on the wall. In the curling thin smoke, Guanyin's brows were kind, her eyes gentle, her lips faintly smiling—as though she too were gazing at him.

Ming Li frowned and gave a snort, but turned at once and went straight out without looking back again, leaving only the fine sandalwood incense drifting softly in the empty room behind him.

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Beyond the courtyard lay a passage some two zhang long and four chi wide, red walls on either side rising more than twice a man's height, roofed alike with green glazed tiles. At the end of the passage was a round archway, and as he drew near it he faintly heard a clamor from beyond.