The streets of Qinghe District were as they had always been.
The death of the city's richest man seemed to have caused little of a stir. Although the police solemnly vowed to bring the murderer to justice, many people couldn't help spitting in secret when they thought of the things the man had done in the past. They felt it was no more than divine retribution.
With the richest man's death, the demolition plans for Qinghe District were put on hold. And after certain people got the relevant departments involved, Sanhuamiao Temple was actually protected as a historic cultural relic. It would soon undergo restoration.
One morning, a middle-aged monk dressed simply in a coarse hemp robe stepped into one of the temples.
The cordon outside did nothing to stop him. Whether it was the iron railings or the bright yellow police tape, they passed straight through his body as he walked by, as though they didn't exist.
The monk walked right into the inner hall and looked at the equally dilapidated Buddha statue.
Then he pressed his palms together and bowed.
"Junior Brother, I've come to see you."
"I've taken care of everything you asked me to. These three temples will soon be restored. I specifically told them not to touch the Buddha statues; they only need to renovate the buildings."
"When the incense offerings here flourish, the Bodhisattva can rest peacefully underground and sleep, without having to concern himself with the affairs of this world anymore."
"So..."
The monk suddenly lifted his head and spoke with a beaming smile.
"Junior Brother, is there anything else you'd like to ask of me?"
The Buddha statue remained silent.
But the monk didn't move either. He simply stood there, the smile on his face growing broader.
After a long while, a voice finally sounded.
If Zhou You had been there, he would have recognized it at once—
It was the Old Monk's voice.
The Buddha statue, now nothing more than a clay sculpture, stiffly lowered its head and looked at the monk below. Its mouth, set in a compassionate smile, didn't move, yet a hoarse voice came from within it.
"Shanhui, what are you doing here?"
The monk called Shanhui only smiled.
"Junior Brother, since you asked me to take care of these things, I naturally had to report back to you. Now that everything's settled, I thought I'd come see what you've become."
But the Buddha statue's tone remained cold.
"—You think I'd believe that?"
Shanhui smiled and shook his head.
"Junior Brother, you don't have to believe me, but I really did just want to see you. After all, no one understands you better than I do. The Hungry Ghost Path you cultivate is already nearing a dead end. If you keep dragging things out, you'll either become a demon or an evil ghost..."
The Buddha statue did not reply, but its clay features seemed to turn cold—and even vaguely ferocious.
Shanhui acted as if he hadn't noticed. He continued speaking as though to himself.
"It's fortunate you came up with this plan, Junior Brother. You seized the chance when the Buddha Mother appeared and sought a way to survive in the face of death, trying to usurp the Buddha's place with your own body. Now the Buddha Mother has been suppressed once more. You've performed a great deed and become Sanzhi Dajiang's Dharma Body. You might even be able to go a step further and cultivate the temple's aspect of Vaisravana, the Heavenly King..."
At that, the Buddha statue's expression finally relaxed a little.
"It was just a gamble. Plenty went wrong along the way, and I was nearly trapped to death by that Liu Shang. Fortunately, I encountered an opportunity..."
As he spoke, the Buddha statue seemed to remember something. It raised its head and met a pair of greedy, bright eyes.
Then it suddenly laughed.
"So that's why you made a special trip here. You're looking for an opportunity too. Come to think of it, your Hell Path isn't in any better shape than my Hungry Ghost Path. What is it? The Shirou raised at the temple isn't enough for you anymore, so you want to find something else to eat out here?"
The middle-aged monk looked as if he'd been struck where it hurt. His expression darkened at once.
"To be honest, Junior Brother, I haven't shown any signs of dissolution yet, but lately I've felt that I'm losing control. So I wanted to borrow an opportunity from you. Even if I can't survive against the odds the way you did, at least I might be able to hold on for a few more years..."
But the Buddha statue rejected him without hesitation.
"Don't even think about it. I can't even see through this opportunity myself. He doesn't even have a normal 'source.' I tried using the Ghost-Shaped Figurine to observe his past and future, but all I could see was a blank. There are only two possibilities."
"Either something far beyond me is concealing his fate, leaving this old monk unable to see the slightest trace of it..."
"Or he appeared out of thin air, with no father or mother, born of heaven and earth. That's why he has no past or future."
The Buddha statue raised its eyes, a hint of mockery appearing on its face.
"So, Senior Brother, which do you think it is?"
The middle-aged monk was struck dumb.
He stood there with his hands hanging at his sides for a long time, then shook his head and turned to leave.
But just then, the Buddha statue called out to him.
"Shanhui, for old times' sake, I can point you toward a way forward."
The other monk didn't turn around. He only replied coldly,
"A way forward? Is it the way of continuing to devour Shirou and slowly becoming an evil ghost, or the way of seeking out those weirdos and begging some uncontaminated god or Buddha to save me?"
The Buddha statue shook its head and continued.
"Neither. Shanhui, don't forget: I occupy only one of the Three Venerables Temples. The other two are still empty."
Unexpectedly, the other monk only gave a derisive laugh.
"Have me usurp the Buddha's place? Not a bad idea. But without your opportunity, even if I sat on the Lotus Throne, I'd just become a demon!" Shanhui's words grew increasingly mocking. "Besides, those bastards in the city would never let me—"
His voice suddenly stopped. Shanhui slowly turned his head, a look of dawning understanding appearing on his face.
The Buddha statue continued.
"Exactly. Those people in the city. Now that Jixiang Jimiao Guimu Bodhisattva has been suppressed again, and the Liu Shang they relied on is howling in the Sea of Blood, the ordinary people throughout the city are safe. Those people are no longer of any use. Senior Brother, why not take their place and personally receive offerings before these two Buddha statues stained with a Bodhisattva's blood?"
A long silence followed.
After a while, Shanhui spoke again.
"What about the monks themselves? There are quite a few of them. I don't have the time to win them over one by one."
The Buddha statue laughed again, but this time there was no compassion in it.
"Why bother winning them over? These people have already strayed from the path of the Buddha. All they care about now is money and worldly gain. Not to mention, they nearly ruined my plans. Monks should be compassionate, so why not do a good deed..."
"—Send them down to keep Liu Shang company."
The middle-aged monk paused at that, then laughed as well. He pressed his palms together and bowed once more.
"Very well, then..."
"I shall obey the Bodhisattva's decree."
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