As It Happens, It Was Coincidental

Coming out of Five Views Hall, there was a winding wooden corridor with a blue-tiled roof. Red wooden pillars stood one after another, and under the eaves, blue-and-gold cloud patterns and statues of guardian deities added a touch of exquisite detail.

In the eyes of many monks and pilgrims, Master Guanghong, the most accomplished eminent monk at Taian Temple, and a young man in an old robe walked side by side at a leisurely pace. Yet, surprisingly, Master Guanghong, who usually always wore a calm and unhurried expression, looked rather unwell at the moment and was even trembling slightly. Observing the young man in contrast, he appeared smiling and completely at ease as he spoke with Master Guanghong.

"The paper from Wu Ji Paper Shop is quite pleasant to use."

"Could benefactor... be the one who found me through it?"

"More or less."

"With so many people going to Wu Ji Paper Shop to buy paper every day, how did benefactor determine it was me?"

"A batch of paper at Wu Ji Paper Shop had some dye accidentally spilled into it by mischievous children, making the paper somewhat reddish. I wonder if Master noticed?"

"How do you know?"

Master Guanghong's complexion had already paled somewhat.

To be honest, he really had not noticed.

"Master and I happened to buy that exact batch. Furthermore, that batch of paper was not produced in large quantities. I asked the shopkeeper, and only a dozen or so people came to buy yellow hemp paper during that period, while probably only a few bought large sheets of yellow hemp paper. The shopkeeper only knew and remembered three of them."

"Benefactor went and searched for them one by one?"

"This humble Daoist is very patient," Song You said. "However, even without the yellow hemp paper, Master sent a little ghost to visit last night. Based solely on that little ghost, this humble Daoist could have easily tracked Master down right here."

"..."

Master Guanghong reached his hand into his sleeve.

Hidden in both of his sleeves were several Bow Soldier Generals, all rolled up, which could be materialized with a wave of the hand. Yet, thinking of how the two Yakshas from that night had both perished without a sound, he did not dare to act rashly.

"I wonder how benefactor broke my Yaksha technique?"

"This humble Daoist is well-versed in fire arts."

"..."

Master Guanghong instantly turned as pale as a sheet.

"What does benefactor intend to do?"

"Master has been at Taian Temple for many years, possessing both cultivation and spiritual attainment, so why panic?" Song You smiled, then asked, "Since Master knows how to use paper Yakshas, I wonder if you possess the method for Paper Horses and Paper Donkeys?"

"Paper Horses and Paper Donkeys?"

"Indeed."

"If I have them, what then? If I don't, what then?"

"If you do, this humble Daoist wishes to seek instruction from Master."

"And if not?"

It seemed he did not have them.

Song You showed a look of regret.

He had originally thought that since this monk possessed the paper Yaksha technique, he might be able to learn the paper horse technique from him, which could save himself a lot of effort and enrich Fulong Temple's spell library in the future. In that case, sparing his life would not have been out of the question.

Pity.

Then they would have to exchange courtesies in kind.

It was just that I was able to break your technique out of my own ability, whereas whether you have the ability to handle this is entirely your own affair.

Only then did Song You answer Master Guanghong's previous question: "Master is a man of Buddhism and ought to harbor kindness and compassion in your heart. Yet, not only did you borrow others' hands to frantically steal treasures within the city, but after your earth-diving art was broken by someone, you bore a grudge and sent Yakshas with the intent to harm. It is truly hard to call you a man of Buddhism... This humble Daoist is quite curious: when Master faces these golden bodies of the Buddha every day, do you not feel your heart palpitate?"

"Heart palpitate?" Master Guanghong forced up his courage. "They are merely clay statues. You and I know full well that the Buddha is not here, nor are the Bodhisattvas."

"That is true."

Song You nodded.

Both the Buddha statues and divine statues were cast from clay; their ears could not hear and their eyes could not see. Even if they could manifest their spirits, the world was so vast while the energy of deities and Buddhas was limited, so how could they be thoroughly acquainted with the affairs in front of every clay statue?

