The sun set, and in a blink of an eye, it was already dark, reaching the second watch of the night.
Li Miao scaled the courtyard wall, entered Shaolin, and headed towards the place he had agreed upon with Yongjie.
A short while later, he entered a courtyard where Yongjie stood, head bowed, shoulders slumped.
"Master," Li Miao greeted.
Yongjie looked up, his eyes bloodshot, and fresh tear stains on his face. Seeing Li Miao, he forced a smile: "Lord."
Li Miao looked him up and down, then asked, "Has something happened to Master Xing Chi?"
"My Master is severely injured and only has three days left to live," Yongjie replied.
"Is that so... my condolences."
Li Miao sighed inwardly. Xing Chi was one of the few people in this martial arts world for whom he truly held respect. He had always thought that once his current duties were finished, he would definitely go to meet him.
Who knew that this first meeting would also be their last?
"Lord, I have already asked Master. Master said that since he is... about to die, he doesn't want to sleep and would like to talk more with someone."
"I told Master about how you saved the people of Tai'an, and Master said he absolutely had to meet you."
"I'll take you to see him now," Yongjie said.
Li Miao cupped his hands: "Thank you for your trouble."
Yongjie nodded, then turned and led Li Miao deeper into the temple.
Upon reaching a small courtyard, Yongjie knocked on the door: "Master, Lord Li has arrived."
A hearty elderly voice, filled with laughter, came from inside: "Come in quickly, I'm almost tired of waiting!"
Yongjie pushed open the courtyard door and saw a straw mat placed under a tree in the courtyard.
An old monk sat cross-legged on it, holding a small girl. The little girl had one hand clutching the old monk's beard and the other in her mouth, her back being gently patted by the old monk. She was so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open.
Looking at the old monk, he had a youthful complexion with white hair, and his eyebrows were a full foot long, hanging over his shoulders.
His sitting posture was casual, one leg bent and one straight. His kasaya was wrapped around the little girl, and he himself wore only an undergarment. At this moment, he smiled at Li Miao, showing no demeanor of an eminent monk, but rather like a hearty old man coaxing his granddaughter to sleep.
Yongjie quickly stepped forward, took the little girl into his arms, and apologized to the old monk: "Master, Ling'er has disturbed you again, I will definitely..."
"Hey!" The old monk waved a hand: "Yongjie, you're speaking nonsense again."
"You are my disciple, and Ling'er is my grand-disciple. What's the disturbance about a grandfather coaxing his granddaughter to sleep!"
"Say such polite words again, and don't think that just because I'm about to die, I can't still hit you!"
Li Miao couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
How could he not know that this old monk was the abbot of Shaolin, Xing Chi? Yet, his demeanor and speech were far from the image of an eminent monk he had imagined.
However, Li Miao could clearly feel the old monk's rock-solid bones—"Vajra."
Although Li Miao could see that his heart meridian was damaged, and he had internal injuries, confirming that he indeed had only three days left to live, he could also see that the "Vajra" on this old monk was stronger than the perfected "Vajra" he had encountered at Taishan Sect.
This was even more illogical than Li Miao abandoning "Vajra" to cultivate "Mount Sumeru" back then.
What is perfection? An inch more is too much, an inch less is not enough. So-called perfection is not about having more than others, but about being "just right." After perfection, there is no path left to walk; Li Miao was absolutely certain of this.
It seemed this was Shaolin's true foundation, and also the reason Xing Chi was able to survive under Ji Tianrui.
Li Miao stepped forward and bowed: "Junior Li Miao greets Master Xing Chi."
The old monk laughed heartily: "Lord Li, welcome!"
"My unworthy disciple told me that you, Lord, did a great deed in Tai'an!"
"Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda. With your merit, it is I, the monk, who should bow to you!"
With that, Xing Chi actually stood up and bowed to Li Miao.
Li Miao quickly stepped forward and supported Xing Chi's arms: "Master, there's no need for such courtesy. I, Li, am a government official; I merely did what was within my duty."
