Chương 25: The Buddha's Light Shines Everywhere

As the two conversed, they arrived above the crabapple pear forest. The human mound had vanished, leaving behind a field of corpses and a dazed crowd. The survivors stared blankly at their surroundings, at the bodies at their feet, friends, family, neighbors. Why had they died? They didn't know. Should they grieve? They didn't know that either. All they felt was emptiness. Dawn was breaking. The rising sun cast red light over the crowd and the corpses around them.

The red sunlight mingled with blood-soaked clothing, shimmering with a golden radiance. Like the Buddha's Light shining everywhere. They say that a butcher stained with countless killings, upon a great awakening, will cast down his cleaver and walk the path of virtue. His face radiates a benevolent smile, identical to this golden light, the light of the Buddha. The dazed crowd was different from the butcher. They bore no karmic burden of slaughter.

Some may have bitten their loved ones to death unconsciously, but that was the formation's corruption, not intentional harm. So why did they smile with the same radiant light as the butcher? They smiled. Every single one of them smiled from the heart. Smiling lets you forget all troubles and sorrows. It's a tool encoded in our genes, a way to be reborn. And not just humans. Every creature in this world carries the gene to smile. Take the neighbor's dog, Ahua. She fancied a tall, fierce wolfhound.

But last night, a slobbering yellow dog reeking of shit had his way with her. She wanted to refuse, but she was powerless. The result was predictable. Her howls were pitiful, her anguish poured out in those desperate cries. She howled all night, even long after the yellow dog had gone. But in the morning, her owner gave her a steaming bowl of food. Her grief vanished in an instant. She grinned, tongue lolling, and limped toward the bowl, wolfing down the hot meal, squinting in contentment. Oh, there's meat in here!

Master is so good to me.

"Hahahaha! My father is dead, my mother is dead, my wife and children are dead, but I'm laughing! Why? Because I'm still alive! Hahaha! How lucky I am! How blessed!" The dazed crowd all wore warm, benevolent smiles. Peace and serenity filled their souls. Bathed in sunlight, they were like celestial buddhas draped in golden kasayas, radiating infinite light. When they were tired of laughing, they went home. They needed to cook, to start a new day. Busyness and toil were what they needed most.

A laugh now and then was just a way to forget the pain. Fang Cheng watched the scene quietly. Something stirred in his memory. His face twisted, caught between laughter and tears. Han Bingxuan sighed. He looked at the corpses, dense as a field of grain. There were at least ten thousand just in this forest. Across all of White Flower City, the death toll was surely higher.

But there was nothing he could do except instruct Magistrate Li to dispose of the bodies properly to prevent plague, if Magistrate Li was still alive.

"Back to the City God Temple. Li Sanshui is there." Fang Cheng said. He had lost all interest in digging up graves. Han Bingxuan nodded silently. The two rose into the air and flew to the City God Temple in the west. Entering the main hall, they found Li Sanshui slumped over a small stool, snoring soundly. Fang Cheng scowled. He kicked the magistrate awake. Li Sanshui blinked in confusion. Then he listened, dazed, to everything that had happened the night before.

His expression shifted from confusion to belated terror. He thought to himself, good thing he was smart enough to sleep in front of the Everlasting Emperor's statue. The demon wouldn't dare act in the Emperor's presence. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Underworld Officer, please send a letter to the Great Sheng court about this demon incident. You know I'm just a minor official..."

"I know. Do what you're supposed to do." Han Bingxuan replied coldly. Fang Cheng sneered.

"You Great Sheng officials are all the same, always covering your own asses. As for actually doing anything, ha."

"You two are right. I'll arrange for the bodies to be dealt with immediately." Li Sanshui bowed and withdrew. Though scolded, he was secretly relieved. After Li Sanshui left, Han Bingxuan sighed, but still wrote a letter to the capital recounting the events in White Flower City, omitting Fang Cheng's involvement. As soon as he finished, a flying sword returned. He caught it, opened the letter inside, and read it. It was Pei Tang's reply. His expression grew grave.

