Opening the Tower

A wave of comfort swept through his body, as though something that had vanished or shattered within him had sprouted a thread of life anew.

What was going on?

Su Che suddenly felt his hand grow inexplicably heavy.

He suddenly recalled what Zhongyuan had said at the Mount Zhong Association.

Zhongyuan had originally planned to invite him into the association after he retrieved the thing within Withered Forest Chan Temple, but other unforeseen changes had forced him to do so ahead of time.

Could the thing in his hand be what Zhongyuan had meant to give him?

This man truly knew how to pick his moment. Did he know that today was when all the notable great ghosts of Shanyin and Guobei Counties had gathered at Withered Forest Chan Temple for a meeting?

The newly minted Lord Dongwang of the Mount Zhong Association was likely about to perish here just after attending his first regular meeting.

The yin mist dispersed, leaving the ghosts bewildered.

At that moment, four large characters abruptly emerged upon the funerary tower of Lion Azure Lotus Perfected Tathagata.

The characters were like azure dragons, swimming across the tower's surface.

Layer upon layer of blue bricks gleamed with a resplendent gray-blue radiance.

When Su Che saw the four characters that had finally formed, he swallowed hard. His heart had nearly leapt straight out of his throat.

No matter how those four characters had appeared, they were clearly meant for him.

The four characters read plainly: "Opens Upon Meeting Che."

This could not possibly mean it opened upon meeting Great Emperor Han Wu, could it?

What had those bald donkeys who built Withered Forest Chan Temple back then intended by leaving behind such a responsive gate?

Surely they could not have predicted that he would come?

"Lady Snow, among the cultivators here, your cultivation is the most profound. In your view, why has the yin mist dispersed and the tower gate opened?"

Lady Snow remained silent.

The ghost monks of Withered Forest Chan Temple rose to their feet, slowly chanting the Three Refuges as they entered the Lion Tower.

"The yin energy here has not dispersed. It has merely condensed within the tower."

Lady Snow looked over the ghosts that had revealed themselves around them.

Among them was Demon Qutan, whose body hid inside a great urn, with half a rotten face exposed.

There was also Bieshou the Corpse Fiend, bloated beyond measure, entirely blue-green, with yellow pus constantly dripping from his body.

And Headless Ghost General Ying Xian, clad in heavy armor whose plates bore ghostly energy that faintly formed human faces, wielding a massive axe and a long saber.

Beyond them, shadows flickered in the gloom. Countless ghostly creatures had come here in search of fortuitous opportunities.

The ghosts each harbored their own schemes—confusion, hostility, fear, expectation. All manner of emotions mingled together.

Having entered the Divine Path and comprehended the countless emotions of the human heart, Lady Snow could see the changes among the ghosts as clearly as a fire reflected in her eyes.

Thus, her first words were meant to steady their emotions.

"You all should know that I aspire to the Divine Path, to regulate the water spirit veins of the White Cang River and become the river goddess of this region." Lady Snow looked at the ghosts below. "Thus, I have followed the river's course and surveyed the feng shui and terrain of this area."

"Guobei lies to the west, Shanyin to the east. Three rivers run through them like veins, while Mystic Mountain rises like liver and gallbladder. I once consulted masters of Daoist and Confucian numerology. When the configurations of these two places come together, feng shui has a name for it: Yama Casts Off His Crown."

Yama, called Yamaraja in the Buddhist teachings, was a supreme deity of the Western Land who governed the underworld. Together with Ksitigarbha, he presided over reincarnation. His divine powers were vast, and even in the Central Land, many spoke of his name.

Though he dwelled in the Western Land, his statue resembled an emperor of the Central Land, crowned with a jeweled diadem and dressed in imperial robes. Yama Casts Off His Crown referred to Yama, Son of Heaven, losing his crown and being cast into the dust by the ghosts.

It described precisely a feng shui configuration where ghosts and phantoms ran rampant.

The abundance of ghosts in Guobei and demons in Shanyin were, in Lady Snow's eyes, also an inevitability born of feng shui.

The same old man, buried elsewhere, would turn into nothing more than a handful of yellow earth. Buried in Guobei, he might leap out of his coffin as a black corpse fiend and wipe out his entire household.

"Judging from the flow of the earth veins, Withered Forest Chan Temple stands precisely where Yama's cast-off crown would fall. By all reason, a great ghost or great demon should have emerged here."

"Yet all these years, there has only been One-Eye, who never amounted to much."

At those words, the ghosts burst into snickering laughter.

Who did not know that One-Eye's Dharma body had been slashed apart only days ago? He had even abandoned his old home at Withered Forest Chan Temple.

"Thinking of it now, perhaps this was the result of some expert from Lion Azure Lotus Perfected Tathagata's lineage using a special method to suppress this place when they built Withered Forest Chan Temple."

"Perhaps it lies in this tower."

"Lady Snow, are you saying some damn Tathagata's magical treasure has been hidden inside?"

When Ghost General Ying Xian spoke, the faces formed from the ghostly energy around him wailed without cease.

