“Lord Xie, Lord Xie!”
Amid the sutra chanting, an urgent voice came from far to near.
Hearing Luo Daqiang’s voice, Zhu Qing thought something was wrong—there must be some matter at the tribunal.
He glanced at Third Master and quickly turned to meet him.
Zhu Qing went quickly and returned even faster. “Third Master, the Military Tribunal arrested a fake monk who was molesting a young wife, but that fake monk claims to be Master Chanyue…”
“Get lost—”
Xie Zhifei had absolutely no patience to listen further.
“Wait!”
Pei Xiao stepped forward: “What master?”
Zhu Qing: “Master Chanyue.”
Pei Xiao: “The one from Mount Wutai?”
Zhu Qing nodded: “He claims to be.”
Pei Xiao scoffed. “Don’t joke. Would the real Master Chanyue molest young wives? Get lost, get lost!”
Zhu Qing: “Young Master Pei, Luo Daqiang says he’s followed by another monk called Xuyun.”
Xuyun?
Isn’t that Geng Songsheng’s dharma name?
Pei Xiao: “What do those two monks look like?”
Zhu Qing called out toward the outer room: “Luo Daqiang?”
Luo Daqiang said loudly: “Replying to Lord Zhu, one is tall and large with a full beard. The other is thin and shriveled like a little old man.”
The descriptions matched well enough.
Pei Xiao found it strange: “What are they doing in the capital?”
Luo Daqiang: “Replying to Lord Zhu, they say they’ve come to dispel念 and resolve demons for a dead person.”
What?
Pei Xiao jumped straight up. Yan Sanhe, who dispelled念 and resolved demons, had no breath—how did another Master Chanyue appear to dispel念 and resolve demons for a dead person?
To the side, Zhu Yuanmo’s expression changed.
“Quick, quick, quickly bring them to the estate. If it’s truly Master Chanyue, he must have a solution. He definitely has a solution!”
“I’ll go fetch them!”
Hearing there was a solution, Li Buyan shot out like lightning. Ding Yi and Huang Qi followed close behind.
Pei Xiao looked outside, then at Xie Zhifei on the bed. “Father, you watch over Xie Wushi. I’ll also go fetch them.”
If it truly was Master Chanyue, the more people fetching him the better. Don’t all masters care about pomp and circumstance?
…
As soon as Pei Xiao saw the person, he regretted speaking too soon.
The master not only didn’t care about pomp and circumstance, he didn’t even care about appearance. The person was that person, but the smell…
Ugh!
Made him want to vomit!
“My apologies, everyone.”
Xuyun clasped his hands together. “After you left, my master went into closed-door meditation until now. He calculated with his fingers that Miss Yan would face a tribulation. He didn’t even have time to change clothes, which is why…”
Yan Sanhe would face a tribulation?
Pei Xiao rushed over, fell to his knees with a thud, and threw his arms around the old monk’s legs. What disgust, what wanting to vomit—even gold wasn’t as fragrant as this old monk before him.
“Why are you hugging me?”
The old monk tilted his head up proudly. “You capital people, every one of you dislikes my strong smell. Even asking for directions…”
“Whoever dislikes you is a grandson.”
Pei Xiao: “The fragrance on Master’s body—I love smelling it. One sniff lets me live two more years. Even my bowel movements become smooth.”
The old monk was satisfied, pleased. “Let’s go. Take me to see that young woman.”
Young woman?
What kind of address is that?
Pei Xiao thought: who cares what he calls her—quickly getting this ancestor back is the real priority.
He scrambled up in a fluster, his hands clutching the old monk’s arm tightly.
“Master, watch your step. Walk slowly. You must be exhausted from the journey.”
Li Buyan looked at Young Master Pei’s ingratiating expression. Something seemed to lightly strike her heart, stirring up emotions she couldn’t describe, emotions that made her want to cry.
Back when—whose eyes could contain anyone besides Xie Wushi? For whom would he kneel and bow?
Just as the old monk was about to step forward, he suddenly thought of something and turned to ask: “Does the young woman’s household have a coffin? If not, carry one over.”
Everyone froze in unison.
Pei Xiao’s heart stopped beating. He asked tremblingly: “M-Master, what do we need a coffin for?”
“What else would it be for?”
The old monk wore an expression of “several months apart and this Lord Pei still hasn’t grown a brain”: “To hold a dead person!”
Who’s the dead person?
Yan Sanhe?
Xuyun, looking at Pei Xiao’s face paler than a corpse, said steadily and calmly:
“Lord Pei, just do as my master says. He’s not serious as a person, but his words won’t be wrong by even one character.”
“…I, I, I’ll have someone buy one immediately.”
Lord Pei’s voice shook like a leaf. “Huang, Huang Qi, you, you go quickly, quickly buy a coffin!”
Huang Qi’s voice shook even more than his master’s. “M-M-Master, should the coffin be expensive or, or, or cheap?”
The old monk’s eyes swept over, his nose exhaling two streams of cold air. “Think about Miss Yan’s status and you’ll know whether to buy a cheap one or expensive one.”
Pei Xiao’s legs went weak—he nearly fell to his knees with a thud again.
The old monk even knew Yan Sanhe’s identity… he… he… he… damn, he’s divine!
…
The coffin arrived at the estate almost simultaneously with the carriage.
Huang Qi ran before the old monk. “Master, should we carry it inside the house?”
“What, put it at the door to bring the young woman wealth?” The old monk’s face showed unspeakable disdain.
Huang Qi: “…”
He quickly waved to the coffin shop workers. “Carry it in.”
At the side, Pei Xiao squeezed his eyes at Li Buyan: Quick, quickly go inform Xie Wushi so he doesn’t get scared to death seeing the coffin.
Li Buyan threw the reins into Ding Yi’s hands and took off running.
Pei Xiao stepped forward to support the old monk, repeating those flattering phrases: “Master, watch your step, take it slow.”
“I’m not yet seventy or eighty.”
The old monk waved away his hand and crossed the threshold in a few quick steps.
Pei Xiao practically had to jog to keep up, thinking: Master is indeed Master—even his walking is vigorous and swift!
The group had just reached the second gate when they heard monks and Daoists chanting sutras from afar. The old monk’s expression darkened. Xuyun quickly said: “Lord Pei, those are useless. Please send them all away.”
At this point, if the old monk said shit was fragrant, Pei Xiao would agree.
“Ding Yi, quickly send them away.”
“Yes!”
Here Ding Yi went to send people away. There, Li Buyan led Xie Zhifei hurrying over.
Xie Zhifei had already heard Li Buyan’s brief explanation. Upon arriving, he lifted his robe and knelt before the old monk, bowing low.
“I beg Master to save Yan Sanhe’s life.”
“This person is…”
“Oh, this is my good brother, also Yan Sanhe’s beloved, Third Master Xie of the Xie residence, Xie Zhifei.”
“Xie Zhifei?”
The old monk’s gaze looked deeply at the person on the ground, a subtle expression flashing through his eyes: “You have more than one name, don’t you?”
Xie Zhifei suddenly raised his head, his eyes full of shock.
To the side, Pei Xiao nodded like a rattle drum. “Right, right, right! He has another name—Xie Wushi.”
The old monk smiled meaningfully: “What name you’re called isn’t important. Whose heart you are—that’s most important.”
Xie Zhifei stared motionlessly at the old monk’s eyes, as if entranced.
Though these eyes were small, they were black, bright, and clear as a child’s, as if they could penetrate the skin and see everything within him.
Tears welled up and spilled over.
