096 The Burning of Lotus Blossom Temple

Chapter 096: Burning the Lotus Temple

In the dead of night, on the desolate back hillside, blood stained the trees and stones, and the stench of gore filled the air.

After a silence as deep as death, a fit of coughing broke out.

"Cough, cough... Jing Tang, how many waves has this been tonight... cough, cough?"

"Your Highness, the fourth wave." Jing Tang answered with a bow, his sword held upside down in his hand. Blood dripped from the blade, sliding down its length, and he had not yet found the time to wipe it clean.

Since nightfall, his sword had not stopped.

"Enough, cough, cough. Everyone clear up and go back to rest."

Jing Tang did not move. He lifted his eyes to the moon and felt that tonight had ended earlier than usual.

"Your Highness, why don't you return to the courtyard and rest first? Jing Tang will keep watch with the others until dawn."

Only when daylight came, and the people of the capital began to arrive in the direction of the temple to burn incense, would the black hand behind this massacre truly cease. Only then could he finally be at ease. The abbot had been gone for nearly two months, and before she returned, he would absolutely not allow anything to happen to the Lotus Temple.

Jing Tang's loyalty to the temple pleased the Second Prince greatly. With sincerity, he invited him again.

"Do you truly have no wish to enter the imperial guard and make a name for yourself? So long as you nod, once you come in you can be Axi's deputy. How about it?"

He had been at the Lotus Temple for a month and a half, and with his own eyes he had watched Jing Tang, under Axi's instruction, rise from a novice martial artist with a little foundation to an outstanding commander capable of leading men against nightly assassins. Such a gifted youth, and one so willing to work hard, was being used only to guard the Lotus Temple. What a waste.

Jing Tang did not even hesitate. His answer never changed.

"Thank you for Your Highness's kindness. Jing Tang is foolish and fears he cannot bear such a great responsibility."

"How insolent!" In Axi's eyes, such an ignorant refusal was no different from a direct insult to his master. "Since His Highness has deigned to recruit you, that is your blessing. You ought to--"

"Axi." The Second Prince was not angered. He raised a hand and signaled for Axi to step back behind him. "Each man has his own ambitions. I do not wish to force him."

Axi glared at Jing Tang resentfully, then dropped to both knees.

"His Highness is benevolent. This servant is ashamed."

"Enough. And stop kneeling at every turn. Your skills should be used in more useful places." The Second Prince turned and walked toward the courtyard. "Clean up. Everyone should rest. The Crown Prince will not move against us again tonight."

Axi followed close behind.

"Why not?"

"Before he ascends the throne, and while the whole capital knows that I am in the Lotus Temple, if he truly made a killing move, then he would be creating before the entire nation the image of a cruel man who had not yet taken the throne but was already murdering his brothers to prevent usurpation. He is not so incapable of restraint. Even if he wants me dead outside the palace, he will first make arrangements for me to reside at the Pure Heaven Daoist Temple, then find a legitimate reason that can convince the entire world before he strikes."

"Your Highness is wise." Axi meant it sincerely. In his view, martial skill could be brought to success through hard practice even without a brain, but when it came to schemes and intrigue, that sort of thing mostly depended on inborn talent.

The Second Prince gave a light laugh, though it was not the laugh of someone pleased by praise.

"This is not wisdom. This is simply a lesson every royal must learn from childhood. Whether one behaves or handles affairs, once the door is closed it may not matter, but so long as the door is open, it is no different from standing before the whole nation. What the people think is the measure by which we decide how we act. The Crown Prince understands this, and so do I. At this critical moment, when the court is in turmoil, whoever can establish the better image in the eyes of the people faster will be the one who sits more quickly and more securely upon that golden throne."

Axi clenched his fists.

"This servant swears to protect Your Highness's ascension with his life."

"Naturally. After all, if I do not ascend, then given your relationship with me, you too will hardly escape death, won't you?"

The Second Prince teased him in a cool tone, but Axi, who had spent all his intelligence on improving his martial power, failed to catch the joking intent. He only felt a sudden bitterness in his heart at the master's chilly tone, and with a thud he knelt again.

"Please command Axi to enter the palace and carry out an assassination!"

The Second Prince fell silent.

For the sixteenth time, Axi proposed the one and only strategy he believed in.

"As the saying goes, seize the thief, seize the king. So long as Axi succeeds in the assassination, there will be no more obstacle to Your Highness's ascent. Your Highness, give the order! Once the assassination succeeds, Axi will kill himself at once and leave not the slightest clue that could implicate Your Highness. Your Highness--"

The Second Prince suddenly waved at Jing Tang outside the temple gate.

"Jing Tang, I have changed my mind. So long as you agree to take charge of the imperial guard, I will grant you Axi's current position. How about it?"

As for Axi, who acted without a brain, he really was better suited to being only a personal shadow guard.

Axi lifted his head in indignation.

"Your Highness!"

