Chapter 146 Formless (Part Two) He will make her pay the price. ...
Spider silk hanging from the rocks formed a dark curtain, swaying eerily in the wind created by Feng Tan's departing stride. In the dim light, various forms of Dharma were hidden in darkness, only to brighten again faintly as Yun Wu approached carrying a glass lamp.
Yun Wu arrived silently, clearly having overheard their conversation in the dark hall. He said earnestly, "If you still insist on her... the karmic fire will eventually backfire."
Wuxiang stood in the thick, glue-like darkness. The Sanskrit tattoo that covered his entire back like some kind of curse gradually faded away. Then, bluish-gray patterns emerged on his spine like living things, winding down along his spine. Wherever they passed, his skin turned golden-red, as if lava was surging beneath his flesh.
In the few breaths it took for Monk Yunwu to arrive, the patterns on his skin had already outlined the graceful silhouette of a phoenix, its tail feathers like burning silk spreading from the man's tailbone. Each feather seemed to be naturally imprinted on his skin from within. As the flame patterns climbed up his shoulders, the phoenix's beak suddenly opened, and two points of eerie green light shone from deep within the man's back, as if the phoenix had opened its long-dormant eyes.
Wuxiang's already dark eyes became even more profound, intertwining with the rekindled phoenix totem behind him, creating an extremely eerie atmosphere in the decaying hall.
Yun Wu walked up to Wu Xiang and stopped, saying again, "The karmic fire will eventually backfire."
Wu Xiang said, "Monk, I have died once, and the karmic fire has already backfired."
Knowing his stubbornness, the monk Yunwu, having tried to persuade him repeatedly to no avail, stopped trying. His prayer beads rippled gently as he said, “You have cultivated for three years, yet Buddhist principles have not entered your eyes… Very well. Breaking free from attachment is difficult enough, let alone the karmic entanglement between you and her spanning nine lifetimes. The Buddhist path does not save those without affinity. All beings have different capacities and different karmic connections. Since you have decided to return to secular life, this old monk will not stop you. The Buddhist path is vast, it will not abandon a single being; on the path to enlightenment, one is free to come and go.”
According to the Vinaya Pitaka, the ritual of returning to secular life is not complicated. It only requires taking off the robe, removing the monastic garments, and returning to secular clothes.
Wu Xiang had just seduced Feng Tan and had already taken off his kasaya. Yun Wu picked it up, dusted off the dust, and gently cut a sash from the kasaya with small silver scissors.
This sash is called the "Field of Blessing Belt," symbolizing that monks receive offerings from all directions and bear the responsibility of propagating the Dharma and benefiting all beings. If the sash breaks, it signifies that the owner will no longer convert to Buddhism.
Yun Wu left with the glass lamp in his hand, while Xiao Yinshi stood alone in the dark hall without moving. After a while, he chuckled softly, his sinister manner as sinister as a living Yama.
Yun Wu converted to Buddhism, but with his sins so many, how could he possibly be accepted into the Buddhist order? His absence from the shadows for the past three years was simply because the time wasn't right.
Three years ago, when he coerced Feng Tan into joining the system, he didn't simply remain inactive as he promised. Producing a sniper rifle to incite various factions to fight over it was merely a pretext; his true purpose never surfaced.
The powerful stellar energy caused the system to activate, freezing all other beings in that instant, except for the beings within the system whose time continued to flow. As he stood before the now grayish-white illusory image of 'Xiao Yinshi,' looking at the imperial tutor's image that had been obliterated by Feng Tan, a plan instantly formed in his mind.
During the period when he made a new deal with the system, Feng Tan's time was also frozen.
Rewinding to three years ago, he stood in front of the control panel, his finger about to touch the start button, when a system notification sounded: The host has requested to unbind from the character. Do you want to start again?
Two options appear on the control panel.
[Please confirm your action again. Do you want to bind your relationship with Xiao Yinshi as the Imperial Tutor?]
【whether】
The moment Feng Tan grasped his arm, time seemed to stand still.
Feng Tan is the host of the subsystem, while the main system has its own independent consciousness. It executes every step according to the data-driven settings. The subsystem host forcibly shut down the role of the Imperial Tutor, but the pace of reform is not hindered by any emotional relationship.
Knowing that the person embodying the role of Imperial Tutor was currently within the system, it reopened a channel on the system control panel: [Power relations can be reversed and flowed. Abandon the imperial throne, become the Imperial Tutor, and achieve a plan to defend women's rights. The system can reopen the reincarnation channel for you.]
Feng Tan is too wild, and Xiao Yinshi's character cannot keep her by his side, so why not take another path?
Xiao Yinshi touched the control panel and clicked "Yes".
