Chapter 1777

In the distance, the sound of sweeping fallen leaves rang out. Ming Jing stepped back and lowered his body further, only to see an old monk walking from the bluestone path in the middle of the pagoda forest, sweeping as he came. Hu Xiaotian saw clearly that the old monk's kind eyes and benevolent visage were exactly those of the monk Yuan Mu he had met at Lingyin Temple that day.

Yuan Mu is a senior monk of the Yuan generation at Heaven Dragon Temple, his status exalted; he is of the same generation as Yuan Kong, and even the Heaven Dragon Temple Abbot Master Tongyuan must address him as Martial Uncle, while Ming Jing must call him Grand Martial Uncle—his standing in Heaven Dragon Temple goes without saying.

Back then, Hu Xiaotian fled Da Yong with Huo Shengnan, passing through Lingyin Temple where he met Sword Palace Elder Qi Changguang. At that time, he unfortunately suffered a deviation due to the Void Great Law, but thanks to Yuan Mu's guidance he barely escaped disaster. Since then he had never seen Yuan Mu again, never expecting to meet him today at the Great Imperial Temple.

Qiqi did not recognize Yuan Mu, thinking him merely an ordinary sweeping monk, but seeing Ming Jing and Hu Xiaotian show such reverence, she instantly realized this old monk was no ordinary person.

Hu Xiaotian stepped aside, but Qiqi remained planted where she was, refusing to make way.

Yuan Mu stopped about a zhang away from Qiqi, his kind gaze fixed on Hu Xiaotian as he said, 'Benefactor, your fortune is truly extraordinary; I had thought you had already ascended to Paradise.'

Hu Xiaotian laughed and said, "Master Yuanmu, it's been so long since we last met, and the first thing you say upon seeing me is to curse my death— isn't that a bit unkind for a monk?"

Yuanmu said, "In the Buddha's eyes, life and death are essentially no different; I speak frankly, and you need not take it too seriously."

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "Master, if I really died, would you feel remorse?" Hu Xiaotian had once heard Bu Wu say that Master Yuanmu had the ability to resolve the Void Grand Technique; back then, at Lingyin Temple, he himself had gone into deviation due to heterogeneous true qi, and although Yuanmu had pointed him out of the predicament, he had not given him a fundamental solution. This was not that Hu Xiaotian held a grudge because of that; he was merely curious, since the Buddha says saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, why would this enlightened monk stand by and do nothing?

Yuanmu gave a faint smile, showing no ripple at all from Hu Xiaotian's words; in terms of cultivation and state of mind, he is who knows how much higher than the junior Mingjing. Yuanmu said, "Where there is a cause, there is an effect; the karma you have planted, I dare not say more, but your fortune is extraordinary— if I am not mistaken, you have already escaped the great calamity."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Come to think of it, I still owe the master a favor." Back then he had promised to retrieve the hand-copied Banruo Boluomiduo Xin Jing by Emperor Taizong and return it to Tianlong Temple, but in the end he never managed to do so.

Yuanmu said, "Some things cannot be forced." His deep gaze fell upon Qiqi.

Qiqi felt that the old monk's gaze was extremely sharp, as if it could see through her heart, and she rarely felt a flutter of panic, yet she showed no weakness, meeting his gaze with an expression that was imposing without anger.

Yuanmu said, "Female benefactor, do you know that this pagoda forest is a forbidden area?"

Qiqi said, "To me, there are no forbidden zones within Dakang's territory!"

Yuanmu laughed, seemingly already knowing her identity; he slowly nodded and said softly, "In the pagoda forest of the Great State Temple there are enshrined the Buddha relics of three hundred and seventy-seven eminent monks; you two benefactors are not of the Buddhist faith, so coming here must be for another purpose." He picked up a broom and walked ahead, with Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi curiously following behind, and before long they arrived before a seven-story pagoda.

Hu Xiaotian immediately recognized that this pagoda was exactly the place where Qiqi had come to pay her respects; back then she had said her mother had died after crashing into this pagoda.

Yuanmu swept clean the fallen leaves around the pagoda, meticulously and wholeheartedly; only after he had cleared the area spotlessly did he stop, look up at the pagoda, and say, "Perhaps you have already heard that beneath this pagoda lie the remains of a monk."

Hu Xiaotian knew little about these matters, but Qiqi's heart pounded wildly; she had learned some past events about her birth mother from Hong Beimo, though she doubted much of it, yet for her mother it was ultimately a disgraceful matter— could this old monk before them be someone in the know, and if he were to reveal it, how would she cope? She glanced around; besides Hu Xiaotian there was no one else, Mingjing did not dare follow, her heart eased a little, and even she herself could not fathom why she would let her guard down with Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian subtly observed Qiqi's expression; although she appeared calm on the surface, he still sensed her tension from the rhythm of her heartbeat—not because her psychological fortitude was lacking, but because her martial arts were still insufficient to freely control her breathing and heartbeat; before a master of Hu Xiaotian's caliber, any minute change cannot be concealed, and Yuanmu was no exception.

Hu Xiaotian said, "But I don't know what this monk's dharma name is."

Yuanmu's palm lightly rested on the pagoda, and he said in a deep voice, "Bodhi originally has no tree, the bright mirror is not a stand; originally there is nothing, where could dust arise?" After speaking, he withdrew his hand and turned to leave.

