Chapter 243

“Crack… crack…”

The old beggar cracked his neck and then his waist. Though the bloodstains remained on the ground, he spoke and walked as if nothing had happened.

“Ah…” “Hmph…”

Seeing the old beggar take a few steps towards them, some of the imperial guards with weaker nerves stumbled backward. Even the highly skilled palace guards felt a strong tremor in their hearts.

After speaking, the old beggar lowered his head and patted his knees as if dusting himself off. He looked around to see that most of the large crowd of onlookers had already fled, though a few individuals were still peeking from a distant alleyway.

Of course, some people remained steadily in place, watching: Ji Yuan and a few cultivators from Yuhuai Mountain.

The old beggar glanced at the imperial guards and palace guards again, then cupped his hands in greeting towards Ji Yuan as he walked towards him.

“Mr. Ji, I’ve given you quite a spectacle. Shall we go for tea?”

Ji Yuan smiled and returned the gesture.

“I heard that being conferred the title of Celestial Master also comes with a thousand taels of gold. Old Mr. Lu is truly wealthy today, with money to spare. This tea money…”

“Uh… Mr. Ji, you’ll still have to pay for the tea. Didn’t this old beggar get executed by the Emperor? A criminal wouldn’t get a reward, would he?”

“Hahahahaha… Let’s go, it’s on me then!”

A gentleman in a green robe and a beggar in rags walked away chatting and laughing. Though they seemed to move slowly, it was as if the scenery in view stretched away, and they disappeared from sight within a few breaths.

It was only after Ji Yuan and the old beggar had been gone for quite some time that some of the imperial guards and palace guards recovered from their sense of unreal dread.

Looking around again, the few people who had stood still earlier, dressed in long robes or feather cloaks and small caps, had also turned and left. Some bolder common folk had started to approach again to see what had happened.

The pool of blood on the ground was identical to that of an ordinary beheading, except this time, no one needed to deal with a corpse.

After the palace guards had calmed down, they all looked at each other.

“That… was truly an immortal!?”

“This… How do we report back to His Majesty?”

“We can only tell the truth…”

The replies from others were full of unease. What had just happened was too unreal and incredible; someone being beheaded and coming back to life could only be explained by divine beings.

But what such a report would mean for the Emperor, or for themselves, the palace guards dared not imagine.

On the other hand, the surrounding imperial guards would likely be fine; it might even become a topic of conversation during their private drinking and casual chats.

Only after the imperial guards and palace guards left Yongning Street, each with their complex emotions, did more common folk return to hear the brave ones describe what had generally happened.

The crowd intermittently erupted in sounds of disbelief or utter astonishment.

In the imperial palace, due to the previous incident, the atmosphere in the imperial court remained awkward for quite some time. It only gradually began to warm up again when reports on the dharma assembly resumed.

Besides reporting on various aspects of the dharma assembly, the remaining task was to continue introducing the various dharma masters to the Emperor.

None of these dozen or so dharma masters said anything out of line; it was standard practice for them to introduce themselves and then congratulate the Emperor on his birthday.

Among this group, the old Emperor and some ministers clearly had their preferences. Dharma masters with good appearances naturally garnered more attention, such as the monk, or the elderly dharma master with an otherworldly aura whom Ji Yuan had previously shown to the dragon prince and princess.

At this point, it was the monk’s turn. An official from the Ministry of Rites, acting on behalf of Yan Chang, extended a hand to introduce the monk.

“Your Majesty, this is Master Huitong. He is not from our Great Zhen, but from north of the Tingliang Kingdom. During the dharma assembly, he recited scriptures, and Buddhist chants echoed, filling the empty room with fragrance!”

“Oh?”

Emperor Yuande showed a hint of excitement, looking at the monk.

“Master, do you possess any profound spiritual powers or Buddhist magic?”

The monk forced a smile, looked left and right, then took a step forward. He clasped his hands together and bowed to the old Emperor in a Buddhist salute.

“Namo Great Ming King Buddha, Your Majesty, this humble monk is merely a vegetarian who recites sutras. I possess no extraordinary spiritual powers. My participation in the dharma assembly was simply to chant scriptures, pray for blessings, and avert disasters and difficulties!”

In fact, this monk was almost the only dharma master who personally did not wish to have an audience with the Emperor. His work during the Nine Heavens and Ten Assemblies was truly just what a normal Water and Land Dharma Assembly entailed. However, his excessive diligence inadvertently revealed some spiritual aspects, leading him to be directly selected by the Ministry of Rites for an imperial audience.

The monk’s tone was calm and his expression placid. The old Emperor squinted at him for a moment, then replied with a slightly disappointed snort.

“Monk, by saying that, are you implying that the esteemed ministers of the Ministry of Rites are deceiving Us?”

Several officials from the Ministry of Rites immediately gasped, their scalps tingling.

The monk, too, looked up at the Emperor with a hint of panic, and quickly clasped his hands again in a bow.

“Namo Great Ming King Buddha, Your Majesty, you speak too gravely. There was no explicit statement that those who enter the court for an audience must possess great spiritual powers. What is prioritized is sincere prayer for blessings and averting disasters during the dharma assembly, and those who receive merit should be considered first. I believe the esteemed sirs of the Ministry of Rites also took this into consideration!”

“So you believe you possess merit?”

The Emperor asked again, then looked at the monk indifferently.

Master Huitong clasped his hands and bowed.

“This humble monk believes I do.”

The atmosphere grew silent again for a moment. After a short while, the Emperor on the dragon throne waved his hand, dismissing the monk, and the many officials of the Ministry of Rites breathed a sigh of relief.