Why, whenever this matter was mentioned, did His Highness always look at him as though he were a fool? What exactly was wrong with his plan? And how was he inferior to that little monk? He must not forget that the little monk's current martial arts were still the result of his own teaching.

Jing Tang came over at the sound.

"Your Highness, Master is as loyal to you as the sun and moon themselves can testify. Jing Tang is far beneath him."

Though Axi had taught him martial arts under the Second Prince's orders, Jing Tang still willingly addressed him as Master out of respect.

"Let us not speak of that today." The Second Prince pointed at Axi. "I will ask you this first: if you were sitting in Axi's place now, would you volunteer for the assassination?"

"I would not." Jing Tang answered without the slightest hesitation.

The Second Prince could no longer bear to look at Axi's blank, foolish expression after hearing those words, and asked with deliberate meaning, "Why not? Aren't martial artists always devoted to strategies like striking first, or seizing the thief by seizing the king?"

"Being devoted to something does not mean every matter can be copied and used blindly." Jing Tang considered for a moment and understood the Second Prince's intent. He wished to use his own mouth to cut off Axi's thoughts of assassination once and for all. Very well. Even without the debt of teaching him martial arts, the mere fact that they were now comrades on the same front was enough to make it worthwhile for him to speak up.

Jing Tang said earnestly, "First, let us not even speak of whether success is possible. Let us assume success is possible. If the Crown Prince dies, even if the whole world does not know he died by assassination, how could the court ministers fail to notice? If all of them truly have their hearts set on Your Highness, that would be one thing. It would simply mean supporting a new ruler to ascend the throne. But if not, then when the former emperor has only just passed, and the two princes have already begun slaughtering each other, would there not be certain ministers who secretly covet the throne and seize the chance to launch a coup? Once the truth behind the assassination is exposed to the world, the Second Prince will lose the hearts of the people, and some will be able to seize the opportunity to openly raise the banner of 'establishing a new order' and overthrow everything, thus achieving their plan to change the dynasty."

When he finished speaking so clearly, Axi's expression changed. He had never considered that besides the two princes, there would be others daring to covet the throne.

Yet the Second Prince's eyes only grew brighter as he listened.

"So that's how it is. Then if the attempt fails, it would actually be a good thing. At worst we would only lose an Axi, and not provoke turmoil in the court."

"This is the second point Jing Tang is about to mention: failure. One might say failure is almost certain. But failure does not mean Master will die. If the attempt fails and Master is still alive, then by the Crown Prince's methods, would Master not be used by him as living proof to accuse Your Highness of being the hidden mastermind?"

Axi said anxiously, "If it fails, Axi will certainly kill himself to atone. He will never bring disaster upon Your Highness."

Jing Tang shook his head firmly.

"At that point, even seeking death would be harder than seeking life. The Crown Prince, who has been fighting openly and secretly with the Second Prince for so many years, has been itching for an opportunity to eliminate Your Highness in broad daylight. If you appear as the assassin, you will have given him exactly that chance. If he does not seize it for a counterattack, then he would not be the Crown Prince."

Only then did Axi finally understand why, all these years whenever this matter came up, his master always looked at him as though he were an idiot.

So his own thinking really had been far too naive.

But how could this young monk, who had grown up only in a temple and was still so young, think so deeply and so far ahead? Could he truly be gifted beyond the ordinary?

A faint, unreadable light flashed through the Second Prince's eyes. He reached into his robes and took out a writing brush.

"Then suppose what I am waiting for is precisely his open counterattack? Better yet if he does so in the Hall of Supreme Order, before all civil and military officials, accusing me of plotting rebellion and usurpation. Then I can use the chance to expose every hidden black hand behind him in public. You understand your abbot's abilities, do you not?"

He weighed the brush in his hand, thinking of the earth-shattering things Guanshi Yin had told him.

"If, before meeting your abbot, I might still have held back for the sake of court stability, then after learning her abilities, all I need do is create an opportunity for the Crown Prince to appear alone before the ministers. At that point, no matter how vast his influence may be, he will not be able to appear in the imperial hall. And so long as I have your abbot expose every one of his hidden hands to the light of day, his downfall would not be the natural result?"

"Then after Your Highness ascends the throne smoothly, once the whole world knows of my abbot's unprecedented power and will surely view her as some kind of demon, will Your Highness, in order to consolidate the throne newly seated beneath you, first take my abbot as the sacrificial target to calm the people's hearts and establish authority?" Jing Tang suddenly dropped to both knees. "Is this Your Highness's intention: to use my abbot's power in exchange for a grand enterprise that will last for generations?"

"How insolent!" Axi barked again. Though he could not understand what the two before him were saying, so long as it went against his master's wishes, he considered it an enemy. "To die for Your Highness is itself an honor. Your temple's abbot ought to be grateful beyond measure--"

"We're just ordinary common folk. We don't have such lofty enlightenment!" For the first time, Jing Tang did not show the least trace of deference before Axi.

