Chapter 240

Chapter 240

Xie Yuan sensed movement from the Buddhist Talisman. Slightly surprised, he immediately picked it up for a look.

The shoddy Buddhist Talisman, which looked like the kind sold by street peddlers for three coins each or ten coins for three, faintly lit up. A flash of golden light flickered across it, then it fell silent again, no different from usual.

Had Xie Yuan not been so confident in his own senses, he might have thought it an illusion.

"Does this thing actually work?"

Xie Yuan raised an eyebrow.

Honestly, when Huijue had given him this thing, it had come right after the Life Buying Money Zhang Junyi had given him—another item whose usefulness was equally uncertain. Xie Yuan had merely kept them as trophies, souvenirs of sorts.

These two young men, each backed by the greatest inheritances and the mightiest patrons in the world, had given gifts that looked more threadbare than the last.

Huijue in particular. When he gave it to him, Xie Yuan had wondered whether he had seen Zhang Junyi do it and suddenly gotten the idea himself, purely as a prank. With Huijue's rotten temperament, picking up some Buddhist Talisman off the street and handing it to him would have been perfectly normal.

Still, Xie Yuan had accepted it. He had always half-believed and half-doubted its purpose, but now it had finally been proven that the thing possessed some unusual quality.

"But if this thing reacted, what does that mean? Is there some so-called Buddhist affinity here?"

Xie Yuan recalled Huijue's words and pondered briefly.

At times, he truly felt Huijue was unfathomably mysterious, as though he knew many things—so much so that even quite a few of Xie Yuan's secrets could not escape his eyes.

Yet at other times, he suspected Huijue was merely toying with people and pretending to be profound. He was impossible to read.

Did those words mean Huijue knew Xie Yuan was searching for the Buddhist resonance that even he himself could not explain?

And was this Buddhist Talisman a compass?

Xie Yuan could not say. But he had been wandering Jiangnan for over a month, and this was the first time the talisman had shown such an anomaly.

While fleeing, Xie Yuan had passed many Buddhist temples, ancient monasteries, famous hermitages, and precious pagodas. Whenever his pursuers were not too close, he would go inside to pay his respects and look around.

But never once had he sensed any so-called Buddhist resonance, nor had the Buddhist Talisman at his waist shown the slightest reaction.

Until this time.

Xie Yuan looked at the enormous temple built halfway up the slope outside the town. Its broad main gate and imposing halls overlooked the entire town.

Even though Xie Yuan knew nothing of geomancy or feng shui, he could tell this was an excellent location in the surrounding area.

"Jin Guang Temple."

Xie Yuan looked at the great temple, then at the unceasing stream of worshippers climbing the mountain, then at the rather unprosperous town at its foot. He raised an eyebrow.

This one River Bend Town probably could not support such a large temple. Many of those people appeared to have come from elsewhere.

Across both his lives, Xie Yuan had seen many Buddhist temples, Taoist Temples, churches, and holy halls, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign. He had noticed one common point.

The residences around them might look utterly ordinary, even shabby and dilapidated, but the religious buildings themselves were invariably luxurious and exquisite beyond compare. Their architecture was art in itself, and compared with the surrounding homes, their cost of construction was tenfold or even a hundredfold greater.

Even those ancient scenic sites passed down through the ages had consumed the labor of generations upon generations of local people, with repairs and donations continuing for centuries. They grew larger with every renovation, grander with every expansion, until the homes of the local people were reduced to mud beside them—yet they still remained unfinished.

The power of faith.

Xie Yuan looked at Jin Guang Temple, neither approving nor disapproving.

Still, it was rare to find a clue about Buddhist resonance. Naturally, he had to investigate.

A glint flashed through Xie Yuan's eyes. His appearance changed into that of an honest country villager, and with great piety, he headed toward the stairs up the mountain.

It was just past noon, and there were still many worshippers going up and down the mountain. Sometimes, Xie Yuan even had to turn sideways to squeeze through.

As he climbed, he pricked up his ears to listen to the conversations around him, gathering information.

"Madam, just hold on a little longer. Once we get to Jin Guang Temple and find one of the masters to treat you, you'll recover!"

"Son, I truly can't walk anymore... Let's not go. I'm not seriously ill. Better save the money so you can take a wife!"

"Madam, I'll carry you! What does taking a wife matter compared to your health?"

"Son... ah, I can walk on my own."

A classic scene of a loving mother and filial son.

Xie Yuan listened and silently nodded. As he passed the mother and son, he casually brushed the old woman's arm and sent a thread of Nourishing Body Skill True Qi into her.

