Delusion

Chu Xingchen lightly pinched the jade token in his hand. Chen Baiqing had recorded everything in meticulous detail, including the suspects and matters that required attention—the Buddhist sect and the Xiaoyun Hall.

If there truly was a Heavenly Demon in Lotus Pond, then whoever was sent there needed to be at least a powerful Tribulation Transcender. Only someone of that level would have a chance of escaping or holding out until reinforcements arrived.

Bai Xuanling and Huang Miao were powerful enough, but they were also conspicuous enough. The chances of their movements being recognized were simply too high.

Moreover, whoever went would ideally need to have some understanding of the power of faith, so they could deal with any unforeseen circumstances.

When it came down to it, the Buddhist sect had conducted the deepest research into the power of faith.

Unfortunately, even if Runan knew about this, he might not be willing to investigate with all his might. And even if he did investigate, the matter would probably end there.

A large-scale assault might not yield the desired result. It could even put the Buddhist sect in an awkward position.

Chu Xingchen fell into thought for a moment, then the corners of his lips curled into a smile.

That being the case, there really was someone suitable for the investigation—someone who could give the Buddhist sect a reason to act on its own while also uncovering the truth.

Chu Xingchen raised his hand, took a jade token from his spatial ring, and handed it to Lin Luoyu, who was still eating fruit.

“It’s nothing major. Take this jade token to Lv Xuan and get some people from him. Even if you have to overwhelm the place with numbers, there should be more than enough.”

Lin Luoyu accepted the jade token, chewing on her fruit as she nodded vigorously. Without hesitation, she turned and left.

“Could anything Chu Xingchen asks us to handle possibly be a good thing?”

Buddhist Son Wukong was full of suspicion. His gaze shifted sideways to the thin, gaunt figure beside him—the Bright Buddha, who wore a patchwork robe and leaned on a battered wooden staff.

“With Bai Xuanling above us and Huang Miao below us, both of them have perfectly respectable identities. If they aren’t handling this, then he’s sending people like us—people who are treated like rats in the street—to do it. And according to the rumors, Chu Xingchen is as close to Runan as brothers, discussing the Way together. For all we know, we’re merely goods waiting to be sold to the highest bidder.”

“Before getting the best price, he’ll probably squeeze every last bit of value out of us.”

The Bright Buddha smiled at that. “You’re usually so composed and unwilling to assume the worst of others. How is it that, when it comes to Chu Xingchen, you can’t say a single word suggesting he might be a good person?”

Wukong’s expression turned sour. “After being toyed with by him so many times, I’d be a fool not to learn my lesson. Though I really don’t understand you, Venerable Buddha.”

“If Chu Xingchen truly intended to sell us to the highest bidder, we would have been worth the most back in Xiniu Hezhou.” The Bright Buddha’s expression was calm, touched by remembrance. “If Chu Xingchen were truly the kind of person who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, the world would not look like this today.”

“The world has not descended into chaos because Chu Xingchen has restrained himself more than anyone.”

“By nature, he appears carefree and willing to disregard everything. Yet that does not prevent him from being the most self-restrained person of all.”

“Besides, some matters are things we ought to do for the sake of all living beings, regardless of whether Chu Xingchen asked us to.”

Wukong sighed at this. He gazed into the distance, where he could see lotus flowers beginning to bloom.

“I can never win an argument with you, Venerable Buddha.”

The Bright Buddha’s tone was as gentle as his smile. “Because you know in your heart that I’m right.”

The Bright Buddha stopped and gazed at the sprawling fishing villages ahead. He spoke softly.

“You’ll wait here. Unless something truly serious happens, do not activate the token given to us by the Tianyan Sect before I reveal my golden body.”

“I have cultivated my golden body to perfection, without the slightest flaw. Even if a Heavenly Demon were standing before me, it would not be able to see through my true identity so long as I do not use spiritual power.”

Wukong had been at the Bright Buddha’s side for a very long time. The title “Venerable Buddha” had long since come naturally from the depths of his heart. He had also devoted himself to cultivating the Mahayana Buddhist teachings and understood their profound mysteries even more clearly.

