That night, Kangxi went to bed early, probably because Shunzhi had finally agreed to return to the capital with him, and he slept soundly. Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince couldn't sleep. He was shocked by the news he'd heard that Xingchi wanted to return to the capital with his father. His conversation with Xingchi in the cave didn't reveal any intention of him returning with Kangxi.
"Fourth Prince! Fourth Prince! Fire!"
Just as the Fourth Master was about to fall asleep, a loud knocking sounded outside the meditation room.
"Who?" Fourth Master rolled over, immediately breaking out in a cold sweat. His first thought was that the escaped fugitive hadn't left the mountain temple but was hiding in the shadows, planning to set it on fire that night.
"It's me! There's a fire on the back mountain." Qin Gang sensed the anxiety in Fourth Master's voice and immediately explained.
"The back mountain, isn't that where Master Xingchi lives?" Fourth Master had already gotten out of bed, quickly put on his shoes, walked briskly to the door, pulled the latch, and opened the door.
Standing at the door was Qin Gang.
"Yes, it is Master Xingchi, who was supposed to go with the master. Alas! I don't know what happened, but a fire broke out. You should go and take a look. The master has already gone that way." Qin Gang was already completely convinced of Fourth Master's abilities, and he immediately thought of reporting to him whenever anything happened.
"Go!" Before he could finish speaking, Fourth Master rushed out and ran quickly towards the back mountain.
They had just left the meditation room when they saw a red light coming from the direction of the back mountain, and faintly heard shouts of "Fire! Fire!"
Fourth Master frowned, a bad feeling creeping into his heart.
When Fourth Master ran to the front of the temple on the back mountain, he saw that many monks had gathered there, and some were carrying buckets of water up and down the mountain to try to put out the fire. But Fourth Master looked at the fire and knew that it was impossible to extinguish it. All the temples around the back mountain were already on fire.
Emperor Kangxi, the Tenth Prince, the Fourteenth Prince, and the abbot all stood there silently watching the raging fire. Although many monks were trying to put out the fire, it was clear that they were not doing much good.
"How could it catch fire?" The abbot raised his hand to his chest and kept chanting Amitabha Buddha.
"Such a large fire can't be extinguished in a short time!" said the monk beside him.
The Fourth Prince silently walked to the abbot's side, glanced at Kangxi, and then asked, "Have Master Xingchi and the other senior monks who practiced with him come out yet?"
The host shook his head helplessly, glanced at Fourth Master a few times, and said, "This fire started suspiciously. I'm afraid Master Xingchi started it himself!"
Fourth Master was stunned on the spot, his heart filled with solemnity!
Kangxi stared at the raging fire, his hands trembling, and suddenly pointed angrily into the flames, shouting, "Go quickly and save Master Xingchi! Go now!"
The Tenth Prince, the Fourteenth Prince, and the guards were also somewhat frightened by the fire; it was impossible for anyone to get through such a blaze! They all wondered why Kangxi was so concerned about an old monk. Even if Xingchi was a highly accomplished monk, it seemed a bit strange to send his son into the fire to save people.
The Fourth Prince walked to Kangxi's side and said to him, "Father, don't worry, I'll go find Master Xingchi!"
After saying that, Fourth Master immediately ordered Qin Gang to bring a bucket of water and pour it over himself.
"Fourth Brother, are you really going in?" Fourteenth Brother looked worriedly at Fourth Master as he poured water on himself and was about to rush into the sea of fire. He quickly said, "Father Emperor is so concerned about an old monk for some reason. You can't risk your life just to please Father Emperor, can you?"
The Fourth Prince ignored him completely. Just as he was about to go in, Qin Gang ordered several guards to imitate the Fourth Prince and pour water on themselves.
"Fourth Prince!" Kangxi suddenly called out to the Fourth Prince, "The fire is so big, if you go in, you might not be able to come out!"
"The imperial ancestral law is inside, how can I not go in and look for it?" the Fourth Prince said with his back to Kangxi.
Upon hearing this, Kangxi's eyes welled up with tears. He felt guilty that Shunzhi had set himself on fire to avoid becoming a burden to him; if he hadn't forced Shunzhi to return to the capital during the day, perhaps he wouldn't have lit the fire. At the same time, he was moved by the fact that the Fourth Prince was willing to disregard everything to save his father.
"I'll go too!" Tenth Master was surprised when he heard what Fourth Master said.
"I'll go too!" Fourteenth Master also heard Fourth Master's words.
"You, you all must be careful. All of you go in and search, you must find Father Emperor!" Kangxi's voice was almost choked with sobs by the end.
The Fourth Prince, the Tenth Prince, and the Fourteenth Prince had never seen Emperor Kangxi cry before. Now that they saw him shedding tears, they all looked at him solemnly.
"Father, don't worry. Let's go!" the Fourth Prince shouted.
As they walked into the burning house, the abbot immediately ordered some monks to follow the example of the Fourth Master and pour water on themselves before rushing into the fire to search for the people inside.
"Amitabha!" The abbot silently chanted sutras for those who rushed into the fire to save people.
Looking at the night sky ablaze with crimson light, Kangxi inwardly berated himself. Coupled with his advanced age, he couldn't bear it any longer and fainted. Liang Jiugong, who was also quite old, was watching Kangxi closely. Seeing Kangxi about to collapse, he caught him.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Liang Jiugong cried out as he supported Kangxi.
The guards protecting Kangxi had already entered the fire, so no one came to help even after Liang Jiugong called out several times.
"Master, quick, save the Emperor!" Liang Jiugong hurriedly pleaded with the abbot for help.
The abbot had been quietly chanting scriptures to the side and hadn't noticed Kangxi's situation. When he heard Liang Jiugong call him, he quickly came over to take Kangxi's pulse.
Those trapped in the fire, risking burns at any moment, struggled to search for Xingchi's figure. But there wasn't a soul to be seen. Emperor Shunzhi had actually planned this all along; he had already made his decision when Emperor Kangxi expressed his fear that he might be used to blackmail the court.
Only by dying could he completely prevent those with ulterior motives from using him to blackmail the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, Xingchi chose self-immolation. He could finally be with Consort Dong'e forever.
Ultimately, two guards nearly perished in the fire, while the others emerged empty-handed. Xingchi, also known as the Shunzhi Emperor, and the three senior monks who protected him were reduced to ashes in the raging flames. He finally departed this world, though for fifty years he had never truly understood the things that had troubled him back then.
When Kangxi awoke, it was already late at night. The Fourth Prince and others had been keeping watch over him the whole time. When he learned that Xingchi had not been found, he remained silent for a long time before saying that he would observe a 49-day mourning period for Xingchi at Mount Wutai before leaving.
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