Chapter 358: Accusing Fa Hai of His Faults

"So, Brother Qing, you were originally a woman."

"These past few days, you entered the mountains to gather the Golden Core."

Gu Qing and Xiao Qing stared at each other, all their accumulated misunderstandings resolved at once; their gazes lingered, entwined, friendship on the verge of becoming something more.

"Enough."

Bai Suzhen halted their further thoughts, saying: "You two should support each other, but absolutely must not take the final step. Xiao Qing, your cultivation is still shallow, the Golden Core poison not yet purged—any intimate contact will easily invite disaster."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qing kept glancing at Gu Qing.

"What about you?"

Gu Qing turned to Bai Suzhen and asked.

"I've cultivated for seventeen hundred years and consumed a Golden Core—this poison was cleared long ago, naturally different."

Bai Suzhen spoke with confidence, but upon seeing Gu Qing's expression, she immediately flushed, realizing she shouldn't have revealed her state to him.

Gu Qing chuckled, about to speak, when he saw an old monk walking toward them with steady steps; his eyes blazed with fury, yet his face remained calm as ever—this contrast carried the terrifying power of a volcano about to erupt.

"Snake demon, we finally meet!"

Fa Hai's voice carried a soul-shaking force.

"Fa Hai!"

Bai Suzhen was not pregnant; her entire lineage of Lishan Laomu's arts remained intact. Seeing Fa Hai, she recalled past grievances, her mind clearing all details: "I never thought you still held onto it."

"You little demon, stole the Golden Core and medicinal herbs, dared to seek true enlightenment."

Fa Hai flew into a rage. Xu Xian had remarried; Bai Suzhen remained unmarried. Many things had slipped beyond his plans—this thousand-year grudge was about to change.

"You monk spouts nonsense, think we fear you?"

Xiao Qing snapped angrily.

She would not allow anyone to be arrogant before her.

"Prejudice in the human heart is a great mountain—no matter how hard you try, you cannot move it an inch..."

Gu Qing patted Xiao Qing's hand and quoted solemnly.

"Master Gu."

Fa Hai barked: "Concealing treachery is the first taboo of the Daoist path!"

Fa Hai had long disliked Gu Qing.

He had been betrayed by Gu Qing three times.

First, Xu Xian—his destined disciple, the key to subduing Bai Suzhen—but now, Xu Xian had become Gu Qing's disciple.

Second, the Liang Prince's Mansion: it built Jinshan Temple for Fa Hai, earning him the Buddha's favor and the Golden Bowl. That debt was deep—but now, Gu Qing had betrayed and toppled the Liang Prince's Mansion, leaving many plans unfinished.

Third, Xu Xian's wife: Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian were destined spouses—but Fa Hai arrived too late, and Gu Qing arranged for Xu Xian to marry someone else.

Gu Qing!

Why is it always you?

If prejudice in the human heart is a mountain, then Fa Hai carries his mountain—he intends to strike Bai Suzhen; if Gu Qing blocks him, then he strikes Gu Qing!

No room for compromise!

That's just Fa Hai's nature!

Damn it!

Gu Qing met Fa Hai's furious gaze and stood up.

"What treachery have I plotted?"

Gu Qing asked.

"If you don't want others to know, don't do it yourself."

Fa Hai set down the Golden Bowl, waved his hand—and within it, past images appeared: Gu Qing writing letters, then joining Xiao Qing outside the imperial palace, drawing his bow, firing an arrow that detonated the Liang Prince's Mansion.

This was the key moment behind the mansion's downfall.

"Good, good, good."

Gu Qing stared at the images, sneering twice.

Fa Hai held prejudice against Gu Qing—but wasn't Gu Qing carrying his own mountain?

Gu Qing had long found this old monk intolerable.

Fa Hai, consumed by hatred, showed no trace of a monk's demeanor; he repeatedly provoked Bai Suzhen into flooding Jinshan Temple, just to use the Golden Bowl against her.

