Chapter 747
Chapter 747
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 747
>Chapter Title: Putting Down
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In the incense-shrouded temple, Bai Lingmiao sat cross-legged on the lotus stone table, her long hair draped over her shoulders. Though her ferocious teeth peeked from the corner of her mouth, and black hedgehog spines along with green snake scales hid amid her white strands.
Compared to before, she was much better off. At least her face now had exactly two eyes—not too many, not too few—though one was still a beast's eye.
Encircling Bai Lingmiao's lotus platform were the monks of Great Qi's Zhengde Temple. They knelt on cushions, rhythmically tapping wooden fish.
As they tapped, they chanted obscure sutras. “Lotus pond assembly, Amitabha Tathagata, Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta seated on the lotus dais, guiding to the golden steps, great vows expansively proclaimed, universal aspiration to escape the dust. Namo Lotus Pond, Assembly Bodhisattva Mahasattva.”
Amid their incantation, Bai Lingmiao's body began to change gradually. The foreign elements within her writhed slowly, molting away from her deathly pale skin.
Beastly marks from the immortals appeared on many monks' bodies, but they quickly suppressed them.
Two hours later, the transformations slowly ceased. When Bai Lingmiao lowered her hands and gently touched her face with all four, she discovered her unrecognizable visage had returned to its proper form.
Bai Lingmiao rose from the lotus platform and bowed, performing a Buddhist salute to a kindly old abbot. “Abbot, thank you for your devoted care these past days.”
“Amitabha. No need for such words from the lady donor. Amid this Asura Path, this poor monk could offer no aid elsewhere—only this meager effort here.”
After exchanging polite words, Bai Lingmiao bid farewell to Zhengde Temple's abbot. She turned from the back courtyard and entered the incense-bustling front temple.
In the front hall, a massive Buddha reclined upon the treasure table, basking in the common folk's offerings and worship.
Bai Lingmiao lit four sticks of incense. Like the others, she bowed three times to the Buddha before solemnly inserting them into the censer.
The moment she stepped from the hall, a chaotic, lively city sprang into her perception.
It was hard to imagine: just one month prior, this grand city lay under the Dharma Cult's control. Yet now, they had seized it, claiming it for Great Liang.
The black cloth strips and white kerchief caps that once filled the streets were nowhere to be seen. In their place bloomed white lotus marks on foreheads.
“Saintess! The Saintess has come!”
“Quick! Son, kowtow to the Saintess! May she bless your father home soon.”
Every White Lotus Cult believer flung themselves prostrate, nearly half the street groveling in devotion.
The Dharma Cult's swift expansion before paled against the White Lotus Cult's now—especially with the court's fervent backing.
Notices plastered the city: believe in something? Fine. But believe now. Refuse? Off with your head.
Crude and brutal, yet ruthlessly effective against Dharma Cult holdouts. Once sworn to the Eternal Mother, few clung to hopes in the Child God.
As the Child God claimed, the Eternal Mother delivered the same—without the beheading risk.
Bai Lingmiao gazed upon them with gentle warmth, slowly passing before them.
Her hand brushed some heads, sending those touched into ecstatic rapture, as if graced by the Eternal Mother through her Saintess.
Spotting a wounded little beggar crawling desperately toward her, Bai Lingmiao approached.
His eyes brimmed with desperate yearning as he gazed at Bai Lingmiao. “Saintess... my parents, big brother, second brother—they're all dead. If I follow our White Lotus Cult, can they truly escape as lonely ghosts? Can they live well in the Vacuum Homeland?”
Her gaze fell on his maggot-ridden belly and deathly waxy yellow face. Bai Lingmiao knew: days, maybe less, remained to him.
Wars began however they did, but suffering's toll fell ever on the selfsame souls.
“Yes. Rest easy. Your father, mother, brothers, sisters—they're all in the Vacuum Homeland now.” Her gentle pat upon his head bloomed sincere joy across his face.
“That's wonderful! I'll see them soon.”
Seeing his happy smile, Bai Lingmiao drew the waist drum and tapped lightly. With the Bai Family Immortals' aid, the boy's form swiftly mended.
“Your parents said: live well. Live long. They dream of your halls brimming with sons and grandsons.”
“I will! I swear it! I'll rebuild the Yao family ancestral hall! I'll wed and carry on the line!”
Bai Lingmiao rose, offering each the same soothing comfort she'd given the boy.
Upon returning to a White Lotus Cult hall, she found Lv Xiucai earnestly guiding new believers in cultivation matters.
Lv Xiucai now bore no resemblance to his arrival. His left cheek caved inward, teeth all gone. A blood-oozing cloth bound his collarbone, flesh stripped bare.
His left sleeve dangled empty; his right hand clutched just four nail-less fingers. Knife scars riddled his frame—utterly piteous.
The Great Thousand Record had dragged Lv Xiucai alive from that hellish meat grinder. In exchange: pieces of himself.
Spotting Bai Lingmiao, Lv Xiucai grinned wide and waved his maimed hand. “Shiniang! Ages since last! Here for Master?”
The deep-vengeance Lv Xiucai had vanished; his old brash self shone through.
Bai Lingmiao's expression grew complex, sensing his unscarred wounds. “Go home. Back to Niuxin Village. Your father's mad, not dead. Mind your little niece.”
Lv Xiucai's smile held fast. “No worries—Gouwa, Zhao Wu'll manage. I swore before Father: those Dharma Cult beasts? Haven't culled 'em enough.”
“Long as the Dharma Cult draws breath, I stay.”
Deep-vengeance Lv Xiucai lingered—not gone, merely buried deep.
Bai Lingmiao sighed softly. “Xiucai, the Dharma Cult numbers legions. One more you, one less? No matter. Time to let go.”
Thus onward, death loomed certain for Lv Xiucai. The Lv Family Troupe had bled enough; she refused his doomed path.
His smile faded at her plea. He met Bai Lingmiao's eyes, countering: “Then Shiniang... have you let go?”
(End of Chapter)