Young benefactor, we meet again

Wang Chong asked curiously, "Has Li Miaomiao already been rescued?"

Li Qingge said, "She was rescued by Wu Hook Frost Snow, Lu Moniang."

As a court official and one of the Three Great Divine Constables, Li Qingge's greatest advantage was his ability to mobilize resources from all quarters, making him far more efficient than the Chrysanthemum-Slaying Alliance, which could only act on rumors from the martial world.

Wang Chong murmured an acknowledgment. Over the past two days, he had heard plenty about Wu Hook Frost Snow and Chess Sword Linglong. He also knew that this eldest daughter of the Lu family ranked alongside Su Luoyan and Li Qingge in fame, and that her master was formidable indeed: Daoist Guanlong of the Taiyi Dao, reputedly one of the Five Supreme Masters under Heaven. Just how formidable was Daoist Guanlong? His eldest disciple was one of the world's few Great Grandmasters, his second disciple was one of the Seven Daoist Adepts, and another disciple headed the Beggar's Gang's Ten Great Elders...

If this old Daoist coughed once, seven or eight hundred people under Heaven would have to fall ill in his stead.

Wang Chong asked another question. "Didn't she kill White Chrysanthemum?"

Li Qingge said, "She never saw White Chrysanthemum. Apparently, she brought a junior brother along. This young junior brother exchanged twenty-eight moves with White Chrysanthemum and drove that lecher off with a sword thrust. By the time Lu Moniang arrived, she only had time to rescue the captive."

Wang Chong thought, And that counts as Lu Moniang rescuing her?

He asked, "Are we only going to see Li Miaomiao? Don't we need to meet this Wu Hook Frost Snow and her young junior brother too?"

Li Qingge replied, "This young lady of the Lu family has an exceptional standing. We must pay her a formal visit, not call on her as casually as we would Li Miaomiao."

Wang Chong murmured his understanding. Su Luoyan, Qin Han, and the others held much the same standing, and Li Qingge had to show them some deference. Even when meeting Chu Qiuzi, this divine constable would be a little more courteous.

Wang Chong had wanted to stroll around Golden Light Temple a few days earlier, but had missed it after losing his way. This time, following Li Qingge, he reached Yanyun Mountain with ease.

After rescuing her, Lu Moniang had brought her to Golden Light Temple on Yanyun Mountain. She was now settled in Ruyi Nunnery, a subordinate institution of Golden Light Temple.

All nunneries under Heaven were subordinate institutions of monasteries; this was a rule of the Buddhist community. Golden Light Temple was one of the great temples of the age, and its subordinate Ruyi Nunnery was quite large as well.

As a man, Wang Chong could not appropriately enter a nunnery. When Li Qingge went to question Li Miaomiao, he took Yuzao up to Golden Light Temple halfway up the mountain.

From afar, he saw the great temple glittering with gold and jade, a huge Buddha towering into the sky. Who knew how much money from the faithful and how much labor had gone into its construction? Its grandeur was magnificent, but it displeased Wang Chong considerably. Still, he had come to sightsee, not to criticize monks, so he entered the temple calmly, just like any ordinary worshipper.

As soon as he entered Golden Light Temple, Wang Chong saw an "acquaintance." The burly Monk Xuangang came out looking thoroughly unwilling. When he saw Wang Chong, he acted as though they had never met and did not know each other, saying, "Master asks the two of you to come and see him."

Quite surprised, Wang Chong asked, "Monk, does your master possess supernatural powers? How did he know I had come to visit?"

The burly Monk Xuangang replied irritably, "A young novice reported it long ago. What supernatural powers?"

"That thieving baldy..."

Suddenly, a gentle voice called, "Disciple, do not commit sins of speech. Bring the two benefactors here at once."

Wang Chong was even more surprised. Suddenly recalling that Su Luoyan had said this burly Monk Xuangang had recently become a disciple of Kong Chan, Shaolin's foremost eminent monk, he hurriedly asked, "Is your master Elder Kong Chan of Shaolin?"

Monk Xuangang gave a muffled grunt and said, "You'll know when you see him."

Wang Chong hurriedly straightened his clothes and headwear, took Yuzao around to the back of Golden Light Temple, and met a monk in a small courtyard. He wore moon-white monastic robes and had delicate, handsome features. This supreme master, whose fame shook the world, looked extremely young. A precious radiance seemed to flow faintly over him, like a lustrous pearl or fine jade, like a manifestation of Buddha-nature, stirring longing in those who saw him and making them wish to fall down at once and prostrate themselves before him as a revered being.

