“Come, come! I heard from Abbot Ming Zhang that your chess skills have improved greatly.”
Abbot Yu Ting placed a piece, nearly cornering Abbot Ming Zhang. “Take a look. Does Abbot Ming Zhang have any way out in this game?”
Abbot Ming Zhang glared. “What do you mean way out? I haven’t lost yet, alright?”
Abbot Yu Ting said perfunctorily. “Indeed, you haven’t lost. I just need two more moves to complete my setup.”
Abbot Ming Zhang, “…”
Abbot Ming Zhang turned to the board at once and scanned left and right.
After a while…
“Um, the chance for this old monk to turn defeat into victory lies in these two moves!”
Abbot Ming Zhang nodded, then rose lightly, letting Lu Zheng take his seat. He picked up a piece of layered cake and popped it in his mouth.
“Yuan Zheng, you finish the endgame for your master. Let Abbot Yu Ting see your recently improved chess skills.”
Abbot Yu Ting laughed heartily and pointed at Abbot Ming Zhang without a word.
What could Lu Zheng do? He sat down to play for Abbot Ming Zhang.
The next moment, he placed a white piece.
Abbot Yu Ting raised an eyebrow, but the move was within his expectations, so he responded at once.
White and black alternated five times.
“Eh?”
When Lu Zheng placed another white piece, Abbot Yu Ting suddenly exclaimed in surprise and sensed something amiss.
After pondering for a moment, he responded.
…
“Hahaha, I told you those two moves were the turning point for this old monk to snatch victory from defeat.” Abbot Ming Zhang laughed heartily, popping the last pastry in his mouth and washing it down with fragrant tea.
“Give over. If you’d played, I’d have won in thirty moves.” Abbot Yu Ting said grumpily, then turned to Lu Zheng. “Not bad. Your skills have indeed advanced a lot. You actually salvaged Abbot Ming Zhang’s game. It’s still early, so let’s play another.”
…
At noon, the group descended for a vegetarian meal. Lu Zheng then learned that Abbot Yu Ting had toured the two northern provinces before looping back to Lingbei Province.
“You’re a wild Taoist. When you get old, find a spot to build a temple and stop wandering about aimlessly.” Abbot Ming Zhang advised.
Abbot Yu Ting shook his head. “Can’t sit still.”
Abbot Ming Zhang could only chuckle and say no more. He clinked cups with Abbot Yu Ting and drained his.
During the meal, Abbot Yu Ting recounted his encounters while travelling in the northern provinces, like clashing with great demons or slaying ghost kings. He shared some lessons with Yuan Jing and Lu Zheng.
“Speaking of which, during this flood, I was in Yinan Province. While helping with relief efforts, I ran into two possessed heretics.” Abbot Yu Ting said.
“Possessed?”
Abbot Ming Zhang frowned. “Demonic cultivators are the hardest to deal with. Which sect were they from?”
“Never seen them before.” Abbot Yu Ting shook his head.
“Never seen?” Abbot Ming Zhang was quite surprised. “What do you mean?”
Then he started in alarm. “A new demonic cult? Not orthodox cultivators lured into the demonic path? So is this an old demonic inheritance, or heavenly demons transmitting arts through dreams? Surely not a heavenly demon’s divine sense reincarnating into the world?”
Abbot Yu Ting said helplessly. “How should I know!”
In this world, though villains were lumped as fiends and righteous sects chanted demon-slaying slogans, true “demons” were exceedingly rare.
If it was just practising soul-refining murders or yin-yang absorption arts that harmed others for gain, strictly speaking, that counted as unorthodox heresies.
But “demons” were different. Though still human in form, they had undergone a fundamental change inside. Even their minds were corrupted, utterly unlike humans.
Like the one true “demon” Lu Zheng had encountered, the Glazed Buddha Ancestor in the secret realm of Jiming Temple.
Utterly mad!
So demons were too dangerous, purely non-human, mentally deranged.
Like Da Jing’s stance, whether in southern borders and eastern seas, or northern domains and western Buddhist lands, the attitude towards demons was to exterminate utterly.
Thus, this world had not seen a true “great demon” for ages.
Whether those who actively cultivated demonic arts or those who went astray and became possessed, once discovered, it was death.
Who would have thought they had appeared again.
“You didn’t probe their origins?” Abbot Ming Zhang asked with furrowed brows.
“Where would I get that ability? Slaying them took all I had.” Abbot Yu Ting shook his head. “But when they cast spells, their demonic qi carried a fiery tinge. Not sure if that’s inherent, or from a heavenly demon’s transmission, converted from some volcanic sect.”
“This matter must be reported to the Demon Suppression Office.” Abbot Ming Zhang said.
“I already did. Took their corpses there myself.” Abbot Yu Ting said.
“The Demon Suppression Office couldn’t identify them either?”
“The Demon Suppression Office aren’t immortals.” Abbot Yu Ting curled his lip.
Abbot Ming Zhang looked at Lu Zheng and Yuan Jing. “You’ve not encountered demonic cultivators.”
Yuan Jing shook his head. “No.”
Lu Zheng shook his head too, then said. “When I returned, Lord Chu from Yizhou’s Demon Suppression Office asked if I’d noticed anything strange. Could that be due to demonic cultivators appearing?”
“Probably.” Abbot Ming Zhang nodded with a frown. “And him asking you means encounters with demonic cultivators are not few.”
“Why come to Da Jing to muddy the waters?” Abbot Yu Ting frowned. “Southern sects are chaotic, northern lands vast and sparse, eastern seas boundless. Aren’t those better?”
“You ask me, who do I ask?” Abbot Ming Zhang said grumpily. “And how do you know their lair isn’t elsewhere?”
“Their sect gate can’t possibly be in Da Jing. I just mean why they showed up here this time.” Abbot Yu Ting said.
“Didn’t you ask when you fought them?” Abbot Ming Zhang asked.
“I did. They wouldn’t say.”
“Um.” Abbot Ming Zhang nodded. “That’s typical demonic cultivator behaviour.”
Abbot Yu Ting, “…”
“No matter. If the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up. It’s not the dynasty’s end times now. Let demonic cultivators advance by leaps and bounds. Now in the world, any demonic cultivator who emerges gets slain.” Abbot Ming Zhang said indifferently.
Abbot Yu Ting curled his lip. “But history records that every major calamity in the cultivation world involved demonic cultivators.”
“Yet which demonic cultivator ever won?” Abbot Ming Zhang said.
“If everyone thinks that way, the next time might be total annihilation.” Abbot Yu Ting said.
“Rest easy. The court and sect ancestors aren’t for show. They ponder deeper than us. Didn’t you hear Yuan Zheng just now? This matter has likely reached Emperor Jing and the sect ancestors already.” Abbot Ming Zhang said.
“Fine.” Abbot Yu Ting could only shake his head helplessly. “Anyway, if a heavenly demon truly descends, I can only watch.”
“That’s right. So meet soldiers with generals, stem water with earth.” Abbot Ming Zhang smiled. “If a great demon truly emerges, the tall ones will handle it. The remaining demon spawn, we can divvy up.”
