The flowers of the Asoka tree had begun to wither. Sitting in the Deer King's mansion beneath the tree, one could occasionally see falling flowers drift past the window.Youyou's scolding voice came from afar: "Either your Deer King shouldn't have passed the throne to Brother Bensheng in the first place! Since he did, what does it mean to leave his son behind to interfere? And even trying to set up another faction on the other side of the Asoka tree! You stag; how can you be so shameless!"Youyou was still fuming as she entered the mansion."Let it be," Bensheng blinked. "Isn't it a good thing if he's willing to share the workload?"Hearing this, Youyou had to drop it, but couldn't help muttering, "I'm afraid he'll mess things up, and if the human Lord blames anyone, you'll be the one held responsible."Bensheng shook his head with a smile and changed the subject. "Tell me how the humans left Lumbini Deer Park back then. I want to hear that.""What I know are all stories from the elders. They say that a thousand years ago, after the humans occupied Lumbini Deer Park, they took pleasure in hunting within the grounds every day. The deer herd's numbers quickly dwindled. The hero Lugen felt this couldn't continue. He requested an audience with the Lord, willing to lead the strong deer to follow them to the battlefield and reclaim their original territory. You know this too; this human tribe had been defeated and driven out of Buzhou Kingdom before coming to Lumbini Deer Park. Life in Lumbini was paradise for us, but for the humans, it was austerity. Of course, they preferred to return to their own lands."Bensheng frowned. "And later...""Later, probably they only supervised this place and didn't return." Youyou stuck out her tongue. "I left home to find you when I was six, so I don't know more than that. What exactly are you asking, Brother?"
Bensheng smiled faintly. "It's nothing, just asking." He suppressed the faint worry in his heart.One day, Bensheng received a human messenger. The man, on horseback, said arrogantly, "The Great King sends me to inform you. He will come here to hunt in a few days. You'd better clean up the grounds quickly, don't incur the Great King's displeasure!""Hunting..." The worry had finally become reality. Bensheng's heart tightened. "Is the Great King coming to huntus?"The messenger said impatiently, "Of course! You were always the food of humans."The messenger left after speaking, leaving Bensheng and the stag who ruled the split herd staring at each other. The stag's chest heaved, and it took him a while to calm the anger in his heart.So, this was another reason his father was so eager to abdicate and go to the Hundred-Beast Garden. He refused to believe his father didn't know about the Great King's planned hunt. It had been centuries; the humans, accustomed to comfortable living, should have long forgotten them. But now they suddenly remember hunting..."What are you thinking about?"The stag turned to find Bensheng looking at him. He said, "I'm counting which deer are old, injured, or sick. When the time comes, we'll make them run at the front, as the Great King's targets."As soon as the words left his mouth, Bensheng tripped him. Bensheng glared at him sternly. "How can you do that? If you want to be the Deer King, you should treat all deer equally, protect them!""Hunting naturally involves casualties; no one can avoid it. This is the best way to ensure the herd's continuation."The stag ignored him after that. He soon separated the old, weak, injured, and sick deer, confining them inside a fenced area.Seeing this, Bensheng was frantic with worry. He raised his front hooves, pressing them together with difficulty, closed his eyes, and tried to recall the feeling of using his spiritual powers, concentrating his mind intensely... But no matter how hard he tried, when he opened his eyes, nothing had changed before him.Had his spiritual power truly been exhausted?No, it couldn't be. There must be a way!The days passed. Just as Bensheng was racking his brains, Ananda suddenly flew into the mansion, saying anxiously, "Bensheng, it's bad! A thousand deer from the stag's faction have been surrounded by human hunters!""What?! The hunting day hasn't arrived yet!"
