Chapter 433: with translation of chapter title

439. Chapter 439 Starfire

Monk Liaochen left, dispirited and listless.

Lin Ke did not see him off, quietly watching Monk Liaochen depart, his eyes completely calm.

Such a thing as one's worldview isn't something that shatters just because you say it does, nor can it be reshaped just because you say it can.

Moreover, Lin Ke did not insist on shattering Monk Liaochen's worldview, nor even on reshaping it.

In short, freedom from desire brings strength.

Precisely because Lin Ke did not insist on this, Monk Liaochen did not feel strange.

All of this now—his doubts about White Horse Monastery, his doubts about the Dharma—are self-inflicted by Monk Liaochen.

After seeing Monk Liaochen off, Lin Ke did nothing else, just sat quietly in contemplation.

The princess's secluded residence.

Mo Li looked at the vanity mirror before her and silently asked, 'Has he come?'

'He has come.'

The answer came from within the mirror.

The maid beside her noticed nothing, continuing to carefully dress and groom Mo Li.

'How is his condition?'

'As good as it gets.'

'Does he have any plans?'

'As far as I can see, none.'

'He…'

'You two will soon be able to meet openly and properly; it's only natural you be together—go ask him, why ask me?'

Luotesinuo, who had been communicating with Mo Li through the mirror, finally couldn't hold back, his tone turning irritated.

Mo Li pressed the corners of her mouth, suppressing her smile.

She certainly knew this; the reason she kept pressing Luotesinuo for answers was, first, to find out as soon as possible, and second, to stir up trouble.

Exactly, to stir up trouble.

Who let Luotesinuo wander about aimlessly these past few days, even wandering in front of Lin Ke?

Although she was merely standing on a pavilion, watching from afar, Mo Li still noticed the slight displeasure Lin Ke hid beneath his calm exterior.

If her husband is displeased, Mo Li will demand satisfaction, annoying the younger brother who got the advantage.

'Alas!'

Luotesinuo let out a long sigh, 'I've had enough of you two, constantly forgetting to spread dog food everywhere!'

After sighing, Luotesinuo cut off his connection with the mirror and strolled out of the Guanglin Prince's mansion.

As a reincarnated sage and also a body‑snatcher, Luotesinuo's special trait is not merely that others gain a body upon entering, but that he is a ghost.

While Lin Ke sought destiny's induction, Mo Li gathered power, Airisi planted white lotus and sparked the starfire, and Fulisite and Meidiji were unluckily hunted, Luotesinuo was already able to do many, many things.

For example, silently infiltrating the Guanglin Prince's study.

After entering, Luotesinuo took nothing, instead leaving behind a letter.

The title of Guanglin Prince is quite interesting.

The succession of the Song throne has two lines: one the Taizu line, the other the Taizong line.

The current ruling line is the Taizong line.

The Guanglin Prince is precisely the direct bloodline of the Song Taizu.

According to the Song rules of succession, the Guanglin Prince is the first in line to inherit the throne, i. e., the heir apparent.

However, after coming of age, the Guanglin Prince was not made heir apparent by the current Song emperor, contrary to the rules.

That is quite interesting.

That is, the Song emperor is merely the pinnacle of secular power, yet must still submit to and serve the many great Buddhist monasteries, which is why the present emperor dares not go too far.

Otherwise, if he carelessly provoked the Buddhist establishment, they would replace an emperor as easily as changing a shirt, without hesitation.

The two lines of Song succession came about precisely in this way.

With that precedent before him, the current Song emperor can only resort to petty tricks.

For example, all the officials, big and small, sent to the Guanglin Prefecture are those who will stop at nothing to curry favor with the Buddhist establishment.

In the supreme environment of the Buddhist establishment, no one can say that what the current Song emperor is doing is wrong.

On the contrary, one must praise the current Song emperor for his sincere affection toward the Guanglin Prince.

After all, if every county under Guanglin Prefecture has curried favor with the Buddhist establishment, isn't that equivalent to the Guanglin Prince doing so?

This is accumulating blessings and merit for the Guanglin Prince!

The Guanglin Prince harbors unspeakable bitterness.

Revering the Buddhist establishment is not wrong, but the Song throne is ultimately secular power, and it still needs some face, some reputation among the great clans, merchants and scholars, and the common folk.

If this continues, the Guanglin Prince's reputation among the great clans, merchants and scholars, and the common folk will be utterly ruined; even if the Taizong line were to return the throne to the Taizu line and pass it to the Guanglin Prince, he would not be able to hold it securely.

Thus, the Guanglin Prince covertly indulged the former princess in wandering about, performing deeds of chivalry, robbing the rich to help the poor, killing officials to release grain—all in an attempt to make amends.

Alas, for every gain in the Dao, the demon gains tenfold.

The current Song emperor's response leaves the Guanglin Prince feeling stifled.

