Swallow Dock, Listening Fragrance Water Pavilion.
Xuantong sat meditating with his eyes closed. He had come on his senior brother Xuanci's orders to find Murong Bo and investigate what had happened at Yanmen Pass all those years ago.
He, too, had taken part in that battle and witnessed its horrific scenes firsthand. That Liao man had been savage and cruel, slaughtering their fellow martial artists like chickens and sheep.
"Amitabha!" Xuantong intoned the Buddha's name. His closest friend had been seized by that Liao man and torn alive into two halves, his multicolored entrails spilling across the ground.
That battle had also dealt a devastating blow to Great Song's martial world. Some had died, others had been wounded, and some had gone mad from sheer terror. More than half an era's martial elite had been lost.
After the battle, however, they had discovered many suspicious circumstances. After repeated investigations, they had actually found that they had killed the wrong people! It was the greatest farce under heaven!
And the source of it all had been Murong Bo's intelligence! Shaolin had set this battle in motion, and the heroes of the martial world had gathered because of Shaolin. Naturally, they owed their fellow martial artists an explanation.
Shaolin's good name was at stake; they could not afford the slightest carelessness! He had been ordered to investigate Murong Bo. The Yanmen Pass incident was only one matter; the other was something he had discovered by chance.
On his way here, he had passed an estate belonging to the Murong family. He had seen its tenants going about their business in orderly fashion, with estate guards stationed all around like sentries both overt and hidden, their arrangements quite disciplined.
He had used his martial arts to slip inside. Before going far, he had faintly heard the clash of weapons. Following the sound, he had heard shouts, then climbed a large tree and peered through its leaves. There on the threshing ground, ranks of estate guards had been drilling in martial arts like an army.
Afterward, he had infiltrated several other Murong estates and found them all the same.
What was the Murong family planning to do!?
As Xuantong pondered, a sudden flurry of hurried footsteps approached, followed by a hearty laugh. "Hahaha! Master, you've come so far, and I failed to come out to welcome you! Forgive my poor hospitality, forgive me!"
The laughter arrived before the man! Only after his words fell silent did two figures, one tall and one short, appear at the doorway.
Xuantong hastily rose and saluted them. "Amitabha. This humble monk is Xuantong. Greetings to you both, benefactors!"
"I am Wang Gang, the younger brother of this household's mistress, known in the jianghu as the Jade-Faced Young Gentleman!" He patted Murong Fu's shoulder and introduced him. "This is my nephew, Murong Fu. I gave him the nickname Southern Murong!"
The corner of Xuantong's mouth twitched. Having traveled the jianghu for years, he knew such titles were mostly used by flower-plucking rapists. Seeing Wang Gang's unsteady steps and disordered breathing, which hardly resembled those of a martial artist, he decided that the man was a wastrel who lived off Murong Bo's influence.
Still, one did not strike a smiling face. Against his true feelings, he praised them. "You uncle and nephew have fine... titles!"
"It's all thanks to our friends in the jianghu showing us respect. Master, please take the seat of honor!"
Brimming with pride, Wang Gang made a show of modesty and exchanged pleasantries with Xuantong. Only Murong Fu stared at him resentfully. Why do I only get Southern Murong? Not only is it short, it has nothing distinctive about it!
Once the three were seated, a servant brought tea. Wang Gang picked up a cup and handed it to Xuantong, saying apologetically, "Just a cup of loose-leaf tea. Forgive the poor hospitality, Master."
Xuantong accepted it and shook his head. "We monks are accustomed to coarse tea and plain meals. This is already excellent!"
Wang Gang praised him. "Master, you hold the four elements empty and remain unmoved by worldly things. Truly the bearing of an eminent monk!"
"You flatter me, benefactor! To a monk, an oil lamp and an ancient Buddha are merely everyday things."
"You are mistaken, Master!" Wang Gang shook his head and continued under Xuantong's puzzled gaze. "In my view, while coarse clothes and rough food temper the mind, they do not help bring salvation to all living beings."
"Why do you say that, benefactor?"
Wang Gang smiled slightly. "The Buddha made a great vow to deliver all beings, yet the foolish people of this world know only to chase fame and wealth amid the billowing dust of mortal life, unable to relinquish greed, anger, and delusion! Would you agree, Master?"
"Indeed! What insight do you have, benefactor?"
Wang Gang rose to his full height. A trace of solemnity appeared on his previously worldly, frivolous face as he declared loudly, "I believe temples and ancient monasteries should be built as palaces and lofty halls, resplendent in gold and jade..."
"Utter non-" Xuantong frowned in displeasure, only to hear Wang Gang continue, "Otherwise, how would the world know the wonders of ultimate bliss!"