"I saw with my Clairvoyance, the stag seemed to be planning to take a group of young, strong deer away from Lumbini Deer Park to avoid the hunt, but they just ran into the arriving human party. Besides the Lord, there were many nobles, all carrying bows and arrows..."Bensheng took the staff hanging on the wall, gripping it in his mouth. "Ananda, lead the way!"Deep in the forest, the human nobles laughed loudly as they raised their bows. "To think we'd reap such a bounty before even reaching Lumbini Deer Park!""It's all thanks to the Lord's excellent command. We just flanked them left and right, then pinched them in the middle. Haha, not a single deer escaped!""A pity there's no more war in Buzhou Kingdom. With our Lord's ability, he could expand his territory a hundredfold!"The group bantered, flattering and pleasing the Lord while raising their bows to frighten the panicked deer herd. They were waiting for the Lord to shoot the first arrow, to officially begin the hunt.At the front of the party, the young man in bronze armor was the new Lord.He had foreign blood, with deep-set eyes and a stern, unsmiling expression that made him seem inscrutable.He raised his powerful arm, took an iron arrow adorned with gems from his quiver, nocked it on his bow, and aimed at the deer herd.His mind was elsewhere, so he wasn't paying full attention, but the released iron arrow flew straight towards a trembling doe within the herd.Just as the nobles were about to cheer, suddenly, a mottled deer dashed out from the woods. It turned its head, swinging the staff in its mouth, and knocked the iron arrow away.The cheers caught in their throats. The crowd was shocked, quickly nocking arrows, ready to shoot this insolent deer dead to claim merit from the Lord.Bensheng spat out the staff and shouted, "Wait!" He charged before the Lord, ignoring the countless arrows aimed at him, and knelt on bent legs.The Lord raised his hand, stopping the nobles' arrows."What do you have to say?""I am the Deer King, Bensheng. Today, a thousand of my deer are surrounded. I know escape is impossible. But I still wish to
discuss terms with you."The Lord said, "Your courage is commendable. But these thousand deer are already this lord's prey. What is there to discuss?"Bensheng said, "Lumbini Deer Park is the Great King's territory, and the deer herd is the Great King's herd. But if the Great King slaughters all thousand deer today, you cannot possibly eat all this meat. Storing it in this wilderness is inconvenient. For you, this is waste. For us, it is a near-fatal disaster. In the future, when you wish to hunt deer again, there will be none left to hunt."The nobles were stunned. They had never seen a deer speak so logically, inwardly marveling at the wonders of the world. But whoever dared to contradict them provoked their disple.The crowd began to curse and complain. The deer herd watched Bensheng's back in terror, unsure what he intended to do.Unlike the others, the Lord showed no anger. He examined Bensheng with interest. "There is some logic. What do you propose instead?"Bensheng let out a long sigh, his front hooves digging so deeply into the soil they tensed. After a long moment, he spoke. "I wish to make a pact with the Lord. Release these thousand deer today, and we will send one deer to your residence daily. This ensures you have meat to eat, while allowing us to reproduce and continue providing you with sport."The Lord looked at him. "Can your word be trusted?""I studied at Zhoku Academy and have subdued demons and aided the world. I am willing to guarantee it in the name of an Adept.""Good." The Lord waved his hand readily. However reluctantly, the nobles put away their bows and followed the Lord, who turned his horse first, slowly leaving the forest.Only then did Bensheng breathe a sigh of relief. He suppressed the sorrow in his heart and pulled his front hooves from the soil. Ananda flew over, flapping his wings to brush off the dirt.Just then, they both felt a familiar gaze upon them. The deer and the bird looked up simultaneously and finally spotted, amidst the not-yet-departed human party, a man smiling as he looked their way.He was thinner than when they first met by Crescent Moon Lake, dark circles under his eyes. The long hair hanging by his sides made his skin appear very pale. But the foolish grin on his face was the same as ever."Bensheng, Ananda. Hello there."
"Hello your head!" Ananda flew over and pecked at him fiercely. "Bastard Qutan! You knew we were back in Zhaoyun Kingdom and didn't come find us!""Yo, Ananda's dropping the mature act!" Qutan laughed, grabbed Ananda's tail, and placed him on his shoulder before urging his horse forward. "Bensheng."Bensheng was already crying, tears and mucus streaming down his face."You thought I died a thousand years ago?" Qutan widened his eyes, laughing heartily, and reached out to rub the head of Bensheng sitting beside him. "Little Bensheng, you forgot! My Robe of Origin is still with you! As a cultivator, my lifespan long ago transcended the mortal world. Besides, I travel everywhere, I don't often stay in Zhaoyun Kingdom. For me, meeting you again is only about a hundred years apart! Hehe, any longer and I'd forget what you looked like!"He chuckled sneakily. "But I wouldn't forget what Ananda looks like, because all crows under heaven are equally black... Ouch!""Don't secretly talk bad about me."Bensheng was eager to tell Qutan everything. But Qutan first saw the staff beside him, and his joking expression gradually grew solemn.He reached out and picked up the staff. With one touch, he found the thumb-shaped indentation. His finger fit perfectly within it.His eyes on the staff, he asked, "Bensheng, while traveling the four kingdoms, I learned you passed the Court Exam smoothly and became an Adept. Why didn't you continue with the Comprehender selection?"Bensheng hung his head, helpless. "I don't know."Before someone close to him, he didn't want to use smiles to hide the initial loss and sadness."Before the candidate list was announced, my cultivation was progressing smoothly, both my secret arts and the Primordial Colored Light had improved. Whether it was Old Huang, or Supervisor Xiaobai who tutored me in scriptures, even the most powerful Supervisor Youshui... they all said I met the standard to enter the Main Shrine... But in the end, I wasn't on the list. No reason was given."He expected Qutan to continue comforting him, but instead, Qutan let out a cold laugh."Hah, Zhoku is still the same as ever!" He stretched his long legs, leaned back on his hands, and looked up at the sky. "Little Bensheng, you probably never imagined, I'm exactly the same as you."He smiled with narrowed eyes. "Born of the Beast Tribe, and the
