Chapter 6: A Letter from a Beauty
1554 Words
"You... you're incredible."
Li Dangge offered the compliment against his better judgment.
The words sounded less than sincere, however, as they were forced through tightly clenched teeth.
Ruchen chuckled.
Clearly seeing through Li Dangge's thoughts, he waved a hand dismissively.
"Scared?"
"Relax."
"When my master returns, I'll definitely be able to persuade him."
"You have absolutely nothing to worry about."
"Really?"
"More genuine than pure gold."
"I swear it upon my Buddha Heart."
Only then did Li Dangge breathe a small sigh of relief.
The little bald monk might be unreliable in many ways...
But he never broke a promise.
"Oh, right."
Ruchen suddenly asked with curiosity,
"You've never practiced Buddhism."
"So how are you so knowledgeable about Buddhist teachings?"
A faint smile appeared on Li Dangge's lips.
"Well..."
"It's a long story."
He looked at Ruchen.
"Have you ever been in love?"
Ruchen's face filled with question marks.
"...?"
"Li Dangge."
"I am, after all, a monk."
"Don't you think that's a rather inappropriate question?"
Li Dangge sighed dramatically.
"You see..."
"I studied Buddhist scriptures because of love."
"There was a girl who adored this sort of thing."
"But I felt the Buddhist teachings of today were somewhat lacking."
"So I figured..."
"...this was my chance to get closer to her."
"Naturally, I began studying them."
Ruchen stared at him expressionlessly.
"I can tell you're making this up."
"If you don't want to answer, just say so."
"My Mind-Reading Technique may not be perfected..."
"...but I can still distinguish obvious lies."
Li Dangge merely shrugged.
"See?"
"No one believes the truth."
"Heh."
Ruchen let out a cold laugh.
Meanwhile, Li Dangge sighed inwardly.
He hadn't lied.
Back on Earth, he really had spent countless hours studying Buddhist philosophy...
Just to impress a woman.
More specifically...
His girlfriend's mother.
His future mother-in-law.
Everything had been going perfectly.
They had been only one step away from becoming family.
Then...
A single twist of fate had sent him to this world instead.
"Forget it."
Ruchen snorted.
"Now that you possess the Brahma Sound Prayer Beads, the greatest treasure of Cixin Temple, you no longer need to read our scriptures."
"You can comprehend the essence of Buddhism directly."
He paused.
"How long do you think it will take you..."
"...to break the shackles placed upon Heaven and Earth?"
Li Dangge fell silent for a long moment before shaking his head.
"You overestimate me."
"I honestly don't know."
"I've only just begun cultivating."
"And I'm walking a path no one has ever walked before."
"I don't even know if I can succeed..."
"Much less master it."
Ruchen nodded quietly.
Without another word, he handed Li Dangge a sealed letter.
"Whose letter is this?"
Li Dangge asked curiously.
Ruchen sighed.
"You'll know once you read it."
He looked at Li Dangge with a complicated expression.
"Oh, you foolish man..."
"Li Dangge..."
"Why did you have to get involved with her?"
The corner of Li Dangge's eye twitched.
He slowly opened the envelope.
Inside...
Beautiful, elegant handwriting greeted him.
The lingering snow reflects a cold light upon the painted screen.
Plum blossoms fall as the flute echoes through the third watch of the night.
Where no one remains, the hazy moon alone shines bright.
I am but a sorrowful traveler in this mortal world.
Who knows why tears stream endlessly for you?
Within the heartbroken melody, I remember an entire lifetime.
At the bottom...
— Xiang Ning
Li Dangge scratched his head helplessly.
His smile turned bitter.
"What if I told you..."
"...this is all one huge misunderstanding?"
"What would you think of me?"
Ruchen gave him a cold look.
"What I think doesn't matter."
"What matters..."
"...is what His Majesty thinks."
"You stole the heart of his precious daughter."
"And now you're telling me..."
"...it's all a misunderstanding?"
He continued,
"Not to mention..."
"The Ninth Princess is the apple of the Eldest Princess's eye."
"She raised her personally from childhood."
"She loves her as though she were her own daughter."
Li Dangge looked up at the sky speechlessly.
Three years ago...
Life at Cixin Temple had become unbearably dull.
Unable to endure the monotony any longer, he had set up a small stall at the foot of the mountain.
He sold paintings...
Calligraphy...
And novels.
Unexpectedly...
One novel—Dream of the Red Chamber—became an overnight sensation.
It spread from Qingzhou all the way to the Imperial Capital.
Countless noble young ladies regarded the mysterious author known only as Master Lanling as their closest confidant...