At the very least, it would help her climb this stretch of mountain stairs.

Then he heard another conversation nearby.

"Uncle Wang, can you really learn martial arts up there, become a great hero, and become a cultivator?"

"You can. I saw the abbot master kill a tiger with One Punch, ridding the people of evil! Once you get in, cultivate properly. Don't worry about home or your Madam—I'll take good care of her."

"Kill a tiger with One Punch? Really? But aren't monks forbidden from killing living things?"

"...Why does a child have so many questions?"

...Xie Yuan frowned slightly as he listened, glancing at the man and the child.

He watched for a while before withdrawing his gaze and silently shaking his head. If the child's mother had agreed too, perhaps the temple would indeed be a good place for him.

"Dear, do the masters in the temple really hire people for work? Can we go help them till the fields?"

"They do. They're preparing for spring plowing and are short on hands! When the time comes, we'll go cultivate those two mu of land we used to farm. We know that patch better than anyone and can work it better than others. The Great Monk will surely be willing. Next year, we won't have to go hungry."

Xie Yuan glanced at the sallow, emaciated couple, pressing his lips together with a frown.

For some reason, they reminded him of an old acquaintance.

Any major power would eventually become the local landlord. Land annexation was an unavoidable problem. The Yunshan Sword Sect also possessed a thousand mu of fertile fields beneath Yunshan Mountain to support those on the mountain.

Fortunately, from what Xie Yuan knew, the Sword Sect treated its tenant farmers very generously. At the very least, the people beneath Yunshan Mountain did not go hungry.

If it was that sort of arrangement, it was still acceptable...

As Xie Yuan passed the couple, the husband felt himself being bumped. He immediately clutched the bundle at his chest, glaring at Xie Yuan warily.

Then he thrust a hand into his bundle to check it. Suddenly stunned, he hurried to one side to avoid the crowd and secretly lifted a corner of the bundle.

Not only had his scattered bits of silver not decreased, there was now a large handful of extra silver fragments inside!

The man hurriedly looked up again, only to find that the person who had bumped him had vanished without a trace. He clasped his hands together and shouted in gratitude:

"Living Buddha! Thank the Living Buddha of Jin Guang Temple!"

Xie Yuan continued climbing. Even at an ordinary person's pace, he easily passed many families carrying sick relatives up the mountain for treatment, as well as many elderly people devoutly worshipping the Buddha.

There were no shortage of such people. Along the way, Xie Yuan heard countless worldly troubles and countless hardships. The path up the mountain seemed like a road to salvation, and many firmly believed that once they reached the top and saw the gates of Jin Guang Temple, all their troubles would unravel like a knife through hemp.

After hearing them, Xie Yuan helped whenever he could lend a hand. But the people climbing the mountain formed a long dragon. By the time he was halfway up, he had scattered all his loose silver, and he had sent Nourishing Body Skill True Qi into many people as well. Yet compared to the number of people seeking the Buddha, one man's efforts were only a cup of water against a cartload of firewood.

Standing on the stairs just before the temple gate, Xie Yuan looked back at the ant-like stream of people on the mountain path. Along this one stretch of road, he felt he had witnessed every face of humanity.

Only, every face of humanity here looked bitter beyond measure.

And beyond this mountain, how many more people in the world lived in suffering?

Compassion suddenly welled up in Xie Yuan. He felt as though suffering itself had taken form along this mountain road.

No matter how hard he tried, one person could not help many people. Perhaps the Buddhist desire to deliver the world truly could grant them some measure of release.

Xie Yuan turned back and looked at the gilded plaque overhead, thinking:

"This Jin Guang Temple deserves the devout offerings of so many people. Perhaps it truly is a precious monastery."

He lowered his head and followed the cloud-like throng of worshippers, each carrying their own sorrows, into the resplendent Buddhist temple.

"Benefactor, if you please. The temple entry fee is ten coins."

Before Xie Yuan could step through the gate, a plump monk beside him held out a clay jar and spoke with a beaming smile.

Xie Yuan froze.

"You need money to enter the temple?"

The monk froze as well. His smile faded slightly as his eyes rolled upward.

"Does the benefactor not know the rules of Jin Guang Temple? First pay ten coins to enter the temple. After purchasing incense, it costs ten coins to burn it, ten coins to place it, and ten coins to worship the Buddha. If you wish to seek a master for treatment, fortune sticks, luck, or answers to your confusion, pay another ten coins as an allocation fee. After the master has seen you, further incense offerings will be charged according to the circumstances."