A warning message appeared on the system panel:
[System energy is about to run out. If you can successfully assist the host in the modification, the system will continue to open the reincarnation channel for you. If you cannot, the host will be forced to be eliminated, and the reincarnation channel will be permanently closed.]
Xiao Yinshi's expression remained calm and unchanged. Even after making a deal with the system and facing Feng Tan, who was moving through time again, she couldn't discern any clues.
However, Feng Tan, with his years of experience investigating cases, was keen and alert. He questioned Xiao Yin twice afterward, asking, "What else did you do in the system?"
He traded a lifetime of submission for a future reunion in every reincarnation, where he would make her pay the price with each rebirth. The blessings Xiao Yinshi had secured for himself were too considerable for him to tell her.
So later, he plotted to kill Feng Tingxiao and left control of the Luosha Army to Feng Tan, helping her to launch a massive attack and return to Dahuang. All the officials were helpless against her first step in reforming the system.
Xiao Yinshi stepped out of the dark hall and stood at the foot of the jade steps. The moonlight slanted through the darkness, casting a thin streak of light on the jade bricks, but it just happened to avoid the spot where Xiao Yinshi was standing. He was completely hidden outside the streak of light, as if he had been deliberately avoided by the light.
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze passing over his lowered brows and eyelashes, and looked at the ancient Buddha before the steps. The Buddha's head was half missing, the gold paint had peeled off completely, leaving only the gray stone body, but the eyes and brows still showed compassion.
A dark figure landed silently behind him and said, "Master."
“Zhu Qi,” Xiao Yinshi’s gaze remained fixed on the broken Buddha, his eyes reflecting no light, only a bottomless silence, “After the death of the Imperial Concubine, the various forces in the court will inevitably be reshuffled. I will take advantage of this to rise to power and once again sit on the throne as the most powerful minister of Dahuang.”
In the future, amidst the ups and downs of officialdom and the struggles for power, he will help her achieve her wishes.
The ever-burning lamps before the Buddha were filled with incense ash and dead moths, making the gilded Bodhisattva seem as if he were about to drown in the river of incense smoke.
***
A musty smell mixed with the stench of blood seeped from the cracks in the brickwork. Mu Qingling huddled in the pile of straw, her nails digging deep into her palms. A few rays of light leaked in through the small skylight above, casting crisscrossing shadows of iron bars on the wall, like countless twisted hands reaching out to grab her.
The sound of dragging chains came from the opposite and next cell, and the lewd laughter and teasing of men pierced the damp air. "Look at this palace dress, the young lady must be from the palace. She has fair skin and tender flesh and is quite pretty. It's a pity that she's wasting her time in this filthy place. When the jailer comes to check again, why not spread her legs and let him have some fun? Once she's inside, everything will be easier!"
"Hey buddy, what are you saying? All the young ladies from the palace are very aloof. Besides, didn't you hear the jailer say that this one is the Imperial Concubine's confidante?"
"The Imperial Concubine committed such a treasonous act as stealing the Imperial Seal at Yongle Temple. The implications are enormous. Who in the entire court would dare to defend the Imperial Concubine? Even if she is the Imperial Concubine's confidante, what difference does it make? She still deserves to die!"
Their words were crystal clear. Mu Qingling bit her lower lip and buried her face in her skirt. Three months ago, she was suddenly attacked by a masked person and remained unconscious for three months. When she woke up again, she was thrown into a prison cell.
She knew nothing about what happened during that time. They said she was the first to confess everything the Consort had done. What did she confess to?!
"Bang!" The heavy iron door was pushed open, and a group of people carrying lanterns entered, their light instantly illuminating the entire cell.
Mu Qingling narrowed her eyes and saw a white-skirted figure step across the threshold, the jade pendant with two fish at her waist swaying. Looking further up, she saw sharp, imposing eyes—it was Yun Jingxun, the Palace Attendant.
Yun Jingxun gestured for Mu Qingling to look at the torture instruments she had brought behind her; these were instruments that inflicted excruciating pain. Mu Qingling was horrified, and her previously resolute refusal to confess began to waver.
“Tell the truth, and I may spare the lives of your family…” Yun Jingxun’s words were laced with sarcasm, his voice as cold as ice. If anyone dared to lie, “your entire Mu family will be exterminated.”
Mu Qingling was so frightened that she fell to the ground on the withered grass, tears of fear rolling down her cheeks. Her whole body was cold, and her lips trembled as she said, "Aunt Yun, I... please ask."
Yun Jingxun, being in the palace, knew more about palace secrets. She came by imperial decree, accompanied by Wei Shengxian, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. However, from the moment he entered the prison, he leaned against an iron pillar in a nonchalant manner, as if saying, "Aunt Yun, please do as you please."
