Chapter 87 The Lin Family Cannot Live
After saying this, Li Jing led his men away from the area.
He ordered his men to bring torches and commanded, "Burn both of these palaces down, leaving not a single ash."
Stepping outside, Li Jing's demeanor had completely changed; the furious rage he displayed inside the temple was gone. His calm expression sent a chill down the spine of his accompanying official. However, this official was Li Jing's confidant, and no one could rise to such a position without considerable influence. Hearing Li Jing's threat to burn down the temple, the official felt a pang of apprehension. After all, it involved deities, and the demon statues within seemed incredibly realistic. Temples were considered the residences of gods and Buddhas; he feared he might face retribution.
Li Jing noticed his hesitation and added emotionlessly, "You can divide the molten gold among yourselves."
The golden statue was made of pure gold, and there must have been a lot of gold melted down. The officer immediately lost all his worries and led his men to set the luxurious temple on fire.
Flames licked upwards along the wooden structure, engulfing all the incense and candlelight. The outer flames blazed skyward, as if even the clouds had been scorched. All the wisps of smoke converged into a single eye, gazing downwards faintly. The building began to collapse in the firelight. Having achieved his goal, Li Jing turned and left.
He left, but the words he had just spoken remained in the temple.
Nezha's spirit remained silently in place, repeating as if he hadn't recovered from the shock: "What does it mean to sacrifice the people of the Lin family?"
Immediately afterward, a golden light shone down from the sky. A pure white whisk appeared out of nowhere, and the flames on the roof beams all moved aside on their own. It pierced through the roof and entered the temple, enveloping Nezha's soul. Thanks to the considerable incense offerings received recently, Nezha was able to vaguely materialize. He remained within the whisk, reaching out to grasp the long whisk's whisk, saying, "Master, I want to leave this place!"
"You don't even have a body yet, where do you think you're going?" Taiyi Zhenren's voice drifted from afar, intruding into Nezha's ears. His whisk retracted, carrying him towards the Golden Light Cave. Hearing his master bring it up, Nezha rattled off Li Jing's accusations: "Master, I was peacefully helping the people and displaying my divine power here, and Li Jing, for some unknown reason, came and smashed my golden statue and destroyed my temple. You should know that my body and flesh have long since returned to my parents; I am now a stranger to them."
Master Taiyi nodded repeatedly, saying, "You've severed all ties with him, yet he's relentlessly pursuing you. Li Jing is indeed in the wrong. Your master received the news, so he came to help you."
Nezha protested: "But I still need to go and save Pingyu and the others. I hope Master will have mercy on me."
"With matters of national importance at hand, how can you still be preoccupied with personal feelings?" Many heroes throughout history have been troubled by love, and even the Immortal Taiyi showed more affection than helplessness towards his young disciple. He bluntly pointed out, "Nezha, why don't you think about why Li Jing had to say such a thing to you before destroying your golden body!"
Nezha always listened to his master, and at this moment he gradually calmed down.
Li Jing needed no other reason to destroy his golden body; after all, he had intended to kill him with a single blow at birth. For the past six months, Nezha had been at Cuiping Mountain, frequently flying around to help people exorcise evil spirits and build up his prestige. Therefore, although he hadn't deliberately inquired about recent events, rumors about the Li family still inevitably reached his ears.
For example, Li Jing went to guard the pass, and then he returned after completing his mission.
Between Chaoge and Chentang Pass lies Cuiping Mountain, a route Nezha knew Li Jing would inevitably take. Over the past six months, he had amassed considerable popularity as a minor deity, knowing he would be drawn to Li Jing upon his return. Nezha simply couldn't understand why, even after their relationship had severed ties, Li Jing was still unwilling to let go of their past ties. Upon reflection, he realized that Li Jing had called him a demon and a wicked creature while he was alive, and naturally wouldn't allow him to be revered and worshipped by thousands after his death.
The primary motivation was likely the destruction of the temple, with the abusive message being secondary.
only......
Nezha found it strange: Li Jing knew that he and Ping Yu had a good relationship, yet he deliberately revealed this information. Did he want Nezha to save people?
If you want him to save people, you can talk to him nicely. Why make it a matter of life and death?
Or perhaps he doesn't want to take the risk and wants to use this dead man to accomplish his goal?
The brainstorming session subsided the moment a conclusion was reached, replaced by a sharp look of shock and anger in Nezha's eyes: "Master, your disciple understands."
Taiyi Zhenren asked, "What do you understand?"
The boy said slowly and deliberately, "He wants his apprentice to take over for him."
"He didn't want to harm his friend himself, nor was he willing to admit his own incompetence, so he could only shift all the blame onto his disciple. His actions in destroying the temple were so drastic that the worshippers would surely tell their families about what happened that day. This would solidify his disciple's identity as a demon, and after rescuing the Lin family, he could say that human sacrifices were taken by a demon. If his disciple failed, he could also tell the Lin family that his disciple failed and that he had no choice..."
Taiyi was very satisfied to see that his disciple had sorted things out on his own.
He asked again, "Even so, are you still going?"
Li Jing set off from Cuiping Mountain today, while Ping Yu had already embarked on his journey there this morning. The fact that the Taoist priest left to fetch Li Jing at the last minute proves that Ping Yu is definitely capable of surviving this ordeal.
Nezha finally understood the meaning of the Taoist's note:
Pingyu brought the snack recipes from the future here, and the Lin family, with their keen business sense, will surely put these snacks on the shelves for sale.
