Song of Adolescence

Chapter 228 Dawn at Snowy Peak Temple

Four hundred years ago, the country was at war. There was a large family named Gusu in the south who occupied a part of the region with mountains and rivers. Then, all under Heaven came under a single ruler, and the Gusu clan disappeared or went into hiding. All that was left of them was a city, Gusu City, as a consolation for this extinct clan. The Gusu family worshipped Buddha so there was a temple just outside the city called Snowy Peak Temple. The ancient temple was burned down three times in the war, but it continued to stand tall, and its incense continued to flourish until a year ago.

A year ago, the abbot of Snowy Peak Temple was called Wangyou. Snowy Peak Temple was not considered a large temple, at least when compared to Shaolin and Yunlin, it could only be regarded as a small regional temple. However, Wangyou was recognized as the greatest grandmaster of Buddhism. He was known to be proficient in the Six Higher Knowledges of Buddhism, and even the most heinous of people could achieve supreme enlightenment under his guidance. Then, a year ago, Wangyou suddenly went insane. He grabbed the seven-foot wooden sword from the statue of Dh?tarā??ra and with one swing of his sword, he cut off the head of the worshipper in front of him. After this incident, no one came to Snowy Peak Temple to offer incense again, and the monks who lived in the temple also left one after the other.

At this time, there were two people on their way up the mountain. They were going to Snowy Peak Temple, because Snowy Peak Temple was the home of one of them.

The monk’s white robes fluttered in the wind and the face that looked up was undeniably handsome even though he was completely bald. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. "The path up the mountain is still so difficult to climb."

He remembered the first time he climbed up the mountain with his master many years ago. His master walked slowly in front, and he followed closely behind. After walking for a while, his master would stop and the two of them would sit on a rock at the side of the path to rest. Then, he would take out a steamed bun, break it into two and hand one half to him, sometimes rubbing his head and saying, "Just pretend you’ve come out here to play. Although it’s a long time, you will definitely go home one day."

That time when they went up the mountain, they rested a total of six times and ate three steamed buns, but his master repeated this sentence eleven times.

"Maybe it was because the path up the mountain was too difficult to climb, so once I went up, I didn\'t want to come down again." Wuxin laughed.

Ming Hou, who was standing beside him, didn’t say a word and continued to follow him silently.

But in the end, he was no longer that skinny and weak child. Now, Wuxin was a martial expert in the Unfettered Heavenly Realm. No matter how much he deliberately slowed down his pace, in three sticks of incense, they were already standing at the front door to Snowy Peak Temple.

Unlike the hubbub of voices from a year ago, the Snowy Peak Temple of today was completely deserted. The huge sign above the door was even a little mottled.

"Shifu, this disciple has returned." Wuxin put away his frivolous smile, bowed solemnly with his palms pressed together and brought Ming Hou to walk into the temple together.

Snowy Peak Temple was very clean inside. Although it was deep into autumn, the fallen leaves had been swept into neat piles, the ground was spotless, and it looked far from being deserted. However, it was still very quiet. There was no sound at all, let alone the presence of a person.

Right at that moment, Ming Hou whirled around and raised his blade that was as huge as a door. He flashed straight out the door!

"Stop!" Wuxin shouted hurriedly, but he was too late.

He heard a loud "clang". The fallen leaves on the ground jumped as if startled!

Ming Hou\'s black clothes fluttered as he pressed his blade with all of his strength, but couldn’t move forward at all. He glared at the person in front of him furiously. The thing that blocked his blade, however, was not a sabre, nor a sword, nor a spear.

It was a fist. An actual, sturdy fist.

The person used his strength and Ming Hou retreated with his blade. He swiped the titan blade a few times, and wanted to advance again! However, Wuxin reached out and stopped him. Wuxin looked at the man in the gray robe before him. The monk wore a necklace of huge Buddhist beads around his neck and carried a face of righteousness. Wuxin said softly, "Shixiong, your Vajra Demon Subjugation Divine Skill has improved a fair bit. You’re almost at the stage of mastering the Unbreakable Vajra Body Arts."

