“No, your speculation is also very likely.” Pang Xiao rubbed his brow in regret, saying wearily, “It’s my oversight. I only thought there were no outsiders on this mountain, and I never suspected the monks of Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple. I never imagined that even in such an environment, something would still happen to the Empress.”
“You can’t blame yourself for this. I didn’t think anything would happen on such a treacherous mountain either.” Qin Yining looked around and carefully searched the hall for any clues.
Before long, footsteps could be heard outside the hall.
Pang Xiao looked sharply toward the entrance and saw the young monk leading in an elderly monk over sixty with a long beard and kind, gentle features.
Years of battlefield experience gave Pang Xiao an imposing aura when he became serious—ordinary people would feel urgency and fear under his gaze.
Though the old monk was a man of religion, he felt the same way, especially since such a noble personage as the Empress had gone missing.
“This humble monk Xuanyun greets Your Highness.” Xuanyun pressed his palms together and bowed slightly.
Pang Xiao returned the courtesy and said in a low voice, “Abbot Xuanyun should already know the specific situation, correct?”
“This humble monk is already aware.”
“This matter is of great importance. Her Majesty the Empress came here to worship Buddha with sincere devotion, yet an incident occurred at your temple. Once this spreads, His Majesty will be furiously enraged, and I’m afraid everyone in your temple will lose their lives. Therefore, my intention is to not publicize this matter first, but to search for her privately.”
Cold sweat appeared on Xuanyun’s forehead, but he still steadied his mind and chanted, “Amitabha, this humble monk thanks Your Highness for your magnanimity.”
If Pang Xiao wanted to clear himself of responsibility, he could actually arrest all the monks of Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple right now, charge them with some crime, and wait for the Emperor’s judgment. This way he would not have to bear any consequences at all, and if he wanted to completely exonerate himself, he could even pin other crimes on them.
But Pang Xiao did not do this, instead calling him alone.
Xuanyun was grateful in his heart, and his attitude became even more respectful.
Seeing that Xuanyun was perceptive, Pang Xiao said, “I heard that Abbot Yun’s close friend is an accomplished monk, and Her Majesty the Empress has been discussing scriptures and Buddhist teachings with that monk these past days, benefiting greatly. I wonder where that monk is now?”
Xuanyun replied frankly, “Your Highness, the one who discussed scriptures with Her Majesty was actually a nun, with the dharma name Tongyuan. She is someone this humble monk met over ten years ago. We hadn’t seen each other for many years when she came here during her wandering travels and stayed as a guest at the temple. She is indeed well-versed in Buddhist teachings, and her character is reliable—truly an accomplished monk. However, she already bid farewell to this humble monk the day before yesterday afternoon and went down the mountain.”
No one had expected that the accomplished monk was actually a nun. Everyone in the hall fell silent.
But Pang Xiao and Qin Yining caught the latter part of the statement.
Qin Yining asked, “Abbot Yun means that Nun Tongyuan already went down the mountain the day before yesterday afternoon?”
“Yes.” Abbot Xuanyun nodded.
Qin Yining looked at Pang Xiao and said quietly, “It seems I really guessed correctly.”
Pang Xiao nodded. “Though we have no evidence, it’s pretty much certain. Please have Abbot Xuanyun secretly investigate whether any monks in the temple are missing, or if anyone has shown any abnormal behavior.”
“We cannot determine exactly when Her Majesty the Empress went missing. Nanny Sun said that yesterday the Empress stayed in the Guanyin Hall and did not return to the meditation room. The young monk only discovered she was missing when he went to deliver the morning meal today. So the time the Empress went missing was very likely the day before yesterday. If there are no abnormalities among the monks in your temple, that would be sufficient to prove that Nun Tongyuan, who left the day before yesterday, was the one who kidnapped the Empress. That’s why she fled in such haste.”
Pang Xiao showed the note found under the meditation cushion to Abbot Xuanyun. “Although Destiny Peak is your temple’s forbidden area, for the sake of the Empress, we must intrude.”
Upon seeing the note’s contents, Abbot Xuanyun’s expression became even more unsightly.
He understood Pang Xiao’s meaning.
If the other monks in the temple showed no other abnormalities, it would prove that Nun Tongyuan had indeed deceived him, using his relationship to wait here and harm the Empress!
A person who had renounced the world would actually be so malicious!
If they hadn’t encountered Prince Zhongshun, who was kindhearted and handled matters openly, all the monks in the temple would probably have to die for Nun Tongyuan’s actions!
“Your Highness, please proceed as you see fit. Actually, that forbidden area isn’t really a forbidden area—it’s just a place for retreat and Buddhist worship. The mountain on the other side is even more treacherous, with cliffs and precipices everywhere below, only the mountaintop has some trees and vegetation, and there are even natural caves and water sources. When this temple was first built, we constructed a suspension bridge to make it convenient for those who wanted to retreat and cultivate Buddhist teachings to go to the other side for peaceful Buddhist practice. However, the fog has been extremely thick these past days, making it impossible to see the situation on the other side clearly.”
“I see.” Pang Xiao said, “The suspension bridge has indeed been mostly submerged in fog. I truly hadn’t noticed what the situation was on the other side, and since I heard it was your temple’s forbidden area, I didn’t develop any curiosity about it either.”
Qin Yining’s brow furrowed tightly as she timely asked Abbot Xuanyun, “Please tell me, Abbot, is there truly no other way up Destiny Peak—can one only reach it via the suspension bridge?”
Qin Yining was worried there might be an ambush on the other side.
