Chapter 1780

In the distance, the sound of sweeping fallen leaves rang out. Mingjing stepped back a pace, lowering his body even more, yet he saw an old monk sweeping as he walked along the bluestone path in the middle of the pagoda forest. Hu Xiaotian saw clearly: 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 Tianlong Temple; his status is exalted, and he is of the same generation as Yuan Kong. Even the abbot of Tianlong Temple, Master Tongyuan, must address him as 'shishu', and Mingjing must call him 'shishuzu'; his standing in Tianlong Temple needs no explanation.

Back then, Hu Xiaotian had brought Huo Shengnan fleeing from Da Yong, passing by Lingyin Temple where he met the Sword Palace elder Qi Changguang. At that time, he had suffered a deviation into demonic cultivation 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 Xiangguo Temple.

Qiqi did not recognize Yuan Mu, taking him for an ordinary sweeping monk, but seeing Mingjing and Hu Xiaotian both show such reverence, she instantly realized this old monk was no ordinary person.

Hu Xiaotian stepped aside, but Qiqi remained rooted to the spot, unwilling 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, your humble monk, had thought you had already ascended to the Pure Land.'

Hu Xiaotian laughed, 'Master Yuan Mu, it's been so long since we last met, and the first thing you say upon seeing me is a curse that I die— isn't that a bit unkind for a monk?'

Yuan Mu replied, 'In the eyes of the Buddha, life and death are essentially no different; I, your humble monk, speak frankly, so you need not take it too seriously.'

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, 'Master, if I were truly dead, would you feel remorse?' Hu Xiaotian had once heard Bu Wu say that Master Yuan Mu had the ability to resolve the Void Great Law; back when he himself had gone into demonic deviation due to heterodox true qi at Lingyin Temple, Yuan Mu had indeed guided him out of the predicament but had not given him a fundamental solution to eliminate the hidden danger. This is not to say Hu Xiaotian bears a grudge because of that; he is merely curious, since the Buddha teaches that saving a life outweighs constructing a seven-story pagoda, why would this enlightened monk stand by and do nothing?

Yuan Mu gave a faint smile, showing no reaction whatsoever to Hu Xiaotian's words; in terms of cultivation and state of mind, he far surpassed his junior Mingjing by an unknown degree. Yuan Mu said, 'There must be a cause for an effect; the karma you have sown, I, your humble monk, ought not to elaborate, but your fortune is truly 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 of Emperor Taizong and return it to Tianlong Temple, but in the end he never managed to do so.

Yuan Mu said, 'Some things cannot be forced.' His deep gaze turned toward Qiqi.

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

Yuan Mu asked, 'Lady benefactor, do you know that this pagoda forest is a forbidden area?'

Qiqi replied, 'As far as I'm concerned, there are no forbidden zones within the borders of Dakang!'

Yuan Mu chuckled, as if he had already discerned her identity; he nodded slowly and said softly, 'In this pagoda forest of the Great Xiangguo Temple lie the Buddhist relics of three hundred and seventy‑seven eminent monks. Since you two are not of the Buddhist faith, your coming here must be for some other purpose.' He picked up his broom and walked ahead, with Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi following curiously behind; before long they arrived before a seven‑story pagoda.

Hu Xiaotian recognized at a glance that this pagoda was exactly the place where Qiqi had come years ago to pay her respects, and she had once said her mother had died after crashing into this very pagoda.

Yuan Mu swept the fallen leaves clean from around the pagoda, meticulous and focused, and only when the area was spotless did he stop, lift his gaze to the pagoda, and say, 'Perhaps you have already heard that beneath this pagoda lie the remains of a monk.'

Hu Xiaotian knew little of these matters, but Qiqi's heart pounded wildly; she had learned some details about her birth mother from Hong Beimo, though she doubted much of it, and for her mother's sake it was ultimately a disgraceful affair. Could the old monk before them be privy to this, and if he were to speak of it, how would she bear it? She glanced around— aside from Hu Xiaotian there was no one else, and even Mingjing had not dared to follow, which eased her mind a little, though she herself could not fathom why she had let her guard down with Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian subtly observed Qiqi's expression; although she appeared calm on the surface, he could still sense her nervousness from the rhythm of her heartbeat—not because her mental fortitude was lacking, but because her martial skill was still insufficient to freely control her breathing and pulse, and any minute change would not escape Hu Xiaotian, a master of his level, nor Yuan Mu.

Hu Xiaotian asked, 'I wonder what this monk's dharma name is?'

