The living environment in Sea Market was so cramped not because there was insufficient land, but because restrictions had been imposed. Qianliu Mountain did not allow the trading grounds of Sea Market to expand without limit, nor did it allow outsiders to wander about freely. Only a small corner of the land had been allocated.
Yet even this small corner housed no fewer than a million permanent residents, not including the vast numbers of people coming and going.
A boundary was drawn. One side was bustling and prosperous, the other quiet and still.
The boundary was a strait, deep and wide. On both sides, rope bridges connected the two, with simple wooden planks laid across the ropes.
Beneath the strait lay calm waters. On one cliff face, lights blazed brilliantly everywhere, with houses built from carved ladders clinging to the rock. On the other cliff face, it was dark and cold. The contrast between the two sides was stark, like the difference between the human world and hell.
The rope bridges were also desolate. One could barely see anyone else crossing, which showed that few people from the trading market side dared to go to the opposite bank, and no one would run over there without good reason.
The savage carried the merman’s corpse in front, with Yu Qing following behind. Together they swayed across the rope bridge, moving from the bright and brilliant place of lights towards the dark and starlit place.
On the cold and quiet opposite bank, at the highest point overlooking the sea, stood a temple enclosed by walls.
The rope bridge the savage had chosen was the one that led directly to the temple. After swaying across, he went straight to the temple gate at the mountain top. Upon arrival, he dropped the merman’s corpse, turned to face Yu Qing who had followed, thumped his chest in a gesture, and once Yu Qing nodded in confirmation, he immediately ran back.
Yu Qing stood outside the temple gate and only then saw clearly what the white courtyard walls under the moonlight were made of. The entire outer wall of this sizable temple was actually built from stacked skulls. The gateway was also constructed from bones, with the words “Sweeping Dust Temple” written above, sending a chill down one’s spine.
“Nether Temple” was what outsiders called Sweeping Dust Temple, and Yu Qing had heard of it too.
The tightly shut gate was, however, a weathered wooden door.
In fact, the temple did not occupy a large area. Apart from looking somewhat eerie, it hardly seemed imposing, and did not quite resemble a place of long-standing renown.
After observing for a while and listening carefully, Yu Qing finally took out that ring and put it on his index finger, then knocked on the door knocker.
He waited a while with no response, then knocked again, three times in succession, before hearing footsteps from within.
The door opened, and a young monk appeared, poking his head through the gap. He looked Yu Qing up and down and asked, “Who is the patron seeking?”
Yu Qing stepped aside, revealing the merman’s corpse behind him.
The young monk took one look and immediately came out, dressed in a black monk’s robe. He quickly went to the merman’s corpse and examined it with his own hands. After rising, he swiftly turned to Yu Qing and asked, “Who did this?”
Yu Qing answered without hesitation, “I killed him.”
The young monk frowned. “You killed one of my sea people, then came to our temple to dump the corpse and knock on the door. Are you deliberately looking for trouble?”
Yu Qing: “I would not dare. This ferryman harboured evil intentions during the journey and tried to harm me, but I killed him in self-defence. Although I came to no harm, everything must be done with reason. Had I not been alert, would I not have died unjustly? I heard that the ‘Nether Temple’ speaks for the sea people of the Nether Sea. I have come today to seek an explanation.”
A look of surprise flashed across the young monk’s face. Someone coming to the Nether Temple to demand an explanation was indeed rare, and rather bold. He immediately asked, “May I ask the patron’s honoured name, so that this humble monk may go in and announce you?”
Yu Qing said: “A Shiheng!”
“A Shiheng?” The young monk was startled again and asked tentatively, “Which A Shiheng?”
At this reaction, Yu Qing cursed inwardly. His own name, no matter how hard he tried, never became famous. Yet the name “A Shiheng” shone wherever it was mentioned. Wherever he went, people knew it. Even a monk in this remote place was no exception. The thought was sickening.
But he still replied solemnly, “How many A Shihengs can there be?”
To be honest, if not for the fact that Old Seventh and Old Ninth’s health had been affected, possibly putting their lives at risk, he would have greatly disliked using A Shiheng’s name again. He would rather die than use it, and no amount of money could make him use it. This was probably one of the few things he would refuse even if offered money.
No one could understand his mood. Even just now, a scene from a certain study had flashed through his mind, along with the moment he denied to a certain woman that he was A Shiheng. That scene still pierced his heart when he recalled it.
The young monk asked in astonishment, “The Tan Hua Lang from Jin Kingdom?”
Yu Qing: “That is already in the past. There is no longer any Tan Hua Lang in this world.”
The young monk immediately felt a sense of respect. He pressed his palms together and bowed. “Patron A, please wait a moment.”
He quickly left, entered, and closed the door.
After waiting a while, the door opened again. This time two young monks came out, each opening one side of the great gate, swinging it wide open.
The previous one invited Yu Qing to follow him, while the other lifted the merman’s corpse and carried it inside.
Upon entering and seeing the full view of the temple under the stars and moon, Yu Qing once again felt his scalp tingle. The ground beneath his feet was paved with skulls. Of all the buildings visible within the temple, apart from the roof tiles, the walls were all built from skulls, including the main hall ahead.
