Ancient Buddha

"Please, sir, ask away. This little woman will tell you everything she knows, holding nothing back."

The demon spoke in a coy, honeyed voice.

Su Che looked at the Sword Case placed above.

"My first question: my divine sword has a spirit. It slays demons when it encounters demons and destroys ghosts when it meets ghosts. Why is it that when you entered my room, little lady, the divine sword showed no reaction at all?"

The demon paused for a moment before speaking.

"Does the young master know where I come from?"

I hadn't even asked, and she was already going to answer it herself?

"This humble one is a fox demon, known by the nickname Qingqiu."

"There are three lineages of fox demons under heaven. One is the Xuanyuan Tomb of Northern Mang, one is the Purple Mansion Palace of Wind Mountain, and the third is the Cloud-Deep Unknown Place from which this humble one hails. Fox immortals throughout the world revere these three places as their three ancestral courts. Those not born from one of them mock themselves as wild fox Chan."

I didn't know any of what you were talking about.

Su Che still tried his hardest to look as though he understood perfectly.

"Though Demon Cultivators are said to follow one path, it is much like the three thousand Great Daos, each choosing a single branch. Even Demon Cultivators each have their own specialties. Tiger demons excel at binding ghosts and commanding the wind; ox demons possess strength enough to shoulder mountains. My Cloud-Deep Unknown Place is best at the arts of transformation. What is more, a thread of my true spirit has been pinned down by that ragged rope of the Yellow Heaven Sect, leaving my aura weak and fading. With both factors combined, even a divine sword with a spirit would not strike at me."

Su Che sincerely admired this. The Yellow Heaven Dao had treated him rather well. The Su Household's years of offerings to them had not been in vain. Of course, my craftsmanship wasn't shabby either.

This turtle shell was truly turtle-like.

Su Che looked at his handiwork, feeling a small pride that was hard to put into words.

Not bad for a first practical attempt. The results were pretty good.

"Since you come from the Eastern Sea, what did you intend by coming to Shanyin County? And as for fortune-telling, do demons need money too?"

The moment Su Che finished speaking, he drew a burst of coquettish laughter from the demon.

"My lord speaks so amusingly."

"Amusing? I have always followed the principle of rolling up my sleeves and doing solid work when dealing with gloomy people and the opposite sex."

"Didn't my lord come to Shanyin County because of that thing in Black Mountain?"

Black Mountain? What was Black Mountain? Wasn't this Shanyin County?

Yet the fox demon's words left Su Che's mind in disarray. He carefully recalled the materials he had read before coming here.

Shanyin County had received its name because it lay north of Black Mountain. North of a mountain and south of a river were called yin.

What was in the mountains to the south?

The fox demon noticed Su Che's silence.

She suddenly asked, "You don't know about Black Mountain?"

"Hm? You need not concern yourself with what this official knows. Just speak..."

Su Che tried his best to maintain an unfathomable image.

"If you don't know what is hidden inside Black Mountain, what are you doing in Shanyin County?"

The Ministry of Personnel had offered me county commandant posts in seven counties and told me to pick whichever I liked. I casually chose Shanyin County.

Su Che wondered what expression this fox immortal would wear if he told her that secret.

The demon fell silent for a moment, seemingly reorganizing her thoughts.

The Madam of the Qi Household wore an expression that was both annoyed and amused.

"Since you know nothing, then how did you run into One-Eyed the moment you arrived? Did you simply stumble into a stroke of luck? Your luck is far too good, isn't it? How did you know about Withered Forest Chan Temple..."

This bastard! Do you know how many classics I searched through in the sect, how much effort I spent before I finally pieced together this clue? And he just blundered right in headfirst.

Though her true body was currently a thousand miles away, she could already sense signs that the true-form Dharma body she had painstakingly cultivated was on the verge of qi deviation.

This was a tremendous opportunity that could help one attain the Dao and point directly toward the Third Rank of cultivation. How had this man muddleheadedly wandered into it?

Stay calm. I have to stay calm.

The demon calling herself Qingqiu took a deep breath and steadied her divine sense. This fellow still had value to exploit. His treasures were certainly not limited to that sword case and the Yellow Heaven Dao's spirit-sealing silk.

Think carefully. If I turn him into an ally, my odds of victory against the Old Monster of Black Mountain later will increase by thirty percent.

Bear with it. The greater picture comes first. The greater picture comes first.

The Qi Household's wife revealed a warm smile.

"Then Young Master Su, you should at least know the origins of Withered Forest Chan Temple, shouldn't you?"

Su Che nodded.

He had heard Clerk Tian mention it before. It seemed that during the previous dynasty, a great master from the West had come east to spread teachings, greatly shaking the previous dynasty's national fortune. He had then inexplicably headed for the Eastern Sea and vanished between heaven and earth.

