Chapter 64: How to Dispel Karma?

The Miao Gao Terrace behind the house.

Ji Gong stepped out through the back door, looked up and saw Fa Hai sitting upright at the center of the Miao Gao Terrace, back turned to him.

Fa Hai wore a gray monk robe; though the fabric was plain, it was spotless, emitting a soft halo in the sunlight.

His face was not strikingly handsome, yet it was pleasant to behold, especially now bathed in sunlight, gleaming with golden light and adding a hint of majesty.

His posture was upright; though nearing sixty, he showed no sign of stooping.

His gray‑white long beard was gently stirred by the mountain wind, and his right hand slowly twirled a string of ebony prayer beads.

Seeming to sense Ji Gong's arrival, Fa Hai paused his bead‑twirling, yet still did not turn around.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, a restrained brilliance in them, and spoke calmly:

"Daoji, why have you come this time?"

Ji Gong chuckled, unceremoniously took a few steps forward, sat directly on the ground, and leaned his body to lie on his side.

He propped his cheek with one hand, a cracked palm fan resting on his belly, looking like a common townsman: "Fa Hai, oh Fa Hai."

"Aren't you already aware of this monk's purpose?"

He shook his wine gourd and continued:

"This monk, today I have come to speak of affection for her."

"If her son goes to Leifeng Tower, you need not go; stay with this monk for wine and tea, have a chat, how about it?"

Fa Hai, hearing this, suddenly opened his previously narrowed eyes, and the prayer beads in his hand clicked.

"Impossible!"

His voice rose sharply, echoing through the mountains: "She defied Heaven's order, disrupted the moral fabric, harmed the innocent, and thus must be punished!"

"Daoji, you must not speak further! Her karmic burden has not dissipated, so she cannot leave the tower!"

Ji Gong's smile did not wane; it grew even broader.

He scratched his ear and said leisurely, "Ah, old grudges should be untied, not tied tighter! Let tomorrow's grievances fade away."

Speaking, he suddenly sat upright, unusually serious: "Moreover, leaving the tower is destiny's decree; Heaven has already agreed, why do you not?"

He patted his chest: "When she leaves the tower, this monk will personally escort her for atonement, to dispel her karmic burden!"

He blinked, his tone suddenly softened: "Release her! Consider this monk pleading with you!"

"Do you still not trust this monk?"

Fa Hai fell silent, but the next moment he rose, turned and faced Ji Gong:

"What of the innocent who died because of her?"

"If you seek revenge, seek me alone!"

"She should never have acted, causing the Great Flood to inundate Jinshan!"

He looked at the still‑grinning Ji Gong and shouted angrily:

"Daoji, what face do you have to counsel me? What face to stand before those she killed?"

"Daoji, do you think because I am no match for you I dare not strike again?!"

"I restrained her, did not kill her; that is already mercy! It already goes against my own principle!"

"If you continue to speak, you and I shall fight another round!"

In an instant, the clouds over the Miao Gao Terrace darkened.

Behind him, a solemn Buddha silhouette slowly materialized, radiant with golden light, its presence as oppressive as a mountain.

The Buddha's brows lowered, eyes cast down, yet exuded an unapproachable, awe‑inspiring authority, as if the very laws of heaven and earth had condensed here.

Ji Gong still smiled: "In the end, it's all cause!"

"If so, this monk can revive those who perished in the water; can this cause be resolved? Can the karmic burden be dispelled?"

"Hm?!" Fa Hai frowned.

"How can you achieve this? Do you intend to ask the Buddha to intervene?"

"No, no, no, it's not this monk acting!" Ji Gong stood, raised his hand and pointed downward.

Fa Hai followed his gaze.

In front of the meditation hall.

There, seated beside the old man, was watching the old man carve the wooden dummy.

"What is strange about him?"

Fa Hai was puzzled.

Ji Gong, however, smiled without replying, and said slowly:

"You will know soon… hmm, at this moment."

Although Ji Gong was the Riddle Person, Fa Hai asked no further, for he seemed to understand something.

Or perhaps.

It was a voice that suddenly sounded beside his ear:

"Xu Shilin offers the Zhuangyuan Position, offers the Wenqu Xingjun Position, to inherit my mother's karmic burden!"

"Only ask for mercy, release her from the tower..."

Lin'an City, on its bustling streets.

Xu Shilin and Big Tiger walked one after another, the blue‑gray stone pavement reflecting the morning light, while vendors' cries rose and fell on both sides.

"Young master, where is the household you wish to visit?" Big Tiger scratched his head, "Why have I never heard of the lord having any brothers?"

Xu Shilin kept walking, casually explaining: "It's not by blood. Years ago my father went out gathering herbs, happened to meet a man injured by poisonous insects, and I treated him with medicine."

He paused: "That man, grateful for the life‑saving aid, learned we shared a surname with my father, and insisted on treating my father as his brother."

"Thus we became acquainted."

"As for the rest..." Xu Shilin shook his head:

"It's fine if you don't say it."

"Just follow me."

Big Tiger nodded in understanding, about to say more, when suddenly a ragged little beggar darted out from the roadside, "plop" kneeling before the two and kowtowing repeatedly:

"Please, big brothers, be kind! Spare some money! I've kowtowed for you!"

Big Tiger's sharp eyes caught sight in the deep alley—a thin girl curled up in the corner, beside her lay a man whose breath was faint.

"Tsk." He grabbed the boy, pulled out his money pouch and shoved it over:

"In the past, big brother would have already kicked you out! Who let you encounter today a reformed big brother?"

The money pouch landed heavily in his palm: "Here are ten taels of silver, plus some copper coins. Take it to treat your father or brother's illness, and look after your sister."

He patted the boy's knee: "Remember, from now on be a man!"

"I, I understand." The boy clutched the money pouch, ran to the alley entrance and turned back shouting:

"Big brother! I'll remember your kindness! I'll carve a longevity tablet for you in the future!"

Big Tiger heard his shout, a smile appeared on his face, turning to Xu Shilin: "Young master, how did I do?"

Xu Shilin slightly nodded: "Not bad. This month I'll give you extra silver."

"Keep it up."

Having been praised, Big Tiger's smile hadn't yet fully broken when a sudden roar came from inside the alley:

"You little bastard! Hand over the money!"

"Don't think Laozi didn't see what you just did!"

Looking back, Big Tiger instantly flew into a rage:

"You son of a bitch, daring to snatch the money I gave?!"