Chapter 178 — An Ill-Fated Bond
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 2 of 6
Here Master Pu Cheng gave a long sigh and fell silent, as though the days of that time were rising again before his mind. After a good while, Fa Cheng coughed softly at his side and said in a low voice, "Master, I was with you and Uncle-Master Pu Zhao throughout those days. Let me tell what followed."
Master Pu Cheng nodded silently and said no more.
Fa Cheng coughed once and went on: "I stayed by Master's side all that time, watching as Master and Uncle-Master Pu Fang and the others strove with all their might to save Uncle-Master Pu Zhao—all to no effect—and I was frantic with worry. Uncle-Master Pu Zhao had always treated me most kindly, and I hated only that my cultivation was so shallow that I could do nothing for him. Then, just when Master and the uncles were at their wits' end, deep in that night Uncle-Master Pu Zhao came to himself."
"Ah..." Ming Li's brows lifted, and a low sound escaped him; but he mastered himself at once, and his face turned cold again.
Fa Cheng glanced at him and continued: "I was keeping the night watch over Uncle-Master Pu Zhao then. In my shock and joy I called Master and Uncle-Master Pu Fang at once. More than ten years have passed, and still I remember the look of Uncle-Master Pu Zhao's face that night—a deathly, withered pallor, save that his cheeks were red as though blood would drip from them. It was fearful to see."
"To see Uncle-Master Pu Zhao suddenly improve, Master and all of us were overjoyed; strange as his colour was, we had no thought to spare for it then. Master was just about to ask Uncle-Master Pu Zhao what had happened, and how he came to be so wounded—but then... then, the moment Uncle-Master Pu Zhao saw Master, he, he..." Fa Cheng paused, as though he must steady himself. The room was utterly still. Master Pu Cheng had closed his eyes and was softly reciting the Buddha's name, his beads turning gently in his fingers; Ming Li listened with all his attention.
Fa Cheng's face had gone somewhat ugly for some reason, but at last he went on: "After Uncle-Master Pu Zhao regained consciousness he was fairly calm. But when Master came at the news, the moment he set eyes on Master, all at once—as though something had struck him—his whole body began to shake, and he sat bolt upright in the bed."
"Master and Uncle-Master Pu Fang and I were all greatly startled. Uncle-Master Pu Zhao's face was crimson as blood, his eyes fixed fast upon Master, and he stretched out one withered, shrivelled hand toward him. Master went quickly to him and took his hand, and was just about to speak when Uncle-Master Pu Zhao—" A flicker of hesitation crossed Fa Cheng's face, and he glanced at Master Pu Cheng. Master Pu Cheng's expression did not change; he remained as he was, eyes closed, palms joined.
Fa Cheng considered a moment, then said, "The moment Uncle-Master Pu Zhao grasped Master's hand, all at once it was as though he had utterly broken down; like a little child he leaned against Master and wept aloud..."
"What?" At this Ming Li forgot himself and rose in astonishment, staring at Fa Cheng. In his mind, whatever deeds that holy monk Pu Zhao might have done, what impression could he ever have left of a man like that?
Fa Cheng sighed. "The three of us were struck dumb with fright, at a loss what to do, not knowing what had come over Uncle-Master Pu Zhao to make him so beside himself. Yet to see his face, it was a look of utter remorse, of a grief that made life unbearable, and we knew not what to do. I remember only that Uncle-Master Pu Zhao wept and said to Master: 'Brother, brother, your brother is fit only for death—I have done a sin so monstrous that though I die ten thousand deaths it cannot atone for the least of it!'"
The corner of Ming Li's eye twitched violently, but he said nothing.