Ten coins, ten coins, ten coins, ten coins...

Xie Yuan opened his mouth. Ten coins was not much, but how much would this whole process cost in total?

And they had not even stated the price of the incense or the monks' services. Even the incense-burning process had been chopped into separate charges.

Was this a Buddhist temple or a mobile game?

Xie Yuan frowned and muttered:

"I have no money."

He truly had no money. He had scattered it all among the poor climbing the mountain... In any case, silver no longer meant much to him, and lately he had been living like a wild man, so he had not thought to keep any.

The fat monk rolled his eyes and shoved him aside, speaking lazily.

"Next!"

Xie Yuan looked at the bustling scene before the gate and roughly understood where these golden bricks and jade-green tiles had come from.

And yet even so, the temple's incense offerings remained this flourishing.

Xie Yuan's brows drew together. He moved to a deserted spot and suddenly vanished.

He had originally intended to enter normally, but unfortunately, ten coins had stumped a dragon-in-hiding hero.

Xie Yuan's body flickered, and he slipped through the mountain gate into the temple's broad central courtyard.

The ground was paved in blue bricks, the black tiles gleamed brightly, and the beams and pillars of the covered corridors were all made of camphor wood. A faint fragrance of incense drifted through the air.

Ahead, within the towering Great Hero Hall, a golden Buddha nearly thirty meters tall gazed down with lowered eyes, looking compassionately upon the world.

Xie Yuan looked up at the Buddha, wondering how many ten-coin fees it had taken to gild that statue.

His opinion of Jin Guang Temple had begun to waver.

He wandered through the temple without direction. Many devout worshippers followed the complete procedure laid out by the guest-receiving monks, then waited in the main hall for monks to guide them to have their fortune sticks interpreted or their troubles addressed.

There were too many worshippers, and many of the so-called masters assigned to them looked like nothing more than young novice monks. Yet despite their youth, they spoke of Buddhist teachings with great fluency, and whether treating illness or resolving confusion, they made the believers nod again and again.

But after watching for a while, Xie Yuan sharply noticed that their words were largely the same, as though they had received standardized training.

Even for two people in utterly different circumstances, different monks interpreting their fortune sticks used exactly the same spiel. Yet the spiel was immensely persuasive. It made listeners feel that their problems existed only because they were insufficiently devout, leaving them wanting only to spend more money burning incense and ask the Buddha to bless them with immediate cures.

And if they were not cured, then surely they had not burned enough incense.

At one table where questions were answered, Xie Yuan heard a young woman ask:

"Master, my husband and I have been married for years, but we have never had children..."

The monk's eyes brightened as he looked at the pretty village girl. Smiling, he said:

"Amitabha! Come to the temple at midnight tonight, and I will help you ask Child-Giving Guanyin Madam to grant you her blessing."

The pretty village girl froze, then hesitated.

"This... Wouldn't asking Child-Giving Guanyin Madam require a very high incense offering? I'd better not..."

"Not high, not high. Just come."

The monk spoke repeatedly.

Seeing that the village girl still hesitated, a woman waiting in line beside her patted her and said:

"Oh my! The Child-Giving Guanyin here is very efficacious. Just come, and I guarantee you'll hold two children in three years. I went through the same thing back then!"

Coaxed and urged from both sides, the young village girl finally nodded uncertainly.

Xie Yuan made a round of the temple and saw nothing but similar scenes. His brows knotted tightly.

What precious monastery was this? It plainly looked like a licentious cult devoted solely to swindling, cheating, and deceiving!

Xie Yuan's expression darkened, and he prepared to head for the abbot.

But as he walked, he suddenly stopped.

"Thank you, Master! If not for your medicine, this old man would have kicked the bucket more than ten years ago!"

"Amitabha. This is the blessing you earned through your own usual good deeds, and through offering incense and worshipping the Buddha."

"Elder, you are my lifesaving benefactor! Without your divine water, the plague in our town would have wiped us all out long ago!"

"Please rise quickly. My Buddha is compassionate; this is merely what this poor monk ought to do."

"Master, thank you for the medicine..."

Xie Yuan frowned. Along the way, he heard many similar conversations.

Jin Guang Temple seemed to serve as the local pharmacy and clinic, and it had indeed saved many lives. Quite a few of the conversations had taken place out of sight, overheard by Xie Yuan through walls with his sharp hearing. Given the scale of Jin Guang Temple, they did not appear to be planted actors.

