劍問蒼天 - 第237章 異寶 - 翰墨軒

Ming Li said nothing. A hush fell over the room. After a moment, the Venerable Pu Cheng spoke slowly: "Brother, you know the whole of this matter, from beginning to end, so I need not go over it again. Today Benefactor Ming Li has come to borrow a treasure from our Temple of the Sanskrit Voice, to save a life."

Master Pude was still gazing at Ming Li. The shock and astonishment in his eyes had slowly softened; plainly Ming Li stirred in Master Pude the same extraordinary feeling he stirred in Pu Cheng and the others. Hearing Pu Cheng's words, Master Pude's expression did not change. "What treasure?" he rasped.

By now, though Master Pude's speech still faltered here and there, he could string his words together well enough. Pu Cheng glanced at Ming Li, sighed, and said, "The treasure he wishes to borrow is the Universe Reincarnation Disc."

Master Pude was startled, and his placid face shifted once more; clearly this was no small shock to him. Ming Li stepped forward and said earnestly, "Masters, for ten years the soul of a friend of mine has been held fast within some strange object. She is no better than one living dead, and not a day passes that I do not feel my heart cut as if by a blade. Even if the hope is but one in ten thousand, I dare not abandon it. I beg you, Masters, in your compassion—if this cherished wish of mine can be fulfilled and my friend saved, I will serve you as an ox or a horse to repay your kindness!"

Both Master Pu Cheng and Master Pude pressed their palms together and invoked the Buddha's name. Master Pu Cheng said, "Benefactor, say no such thing. You do us too much honor."

Only Master Pude, having passed through his first astonishment, had now regained his calm. His brows knitted slightly. "May I ask, Benefactor—from whom did you learn that the Universe Reincarnation Disc resides in our humble temple?"

Ming Li looked troubled and turned to Pu Cheng. Pu Cheng smiled bitterly. "Brother, I pressed Benefactor Ming Li on this very point a moment ago. But according to him, the senior master who revealed the secret refuses to let him disclose that person's name or origins. I could not decide the matter on my own, and then it occurred to me that the Universe Reincarnation Disc has always been in your keeping. That is why I have disturbed your quiet cultivation—to ask your opinion."

Only then did Ming Li understand why Pu Cheng and Fa Cheng had brought him to see this Master Pude. It seemed this mysterious treasure, the Universe Reincarnation Disc, was truly no small thing: one of the Four Great Divine Monks, Master Pude himself, had kept it in his personal care for decades. Might it truly possess some wondrous power, enough to save Bi Li? At the thought, Ming Li could not help but feel a fever spread through his body, and his hands clenched into fists.

Silence filled the room. Every eye turned to the silent Master Pude, who sat with his eyes lowered as though pondering something. Looking at that expressionless face, Ming Li could not keep his palms from sweating. How long it lasted, he could not say, but at last Master Pude slowly raised his eyes, looked at Ming Li, and gently joined his palms. "Benefactor."

Ming Li hurriedly returned the courtesy, saying, "I beg the Master's compassion."

Master Pude's voice was still hoarse, his tone slow. "More than ten years ago, my third junior brother, Pu Zhao, did you a great wrong, and all of us at the Temple of the Sanskrit Voice owe you a debt we cannot repay..." Beside him, Pu Cheng and Fa Cheng pressed their palms together and softly chanted, "Amitabha."

Master Pude went on: "Moreover, this Universe Reincarnation Disc was brought back to our temple by my junior brother Pu Zhao himself, when he traveled the wild northwestern wastes. In a manner of speaking, you might count as Pu Zhao's disciple, and it would only be right to entrust it to you. Only..."