Chapter 1835

Inside the Puxian Courtyard, Qiqi sat at the desk, transcribing the Banruo Boluomiduo Xin Jing stroke by stroke. Hu Xiaotian originally had little interest in Buddhist sutras, but because this sutra had attracted so much attention, he paid special heed. Qiqi's calligraphy was fresh and exquisite, neat and rigorous, forming its own style. Hu Xiaotian had already read through the Banruo Boluomiduo Xin Jing several times; 'form is emptiness, emptiness is form' was already second nature to him. Looking at the surface, the true script that Qiqi wrote seemed no different. Yet the arrangement of the characters and sentences was orderly in its density and sparsity, and Hu Xiaotian almost instantly spotted what was special about it. Anyone who can memorize an entire Buddhist sutra is not remarkable—many people can do that, and Hu Xiaotian could memorize this sutra as well. But if he were to copy each paragraph exactly, unchanged, he simply lacks that ability.

Qiqi was fully focused, her mind undistracted; even though Hu Xiaotian stood beside her, she acted as if no one were present.

Hu Xiaotian dared not disturb Qiqi, fearing it would affect her copying of the sutra; he simply kept her company for about half an hour. Only then did Qiqi write the final period, then slowly set her goat-hair brush on the brush rack and said softly, 'This is all I can manage—I don't know if it will be enough to pass Yuanmu's test.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'That old monk isn't anything special; he doesn't even know what the Banruo Boluomiduo Xin Jing actually looks like.'

Qiqi said, 'If I give the sutra to him, will he tell me what he knows?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Monks don't tell lies; since he promised you, he surely won't go back on his word.' Yet he secretly thought, in this matter Qiqi has all along been kept in the dark—Yuanmu does want the Banruo Boluomiduo Xin Jing, no doubt, but he isn't planning to exchange it for Ling Jiazi's secret; he wants to exchange it for Ji Feihua. Qiqi also hasn't fully trusted herself; she is obviously wary of him, otherwise she wouldn't insist on coming personally to Heavenly Dragon Temple to see Yuanmu. If this were exposed, wouldn't it create another trust crisis? The trust Qiqi had just built in herself would collapse again.

But Hu Xiaotian had no other choice; for Ji Feihua's safety he could only deceive Qiqi a little, and this must not be spelled out in full—if Qiqi learned the truth, she would certainly not rescue Ji Feihua.

When Hu Xiaotian was about to ask Qiqi for that sutra, he saw her pick up the sutra whose ink had just dried and say softly, 'You wouldn't be hiding anything from me this time, would you?'

Hu Xiaotian laughed, 'How could I?'

Qiqi nodded, then suddenly raised her hand and tore the sutra in two. Hu Xiaotian wanted to stop her but it was already too late; he exclaimed in astonishment, 'Why?' He had thought Qiqi had seen a flaw in him—this girl really is mercurial.

Qiqi said, 'I always felt something was off; I suddenly remembered that a few places were written differently from my impression.'

Hu Xiaotian regretted, 'You spent so long writing it, only to have to start over? It's just a few places that differ—Yuanmu has never seen the original, how could he spot the flaw?'

Qiqi said, 'Since you've promised someone, you should treat them sincerely; you've always been unscrupulous.'

Hu Xiaotian thought to himself, 'When have you ever been decent? Since the day I met you, you've done so many wicked, heartless things at such a young age, and now you dare to speak of decency?'

Qiqi said, 'After thinking it over, I still believe keeping the sutra in my mind is the safest; tomorrow when I meet Master Yuanmu, I will write it out in front of him.'

Hu Xiaotian blinked, realizing you were guarding against me! Afraid the sutra would fall into my hands and I would cast you aside—this girl is really too sharp. Originally Hu Xiaotian thought he had moved her, that capturing her heart was already within reach; but seeing this, Qiqi's mind remains clear, not swayed by his feelings. Actually this makes Hu Xiaotian feel better: you set the first watch, I take the fifteenth; you are so wary of me that even if I hide things from you, it's normal. He smiled and said, 'Not bad; you're still the smart one—writing it on paper is never as safe as keeping it in your mind, after all we still have to meet Yuanmu tomorrow, and if it were stolen that would be trouble.'

Qiqi smiled, 'The guards at the Puxian Courtyard are strict; with Commander Murong in charge of security, there's naturally no room for error, and besides, all the entrances here are tightly guarded by the Heavenly Dragon Temple's warrior monks, so nothing should go wrong.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Heavenly Dragon Temple hides many masters; we still can't be careless tonight.'

Qiqi asked, 'What do you plan to do?'

Hu Xiaotian crooked his finger at her; Qiqi moved closer, and he whispered, 'I intend to sneak into Heavenly Dragon Temple tonight.'

Qiqi had long expected he wouldn't be honest, so she feigned surprise: 'Aren't you afraid of being discovered?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you get its cub? Heavenly Dragon Temple values this sutra so highly that it must have some unknown secret; have you considered that even if you copy the sutra flawlessly and give it to him, he might not admit it's genuine?'