"Fang, Lord Pei says your situation is complicated. It must be resolved quickly, or you'll lose yourself and become a full demon."

"How do we fix it?" Fang Cheng asked eagerly. Han Bingxuan replied, "Go to Lianshan Prefecture and find Lord Pei. He will help you seal the demon sword." He took a small flying sword from his sword talisman and handed it to Fang Cheng.

"This is my token. Lord Pei will know your purpose when he sees it."

"Thank you, Han." Fang Cheng clasped his hands in thanks. Han Bingxuan continued, "I'm tied up with Zhu Youchang's case, so I can't go with you. Once I'm done, I'll come find you in Lianshan Prefecture." Mentioning Zhu Youchang made Fang Cheng scratch his head awkwardly. If only he'd controlled himself back then and gotten the names of the accomplices.

"Fang, don't waste time. Leave now." Han Bingxuan urged. Fang Cheng knew it was urgent. His episodes of madness were becoming more frequent. He needed to act fast. He said goodbye to Han Bingxuan and set off for Lianshan Prefecture. After seeing Fang Cheng off, Han Bingxuan found Li Sanshui in White Flower City and instructed him to dispose of all the bodies properly and purify the wells and drinking water with the talismans he provided. Then he too left White Flower City to investigate Zhu Youchang's case.

With the two great cultivators gone, Li Sanshui breathed a sigh of relief. At least no one would kick him around anymore. Unnoticed by anyone, two figures appeared at Zhang Ruilin's grave in the eastern crabapple pear forest. One carried a shovel. He first pushed aside the corpses piled on the grave mound, then began digging. Shovel after shovel, he removed the dirt until the corner of the red coffin was exposed.

"Lord, the coffin is visible." The other figure crouched on a branch, smoking a pipe of dry tobacco.

"Keep digging. I want it fully exposed."

"Oh, Lord, if I keep digging, nothing bad will happen, right? I'm just a small bank clerk, scraping by on a meager wage. I..." The gravedigger was Zhao Baocai, the manager of White Flower City's Immortal Bank. The smoker was Old Xu from Harmony Wine Shop.

"Heh." Old Xu let out a dry chuckle. Zhao Baocai's face went pale. He dared not say another word and resumed digging until the entire coffin was uncovered. Old Xu finally said, "You can go." Zhao Baocai dropped his tools and fled the forest. Old Xu remained crouched on the branch, smoking his pipe, not even glancing at the coffin. After some time, the coffin began to stir. Creak, creak, creak. The lid slowly shifted and rose. Old Xu put down his pipe and exhaled a thick puff of black smoke.

"Whoosh..." The coffin lid was pushed aside. Zhang Ruilin sat up. He looked at his red burial clothes with satisfaction, but then, remembering he was in a male body, his expression twisted with disgust.

"Are you deliberately trying to disgust me?" He said to the old man in the tree.

"Do you think I'd bother?" Old Xu retorted.

"Yes. I do that to people all the time." He curled his lips into a mischievous smile.

"Do you think I'm like you?" Old Xu countered.

"Hundreds of years have passed. People change."

"Heh." Old Xu let out another dry laugh.

"I'm not a person."

"Hahahaha! True. You're not even human." He laughed, a soft, sweet laugh, like an eighteen-year-old girl. That was her true voice. She wasn't Zhang Ruilin. She was Crabapple, the demon who loved toying with hearts. After the laughter subsided, her face grew grim. She replayed the scene of her death, that sword strike, and that terrifying... Person? Cultivator?

"Who is he?" Crabapple asked Old Xu in the tree. Old Xu took a drag from his pipe and fell into thought. After a long silence, he exhaled and gave three words.

"I don't know."

"You really don't know?" Crabapple stared coldly at the old man. Time changed people. This long-time resident of the mortal realm might have lost his loyalty. Old Xu chuckled, seeing her suspicion. He didn't explain. He only left one sentence.

"What does it matter if I know or not? Do what you need to do. We don't have much time." With that, he left the forest. Lingering there too long was bad luck.