experience of not making it to the Hall Exam... completely identical."Bensheng stared at him in shock; even Ananda was dumbfounded. Qutan... was of the Beast Tribe?! It wasn't surprising they were so startled; Qutan looked far too much like a "human."Qutan scratched the long hair at the back of his head. "Me, I'm naturally thick-skinned. I didn't even sense how unwelcoming the atmosphere at Zhoku Academy was towards the Beast Tribe. Not only that, I boldly became friends with children from the Four Great Families. One of them was surnamed Lüqiu; I called him 'Big Donkey,' and he never got angry.After the Academy Exam, when it was time to learn spiritual arts, the Supervisor responsible for teaching us started finding excuses to avoid me, teaching Lüqiu separately. I was completely unaware and even mentioned it to Lüqiu. Lüqiu was also puzzled, but he was always proper and didn't want to trouble the Supervisor, so he made a pact with me to meet deep in the Zhoku Forest at midnight, where he would secretly teach me spells.Later, just like you, I passed the Court Exam but wasn't qualified for the Hall Exam. In a rage, I fought with the Supervisor and only then learned the reason. It turned out they... never treated us as equals to the human disciples. To them, the Beast Tribe was lowly, inferior life, inherently not equal to humans. So, how could a Beast Tribe member become a Comprehender? They never intended to give us that chance from the start."The forest was silent. The thousand young, strong deer had been led away by the stag. The fresh mountain air nourished the lungs of the three of them. Perhaps it was because the air was so good that Bensheng couldn't muster much anger. He listened quietly as Qutan spoke."But the irony is, the Comprehender they so carefully selected, my good brother Lüqiu, developed inner demons during the process of teaching me." Qutan let out a long sigh. "I only found out much later that he discovered my spiritual arts were progressing faster than his, believed I was more qualified for the Comprehender selection than him, and went to talk to the Supervisor. I don't know what the Supervisor said to him, temporarily placating him. But the fact was, this matter became Lüqiu's inner demon. A hundred and eighty years ago, the moment the Bell of the Moment was struck, he could no longer suppress it. The inner demon erupted. The passage to the underworld was torn open, Yamas poured out en masse, flooding the human world, killing countless commoners."
Bensheng's breath caught. So, Uncle Sanbao's calamity originated from this..."What happened then?"A trace of resolve appeared on Qutan's gentle face. "How could I abandon my brother...""Brother Qutan...""Call me Kasyapa!" He pressed his lips together in a smile. "Qutan is the surname I changed to when I went into hiding. Though there was never any real need to hide my name... Even though I used my own body and blood to seal the inner demon, no one in all of Zhoku acknowledged my contribution. You must be wondering why you never heard of me, right? Perhaps in their eyes, I was the one who brought disaster to the continent...""Sealing an inner demon with your body and blood, such great merit... Brother Kasyapa, you should be a hero!" Bensheng looked at him incredulously."This is the world we live in. There is no equality to speak of." Kasyapa smiled, stretched his arms, and lazily arched his back. "I used to think, if I couldn't become a Comprehender, surely some child from Zhaoyun Kingdom could. So, I wandered Zhaoyun Kingdom all day, searching for Beast Tribe children with exceptional aptitude, sending them to Zhoku. Hoping that one day, they could change this world. Bensheng, you were the child I favored most. But now... forget it. This world... indeed cannot be corrected using overly gentle means."Kasyapa stood up and waved goodbye to Bensheng. Ananda flew around him reluctantly, so he joked and laughed with Ananda again, as if the grievances and bitterness he had spoken of were gone.The man and the bird reached Crescent Moon Lake. Kasyapa turned back and saw Bensheng following behind. He smiled wryly. "Little Bensheng, why are you as clingy as Ananda?"Bensheng looked at him with a complex expression. "Brother Kasyapa... after sealing with one's body and blood, can a person survive?"Kasyapa's smile froze.Bensheng closed his eyes, tears falling. "You should have hidden it better."The setting sun stretched their shadows long. Only Kasyapa's shadow emitted wisps of black smoke.He had no shadow at all.Sealing with body and blood destroys both form and spirit. Only
by forming a karmic bond with demons, nourishing the physical body with Mara's power, could one continue to exist in the world."Bensheng, you are indeed the child I favored most. I genuinely like you all, who retain innocence and kindness despite enduring hardships. This current world is not worthy of you. So, I will return that world of equality to you." Kasyapa looked at him calmly. "Do you want to stop me now? You, with no spiritual power left, what can you do? Die?... But if you die, what will become of your deer herd?"Bensheng's heart shook violently. Everything about him, even his resolve to die, had been seen through by Kasyapa."Then what about me?"The hem of a blue-green robe brushed against the emerald green grass. Zhongli Xi strode forward.