Killing Monks

Seeing that Lu Fei was weak and unsteady on his feet, Guangyuan simply carried him on his back, used his lightness skill to climb up the mountain rocks as nimbly as a monkey, and chased after the direction in which the bronze mirror had flown away.

Before long, the two arrived at a relatively gentle hillside above the canyon.

From afar, one could see a figure squatting under a vigorous old pine tree.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a boy of about eleven or twelve years old.

He was wearing an obviously oversized gray monk's robe, with the cuffs and trouser legs rolled up several times, making him look somewhat comical.

At that moment, he was looking down, intently stroking a mixed-breed dog lying at his feet, his fingers gently combing its fur.

The dog squinted its eyes meekly, its tail swaying leisurely.

The eerie octagonal bronze mirror that once sparked a bloody battle in the canyon was now quietly suspended about a foot in the air beside the boy, slowly and silently rotating on its own.

The mirror was now dull and lifeless, the previously alluring, hazy golden light completely gone, as if it were just an ordinary old bronze mirror, exuding a gentle aura.

Lu Fei was put down by Guangyuan and leaned against a rock to catch his breath.

Seeing this scene, especially the mirror, he was still shaken. Seeing that the other person was just a teenager, he couldn't help but speak up:

"Kid, whose family are you from?"

"That mirror...is a dangerous object!"

Guangyuan raised his hand, signaling Lu Fei to be quiet.

His gaze was fixed on the boy.

From that seemingly frail child's body, he could clearly sense a faint yet identical aura that was of the same origin and nature as the "Mindfulness Mirror".

This young man is far more complex than he appears on the surface.

As if hearing Lu Fei's words, the boy who was stroking the dog slowly turned his head.

A face came into their view.

His skin was smooth and delicate, and his eyebrows and eyes still had a childlike quality, clearly showing that he looked like a child.

But the rest of that face had the wrinkles and spots typical of an old person.

His eyes were incredibly deep, filled with a calmness and vicissitude that seemed completely out of place for his age.

In addition, the slight, ambiguous smile on his lips gave his face a peculiar "neither old nor young" appearance.

It is both old and young.

Both innocent and unpredictable.

His gaze swept over Lu Fei without lingering, then fell on Guangyuan, scrutinizing him carefully from head to toe, especially Guangyuan's monk's robe stained with dust and blood and his composed face.

He spoke, his tone condescending and reproachful:

"You monk, you've got some nerve."

He pointed to the bronze mirror that was quietly floating beside him.

"This is the 'Mirror of Right Mindfulness,' one of the eight weapons of Buddhism, a sacred object that helps people see their karma and cleanse their inner demons."

"You actually intend to use such filthy mud and blood to obscure the brilliance of its precious mirror?"

"Aren't you afraid...of desecrating a magical artifact and suffering retribution?"

Guangyuan remained expressionless, meeting the boy's ambiguous gaze.

He calmly replied, "Those who use it to disturb the mind and drive people mad are not afraid of retribution, so what do I have to fear?"

"Ha!" The young monk, though seemingly childish, spoke with an air of maturity, unable to help but laugh out loud, clapping his hands and saying:

"Interesting! You little monk, you are indeed quite interesting, pleasing to this old monk's eye."

"Old monk, have you ever heard of Xin Chi?"

"No." Guangyuan shook his head.

He had heard of Xinqiu.

Lu Fei, however, suddenly opened his eyes wide upon hearing this, his weariness fading somewhat, and exclaimed:

"The immortal monk...a crazy believer?!"

There is indeed such a legend circulating in the martial arts world.

There was a divine monk whose cultivation was unfathomable and whose appearance remained forever youthful, his Dharma name being Xinchi.

He is a strange person who often does things in unexpected ways. He is both righteous and evil, and is difficult to fathom. He has disappeared for more than ten years.

Could this seemingly childlike monk be the legendary figure before us?

"Oh?" Xin Chi tilted his head slightly, looked at Lu Fei, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"This old monk has not been active in the martial world for more than ten years. I never expected that a young man of your age would know this name."

Looking at his incongruous "youthful" face, Lu Fei said, "I have heard my elders mention some anecdotes about you, senior."

Guangyuan, however, did not focus on the legends of the other party's origins; he was more concerned with the matter at hand.

His gaze swept over the still, floating bronze mirror, then turned to the believer, and asked directly:

"May I ask, Venerable Monk, why do you mobilize Buddhist soldiers here, sow discord and harm people, causing the people in the valley to kill each other?"

"Harm people?" Xinchi raised an eyebrow and retorted, "Little monk, how do you know this old monk is harming people?"

"Isn't that right?" Guangyuan retorted.

"This is one of the eight weapons of Buddhism, the 'Mirror of Right Mindfulness'." Xinchi pointed to the bronze mirror beside him, his expression revealing a solemn and dignified air.

"It can illuminate the entanglements of karma within all beings and stir their thoughts."

"If one can use this to generate right mindfulness, repent for past transgressions, and correct one's behavior, it will be an unparalleled aid in purifying karmic obstacles and moving towards enlightenment."

"This aligns perfectly with the true meaning of 'mindfulness'—'being aware of the present moment and correcting one's thoughts.' How can it be said that it harms them?"

He paused, then said, "If one cannot first see the root cause of one's own karma, how can one even begin to talk about 'correcting' it?"

Guangyuan shook his head:

"All I saw was that they were almost dead."

"That can only mean," Xin Chi sighed, a look of almost pity appearing on his face, "that their own karma is too heavy, their obsessions are like a bone-deep sore."

"The mirror's light caused the inner demons to backfire, which was entirely his own fault, not the mirror's fault, nor the old monk's fault."

"Buddha saves those who are destined to be saved; they... are not destined to be saved and cannot be saved."

Then, he changed the subject, saying, "And you, weren't you also in the mirror's light just now?"

"Having seen all sorts of things about himself, he was able to maintain a clear mind, break through illusions, and even try to make a mirror out of filth..."

"Doesn't this just prove that the magic mirror isn't harmful, but merely reflects one's true nature?"

Guangyuan did not immediately respond to Xinchi's statement that "he saw his true nature and brought it upon himself."

He turned his head to look at Lu Fei, whose breathing had not yet fully calmed, and asked calmly:

Do you believe what he says?

Lu Fei was taken aback by the question.

I just experienced the feeling of being completely consumed by regret and rage, having personally fallen into that heartbreakingly realistic illusion of inner demons.

That is definitely not some gentle guidance that "helps people become aware of their karma and correct their thoughts"!

From the perspective of someone who experienced it firsthand, he did not agree with the high-sounding rhetoric of the believer deep down.

But... the person in front of us is the legendary "ageless monk" Xinchi.

His name has been circulating in the martial arts world for many years. Although he acts strangely, he is always associated with being unfathomable and extraordinary.

Moreover, that mirror was one of the eight weapons of Buddhism, the "Mirror of Mindfulness," whose fame and legends he had heard of since childhood.

The Buddhist weapon and sacred object, coupled with the name of the divine monk, weighed heavily on his mind, causing him to instinctively hesitate and doubt himself.

Perhaps it is because my inner demons are too heavy and my karmic obstacles are too deep that I cannot withstand the enlightenment of the precious mirror?

How can one easily fathom the actions of a master?

His lips trembled slightly, his eyes showing some struggle, and finally, under the seemingly amused gaze of the young old monk, he whispered with some difficulty:

"I...believe."

After hearing this, Guangyuan shook his head and said, "I don't believe it."