The town beneath the mountain was called River Bend Town. Many years ago, a great plague seemed to have broken out there, and it was only thanks to Jin Guang Temple that the entire town had been saved.

Ever since that plague, however, the residents of River Bend Town had been weak and frail, falling ill at the slightest provocation. Doctors had never been able to cure them. Besides, where could ordinary people afford a medical clinic? Most simply endured on their own.

But believers of Jin Guang Temple could spend a few dozen coins to receive the mountain's divine water here. They said it was mountain spring water blessed by the Buddha, capable of curing all illnesses, including the town residents' strange ailment.

Xie Yuan had not believed this obvious deception at first. But on the way here, he had heard too many people come for treatment, and many were not first-time visitors. From their words, this divine water truly seemed miraculous, more effective than any nectar of jade dew.

Doubts arose in Xie Yuan's heart. If it were the talisman water of charlatans, it would have drunk people to death long ago. Where would repeat customers come from? And if it were merely a placebo, so many people should not have treated it as divine medicine and kept coming to seek it.

If this Buddhist temple truly possessed the ability to heal the sick and save lives...

He turned and headed toward the rear mountain of the temple.

After passing through layer upon layer of courtyard walls, the guards behind grew increasingly strict. Many strong, sturdy Martial Monks were clearly visible, and their cultivation was far from weak.

Xie Yuan even saw a Great Monk of the Qi and Blood First Transformation Realm here, making him raise an eyebrow.

But an ordinary First Transformation Realm cultivator posed no threat to him now, scarcely differing from an external martial artist. Ghostly light flickered in his eyes as he effortlessly slipped past layer upon layer of defenses and arrived beneath a cliff on the temple's rear mountain.

The cliff held a small waterfall. Mountain spring water converged above the cliff and came rushing down in a splashing cascade, collecting into a cold pool below.

Several monks' quarters stood beside the cold pool, enclosing a large open space between them. Many large water vats stood in the middle of that space.

Many monks came and went among the buildings, continually drawing water from the cold pool into the vats and sprinkling in powders that carried the scent of medicinal herbs.

Xie Yuan stood quietly beside those large vats, silently watching the labor in this Buddhist workshop.

When no one was paying attention, he scooped up a little water from one vat and held it beneath his nose. After sniffing it, he raised an eyebrow.

It smelled like legitimate medicinal powder.

Xie Yuan then entered the monks' quarters. Inside were workshops for storing herbs, pounding herbs, blending herbs, and grinding powder. Many monks bustled about in full swing, preparing basin after basin of medicinal powder. Specialists then poured it into the vats outside, stirring and shaking it into medicine before packaging it and carrying it out of the workshop for delivery to the temple.

What blessing from the Buddha? This was plainly a modern assembly-line factory for oral medicine.

Xie Yuan gained a new appreciation for the scale of Jin Guang Temple. He followed the workshop's production line around and confirmed that this so-called divine water was ultimately handed to the worshippers who had climbed the mountain seeking medicine.

Many even drank it on the spot, their complexions turning rosy as they repeatedly bowed in thanks to the Great Monks here.

Like an observer detached from the world, Xie Yuan quietly watched the scene.

"The spring water is just ordinary mountain spring water, containing at most some minerals. The medicines in the workshop are all legitimate herbs that replenish blood and nourish Qi. I cannot make out the prescription, but they cannot be poison. Besides, each vat has only that little medicinal powder in it; the dosage can hardly have much effect."

Xie Yuan unexpectedly found that the Buddha-blessed spring water was fake, but the monks' care was genuine. This so-called divine water might not be particularly divine, but it did offer some benefit. Especially with the believers' reverence for Jin Guang Temple supplementing it through psychological effect, there was nothing wrong with treating it as good medicine.

Xie Yuan's feelings immediately grew complicated.

At first, he had thought this was a Buddhist temple that genuinely benefited the people, much as the Yunshan Sword Sect aided those around it.

Later, he discovered that every monk here was out to swindle money, eager to sell a few more sticks of incense. No wonder those climbing the mountain were all suffering; perhaps the surrounding region had been drained dry by Jin Guang Temple's monks, who bullied men and violated women.

But now he found that Jin Guang Temple had indeed helped the common people at the bottom. Though the divine water sold for a few dozen coins per dose still brought enormous profits, it could truly cure the poor who could not afford treatment.

If Jin Guang Temple were destroyed, where would those common people who could not even afford a little prepared medicinal water go to seek treatment?

With Jin Guang Temple here, there were clearly far fewer bandits and displaced refugees than in other places.

Jin Guang Temple seemed impossible to judge simply as good or bad.

