Chapter 12
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Chapter 12: Path to Heaven
Xu Daoyuan’s low murmur made Xu Yan’s heart sink.
“Master, do they really intend to use live sacrifices?”
“I’m afraid so… cough, cough, cough.”
“Isn’t the Taiqing Sect supposed to be the leader of the righteous path? How can they kill innocent people!”
“Leader of the righteous path?” A trace of reminiscence appeared in the old Taoist’s eyes, his gaze flickering as he said, “The Pu Kingdom has many righteous sects, but the title of ‘leader’ is merely one faction’s claim. If we truly discuss the leader of the righteous path in the Great Pu, the Taiqing Sect still falls short. And who told you that righteous people never wrongfully kill the innocent?”
Seeing the confusion in Xu Yan’s eyes, the old Taoist smiled lightly and said, “All the world’s a hustle and bustle, all for profit. Foolish child, foolish child…”
Xu Yan understood Xu Daoyuan’s words, but he couldn’t comprehend them. For the sake of a trick like the Mountain God’s anger, would they really kill two living people?
‘How can they call themselves Taoists while planning to murder innocent children?’ he thought with growing horror.
Outside the courtyard wall, drums and gongs resounded, creating a commotion.
Hearing the noise, Xu Yan ran out to look. He saw dozens of Taiqing Sect Taoists who had been staying at Chengyun Temple leaving. Each wore a Taoist robe and carried a peach wood sword, driving large carts. They sprinkled holy water or paper talismans while loudly chanting, “Virtue and morality lead to profound tranquility, true constancy guards the great purity.” The scene was grand and magnificent, and they were heading toward the square at the center of the town.
The auspicious time had arrived, and the grand ceremony was about to begin.
The square in Linshan Town was already filled with people. News of the Mountain God’s anger had spread like a storm, growing more intense with each telling. The townspeople, who only knew about living their daily lives, were all terrified. Last year’s crops had been half destroyed by locusts. If another disaster struck this year, people would surely die.
Food is the people’s heaven. The townspeople didn’t expect peace throughout the land or for their descendants to achieve fame and fortune. Their only hope was to have enough to eat.
The whispering crowd grew quiet when the Taoists arrived. Before long, the square was swept clean, and then altars and offering tables were set up. On the side leading to East Street, a strange platform was built with withered branches and wood. It was said to be called the “Path to Heaven,” though its purpose was unknown.
In the crowd, Xu Daoyuan, supported by Xu Yan, also came to the front. In the distance, Old Master Cheng was prominently present, though his face was as gloomy as water. Beside him were his granddaughter Cheng Lin Wan and two servants.
After the altar in the square was built, the scarred-faced Taoist at the lead waved his whisk and proclaimed loudly, “Virtue and morality lead to profound tranquility, true constancy guards the great purity. Linshan Town faces imminent disaster. To maintain peace in this area, we willingly enter the mortal world to calm heaven’s anger and soothe people’s resentment. Mercy, mercy.”
As soon as the scarred-faced Taoist finished speaking, two people behind him simultaneously lifted paper talismans with their peach wood swords. The talismans burst into flames without fire, and the fluttering sparks inspired awe in the onlookers. They were then used as fire sources to light three tall incense sticks on the offering table.
“The time has come!” the scarred-faced Taoist suddenly shouted. “To quell the Mountain God’s anger, donate wealth to preserve peace.”
At this point, several Taoists began driving large carts around the square. Whenever they stopped in front of a townsperson, they would say, “To quell the Mountain God’s anger, donate wealth to preserve peace.” The implication was clear: “If you don’t donate, you’ll surely face disaster this year.”
Fear of the deities caused people to bring out their valuables. Poor families gritted their teeth and threw strings of copper coins onto the cart. Wealthy households didn’t dare to be negligent, mostly offering pure silver. Some who were so poor they could barely feed themselves, having no money, even offered broken bowls and rakes.
The cart circled three times. The originally empty cart bed was now piled high with wealth and goods, returning fully loaded.
After glancing at the collected valuables, the scarred-faced Taoist waved his whisk again. The thirty-six Taoists behind him immediately sat cross-legged in fixed positions, murmuring incantations. From a distance, they looked solemn and dignified, with an otherworldly aura. However, what followed began to inspire fear.
“Bring forth the children!”
With another shout from the scarred-faced Taoist, two half-grown children were pushed out from the crowd. The boy was less than ten years old, dressed in tattered clothes—a beggar from the town. The other, a girl, was thin and frail. Her clothes were obviously too big for her, and her already sallow face had turned deathly pale, her eyes full of terror.
“Xiaohua!”
In the crowd, Xu Yan opened his mouth, while Tiezhu and some other half-grown children all cried out in surprise.
They all recognized the two children pushed onto the square. The boy was a simple-minded beggar who had drifted to Linshan Town from a surrounding mountain village. The girl was Xiaohua, who had gone into the mountains with them.
In the commotion, the little beggar was confused, only drooling and smiling foolishly. Xiaohua, however, vaguely sensed her fate and began to cry loudly.
