Chun Hui began practicing martial arts only after turning forty, and his skills were not particularly high.
Tang Lici unsealed his mute acupoint and asked him where the Gu King was. The old man, who had secluded himself in Tianqing Temple for decades, let out a sigh.
Instead of answering the question about the Gu King, he slowly posed one to Tang Lici: "What does it mean to repay not kindness, but a ghost?"
"What exactly did you see in the Wangsheng Pu ?" Tang Lici replied evasively, looking at his own blood-stained hands. His fingers were pale and bluish, and under the lamplight, no traces of blood could be seen.
"Amitabha." Even though Chun Hui claimed to have "left the monastic life," he still uttered Buddhist phrases. "In truth, the late emperor did not die immediately after taking poison in Tianqing Temple but remained in a prolonged coma. We built a tea garden and hid him underground, hoping he would wake on his own one day." After a moment of contemplation, Chun Hui continued slowly, "We tried many methods, but none could rouse him."
"And then one day, Liu Yan barged into Tianqing Temple with the Wangsheng Pu ," Tang Lici murmured.
"The Wangsheng Pu mentions that it is the 'origin of the eight winds and nine wilds, the transformation of profound essence descending as light.' Having studied Buddhism for many years, I suspected it was not a single volume and that there must be others," Chun Hui answered. "So we traced its origins and learned this rare book came from you. The other two volumes somehow appeared in Xingyang Bookstore. The Ci Nan Ke Na Mo Wangsheng Pu and the Bei Pu Ti Jia Lan Duo Wangsheng Pu describe a soul-transfer method—a way to move the soul of a dying person into another..."
"What?" Fu Zhumei was shocked. What nonsense was this? When a person dies, they’re gone—there aren’t even ghosts, let alone transferring one’s soul into another!
Tang Lici remained expressionless. "May I ask how this soul-transfer method works?"
"Open the late emperor’s skull, remove a portion of his brain, and implant it into another’s," Chun Hui said. "As long as the recipient does not die, they will carry the late emperor’s soul."
Fu Zhumei gasped.
Crack open someone’s skull, scoop out a piece, and stuff it into another’s opened brain?
If they survived, it would truly be a miracle of the ages.
Tang Lici, hearing of such a "soul-transfer technique," was also slightly shaken. "But you had another arcane method to ensure the recipients survived—how many people did you transfer souls into?" He smiled faintly. "Afraid the technique was too uncertain, so you transferred the late emperor’s entire brain—divided it all, didn’t you?"
Fu Zhumei was horrified.
What… what did that mean?
They took that person’s entire… entire brain and… split it into pieces to implant into many others?
How deranged must they have been to commit such an inhuman act?
Chun Hui closed his eyes. "Thirteen people."
"And under this arcane method, all thirteen actually survived," Tang Lici said softly. "So you became utterly convinced of the soul-transfer technique. I suspect these people even retained some memories of the late emperor’s life, which is why…" Tang Lici paused briefly. "They are all 'Gui Mudan.'"
That explained why Fengliudian’s Gui Mudan seemed endless, as if they could never be wiped out.
"But thirteen 'late emperors' were too many," Tang Lici said. "You selected one among them, and the other twelve became decoys."
Chun Hui sighed. "'Qingshan' remembered the late emperor’s affairs most clearly among them and was the most credible."Tang Lizhi chuckled softly, "Old monk, you've chanted 'Amitabha' for most of your life, saving countless devout men and women... Even after leaving the monastic life, Buddha still watches over you." He asked, "Do you believe that?"
Chun Hui remained silent.
"These people carrying the 'Spirit of the Late Emperor' possess considerable martial skills. I estimate the Late Emperor wasn't a peerless master before his spiritual transformation, nor would he naturally gain supreme martial arts after becoming a spirit," Tang Lizhi said. "They endured the agony of having their brains opened to receive spirits—they must have been notable martial artists beforehand. Am I right?"
Chun Hui stayed silent still.
"Who could subdue thirteen martial arts masters like this? Who possesses such profound knowledge of brain control techniques to open skulls without causing death?" Tang Lizhi sighed. "The Gu King, 'Lamp Summoner' Wang Lingze."
Chun Hui's eyes snapped open. He hadn't expected that with just a few words, Tang Lizhi had already deduced Wang Lingze might still be alive.
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