Like everything in the world, it was a collection of contradictions.

Xie Yuan stopped before the Great Hero Hall, torn for a long while.

Then he looked up at the enormous gilded Buddha statue, its face full of compassion, sighed, and turned to leave.

On the way down the mountain, Xie Yuan felt troubled, and his movements slowed.

As he walked, he suddenly spotted a figure ahead who seemed familiar.

Looking closer, he found it was the pretty village woman seeking a child.

Xie Yuan sighed and walked over to her.

"Miss, don't believe that monk. They're just lusting after your body."

The village woman had already seemed distracted. Hearing a voice beside her so suddenly startled her.

But when she turned and saw that the man before her looked plain, honest, and sincere, much of her fright faded. She muttered, "Who doesn't know that?"

"Really, don't disbelieve me... Hm?"

Xie Yuan instinctively continued trying to persuade her, only realizing halfway through what she had said. He looked surprised.

The village woman curled her lip. "Who doesn't know the monks here are lecherous and greedy? They say they'll give you a child, but what they give you is their own seed."

Seeing how clear-headed she was, Xie Yuan realized he had meddled unnecessarily. He gave an awkward smile. "It's good that you know. Since you know, don't go. Don't let them deceive you."

"I still have to go."

The village woman spoke faintly.

"Huh?"

Xie Yuan could not understand.

The village woman seemed deeply conflicted herself, so when she encountered a strange outsider, she became unusually talkative. "So many women from the village have gone. Those whose households can't make ends meet, who can't afford food, who can't survive the winter—after spending one night there, they take the silver and go home to live on. What a good thing that is. Besides, it's just spreading your legs. Whose cock isn't a cock? Close your eyes, and it's over in a little while..."

She seemed to be talking to Xie Yuan, but she was really talking to herself.

"Lanhua, endure it. Your husband still needs to take the examinations."

Listening to the village woman's wild words, Xie Yuan opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

So seeking a child was code...

So everyone else understood perfectly. They knew far more than he, an outsider, did.

This village woman was also named Lanhua. It seemed village women named Lanhua were all rather pretty.

Xie Yuan had wanted to ask, "Don't your husbands mind?" But he wisely kept his mouth shut.

Driven by life, when their bellies were empty, how could they care about such things? Small Stone Village had occasionally heard of similar matters before; quite a few women had even been urged to go by their husbands.

Xie Yuan looked back once more at Jin Guang Temple's enormous gate, his expression complicated. With a sigh, he headed down the mountain without looking back.

What Buddhist grace was there in this place?

And yet perhaps this was precisely where Buddhist grace lay.

Still, apart from gaining some insight, Xie Yuan had gained nothing else. He detoured around River Bend Town, turned his steps, and headed north.

His destination was westward, but he had shown his face briefly in River Bend Town. Though he had left in time, he could change directions and take another roundabout route.

The closer one came to victory, the more careful one had to be. Ambushes often lay waiting at the moment of greatest relaxation, just before reaching the finish line.

Yet what he had seen at Jin Guang Temple had given Xie Yuan much to think about. He kept pondering it. Were the great clans truly pure evil?

The flames of Black River Town, the collective poisoning of more than a hundred people, the helpless wails of loved ones... those had been only the tip of the iceberg.

From that perspective, the evil of the great clans was so grave that even execution could not atone for it.

But from another perspective, in terms of prosperous commoners and stable towns, Jiangnan far surpassed Cloud Province and Wild Goose Province.

Where the great clans held strong control, petty criminals rarely dared cause trouble. With great clans governing and keeping things in check, their territories were often much wealthier than other places, and the people could be said to live and work in peace and contentment—so long as they did not offend a clan scion. Of course, ordinary commoners generally never even encountered them.

After Xie Yuan received word that Li Xingtuo had single-handedly suppressed Jiangnan with only a sword, his blood had once surged with passion. He had thought that once his cultivation was accomplished, he too would follow his sect master's example. But with such deep enmity between himself and those two families, he might not necessarily show mercy.

But if one day Xie Yuan truly took only an axe and chopped off the heads of every leader of the Qian and Yao families, causing the great clans to collapse, what would Jiangnan become?

Amid such a massive upheaval, would people also be left panicked and unsettled, nearing a state where no one could live, just like during the Eight Gates Rebellion?

Perhaps the great clans were a gigantic tumor growing among the people. If it was removed, it would leave behind a huge, bloody wound. If the bleeding could not be stopped, it might even prove fatal.