Abbot Xuanyun said, “Amitabha, those who have renounced the world do not speak falsely. Destiny Peak indeed has no other roads up or down the mountain, truly because the terrain is too treacherous. The only path is that suspension bridge.”
Qin Yining nodded. “Thank you for informing us, Abbot. If we can find and bring back the Empress, there will also be merit for the Abbot and Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple.”
Abbot Xuanyun shook his head: “I seek no merit, only to avoid fault.”
Pang Xiao then quietly instructed Abbot Xuanyun to both check on the monks and secretly arrange for people to search everywhere to see if the Empress might possibly be hidden somewhere.
At the same time, Pang Xiao also had Tang Xiu take people to search down along the mountain path, in case the Empress had been taken away, to see if they could find any clues.
Within an hour, both Abbot Xuanyun and Tang Xiu brought back news.
Not a single monk was missing, and no suspicious traces were found on the path down the mountain.
So the Empress had indeed been taken by that Nun Tongyuan to Destiny Peak across the way.
“This is absolutely outrageous! That Nun Tongyuan is supposed to be someone who has renounced the world—how could she do such a thing!” Qin Yining was filled with anger. “She clearly disregarded the safety of everyone in Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple!”
“It’s this humble monk’s poor judgment of character.” Abbot Xuanyun closed his eyes, pressed his palms together, and sighed.
Pang Xiao looked grim as he worried somewhat about the situation on this side of the mountain.
Although he had immediately arranged for the Elite Tiger Guards to guard the paths up and down the mountain, he had learned his lesson—with so many monks in Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, he had no idea if there were one or two among them harboring ill intentions. He had been too trusting of these monks before, which led to losing the Empress. If he now accepted the invitation to go to Destiny Peak, he didn’t know if there would be danger here, and whether his Yining would be harmed.
Seeing that Pang Xiao remained silent, Qin Yining guessed his inner conflict and moved close to whisper, “Zhixi, the situation is urgent now. You should still send someone to take a look. If anything happens to the Empress, not only the monks of Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, but we won’t survive either.”
“But they demanded that I go alone. If I send someone, I’m afraid the Empress will be in danger.” Pang Xiao said in a low voice, “It’s not that I’m afraid of danger—I’m worried about you. If I leave and something happens to you here…” He had truly been frightened by Qin Yining’s repeated incidents. When such a situation suddenly appeared, his first thought was that someone was using a diversionary tactic to harm his wife.
Qin Yining understood and realized that Pang Xiao prioritized her above all else, feeling warm in her heart.
“You worry about me staying here, but how can I not worry about you? That suspension bridge looks very dangerous, with turbulent waters below and so close to the waterfall. If you fall, there won’t even be time to rescue you before you’re swept over the waterfall. I’m also not at ease with you going to Destiny Peak alone.”
The two looked at each other, both falling silent.
Pang Xiao shook his head. “I still have to go.”
If something happened to the mother of the nation, and he found it difficult to choose between rescuing the Empress and protecting his wife, he would definitely be impeached. There was also the possibility of being framed and falsely accused of being the mastermind who kidnapped the Empress.
How could Qin Yining not understand this reasoning?
“Fine, then I’ll accompany you.”
“No.” Pang Xiao rejected this immediately. “If there really is something, bringing you would actually be inconvenient. Just wait here for me.”
“If only Young Master Mu were here. With him following you, there would be an extra layer of protection. That suspension bridge is now shrouded in fog where you can’t see anything clearly. We haven’t even been able to make out the outline of Destiny Peak these past few days. I’m really worried that someone has already tampered with things up there.”
Pang Xiao also sighed somewhat.
“This is all too coincidental.” He leaned close to Qin Yining’s ear and whispered, “I suspect this matter was premeditated long ago. Including the Empress coming here, including us coming to this place, including Mutou leaving midway, and including the heavy fog over Destiny Peak—it was all calculated.”
“You have the same feeling?” Qin Yining said, “We thought of the same thing. Who else in the world has this ability?”
Besides Tianji Zi, Qin Yining couldn’t think of a second person.
But why would Tianji Zi do this?
Everything she had done clearly showed support for Pang Xiao. She schemed and harmed people, and could have killed anyone, including Pang Xiao’s wife and family, but she had never shown any intention of harming Pang Xiao to death.
Why would someone who wholeheartedly wanted Pang Xiao, the Purple Star Emperor, to return to his rightful position, deliberately kidnap the Empress to Destiny Peak and force Pang Xiao to go rescue her alone?
Qin Yining was completely puzzled.
But guessing that the opponent was Tianji Zi, Qin Yining could at least be certain that Pang Xiao’s safety would not be threatened for the time being. As for other traps, she could only take things as they came. She figured that right now, whether Pang Xiao went or not was the choice to make, and even if they consulted with Xie Yue and Xu Weizhi, the conclusion would still be for Pang Xiao to go.
Pang Xiao rubbed his face and said helplessly and irritably, “There’s no rush. Since we don’t know the exact time when she went to Destiny Peak, there’s no need to hurry for the moment. Let’s discuss this clearly with Master Xie and Master Xu, and I’ll also arrange things properly before I go.”
Upon hearing this, Qin Yining also felt these words made sense. If the Empress were going to meet with misfortune, she wouldn’t have been taken to Destiny Peak across the suspension bridge—wouldn’t it be cleaner to just push her down the mountain to be swept over the waterfall?
So if this was truly Tianji Zi’s calculation, her purpose was to make Pang Xiao go to Destiny Peak!