The story had ended.
At that moment,
Su Qingqiu stared blankly at Puzhi. "Three hundred and sixty years ago... It seems that child didn't die after all. By a twist of fate, he still ended up joining the Dragon-Raising Temple. And Big Yellow turned into a demon, becoming a great fiend who wreaked havoc across the land, until you finally destroyed him. Am I right, Master?"
As he spoke, he couldn't help feeling a touch of sympathy for the tragic fate of the man and the ox.
The two had once depended on each other for survival, only to end up crossing blades and parting in life and death. There was no denying that fate was cruelly ironic.
Puzhi smiled, still as unmoved by joy as by sorrow, and continued, "Actually, there's another version of this story. Would the Spirit Lord like to hear it?"
Spirit Lord?
This wasn't the first time Puzhi had called him that. He'd already lost count of how many times the old monk had done so.
Su Qingqiu searched through the memories he had acquired, but couldn't find any explanation for what a Spirit Lord was. It left him a little frustrated. His store of knowledge was still too meager.
"Tell me!"
In the second version, the child had indeed survived. A kind-hearted monk had taken him in.
After carefully raising him for seven years and completely eradicating the evil demonic aura from his body, the monk had sent him out to slay demons and devils.
"But that child still thought constantly of Big Yellow, the ox who had depended on him for survival. Even after seven years, he knew it was impossible, yet he still wanted to find the only family he'd had back then."
"Heaven rewards the diligent. After searching for a whole year, he truly found Big Yellow. The moment the man and demon recognized each other must have been the happiest moment of that child's life."
"It's just a pity..."
"It's just a pity he eventually discovered that Big Yellow was the ox demon wreaking havoc." Su Qingqiu picked up Puzhi's words and continued for him. "Faced with Buddhist principles on one side and family ties on the other, the child bore the pain of upholding righteousness and killed his own kin. In the end, he destroyed Big Yellow and earned the title of Saint Monk. Is that right?"
But Puzhi shook his head. "No. It wasn't like that. Back then, Changmei's cultivation of Buddhist teachings was still shallow. Faced with the only family he had in this life, how could he have brought himself to kill him?"
"But Big Yellow didn't want Changmei to live every day consumed by pain and guilt. Right in front of Changmei, he tore out his own tendons and stripped off his flesh, shaved away his bones and returned his flesh, until his body and soul were destroyed, paying for his own sins."
"After all, everything he'd done had only been to avenge the child killed by the Dragon-Raising Temple. And now, seeing that the child who had once depended on him had become a revered, eminent monk, he felt that he had fallen into evil and become utterly filthy. He no longer had any will to go on living..."
Su Qingqiu was slightly moved by Puzhi's words.
There was no need for Puzhi to say anything more.
What happened afterward—why the ox demon's remains ended up in this layer of the Snake Abyss, or how Puzhi died—belonged to other stories.
Perhaps Puzhi would tell him later, but it had nothing to do with this story.
Su Qingqiu had devoured the ox demon's remains, which was tantamount to setting the ox demon free for good. But in doing so, he had also inherited a karmic debt, which was why Puzhi's remnant soul had sought him out.
Before the remnant soul's obsession faded away as well, he needed to understand this karmic debt from Puzhi.
At that moment,
Puzhi gazed steadily at Su Qingqiu, then asked, "They say that when a spiritual creature cultivates for ten thousand years, spiritual light arises within it, and the Spirit Lord will descend. Spirit Lord, you were born of Heaven and Earth, with wisdom arising naturally. You have endured a thousand years without decay, remaining forever, and passed through countless tribulations while staying eternally free. Could you answer the question weighing on this humble monk's heart?"
Puzhi's expression grew more and more bewildered. Wisps of black Qi began to mingle with the Buddhist light around him.
This was a heart demon!
An obsession.
"I did not stop the matter of the ox. I even stepped in to suppress him, letting that child's only family die before his eyes. Afterward, I feared that the remains might cause trouble again, so I cast them into the Snake Abyss, where even his bones could not remain whole."
"Tell me, what difference is there between me and that fiend?"
Su Qingqiu studied the ghost before him once more, his expression especially grave.
He wasn't afraid that Puzhi would turn into a demon. He simply didn't want this enlightened monk's final obsession to fall into evil, leaving the world in torment.
The scene before his eyes reminded him of a famous Buddhist teaching from his previous life. He said, "Master, you're mistaken."
"Once Big Yellow let go of the obsession in his heart, he had already become a Buddha. As the Buddha says, 'Lay down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot.' Since Big Yellow had become a Buddha, what use were flesh and bones to him?"
"Besides, killing to protect one's cause is not the same as killing a person. Everything you did helped Big Yellow wash away his sins and spared countless people from the suffering of being reduced to cattle and livestock."
"Big Yellow laying down the butcher's knife was a deed of merit; Master, killing to protect his cause was a deed of merit. Both were boundless in virtue."
At his words, the Buddhist light around Puzhi flickered between bright and dim as black Qi and Buddhist radiance alternated. At last, the Buddhist light blazed forth, shining brilliantly over everything.
It swept away all the chill brought by the surrounding ghosts.
"Lay down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot. Kill to protect one's cause. Amitabha... Ask not who comes, ask not about worldly affairs, ask not about cause and effect—simply act as nature dictates. Indeed, everything has been within the Buddha's guidance."
"Amitabha... I was indeed attached to appearances."
"Spirit Lord, your wisdom reaches the heavens and accords with Buddhist principles. This humble monk's obsession has finally been released today. If there is another life, I will gladly be your ox or horse, to repay you for your kindness."
Puzhi pressed his palms together and bowed deeply.
Su Qingqiu said, "Master, you flatter me. I hardly deserve such praise. Three hundred and sixty years ago, you dealt with the ox demon and protected countless people. That was already a boundlessly meritorious deed. Even without my reminder, I'm sure you would have come to understand it yourself."
There was nothing wrong with saying so. After all, Puzhi's remnant soul had endured for all these years, still using Buddhist teachings to firmly suppress the Evil Qi and the demon in his heart.
One could only imagine how profound the Buddhist cultivation and spiritual nature of this monk, hailed as the Eternal Saint Monk, truly were.
The sudden emergence of the black Qi of a heart demon was merely a stress response to seeing Su Qingqiu dispose of the ox demon's remains.
Puzhi shook his head and smiled faintly. He neither agreed nor explained, instead saying, "So it's already three hundred and sixty years later? What a long stretch of time."
"This humble monk is about to vanish. And the Spirit Lord seems to have only just emerged into the world. I don't know how you learned about me, but I imagine the younger generations must have left behind some records."
"However, compared with those younger generations, I may know more about this world. I know the Snake Abyss especially well. I wandered here day and night for over a hundred years. As thanks, if there is anything you don't understand, I can answer your questions for now."
This old monk really was shrewd. His eyes were sharp, too. Su Qingqiu had already tried his best to stay quiet, yet Puzhi had still figured out that he was a newly emerged Spirit Lord.
Still, the old monk's offer suited him perfectly. Compared with power, Su Qingqiu was far more lacking in basic knowledge.
It hardly seemed fitting for someone with his supposed status as a Spirit Lord.
"Master, do you know what the Spirit Ruins are?"
After thinking it over, Su Qingqiu asked.
Since he'd obtained the Spirit Void Order from the ox demon, perhaps the old monk knew what it was.
He might as well see how much the old monk knew first.
Before you continue