The young monk glanced over the crowd outside the gate.
He quickly spotted Li Chang’an, dressed in a bright yellow Python Robe. His gaze hardened slightly before he spoke, "Our Buddha offers salvation to the world. The people struggle for passage and willingly seek refuge in our Buddhist Sect. It is an act of mutual consent. Why do you, benefactor, slander us with such malice?"
Seeing a monk emerge, Li Chang’an sneered, "Slander with malice?"
"Do I need to slander a bunch of baldies like you? Xihu Province is under the jurisdiction of my Dayan Imperial Court. Did you receive permission from the Government Office to build this Buddhist Temple here?"
"If you did receive permission, have you paid your taxes? And if you have paid taxes, then why have you deliberately created barren fields, forced the common people to sell their land for cheap, and turned them into slaves to build your temple?"
His words were sharp and rapid-fire, each one hitting its mark. It was clear he had done his homework.
To build a lake within the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, these baldies had diverted a nearby river. Xihu Province was already on the edge of the Western Regions and suffered from scarce rainfall. Tens of thousands of households in the vicinity depended on that river for their livelihood each year.
Now, the river’s water was being channeled into the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple to fill its lake.
This caused the water level to drop year after year. The local people, left with no way to survive, were forced to sell their sons and daughters, or simply sign themselves over to the Buddhist Temple, becoming its privately kept slaves.
Seeing that this visitor clearly came with ill intentions, the young monk furrowed his brow.
His eyes swept over Li Chang’an again, taking in the Python Robe and the royal "I" he used to refer to himself. Yet, his voice was still laced with a mix of shock and uncertainty as he asked, "May I ask who you are, benefactor?"
Li Chang’an flicked his Python Robe. "I am the Crown Prince of Dayan, Li Chang’an!"
Before the young monk could even process Li Chang’an’s declaration, the surrounding Jianghu Martial Artists were stunned, their jaws dropping in disbelief.
"The Crown Prince of Dayan? For real?"
"I heard the Crown Prince of Dayan is only ten years old. He looks about the right age. It might actually be him!"
"Where does the Crown Prince of Dayan get the nerve to cause trouble here? Did he get his head kicked by a donkey?"
"Shh, keep it down. I think that’s the commander of the Shadow Guard behind him. He probably thinks he has enough protection..."
"Even the Shadow Guard isn’t enough. This is the Buddhist Sect’s territory, and the Li Family is here too. Unless that reckless old ancestor from Dayan shows up, no one can save him if he stirs up trouble today!"
Listening to the heated discussions among the Jianghu Martial Artists,
the young monk finally snapped back to his senses. He slowly brought his palms together and said, "Benefactor, please wait a moment. This humble monk will go and ask the Abbot to come out!"
Although all signs pointed to Li Chang’an being the real Crown Prince of Dayan,
the young monk still found it hard to believe the Crown Prince would dare to show up today. To prevent a ridiculous mistake, he decided to go back and get someone else.
There were people in the temple who had seen the Crown Prince of Dayan before.
They would be able to confirm if this person was genuine with a single glance!
Seeing the young monk hurry back into the temple, Li Chang’an wasn’t worried. He simply stood at the entrance, admiring the lifelike Buddha statues by the gate.
Many of the surrounding Jianghu Martial Artists also dispersed, but they weren’t fleeing the scene. On the contrary, they were taking the opportunity to call over their friends and allies.
If Li Chang’an really was the Crown Prince of Dayan, then today’s Martial Dao conference was clearly going to be a huge spectacle. How could they let their friends miss out on witnessing such an epic piece of gossip, one destined to spread throughout the world?
...
...
Inside the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, rows of oil lamps burned beneath the Buddha statues, making the entire grand hall appear even more magnificent and resplendent in gold.
The Eldest Prince’s face was dark and gloomy.
He had narrowly escaped the Imperial Palace with his life. The Li Family had extensive operations in the Capital City, and with a Grandmaster presiding over them, they had just barely managed to save him and bring him back to the Li Family.
But while his life was saved, his injuries would take at least half a year to heal.
