Snow in the Spring Courtyard - Chapter 6 - Clay Buddha

Chapter 6 – Clay Buddha

     Snow fluttered and rolled over the eaves, as if they were trying to blow the eaves of the ruined temple away at any time. The night was eerily silent and dark, as if it was going to swallow up the weak fire in the ruined temple.

     The junior brother inside was afraid that the horse outside would be cold, so he braved the wind and snow and walked out of the ruined temple to lead the horse into the temple. The horse struggled at first, but after entering the ruined temple, the warmth of the fire quickly calmed it down.

     “You don’t know what’s good for you!” The junior brother said, slightly annoyed as he shook off some of the snowflakes on the horse’s mane. He felt his fingers go numb from the cold, so he settled with simply tying the horse’s reins to the pillar before quickly walking back to the fire to get some warmth.

     Seeing that his cheeks were red from the cold, Qi Xiaotang shifted to the side and motioned for her fellow apprentice to sit down and warm himself by the fire.

     “Thanks, senior sister.” The junior brother said, sniffling as he sat down.

     Qi Xiaotang kept getting a feeling that something was wrong, so she tilted her head to look at Shen Yi. It was then that she realized that her senior sister had been silent for a long time. “Senior sister?”

     Shen Yi did not respond to her but just stared blankly at the clay Buddha covered with cobwebs in the dilapidated temple.

     Qi Xiaotang then moved to Shen Yi’s side and gently bumped her with her shoulder, “Senior Sister, what are you looking at?”

     “The Clay Buddha.” Shen Yi answered seriously.

     Qi Xiaotang followed Shen Yi’s line of sight and saw that it was just an ordinary clay Buddha, seemingly nothing special about it. In fact, the Buddhas in their Tianfo Sect looked much kinder than this one.

     “What’s there to see?” Qi Xiaotang muttered softly.

     There was really nothing special about the clay Buddha, but since laying eyes on it, Shen Yi kept getting the feeling that there was something strange about it.

     “I’ll go take a look.” Shen Yi said, standing up. The group had to stay here tonight, so she had to make sure it was safe. She had just lost her junior brother three days ago. If something happened again, how could she go back with dignity?

     Qi Xiaotang was fine at first, but after seeing the alert look of her senior sister, she couldn’t help but shudder. She grabbed the corner of Shen Yi’s clothes and whispered, “Senior sister, don’t be like this. It’s scary.”

     “It’s okay. I’ll just take a look. Just to make you feel safer.” Shen Yi patted the back of Qi Xiaotang’s hand, motioning for her to let go. She shot her a rare smile before comforting her, “Don’t be afraid.”

     The junior fellow disciple also advised: “Senior Sister Xiaotang, please don’t be like this. Senior Sister Shen is just going to take a look. Why do you look as if you’ve seen a ghost in the dilapidated temple? It’s really creepy.”

     If you have a clear conscience, you will not be afraid of ghosts.

     The scariest thing in this world is actually people.

     Shen Yi had understood this principle since she was a child. Besides, people in Tianfo sect had been immersed in Buddhist teachings for a long time, so ghosts should stay away from them. She pulled out a golden needle from the needle bag, pointed her toes, and flew to the lotus seat of the clay Buddha.

     “Tick-tock-”

     At this moment, Shen Yi’s senses were fully open, and any movement in the dark could be clearly heard by her ears and her ears caught the sound of water drops falling to the ground.

     However, to be precise, she was sure that the sound was definitely not caused by a drop of water.

     With a slight movement of her nostrils, Shen Yi could already smell a hint of blood.

     She clearly remembered that they patrolled the inside and outside of the ruined temple throughout the evening and confirmed that there were no wild animals or strangers in the temple. Only then did they leave the coffin and the horse outside the temple, before lighting a fire and prepare to stay the night.

     From dusk till now, there have been absolutely no injured wild animals running in, nor any injured travelers coming in to take shelter.

     In the dim light of the fire, she looked up at the face of the clay Buddha and couldn’t help but hold her breath. No wonder she felt that the clay Buddha was strange. She couldn’t see it clearly because of the spider web below but now that she was close, she could clearly see that half of the clay Buddha’s face was stained red with blood.

     On such a cold night, the blood should’ve froze after a brief moment, but the blood kept dripping from the tip of the clay Buddha’s nose to its flower-twisting palm, inexplicably revealing a touch of evil.

     The blood wasn’t coagulated either, so the only possibility is that the creature with the blood had just died and was lying on the eaves of this dilapidated temple. The blood seeped through the cracks between the tiles and dripped onto the top of the clay Buddha.