Despite never having met him.
Eventually...
Someone traveled thousands of miles from the capital...
Simply to meet him.
Li Dangge still remembered the scene vividly.
Imperial Guards clearing the streets.
Royal attendants following close behind.
The young woman herself had only one request.
She wished to become his friend.
Seeing that she was kind-hearted...
But surrounded by guards who looked anything but friendly...
Li Dangge reluctantly agreed.
Later...
Unable to refuse her repeated requests...
He copied several poems by Nalan Xingde for her.
That was the end of it.
Or so he had thought.
Those poems completely captured the mysterious young lady's heart.
Only afterward did Ruchen tell him her identity.
She was none other than...
Princess Xiang Ning.
The beloved Ninth Princess of the Great Chu Emperor.
"What do you think?"
Li Dangge murmured thoughtfully.
"Does she truly not understand my situation..."
"...or is this another test arranged by His Majesty?"
Bang!
Something struck the back of his head.
Li Dangge yelped in pain, clutching his skull.
Ruchen calmly withdrew his fist.
"A young girl pours out her heart to you..."
"...and your first thought is that she has ulterior motives?"
"I think you're the one with suspicious intentions."
Li Dangge sighed.
"Her aunt wants me dead."
"Her father wants to drive me out of the State Duke's household."
"What exactly am I supposed to think?"
Ruchen looked helpless.
"Then why didn't you simply reject her directly?"
Li Dangge almost shouted in frustration.
"You think I didn't?"
"I did!"
"It didn't work!"
"I honestly don't understand."
"How can an entire family of political geniuses produce someone so innocent?"
"She insisted I'd misunderstood everything."
"She said..."
"'My aunt isn't that kind of person.'"
He looked at Ruchen.
"Would you believe that?"
Ruchen instinctively shook his head.
Li Dangge spread his hands.
"So what else could I do?"
"I stopped replying to her letters."
"I refused to meet her."
"If enough time passed..."
"I figured she'd eventually forget me."
"That would be best for everyone."
Ruchen sighed softly.
"...Very well."
"I have no place commenting on matters of the heart."
"Take care of yourself."
Li Dangge waved dismissively.
Lightning crackled across his fingertips.
The letter instantly turned into ashes.
"My highest priority..."
"...is surviving."
"I'm nothing more than a dying man with three years left."
With that, he closed his eyes.
Sitting cross-legged, he slowly rolled the prayer beads through his fingers while immersing himself in the rhythmic chanting echoing within them.
Seeing this, Ruchen could only shake his head helplessly before returning to his own meditation chamber.
Three Days Later
Li Dangge suddenly opened his eyes.
His gaze fixed upon the empty air before him.
He had realized something.
He had been approaching the problem from the wrong direction.
It was true that Buddhist teachings could cultivate the heart.
But...
That required time.
And time...
Was precisely what he lacked.
If he couldn't master heart cultivation quickly...
Why not find another way?
The spiritual intent of Heaven and Earth still existed.
It was simply impossible to perceive.
Then another question arose.
If no one could sense it...
How was the Dragon-Tiger Heavenly Diagram engraved upon his back still functioning?
The answer was obvious.
It fed upon his own vitality.
Then...
What if he severed its connection to himself?
If it could no longer consume his life force...
Would it begin instinctively absorbing the spiritual intent permeating Heaven and Earth instead?
The thought made Li Dangge's eyes light up.
To cut off the Dragon-Tiger Heavenly Diagram's connection to his vitality...
There was only one method.
Feign death.
Fortunately...
He happened to know exactly such a technique.
Strictly speaking...
It wasn't even considered a secret art.
Ever since childhood, the original Li Dangge had practiced a Daoist breathing technique known as Returning Breath Art.
His father, Li Chengsi, had paid an enormous price to obtain it from the Daoist sects.
The technique possessed no offensive power whatsoever.
It existed for only one purpose.
When Ninth-Level Profound Realm Daoist masters entered their final life-and-death seclusion...
They used this art to separate soul from body.
Even after all bodily vitality ceased...
A single thread of life could be preserved.
Their souls would remain intact.
Using that final remnant of life...
They could leave behind martial imprints...
And fragments of their spiritual will.
Li Dangge had learned the technique for a much simpler reason.
His body had always been too weak.
Whenever illness pushed him to the brink of death...
He would seal away his last trace of vitality.
Entering a state of suspended animation...
Until a miraculous physician could save him.
A smile slowly spread across his face.
If he separated his soul from his body once again...
And allowed the Dragon-Tiger Heavenly Diagram to believe he was already dead...
Wouldn't that solve everything?
- Writer