His stubborn, hate-driven image was deeply ingrained.

If Gu Qing wanted to marry Bai Suzhen, Fa Hai was inevitably his enemy.

Impossible to avoid!

"You accuse me of concealing treachery."

Gu Qing asked calmly: "Then let me ask you—did I embezzle the foreign tributes from the Liang Prince's Mansion? Did Zhao Gou not execute Yue Fei? Did Zhao Gou's oath to the Jin not include 'this subject Gou'? Did Zhao Gou not cede land? Did he not send gold to the Jin?"

"Answer me!"

"Am I not telling the truth?"

Fa Hai had cultivated long and possessed moral discernment; faced with Gu Qing's blunt accusations, he had no reply—after all, all this was Zhao Gou's doing.

"And as for the Liang Prince's Mansion—why did my arrow strike the palace, yet the mansion fell?"

Gu Qing's tone dripped with sarcasm: "I don't understand—this mansion oppressed the people, committed grave sins. Yet because it donated money to build Jinshan Temple, it became your honored guest? Did the Buddha himself grant you the Golden Bowl? Then suppose Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing are equally wicked—name your price. I'll build you several temples, elevate your status, and we'll call it even."

Gu Qing genuinely sought peace.

But his words were too sharp for Fa Hai.

"Look me in the eye!"

Fa Hai felt his face burn. Compared to the piercing sting of betrayal, this direct accusation was harder to bear.

Now was no time to speak of karma or retribution—only to make the air livelier.

"Since matters have come to this, let's speak plainly."

Gu Qing tapped the table: "The Liang Prince's Mansion committed countless evils. Yet because it donated to a temple, it became your honored guest, and the Buddha himself granted you the Golden Bowl. Then suppose Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing are equally wicked—name your price. I'll build you several temples, elevate your status, and we'll call it even."

Gu Qing was sincere in seeking peace.

But his words were too harsh for Fa Hai.

"Master Gu."

Fa Hai spoke calmly: "Slandering the Buddha leads to hell."

Fahai swept his sleeve and walked away, roaring, "Obstinate and unyielding."

Gu Qing stared at Fa Hai and asked: "Is it not true?"

Fa Hai swept his sleeve and walked away, roaring: "Obstinate and incorrigible!"

Couldn't argue, so he ran...

Fahai said nothing, merely pressed forward.

Gu Qing called out loudly: "What sutras do you cultivate?"

Fa Hai said nothing, only pressed forward.

"The Golden Bowl is still powerful."

Bai Suzhen sensed Fa Hai's strength and told Gu Qing, hoping he'd temper his temper.

Fahai's commotion did nothing to spoil Gu Qing's good mood; Gu Qing took Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing to Xihu, where they watched painted boats leisurely drifting. After a while of amusement, Gu Qing hired a boat of his own, and the three of them played aboard until nightfall, then returned together to Tongren Hall.

Gu Qing dismissed it, already thinking of stealing the secret scrolls from the Jade Pool—would the immortal maidens really idle enough to review surveillance?

Fa Hai's outburst had not spoiled Gu Qing's mood. He took Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing to West Lake, watching painted boats drift. After a while, he rented a boat himself, and the three of them laughed and played until nightfall, then returned together to Tongren Hall.

He opened the door of Tongren Hall.

At the center of blooming flowers stood fine liquor and spirit incense—all arranged by Gu Qing exactly as the Fire Keeper had instructed.

But something had gone wrong.

Gu Qing hurried forward and saw a man lying face-down before the wine jars, snoring deeply. He flipped the man over—his face flushed, beard thick, forehead bulging, unconscious. Even as Gu Qing turned him, the man began snoring louder.

"..."

This alcohol was too strong—it knocked out the boss.

Gu Qing glanced at the Well God.

"That's Marshal Lingguang."

The Well God said: "Just call him Huaguang Dadi."

It was a Great Emperor!

【90】 Gu Qing sucked in a cold breath.

【91】 (End of Chapter)