Perhaps due to consuming the longevity pill, the aged abbot of Golden Light Temple erupted with astonishing vitality, sprinting back to the temple without pause.
The old abbot trembled in terror, his heart still pounding with residual fear.
"He looked like Jiang Liuer! That murderous demon-child who once rampaged through our temple!"
The abbot's thoughts churned chaotically. Who could have imagined the child adopted by Monk Faming could actually rival Wolf Wuji in combat?
"Nonsense! How dare he compare to our Great King? Provoking His Majesty only spells his doom."
"But... what if?"
Recalling Wolf Wuji's words - "Some thief slaughtered all demons in Wolf's Gully Cave" -
Could Jiang Liuer be that thief?
Did he exterminate over two hundred demons, leaving the Great King ruler of empty halls?
This...
Cold sweat drenched the abbot's robes as his trembling intensified.
He feared Jiang Liuer had discovered his collusion with Wolf Wuji.
How could his brittle bones withstand such opposition?
The abbot began gathering valuables, resolved to hide for days.
Entering the cellar, he cautiously opened rice vats - not storing grain, but piled copper coins. Each vat held thirty strings of cash, ten vats in total.
Reluctance etched deep grooves across his withered face.
This was his lifetime's accumulation.
Yet too bulky, too heavy to carry alone.
Fortunately, dozens of gold taels remained.
In Tang Dynasty currency, gold and copper reigned supreme. Though silver existed, few used it for trade, reserving it rather for ornaments.
Taking ten coin strings and thirty gold taels, the abbot emerged -
Only to hear monks screaming outside:
"The demon-child Jiang Liuer returns!"
Clatter!
His treasures fell forgotten as the abbot shuddered violently: "He survived? Why return then? Does he know of my dealings with Wolf Wuji?"
No time to retrieve dropped valuables, he fled blindly.
A monk spotted him: "Abbot! The demon returns! Shall we capture him?"
The abbot ignored them.
A novice bowed: "Venerable One, have you seen Huijing? He's been missing all day."
The abbot accelerated his escape.
Monk Faming intercepted him: "Where go you, Elder Brother?"
The abbot's soul seemed already departed.
......
At Golden Light Temple's main gate, Jiang Liuer made no stealthy entry this time.
Monks brandished staves in defensive formation.
"Jiang Liuer! Dare you return after crippling Huishan? Officials have been notified!"
"Huishan still screams in bed! Physicians say his leg may never heal!"
"Why return after fleeing?"
"This temple wants you not!"
Once, such mob fury had driven him away.
Now Jiang Liuer advanced fearlessly.
Memories of Huijing's fate stoked raging flames within, his murderous intent overflowing: "I come to kill. Block me, and my blade shows no mercy."
Drenched in Wolf Wuji's blood, sword in hand, eyes glacial - having walked through hell itself, his aura coalesced spectral winds, underworld chills, and killing intent.
Staff-wielding monks quailed before this onslaught.
"Allow me, Benefactor!" Hu Yuyu transformed before the monks into a crimson fox swelling to calf-size.
"DEMON!" they shrieked, scattering like startled birds.
"Done!" The fox resumed human form, dusting her hands smugly. "That silenced their yapping."
Scholar Qing observed: "Though you slew wolf-demons, these monks feared you not. Yet one transformation scattered them - perhaps you've been too merciful, letting vermin scale your face."
Jiang Liuer nodded: "They mistake me for the helpless child of yore."
Entering the temple, man, scholar, and fox encountered the panicked abbot and Monk Faming.
The abbot froze as if thunderstruck.
Monk Faming sighed, yet joy glimmered beneath his reproach: "Why return, child?"
"I come to avenge Huijing. And know this, Elder - I've cleansed these lands of demons. None shall kidnap you again."
"Amitabha. More bloodshed." Faming shook his head, yet refrained from condemnation.
"If slaughter saves multitudes, I'll bear all karma. Without execution, hatred's cycle never breaks."
Faming blinked: "What heresy is this?"
"Teachings of Maitreya Buddha!" Jiang Liuer grinned.
Yellow Brow - once Maitreya's chime-striker - had authored this "Sutra of Karmic Slaughter". Surely this aligned with Future Buddha's wisdom.
Faming frowned: "Does Maitreya's canon contain such words?"
"Undoubtedly."
"Amitabha. Maitreya's path remains beyond my grasp." Faming clasped hands. "You mentioned avenging Huijing. What befell him?"
"He died." Jiang Liuer's gaze speared the abbot. "Lured to demon caves, rendered into two elixirs. One fed demons, the other... filled this abbot's belly."
The abbot shook like aspen leaves.
Faming stared in horrified comprehension. His brother monk's ashen face confirmed the truth.
Trembling with fury he dare not voice, bound by vows against malice, Faming closed his eyes.
"Elder Brother... how? Huijing was eleven."
The abbot kept silent.
"Venerable Faming," Jiang Liuer declared, "I'll execute him. Huijing's life demands payment."
The abbot soiled himself.
"Amitabha. The choice isn't mine," Faming murmured.
Desperate, the abbot wailed: "Spare me! My cellar holds hundreds of coin strings! Take them! Live comfortably! I'll yield my position to Faming!"
Shing!
The Cosmic Sea-Calming Sword leapt from its sheath, beheading the abbot before breath finished.
It shook bloodstains midair, sheathing itself cleanly.
A headless corpse thudded to earth.
The severed head rolled like a gourd.
"Fool. Dead, Faming becomes abbot regardless."
With Huijing avenged,
Jiang Liuer's killing intent dissipated.
......