Yun Jingxun was an upright man and didn't think much of his appearance, so he ignored him and continued, "In the eighth year of Chongming, after the incident of the female calamity, all the suspects were imprisoned in the Futu Prison. Empress Xiaoxian rescued all the young ladies by herself, but was blocked at the city gate. She was intercepted by Yu Tianyin, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Just then, Luo Song, the director of the Eastern Depot, delivered an imperial edict, saying, 'His Majesty's decree: whoever is trying to break into the prison, no one shall be left alive.'"
As Yun Jingxun spoke, his fingertips touched Mu Qingling's increasingly trembling shoulder, taking in her uncontrollably shaking legs. His voice was unhurried, "Is the one who falsely conveyed this imperial decree the Imperial Concubine?"
The atmosphere was tense. Mu Qingling stared blankly at Yun Jingxun's cold face, knowing that admitting defeat meant certain death. On the night Empress Xiaoxian was shot dead, Emperor Chongming massacred the Eastern Depot and dispatched the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate the case. After failing to find anything, the decades-long balance between the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard was shattered. The Eastern Depot, indirectly responsible for Empress Xiaoxian's death, was dismantled by the emperor and stripped of all real power. Meanwhile, the Embroidered Uniform Guard grew increasingly powerful, its spies permeating the entire Great Han Dynasty.
Mu Qingling understood that since the Imperial Concubine had also been imprisoned, it meant that all was lost. She still had family, so why should she resist and suffer torture? Tears welled up in her eyes with horror. She closed her eyes briefly, and they fell instantly. "Yes."
Yun Jingxun slowly bent down, his gaze piercing into her trembling eyes, and asked in a low voice, "Was the death of Shang Chunxiang, who served Princess Yongle, also orchestrated by Consort Su?"
Mu Qingling froze. Everyone in the palace knew that Shang Chunxiang of Yongle Palace and Yun Jingxun of the Palace Administration Department were close friends. They had entered the palace together and had developed a deep sisterly bond over the past ten years.
Mu Qingling's expression had already given Yun Jingxun the answer. Her voice was calm, still devoid of any emotion, "How did she die? Was it painful?"
Mu Qingling acted as an accomplice to Consort Su, finalizing all the details. Recalling the tragic death of Shang Chunxiang five years ago, she was too horrified to speak.
Yun Jingxun has always been a ruthless person; she won't let her die a good death.
Sure enough, Yun Jingxun slowly stood up, slightly raised his hand to signal the Imperial Guards following behind him to come forward, and said in a calm voice, "Give her the most painful way to die."
"No... Aunt..." Mu Qingling lunged forward to grab Yun Jingxun's skirt, but was kicked by two Imperial Guards at the same time and slammed into the solid wall behind her, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Yun Jingxun continued walking, and as he passed Wei Shengxian, he heard him clap his hands three times, his voice tinged with a smile, "Aunt Yun's heart is pure as ice in a jade pot; may her friend in the afterlife know this, and may she rest in peace. I just wonder, Aunt, were you inquiring about this matter on behalf of His Majesty, or on behalf of... Lord Feng?"
Consort Su wasn't stupid; she wouldn't exchange the Imperial Seal for the Phoenix Seal. But since it had happened, regardless of whether she was responsible, she had committed a grave offense. If the Emperor were merciful, he might spare her life. However, 'Mu Qingling,' in order to save her own life, confessed that Consort Su had murdered the late Empress. This touched Emperor Chongming's sore spot, making her an unforgivable sin.
Yun Jingxun turned to look at Wei Shengxian. The dark atmosphere in the prison made Wei Shengxian's face look like a ghost. "I only do things for myself."
Wei Shengxian gave a forced smile, narrowed his eyes as he watched her leave, and then several more Imperial Guards rushed in, whispered a few words in his ear, and his smile vanished in an instant.
Wei Shengxian picked up his embroidered spring knife and strode out. "I should have thought of that earlier. Even if she works in the Ministry of Rites, she can't avoid getting involved in the Ministry of Justice's affairs. I hope the Imperial Concubine hasn't been killed by her yet."
The subordinate replied, "No, Lord Zhen Yongming went to the Floating Prison in person, so I reckon nothing bad will happen."
Wei Shengxian sneered and said, "I hope so... He's someone who doesn't play by the rules, so it wouldn't be surprising if he did something outrageous."
The author's note: The person who confessed that the Imperial Concubine killed the late Empress was Bai Xiangsheng, who was good at imitating others. After the mission was completed, he was imprisoned and switched back into the real Mu Qingling.
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