"Yet it is only because no one reports it."

"What does benefactor mean?"

Song You did not answer him, only casting a glance at the antithetical couplets on the doorway before cupping his hands in a salute to Master Guanghong:

"Take care, Master."

"?"

Master Guanghong frowned as he watched his figure recede into the distance.

Just like that? Or was he playing some kind of trick?

When he finally snapped out of it and turned his head, he discovered that he and the other man had somehow walked right up to the entrance of Ten Thousand Buddha Hall.

Light filtered through the gaps in the tiled roof of the grand hall. Beams of fine light struck down from overhead, piercing through the heavy swirling incense smoke inside the hall to outline distinct shapes, illuminating the floor, the altar, and the golden bodies. Master Guanghong was startled to realize that those familiar golden body Buddha statues of usual times suddenly all seemed to have changed their appearance.

Apart from the Lord of Ten Thousand Buddhas in the center, whose eyes still drooped and whose expression remained solemn and dignified, the other Bodhisattvas—whether wearing gentle smiles or looking with universal compassion—all seemed to be watching him.

Most terrifying of all were the guardian deities.

Their eyes were already bulging with fury to begin with, but now, it felt as though they were all glaring straight at him.

Under Master Guanghong's shock and panic, his heart pounded wildly. In a daze, this sound seemed to become the beats of a drum, going thump, thump, thump. And along with this drumming, with every single beat, the furiously glaring faces of those guardian deities grew larger by a fraction in his eyes, drawing closer to him by a step.

Within a few breaths, those faces had pressed right up before him, majestic and terrifying, as if forcing him to account for every evil deed he had ever committed in his life.

Murmuring sutra chants entered his ears.

Those sutra texts he usually read, along with the profound Buddhist principles he had not paid much attention to, all surged up from the depths of his heart at once.

Is this right?

Is this right?

Have you broken the precepts?

Have you ever found peace of mind?

He only felt a ball of blazing fire within his chest. At first it was merely an itchy warmth that made him want to reach out and scratch, but soon it grew hotter and hotter. A burning sensation arose from the center of his heart and spread outward, scorching his entire body with unbearable agony.

"Ah!!"

Master Guanghong could not help crying out.

Numerous monks, pilgrims, and even martial artists lodging there hurried over upon hearing the sound.

Yet they only saw the eminent and respected Master Guanghong engulfed in flames from the inside out, burning as he rolled all over the ground with a distorted expression.

In his mouth, he wailed loudly:

"This humble monk is guilty!

"This humble monk knows his wrong!

"Buddha, spare my life!"

No matter how he screamed, this fire would not stop.

And strangely enough, this fire only burned his skin and flesh, leaving his robes untouched, as though Master Guanghong's entire body had been coated in oil. It burned so fiercely that within just a few finger-snaps, nothing was left before the hall except for a single set of robes.

Everyone present was shaken and terrified beyond measure.

Someone who had previously seen Master Guanghong walking side by side with a young pilgrim quickly searched for the young man's trace, only to see that in the direction of the mountain gate, someone had a tricolor cat walking with dainty, tripping steps trailing behind him. Just as they reached the temple entrance, they were gradually walking farther and farther away.

The tricolor cat stopped, turned its head, and looked back.

Song You walked back to Tianshui Lane and happened to run into Constable Luo. Hearing that Constable Luo was just looking to find him, he invited him into the courtyard.

"The courtyard wall of benefactor's home suffered severe damage last night. Did you encounter danger?"

"It's of no consequence."

Song You smiled and waved his hand, not waiting for Constable Luo to continue showing concern before asking first: "I wonder how the interrogation of that earth-diving thief is going?"

Constable Luo's eyes flickered.

Although he did not know whether the person who broke into the residence last night was human, ghost, or demon, simply looking at the marks left on the courtyard wall and rain eaves was enough to make his heart race. Yet the Mister Song before him seemed completely unconcerned, and looking at this courtyard, there was unexpectedly no sign of struggle or destruction at all.

Could it be that no fight took place?

Or was this how supernatural battles between masters worked?