     Having calculated this, Shen Yi quietly rolled down from the lotus seat and returned to the fire in silence. If a person or an animal died, there must be a murderer, and they’re definately still nearby.

     “We shouldn’t stay here for long.” Shen Yi’s face was solemn, and she lowered her voice to tell her junior brother and sister, “It’s only half a day’s walk from here to master’s gate. You two ride on horses and go first, and I’ll cover your backs. We can’t stay the night.”

     After hearing this, the two turned pale.

     Qi Xiaotang asked in a trembling voice: “Is there really a ghost here?”

     “I hope it’s a ghost.” As soon as Shen Yi finished speaking, she heard the sound of clothes on the eaves. She vigilantly held the needle and protected her fellow disciples behind her, staring closely at the gate of the dilapidated temple.

     A jade hand holding a wine jug rested on the door sill, and the woman in red sat down on the threshold with a smile, blocking the only way out.

     “Witch!” Shen Yi exclaimed.

     Ye Lique leaned against the temple gate, her drunken eyes half closed as she asked with a soft smile, “Miss, even when I’m kind enough to keep watch for you, you’ll still call me a witch. Don’t you think that’s a bit heartless?”

     The three people in the temple had to admit that the witch’s voice was extremely pleasant to the ear, as if it were drunk, and despite the cold, the sound of the voice on the eardrums would even make them feel a bit hot.

     Shen Yi knew that she was no match for Ye Lique, but she didn’t dare to simply just believe anything she’d say. “We have no grudges against you, why are you following us?”

     “What?” Ye Lique looked at her with a smile, “I told you last time that next time we meet, I’ll give you a generous gift.” As she spoke, she took out half of a jade pendant from her bosom and threw it to Shen Yi, “Here you go!”

     Shen Yi caught it in one fluid motion and before she could even read the small words on the jade pendant, the frames of her eyes became red. “How could my sister’s things be in your hands?!” As she spoke, her fingertips trembled as they rolled over the word “Lian” on the jade pendant. She felt her heart tremble as she asked excitedly, “Tell me! Where is she?!”

     “Senior Sister.” Qi Xiaotang hurriedly tugged at the corner of Shen Yi’s clothes and reminded her in a low voice, “This woman’s a witch who kills people without blinking an eye…” If they suddenly angered her, then they really would just die here.

     “Damn it, for disturbing my sweet dream, you deserve to die.”

     Ye Lique suddenly smiled coldly, and she looked out of the ruined temple. This sentence was clearly not a reply to Shen Yi as she slowly stood up, raised her head and drank the last sip of wine in the jug. Then, she threw it to Shen Yi with a backhanded motion, “Miss, you owe me a pot of wine later, I’ll eventually come and remind you of the debt.” After saying that, she turned her head and winked her right eye mischievously at Shen Yi, before quickly dashing out of the ruined temple.

     “Stay put, I’ll take get rid of those people.”

     Although Ye Lique’s figure had been submerged in the wind and snow, her voice still transmitted clearly into the ruined temple.

     Qi Xiaotang took this opportunity to say, “Let’s go now while the witch is gone!”

     Shen Yi hesitated for a brief moment before stopping Qi Xiaotang to say, “Stay.”

     Qi Xiaotang was shocked, “Senior Sister, you don’t really believe her words… Do you?”

     “I don’t believe her, but I believe my sister.” Shen Yi glanced at the empty wine jug in her left hand, and then at the half jade pendant in her right palm. She threw the wine jug onto the pile of dry grass beside her, freeing her hand before taking out the other half of the jade pendant tied around her neck.

     After three years of separation, the two halves of the jade pendant were finally returned, and the word “Ripple” [T/N the word is Lian Yi, the same characters as the two sister’s name] was completed again, but her sister did not come back.

     These two halves were made by Shen Buping. One half was given to the elder sister and the other half was given to Shen Yi. One side was engraved with their names, and the other side was engraved with Shen Buping’s wishes for the sisters.

     Shen Lian’s half means “peace” and Shen Yi’s half means “good fortune”.

     Since her elder sister was willing to give such a personal item to Ye Lique, she must be rather well versed with her. Before Shen Yi could thoroughly figure out this matter, she reminded herself not to act rashly.

     Thinking of this, she looked at the wine jug on the pile of dry grass, took a deep breath, and as if she had made up her mind and picked up the wine jug before putting it into her bag.

     She can afford a pot of wine.

     As long as her elder sister can come back safely, Shen Yi was willing to give Ye Lique whatever she wanted.

