Xing Chi only had the time it took for the last stick of incense to burn.
This time was too short. He had many things he wanted to say, but couldn't finish.
So, he decided not to say anything.
"The third matter, after this monk passes away, Yongjie will take over as the abbot of Shaolin."
With that, Xing Chi nodded to Li Miao, who understood. One hand pressed on Yongjie's back, and the other gripped Xing Chi's pulse, directly beginning the transfer of power.
Xing Chi felt the vital true qi that sustained his life continuously draining away and closed his eyes.
He was merely a dull monk.
He learned martial arts because he couldn't recite scriptures; he left the temple to wander the jianghu because he couldn't sit still on a meditation cushion; he stubbornly lived his life according to what the Buddha taught him because he didn't understand the interests and rules of this jianghu.
He opened his eyes and scanned the jianghu people around him, some tearful, some in pain, some wailing, some panicked.
Like hungry ghosts, like vengeful spirits, like sinners.
For most people, this jianghu was inherently a hell.
When the power transfer concluded, Li Miao removed his hand from Yongjie's back and spoke to Xing Chi.
"Master, you have fifty breaths of time left."
Xing Chi nodded, looked at everyone, and smiled at them.
Then, stumbling and trembling, he sat cross-legged on the ground, released Li Miao's hand that had been sustaining his life, and began to recite the first scripture he had learned.
It was also the scripture he had lived by his entire life.
"All sentient beings who have not attained liberation have unstable natures and consciousness."
"Evil habits bear evil fruit, good habits bear good fruit. Whether good or evil, they arise according to circumstances."
"They cycle through the five paths, without rest, for eons of dust, hindered by delusion and difficulty. Like a fish swimming in a net, destined for a long journey, escaping temporarily only to be caught again."
"For such beings, I shall worry…"
Li Miao, listening to Xing Chi's recitation, shook his head and smiled.
"The Sutra of the Past Vows of Earth Store Bodhisattva."
This passage was spoken by the Buddha after Earth Store Bodhisattva made a great vow to save all sentient beings burdened by karmic retribution.
Li Miao understood Xing Chi's thoughts—he clearly regarded this jianghu as hell, and then, like Earth Store Bodhisattva, plunged into it without hesitation. He took the scripture to heart and truly lived his entire life according to what it said.
However, thinking of this, Li Miao sighed.
"Earth Store Bodhisattva said, 'I will not become a Buddha until the hells are empty.'"
"Master, reciting this scripture before death, can you still depart in peace?"
Indeed, as Xing Chi recited, his pace gradually slowed at one point. A hint of hesitation also entered his tone.
"Since you have fulfilled this past vow, and your heavy vows from countless eons, widely liberating the sinful, what more do I have to worry about…"
"What more, do I have to worry about?"
"What more do I have to worry about… really?"
Xing Chi murmured.
"My Buddha, can you truly let go?"
He was already delirious, seemingly seeing the Buddha's golden body appear in the clouds, smiling as he twirled a flower. As if affirming that he had finally achieved enlightenment.
But he didn't like that smile.
Because that smile was too clean, unblemished by blood, untainted by dust, not sallow or emaciated, and without scars or wounds. The Buddha, seated on a lotus throne, neither defiled nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing, could not experience the suffering of the world, nor could he save the world.
The Buddha could say, "What more do I have to worry about," but he could not say it.
He ultimately still couldn't let go.
Xing Chi stopped reciting and lowered his clasped hands.
He raised his head, looked at everyone, and spoke the last sentence of his life, which had nothing to do with the Buddha.
"The monk is gone, the jianghu, I entrust to you all."
He did not close his eyes but strained to look at this jianghu he couldn't let go of, until his vision dimmed and he lost his breath.
In Li Miao's arms, Xing Chi collapsed like a deflated ball, reduced to a mere handful of bones as light as a feather, covered in cracks.
Some were left by Ji Tianrui, some by saving people over these seventy-plus years.
The twenty-third year of jiajing, the third day of the twelfth lunar month.
The abbot of Shaolin, "Saint Monk" Xing Chi, passed away.
—
That afternoon, Li Miao avoided others and walked out of Shaolin's side gate with Yin Minjun.
Yongjie saw them to the gate and bowed to Li Miao.
"Lord Li, thank you."