Or rather...

Musing thusly in his heart, it did not affect Constable Luo's verbal reply: "We have been interrogating him these past few days, and some of the stolen goods plundered by the thief have been recovered. However, as it happens rather coincidentally, all we recovered were gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, and calligraphy paintings. As for the rare medicinal herbs secretly hoarded in the mansions of various dignitaries, they have all vanished without a trace. The thief only claimed that in order to practice his earth-diving art, he ate them all."

Constable Luo paused, then looked at Song You: "Luo is rather lacking in knowledge regarding this aspect, and wonders if people of cultivation..."

"What kind of herbs were there?"

"Thousand-year Ganoderma lucidum, centuries-old wild mountain ginseng, top-grade dragon bones, and the like—all medicinal herbs of great age."

"Decidedly impossible."

"Then the thief must have hidden them, or..." Constable Luo paused again, turning to speak of another matter. "Aside from questioning him about the stolen goods, we also interrogated him on where his earth-diving technique came from, and he actually claimed it was an ancient text found among his grandfather's belongings."

Every sentence Constable Luo spoke was left unfinished, trailing off at the end as he cast glances at Song You.

Whether cultivators needed so many precious medicinal herbs, whether they could consume so many herbs in a short time, and whether cultivators could become self-taught were all blind spots in his knowledge as an ordinary constable, but wasn't there an expert right in front of him?

It had been fine before, but upon seeing the broken courtyard wall of Mister Song this morning, he had already roughly guessed in his heart that there was mostly someone else behind that thief.

Last night, it was likely that the person behind the thief had come seeking revenge.

Song You also knew he was consulting him.

Although the earth-diving technique had flaws, it was not simple and actually possessed quite a few wonders. For an ordinary mortal without relevant foundations to comprehend it on their own, not only would progress likely be extremely slow, but they were also very likely to run into danger during the practice.

However, Song You had no need to discuss these things with him.

"As it happens, I took a trip to Taian Temple today and happened to witness a strange occurrence. I'd like to share it with the Squad Leader."

"Oh?"

Constable Luo was slightly stunned, but still cupped his hands:

"I am all ears."

"Master Guanghong, whom the Squad Leader once consulted, spontaneously ignited his heart fire right in front of Ten Thousand Buddha Hall this noon. During it, he loudly pleaded for the Buddha's forgiveness and mercy, but after only a short while, the fire burned him completely clean, leaving not even ashes behind." Song You smiled. "So you see, a person truly must not commit malicious deeds. The Squad Leader might as well tell this story to the thief in the prison; perhaps it could move him."

"!"

Constable Luo instantly opened his eyes wide, his brain spinning frantically.

For a long time, he abruptly stood up and cupped his hands to Song You once more: "Luo understands. Thank you, Mister, for your guidance."

"You're too polite."

"Luo still has official business to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

"Walk slowly."

Constable Luo turned and walked out with a fast pace, moving like a roaring wind, yet brilliant light flashed in his eyes.

Suddenly, he recalled the scene a month ago when he went to Taian Temple to seek advice, and Master Guanghong—rumored to possess genuine spiritual attainment—offered him the scheme of burying human waste. Suddenly, he also recalled the images of dignitaries within the city and even many people from the yamen going to Taian Temple to burn incense, pay homage to the Buddha, and converse with Master Guanghong.

No wonder someone would launch a night raid on Mister Song.

No wonder the person behind the thief could learn so quickly that this matter involved Mister Song's guidance.

No wonder every crime was executed with such precision.

No wonder...

Constable Luo had long known that Mister Song was a true expert and that coming to seek his guidance would certainly yield rewards, yet he had never imagined that the rewards would be of such magnitude.

Thinking thusly, he suddenly gritted his teeth—

That bald donkey had actually dared to toy with him like this! If not for Mister Song's guidance, he would probably have remained kept in the dark all along, while that bald donkey continued to roam free outside the law, still serving as an honored guest to the city's dignitaries.

Correspondingly, he felt all the more that Mister Song right across the street was unfathomable.