Withered Forest Chan Monastery had been established by that great Western master's later disciples.

"That great Western cultivator of old bore the title Lion Azure Lotus Complete Thus-Come One. Within the Buddhist schools, any who may be honored as a Thus-Come One have at minimum reached the Third Rank realm of Pratyekabuddha, Bodhisattva, or Arhat."

Lion Azure Lotus Complete Thus-Come One? Su Che pondered the meaning of that title.

He had also seen in books that the people of this world divided cultivation realms into nine ranks, much like the official ranks of the imperial court. Ninth Rank was the entry point, and First Rank the limit.

At the time, he had wondered whether cultivators had copied the court's ranking system, or whether the court had copied this system from cultivators. It could not possibly have been mere coincidence.

Only after reading more did he understand that the court never lacked First Rank officials, yet among the cultivators known in the present age, few could reach the Third Rank.

That Lion Azure Lotus Complete Thus-Come One had been a Third Rank powerhouse. He truly had possessed the strength to become the previous dynasty's Imperial Preceptor.

"Young Master Su may not know this, but that great master of the Western Land was originally a Demon King born in the Ten Continents of our Eastern Sea. He entered the Dao from demonhood, then entered Buddhism from the Dao. Looking across heaven and earth, he was certainly not the most exceptional powerhouse of his era, but in terms of experience and cultivation, he was unquestionably rich beyond measure."

When this demon spoke of him, there was actually a trace of admiration in her tone.

Wasn't that just a servant with three surnames—no, a three-name household slave? She made him sound so impressive. His will was so weak, always defecting back and forth. He deserved to bite the dust.

"His name was Lion Azure Lotus Perfected Tathagata, and lion refers to his true body, a lion of great majestic virtue, possessed of the wisdom to subdue afflictions."

"Azure Lotus means he bore a Daoist inheritance, harmonizing the fire dragon and water tiger, already grasping the mysteries of heaven and earth's generation and transformation, yin and yang's unfolding changes."

"Complete means his divine powers and Dharma strength were so vast that they could bring all things to perfection."

"And Thus-Come One refers to his formidable Third Rank cultivation."

The demon suddenly stopped speaking and looked at Su Che.

"What are you laughing at?"

"I wasn't laughing."

"You clearly just laughed."

"You saw wrong."

"You laughed."

Su Che waved a hand. "Hearing you explain that honorific reminded me of a very funny joke."

A joke about a certain young man who first studied literature but failed to become a scholar, then studied martial arts but failed to master them, and finally studied medicine—only to die after producing the first dose of medicine in his life.

Forget it. I'll endure.

The demon was, after all, a cultivator. She adjusted her state of mind and continued.

"Everyone says this Lion Azure Lotus Complete Thus-Come One went to the Eastern Sea, but that is not so. According to my research, he seemed to have finally achieved the goal he had always sought and was preparing to return to the Western lands. His journey to the Eastern Sea was merely a smokescreen he released."

I knew it. A turncoat like that definitely wasn't doing it for anything like 'spreading the Dharma to benefit living beings' or 'saving all sentient beings.'

"But he never truly returned to the Western lands. Instead, something happened to him, and he passed away midway. His remains are in Black Mountain south of Shanyin County. That is why the Withered Forest Chan Temple lineage moved to Shanyin County back then."

"What reason?"

"You're actually asking me what reason? The inheritance, the secret treasures, of course! Do you know what a Thus-Come One signifies? His remains alone have countless wondrous uses, not to mention his Dharma treasures. Do you know that he may have brought the West's most important..."

The Qi Household's sister-in-law suddenly shut her mouth.

"The most important what?"

"When he passed away in those days, he left behind a forbidden art deep within Black Mountain. Three months ago, the forbidden art suddenly weakened. In a little while, his remains from that year will see the light of day once more."

"So what does that have to do with me?"

Strictly speaking, I was merely Shanyin County's local constable, handling some simple everyday matters. For your business of digging up the corpses of old monks, old Daoists, and old demons, I could turn one blind eye—or even close both eyes.

But I had a bright future ahead of me. Why should I get mixed up in your bullshit?

"It has nothing to do with you?"

"Not only does it have nothing to do with me, it has nothing to do with you either."

Su Che said solemnly, "Because in three days, your soul will scatter and your spirit will disperse. Then I will personally go look for your remains."

The demon suddenly shut her mouth.

This Third Young Master Su was nothing like what she had imagined.

Then she opened her mouth again and cried out loudly.

"Someone, help! Indecency! Ah, leave one piece for this humble woman! Don't touch me! Hm? You're done already~~"