"Wuxin-shidi?" Wuchan hurriedly withdrew his fists, and was both surprised and delighted. "Why are you back?"

"Because shixiong said, in Snowy Peak Temple, there will always be a room, a praying mat, and a book of Buddhist sutras waiting for shidi," Wuxin said with a grin.

Wuchan returned the smile and said, "Now, Snowy Peak Temple has eighteen empty rooms available and three hundred praying mats, all for shidi. But, didn’t shidi say you didn’t want the Buddhist sutras?”

"Just one. I have some use for it," Wuxin said slowly.

Wuchan\'s expression changed a little and gestured for Wuxin to enter and speak inside.

Presently, nobody lived in Snowy Peak Temple apart from Wangyou\'s disciple, Wuchan. Ever since Wuchan returned to Snowy Peak Temple from Khotan, he had been silently taking care of the temple on his own. No worshippers visited again, so he planted a vegetable garden in the back, and occasionally made a trip down the mountain to earn some money by performing rites. Of course, he was delighted when he saw Wuxin coming back to the mountain, but despite his joy, he was still full of doubts. "A year ago, you promised the Spear Immortal to return to Outerheaven. You’ve come back to Beili so soon. Will Snow Moon City be unhappy about this?"

Wuxin shook his head. "I got news at Outerheaven that Tang Lian, Xiao Se, Lei Wujie and their friends were in trouble so I came all the way here over thousands of miles to help them out. Nevermind thanking me, why would they kick me out?"

"Are you referring to what happened at Lei Clan Fort?" Wuchan heard people talking about it in Gusu City.

"Yes," Wuxin said.

Wuchan nodded. "That’s true. Now, even the Hidden River assassins have suddenly appeared. Lei Qianhu of Lei Clan Fort was killed, Grandmaster Tang of the Tang Clan also died. In the east, Unrivaled City are plotting their next move and Snow Moon City can barely hold on on their own. No one can be bothered with a little Sect Leader like you. Besides, shidi doesn’t have any desire to contend for supremacy…"

"Who said I don\'t have the desire to contend for supremacy?" Wuxin interrupted.

Wuchan frowned slightly. "What does Wuxin-shidi mean?"

"Look at what’s become of Snowy Peak Temple. I want to revitalize Snowy Peak Temple," Wuxin said seriously.

Wuchan suddenly shook his head and laughed. "Being quiet is not bad either. Shidi, you’ve secretly returned to Beili. It’s better if you don’t cause too much of a commotion."

"That’s going to be a little bit difficult." Wuxin sighed. "I have no intention of going back to Outerheaven yet."

"Staying here in Snowy Peak Temple would be for the best, of course," Wuchan responded.

"No, shixiong. I will be leaving tomorrow. I will return to Snowy Peak Temple, but now is not the time. I have a lot of other things I need to do," Wuxin said in a serious tone.

"Then you’ve come back this time for…?" Wuchan was puzzled.

"Look at this friend behind me." Wuxin asked, "What do you think?"

"His eyes are defeated, his strength extraordinary, but it’s clear that he’s lost his state of mind. If shifu were here, he could save him. If you hadn’t lost your martial arts, you could save him too." Wuchan had noticed Ming Hou earlier of course.

Wuxin nodded. "At first, I thought Xiao Se could save him because Xiao Se learned my Demon Enthrallment but by the time I saw him, he was already seriously injured. Even if Demon Enthrallment didn’t require internal strength, given his condition at the time, his state of mind was not stable and he couldn’t have used the skill. So I took a detour and stopped at Snowy Peak Temple to see if I could save this friend."

Wuchan hesitated for a long moment before he nodded. "Since shidi has explained it, let’s go then." He stood up, walked up to the Buddha statue in the main hall, and rotated the incense burner slightly. The Buddha statue moved slowly, revealing another smaller hall behind him.

A black-coloured plaque was hung above the front of the hall and on it was written three words.

Rakshasa Hall.