This time, the Guanglin Prince is overseeing the princess's selection of a husband, restricting the candidates to Buddhist monks, precisely to curry favor with the Buddhist establishment himself, draw near to it, and use some Buddhist forces as his backing.

The letter Luotesinuo left in the Guanglin Prince's study contained nothing else—only an introduction to Master Wusheng, some of his deeds, and a clear indication that he is suspected to have been reincarnated as Monk Wufan of White Horse Monastery.

Isn't the Guanglin Prince looking for a solid backing?

White Horse Monastery may not be particularly strong, but the home temple of Master Wusheng, Three Yang Temple, is one of the few major monasteries in the Buddhist realms of Song and several neighboring countries.

Countless Vajras, 108 Arhats, twelve Bodhisattvas, and it is said there is also a Buddha!

If one could undergo the rebirth of Master No Birth and align with the Three Yang Temple, Prince Guanglin wouldn't just inherit the Song throne as promised; even wanting to annex other countries would be a piece of cake.

Thus, after finishing his reception duties, Prince Guanglin returned to his study, and upon discovering this letter, his feelings were conflicted and hesitant.

First, whoever could breach his study's defenses and silently place this letter must possess great supernatural powers, which increases the credibility of the letter's content;

Second, although it claims to be an open recruitment of a son-in-law, Prince Guanglin already had a favored candidate in mind: the personally transmitted disciple of the abbot of Bianjing Cien Temple, Monk Nengqing.

Third, the Three Yang Temple is indeed powerful, but the White Horse Chan Monastery is too ordinary.

Holding this thin letter, Prince Guanglin momentarily had no clue, and despite clearly being the first in line to inherit the Song throne, he ended up without even the title of heir apparent.

Luo Te Si Nuo found it utterly speechless, and simply decided to muddle Prince Guanglin's thoughts.

Of course, Luo Te Si Nuo didn't go too far, merely giving appropriate guidance.

Like an epiphany, Prince Guanglin immediately understood the principle 'if you don't cut when you should, you will suffer chaos,' and decided to focus on investigating Monk Wufan of the White Horse Chan Monastery.

Having made up his mind, Prince Guanglin immediately summoned someone to retrieve the information on the marriage candidates sent by the White Horse Chan Monastery. Soon he obtained the relevant data.

After reading it, Prince Guanglin's face broke into a broad grin, and he muttered to himself like a simpleton: 'Mastering the six supernatural powers, one can at any time attain the Arhat (sage) fruit, with great hope to reach the Bodhisattva fruit, even to attain Buddhahood, suspected to be the reincarnation of Master No Birth. Haha... worthy son-in-law, my fine son-in-law, it's you.'

Luo Te Si Nuo, who had been secretly observing Prince Guanglin's movements, could no longer bear it and promptly left.

Anyway, the seeds have been sown, Song State is in great turmoil, and Luo Te Si Nuo has the final say.

Just as Lin Ke was peacefully waiting for the start of the Prince Guanglin Manor's marriage recruitment, in another world, Fu Li Si Te and Mei Di Qi successfully met.

"How were you exposed?"

In the dark, damp cave, Fu Li Si Te, with a fractured right arm, asked puzzledly.

"I performed a body seizure on a death row inmate."

Mei Di Qi, who had barely stopped the bleeding after a knife wound to the abdomen, said helplessly, 'Tomorrow I am to be beheaded, killing a chicken to warn the monkeys, to caution others not to disrespect the Buddha. In this situation, I certainly cannot sit and wait for death; charging through the execution grounds seems reasonable, right?'

"Reasonable."

Fu Li Si Te nodded, then spat, and said, 'Reasonable my ass!'

Unbeknownst to him, after relinquishing his identity as the head of the Ruo Wo Suo Si Xue Yuan, Fu Li Si Te's words and deeds became bold and coarse, cursing, 'As the execution supervisor, I haven't even ascended the platform to oversee executions when I heard the condemned slaughtered their way out of the execution grounds and fled, then I was held responsible, convicted, and sentenced to be beheaded—how is that reasonable?'

Mei Di Qi widened his eyes, sized up Fu Li Si Te from head to toe, and remarked oddly, 'So it's you who wants to behead me, heh... deserved!'

Fu Li Si Te rolled his eyes in annoyance, calmed his mood, and seriously asked, 'What plans do you have now?'

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

Mei Di Qi returned a white eye, saying, 'You, Fu Li Si Te. Di Ao Man De, are a renowned strategist, with plans left untried; naturally, what to do next should be decided by you, this strategist.'

"Heh... strategist."

Fu Li Si Te let out a self-mocking laugh, then seriously analyzed: 'Whether it's you performing a body seizure on a death row inmate, or me performing a body seizure on the unfortunate execution supervisor, it's nowhere near as simple as it seems. The so-called random body seizure by the Elemental Sage, after this incident, I no longer believe in it. So...'

"So you think this is intentional on the part of the Elemental Sage?"