He was a great general under Black Mountain Freak, commanding the Freak's ghost soldiers and running rampant throughout the Mystic Mountain region south of Shanyin County.

"It may also be some sort of inheritance, or a method." Lady Snow pointed to the gate in the azure tower. "The ghost monks of Withered Forest Chan Temple entered the tower through here just now."

"You mean?"

This time, it was Qutan who spoke. Half his face bobbed above and below the urn, and his eyes brimmed with greed as he looked at the tower before him.

"Those ghost monks have been suppressed by One-Eye. Leave alone cultivation, they have scarcely any intelligence remaining and have nearly become earthbound spirits of Withered Forest Chan Temple. Yet they were just able to enter this tower by instinct. Perhaps there is something inside that would greatly benefit ghostly cultivation..."

"Or perhaps it is a trap. This so-called Buddha's preaching may merely be bait to lure us here, with the true purpose of devouring and refining our essence." Bieshou the Corpse Fiend's voice was hoarse, like grinding metal. His eyes were fixed on the high tower before him, filled with deep wariness.

"What does Lady Snow think?"

Qutan looked toward Lady Snow.

"I aspire to the Divine Path and have no interest in matters of the Buddhist School. Magical treasure or inheritance, if you wish to stir things up, then stir things up as you please." Lady Snow gave a cold, beautiful smile.

"Then many thanks for Lady Snow's great kindness."

Qutan laughed loudly.

His origins were strange, and he had a connection to Buddhist School inheritances, which was why he took Qutan as his surname.

The true name of Virocana, the supreme Buddha of Buddhism, was Qutan.

Among the ghosts before him, Lady Snow was the only one who made him wary.

Now that Lady Snow had made clear that she held no interest, the things in the tower were naturally already his to take.

"But there is one thing." Lady Snow's gaze abruptly shifted to Su Che beside her. "You may not monopolize it. Everyone present must have the right to enter."

"Easy enough. You dripping pus, you venting fumes—do either of you have objections?"

Qutan let out a strange, sinister chuckle.

If Lady Snow wanted to play the good ghost, then she could play it. So long as she did not enter the tower, once they went in, would it not still be up to him?

"We shall follow Lady Snow's lead."

The ghost general gave a cold snort. Ying Xian was innately stern and unyielding, disdaining verbal sparring. Whatever Qutan said, he treated it as nothing but farting.

"I have a question. I ask Lady Snow to enlighten me."

Bieshou the Corpse Fiend extended a pus-dripping green finger toward the four characters on the wall.

"How should these four characters be interpreted?"

Hearing this, Lady Snow looked at the four characters on the wall.

"As for 'Opens Upon Meeting Che,' an ancient saying goes: 'When Heaven's mandate is not carried through, I dare not imitate my friend and rest at ease.' Che originally carries the meaning of following through. Perhaps it means that it opens when fate brings the right encounter."

Su Che looked at Lady Snow beside him. This thing could be interpreted like that?

"I heard that Shanyin County has a newly arrived county commandant named Su Che..."

The Corpse Fiend looked at Lady Snow, his pair of green eyes especially ferocious.

"It absolutely cannot be him." Lady Snow looked at the Corpse Fiend. "You do not know this, but the one who shattered One-Eye's Dharma body a few days ago was County Commandant Su. If it truly opened upon meeting him, this tower would have opened long ago."

This was my fault. I did not continue farther in back then.

Su Che dearly wished to explain matters to Lady Snow.

"Talk all you like. I'll take the first step."

Qutan had no patience to listen to them ramble on. Transforming into a streak of ghostly light, he shot straight into the tower.

Ghost General Ying Xian immediately rose on a gust of yin wind and followed close behind.

After him, however many ghosts and monsters there were, every last one rushed after them.

In the end, even the cautious Bieshou the Corpse Fiend charged into the tower.

Before long, only Su Che, One-Brow Taoist, and Lady Snow remained.

"You two are not going in?"

Lady Snow looked at Su Che.

"This humble minister intends to hurry back and inform the Dharma King."

"The Yin-Yang Dharma King's close attendants all call him Your Majesty." Lady Snow cut off One-Brow Taoist. "If you are going to pretend to be his subordinate, you must know this. Though he calls himself the Dharma King, those are the two words he hates most."

What a troublesome old ghost.

Su Che found this ancient ghost rather speechless.

"Some things are better seen through without being spoken aloud." Lady Snow looked at Su Che. "Do you not agree?"

"What Lady Snow says is entirely correct."

Su Che quickly replied.

"You two are fortunate. Had you met me ten years ago, you could truly have gone to serve as ministers under the Yin-Yang Dharma King."

"What Lady Snow says is entirely correct."

Su Che said it again.

"You said the same thing twice." Lady Snow looked at Su Che curiously. "Is this how you coax women in Jiankang City?"

"Lady Snow said something excellent: see through it without speaking it aloud. I shall make those words my motto from now on."

Lady Snow suddenly smiled.

"It will be good if you can manage it."