Chapter 870: Longevity Buddha (Part 2)

Hu Xiaotian heard the mysterious monk's command, his legs went weak and he sat down on the ground. One hundred and sixteen statues! He had only cleaned eighteen, and already two hours had passed; there were still ninety-eight left. From now on he must work nonstop, wiping until dawn but he won't finish.

Hu Xiaotian cried out in distress: "Senior, I haven't even touched the remaining Buddha statues."

The mysterious monk chuckled: "Have you considered that you came here just to feel every statue? Even if you haven't touched them, having such thoughts already defiles the statues; you must clean them thoroughly for me."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Senior, it's getting dark; if I don't go back I'll surely draw attention, and they'll almost certainly come here looking for me, you see…"

"Who would come here? Do you think you're that important? Even if I kept you here for life as a laborer, no one would know about this."

Hu Xiaotian secretly felt alarmed; given the other's strength, if forced, he'd have no chance to resist. He smiled: "Senior, you forgot—just now that Senior Brother Mingsheng already escaped; he knows I'm here, and when he goes back he'll definitely summon his fellow disciples to come rescue me."

"Heh heh heh… you little brat, you actually threaten me—what does it matter if he knows? I've forced him to swear an oath to the Buddha; if he dares reveal even a word of today's events, he'll fall into hell, never to be reborn."

Hu Xiaotian sucked in a breath of cold air; this monk is truly vicious—what monk would make someone utter such a poisonous oath? He gritted his teeth: "Senior, nobody is made of iron; I haven't eaten a bite since morning, I can't possibly work on an empty stomach."

"Your constitution is fairly sturdy; going three days without food won't harm you."

Hu Xiaotian realized further argument was useless; he could only honestly continue working. At this rate, by tomorrow at this time, after checking, he might barely finish wiping all the statues. Tianlong Temple is indeed strange; it's all because his curiosity was too strong—just a single remark from the old emperor led him to seek the Buddha statue, landing him in this predicament. He didn't know that, having stayed out all night, those guards would be searching everywhere for him? Hu Xiaotian immediately dismissed that possibility: those guards, whom he had deliberately messed with, surely hated him to the bone and would rather he never return; perhaps soon someone would report to the emperor that he couldn't endure Tianlong Temple's austerity and had secretly deserted his post, fleeing the temple.

Hu Xiaotian wiped three more statues; the sky had turned completely dark. With no light, he had just found an excuse to slack off, and was about to call out to the mysterious monk when he noticed a wind character behind the statue he was cleaning. Fortunately, Hu Xiaotian's eyesight was astonishing—he could see at night—and he rubbed the area around the characters with a cloth. Though the writing was blurry, he could barely make out the two characters 'Fufeng'. As for whether it was 'Chu' above, he couldn't tell, since the inscription wasn't carved but written with a brush; over the years the ink had faded, leaving most of the characters indistinct.

Hu Xiaotian secretly rejoiced, as the saying goes: 'Intentional planting yields no bloom; careless insertion brings shade.' He never expected that, by sheer chance, he had actually found the Longevity Buddha that Chu Fufeng once worshipped.

Hu Xiaotian circled the Longevity Buddha, looking and feeling it, but found no difference between this statue and those others worshipped; could the secret be inside the Buddha's belly?

Suddenly, the mysterious old monk's voice came from beside his ear: "You little brat!"

Hu Xiaotian hurriedly turned around and went outside; the rain was still falling, though not heavily. Looking out, the entire Lieyun Valley was pitch black, utterly silent except for the sound of rain and a small stream. A light seemed to shine from above; Hu Xiaotian looked up and saw firelight glowing in a three‑level cave.

The mysterious old monk said: "What are you looking at? Come up."

Hu Xiaotian glanced left and right—there were no stairs leading to the cave. The cave mouth was about six zhang above the ground; such height posed no problem for him. He employed the Golden Spider Eight Steps, using hands and feet to climb the rough rock wall, soon reaching the cave entrance, his hands gripping the edge. He first peeked inside with his eyes, never expecting the interior to be extraordinarily spacious, where a long‑haired old monk waist‑length held a torch and was drawing something on the wall.

Hu Xiaotian climbed up carefully, walked over slowly, originally intending to bow with clasped fists, but then realized his attire clearly marked him as a monk, so he instead placed his palms together and said: "Amitabha, junior pays respects to senior."

The long‑haired old monk slowly turned his head, surprising Hu Xiaotian: his eye sockets were deeply sunk, devoid of eyeballs, and his face was split cleanly down the middle of the nose—left side resembled a skull, skin stretched over bone, while the right side looked normal except missing an eye.

Hu Xiaotian had never seen such a hideous person; for a moment he was stunned by the visage, his mouth hanging open without a word.

The old monk said in a gloomy tone: "Is it my hideous appearance that frightened you?"

Hu Xiaotian replied: "No, no, Senior, you are tall and mighty, your bearing extraordinary, like a jade tree in the wind; even before meeting you I had already been utterly captivated by your peerless demeanor, and now that I have seen your true appearance, my reverence flows like the endless Yangtze."