With a sharp clang, Axi drew the sword at his waist.

"Then I will eliminate you now to prevent future trouble."

Jing Tang did not retreat; he stepped forward instead.

"I am no match for Master. Please do as you please."

"You!" Axi trembled with rage and was about to strike when the Second Prince stopped him.

"Axi, stand down."

The Second Prince looked only at Jing Tang.

"All of those words just now were not really your own, were they?"

Jing Tang was sharper and far-sighted enough to know that much. But to think of the political situation so comprehensively— that was impossible for a young man so far removed from the court, unless someone had taught him.

Jing Tang did not hide it.

"Yes. They were all taught to Jing Tang by the abbot before she left the capital."

"She had you find an opportunity to test whether I would be willing to stop at nothing for results?"

"Not exactly. The abbot only wanted to confirm in advance whether Your Highness was worth her staking the fate of the entire Lotus Temple on."

"And if I was not worth it?"

"Jing Tang could lead the monks of the whole temple out of the capital before the abbot returned."

"And if I was worth it?"

"The fate of the Lotus Temple would then be left to the Second Prince to decide."

"Oh? So your abbot had already known that I would personally come to guard the temple?"

"Yes. The abbot said that after the uproar in the prefectural hall of the capital, the Crown Prince would certainly notice the connection between the Lotus Temple, the Guan family, and the Second Prince. The Guan family is not easy to bring down, and the Second Prince even less so, so the Crown Prince would certainly strike first at the Lotus Temple. And once Your Highness learned of my abbot's abilities, if you wished for smooth cooperation in the future and could not openly clash with the Crown Prince to preserve the temple, then you would certainly come in person to set the temple in place."

"And that, conveniently, also created the conditions for your opportunity to test me." The Second Prince felt a touch of emotion in his heart. The fake monk who once deliberately saved him in the hot springs had become the great help who now stood ready to turn the tables. Truly, human plans could not compare with heaven's designs.

"Then why bring this up only now?"

Jing Tang glanced at Axi behind him.

"Forgive me, Your Highness, but only today did Jing Tang become certain that he possessed the ability to lead the monks of the entire temple away from the Lotus Temple."

"What does that mean?" Axi felt a chill run through him under that look, as though he himself had been calculated against, yet he could not figure out why.

The Second Prince explained for him.

"More than a month ago, once the abbot drew the attention of both the Crown Prince and myself, even if she wanted to withdraw her people from this political struggle, it was already too late. She knew she had to leave the capital, but she could not放心 the little monks in the temple. She had calculated that I would come here to protect her temple for the sake of her ability, and so she deliberately arranged for Jing Tang, who had good talent and was willing to endure hardship, to be seen before me. Since I was short of manpower, I would naturally arrange for you to teach Jing Tang. Jing Tang, in turn, could use this chance to improve his martial arts, become familiar with our side, and lay the foundation for later leading people down the mountain without drawing attention."

"What?" Axi stared in stunned bewilderment. After a long pause, he once again drew the sword at his waist.

"Then this servant will kill him now to prevent them from suddenly changing their minds again and refusing to cooperate."

"There's no need, Axi." The smile on the Second Prince's face had never ceased. "They've already decided not to leave. If you strike now, wouldn't that be the same as openly killing our own partner?"

Eh? Axi was even more dazed now. It kept changing every moment. The more he listened, the more muddled he became.

The Second Prince reached out and lifted Jing Tang to his feet.

"When did you think I had passed the test your abbot set for me?"

"From the moment Your Highness took out that writing brush."

"Oh? Explain."

"The abbot said that once Your Highness valued Jing Tang's ability, you would certainly use the chance to test whether Jing Tang's brain was enough. At that time, Jing Tang only needed to repeat the abbot's words in full and then watch Your Highness's reaction. If Your Highness harbored guilty feelings, you would certainly realize from that that the abbot was testing whether you could still continue cooperating. Then, in order to conceal your guilt, you would cut off the topic and try to delay. But if Your Highness's heart was clear, then you would certainly use the abbot's ability as the opening and continue the discussion, directly responding to her probe."

At last Axi was able to keep up with the exchange between the other two.

"So Master just took out that brush that could prove the abbot's abilities, which means..."

The Second Prince took up the thread.

"It seems I have passed the test. And then? Since your abbot was willing to risk your life just to test me, surely there was more behind it than merely confirming whether we could continue cooperating. That would be making too much of a fuss over nothing, wouldn't it?"

"Of course not. So long as Your Highness can face us openly and honestly, my Lotus Temple can naturally repay you with all sincerity."

"Then?"

"Please have the Lotus Temple burned, Your Highness!"

And, well, once the imagination runs too wildly, stitching it back together becomes very difficult...

Ahh! I'm getting stuck like a child at a loss for words!

Please let my intelligence come back online~

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