Mei Di Qi picked up Fu Li Si Te's thread, voicing the speculation that Fu Li Si Te wanted to say but hesitated to utter outright.

"Hmm."

Fu Li Si Te nodded, then swiftly moved on from the topic and continued, 'I'm not clear why you want to join this mission, but I know I participated to demonstrate the existence value of the Ruo Wo Suo Si Xue Yuan and the Di Ao Man De family at the Supreme Council, and to maintain close ties with Luo Te Si Nuo and Linke Grand. Therefore, whether this mission succeeds or not, and how it is done, the focus is not on me. I can easily play a role that draws attention.'

Having said that, Fu Li Si Te stared steadily at Mei Di Qi, waiting for his response.

"I can too."

Mei Di Qi gave his answer very calmly.

"Good."

Fu Li Si Te grinned and said, 'Then let us make a big commotion, draw attention, so they can get on with their work.'

"No problem."

Mei Di Qi agreed in a heartbeat, without hesitation.

This made Fu Li Si Te even more certain that he and Mei Di Qi are a feint, their purpose being to provide cover for Lin Ke and company.

If so, let's cause a big commotion.

The two had settled their plans, began treating their injuries, and sought to recover their strength as quickly as possible.

Then they went on to ignite more and broader beacon fires, disrupting the remaining internal affairs of the Buddhist faction.

Where Ai Rui Si is, the beacon fires around Bright Mountain have already been lit.

Sixteen girls and twenty-three women went out to attack, and each Lotus Society they established was successively uprooted by the Buddhist Temple Warrior Monk Alliance.

The incident of the abbot of Cien Temple dying inside the abbot's quarters completely enraged these high-and-mighty Buddhist temples.

After consulting the Buddha, the eminent monks decided to employ Vajra means to punish the ignorant masses who know neither rank nor truth, nor good from evil.

Every village that had established a Lotus Society suffered a heavy blow from the Buddhist Temple Warrior Monk Alliance.

Any peasants who had joined a Lotus Society, regardless of age, were all whipped.

Fields reclaimed with the help of the Lotus Society were all destroyed; the harvested grain was all burned.

Those who spread the Lotus Society's teachings far and wide were either hanged or burned to death, their fate utterly miserable.

For a time, wails spread across the land.

Under Ai Rui Si's indication, the sixteen girls and twenty-three women did not confront the Buddhist Temple Warrior Monk Alliance head-on; instead, they brought the core strength of the various Lotus Societies and the willing elderly and young to relocate to Bright Mountain.

Having settled the willing elderly and young who left their homes, the girls and women led the core strength back down the mountain and launched guerrilla operations.

Today they kill one or two lone monks, tomorrow they raid one or two lightly guarded execution grounds, and the day after they dare to assault weakly defended temporary outposts.

The fire-transmission technique passed down by Ai Rui Si gave the Lotus Society core led by the girls and women the ability to appear and disappear mysteriously.

Although the Buddhist Temple Warrior Monk Alliance had not suffered damage sufficient to injure tendons and bones, they could not withstand the harassment and were utterly helpless.

No matter how great the power, one must be able to find a target to strike in order to exert effect.

The Buddhist Temple Warrior Monk Alliance had not failed to consider setting ambushes, nor had they failed to consider countering the Lotus Society's mysterious appearing and disappearing ability.

However, Ai Rui Si, standing on Bright Mountain, merely wanted to temper his subordinates, not to waste the sprouting seeds in vain; how could the Buddhist Temple Warrior Monk Alliance's plans possibly succeed?

Those farmers, the common folk—death is just death.

The sixteen girls and twenty-three women painstakingly nurtured, along with the Lotus Society core who survived this calamity and achieved great growth, must not die pointlessly.

Even in death, one must die properly!

With Aeris's help, the Lotus Society was as if it had opened its heavenly eye, each time able to dodge the combined ambush and pursuit of the Buddhist temple warrior monks.

As the saying goes, a single spark can start a prairie fire.

The Lotus Society's disturbance grew ever greater, its reach ever wider, and society, long enduring Buddhist high pressure, extreme oppression, and exploitation, quickly fell into turmoil.

The already unstable situation rapidly deteriorated.

Although the Lotus Society uses the white lotus as its symbol, it is like dandelion seeds scattered by the wind, taking root everywhere.

Where the sixteen girls and twenty-three women had never gone, Lotus Societies popped up one after another.

Even though many Lotus Societies were destroyed as soon as they emerged.

Although many commoners who joined the Lotus Society ended up with their families destroyed and themselves dead.

But the numb heart, having regained pain, desire, and resistance, will not easily lapse back into numbness.

Life is no better than death; what then of death?

If the people do not fear death, how can death be used to frighten them?

Remaining numb is death; rising up in resistance is also death—both are death, so why not die in a blaze of glory?

Even if one cannot topple the Buddha statue, spitting at it will suffice.