Chapter 182 — Heaven's Wrath

Upon the Wordless Jade Wall the stone face, once smooth as a mirror, began to crack; from the very center came a crisp "puff," and a small fissure opened, whereupon countless fine seams spread outward from that center in every direction, growing ever wider. At last, amid a welter of shrill shrieking cries, came a thunderous crash, and the huge cliff face burst apart, its broken stones flying, and came toppling down in ruin!

In the sky the vast pillar of light slowly dispersed; the low black clouds seemed to have spent their fury, the wild wind gradually died away, and the thunder slowly fell silent. Then heaven and earth seemed all at once to return to calm; the black clouds scattered, and the peaceful sky slowly brightened.

A figure drifted slowly down from midair. It was Ming Li—though now his face was drenched in blood and he lay unconscious, and what guarded him about his person was a faint and mysterious radiance that, after his body touched the ground, wavered a few times and at last gently dissolved, leaving no trace behind.

The monks of Fan Yin Temple stared dumbstruck at the ruined Wordless Jade Wall before them, and at Ming Li, who had somehow escaped death beneath the heavenly punishment, and not one of them could utter a word.

This sleep seemed again to be a deep and distant slumber.

It seemed that all the while many people came and went around him, very busy; and others spoke beside him, their voices now loud, now soft, and at times it even seemed someone was quarreling. But more often than not, it was quiet.

In that plain and silent stillness he slept, he knew not how long; vaguely he had some sensation of it, yet he never woke.

Perhaps to go on sleeping like this was, after all, what his heart most deeply desired!

Footsteps sounded outside the door. Fa Cheng glanced outward from within the meditation chamber, rose hastily, and pressed his palms together in salute to Master Pu Cheng as he came in through the doorway. Master Pu Cheng nodded, cast a glance at Ming Li still lying on the meditation bed, and said in a low voice, "Is he well?"

Fa Cheng nodded and said, "Since the day he was brought back, Benefactor Zhang has lain in this unbroken stupor. Yet his breathing is calm and even, with no strange signs, and there is no other injury anywhere on his body; by rights he should long since have woken. But for some reason, he simply will not wake from this deep sleep."

Master Pu Cheng was silent a moment, then said, "That he escaped with his life beneath the heavenly punishment and its fierce thunder is a stroke of extraordinary fortune. That heavenly punishment is a majesty of heaven seldom seen in ten thousand years—I never thought it would fall upon him. Could it be... that he truly is some monstrous aberration that even Heaven will not suffer?"

Fa Cheng's expression changed. He stole a glance at Master Pu Cheng and saw that his master's face was grave, but betrayed no other strangeness; only then did he quietly set his suddenly racing heart at ease, and said in a low voice, "Master, have my uncles been arguing with you again?"

Master Pu Cheng gave a bitter laugh, but said nothing.

Fa Cheng fell silent.

After a long while, Master Pu Cheng said slowly, "The Wordless Jade Wall is the supreme treasure of our Fan Yin Temple's sacred ground, and a relic of the Buddha handed down from our founding patriarch. That it was destroyed this time by the heavenly punishment is wholly due to my own private folly. I have resolved that once this Benefactor Zhang wakes, I shall resign the abbacy before the assembled monks of the temple, and from then on face the wall in meditation upon the Buddha's truth, to atone for my transgression."

Fa Cheng's face changed greatly, and he cried in alarm, "Master, you—how can you speak so? This was not your fault!"

Master Pu Cheng shook his head and said, "What your uncles said is right. Out of gratitude that Benefactor Zhang dispelled the vengeful malice of the spirit of my junior brother Pu Zhao's dharma body, I made a rash decision, and in my presumption sought to deliver him through the Buddha's law upon this sacred ground.

That this drew down the heavenly punishment and destroyed the Jade Wall is truly my transgression. Only..."

Here he broke off, smiled faintly, and said to Fa Cheng, "Only I have never once regretted it. Do you know why?"

Fa Cheng shook his head in silence.

Master Pu Cheng smiled and said, "That day, when the heavenly punishment came crashing down, this Benefactor Zhang by rights had no chance of survival—yet the Wordless Jade Wall withstood it of its own accord, and saved this young benefactor. Why it should be so, none of us know; but the Jade Wall has a spirit, and there must be some reason it would not see Benefactor Zhang die beneath the heavenly punishment, and so it acted. Since even the Jade Wall did thus, it is clear that what I did was not wrong. So though the destruction of the Jade Wall is indeed my fault, and I mean to beg forgiveness for it, in my heart I do not regret it in the least."

Fa Cheng clenched his teeth, raised his head, and called out, "Master..."

Master Pu Cheng patted his shoulder, consoled him a few words with a smile, then walked to Ming Li's bedside and studied him closely for a while. He nodded and said, "His color seems much improved. Unless something unforeseen occurs, I judge he will wake within a few days. You must tend him well."

Fa Cheng pressed his palms together and said, "Rest assured, Master."

Master Pu Cheng nodded, cast one more glance at Ming Li, and turned to go out.

But just as he was about to step through the doorway, Ming Li's body suddenly stirred upon the meditation bed, and a low groan escaped his lips.

Fa Cheng started, and said joyfully, "Master, he seems to be waking!"

Master Pu Cheng was overjoyed. He hurried over and sat down on the edge of Ming Li's bed. Under the gaze of master and disciple alike, Ming Li's eyes moved faintly, and at last slowly opened.