"He has become a Buddha."
Li Huowang felt a chill down his spine the moment he heard the abbot utter these words in a calm tone. He abruptly lifted his gaze to the five colossal Golden Buddhas around him. A moment ago they had been dignified and solemn, but now they seemed to wear completely different expressions.
Just as he was about to get up, Li Huowang glanced at the bright sun outside the door before turning his gaze back to the abbot. The old man still sat there with unwavering concentration, neither pleased nor sad, as if the words just spoken had not come from his lips.
After pondering the words carefully, he tried to calm himself down. Wait, don't scare myself. It might not be what I think.
Li Huowang spoke again. "Abbot, Zhengde Temple and Master Danyang must have had some conflict, right?"
"Indeed. He kidnapped and killed people everywhere, causing chaos. I once sent the warrior monks of our Dharma Hall to capture him, but he escaped every time. If you could find a way to rid us of this man, it would be a meritorious deed."
"Then may I ask, Master, how could such a wicked man, guilty of heinous crimes, become a Buddha? How is that possible?"
"Amitabha. What he is now is not defined by what he once was. This old monk has the Buddha in his heart. In my heart, he *is* a Buddha."
Li Huowang grew irritable at his words. The old monk wasn't speaking plainly; he was talking in riddles.
"Benefactor, Master Danyang has now merged with the universe. What I think of him is irrelevant. What truly matters is what *you* think of him. Whatever you believe him to be, that is what he is. After all, his karma is now tied to you, not to this old monk."
Xinhui's voice remained even and calm, but this time, Li Huowang understood what he meant.
"Are you saying that Master Danyang has now become a shapeless entity that can change according to people's thoughts, similar to Lord You?" he asked.
"Precisely."
"But why? How did he turn into that... that *thing*? The Cultivation Techniques for attaining immortality were all nonsense I made up! Consuming all those deadly substances should have killed him instantly!" Li Huowang racked his brain but couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"This old monk does not know."
Li Huowang was caught off guard by such a candid response. "You don't know?"
"This old monk is not a Buddha of the future; I am not omniscient and omnipotent. Monastics do not lie. I do not know, and so I say I do not know."
After deliberating again for a moment, Li Huowang posed another crucial question. "Abbot, is there any way to completely eliminate Master Danyang? Since he's our mutual enemy, it can't be good to let him linger like this."
He had gone to all this trouble and traveled so far for this very reason. No matter what Master Danyang had become, Li Huowang had to deal with him for good.
This time, Xinhui did not respond as quickly. He pondered for a moment before raising his right hand. "Come here. I need to take another look."
Looking at the wrinkled white hand, Li Huowang hesitated.
"Benefactor Xuan Yang, if you still suspect I mean to harm you, then you shouldn't have entered this temple in the first place."
After a brief moment of contemplation, Li Huowang pressed his forehead to the old monk's palm.
HUM. Li Huowang felt the colors around him instantly intensify several times over as a sensation of lightness washed over his body. The wondrous feeling came as quickly as it went. Once everything returned to normal, Li Huowang felt a slight emptiness inside, though he didn't know why.
He understood that, if nothing else, the old abbot certainly possessed some special Buddhist Divine Skills.
"Hmm... This matter is of great importance. I need to discuss countermeasures with the other elders. You may stay at the temple for now, and I will give you a response tomorrow."
Upon hearing that he had to stay, Li Huowang immediately grew tense. "I have friends outside the temple. They'll worry if I don't return."
Seeing Li Huowang's refusal, the abbot's tone remained unhurried. "It is up to you whether you stay or leave. Zhengde Temple will open its gates tomorrow at chen hour. Benefactor Xuan Yang, please do not go back on your word. You know as well as I that if this trouble is not eliminated, it will remain a great hidden danger to you and to all life under heaven."
When Li Huowang stepped out of the hall into the sunlight, he looked back and saw that the abbot had already turned away from him, once again facing the giant Golden Buddha and reciting scriptures.
Li Huowang glanced up at the midday sun, then surveyed the serene and harmonious temple grounds. It hardly seemed like anything was amiss.
Li Huowang had just turned and taken a few steps when the back of the chanting abbot's bald head began to wriggle. After a moment, the smooth skin beneath his five-Buddha hat slowly split open. A fist-sized, vertical eye emerged, staring fixedly at Li Huowang's departing figure.
At that moment, the abbot's chanting suddenly grew louder. "Form is not self... If form were self, form would not be subject to illness and suffering, and you could command it, 'Let my form be this way!' or 'Let my form not be that way!'... as you desire. Therefore, know this..."
By the time Li Huowang navigated the winding temple paths back to the bustling front gate filled with pilgrims, he felt as if he had returned to the world of mortals.
Standing among the crowd, he looked back toward the quiet path he had just emerged from. A wave of hesitation washed over him. Should I trust him?
"Hey! Taoist! I'm over here!"
Hearing someone calling him, Li Huowang turned his head and saw the old beggar not far away, waving at him excitedly.
"You're at Zhengde Temple? Did they agree to take you in?"
The old beggar nodded excitedly. "Yes! That monk just now took pity on me. He said I can stay here and work."
"That's good. Work hard. It's at least better than foraging for wild vegetables or eating offerings left for the dead. I have some business to attend to, so I'm leaving. By the way, I never asked for your name."
"Just call me Monk. I like being called that. Come and visit the temple when you have time!"
"Heh. To use a term from your Buddhist Sect, let's leave it to fate."
After saying goodbye to this "old monk," Li Huowang left Zhengde Temple.
When he arrived at the inn they had previously agreed upon, the others swarmed him immediately.
Li Huowang raised his hand to stop them from asking more questions. "I have a task for everyone. Go out and ask the local folks about Zhengde Temple."
Although his interaction with the monks today had been completely normal, he still wanted to hear the locals' opinions on Zhengde Temple before making a decision. The others nodded without asking any questions, then turned and headed out of the inn.
Time passed. After sunset, the seven people he had sent out returned one by one and began reporting their findings to Li Huowang.
"They say Zhengde Temple is the largest temple in the western Capital City, and it receives the most incense offerings."
"I heard the monks there are very devout and strictly adhere to their rules and disciplines. I heard one of them was immediately expelled just for eating meat."
"They even say the Emperor visits that temple to pray. If you're lucky enough to get a good spot, you might even see him!"
"My findings are pretty much the same. Senior Brother, why did you want us to ask about Zhengde Temple?"
Li Huowang did not answer. He did not want to tell them the horrifying truth—that Master Danyang might still exist—lest he cause them undue alarm.
He carefully considered their reports, but he couldn't find any reason to refuse the abbot's offer. He realized if he didn't trust these monks, his only alternative was to face the "Buddha" version of Master Danyang alone. That was undoubtedly a suicide mission.
Finally, after weighing the pros and cons, Li Huowang decided he would return to Zhengde Temple the next day.