劍問蒼天 - 第181章 無字玉壁 - 翰墨軒

Ming Li's heart stirred, and he looked at Fa Cheng. There was a subtle depth of meaning in those words, as though Fa Cheng already regarded him as one of the temple's own. Perhaps in the hearts of these monks, he who had once bowed at Pu Zhao's feet was, in the end, still counted a part of Fan Yin Temple?

Fa Cheng turned and withdrew. Ming Li watched his retreating figure, stood in silence a moment, then walked back into his own meditation chamber.

********

The moment he set foot on the summit, Ming Li could not help but pause slightly. To him this place was truly one where a hundred feelings converged. Beneath the morning sun, the small Fan Yin Temple sat plain and unadorned ahead—low walls, a little courtyard. Where now were the traces of that night's heart-stopping terror?

He turned his head and gazed into the distance. From Fan Yin Temple far off came faintly the sound of human voices, incense burning thick, a scene of bustling life. Perhaps these people who lived in peace were, in truth, the happier?

He turned silently and walked into the small Fan Yin Temple. Very soon the silence peculiar to this place closed around him, and in that vast courtyard it seemed only his own footsteps echoed.

When he reached the door of that meditation chamber, Ming Li stopped and instinctively glanced toward the rear of the courtyard. The little path there was hidden by the wall, though one could still see where it stretched back—only now, in that last small courtyard, there remained nothing but emptiness.

As if a person comes ** and goes in blankness.

He knocked on the door of the meditation chamber, and soon Master Pu Cheng's calm voice came from within: "Is that young Benefactor Zhang? Do come in."

Ming Li answered faintly and pushed the door open. In the room there was only Master Pu Cheng, sitting cross-legged on the meditation bed, a smile on his face as he watched Ming Li enter.

Ming Li nodded to Master Pu Cheng and said, "Master, I heard from Senior Brother Fa Cheng that you had some matter for me?"

Master Pu Cheng asked in return, "That is so—but I hear that young Benefactor also had something he wished to discuss with me?"

Ming Li pondered a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes. In truth it is no great matter. Mainly, I have intruded upon your hospitality these many days, and now that my injuries are nearly healed, I truly dare not impose further."

Master Pu Cheng smiled and said, "What words are these, young Benefactor?"

Ming Li shook his head and said, "At the foot of Mount Cang Lan that day, you and the others saved my life; and since then, here, you have helped me untie the knot in my heart. My gratitude is beyond telling. But I am, after all, of the Demonic Sect, and if this goes on, I fear it will injure your temple's good name."

Master Pu Cheng's expression grew grave. "Young Benefactor, there is a thing I do not know whether I ought to say."

Ming Li said, "Master, please speak."

Master Pu Cheng nodded and said, "Then forgive my bluntness: from the look of your face and your bearing, young Benefactor, you are in no way a man of vicious evil. That you have fallen into the demonic path is the doing of fate, not your own fault. Moreover, you and my junior brother Pu Zhao share such a bond of destiny—you have affinity with our Buddha, and all the more with Fan Yin Temple. So long as you are willing to turn back and seek the shore, Fan Yin Temple shall shelter you with all its strength. Say nothing of the Cang Lan Sect—let all the righteous paths of the world come together, and this temple would not fear them in the least. The Buddha says that to ferry one soul across is merit beyond compare. Since you are a man of affinity, young Benefactor, why not set down the burdens of the mortal world and attain this pure and peaceful ease? Would that not be well?"

Having spoken, he gazed at Ming Li, his expression earnest.