Li Xingtuo likely had such considerations as well, not merely the consequences of the Sword Sect's master killing great clan heads.

Xie Yuan let out a long breath and suddenly felt caught between two difficult choices.

Everything in the world had two sides, but which side should Xie Yuan consider?

Xie Yuan did not figure it out while walking north. He did not figure it out while walking east. He did not figure it out while walking south.

By the time he hurried west, ready to enter Shu Province in one burst and completely leave the great clans' territory in Jiangnan, he discovered that after wandering wherever his heart took him, he had somehow circled back to River Bend Town.

"Looks like I can't let this place go."

Xie Yuan exhaled and simply entered the town to have a look.

He wandered aimlessly along the riverbank and came upon a white-haired old man. After thinking for a moment, he stepped forward and asked, "Old sir, have you been to Jin Guang Temple?"

"Hm? I have! I've been many times. If not for the masters of Jin Guang Temple saving my life, I would have died of illness long ago!"

"I see..."

Xie Yuan asked several people, and they all gave similar answers. It was as if every resident living at the foot of Jin Guang Temple had received its favor.

But one person scoffed at Xie Yuan's question.

"No! Only fools go to that poison temple."

"Poison temple?"

Xie Yuan asked in surprise.

"Poison temple! Ever since the monks of Jin Guang Temple came here thirty years ago and built a little temple up there, River Bend Town has gone downhill day by day. Epidemics break out at every turn, and everyone gets strange illnesses. If it isn't a poison temple, then what is?"

The old man spoke with righteous indignation.

Someone nearby spat. "That old madman is spouting nonsense again! Did the sun rise because a rooster crowed? People got sick and died in the village before too, didn't they? It was only after Jin Guang Temple came that everyone's lives improved. Why else could it build such a grand place? Because it can help everyone. The Buddha inside is truly efficacious!"

"Stupid as an ox!"

The old man rolled his eyes and cursed the other elder. The other man's brows instantly twitched, and the two began trading insults.

Feeling he could not get an answer, Xie Yuan walked to the end of town. As he hesitated over whether to climb the mountain again, he suddenly saw a household with a Soul Banner hanging outside, holding funeral rites.

Xie Yuan had not intended to take a detour, but then he heard someone inside say, "Lanhua..."

Xie Yuan froze briefly, then quietly drew closer and peered inside, but could not make out anything.

"What are you looking at?"

Someone suddenly asked beside him.

Xie Yuan turned toward the curious neighbor and asked tentatively, "Ma'am, which family has lost someone?"

"Are you here to mourn? Zhang the Scholar and Wang Lanhua live in there. Which one are you related to?"

"Ah, which one passed away?"

"Both of them are gone."

"What?"

Xie Yuan was stunned and quickly asked why.

The woman seemed to have found something interesting to discuss. She looked around, then her lips began moving rapidly. "Well, wasn't it Wang Lanhua? Loose as a willow in the wind, seducing men everywhere. In the end, she even hooked up with the Great Monk of Jin Guang Temple. When she came back, Zhang the Scholar caught her. In a fit of rage, he wrote some sort of divorce letter and threw her out. That very night, Wang Lanhua threw herself into a well..."

"If you ask me, Zhang the Scholar was too useless. All he knew was burying his head in dead books every day, trying to earn some damn scholarly honor, while relying on Lanhua to work everywhere and support the household. That night, Lanhua came home with money, all happy, saying she had travel expenses for her husband to take the examinations. Then they had a huge fight."

A man from the neighboring household emerged, arms folded as he shook his head.

The woman curled her lip. "See? Men like you only know how to speak for Wang Lanhua."

"If your man were Zhang the Scholar, would you be willing?"

The man from the neighboring household said it directly.

The woman's expression changed slightly. She looked around and changed the subject. "My man is very good to me."

"Sister Zhang, don't you and your man quarrel every day?"

The man asked with a grin.

"You're full of nothing but shit."

Sister Zhang cursed.

Xie Yuan stopped them and asked in a complicated tone, "Then how did Zhang the Scholar die?"

"Well... I don't know."

Sister Zhang suddenly stopped talking and turned back into her house.

Xie Yuan looked at the man in confusion. The man coughed. "A scholar's pride, no understanding of worldly affairs. He went up the mountain to argue with the monks of Jin Guang Temple... Ahem. Young man from out of town, it's enough that you know. Don't meddle in so much idle business."

Xie Yuan fell silent for a moment, then looked inside again. He saw a monk conducting funeral rites, clearly acting as the head of the household.