     Meanwhile, Ye Lique rushed into the night forest and held Xue Hong, which had already stricken once to no avail. She looked a little drunk as she glanced around calmly, “Come out, let me count, how many of you are eager to see the King of Hell!”

     “You killed my beloved disciple Yang Bu and stole my secret medicine. Do you really think you can escape with your life tonight?” A hoarse voice sounded in the night forest.

     Ye Lique was taken aback, she didn’t expect that the Cangming Sect’s Impermanence Envoy would come in person.

     From the leader down, there are eight Impermanence Envoys in the Cangming Sect, named from one to eight. Four of them wear white clothes, and four wear black clothes. They travel around the world, just like the Black and White Impermanence in folk legends, and those who are unlucky will meet the King of Hell as soon as they cross paths.

     Wuchang Ba, the one in front of her now, is the one who Ye Lique values the least.

     “You actually came here alone, obviously, I’ll grant your wish for death.” Ye Li Que smiled softly with a smile on her face, and with a flick of the Xue Hong in her hand, she had revealed the hiding place of Wuchang Ba.

     Xue Hong was like a silver dragon and as fast as lightning. Following the red-clothed man, the whip broke through the wind and snow and accurately drilled into the tree trunk.

     The whip pierced through the tree trunk, forcing the person behind the tree to get out.

     He was a middle-aged man in white linen clothes with a distinct pale look from years of practicing the Cangming Heart Method. This method was a more extreme version of the Yin heart method, most suitable for women to practice. [T/N Men have more Yang energy and females have more Yin energy.] However, if a man practiced it, the blood color on his body would gradually fade, and would eventually look like a walking corpse.

     Wuchang Ba had fought with killers from Wuliang City before, but Ye Lique was the most skilled he’d ever met.

     This fact forced him to re-examine Ye Lique. How could she have such high martial arts skills at such a young age?

     “Are you finally scared?” Ye Lique chuckled, meeting Wuchang Ba’s gaze before saying coldly, “Alas, it’s too late.” As soon as she finished speaking, Xue Hong suddenly wrapped around Wuchang Ba like a living python.

     Faced with no other option, Wuchang Ba made a backhand move. With his internal strength, he was still superior to Ye Lique. In order to quickly take down Ye Lique and reverse the situation, he concentrated 90% of his internal strength into this one move. Ordinary weapons would surely be shattered on the spot under this blow. However…

     “Impossible!”

     Wuchang Ba quickly realized that he had underestimated Ye Lique’s internal strength.

     Xue Hong touched his arm, not only did Wuchang Ba’s attack fail to destroy the whip, but the whip just kept moving and easily cut into his skin as if it were a sharp blade.

     “That’s all you have?” Ye Lique sneered, and with a slight pull, Wuchang Ba’s right arm was ripped off by Xue Hong.

     “AH!” Wuchang Ba let out a cry of pain, the sound was so loud that it caused all the sleeping birds in the snow forest to fly out.

     “You’ve been a living ghost for so many years, you must be tired of it, right?” Ye Lique looked like a demon from hell, slowly bending down in a red dress. She smiled and said jokingly, “I’ll just have to see you off then. Be a good ghost and return to the underworld.”

     Xue Hong, who was stained with blood, suddenly wrapped its arms around Wuchang Ba’s throat. Ye Lique raised her face to watch the snowflakes flying all over the sky, and said in a cold voice, “Your Cangming Sect owe the Yangwei Escort Sect lives, and you should pay them back one by one.”

     “We didn’t…” The blood in his throat suddenly tightened, and Wuchang Ba almost suffocated for a moment.

     Ye Lique stepped on his chest and said, “No?” Then she loosened Xue Hong’s grip slightly, allowing Wuchang Ba to breathe a sigh of relief.

     Wuchang Ba said in a trembling voice: “It wasn’t us…”

     A complex cloud flashed across Ye Lique’s eyes. This was the ninth Cangming Sect disciple who denied this matter. If the first eight were just small minions of the Cangming Sect and were not credible, then the world’s knowledge of entire sect might as well be obsolete. If Wuchang Ba denied this matter up to his death, and there must be something else going on.

     “We…we in the Cangming Sect have the “Cangming Heart Sutra”…why…why do we need to snatch the “Yin Eclipse Technique”? ” Wuchang Ba was in so much pain that he almost fainted. If he was destined to die tonight anyway, he might as well make things clear once and for all.

     Ye Lique was silent for a long time, then suddenly tightened her grip on Xue Hong without mercy, ending his life.

     She sighed, feeling a strong chill rising from her lungs before quickly covering her chest with her hand, her breathing became rapid, causing her to briefly shout, “Wine!”