Hu Xiaotian thought to himself that this pretentious act deserved a hundred points, while Qiqi was utterly bewildered; just as Yuanmu's silhouette vanished into the pagoda forest, Hu Xiaotian suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into his embrace— Qiqi's heart jumped, at that moment the pagoda collapsed with a boom, the entire structure turning into fine powder that rose on the wind, dust stinging the eyes; Hu Xiaotian shielded Qiqi with his body, which indeed protected her, yet Qiqi felt as if he had taken advantage of the situation.

After the dust settled, the pagoda was gone; the two covered their noses with their sleeves and looked toward the pagoda's base, only to see nothing inside, and on the foundation's base were carved two large characters: Minghuai!

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought that these two characters were likely the dharma name of the pagoda's owner, while Qiqi recalled that Minghuai was exactly the monk Hong Beimo had mentioned, who might very well be her birth father. Judging by what lay before them, the pagoda was essentially empty.

Both had a thousand questions they wanted to ask, but Yuanmu had already walked far away, and obtaining answers from him seemed unlikely.

Mingjing appeared behind them holding a broom, staring wide-eyed at the pagoda that had suddenly vanished.

Hu Xiaotian spread his arms, putting on an innocent look: "Don't look at me; this has nothing to do with us."

Qiqi hurried after the direction Yuanmu had gone, vaguely sensing that he must know much about Minghuai; her mind was filled with mysteries she wanted to solve, and Hu Xiaotian, worried she might meet with mishap, hastily followed— yet after searching the entire pagoda forest they found no trace of Yuanmu, and Qiqi, full of disappointment, said, "How did he just disappear?"

Hu Xiaotian, however, knew that with Yuanmu's martial prowess it would be easy to evade them; Tianlong Temple truly is a place where hidden tigers and dragons lie, with far too many masters— recalling what Bu Wu had said earlier, the monk Yuanmu was not even the top expert of Tianlong Temple; the most formidable old monk was named Kongjian, who is said to have cultivated to the innate realm.

Hu Xiaotian was about to escort Qiqi away when Mingjing's voice reached his ears: "Benefactor, please wait a moment; my grand-uncle awaits you in the meditation chamber of the North Courtyard, hoping to meet you privately." Hu Xiaotian's heart stirred, he made no outward show, and told Qiqi, "Young master, let's go!"

The two returned to the stone pavilion, where Quan De'an had already been waiting anxiously; seeing Qiqi return safely, his heart finally eased. He laughed, "You should still go back with Eunuch Quan first, otherwise he'll worry himself sick."

Qiqi glanced at Hu Xiaotian with some surprise; today Hu Xiaotian had invited her here, and although they had met, he had not yet had the chance to state his purpose, and their original conversation had been interrupted by Yuanmu's appearance.

Hu Xiaotian lowered his voice and said, "Tonight I will go to Zilan Palace to find you."

Qiqi bit her cherry lip and whispered, "Do you think the imperial palace is a place you can come and go as you please?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "Don't forget I still have the five-colored coiled-dragon gold medal; who would dare stop me?"

Qiqi knew he could not possibly stride openly into the imperial palace, yet this rascal had lingered in Dakang's imperial court for so long that he knew it like the back of his hand, and besides, there were many of his insiders within the palace, making entry not difficult for him; thus she said nothing more and headed straight for Quan De'an. She did not speak, and Quan De'an naturally did not feel comfortable asking what they had discussed, merely glancing at Hu Xiaotian from afar before following Qiqi away.

Hu Xiaotian waited until they had gone far off, then turned and headed toward the meditation chamber in the North Courtyard that Mingjing had mentioned.

Arriving at the meditation chamber's door, he saw that the door was left ajar by about an inch, evidently waiting for his arrival; Hu Xiaotian deliberately coughed twice outside, only to hear Yuanmu's voice from inside say, "Since you've come, benefactor, just come in."

Hu Xiaotian pushed the door open and entered the meditation chamber; although it was daytime, the light inside was extremely dim, and Master Yuanmu sat cross-legged on a grass mat, eyes tightly shut as if in deep meditation.

Hu Xiaotian saw an empty grass mat set opposite him, so he sat cross-legged upon it and said respectfully, "Master, what advice do you have for me?"

Yuanmu still kept his eyes closed and said, "Your Void Grand Technique has already been accomplished, right?"

Hu Xiaotian knew he could not bluff past Yuanmu, and he chuckled, "It's not quite a full mastery— just a fortunate coincidence; I have already eliminated the hidden danger."

Yuanmu said, "To eliminate the hidden danger, you must convert the heterogeneous true qi to your own use; it seems you have obtained the complete text of the Void Grand Technique."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Heaven leaves no one without a way; even without the complete text, one can still find a method to dispel the hidden danger— have you heard of the Sun-Shooting True Classic, Master?" Before clarifying Yuanmu's true intentions, Hu Xiaotian naturally would not reveal the truth.

Yuanmu said, "The Sun-Shooting True Classic is an unorthodox martial art; I have also heard of it. Its principle is to disperse the body's excess internal energy through unseen means, which may only delay the onset of deviation caused by heterogeneous true qi, but it absolutely cannot eradicate the hidden danger." (To be continued~^~)