Chapter 87

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A connection of hearts.

In the room on the second floor, the toad opened its eyes and said, “What a bold little demon!” At that moment, Nie Honglian emerged from the scroll on the opposite wall, sensing something amiss as well.

“Master Toad, what happened? I feel like something’s wrong with the Young Master…”

Smack.

The webbed feet hit the floor as the Toad Daoist pattered over to the bookshelf. It pulled out a black-patterned gourd and slung it over its back, its expression grave as it waved a frog’s flipper toward the female ghost.

“With this old one here, I will ensure that foolish disciple comes to no harm. You, go wake up that little Daoist in the next room!”

Nie Honglian nodded, turned, and disappeared into the painting. A moment later, she floated out again, embarrassed, sticking out her tongue.

“In my haste, I went the wrong way…”

She then passed through the wall beside her, directly crossing the curtains pressed against it. Floating over to the sleeping Daoist, she blew a gust of cold breath at him.

“Daoist Sun, wake up! Something seems to have happened to the Young Master.”

The bed trembled slightly. Sun Yingxian, clutching a wooden pillow, casually brushed away the eerie wind with a flick of his sleeve, his face rubbing against the pillow as he muttered:

“Jingqiu… sniff sniff… hehe…”

Nie Honglian spat at him and floated back into the room. Avoiding the sunlight streaming in through the window lattice, she controlled a basin of water from the shelf, turned, and flung it onto the bed.

Splash!

The Daoist shot upright, yelling, “Jingqiu, so much water… water…!” As he woke up, he wiped the water from his face.

“Ah… where did this water come from?”

His eyes suddenly landed on Nie Honglian. Shrinking back toward the inside of the bed, he instinctively shouted: “What are you doing in my room?!”

Nie Honglian, uninterested in teasing him, said curtly,

“Master Toad is waiting for you in the next room. Something seems to have happened to the Young Master.”

Sun Yingxian froze for a moment before hastily grabbing the yellow silk pouch on the table. He opened the door and dashed to the next room, where he saw the Toad Daoist standing solemnly on the round table. Without hesitation, he asked:

“Lu Liangsheng ran into a demon? Could it be that fox demon from last time coming back for trouble?”

“I’m not sure, but I can feel something has happened to him.”

The toad kept one thing to itself—when it had planted the demon cultivation mark on Lu Liangsheng back then, it had left a connection with him. If the mark suddenly intertwined with another strong demonic aura, it would naturally sense it.

The Daoist pondered for a moment before pulling out the Demon-Subduing Mirror. He bit his forefinger and let a drop of blood fall onto the mirror’s surface, chanting under his breath.

“Open!”

The drop of crimson spread out, and a strand of green qi emerged from the mirror, floating out of the room. Sun Yingxian quickly followed after it.

From the table, the Toad Daoist shouted in anger: “Come back! You’ve forgotten this old one!”

The figure rushing out of the room turned back, grabbed the toad in one swift motion—squeezing it so tightly its bulging eyes almost popped out—then dashed down the stairs in a hurry. Bursting onto the street, he sprinted at full speed in the direction the green qi was leading.

The sunlight slanted across the sky, and the western clouds glowed a deep crimson.

In the distance, a procession chanting scriptures stretched across the crimson horizon. Petals floated down onto the canopy of a sedan chair. Through the curtains, Lu Liangsheng observed the scene. The procession had already left the city by this point.

No one from the group had approached him or said a word along the way. They simply chanted as they moved forward. Though their pace seemed slow, in the blink of an eye, they had reached the outskirts.

It must have been a spell similar to Shrinking the Earth to Inches.

Lu Liangsheng’s expression remained calm, but inwardly, his thoughts were in turmoil. It wasn’t because of the status of Protector of the Nation or the demon’s identity, but rather the cryptic phrase from earlier: “A fated person.”

No matter what, those three words lingered in his mind, puzzling him. Now, he was finally close to unraveling their meaning.

The sedan chair swayed gently. The scholar pressed his hands on his knees, his breathing steady. He stopped his train of thought—after all, he couldn’t let himself appear weak to the other party.

Yes, act tougher.

Before long, the procession stopped in a forest. Outside the curtains, he saw the black-veiled woman with a high hat approach respectfully.