Of course, those were not the biggest problems. What enraged the Eldest Prince the most—what made his blood boil—was that his mother, the Empress, was dead, and the throne that should have been his had been snatched away by that little bastard he despised most.
He hadn’t even understood what had happened throughout the whole ordeal.
All he knew was that a few days ago, his mother had told him she planned to use Li Chang’an’s birth mother as bait to lure a snake out of its hole. Then, just a few days later, he was shocked to find that his mother had inexplicably vanished.
If he hadn’t been vigilant enough to flee the moment he sensed danger,
he would probably have been decapitated long ago.
This was a blood feud!
Every time he thought of the name ’Li Chang’an’, the Eldest Prince couldn’t stop himself from wanting to lunge forward and tear him to shreds!
At this moment, a middle-aged man in his forties and an old monk with a kind, compassionate face stood beside him.
Seeing the utterly terrible expression on his face, the middle-aged man couldn’t help but sigh. "My foolish boy, your wounds haven’t healed yet. You should get some rest."
Hearing his voice, the Eldest Prince snapped out of his daze.
He immediately gritted his teeth and said, "Uncle, that Li Chang’an must die! I can give up being Emperor, I can dedicate my life to cultivation—just as long as you help me get rid of that damn Li Chang’an!"
"He’s the one who killed my mother! He’s the one who took everything that should have been mine... It was him! It was him! I have to kill him! Kill him!"
Clearly, the Eldest Prince had become completely possessed by his obsession.
His mind was filled with nothing but Li Chang’an.
Li Sheng could understand his state but was completely unable to console him. He could only offer words of comfort. "Don’t worry. Your uncle will see that justice is done for you. The Dayan Imperial Family dared to play our Li Family for fools, and they dared to kill my sister. If we don’t avenge this, what face will our Li Family have left in the Jianghu?"
Seeing the murderous aura emanating from the two of them,
the old monk sitting cross-legged nearby opened his eyes and offered counsel. "Benefactors, you are becoming attached to worldly forms. Annexing Dayan is not something that can be accomplished overnight. If you two continue like this, you will sooner or later descend into madness!"
Li Sheng knew the old monk was right.
Although the fire in his heart still burned fiercely, he spoke in agreement. "Master Huixuan is absolutely right. However, our Li Family has already shown sufficient sincerity. We ask that the Buddhist Sect make its move soon. Even if we can’t annex Dayan in one fell swoop, we must make them feel enough pain!"
The old monk put his palms together and nodded. "Our Buddhist Sect will naturally not be as faithless as the Dayan Imperial Family. Thirty thousand Buddhist Soldiers have already set out from the Ancestral Court. By my calculations, they should be arriving in Xihu Province soon..."
"Once this Martial Dao conference establishes our Buddhist Sect’s position as the head of the Four Great Upper Sects, the Li Family will receive even more of our support. For the next few days, you two benefactors should stay here in my Buddha Light Temple, eat vegetarian meals, chant sutras, and recuperate..."
He hadn’t even finished speaking.
The Eldest Prince had already jumped to his feet, screaming curses, "Attached to worldly forms my ass! If your mother died, could you still sit here eating vegetarian meals and chanting sutras? I’m going to kill Li Chang’an! Kill Li Chang’an!"
Such an exquisitely foul mouth. A pure delight.
Seeing his extreme disrespect, the old monk’s brow twitched, but he forced himself to hold back his anger.
Just as he was about to dismiss them, he saw a young monk walk in hastily from outside the main hall.
After approaching, the young monk put his palms together and bowed. His tone was rushed as he said, "Abbot Huixuan, a young man has arrived outside the temple. He claims to be the Crown Prince of Dayan, Li Chang’an. This disciple does not know if he is telling the truth and has come to ask for your guidance!"
Upon hearing this, all three people in the room suddenly fell silent.
Their faces were all filled with disbelief.
Finally, it was the Eldest Prince who snapped back to his senses first. He struggled to his feet, looking completely crazed. "Where is he? Where is he? Li Chang’an, has he finally come here to die?"
...