Li Miao waved his hand: "Go back, Master, you still have much to do."
Yongjie nodded, about to turn and leave.
"Ah, right, Master."
"Do you want revenge?"
Yongjie turned sharply, looking at Li Miao.
Li Miao said unhurriedly: "I plan to slaughter Ji Tianrui and wipe out those brats from the Ming Cult."
"Are you interested in lending a hand?"
Yongjie pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice.
"Lord Li's insistence on following me, was this your plan all along?"
Li Miao smiled.
"Initially, yes."
He had no intention of hiding it. Li Miao's initial reason for following Yongjie was to drag Shaolin into the fray, making them an asset in his fight against the Ming Cult.
"However, now I no longer greatly need Shaolin's help."
"Master Xing Chi was my friend, and you are also my friend. I am now asking you, do you want to avenge your Master?"
Li Miao saw Yongjie hesitate and spoke calmly.
"Don't overthink it. With me here, you won't die."
"You also don't need to abandon Shaolin and follow me. Once I have a plan, I'll send you a message, and you can just come."
Yongjie looked at Li Miao and slowly nodded.
"In that case, I await Lord Li's news."
This is the one-by-one, error-free version!
With that, he turned and left.
Li Miao then smiled, relaxed his shoulders, and turned to look at Yin Minjun.
"Elder Yin, I had intended to speak with you tonight."
"But that old monk Xing Chi was truly willful, and I had no choice but to complete the second path of the Celestial Human Realm to accompany him in such a commotion."
Seeing the worry on Yin Minjun's face, Li Miao waved his hand.
"I have my own way to avoid the Celestial Human Five Declines. The price is that I will be drowsy two hours later and will likely not wake up, but there's no danger."
"So, our matters will have to wait until the day after tomorrow."
Yin Minjun gasped, clutching the corner of her clothing, her face pale.
She thought this was Li Miao's excuse.
Because Li Miao had already subtly rejected her once before.
Li Miao saw Yin Minjun's anxious expression and chuckled.
He stepped forward, took Yin Minjun's hand, pulled her into his embrace, and lightly kissed her forehead.
Then he leaned into her ear and whispered.
"The reason I've been delaying is because you are the first woman to express her feelings to me since I began wandering the jianghu."
"I'm afraid you were just momentarily confused and haven't thought it through clearly."
"I am a wanderer, but I don't want to ruin a good girl."
Yin Minjun's heart was soft at this moment, leaning in Li Miao's embrace, she whispered.
"Li, Li Lang."
"I learn swordsmanship, and I also know the method of cleansing the mind with the sword. How could I be confused?"
"I only fear that you have no feelings for me…"
Li Miao chuckled and said.
"In that case, are you willing to wait for me for a while?"
"What is Li Lang going to do? How long will he be gone?"
Yin Minjun looked up from Li Miao's embrace, gazing into Li Miao's eyes.
"What else can the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) do? Nothing but murder, arson, and grinding bones to dust."
Li Miao's lips curled upward, but the smile in his eyes was gone.
"Slaughter Ji Tianrui, wipe out those beasts from the Ming Cult, and cut off the Witchcraft inheritance of the Miao people."
"Send them down to meet Master Xing Chi."
"Today is the third day of the twelfth lunar month, twenty-five days until the New Year. I don't like to celebrate the New Year with unfinished business."
"Coincidentally, I'm not convenient to return to Shuntian Prefecture right now, and I have nowhere to spend the New Year."
"Wait for me at Hengshan Sect on New Year's Eve."
"I'll come find you after I've finished killing."
Yin Minjun softly hummed, then pushed Li Miao away and mounted her horse.
"Li Lang, I will prepare good wine to cleanse your sword's edge."
"I will wait for you."
With that, she spurred her horse and galloped away.
Li Miao smiled and stretched.
A person emerged from the nearby woods, quickly walked to Li Miao, bowed, and handed him a stack of papers.
"Lord Commissioner, these are letters from the Commander, and their locations."
"This is a map, with the Ming Cult's hiding places that we've discovered marked on it."
Li Miao reached out and took them, scanning them quickly, then smiled chillingly.
"Oh, quite a few."
"Get me two sets of clothes, and prepare some degreasing soap for me."
"There are too many people to kill. Human oil and brains on clothes are hard to wash out."