Qiqi said, 'You mean he might go back on his word?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'People's hearts are hidden behind their bellies!'

Qiqi said, 'Because your own heart is treacherous, you see everyone in the world as treacherous.'

Hu Xiaotian laughed, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles; negotiation is no easier than two armies clashing. At Heavenly Dragon Temple, Yuanmu holds the advantage of timing, terrain, and harmony, so we must prepare in advance, clarify the situation, and thus stand invincible.'

Qiqi said, 'That reason is sufficient, but I worry you'll be discovered before you even leave this courtyard.'

Hu Xiaotian hehe-laughed, 'He has his Zhang Liang stratagem, I have my wall-climbing ladder; in terms of tactics, these monks are far behind.'

Qiqi said, 'If you are discovered, I will absolutely not admit to having any connection with you.'

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, 'This sort of sneaking about naturally can't involve you, Princess Yongyang; even if it's exposed, it will be my own doing alone, and I won't implicate you.'

Qiqi laughed, 'That's about right; now tell me, exactly how do you slip away under everyone's eyes?'

'Heaven's secrets must not be leaked?'

Qiqi said, 'Could it be that you'll turn into a mouse and dig a tunnel out of here?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'I could also turn into a bird and fly out, but please have the Princess greet Mu Rongzhan and his men, so they won't make a fuss tonight.'

Qiqi finally understood why Hu Xiaotian had asked her to greet them—this fellow really did fly out; Hu Xiaotian, equipped with his wings, shot up into the sky like a great bird soaring straight into the night.

Hu Xiaotian's light sword had already self-destructed when he escaped Long Ling Shengjing; now the wings cannot rely on the sword for power, they must absorb and store light on their own, which has greatly reduced their flight range—but it's still enough to scout Heavenly Dragon Temple.

Qiqi stood in the courtyard, gazing up at Hu Xiaotian's figure in the high sky; her eyes were filled with wonder and astonishment. It seemed Hu Xiaotian still had many things hidden from her, and Mu Rongzhan personally witnessed Hu Xiaotian flying into the night sky, admiring him and feeling a greater awe—Hu Xiaotian's strength exceeded his expectations.

Hu Xiaotian hovered above Heavenly Dragon Temple, spotted the direction of Cleft Cloud Valley, then dove down from the air. Having this set of wings gave him considerable convenience for covert night scouting, achieving twice the result with half the effort. Hu Xiaotian gradually descended into Cleft Cloud Valley, happening to be at the riverside of the valley floor; he recalled his previous visit to Cleft Cloud Valley, which seemed just yesterday—then he had come to find the Longevity Buddha that Chu Fuyang was sponsoring, and it was then that he met Bu Wu and thereby found Ji Feihua.

The stream babbled gently; Cleft Cloud Valley was silent and empty. The caves on either side of the stream remained, but the Bu Wu monk who had once wandered there like a lonely ghost had died an unnatural death, and his brother Mu Yuming went with him. The two brothers shared a hatred as deep as the sea; Bu Wu spent his life steeped in resentment, while Mu Yuming, to escape Bu Wu's revenge, castrated himself and became a eunuch, hiding in the Dakang imperial palace, transforming into the Grand Eunuch Li Yuncong who guards the Sutra Tower. The brothers perished together, and all their grudges vanished with them. Yet this does not mean everything ended with their deaths; Hu Xiaotian learned from Granny Shadow that Mu Rongzhan is actually Li Yuncong's own flesh and blood—a fact he has not yet revealed to Mu Rongzhan.

Hu Xiaotian still clearly remembered the cave where Bu Wu had hidden years ago; he climbed up the near-vertical stone wall, and although he was still using the Golden Spider Eight Steps that Quan De'an had taught him, with Hu Xiaotian's martial arts progress, even if Quan De'an were alive he would probably not be able to match him.

Entering the cave where Bu Wu had stayed, after his departure the cave had lain abandoned for a long time. Hu Xiaotian took out a Night Pearl, and by its light he saw that the murals on the rock wall remained unchanged—these were painted by Bu Wu, who, despite being blind, had managed to create them. One sees dozens of naked arhats on the wall; most have human faces but the bodies of beasts. There are scenes of them fighting each other, scenes of them devouring severed limbs and entrails, and the strange sight of a headless arhat cradling his own skull. From the style one can glimpse a person's inner world, and from these murals one can see how foul Bu Wu's heart was.

Last time Hu Xiaotian came here he hadn't examined it closely, but this time, having come, he couldn't help paying a bit more attention; he went over the murals on the rock wall one by one, and at the end he saw an unfinished piece—a hideous arhat sitting cross-legged, each hand holding an eyeball, where the eyes should be on his face there were two hollows. Hu Xiaotian secretly thought, 'Could this be Bu Wu's self-portrait?' The painting was incomplete; the lotus pedestal on which the monk sat cross-legged was only half drawn. Hu Xiaotian suddenly realized that those hollows were not painted on but were small holes chipped into the rock wall; he inserted two fingers, each into a hole, and they fit perfectly—it seemed Bu Wu had originally used his fingers to pierce these two holes in the rock wall. (To be continued~^~)