456 Purification of the Six Senses
The entire courtyard was silent.
Xiao Se glanced at Xie Xuan who shook his head. "I've already killed the ghost doctor, but the poison parasite craft did not end. I thought it would be planted in Wuxin, but now Wuxin has also recovered. Where on earth did he put the parasite host?"
Ye Ruoyi had a sudden realisation. "It's in His Majesty!"
Xiao Se was immediately incensed. "Xiao Yu, how dare you!"
Xiao Yu laughed. "And what if I did?"
If the parasite was placed in His Majesty, then it made sense why Mingde Emperor's recent illness had been fluctuating, and why Xiao Yu had been acting so fearless, secured in the knowledge that he had a safeguard all along. If his opponent was the same type of person as himself, then he would already be dead. But, his opponent was Xiao Se. Although he appeared cold and detached on the surface, Xiao Se was in fact benevolent and tended towards clemency! Xiao Yu spread his hands, "Come on, kill me!"
Luo Qingyang suddenly furrowed his brows as he recalled the letter he had received from Heavenly Revelations City.
Godfather, please come to Heavenly Revelations as soon as possible. Help me to kill Xiao Se, kill Xiao Ruojin.
That was why, as a last resort, he executed his flying sword move to kill Mingde Emperor.
But, if he had succeeded and killed the Emperor, then the poison parasite would already be dead. If Mingde Emperor was already dead, then this chaos in Heavenly Revelations… would never have broken out.
That wasn't right!
Luo Qingyang whipped his head around.
In that same moment, Xiao Se also came to a realisation and he raised his head.
A sudden flicker of pain flashed in Lady Consort Xuan's eyes. Then, she bent over and collapsed to the ground.
A figure in white appeared to have anticipated this and he swept towards Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu retreated sharply, using all of his energy to retreat, but he couldn't escape at all.
The figure in white settled down.
Xiao Yu stood there, his expression livid and his eyes wide with disbelief at what just happened.
In that moment, Wuxin's right hand was curled in a vitarka mudra gesture, but he was actually holding the jade bell that had been in Xiao Yu's hand. He raised his head, looked at Xiao Yu, and smiled slightly. "I'm guessing you were going to use this to coerce the Solitary Sword Immortal and me to kill for you. Am I right?"
Lady Consort Xuan realised that the sudden sharp pain she felt in her body had disappeared. She sat on the ground, dazed, but came back to herself instantly. She turned to look at Xiao Yu. "Yu'er, you!"
Everyone understood immediately that the parasite was not in Mingde Emperor's body but in Lady Consort Xuan's body!
Even Luo Qingyang lost control of his anger. The Nine Songs sword suddenly unsheathed itself and pointed straight at Xiao Yu. The sword aura was extremely aggressive, his killing intent spiked, and almost everyone in the courtyard was shocked into taking three steps back.
"Shixiong, stop!" Lady Consort Xuan cried out.
Luo Qingyang forced himself to supress the sword aura and rebuked in a low voice, "Disgraceful."
Xiao Yu looked at Wuxin, his eyes bloodshot and on the verge of bleeding. "How did you know?"
"Why do you think I willingly fell into your trap and willingly let myself be made into a medicine man? I didn't understand the poison parasite craft myself, so I could only throw myself into this prison. To enter Buddha, I must first become a demon. Only by knowing the demon can I bring down the demon. My shifu taught me this principle a long time ago. I met Mother before I met up with you and I saw what you did to her. You placed the parasite bug in the wine and only someone who trusted you that much would be susceptible to such a tactic." Wuxin sighed, and with a light pinch of his fingers, he crushed Xiao Yu's jade bell into pieces. Then, he flicked his long sleeves and stepped back, saying to Luo Qingyang, "Mister Luo, I think that now, you'd be willing to help me stop my… good brother?"
Luo Qingyang lowered his head. "Of course."
Xiao Yu glanced at Jin Xuan and growled softly, "Grand Eunuch, get me out of here."
However, Jin Xuan was still watching the sky, as if everything that was happening here had nothing to do with him.
Wuxin retreated to Lady Consort Xuan's side, waved his long sleeves, and chanted loudly, "Subdue evil spirits and subjugate demons!"
"Wuxin, stop reciting sutras. You've never known how to recite sutras!" Xiao Se interrupted him. He understood Wuxin well enough, and guessed that he must be putting up his high monk act again.
Wuxin grinned, reached out a hand and pressed it on top of Lady Consort Xuan's head. Then, he chanted again, "Purification of the six senses!"
Lady Consort Xuan screamed and the veins in her head burst. She only felt as if thousands and millions of ants were crawling all over her body. The pain was almost unbearable!
"Repel!" Wuxin released his right hand and pointed a finger right between Lady Consort Xuan's eyebrows.
Lady Consort Xuan felt a comforting tingle spread all over her body and that unbearable pain receded instantly. Her mind cleared up and she opened her eyes to look at Wuxin. "Shi'er."
