Chapter 342
Chapter 342
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 342
>Chapter Title: Spindle
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The Buddha Bone Temple was filled with wails of grief as the monks and pilgrims worked together to rescue those injured by the collapsed temple.
Many more spontaneously began clearing the rubble from the fallen Buddha hall, frantically dragging out the flesh-body Bodhisattvas pinned beneath it.
In the panicked crowd, no one noticed the black spindle that had rolled into the corner against the wall.
Two bloodstained awls reached down, picking up the neglected spindle like a pair of chopsticks.
Li Huowang, his brows slightly furrowed, closely examined the item Zhuge Yuan had given him earlier.
The spindle was made from a yellowish old bone, thick at both ends and narrow in the middle, with visible scratches indicating its age.
Strands of pitch-black thread were densely wound around it, forming a spool that made the whole thing aptly resemble a handleless hammer.
“What is this thing?” The first question popped into Li Huowang’s mind, followed quickly by a second. “Does it carry any hidden dangers?”
Zhuge Yuan’s earlier goodwill surfaced in his thoughts again. If he was the one who killed Fa Cai, then his strength should far surpass Li Huowang’s. If he’d wanted to deal with him, Li Huowang wouldn’t have stood a chance.
Li Huowang used the torture awls to hold the bone spindle as he sat on the nearby steps, sorting through his thoughts from the beginning. “Zhuge Yuan... Zhuge Yuan.”
“First off, it’s clear from the dead eunuch’s shocked reaction upon hearing Zhuge Yuan’s name that he comes from some other faction, and it’s a powerful one—at least stronger than Zhengde Temple or Anci Nunnery.”
“The whole incident stemmed from the Sitting Oblivion Dao, the Monitor Division, and Zhuge Yuan fighting over the heart turbidity. The outcome is known: Zhuge Yuan killed Fa Cai, bypassed Ji Xiang, claimed the heart turbidity, and emerged as the victor.”
Having spent so long in this hellish place, Li Huowang knew the weight of the Monitor Division. For such an organization to fear Zhuge Yuan, he could scarcely imagine how formidable the man truly was.
And then there was Zhuge Yuan’s ability. Dressed as a mere scholar, how could a bookish man take down one of the Sitting Oblivion Dao’s Three Essences, Fa Cai?
Li Huowang recalled the cryptic question Ji Xiang had asked him earlier.
“Our house asks you—when you arrived at the Buddha Bone Temple, did you notice anything strange? Did anyone do something ridiculous yet perfectly reasonable?”
Those were his exact words, but Li Huowang couldn’t fathom what “ridiculous yet perfectly reasonable” meant, or how it connected to Zhuge Yuan, or why it had terrified him so.
Li Huowang closed his eyes and replayed every event at the Buddha Bone Temple in his mind. If anything fit “ridiculous yet perfectly reasonable,” it was Heart Delusion suddenly accusing him of being from the Sitting Oblivion Dao.
Heart Delusion might be petty, but with the Sitting Oblivion Dao liable to strike at any moment, choosing to attack him instead felt off.
And earlier, when the impostor posing as Li Huowang emerged, Heart Delusion could easily have claimed this Li Huowang was an accomplice, two Sitting Oblivion Dao members putting on a show.
Yet he hadn’t said a word. Instead, like some naive kid, he didn’t bother defending himself at all and just let it drop.
Seated on the steps, Li Huowang pieced it together inch by inch, but the more he thought, the more suspicions arose.
“Is this Zhuge Yuan’s ability? Can he alter people’s actions without them noticing? What kind of supernatural power is that? Heart control?”
“Wait. If he can control others, why didn’t he use it on me earlier?”
If he truly had such a unique power, whatever his goal, there’d have been no need to talk. He could’ve just controlled Li Huowang to do it.
“Unless...” Li Huowang’s pupils contracted slightly, his heart skipping a beat. “Unless he had no goal at all.”
With that thought, Li Huowang looked down at the spindle again. “Then why give me this? Out of the goodness of his heart? Feeling sorry for me and wanting to help? Impossible! That doesn’t make sense! No one’s that good in this world! I don’t buy it! He must have some ulterior motive!”
Just then, the hallucinated monk approached from the side, his expression peculiar as he spoke.
“Daoist, you can’t say that. Isn’t becoming a monk all about doing good deeds? And wasn’t Abbess Jingxin a good person?”
Hearing this, Li Huowang stood there thinking for a long time, his head throbbing, but he couldn’t make sense of it.
He shook his head hard and let out a deep sigh. Having grown accustomed to malice, Li Huowang now feared kindness even more.
He’d rather Zhuge Yuan had attacked him outright like the others. Win or lose, at least he wouldn’t be tangled up like this.
“Namo Amitabha. Greetings, benefactor.” Li Huowang looked up to see an old monk in kasaya robes standing before him, his face full of compassion.
“Benefactor, I understand that great endeavors overlook minor details, and that the Monitor Division aims high. But please, no more needless killing. Because of you all, five of our Buddha’s disciples have already passed into nirvana.” The old monk clasped his hands and knelt before Li Huowang.
Seeing the nine burn scars on his scalp, Li Huowang pushed himself up using his knees and turned toward the Buddha Bone Temple gates. “Another good person? Maybe. But I still can’t trust it.”
As he stepped out of the Buddha Bone Temple, Li Huowang had already decided on his next move. “Better to get some answers from Ji Xiang than guess blindly here. That old eunuch must know Zhuge Yuan’s origins!”
“Once I know where he’s from, I can figure out what to do with this spindle!”
Li Huowang glanced down, wrapping the spindle securely in his cowhide pouch of torture tools before mounting his horse.
“Clop clop clop~” The iron-shod hooves rose and fell rhythmically, kicking up mud from the ground only to splatter it back down.
Icy rain pelted the horse’s back and lashed at Li Huowang’s face.
He glanced up at the overcast sky before fixing his gaze on the increasingly muddy dirt road ahead.
They’d come by carriage, immune to rain under clear skies. But now, riding back, the heavens had sprung a leak and hadn’t stopped for a moment.
It was deep into the night, and raining besides—no time for riding. But stopping to stand in the downpour was worse. Li Huowang needed to find shelter fast.
When he spotted a station flag swaying wildly in the rain, his eyes lit up. He kicked the stirrup with his left foot, vaulted off the horse, and charged inside.
Relay stations in Great Liang served to pass military intelligence and provide food, lodging, and fresh horses for officials en route.
As the yawning station master opened the door lantern in hand, he found himself face-to-face with the Monitor Division badge.
The half-asleep man jolted fully awake in an instant.
Moments later, the stablehand awoke and led away Li Huowang’s horse, tending it like his own father.
The cook roused too, serving every edible dish the station had straight to Li Huowang’s guest room.
(End of chapter)