To let a ninety-something-year-old, dying eminent monk bow to him, Li Miao feared it would shorten his lifespan.
"Hahaha, then I, the monk, won't be modest. Lord Li, please sit!"
Xing Chi didn't insist, winked at Li Miao, and motioned for Li Miao to sit down with him.
"I never thought that before I, the monk, die, I would still be able to converse with a heroic figure like Lord Li. I can now rest in peace!"
He spoke with a hearty laugh, not at all shying away from the topic of death.
"Lord Li, if you have anything you wish to ask, feel free to speak! I, the monk, will tell you everything I know!"
Li Miao knew that Xing Chi was at the end of his life and didn't have much time left, so he couldn't delay him for too long. Moreover, he still had to meet Zhu Zai later, so he went straight to the point.
"Master, was it Ji Tianrui who injured you to such an extent that day?"
This was something he had never understood.
When the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) went to the Miao territory to kill Ji Tianrui, they went all out, with Zhu Zai personally leading the team.
Yun Zelin could feign death and escape because he was a nobody back then and didn't attract the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards)' attention at all.
But for a figure like Ji Tianrui, how could the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) not verify his identity after killing him? If he hadn't died that day, how could the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) have let it go?
Indeed, Xing Chi calmly said: "He said he was Ji Tianrui."
"His build was similar, his martial arts stronger, and he was also the Ming Cult leader. But whether he was the same one from back then, I, the monk, cannot be certain."
"After all, like Lord Li, he achieved the 'Three into One' realm, yet somehow avoided the Celestial Human Five Declines."
"I, the monk, only reached the peak. Relying on the legacy of my predecessors, and sacrificing my lifespan, I could barely exchange a few blows with him. As for anything more, I, the monk, am powerless to investigate."
As expected, Xing Chi also immediately discerned Li Miao's realm.
Those who cultivate martial arts beyond the peak have reached the end of their own path. Those who cultivate "Vajra" can see others' bones and muscles at a glance; those who cultivate "Mount Sumeru" can see others' true qi at a glance; those who cultivate ""Jiezi"" can see others' moves and mental cultivation methods at a glance.
And Xing Chi's martial arts, originally, should have only been at the peak. He forcibly elevated his realm through Shaolin's secret methods.
He only had three days left to live, not only due to the injuries sustained from his fight with Ji Tianrui, but more so because of the cost of these methods.
Li Miao continued to ask: "What was the purpose of the person claiming to be Ji Tianrui attacking Shaolin?"
Xing Chi stated lightly: "The Muscle Tendon Changing Scripture, the Marrow Cleansing Scripture, and the Great Rejuvenation Pill."
"I, the monk, could only do my best to protect my disciples. These three items were all taken by that Ji Tianrui."
Before Li Miao could speak, Yongjie, standing nearby, suddenly stood up and exclaimed in shock: "What!?"
"How, how can this be!?"
"What are you panicking about!" Xing Chi sternly rebuked: "In heaven and earth, only 'I' am supreme; all external things are empty. Where has your Buddhist Dharma gone?"
"Sit down, don't wake Ling'er."
However, Yongjie's actions did not wake the little girl, but Xing Chi's voice startled her awake, and she immediately began to cry.
Xing Chi quickly got up, took the little girl, gently patted her back, and only managed to coax her back to sleep after a long while.
He then lowered his voice and turned to Yongjie, saying: "A few external things, if they are lost, then they are lost."
"Secret manuals can be rewritten, pills can be re-refined. Remember, the foundation of our Shaolin is not martial arts, but Buddhist Dharma, it is the human heart."
"'The illusory dojo of flowers in water and moon, build it constantly, moment by moment; if even one person is not delivered, you yourself must not escape.'"
"Building a dojo is for delivering the world; it can be built and it can be let go. As long as people are still alive, what is a dojo?"
"If you are obsessed with external things, you are an externalist, and from now on, don't claim to be my disciple!"