He neither objected nor offered another opinion. He simply bowed with great respect.

The Bright Buddha gently reached out and patted Wukong on the head.

“When causes and conditions converge, and karma turns full circle, I failed to stop the cause that was planted back then. Today, I should be the one to repay it.”

“My junior brother may appear ruthless in the way he acts, but what he does is filled with the deepest compassion. I may appear compassionate, yet I too have committed the most heartless deeds.”

“As his senior brother, I cannot simply throw every difficult problem onto his shoulders.”

“No matter how profound the Mahayana Buddhist teachings may be, one must personally put them into practice to seek the truth.”

“Only by doing so today can these teachings become truly real.”

Wukong said nothing more and bowed once again.

The Bright Buddha turned around. Dressed in a seemingly worn-out patchwork robe and straw sandals, with a rough wooden staff in hand, he began walking toward the continuous stretch of fishing villages along the outermost edge of Lotus Pond.

The water in Lotus Pond flowed from a branch of the great river. From there, each household diverted more streams to cultivate its own lotus plants.

Between the great rivers and waterways, fishing was naturally the villagers’ main livelihood.

Yellowed fishing nets hung high in the air to dry, while the women carefully mended them with shuttles in hand.

A gust of wind blew past, carrying the smell of fish throughout the village.

Most of the boats here were little more than narrow skiffs. Loaded with nets, they drifted outward, avoiding the lotus flowers as they headed toward the deeper waters.

The Bright Buddha walked neither quickly nor slowly, like a poor monk who had wandered here and was filled with curiosity about the place.

These fishing villages had no names of their own. The locals simply described their approximate homes as being upriver, downriver, or somewhere in the middle.

The villagers did not show the slightest sense of unfamiliarity or rejection when they saw the Bright Buddha. In fact, upon noticing his identity as a monk, their gazes seemed to grow even warmer. Those who saw him either nodded or pressed their palms together in greeting.

The Bright Buddha returned each greeting with a smile. After searching the village for a while, he discovered, tucked away in one corner, a temple that looked no different from an ordinary house.

Calling it a temple was not entirely accurate. The building had not been constructed according to the proper standards of a Buddhist temple.

Only a crooked sign hung above its single room, bearing the words: Great Hero Hall.

The Bright Buddha stood at the entrance and looked into the Great Hero Hall, whose doors had not been shut. Its interior was extremely simple. Several tables held small Buddha statues that all looked exactly alike.

These statues looked identical to those described in the information Chu Xingchen had provided. Even their dimensions were nearly the same.

It seemed they were high-quality Buddha statues transported from Xiniu Hezhou.

There were prayer mats inside, and several believers were quietly kowtowing. Yet there was no incense burner in sight.

Standing outside the doorway, the Bright Buddha could sense the exceptionally pure and abundant power of faith contained within those statues.

If he had not received the information beforehand, he might even have sighed in admiration. There were always monks in this world capable of seeing past outward appearances and seeking only sincerity within their hearts.

But if a Heavenly Demon truly was hiding among them, and was even manipulating that power of faith—

Then what he was witnessing today was terrifying indeed.

As a believer who had finished praying walked outside, he noticed the Bright Buddha. After hesitating for a moment, he approached and struck up a conversation.

“Master, you look like you’re from another village.”

“Yes. I just arrived.”

“Our fishing village is poor, and this temple has neither an attendant nor a resident monk. If you’re looking for a bowl of vegetarian food, you’re welcome to come to my home.”

The Bright Buddha looked at the believer’s somewhat sallow, emaciated face. After a moment’s thought, he smiled and replied:

“Thank you for your kindness, but an acquaintance has already invited me to a vegetarian meal today. I only saw that this temple was rather distinctive and wanted to have a look.”

“That’s good, then.” Relieved, the devotee smiled, bowed, and turned to leave.

The Bright Buddha withdrew his gaze and continued deeper into the sprawling fishing village.

There was hardly any delusion here.

Then… where could those with delusions be found?