Xuantong could not help giving him a sidelong look.
"I believe Buddha statues should be towering figures clad in gold. Otherwise, how would the world know the majesty of the Dharma's form!"
Xuantong's pupils trembled violently.
"I believe eminent monks should wear seven-treasure kasayas!" Wang Gang pressed his palms together and smiled faintly. "Otherwise, how would the world know that my worldly ties are severed and my golden sea has run utterly dry!"
"Fiend! You dare beguile me!" Xuantong roared, springing to his feet with the furious glare of a vajra guardian.
Murong Fu leaped in front of Wang Gang and drew his sword. Hearing the commotion, a group of servants rushed into the hall with wooden staves and surrounded Xuantong.
At the sight, Xuantong instead calmed down and intoned a long invocation. "Amitabha. This humble monk has broken the precept against anger. Upon returning to the temple, I shall request punishment!"
"To come to your senses in time is already no easy feat, Master!"
Smiling, Wang Gang waved his hand, and the servants filed out. He then rubbed Murong Fu's head. "The master's weapon is called a vajra pestle. Presumably, he practices the Skanda Staff, one of Shaolin's Seventy-Two Supreme Skills. That martial art is tremendously powerful. You're no match for him yet!"
Murong Fu raised his head defiantly. Wang Gang lifted a hand and rapped him on the head. "Stand down!"
Xuantong was startled by this. Wang Gang seemed to know no martial arts, yet he could identify the art Xuantong practiced from his weapon and even knew its characteristics. Thinking back over his behavior from the beginning until now, how could Xuantong fail to understand? He immediately gave a wry smile. "You conceal your abilities well, benefactor. This humble monk has made a fool of himself!"
"I wasn't deliberately making sport of you, Master!" Wang Gang shook his head, picked up his teacup, and took a sip before speaking earnestly. "Shaolin was founded during the Northern Wei, nearly six hundred years ago now. As an ancient monastery, it naturally receives a respectable number of offerings, but how does it compare with the Great Xiangguo Temple? How many years has that temple even been around? Yet how plentiful are its offerings, how numerous its worshippers? Can Shaolin compare?"
"Amitabha. The Great Xiangguo Temple stands amid the bustling streets of Dongjing. Naturally, it receives many offerings and worshippers. Shaolin cannot compare!"
Wang Gang gave a meaningful smile. "Shaolin's location is hardly poor! It neighbors both the eastern and western capitals. With the right methods, surpassing the Great Xiangguo Temple would be only a matter of time!"
Xuantong shook his head. "Glory, wealth, and honor are not what this humble monk desires!"
"Not so! Master, imagine that one day Shaolin has countless devotees, and you sit high upon a Dharma platform, boundless Buddhist teachings flowing whenever you speak, delivering faithful men and women from the sea of suffering. Would even such immeasurable merit not be something you desire?"
"Amitabha!" Xuantong gripped his vajra pestle until his knuckles whitened. He knew Wang Gang was beguiling him, yet he still could not help imagining that scene. He could only recite the Buddha's name to suppress the stirring in his heart.
"Benefactor, do you know where Master Murong has gone?" Afraid that Wang Gang would continue beguiling him, Xuantong changed the subject.
"Yes! He went to Great Liao!" Seeing the unusual state of Xuantong's hands, Wang Gang cooperated with the change of subject. With some things, going too far was as bad as not going far enough. Planting a seed on the first occasion was enough.
"Great Liao? Do you know what he went to the Liao Kingdom to do, benefactor?" Something stirred in Xuantong's heart.
"I'm not sure." Wang Gang shook his head, then seemed to recall something and said hesitantly, "At yesterday's wedding feast, I only vaguely heard him say he was going to settle some old grudges."
"He also said he'd felt guilty over this matter for a long time, so ashamed that he couldn't face even his old friends." Wang Gang seemed to ponder for a long while before saying, "I can't remember anything else! I don't know whether any of this is useful to you, Master."
"It is, it is!" Xuantong nodded repeatedly. Now everything fit. Back then, Murong Bo must have rashly trusted some villain's words, bringing about such a disaster. He had been wracked with guilt as a result, which was why he had repeatedly declined Xuanci's invitations.
And his absence this time was not a deliberate attempt to avoid them, either. He had probably gone to the Liao Kingdom to deal with the person who had supplied the false intelligence!
Xuantong let out a long breath. So long as Murong Bo had not deliberately passed on false intelligence, all was well. Otherwise, the Central Plains martial world would lose an expert, and he would lose a friend.
But he soon remembered another matter and frowned. "On my journey, I passed Azure Cloud Manor and saw its tenants drilling in military formations. May I ask why?"
"Oh, he wants to rebel!"
"Ah!"