The sun and moon are both wrong; who made him seek the Dharma?

Chapter 23 Epilogue

The morning sunlight streamed through the carved wooden windows of the teahouse, casting dappled shadows on the bluestone floor.

The atmosphere in the provincial capital today is completely different from usual.

On every street corner, almost every teahouse and tavern was discussing the same topic—the fire at the Holy Infant Nursery in the east of the city last night.

"Have you heard? The Holy Infant Home caught fire last night!"

"No, no, I heard it wasn't an ordinary fire."

Those who rushed in to put out the fire said that the foreign monks and nuns inside... had all gone mad!

Around the tables, tea drinkers lowered their voices and excitedly exchanged the "insider information" they had heard, embellishing it and making it more and more outrageous.

"Gone mad? How so?"

"They were killing each other! They were smashing candlesticks, throwing Bibles in each other's faces, and some were even jumping into the fire together!"

"And do you know what's the most sinister thing?"

The person who spoke leaned closer mysteriously, extending a finger and tapping their forehead.

"Those people all have eyes growing on their foreheads!"

"Eye?!"

The room erupted in uproar.

Some gasped in shock, some shook their heads repeatedly, and many more looked at each other, skeptical.

"This...isn't this the work of a demon?"

"What monster? In my opinion, it's just that those foreign devils committed their own sins and are now suffering divine retribution!"

A middle-aged man in a long gown and with a braid slammed his hand on the table, his voice filled with indignation:

"You've forgotten?"

For the past two years, there have been rumors in the city that the children at the Holy Infant Home have been dying for no apparent reason!

These words immediately made the atmosphere in the teahouse even more heated.

"Yes, yes, I've heard of that too!"

"Good heavens, doesn't that mean..."

"Cannibalistic acts!"

Someone lowered their voice and uttered those words, which, like a spark thrown into a frying pan, instantly ignited everyone's emotions.

"You beasts! Those foreigners, dressed as priests, are actually doing cannibalistic things!"

"What about the government? Doesn't the government do anything about it?"

"Tube?"

The man sneered, "The government officials treat foreigners like their own fathers; how dare they interfere?"

The crowd erupted in another round of gritted teeth and curses.

Until someone suddenly asked:

"I wonder how the adopted children are doing?"

The teahouse fell silent for a brief moment.

"With such a big incident last night, what will happen to those kids?"

An elderly man with white hair sighed, his cloudy eyes filled with worry.

"Don't worry."

A traveling doctor at the next table, carrying a medicine chest, interjected with a confident tone:

"Although the fire was large last night, none of the children were injured or killed."

I heard that someone braved the flames and rushed in to rescue people.

Everyone was astonished.

"The fire was so big last night, how did you manage to rush in and save people?"

"Yes, my cousin said he didn't see any children being carried out from beginning to end!"

The itinerant doctor shook his head:

"I don't know about that."

However, this morning, all the children appeared at the entrance of Father Xu's church in the west of the city.

"Father Xu?"

"That's the Han Chinese priest surnamed Xu. He's usually very kind and charitable, and he's adopted a lot of orphans."

"What about the people who saved the child?"

"I don't know."

The doctor spread his hands, "They didn't leave their names or appearances. Father Xu doesn't know who saved them either."

It seems they had only heard of Father Xu's good reputation; they simply put the child down and left.

A collective sigh of emotion rose once again in the teahouse.

"Doing good deeds anonymously is truly an ancient tradition!"

"This is a true hero!"

"Compared to those heartless foreign devils, there are still chivalrous people among us Han Chinese!"

After all, with the government completely ignoring these orphans,

Handing it over to another church is the best course of action.

At least the priest was a Han Chinese whom they knew well.

Everyone raised their glasses, using tea instead of wine, to toast the unknown hero from afar.

Meanwhile, the "true hero of ancient traditions" they were talking about was sitting by the window on the second floor of the teahouse, cracking melon seeds and listening to the discussion downstairs with nothing to do.

"Senior brother, did you hear that?"

Gao Haoguang crossed his arms, leaned back in his chair, and said in a low voice:

"They're talking about you."

"Just say it."

Xia Chuan gave a mumbled reply, then picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea.

"It's not like it's the first time I've been praised."

Gao Haoguang rolled his eyes speechlessly.

Although I've long been used to my senior's behavior, I still can't help but want to complain every time I see his "taken-for-granted" face.

Bai Xiaoxiao, sitting opposite, covered her mouth and chuckled.

Those bright, watery eyes darted back and forth between Xia Chuan and Gao Haoguang, finding the way these two fellow disciples interacted quite amusing.

