Revelation of the Way of Heaven

When Qin Xiaochuan first woke up, it was probably only three or four o'clock. He was awakened by the sounds of monks getting up outside the meditation room and inside the temple. They had to start their morning prayers in the early morning. He only woke up briefly and then fell asleep again. When he woke up again, it was already six or seven o'clock. The one who woke up the five of them was Huiming, who had brought them in the night before.

Huiming told the five that breakfast was coming soon and that they could go see the abbot after breakfast. So they quickly got out of bed, washed up, and went with Huiming to the dining room for breakfast.

It was still dark in the mountains, with only a sliver of dawn appearing on the eastern mountaintops. The surrounding forests were shrouded in a dense layer of shadows, silent and cold. Within minutes, the warmth that had lingered in their blankets vanished.

There weren't many people in the dining room, only about a dozen. They were all sitting at the dining table in order, with Abbot Ruzhen sitting at the very back.

They naturally didn't go to him immediately, since it was mealtime. Following Huiming's instructions, the five of them sat down at the vegetarian table, and Huiming brought them breakfast.

Breakfast was simple: rice porridge with some simple vegetables. It tasted pretty good. Perhaps because of the precepts, the whole meal was eaten quietly, and they finished their breakfast quickly.

"The abbot told you to go see him after you've had breakfast. Now come with me," Huiming said as the five of them put down their bowls and chopsticks.

They nodded and followed the other person toward the reception room.

The morning air was unusually crisp and refreshing, instantly invigorating the senses. Outside the reception room stood several cypress trees, their leaves covered in white frost. The eaves were also covered with a layer of dead branches, fallen leaves, and frost. Staying here gave one a feeling of returning to nature.

Huiming walked to the door of the reception room, put his hands together, and said to the person inside, "Abbot, the benefactors have been brought in."

"Bring them in," came the abbot's clear voice from the reception room.

Huiming pushed open the door and led them into the room. The reception room was simply furnished. Next to a wall with a large "Zen" character hanging on it, there was a meditation seat that resembled a kang bed from the Qing Dynasty. The meditation seat was more than two meters long, with a small table in the middle. Abbot Ruzhen, whom they were going to see, was sitting on the meditation seat on the left.

Han Kexin was the leader of their group, so she sat on the meditation seat on the right, while the other four sat around a table below the meditation seat.

Abbot Ruzhen sat cross-legged on the meditation seat, one palm raised in front of his chest, his eyes half-closed. He remained silent except when speaking. After the five people were seated, Abbot Ruzhen said to Huiming, "Go and pour tea for the guests."

"Yes." Huiming clasped his hands together and bowed to the abbot before leaving.

"I wonder what business you gentlemen have with me?" the abbot asked Han Kexin, who was the one who spoke the most standard Mandarin since they arrived.

For some reason, when Qin Xiaochuan first entered the reception room, he felt that the abbot seemed to be in pain. At first, it was not obvious, but when the abbot spoke, he felt that the muscles on his face were very tense, as if he was enduring some kind of pain.

Since it was their first meeting and it concerned personal privacy, they didn't ask any further questions and pretended not to notice. Han Kexin then got straight to the point and said to him, "We've come to bother you, Master, to ask you about something."

"It's for the legendary land of witchcraft, isn't it?" the abbot said calmly, his silent body barely moving.

"How did you know, Master?" Han Kexin asked in surprise.

"Besides this reason, who else would be willing to travel thousands of miles to our poor and remote place? In fact, someone asked me this question several days ago."

Han Kexin knew he was referring to Kawamoto Taro and his group. She immediately took out her phone, held it in front of the abbot, and asked, "Is this the person you're talking about, Master?"

The abbot opened his eyes, glanced at the phone, and nodded slightly without saying anything.

"I wonder what the master said to him?" Han Kexin asked.

"The Land of Witchcraft Origin is nothing but an ancient legend. Why are you so fixated on such illusory things?" the abbot asked instead of answering.

"Does the master really hope that everyone will stop being attached to these illusory things?" Han Kexin asked in return.

Upon hearing Han Kexin's question, the silent abbot finally raised his eyes and looked at her in surprise. After a moment, his surprise suddenly turned into joy, and he said, "Well said, well said, excellent, excellent..."

Perhaps because he was too excited, the abbot's face showed pain again after he had been laughing for a while, and his smile stopped halfway. This made Qin Xiaochuan conclude that the other party must have some kind of illness.

Just as he was pondering this, Xiaoying suddenly tugged at his clothes and whispered, "Uncle, what are Auntie and the others talking about?"

To her question, Qin Xiaochuan could only shake his head with a wry smile and say, "Uncle doesn't know either." He really didn't understand why the abbot had gotten so agitated when Han Kexin had simply asked him a question in return. Moreover, he had completely forgotten that he was suffering from an illness.

After a moment's rest, the abbot's expression of pain lessened considerably. He clasped his hands together, bowed slightly to Han Kexin, and then softly uttered a Buddhist chant: "Amitabha."

Han Kexin's expression changed slightly, and she quickly asked, "Master, what's wrong?"

The abbot slowly said, "Your words have resolved my decades-long confusion, and you should accept this bow from me."

Han Kexin clearly knew what he was talking about, so she didn't dwell on the matter and continued, "Then, Master, can you tell us about the Land of Witchcraft Origin?"

"Of course." The abbot nodded and said, "But my knowledge of the Land of Witchcraft Origin is limited. I'll just tell you what I know. The Land of Witchcraft Origin..."

Just as the five were listening intently to Abbot Ruzhen's words, his voice suddenly stopped. Everyone looked at him in surprise. Even though he was trying his best to suppress it, the pain on his face became unusually intense. Qin Xiaochuan saw it and felt as if the pain was happening to him.

"Master, are you alright?" Han Kexin asked worriedly. Just as she finished speaking, Abbot Ruzhen suddenly opened his eyes and then stopped moving.

What is this? Han Kexin suddenly had a bad feeling, but she dared not believe it.

Everyone else looked shocked as well.

"Master?" Han Kexin called out, but the latter remained seated motionless on the meditation seat, making her sense of foreboding even stronger.

Finally, Zhou Bin stood up, walked to the abbot, and placed his finger under his nose.

Everyone else stared intently at Zhou Bin's expression. He frowned, turned to them, and said, "Dead."

Upon hearing this, Guo Shiyi immediately ran to the abbot's body. As a medical student, she knew more accurate methods for determining death. However, when she shone a powerful flashlight into the abbot's eyes, a look of disappointment immediately appeared on her face.

"How could this happen?" she murmured. The room was silent, and no one could answer her. It all happened so suddenly that they hadn't fully processed it yet.

"Squeak~" Suddenly, the sound of a door opening broke the silence. Huiming appeared at the door of the reception room with a cup of tea. He quickly noticed the abnormality in the room. He quickly glanced around the room and finally fixed his gaze on the seated corpse of Abbot Ruzhen. The eyes of the five people in the room were fixed on him.

A sharp "crack!" echoed as the teacup shattered, followed by a scream that reverberated throughout the entire Changsheng Temple.

"Murder!"