He raised his eyes toward the side and looked at the resplendent Buddhist temple on the hillside. It felt as though even the cycle of life and death here was held in its grasp.

Deceiving people of money, deceiving people themselves, deceiving them of their lives... it should not be this way.

What was done well was done well; what was done badly was done badly. At the very least, there should be room to reason things out.

Frowning, Xie Yuan turned and once again headed for the temple on the mountain.

He entered the temple directly and made straight for the abbot's quarters.

Whether this temple could be saved or not should be clear from its abbot.

Ignoring the tight security of the rear courtyard, he slipped near the abbot's quarters and stopped outside the spacious building.

He sensed a figure within with robust Blood Qi, and there seemed to be an attendant beside him.

Just as Xie Yuan was about to enter directly, he suddenly heard an aged voice speaking to someone nearby. "Is there enough of this medicine?"

"A small epidemic will be enough."

Another voice replied.

The aged voice said slowly, "Then once our Buddha heals them, another sum of silver will enter our coffers. It will certainly be offered to the young master then."

"Hehe, easily said. The taxes your Jin Guang Temple pays have always satisfied the master's household."

The voice inside chuckled softly.

The old man spoke mildly. "If you had not offered us advice back then, Jinhe Temple would likely have remained a small temple forever and never become the precious monastery it is today."

"One's mind must stay nimble. Otherwise, how can one tend these crops well?"

The other person spoke in an unfathomable tone.

Outside the door, Xie Yuan's gaze deepened. Hearing this, he could no longer hold himself back.

He pushed open the door and entered. Inside was a spacious monk's chamber, where an old monk in a bright red kasaya sat with a middle-aged man in ornate robes.

Both were somewhat surprised by Xie Yuan's abrupt intrusion.

The old monk rose swiftly and asked in a deep voice, "Who are you? How did you get here?"

Xie Yuan did not answer. He merely glanced twice at the medicine bottle on the table between them, then fixed his eyes on the monk and asked, "Have you been the one spreading the epidemics in River Bend Town all along?"

"Amitabha. Young man, do not speak recklessly, or you will descend into the Hell of Tongue-Pulling."

The old monk's eyes flickered as he pressed his palms together.

The middle-aged man watched Xie Yuan with great interest, one hand braced against the table, seemingly lost in thought.

Xie Yuan said coldly, "So the rumors of a poison temple were not without cause. No wonder your Jin Guang Temple rose to such wealth in thirty years. You truly have a way of making money. You control the epidemics in town—through the mountain's water source, I presume? Then you manufacture the antidote yourselves, sell it in great quantities, raise your status, seize wealth, and buy off those above you, perpetuating the cycle... I thought that when you made money, you truly kept the people in your hearts, accumulated virtue, and performed good deeds."

From their conversation just now, Xie Yuan had already understood everything. He had thought Jin Guang Temple at least served some purpose for the local people, but it turned out it had been the instigator from the very beginning!

Seeing Xie Yuan say so much at once, clearly knowing a great deal, the abbot sighed. "What reckless young man has come here, trespassing into the important grounds of my temple? It seems I can only send you to the Western Paradise to reflect."

The abbot did not understand Xie Yuan's sudden appearance, but he had no intention of investigating it. This young man had uncovered so much; he absolutely could not be allowed to leave.

With a sweep of his sleeve, he extended an aged, withered hand, swift as lightning.

While still in midair, that hand abruptly swelled, growing enormous like a blood-engorged giant palm as it descended over Xie Yuan!

A Buddhist divine art, Dragon Claw Hand!

With this move, the Blood Qi of the Qi and Blood Second Transformation Realm was displayed without the slightest concealment, its force vast and surging.

This abbot of Jin Guang Temple possessed formidable cultivation. It seemed he had not spared any of the wealth and treasures he had seized when it came to himself.

Xie Yuan watched the giant palm erupting with Blood Qi. His fist circled once, then he threw an utterly ordinary punch.

Eight Trigrams Mountain Shaking Fist.

At first, the abbot paid the fist no mind. Yet in the next instant, he felt that ordinary fist was like a mountain range. Its dense, heavy force came crashing down like mountains, leaving him unable to breathe through his mouth or nose!

He hurriedly drove his Blood Qi with all his strength. The giant palm grew another fraction larger, while golden light flashed around his body, reinforcing his strength and increasing his defenses.

With the Golden Bell Cover protecting him, the abbot felt somewhat reassured as he met Xie Yuan's fist head-on.

With a bang, the abbot was sent flying. He slammed heavily into the wall of the monk's chamber with a thunderous crash, and cracks immediately spread across the solid wall.