Wuxin rubbed Lady Consort Xuan on her head and casually kicked out his foot, crushing an almost transparent parasite bug into dust. Then, he patted Lady Consort Xuan's head lightly. "Mother, you shouldn't have to see what happens next. Go to sleep."
Lady Consort Xuan stiffened and was about to protest, but her vision turned dark and she fainted instantly. Wuxin supported her in his arms and wagged his eyebrows at Luo Qingyang. "Mister Luo."
Luo Qingyang nodded, sheathed his sword and walked over to carry Lady Consort Xuan.
Wuxin sent Xiao Se a look and the two of them walked forward at the same time.
Xiao Yu glared at Jin Xuan. "Grand Eunuch, is the sky so nice to look at?"
Jin Xuan withdrew his gaze and smiled benignly. "I haven't seen such a beautiful moon in a long time."
"Such a moon?" Xiao Yu asked.
Jin Xuan replied in a low voice, "A blood moon."
"Aren't the two of you poetic." Wuxin pressed the palms of his hands together and recited Buddha's name. "This monk will let you take a longer look."
Xie Xuan took a look at the situation outside the residence and realised that all the howling sounds in Heavenly Revelations City had suddenly quietened. The medicine men who were still running about before were lying limply on the ground, completely motionless. He nodded down at Xiao Se below. "It's resolved."
Xiao Se looked at Xiao Yu. "Your so-called game is over. You can decide your own ending."
"Do I have a choice?" Xiao Yu sneered.
"You have three choices. One, to die by this brother who was born from the same father. Two, to die by Wuxin, your brother who was born from the same mother. Or three, to die by…" Xiao Se didn't continue.
Xiao Yu had already raised his sword and stabbed it through his own chest. He was still smiling even as his entire body belied his resentment and defiance.
"In the end, you still can't accept you lost?" Xiao Se sighed.
"Because only when I despise others first, then I won't be despised by others." Xiao Yu said his last words then collapsed onto the ground.
Wuxin suddenly raised an opened hand and watched a snowflake fall into the middle of his palm. He raised his head and murmured, "It's snowing."
Xiao Se recalled that snowy night long ago, outside the front gate of Jixia Academy. Xiao Yu was kneeling there, his face full of indignation. He remembered this younger brother of his. Because of some rumours about his consort mother, he was always being criticised by the other princes behind his back. Xiao Se walked over and took off the sable fur cloak he was wearing to cover Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu raised his head and looked at him. "Are you my Liu-ge?"
Xiao Se nodded. "Yes."
Xiao Yu took off the sable fur cloak and though he was still kneeling, he straightened his back a little more. "One day, I will be better than you."
*
Note about Chapter titles and Buddhist references:
Here are some notes about all the Buddhist references in the past 6 chapters.
451 佛心所向 That Which Buddha's Heart Turns To
This is the chapter title for 451. From the idiom 人心所向, which literally means, what the human heart yearns for, but in usage, it means the popular sentiment by the general public. In this context, Buddha's Heart is a reference to Wuxin, and Xiao Se was trying to figure out what Wuxin was thinking.
金身药人 golden medicine man
In the same chapter, Ji Ruofeng called Wuxin a golden medicine man. Literally, 金身 means golden body, but it is usually used in a Buddhist context to refer to a gilded statue of Buddha.
452 佛心见魔 Buddha's Heart Saw the Demon
This is the chapter title for 452. From the phrase 明心见性, which means to find one's true self. Way back in the first arc of the novel, Wuxin was enlightened by the principle of looking into one's inner demons to find the path to Buddha (enlightenment). Although most of the chapter was about Su Changhe's fight, this reference is about Xiao Se trying to find a way to break through to Wuxin's heart.
454 无心有心 Wuxin's Heart
This is the chapter title for 454. Wuxin's name means, literally, without heart (无心) but it doesn't mean heartless. It means unintentional, while the opposite, with heart (有心) means to be considerate. So, the literal translation of the chapter title is 'unintentionally considerate.' That's quite an oxymoron. Haha.
456 六根清净 Purification of the Six Senses
This is the chapter title for 456. This is a Buddhist term which means to attain a state of being free from all desires, and literally means, the six roots are clear. In Buddhism, these refer to the six sense bases, which are sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste, and mind (or will) (read more about Āyatana). I translated it literally and more as a command because of how it's used in the chapter.
降妖伏魔 Subdue evil spirits and subjugate demons
Wuxin said this line just before Xiao Se interrupted him. The sutra he was about to recite is most likely the Shurangama mantra, which he recited in ch 239 when he cured Li Hanyi's qi deviation. So, he skipped ahead to 六根清净 (purification of the six senses), which was the title of the chapter and explained above.
拈花状 vitarka mudra
In the same chapter, Wuxin performs a Buddhist hand gesture, or mudra, which are typically seen in statues of Buddha. It is literally translated as, a gesture of grasping a flower. It is performed by joining the tips of the thumb and the index fingers together while keeping the other fingers straight. In Buddhism, this mudra signifies the discussion and transmission of the teachings of Buddha.