“Young Master Lu, we’ve arrived. The Venerable Master is waiting ahead. Please follow me.”

Lu Liangsheng lifted the curtain and stepped out. Without glancing at the long procession behind him, he rolled up his sleeves and gestured politely.

“Miss, please lead the way.”

Having come to terms with the situation, the scholar embraced it with ease. As if greeting someone on an ordinary day, he adopted a relaxed and composed manner, exuding the graceful air of a refined gentleman. Following the black-veiled woman, he walked toward one side of the forest.

The forest was eerily quiet, devoid of even a single bird’s chirp. The only sound was the rustling of fallen leaves beneath Lu Liangsheng’s feet. His eyes scanned the surroundings, observing the thin mist rising among the trees.

Unable to hold back, he spoke.

“Where is the Venerable Master?”

The woman didn’t turn her head and continued walking straight ahead.

“The Venerable is just up ahead.”

After another hundred steps or so, they reached the edge of the forest. The view opened up before Lu Liangsheng, revealing a scene of activity. A patch of wasteland had been cleared, and numerous strong laborers were hauling stones and bricks, constructing what appeared to be a circular altar-like structure.

Only the gateway had been partially completed, with long, white stone steps ascending straight up. At the center of the steps was a flat area paved with white stones, bearing large engraved characters painted in red lacquer.

Standing at the edge of the forest, the scholar softly read the inscription aloud.

“Pudu Cihang (Universal Salvation and Merciful Guidance).”

“Immortals and Buddhas regard the mortal world as a sea of suffering. With compassion, they rescue all beings, guiding them to escape the sea of life and death, as though ferrying people with a boat. Blessed are they! Blessed are they!”

A woman’s Buddhist chant suddenly rang out. The forest exploded with the flurry of startled birds, their wings beating as they fled into the sky.

Lu Liangsheng turned his head. Several paces away, a group of women in kasayas had appeared at some point. They stood guarding a lotus-patterned sedan chair with a crane-shaped head.

Within the long draped curtains of the sedan, a slender figure sat upright, forming the Fearless Mudra. The figure nodded slightly toward the scholar.

“Young Master Lu, we meet again.”

Nearby, someone brought a chair and placed it opposite the sedan chair.

Lu Liangsheng nodded to the woman, stepped forward, and cupped his hands in salute. He figured there was no harm in being overly courteous. Since the other party had the title of Venerable Master, their cultivation must far surpass his. A bit of caution wouldn’t hurt.

From across, the figure within the curtains remained motionless.

“Young Master Lu, please sit.”

“Thank you, Venerable Master, for the honor of this seat.”

Lu Liangsheng lowered his hands, seated himself about seven or eight steps away from the sedan chair, and adjusted his robes as he sat down. A faint scent of sandalwood wafted into his nostrils. He recalled his master mentioning that certain demons, though lacking proper divine sanction, could still receive worship through alternative methods.

This Venerable Master, it seemed, must possess even more remarkable means.

At this moment, he carefully observed the figure behind the drapes. Unfortunately, it was hard to discern clearly. There was an indistinct aura of tranquility emanating from the figure, sharply contrasting with the demonic energy exuding from the attendants flanking either side.

The silence lingered briefly before Lu Liangsheng broke it, his expression sincere as he cupped his hands and spoke.

“Venerable master, you summoned me here by sedan chair. May I ask the reason for this invitation? Furthermore, might I have the honor of knowing your esteemed name?”

“This Venerable Master has no taboo name. Didn’t I already share the essence of it in that Buddhist verse earlier? Immortals and Buddhas regard the mortal world as a sea of suffering. With compassion, they rescue all beings, guiding them to escape the sea of life and death…”

The drapes fluttered lightly in the breeze as the frail figure within offered a Buddhist salute.

“The world is mired in suffering, and the masses are trapped in great calamities. This Venerable Master, by dedicating oneself to Buddha, aims to ferry all beings across the sea of suffering and deliver them to the blissful Pure Land of the other shore.”

“…Thus, I am called Pudu Cihang (Deliverance and Compassion).”

The words came to an end, leaving the forest swaying gently, the sound of rustling leaves filling the air.