"Wah!"

The old monk crashed to the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood, staring at the young man before him in disbelief.

Who was this man? How could he be so strong?

He had clearly used the Golden Bell Cover to protect himself, so how had it been shattered so effortlessly? Even a master of the Qi Blood Third Transformation Realm should not have been able to do it so easily!

Xie Yuan looked at the stunned old monk. The man opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but Xie Yuan gave him no chance.

He stepped forward and threw another punch, striking the abbot's arm as he struggled to raise it.

With a crack, the old monk's arm snapped. White bone jutted from his elbow, while his palm was driven backward by Xie Yuan's fist, plunging upside down into his own chest.

The abbot's eyes bulged, blood spilling from the corners of his mouth. The Great Monk who had ruled River Bend Town for thirty years and turned a ruined temple into the resplendent Jin Guang Temple died on the spot, never understanding why even at the end.

After killing the wicked monk with two punches, Xie Yuan finally felt as though he had let out a long-held breath. The knots that had tangled his heart for days seemed to have been swept clean.

He shook his fist, flinging away the bone fragments and blood froth, and at last understood.

Everything under heaven indeed had two sides, but more often than not, evil was simply evil. Even if evil had done good deeds, that was not a gold medal granting immunity from death.

One could not pardon monstrous evil merely because it retained a sliver of usefulness. Jin Guang Temple was the same, and so were the great clans.

When faced with evil, all he needed to do was throw a punch. Otherwise, how could his thoughts ever flow freely?

Xie Yuan was a martial artist, not a minister or general. Upholding justice, eliminating violence, and rooting out evil to the very end—this was the martial will he ought to possess.

As for the problems that came afterward, the wisdom of those who came later would handle them. If one great clan fell, another would arise; if the sky collapsed, there would still be taller people to hold it up.

Xie Yuan turned and looked at the middle-aged man who had been watching with great interest from the side. He withdrew his hand into his sleeve, raised a brow, and asked:

"Yao Family?"

"How did you know?"

The man smiled and asked noncommittally.

"Because only people from the Yao Family could come up with such a vicious scheme."

Xie Yuan answered calmly.

The man smiled with narrowed eyes and shook his head.

"Xie Yuan, you're still too young. There are countless evil deeds in this world. The Yao Family is not even among the most vicious."

"Perhaps. But in my eyes, few can compare to you, so I've never found the sight of you pleasing."

Xie Yuan shook his head and asked:

"Which member of the Yao Family are you?"

"Many years ago, I should have ceased to count as a member of the Yao Family."

The middle-aged man spoke unhurriedly.

"Sometimes they acknowledge me, and sometimes they do not. It all depends on the matter at hand. That is simply how the Yao Family is."

Xie Yuan nodded.

"So you know that too."

"But Yao blood still flows through my veins, so sometimes there is nothing I can do about it."

The man shook his head.

"You have become too great a threat to the Yao Family, so I had no choice but to come for you. I actually admire you. You are extraordinarily gifted, powerful, and decisive in your actions. Your only flaw is that your heart is a little too soft—you always want to be some damn hero. Mm, I have been watching you for a while. We have always placed great importance on intelligence, especially intelligence concerning young geniuses."

Xie Yuan said noncommittally:

"It's not that I insist on being a hero. I simply cannot stand seeing certain things. If they are within my ability, I deal with them."

"That is precisely how young people who want to be heroes are. They meddle in matters they should not, and many die because of it."

The man sighed.

"Clearly, you are no exception. There are many things about you that I admire, but this is the one point I cannot respect. You are too young, too soft-hearted. In the end, you will never accomplish great things. You can only die here."

Xie Yuan showed not the slightest panic at his threat and merely asked:

"You knew I would come?"

"Of course. The first time you showed yourself here, I tracked you. But you did nothing, which was very strange. I thought about it for a long time. Given your temperament, if you let this place go, it could only mean the bait was not enough. So I added a little more, and sure enough, you appeared. You see, if you had run right away, I might truly have been unable to catch you."

The man chuckled and shook his head.

"But as I said, foolish young men like you are the easiest to deal with, and the least likely to amount to anything. What a pity."

The man stood and straightened his lapels, seemingly unwilling to say any more.

"So who exactly are you?"

Xie Yuan asked.

"You may call me the Autumn Wind Pavilion Master."

A short sword slid into the man's hand as he nodded.

Xie Yuan gave a slight nod as a small sword slid into his hand as well.

"Alright, then die."