However, the temple’s architectural scale was not particularly imposing. The courtyard was not large, with one main hall, a few houses, and a skull tower roughly three zhang high. Apart from that tower, not a single two-storey building could be seen in the entire courtyard. They were all single-storey structures.
Even so, one could still feel the dark empty eyes everywhere around and beneath staring at you, with a thick gloomy atmosphere. One truly wondered what the psychology of people who lived here long-term would be like.
The young monk carrying the merman’s corpse trotted into the main hall first. It seemed that only the main hall in the entire temple had light.
Yu Qing followed his guide, climbed the steps, and entered the hall at a measured pace.
The hall could be described in one word: empty!
No tables, no chairs, no clay statues, no gilded figures, no shrine, no incense burner for worship, and no ritual implements whatsoever.
On the left and right beams hung a brazier each. One did not know what fuel they used, but the flames burned with a somewhat pale light, similar to the glow of the lanterns on the ferry boat.
The skulls paving the ground also showed a pattern now, circles within circles, large rings encircling small ones, finally converging at a single point. At that point sat a middle-aged monk with refined features, cross-legged in meditation. He wore a black kasaya embroidered with golden stripes, and the gold patterns occasionally reflected the firelight.
On either side of the hall sat two old monks, each with long white beards, faces full of wrinkles, appearing utterly aged. They wore black monk’s robes but each was draped in a pure white kasaya. They sat cross-legged with eyes closed, paying no heed to matters outside themselves.
The situation before him left Yu Qing somewhat uncertain. He did not know who the legendary Nether Monk was. By seating position, it should be the one in the middle, but the two on the sides appeared more senior in years. Or perhaps he was not here at all? That was not impossible. The scale of this place did not seem to match the Nether Monk’s renown, so it would be reasonable if he did not reside here.
The refined middle-aged monk, having heard the whispered report from the young monk who had carried the body in, shifted his gaze from the merman’s remains to Yu Qing’s face and said calmly, “You are the Tan Hua Lang from Jin Kingdom, the one hailed as the greatest talent under heaven?”
Yu Qing was rather impatient with this description, but he had brought it upon himself. He had to reply with empty modesty once more, “That is already in the past. I am but an ordinary man now.”
Hearing this, the middle-aged monk smiled. “Regardless of whether it is true or false, these words show you can take things up and let them go.”
Yu Qing did not know if it was his imagination, but he felt this person’s gaze upon him was strange. On the surface, he still bowed slightly to show humility, then tried asking, “May I ask what relationship the master has with the Nether Monk?”
The middle-aged monk: “This humble monk is the current abbot of Sweeping Dust Temple.”
Yu Qing was startled. He had not expected this person to actually be the legendary Nether Monk. He did not look the part. Thinking again of Ying Xiaotang’s age and appearance, this monk did indeed look much younger. He quickly bowed with hands clasped. “I have long heard that the master is Duke Xuan’s elder brother. Meeting you today, I did not expect you to look even younger than Duke Xuan. I was blind. I pay my respects to the master.”
The Nether Monk fiddled with the dark beads in his hands. “Are you implying to this humble monk that you have a connection with Xiaotang? Here, no connections matter. Whether you can leave alive is not yet certain. Do not speak of connections or polite flattery. From your appearance, you seem not to know where all these skulls in the temple came from.”
Yu Qing’s heart thumped slightly, but he maintained his composure and said, “I would like to be enlightened.”
The Nether Monk said: “Chang Kong, tell him what Sweeping Dust Temple means.”
“Yes.” The young monk who had carried the body in responded, then turned to Yu Qing and said, “A Buddhist place is pure and clean, unwilling to attract dust. If dust comes, it must be diligently swept away at all times. The skulls filling the temple that the patron sees are all dust that has been left behind, remaining here to be delivered by our temple. This is the origin of ‘Sweeping Dust Temple’.”
Yu Qing tried his best to control the urge to gulp, and nodded. “I have been taught.”
The Nether Monk: “Does Patron A wish to add bricks and tiles to our temple too?”
Yu Qing: “The master speaks too seriously. Qianliu Mountain, Si Nan Fu, and Da Ye Si have been entangling with me openly and secretly all along. That I can arrive here alive today shows they can still speak some reason. Since even they can be reasonable, surely the Nether Temple will not be entirely without reason?”
The Nether Monk fiddled with his prayer beads and said indifferently, “For countless years, millions of sea people have toiled without complaint, rowing back and forth across the shore to support Sweeping Dust Temple. You killed one of my sea people. How can this be settled with a few quibbling words? If you cannot produce evidence, whatever Tan Hua Lang you may be, you will be nothing but a pile of white bones.”
Yu Qing said: “Evidence? I do not hide from the master that the reason I could find my way here was also to verify this evidence.” As he spoke, he removed the ring from his hand and held it out. “Does the master recognise this object?”
The Nether Monk’s gaze fell upon the ring. The two young monks did likewise. The two old monks on either side, however, remained with eyes closed, paying no heed to outside matters.
They stared at the ring in observation, while Yu Qing observed their reactions.
In the end, he saw no extra reaction. They merely stared, then gradually showed puzzled expressions in their eyes. Clearly, none of them understood.
The Nether Monk asked: “Great talent, are you mocking this humble monk’s stupidity? What does this mean?”