The old monk said: "After all, you're a flunky of the dog emperor, fawning and shameless, able to tell the biggest lies without blushing."

Hu Xiaotian hehe‑laughed: "Senior, everything I say is the truth." He already realized the old man had seen through his identity. Listening to the monk's words, which showed no respect for the emperor—even the abbot of Tianlong Temple would not dare speak so lightly—made him wonder whether the monk's status surpassed that of the Tianlong Temple abbot.

The old monk turned away and continued drawing on the wall. By the firelight Hu Xiaotian saw a naked arhat depicted on the rock face—though it bore a human face, its body was that of a beast. The monk, using charcoal in his hand, seemed able to perceive the finest details despite lacking eyes; each stroke was precise and flawless.

Gazing at the strange sight before him, Hu Xiaotian felt a chill run down his spine: why would a blind old monk carry a torch? Could he actually see? Impossible—how could someone without eyes perceive anything? Was he doing this so Hu Xiaotian could see himself clearly?

Hu Xiaotian dared not disturb him, patiently waiting until the monk finished his drawing. The monk tossed the charcoal to the ground, turned his face toward the wall, apparently admiring his work, and asked: "How is it?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Not bad!"

The old monk said: "Even if you thought it was bad in your heart, you wouldn't dare speak the truth."

Hu Xiaotian asked: "May I dare ask your dharma name, Senior?"

The old monk replied: "A dharma name? How could a body burdened with sin have one?" He turned back, the torch illuminating his grotesque face, which shocked Hu Xiaotian to the core.

The old monk said: "It seems my face has frightened you, you little brat—why did you come to Lieyun Valley?"

If anyone else called him a little brat, Hu Xiaotian would likely have swung his fists already; but before this mysterious old monk he dared not show the slightest temper, answering carefully: "It's just curiosity that brought me in with Senior Brother Mingsheng to have a look."

The old monk said: "You've wiped a total of twenty‑one Buddha statues, lingering longest before the last one and examining it repeatedly—you must be looking for something. What exactly are you seeking?"

Hu Xiaotian replied: "No, I wasn't looking for anything."

The old monk asked: "Do you know why I remain here?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head.

The old monk said: "It's entirely because I violated the temple's precepts."

Hu Xiaotian asked curiously: "Senior, exactly which precept did you violate?"

The old monk said: "Impiously partaking of meat and alcohol!"

Hu Xiaotian dismissed it: "I thought it was something serious, but as the saying goes, 'wine and meat pass through the intestines, the Buddha remains in the heart.' As long as you keep the Buddha in your heart, eating meat every day is no problem."

The old monk laughed grimly: "Those words exactly suit my heart—I agree—but what I eat is human flesh!"

Hu Xiaotian was startled by those words, a shiver ran through him; he stared blankly at the old monk, seeing in his grotesque visage a cold, murderous intent, terrifying like a demon manifest, and he chuckled: "Senior, you really like to joke…"

The old monk said: "Do I look like I'm joking?" He took a step forward.

Hu Xiaotian recoiled in fright, stepping back repeatedly; given the monk's displayed strength, escape was impossible. Suddenly a thought flashed in his mind: "Senior… Senior… do you know Grand Master Yuanmu?"

Upon hearing the name Yuanmu, the old monk halted his steps: "You know Yuanmu?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded: "Of course I know him; Grand Master Yuanmu even gave me guidance."

"Nonsense, how could you possibly know him?"

"I really do know him!"

"Where?"

"In the Lingyin Temple of Grey Bear Valley in Da Yong!"

"What did he guide you in?"

"Go with the flow!"

The old monk slowly nodded: "Good, good, you actually didn't lie to me!" His hand suddenly shot out to grab Hu Xiaotian, who twisted his body, attempting to evade the seize with the Dog‑Dodging Eighteen Steps, but after shifting through three different footwork patterns, his arm still landed in the monk's dry, claw‑like hand.

The old monk said: "Go with the flow? I've stayed in Tianlong Temple for a full thirty years precisely because of that bald donkey's saying; Yuanmu indeed pointed you out—well then, you'll stay with me for thirty years."

Hu Xiaotian was shocked to the point of losing his soul upon hearing that; he realized his cleverness had backfired. He had intended to invoke Grand Master Yuanmu for a favor, hoping the monk would let him go, but he hadn't expected this grotesque old monk to be Yuanmu's enemy, seeking to vent his anger on him as revenge for the thirty years Yuanmu had imprisoned him.

Hu Xiaotian exclaimed: "Senior, you've misunderstood…" Before he could finish, the monk sealed his acupoints, lifted him as easily as an eagle snatching a chick, and carried Hu Xiaotian flying out of the cave; instead of falling under gravity, his body shot straight upward.

The night wind kept whooshing nonstop by Hu Xiaotian's ears, rain poured down, the raindrops struck so hard he couldn't open his eyes, he didn't know where this ugly, strange old monk was taking him? (To be continued~^~)