In any case, the Lin family's pastries would be sent to the palace because of their unparalleled deliciousness.
He won the king's favor, but was sentenced to death by a few words from a wicked concubine.
The only variable is that Pingyu chose to befriend Nezha, so the Lin family will send Pingyu away on the eve of his death.
“No wonder there was no death aura on her forehead.” As various signs of the past surfaced in his mind, Nezha muttered to himself, “So it all came together on my uncle and aunt.”
Pingyu's fate was resolved the moment she met Nezha, leaving only the Lin family struggling on the edge of life and death.
Nezha cared about Pingyu; he knew Pingyu would be devastated if he learned of his parents' deaths. Without much hesitation, Nezha concluded, "Master, I still want to..."
"Nezha".
At this moment, the whisk was fully drawn back. Looking around, the burned-down palace on Cuiping Mountain was no longer visible; only the golden inscription of the Golden Light Cave remained. The door in front of the boy was tightly closed, and the voice of Taiyi Zhenren, no longer ethereal, came clearly from behind it. The immortal interrupted Nezha at the opportune moment: "She, like you, is destined to become an immortal. Tell your master your answer after you've thought it through."
A person destined by fate.
She wants to become an immortal.
In a flash, these words extinguished Nezha's eagerness to save people.
In silence, he gave his final answer to the door: "Master, your disciple will not go."
Whether this choice was correct or not, Taiyi Zhenren did not say explicitly.
With a flick of his sleeve, the door to the Golden Light Cave opened.
Behind the door, the immortal looked down at him with a smile from his high position. The Great Immortal Taiyi had a kind face, showing none of the air one would expect of someone who could decide the life or death of mortals with a few words.
Nezha walked to the front and obediently knelt down.
The immortal stood up and said to Nezha, "If a physical body is not suitable, your master will give you another body."
Having given his answer that he wouldn't save the Lin family, Nezha was dejected and listless. However, he didn't show it to his master and forced a smile, asking, "What body?"
"Do you still remember the lotus pond of your master?" Seeing that he was not in good condition, Taiyi Zhenren said, "That pond water draws on the essence of heaven and earth, which can nourish the souls of all things and enable them to cultivate internally. Demon souls can increase their cultivation by immersing themselves in it, and lonely souls can cultivate into ghost immortals. Today, your master will use the lotus flowers in this Five Lotus Pond to shape your body."
After saying that, he called to the Golden Cloud Boy: "Go and pick two lotus flowers and three lotus leaves from the Five Lotus Pond."
Jinxia was sent away, leaving Nezha to think in this short time.
"The lotus pond can nourish the soul," Master said intentionally to him! Nezha immediately cheered, and the gloom on his face dissipated. Seeing the smile return to his little disciple's handsome face, Taiyi Zhenren also smiled. But the next second, he heard Nezha call out to him again: "Master, Master, your disciple has another request!"
"What is it?"
Taiyi was puzzled: The Lin family's matter has been resolved, so could he have gotten himself into other trouble?
Nezha said earnestly, "When Master helps me sculpt a lotus flower and lotus leaf body, could you please keep my beauty intact and also sculpt a boy... or young man?"
Lotus leaf bodies don't grow like flesh and blood. What if he's reborn as a child? That would be terrible! Nezha needed to plan ahead. Taiyi Zhenren was taken aback, but he quickly understood Nezha's meaning.
This tiny kid has quite a mind! He laughed in exasperation, waving him away as if he were annoyed: "Go, go, go soak in the Five Lotus Pond, don't bother your master's preparations!"
Nezha knew that his master had agreed, so he ran away in a flash.
Meanwhile, Pingyu had already passed the halfway point on his way to Cuiping Mountain.
She passed a procession of carriages, looking quite imposing. Hearing that the army from Chaoge was not to be trifled with, Pingyu instructed her driver to give way. The two groups passed each other without causing any trouble.
Apart from the sound of the wheels rolling over stones, the car was eerily quiet while driving.
Isn't Cuiping Mountain supposed to be bustling with pilgrims? Why is it so quiet here!
Pingyu felt uneasy and peeked out, only to find no one on the road.
She crawled back into the carriage, thinking: Could it be that Li Jing has already come?
Could that imposing entourage from earlier be the escort for Li Jing? Should I still go to Cuiping Mountain? What if I go and find nothing there? These conflicting thoughts clashed within Pingyu's mind, leaving him unable to make up his mind. Just then, the carriage stopped. Pingyu heard the coachman's fierce voice coming from the front:
"Where did this beggar come from? Get out of the way!"
The coachman seemed even angrier, and he said in a harsh voice, "I've seen plenty of beggars like you, all trying to curry favor with me because of my young lady's kind heart. My young lady always carries a purse with her when she goes out to give money to beggars; the number of people who have benefited from her kindness is as numerous as weeds. If she were to see every single person who came, wouldn't it never end?"
A beggar who came to see me?
A disheveled figure flashed before Pingyu's eyes. Unable to hear clearly inside the carriage, she climbed out again. Looking ahead, she could see a greasy figure riding a donkey, confronting the tall coachman.
"Who said I came here to curry favor because I received a favor?"
The beggar said.
"What else would you be here for?" the coachman laughed at him.
The man wasn't angered by the insults; he just smiled and said, "Perhaps your young lady has come to ask me for a favor?"
Author's Note: There's a reason why the Lin family couldn't be saved, which will be revealed later! No angst!
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