"But senior brother,"

Gao Haoguang snapped out of his thoughts and looked through the window at the slightly dilapidated church across the street.

In the church courtyard, the rescued children were sitting in small groups on the steps.

Some were still crying, some were looking around blankly, and a few older children were awkwardly comforting their younger companions.

Father Xu moved among them, sweating profusely, handing water to one child and wiping the face of another.

"Won't leaving the children with Father Xu like this cause him a lot of trouble?"

Gao Haoguang's voice carried a hint of worry:

"Will they run out of money and other supplies over there?"

Xia Chuan waved his hand, interrupting his junior brother's rambling:

"You don't need to worry about that."

He held up a thick finger:

"Firstly, Father Xu's family is quite wealthy, and when I left, I left all the silver and banknotes I had on me on his table."

Gao Haoguang was taken aback: "All of them?"

"all."

Xia Chuan nodded, his tone casual as if he had only lost a few coins.

"I also left him a note saying that if he didn't have enough money, he could come to me for more anytime."

"When did you leave the letter? How come I didn't know?"

"You slept like a log last night, what could you possibly know?"

Xia Chuan glanced at him with disdain, then changed the subject:

"Besides, your senior brother has saved up some money over the years by traveling all over the country."

He paused, a malicious smile creeping onto his lips:

"If all else fails, we can ask your senior brother Huang Erguo for it."

Gao Haoguang nodded blankly, but couldn't help sighing inwardly.

I wonder what sins Sanzhen suffered to end up with this demonic senior brother.

Xia Chuan nodded, his voice somewhat low: "Secondly, it's because..."

There weren't actually that many kids.

"Forty-six infants, twenty-one toddlers under three years old, and fifteen children between three and seven years old..."

All in all, there are only about eighty.

More than eighty.

The Holy Infant Nursery in the east of the city has been open for almost twenty years.

Every year, at least a thousand children are sent there.

Twenty years, that's more than 20,000 children.

They were only able to save these eighty-odd people.

Gao Haoguang dared not think any further.

He felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his chest tightly, the grip tightening and the pain intensifying, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

In Heishan Village, Bai Xiaoxiao's family had been oppressed for more than ten years. When they arrived, her parents had already died.

This time, the children in the orphanage had been tortured for twenty years. By the time they arrived, those beasts had already devoured countless children.

It's always like this.

Too late again.

Gao Haoguang turned his head blankly, looking at the bustling street outside the window, at the people chatting and laughing, completely oblivious to everything.

They talked about the "strange news" of the previous night, about the "man-eating foreign devils," their tone filled with curious excitement and a sense of detachment.

Gao Haoguang felt completely out of place amidst the hustle and bustle.

He was like someone standing outside a glass dome, able to see and hear everything, yet unable to touch anything.

The inexplicable emotion clenching in his chest made him feel suffocated.

"Senior brother,"

His voice was a little hoarse, and his gaze remained fixed on the view outside the window.

"Is what we're doing... really meaningful?"

"We saved these eighty-odd people, but what about those who were saved before? What about those who were already dead?"

"We're always one step too late...we're always too late..."

The voice grew softer and softer until it almost became a murmur.

To Gao Haoguang's surprise, Xia Chuan acted almost without hesitation.

He nodded, his tone firm and composed:

"It makes sense."

Gao Haoguang finally turned his head and met his senior brother's clear black and white eyes:

"But...we're still too late, aren't we?"

Xia Chuan shook his head:

"Saving even one person is of paramount importance."

"We are just human beings; we cannot go against the flow of time."

Xia Chuan's lips curled into a smile. He looked at the church across the street, raised his teacup, and took another sip.

"Do your best and have a clear conscience."

"After all, at least eighty people, and future orphans, were rescued, weren't they?"

Gao Haoguang was completely stunned.

He followed Xia Chuan's gaze and watched the children timidly accept the bowls of porridge, sip them slowly, and see the fear gradually fade and the color return to their faces.

A little girl with pigtails looked up and grinned at Father Xu after finishing her porridge.

In his memory, he seemed to have experienced something similar.

Two-year-old Gao Haoguang was abducted to a human flesh market, and not only that, he was almost chopped up and sold.

Fortunately, a righteous person came to their rescue.

Memories flooded his mind, and Gao Haoguang, with those children in mind, unconsciously smiled.

The righteous man's face was somewhat blurry in my memory, and I didn't know how he was doing now.

He must still be a great hero, just like he was back then, right?

Gao Haoguang looked down at his hands.

These hands are still very small and weak; there are still many things they cannot do.

But at least—

He has now become someone who can save lives.

"Are you done spacing out?"