Originally, during the preparations for the imperial audience, many officials in charge of the dharma assembly, including Yan Chang, had a good impression of this monk. While others didn’t seem particularly fond of the old beggar, Yan Chang held him in high regard.

Yet today, these two individuals were precisely the ones: one caused Yan Chang to directly incur a huge disaster, and the other made the Ministry of Rites break out in a cold sweat.

Seeing the monk retreat back among the other dharma masters, the Ministry of Rites official gathered his composure. Just as he was about to introduce the next person, a report came from outside the hall.

“The execution guards report.”

The courtiers and the Emperor subconsciously turned their gaze towards outside the hall. Emperor Yuande nodded to an old eunuch nearby.

“Summon them.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The old eunuch bowed and then bellowed loudly.

“By His Majesty’s decree, summon the execution palace guards into the hall!”

After a few breaths, a total of four palace guards with sabers re-entered the great hall, one after another. However, ministers closer to them could see that their faces were not well.

The four of them came together to the center of the hall and knelt on one knee towards the dragon throne.

This posture struck some quick-witted ministers as odd, as normally, even when having an audience with the Emperor, there was no need to kneel.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, we have already beheaded the old beggar in the middle of Yongning Street…”

“Hmm, you may withdraw!”

The Emperor waved his hand, uninterested.

However, none of the four palace guards stood up; they remained kneeling.

Emperor Yuande narrowed his eyes, looking at the four. Could there be another unexpected development?

“What? Is there something else?”

The four guards exchanged glances, realizing there was no avoiding it. The one in the front right gritted his teeth and spoke.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, your humble servant personally beheaded the old beggar. His head rolled, and blood splattered several feet, but…”

“But what?”

The guard looked up at the Emperor, his back feeling hot.

“It’s just that a moment later, the old beggar, whose head was severed from his body, actually stood up again. His head and body responded to each other, and finally, his body picked up his head and placed it back in position, and he came back to life!”

“What!?”

The old Emperor’s body trembled. Clutching the golden armrest of the dragon throne, he almost stood up.

“Ah…” “Such a thing…”

“These guards wouldn’t be making this up, would they?”

“Do they have the guts for that…”

At this moment, not only was the Emperor horrified, but even the courtiers who had mostly remained silent earlier couldn’t help but murmur among themselves. There were many who were skeptical, disbelieving, and utterly terrified.

Emperor Yuande’s hands, gripping the armrests, trembled slightly. He stared wide-eyed at the four palace guards, angrily saying with a slight tremor in his voice:

“How dare you lie to Us?”

“Your humble servants dare not!” “How dare your humble servants commit the crime of deceiving the Emperor!”

“May Your Majesty see clearly!”

The four guards, their faces pale, continued to kowtow to the Emperor.

The guard who had spoken earlier clasped his fists and said bitterly.

“Your Majesty, we absolutely dare not deceive you. The accompanying imperial guards witnessed it along with us. Furthermore, there were many onlookers during the beheading on Yongning Street. The old beggar, after being decapitated, came back to life, terrifying many common folk who fled in panic. Your Majesty only needs to send someone to Yongning Street to inquire, and you will know. Even now, that pool of blood from the execution is still there! Please, Your Majesty, discern the truth!”

On the dragon throne, Emperor Yuande’s breathing was slightly ragged. He pointed at the four palace guards, trying to say something, but several times he opened his mouth and no words came out.

After a long while, he finally managed to demand.

“He, where is he? Where did he go? Why didn’t he return with you!?”

The muscles of the palace guards were tense. However uneasy they felt, they could only steel themselves and continue speaking.

It was still the lead guard who spoke.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, after the old beggar stood up and stretched, he left with a man who looked like a Confucian scholar in a green robe…”

Emperor Yuande couldn’t help but stand up, angrily shouting with a fierce expression.

“You just let him go like that? Why didn’t you stop him!?”

The palace guard looked up at the Emperor, whose face was terrifying. He closed his eyes for a moment before continuing.

“Both of them are divine beings. They disappeared out of sight within a few steps; we had no way to pursue them. Before the old beggar left, he also left a message…”

“Speak…!”

The guard took a heavy breath.

“The old beggar looked at us and said that the fate of the imperial dynasty should not be lightly interfered with. He also said… that his master-disciple relationship with Your Majesty… had ended!”

The old Emperor stood blankly, his mouth agape, his jaw trembling slightly. A complex and bewildered mix of emotions intertwined in his heart, yet it also felt largely empty.

For some reason, when the palace guard uttered that sentence, the old Emperor felt a strong sense that “this was the truth.”

After a long while, the old Emperor swayed, his legs gave out, and he fell back onto the dragon throne with a “thud…”

“Your Majesty!”

The eunuch nearby nervously expressed concern. When the old Emperor turned to look at him, his eyes had a hollow look.

The four palace guards knelt with their heads bowed. The imperial court was silent, and the entire great hall fell into a brief stillness.

“Ho… ho… ho…”

After a good while, Emperor Yuande snapped back to reality as if waking from a dream. He looked again at the four palace guards who dared not make any move, then turned to the old eunuch beside him, speaking in a slightly hurried voice.

“Issue a decree, issue a decree! Let the commander of the infantry, the Metropolitan Prefect’s office, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau… everyone, go, go find him for me, bring him back! Yan Chang, where is Yan Chang?”

The old Emperor’s state was somewhat frightening. The old eunuch steeled himself and replied.

“Your Majesty, Minister Yan is currently in the imperial prison…”

“What? He’s in the imperial prison? Who imprisoned him? Who dares to…”

The Emperor’s voice trailed off as he said this. He suddenly remembered what had happened earlier, and a deeper sense of dejection set in, a feeling of profound loss.