Chapter 152: Chapter 121: Heart Zen
Feng Bei didn’t overthink it. Since they had found the right person, she simply cupped her fists toward Ruchen and said, "Ye Weiyang, Upper Three, Feng Bei. We’re looking for a painting tied to a bizarre case, rumored to have been painted by Gongsun Mo two hundred years ago. If Master Hua knows its whereabouts, please tell us. I would be eternally grateful."
"Please, just call me Ruchen. Don’t call me Master Hua, I beg you." Ruchen hastily waved his hands, telling Feng Bei not to use that name. When he learned of Feng Bei and Zheng Xiu’s reason for being there, a look of sudden realization crossed his face. "So, you two have come for that painting as well!"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Xiu immediately asked, "Where is the painting?"
Ruchen gave a faint smile. "That painting is now in my master’s hands."
"And your master is?"
"Master Dengdeng of Yunliu Temple."
"Master Dengdeng?"
Zheng Xiu was taken aback yet again.
That was an even stranger name than "Playful Monk."
’Just what kind of characters were hiding in Yunliu Temple?’
Ruchen said, "Yes, my esteemed master is the renowned ’Master Dengdeng’ of Shuzhou."
Zheng Xiu looked toward Feng Bei.
Feng Bei nodded. "I’ve heard that in the Shuzhou region, there is an old Ascetic Monk with one foot in the Grandmaster Realm. I’m not sure if he’s the Master Dengdeng this monk speaks of. But if he is, then even Twelfth Moon, who has been famous in Ye Weiyang for a long time, is deeply wary of him and refuses to speak of him."
Zheng Xiu knew that in Ye Weiyang, the power levels of Miracle Masters were assessed in terms of combat units.
It was a measure of how many Divine Martial Soldiers or Commanders a single Miracle Master could defeat.
"Why did the painting end up in your hands?"
Zheng Xiu asked again.
Ruchen shook his head. "That, I do not know. About twenty days ago, I was meditating in my room, tempering my spirit. Suddenly, I heard a crow caw outside. I followed the sound and saw my master returning from outside the temple, a rolled-up scroll hidden in his sleeve. I asked out of curiosity, but a look of sorrow was on his face. He only said that an old friend had visited, and nothing more. From that day on, the painting has remained in his care."
The Monk spoke with utter sincerity.
His expression was composed, showing no signs of deceit.
But to Zheng Xiu, something felt strange at every turn.
’We’ve worked so hard, traveling all the way south to Shuzhou and searching for the Cannibal Painting for nearly a month, only for it to inexplicably turn up at Yunliu Temple?’
"Let’s go."
Feng Bei intended to head up the mountain that very night to find the painting.
"In such a hurry?"
Zheng Xiu couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, and he casually voiced his question to Feng Bei.
"Brother Zheng is interested in that painting."
Feng Bei replied with a faint smile.
After speaking, she felt she might have misspoken, so she tilted her head and added, "It’s a matter of Ye Weiyang’s duty."
Now that he was out of his women’s clothes, the monk Ruchen seemed like a completely different person, despite the beating he’d taken.
Anyone else caught cross-dressing would either be mortified or come off as a total creep.
But Ruchen stood there, conversing with Feng Bei and Zheng Xiu with perfect composure. He didn’t seem like a creep, nor did he show any of the shame one would expect from being caught.
It was as if this were the most natural thing in the world.
Ruchen listened to their exchange and spoke again. "If you two have truly come for that painting, I advise you to turn back."
Zheng Xiu asked, "Why?"
Ruchen replied, "Ever since my master came into possession of that painting, many people have gotten wind of it and tried to seize it by force. But my master says that painting should not be out in the world. For all of us, it is an unimaginable calamity, and it should remain here in Yunliu Temple, personally guarded by him. He will not hand it over to anyone, no matter who they are."
Feng Bei said matter-of-factly, "That’s fine. We will go up the mountain ourselves and meet this master."
Ruchen was stunned. He was about to try and dissuade them, but after a glance at Feng Bei, he lowered his head and sighed. "Since you’ve both made up your minds, and out of gratitude for saving my life, I will introduce you to my master. I’ll explain your purpose and hope he might have a change of heart."
Zheng Xiu smiled and cupped his hands at Ruchen. "Then we’re counting on you, Master Ruchen."
"I’m not worthy of being called Master. Please, just call me Ruchen."
"Alright, Huahua."
"My name is Ruchen."
"Got it, Master Huahua."
"...Please."
Zheng Xiu had never expected the painting to be at Yunliu Temple.
He had initially thought Yue Yan’s message—"The flower isn’t at the temple"—was a double entendre, referring to both the Playful Monk and, with "flower" as a code word, the Cannibal Painting.
But now that he had met Ruchen, met Huahua, Zheng Xiu finally understood. Yue Yan’s message had meant, "The Playful Monk isn’t at Yunliu Temple," which implied the painting actually was.
Now that the Cannibal Painting’s location was known, Zheng Xiu and Feng Bei were on the same page. Though Zheng Xiu still found the circumstances of its arrival at Yunliu Temple bizarre, things had reached this point. He couldn’t very well avoid it. Feng Bei was right. [Zheng Shan] had glimpsed the Path of the Painter, and if he came across this painting but didn’t go see it, it would surely be a source of regret.
No reason, no matter how strange, could stop a Mighty Man from charging up that mountain.
"I want to go too."
Just then, Chu Susu, who had been tending to the injured, stepped out of the shabby hut and timidly raised her hand.
Ruchen looked at Chu Susu in surprise and sighed. "You’re still stealing?"
Chu Susu retorted angrily, "What else am I supposed to do? There are sixteen mouths to feed. Who else is going to provide for us?"
Ruchen sighed. "An illness of the heart is hard to cure!"
Chu Susu shook her head forcefully. "This isn’t an illness!"
Zheng Xiu rolled his eyes as he listened to the exchange between the monk and the thief. ’What right does this monk have to criticize anyone,’ he thought, ’when he steals and cross-dresses himself?’ But the words died on his lips. Instead, he asked, puzzled, "It’s one thing for her not to know, but as an Ascetic Monk, you can’t tell that this is a type of Path Mystic Skill?"
"Path? Miracle Technique?" A confused expression washed over Ruchen’s face. He then objected, "You two misunderstand. The reason I steal, and the reason I dress as a woman to enter a brothel... I have my own difficult circumstances."
