Chapter 248 — Return to the Mortal World
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
The old Tathagata laughed heartily, and the dark clouds that filled the sky dispersed. "Cult Master Shen, you and I are bound by great karma. You obtained Ximilo — that Ximilo was in the beginning the staff I carried through the rivers and lakes, and you came by it. You and I were fated to be master and disciple. I once meant to go to the Desolate Wastes and beg a karmic bond of the old fellow cultivators of Hidden Remnant Village, to take you under the Great Tingming Temple's gate. Who could have thought the bond would break, and that when next I met you, you would already be the demon cult master of the Dark Demon Cult. Such is the hour, such is fate; fortune makes sport of us all."
Shen Mu smiled faintly. "The Tathagata jests. I have come this time to ask the Tathagata to subdue a demon and cast out an evil. Within Granny Zhu's body there is a great master — Fan Xuanshu, former cult master of my holy cult. Fan Xuanshu transformed himself into a demon seed and planted it within the granny's heart of the Dao. And so I make bold to ask the Tathagata to subdue this demon and rid the world of a public scourge."
A venerable said in a low voice, "World-Honored One, this Granny Zhu is Si Youyou, holy maiden of the Dark Demon Cult's previous generation. On the very night she married Fan Xuanshu she slew her husband — murdered Fan Xuanshu. She is no good woman either, a demon among demons."
Dharma protectors and arhats said one after another, "This is a family matter of the demon cult. How can we intervene?"
The old Tathagata raised a hand and smiled. "All living beings are equal. The Buddha is a living being, and the demon is a living being too. Since Cult Master Shen asks it, I ought to lend my aid."
Another venerable's eyes flickered, and he said in a low voice, "We take incense money even for the gift of scriptures. This subduing of a demon — might we perhaps..."
The old Tathagata waved his hand to silence him. "Cult Master's widow, will you show us your true face?"
Shen Mu hesitated, then shook his head. "Tathagata, best not."
The Blind Elder tapped his bamboo staff upon the ground. "Old Tathagata, best not look upon the granny's true face, or it will be no pretty thing if it ruins the cultivation of the monks upon your mountain."
"Love's tangles are but passing smoke, and peerless beauties are rosy skeletons. Fellow cultivator, you underestimate the cultivation of the monks of my Great Tingming Temple."
The old Tathagata smiled. "I mean to enlighten Cult Master Li. Without seeing the widow's true face, I cannot lend my aid. Cult Master Li's love begot love, and love begot the demonic barrier in his heart. I shall let him see that the thing he holds most dear is no more than this."
Granny Zhu gave a tittering laugh. "Blind Elder, Lord Huo, will you two not unseal me? Cult Master Shen, peel this ugly skin of mine off, and I shall have a meeting with these monks whose mouths say one thing while their hearts mean another, and see what powers of concentration they truly have!"
The Blind Elder frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "Lord Huo, what do you think?"
Lord Huo hesitated. He looked at the monks of high attainment all over the mountain. "The old Tathagata's Buddhist Dharma far surpasses mine. He should have the skill for it. Shen'er, what do you say?"
Shen Mu thought a while, then said, "For now we can only treat the dead horse as a live one. Grandpas, be on your guard; do not let Cult Master Li escape."
Granny Zhu cackled with laughter. "I have fought this old bald donkey at the game of Dharma for more years than I can count. Such an amusing business — would I run? You could drive me off and I would not go!"
Lord Huo sighed, drew back the spirit Buddha's primordial spirit from between her brows, and nodded to the Blind Elder.
The Blind Elder reached out and grasped; strand after strand of silver essence, like so many dragons, flew out of Granny Zhu's body and returned into the Blind Elder.