Free Web NovelChapter 180: Chapter 132: The Crow Fosterer Attacks
At the same time, it would also bring an Omen upon the people around him.
Deceitful Objects... The reason Ye Weiyang called them that was perhaps because "they" were never some gift or miracle from the heavens, but rather, treacherous and evil things!
At this moment, Zheng Xiu’s mind was clear and his thoughts flowed freely. As he connected everything, his clenched fists were slick with cold sweat.
The Baili Village tragedy, Xu Shu’s miserable death from coveting the Executioner’s Deceitful Object, his own fate for coveting the Painter’s Deceitful Object...
On the surface, the three incidents seemed to have no connection whatsoever.
But now, Zheng Xiu was faintly beginning to understand the link between them.
"Deceitful Objects...!"
The moment the realization hit him, the scroll on his back felt unbearably hot, like a searing branding iron. Horrified, he quickly took it off. But an instant later, the burning sensation vanished. The cloth wrapping the scroll felt coarse and cool to the touch, as if the searing heat had just been a hallucination born from his sudden shock and dread.
"Wait a moment!"
Master Dengdeng had suddenly Cast, his voice like a morning bell.
This Casting wasn’t meant to force Zheng Xiu out. Hearing the voice, Zheng Xiu felt his vexation instantly get put on hold, and he gradually calmed down.
Zheng Xiu was surprised. Recalling his own rudeness and agitation when he arrived, he felt a pang of remorse and cupped his fist, saying, "Master, I was offensive just now. Please forgive me. It was all my fault. I brought this upon myself."
Zheng Xiu was not an unreasonable person.
Although Master Dengdeng was hiding secrets, he had indeed said from the beginning that the painting could not be handed over to Ye Weiyang. It was Zheng Xiu who had Chu Susu steal the scroll and take it from Yunliu Temple. Furthermore, Zheng Xiu wouldn’t blame Chu Susu for no reason. Blaming this and that when things went wrong was not his style. A true Mighty Man should have the courage to take responsibility for his mistakes, bear all the consequences, and turn the situation around. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
Hearing this, Master Dengdeng showed no blame. He put his palms together. "Who can be without fault?"
"I implore you, Master, stop speaking in riddles."
Zheng Xiu’s tone was sincere.
"The matter is of great importance and difficult to explain clearly."
"Then keep it brief."
Master Dengdeng said, "This old monk will ask you: if sacrificing Donor Feng Bei alone can ensure the peace of all living things, but saving Donor Feng Bei could plunge the world into a bottomless Bitter Prison, what would you choose?"
Zheng Xiu was taken aback for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh. His gaze was like a torch, brighter than the candlelight in the hall.
"The term ’all living things’ is too vague. There are millions upon millions of them; how could I save so many? Master, your question is pointless. I choose Feng Bei."
Zheng Xiu’s reply was firm and unwavering. "Besides, Feng Bei’s life and death should not be decided by others."
"If you want to save her, you will have to be drawn into... Gongsun Mo’s Ancient Painting, just like her." Master Dengdeng seemed to have known Zheng Xiu’s answer all along. His expression was completely calm as he slowly said, "But the chances of survival are slim to none. Please, Benefactor Zheng Shan, decide carefully."
"Thank you for your concern, Master. I am not afraid of the Ghostly Realm."
The old Monk shook his head. "What you should fear are the hearts of men."
Zheng Xiu retorted, "Master, if you have something to say, just say it plainly."
The old Monk said, "This is not a riddle, but a maxim."
Zheng Xiu was suddenly speechless.
At this point, Master Dengdeng suddenly looked up, his gaze seeming to pierce through the roof beams of the main hall.
"You must go now!"
CAW—CAW—CAW—
The old Monk had barely finished speaking when a dense chorus of cawing erupted from outside, carried from a great distance.
The waves of cawing approached from all directions. Zheng Xiu’s expression changed. He turned, pushed open the doors, and walked outside the hall to find tens of thousands of Ravens in the sky, gathering into a mass like an ominous black cloud, blotting out the sun as it bore down on Yunliu Temple.
Zheng Xiu’s expression changed again. He had never seen so many Ravens gathered together. Even the Ravens circling above the Daqian Imperial City didn’t amount to a third of the flock now flying towards General Peak.
There were just too many!
Crows are scavengers, companions to the dead, and since ancient times their caws have been seen as an Omen. Now, as the vast flock descended, even though Zheng Xiu knew Ravens had no real attack power, the overwhelming wave of cawing made his whole body tense up and his hair stand on end, making it impossible for him to relax.
"You must go!"
Master Dengdeng struck the wooden fish, TOK TOK TOK, and began to Cast.
"Wait a moment!"
"Wait a moment!"
"Wait a moment!"
In that instant, the clear, blue daytime sky was like a clean scroll. The Ravens flying in from all directions were like an overturned inkstone, the thick ink spreading from the edges to contaminate the center. This comparison of Zheng Xiu’s was no exaggeration; one could only imagine how terrifyingly numerous the Ravens were. It seemed to herald the arrival of some frightening existence.
But as the old Monk chanted "Wait a moment!" again and again, the speed at which the flock of Ravens approached suddenly slowed. The "ink" spreading across the sky decelerated, as if they were all moving in slow motion.
The old Monk’s "Wait and See Zen" was inconceivable, bordering on the Dao itself, and could no longer be measured by common sense.
A thought stirred in Zheng Xiu’s mind. He touched the spot between his eyebrows and secretly used an [inspiration].
The style of his vision abruptly changed. He saw circles of gray ripples expanding outward from the old Monk at the center.
On the old Monk’s barren forehead, the character for "Wait" was faintly visible.
Zheng Xiu watched the old Monk sitting alone in the hall chanting "Wait a moment," while a hundred thousand crows performed in slow motion, and he internally screamed, ’Holy shit!’
’Could it be that the medium for Master Dengdeng’s Casting isn’t sound or anything else, but himself?’
’When someone learns his name is "Master Dengdeng," are they actually already influenced by his "Wait and See Zen"?’
Zheng Xiu recalled how every time he thought of this figure, the phrase "Wait a moment" would involuntarily pop into his head, and he had a sudden epiphany.
Master Dengdeng. Wait a moment. ’Has the old Monk turned his own name, his very existence, and even the stories told about him in the world, into a kind of "medium"?’