When Master Kong Chan saw Wang Chong, he smiled slightly and said, "Young benefactor, we meet again."

Wang Chong smiled awkwardly, but inwardly he was utterly aghast, shaken beyond words. He had certainly never met this peerless master, one of the Five Supreme Masters under Heaven, invincible in the present age. Yet Kong Chan would not have said that without cause. The identity of his body's original owner was practically on the verge of revealing itself... but Wang Chong simply dared not ask. He truly feared that if he asked, "Who am I?" Master Kong Chan would see through him on the spot as an "extraterritorial heavenly demon" and strike to subdue the demon and uphold the Dharma. How can I find out my identity in a roundabout way? While Wang Chong's thoughts ran wild, he heard Monk Kong Chan ask, "I have already heard from my disciple Xuangang about how you joined forces to kill Sun Yanqi. This man was indeed a lecher, faithless and fickle as well, but he was certainly not White Chrysanthemum."

Wang Chong nodded repeatedly, thinking, This master is quite something.

The burly Monk Xuangang interjected from the side, "I can't tell the difference between Ice Soul Finger and Ice Python Divine Sign. Aren't they both martial arts of cold yin Qi?"

Kong Chan smiled. "Ice Soul Finger is a Daoist martial art that emphasizes the transformations of yin and yang. Ice Python Divine Sign is a Buddhist martial art containing profound Buddhist principles. You do not understand now, but once your cultivation of the Dharma grows deep, you will know at a glance."

Wang Chong asked, "In that case, who exactly is White Chrysanthemum?"

Kong Chan gave him a deep look, his eyes holding profound meaning, but answered with a Chan riddle, saying gently, "This old monk is neither an arhat nor a great bodhisattva, after all. How could I know everything in the world? Young benefactor, in time you will certainly know who White Chrysanthemum is! There is no need to add to your troubles now."

"I have spent half a year at Golden Light Temple solely to temper my newly accepted disciple's disposition, and will return to Shaolin before long. I never expected to meet you, young benefactor. This, too, is a deep karmic affinity, so I shall give you these words: within the burning house, lust burns fiercest; the abyss of carnal sin has no bottom, and even the Five Sacred Mountains could not fill it. I hope you will ponder this well, young benefactor, and keep these words firmly in mind."

Wang Chong felt that something sounded rather off. He bowed, then suddenly asked, "Chan master, is there a Buddhist teaching that can resolve it?"

Monk Kong Chan pondered for a long time, then said, "Then I shall give you a 'Sutra of Mahasthamaprapta Buddha Enlightening the Sea Dragon King to Soar Beyond Heaven and Attain the True Fruition of a Heavenly Dragon.'"

"The Sea Dragon King's assembly of one thousand two hundred and fifty were gathered, together with many bodhisattva-mahasattvas. At that time, Sagara the Dragon King rose from his seat. Mahasthamaprapta Buddha told the Sea Dragon King: there are four supremely excellent teachings, foremost in merit among the eighty-four thousand Dharma treasuries, namely: all conditioned things are impermanent, all is suffering, all phenomena are without self, and quiescent extinction is bliss. The bodhisattva-mahasattva, practicing profound prajnaparamita, perceived that all five aggregates were empty. Inexhaustible Dharma wisdom, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness were likewise so. Swiftly realize the unborn, swiftly reach perfect nirvana. At that time, the World-Honored One, those sravakas, anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, gate gate, paragate, parasamgate, bodhi svaha. The assembly of great bodhisattvas and the assembly of great heavenly dragons all rejoiced greatly, accepted it in faith, and practiced accordingly."

After hearing it once, Wang Chong immediately recited it from memory. An extraordinary light shone in old Monk Kong Chan's eyes, and he pressed his palms together, saying, "Young benefactor, your deep Buddhist endowment is exceedingly rare."

Wang Chong pondered for a moment and realized this was merely a Buddhist sutra, not some secret martial arts manual at all. Unable to resist showing off outrageously, he pressed his palms together and recited the Heart Sutra. When he reached, "It is the great divine mantra, the great illuminating mantra, the unsurpassed mantra, the unequaled mantra, which can eliminate all suffering, true and not false," Monk Kong Chan looked astonished. His monastic robes stirred without wind, and he formed a mudra...

...Wang Chong: Fuck, I showed off too much. The old monk is going to kill me...

...Kong Chan: Demon, today I shall sever the root of your troubles...

...Yuzao: My young master is so handsome...