Yuan Mu placed his palm lightly on the pagoda and intoned, 'Bodhi has no tree, the bright mirror has no 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 the act deserved full marks for pretentiousness, while Qiqi was utterly bewildered; just as Yuan Mu's silhouette vanished into the pagoda forest, Hu Xiaotian suddenly swept her into his embrace. Qiqi's heart jumped— at that moment the pagoda collapsed with a boom, turning entirely into fine powder that blew up in the wind, dust stinging their eyes. Hu Xiaotian shielded her with his body, which indeed protected her, yet Qiqi felt as if he had taken advantage of the situation.

When the dust settled, the pagoda was gone; the two covered their noses with their sleeves and looked toward the base, only to find it empty, with two large characters carved into the foundation: Minghuai.

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought that the two characters Minghuai were probably the dharma name of the pagoda's owner, while Qiqi recalled that Minghuai was the monk Hong Beimo had mentioned as possibly her birth father. Judging by what lay before them, the pagoda was essentially empty.

Both harbored a thousand questions they wished to ask, but Yuan Mu had already walked far away, making it seem unlikely they could get answers from him.

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 Yuan Mu had gone, sensing faintly that he must know much about Minghuai; her mind teemed with mysteries she wanted to solve. Hu Xiaotian, worried she might meet with mishap, hurried after her, but after searching the entire pagoda forest they found no trace of Yuan Mu, and Qiqi, full of disappointment, said, 'How did he just disappear?'

Hu Xiaotian, however, knew that for Yuan Mu's martial prowess, evading them would be effortless; Tianlong Temple truly was a place where crouching tigers and hidden dragons abounded, with experts galore. He recalled Bu Wu saying that Monk Yuan Mu was not even the temple's foremost master—the most formidable old monk was named Kongjian, who was said to have cultivated to the innate realm.

Hu Xiaotian was about to escort Qiqi away when Mingjing's voice rang in his ears: 'Benefactor, please wait a moment; Grand‑uncle‑master awaits you in the North Courtyard meditation chamber, hoping for a private audience.' Hu Xiaotian's heart stirred, though he made no outward show, he 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 unharmed, his heart finally eased. He smiled, 'You'd better go back with Eunuch Quan first, otherwise he'll worry himself sick.'

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

Hu Xiaotian lowered his voice: 'Tonight I will go to Zilan Palace to find you.'

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

Hu Xiaotian laughed, 'Don't forget I still have the five‑colored coiling dragon gold medal— who would dare stop me?'

Qiqi knew he could not simply stride into the imperial palace openly, but this rascal had lingered in Dakang's imperial court for so long that he knew the palace like the back of his hand; moreover, there were many of his insiders inside, so entering would not be difficult for him. She therefore said nothing more and walked straight toward Quan De'an. She did not speak, and Quan De'an naturally did not feel comfortable asking what they had discussed; he merely glanced at Hu Xiaotian from afar and then followed Qiqi away.

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

Arriving at the meditation chamber's door, he saw that the door was left ajar by about a cun, clearly awaiting his arrival. Hu Xiaotian deliberately coughed twice outside, only to hear Yuan Mu's voice from within say, 'Since you have 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 Yuan Mu sat cross‑legged on a futon, eyes tightly shut as if in deep meditation.

Hu Xiaotian saw an empty futon set opposite him, so he sat cross‑legged on it and said respectfully, 'Master, what advice do you have for me?'

Yuan Mu kept his eyes closed and asked, 'Has your Void Great Law already reached completion, benefactor?'

Hu Xiaotian knew he could not bluff past Yuan Mu, and he chuckled, 'It's not quite complete; it was merely a fortunate coincidence, and I have now eliminated the hidden danger.'

Yuan Mu said, 'To eliminate the hidden danger, you must transmute the heterodox true qi into your own; it appears you have already obtained the complete Void Great Law.'

Hu Xiaotian replied, 'Heaven leaves no one without a way; even without the full scripture, one can still find a method to dispel the hidden danger. Master, have you heard of the Sun‑Shooting True Classic?' Since he had not yet ascertained Yuan Mu's true intentions, Hu Xiaotian naturally would not reveal the truth to him.

Yuan Mu said, 'The Sun‑Shooting True Classic is an heretical martial art; I have also heard of it. Its purpose is to disperse excess internal energy through unseen means, which may merely delay the onset of deviation caused by heterodox true qi, but it absolutely cannot eradicate the hidden danger.'

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