“Father, Mother! I don’t want to be a child sacrifice. I want to go home, wuwuwuwu!”
When Xiaohua cried out like this, someone in the crowd couldn’t help saying, “After being sacrificed to the Mountain God, the boy and girl probably won’t survive. Xiaohua is such a sensible girl…”
“Shh! Keep your voice down. It’s none of your business. Her parents haven’t said anything. If we anger the Mountain God, everyone in town will starve to death!”
“That little beggar has been drifting around here for years. If not for everyone’s charity, he would have starved to death long ago. It’s only right that he should ward off disaster for us now.”
“I heard Xiaohua was sold by her family. When they couldn’t find a girl, the Zhang household paid ten taels of silver.”
“Her family was poor to begin with, with older brothers and sisters. Losing one child doesn’t matter much…”
The rumors spread, and when they reached Xu Yan’s ears, they sounded like ghost wails and wolf howls. He had seen ghosts, demons, and even the Black and White Impermanence, but this was the first time in his life he had encountered something even more treacherous.
The human heart!
‘Monsters and demons are predictable,’ he realized with a chill, ‘but human cruelty knows no bounds.’
Xu Daoyuan’s gaze gradually shifted from the square to his side. Seeing his disciple’s increasingly ashen face, the old Taoist smiled silently.
Over the years, apart from stone-throwing skills and some medical knowledge, Xu Daoyuan hadn’t taught Xu Yan much. It wasn’t that he couldn’t, but that he didn’t want to. Now, at the end of his life, he should teach his disciple one final lesson—something he had only fully realized after a lifetime of experience.
Whoosh!
On the east side of the square, towering flames suddenly rose. The strange platform built of withered branches and wood caught fire, lit by a Taoist who had previously doused it with oil.
Once the strange platform began to burn, it looked like a flaming pathway. So this was the so-called “Path to Heaven”—a path of flames leading to death.
As the flames rose, Xiaohua’s cries grew louder. She struggled to escape but was held firmly by two tall, strong Taoists who pushed her toward the sea of fire.
The task of the boy and girl was to walk across the Path to Heaven to comfort the spirits and appease the Mountain God’s anger. But everyone knew that, let alone walking across, once pushed into the sea of fire, the two children would be burned to death instantly!
“Playing with supernatural tricks!”
From the crowd came an old man’s shout. Old Master Cheng, who had been watching all this, finally spoke up.
“Disrespectful! Silence!” On the altar, the scarred-faced Taoist’s expression darkened, a fierce light flashing in his eyes.
“The Taiqing Sect’s doctrine: ‘Virtue and morality lead to profound tranquility, true constancy guards the great purity.’ Where is your virtue? What are you guarding?” Cheng Yu’s hair and beard stood on end, his hands trembling with anger. He shouted, “Why does this old man only see a pack of beasts gnawing on human flesh and crunching human bones!”
Faced with the old man’s shout, the scarred-faced Taoist’s expression grew darker. He gave a slight nod toward the crowd, and immediately several unfriendly-looking strangers began to approach Cheng Yu. Of the Taiqing Sect members who had arrived in Linshan Town, only half were staying at Chengyun Temple. The other half had mingled with the townspeople, precisely to handle such unexpected situations.
“Virtue is in my heart, guarding is all around.” The scarred-faced Taoist smiled faintly and said, “Old man, you only see the children crossing the Path to Heaven and grieve for their suffering. Have you ever seen Linshan Town months later, with locusts swarming and corpses everywhere? You are truly shortsighted.”
A generation’s prime minister, called shortsighted—Cheng Yu felt a tightness in his chest and immediately fell backward. If not for his servants quickly supporting him, the old man would surely have fallen.
Since he could become prime minister, his tolerance was certainly not so limited. Cheng Yu wasn’t angered by the insult; rather, someone had just squeezed past him, appearing to be a spectator, but actually, as they passed by Cheng Yu, they secretly punched the old man in the chest.
“Grandfather!”
Cheng Lin Wan was greatly alarmed and quickly rushed forward. Fortunately, although the old man was a scholar, he was not without strength. His body was extremely robust, and taking a punch didn’t cause serious harm. Cheng Yu looked at his granddaughter, and after being helped up by his servants, he spoke no more.
With the old man’s experience, he could already see that many unfamiliar faces had gathered around him. All were burly men with bulging clothes that surely concealed weapons. Cheng Yu was over sixty years old. He wasn’t afraid of death, but his granddaughter was right before him, and in this situation, he was powerless.
‘If anything happens to my granddaughter because of me…’ The thought was too painful to complete.
He had not yet returned to the capital and was still a commoner. This was Cheng Yu’s dilemma. If he had resumed his official position, not only would these petty villains before him, but even the Imperial Preceptor of the Taiqing Sect would have to show him respect.
The times make heroes, and the times can also trap heroes.
Seeing that her grandfather was unharmed, Cheng Lin Wan, who had been holding back a belly full of anger, finally found a target to vent her frustration. She angrily pushed through the crowd and came directly to Xu Yan.