Xia Chuan's voice rang out at an inopportune moment, carrying a nonchalant air that made one's teeth itch.

"Remember to pay the bill when you're done. A plate of melon seeds, a pot of tea, and oh, your snacks."

Gao Haoguang's eyes widened:

"You ordered it yourself, why should I pay?!"

Xia Chuan glanced at his junior brother with disdain:

"Didn't you say you wanted to come to the teahouse to watch the excitement?"

Gao Haoguang was dumbfounded:

"We can't let our junior brother pay for it, can we?"

"What can I do? I gave all my money to Father Xu, you can't exactly ask me to take it back, can you?"

Gao Haoguang opened his mouth but remained silent.

Xia Chuan spoke with righteous indignation:

"Not just here, remember to buy some when you get back to the inn later."

Otherwise, you, young lady, and I would still have to wash other people's clothes to pay off our debts.

Gao Haoguang looked at Bai Xiaoxiao in disbelief.

Bai Xiaoxiao covered her mouth and chuckled, then ate another sunflower seed.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, my benefactor."

The words "my benefactor" were pronounced with a sweet and crisp sound.

Gao Haoguang: "..."

He looked down at the still faintly glowing "Same Month Token" at his waist, then looked up at the two sly-looking guys in front of him.

He suddenly realized that the concepts of "a great hero who stands tall and upright" and "disappearing after accomplishing something, keeping one's merits hidden" were meaningless.

It's all deceptive.

Gao Haoguang took a deep breath and resignedly pulled out his money pouch from his pocket.

"Boss, the bill!"

"Hey, here it comes!"

With the sound of footsteps going upstairs, Gao Haoguang pushed his portion of pastries in front of Xia Chuan.

"Senior brother, here's a pastry for you."

Xia Chuan raised an eyebrow: "Oh? You've had a change of heart?"

"no."

Gao Haoguang turned his head away expressionlessly.

"I don't have enough money; I still need to pay for the young lady's inn later."

"Eat something sweet before you go to work to pay off your debts."

Xia Chuan: "...?"

Bai Xiaoxiao couldn't hold back any longer and laughed so hard she collapsed onto the table.

Just then, several familiar figures appeared in the crowd.

"Master? Qingqing? And Erguo?"

Xia Chuan was taken aback, then stood up and called out, "Master, we're here!"

Ma Chao, who was in the crowd, quickly noticed Xia Chuan and led his disciples straight towards the teahouse.

Xia Chuan also hurriedly led Gao Haoguang and Bai Xiaoxiao downstairs.

On the other side...

Inside the Nine Realms Gate.

As the sect leader, Fen Dao Ke looked at the life lamp in his hand, which had completely dimmed, and sighed.

"Ah, he's dead."

Beside him, his disciples Xiang Yuyin and Heizhu looked curiously at the life lamp in his hand.

In recent years, the master has looked at this lamp almost every day.

Xiang Yuyin asked curiously, "Master, what is this?"

Burning Daoist sighed:

"A magical artifact can be bound to someone's life; as long as the person lives there, the lamp will remain; when the person dies, the lamp will go out."

Xiang Yuyin looked at the extinguished life lamp: "So, the person bound to this is dead?"

The Taoist priest nodded.

Hei Zhu asked curiously, "I wonder which senior you are? You must be a highly talented and powerful individual?"

Burning Daoist shook his head and chuckled: "Him?"

"At most, he's just a minor mage with intermediate supernatural powers."

Although his supernatural powers were influenced by the law of cause and effect, his poor character ultimately prevented him from achieving true greatness.

The two disciples were both stunned.

"Then why use this magic weapon on him?"

Burning Daoist pondered for a moment, then asked his disciples:

"If there's a tiger you want to catch but can't see, how will you know where it is?"

Black Bamboo was the first to answer: "Check the footprints?"

The Taoist then asked, "What if we can't see any footprints?"

Xiang Yuyin frowned: "A bait?"

"This child is teachable."

Burning Daoist nodded in satisfaction:

"I don't need to know how the tiger got there, I just need to know where it got to."

"That's all this guy is good for."

He sighed: "After all, in the long river of time and cause and effect, no one can see that tiger, and no one can catch it."

"This is the only way to verify where the tiger is."

"After all, if we don't take care of the tigers, we'll all be killed."

Xiang Yuyin and Hei Zhu exchanged a glance.

They understood the meaning behind their master's words:

Is someone hunting down the Nirvana Corpse?

Moreover, they have no way to manage their own sect?

Is sacrificing lone members the only way to save the main force?

The Taoist priest stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance:

"That tiger is coming soon."