Chapter 40: Tengu?

"Ahem," he put down his chopsticks. "Speaking of which, this poor monk often drank in his youth, though regrettably, I have abstained for many years now."

"It's just that today, watching benefactor Morai drinking alone, I somehow felt an itch in my heart. I wonder if you would do me the honor of allowing this poor monk..."

"By all means!" Morai was overjoyed.

"Master." A cold voice interrupted. They looked over and saw Xiunian, the fourth-ranked monk.

Gone was his usual smiling demeanor; he asked with a cold face, "Tonight, aren't you supposed to chant sutras for Senior Brother Zhongnian, who died two years ago? To drink wine at a time like this, I'm afraid..."

A flash of displeasure crossed the abbot's eyes.

Yet he kept his composure. "It has been two years. I chant sutras and pray for him every full moon... Surely, he must have attained Buddhahood by now."

"Whether senior brother has attained Buddhahood, I do not know." Light glinted off his glasses, masking his gaze. "But I do know that Master has already let go."

"Not of senior brother's death, but of what happened that night under the moonlight—"

"Silence!!!!"

"Xiunian, have you lost your mind?!"

"What are you trying to do?"

The three senior brothers and the abbot were horrified, and Senior Brother Kuannian even slammed the table and stood up in rebuke. Kitagawa Hei, who had entered the temple most recently, did not understand the situation, but he keenly sensed that this might be the closest he had ever been to the truth since joining the temple.

Facing the glare of the monks, Monk Xiunian showed not a shred of fear.

He stood up and left his seat.

"Greed, hatred, ignorance, delusion," he said coldly. "Master, I am deeply disappointed in you."

"A warning to you petty and base hypocrites—" He pulled open the paper door, cast a final glance at the abbot, "You know not the Four Noble Truths, nor do you walk the righteous path."

"Then do not blame the karmic retribution that follows."

He slammed the door shut, and a dead silence fell over the room.

The abbot trembled all over, his face flushed red with extreme fury.

"...Please pardon this unseemly display."

Decades of Zen training still held some effect. Struggling to calm his emotions, he was the first to break the silence.

Although he was in no mood for pleasantries anymore, he still needed to secure the sponsorship. That rebellious disciple could simply be expelled from the temple, but if he failed to secure the sponsorship, there would be no second chance.

Besides, nothing had happened in the span of two years...

***

A trace of unease flickered in his heart. Yet, urged on by Morai's drinking toasts, that trace of unease was soon cast behind him.

Amidst the exchanging of cups, his complexion gradually grew rosy. Even so, amidst the socializing, he always kept his guard up.

Could this Morai be here to probe into what happened two years ago?

Yet Morai never once mentioned the death of Monk Zhongnian.

When the abbot tentatively probed, Morai merely replied, "It must not have been anything pleasant; why bother asking? Drink!"

Only then did the abbot completely set his mind at ease. Amidst the clinking of glasses, the old abbot pulled out all the stops and finally succeeded in securing the sponsorship.

By the time the host and guest had fully enjoyed themselves, he was helped back to his quarters by Monk Kongnian, a.k.a. Kitagawa Hei. Amidst his exhaustion, Abbot Tianyong could not help feeling deeply gratified.

Glancing up at the moonlight outside the window, he called out to Kitagawa Hei, "Kongnian. You have rendered great service in today's affairs."

The look he gave Kitagawa Hei was filled with admiration as he beckoned, "Come here. From today on, you are one of my most trusted confidants in the temple."

"Master, your disciple has something he doesn't understand." Kitagawa Hei brought a bowl of hangover-relieving plum soup for the abbot. "Two years ago, what on earth..."

The abbot drank the plum soup in one gulp. Facing Kitagawa Hei, his guard lowered, he sighed, "I will tell only you about this matter. Two years ago, I made a grave mistake..."

"At the time, my granddaughter and Zhongnian were deeply in love. But she was already betrothed to the heir of the larger temple under my arrangement... How could matters of marriage be left to her foolish whims?"

"Later, she planned to elope with Zhongnian." He lowered his gaze. "To sever his hopes, I hanged Zhongnian."

"Zhongnian, oh Zhongnian, why were you disloyal? Had you been loyal to me, loyal to Shanni Temple, you should have stepped aside of your own accord. Such a pity... such a fine child."

Without Kitagawa Hei needing to guide him, carried by the alcohol, he poured out everything he had bottled up in his heart over the past two years: "I devised a method. I channeled water from the waterfall into the penitence room, sat in an inflatable raft, and hung Zhongnian right in the center of the crossbeam."

"There was dust accumulated on the crossbeam and the small window. If a dead body had been carried up there, it certainly would have left marks of dragging."

"Yet with death by hanging, one only needs to hook the rope over and take a leap."

"I used the rising water to hang his corpse, and then hacked a hole in the wooden wall with an axe, letting the water pour out..."

"Just as I anticipated, the police concluded that Zhongnian had committed suicide."

"But if that is the case, where did the legend of the Tengu come from?" Kitagawa Hei asked, puzzled.

"The Tengu..." The old monk shuddered. "This region has always had legends of the Tengu."

"I used this case to build momentum, and the temple's fame grew larger and larger. However, on the very first full moon after Zhongnian's death..."

"I came to the penitence room and looked through the high small window."

"To my horror, beneath the moonlight, upon the cliff, stood that gigantic figure."

***

"In a panic, I summoned my three disciples... At that time, Xiunian had not yet entered the temple. But when we rushed back there again, that figure was nowhere to be found."

"Some disciples said it was a Tengu; others said it was Zhongnian's ghost... In any case, deeply unsettled, from then on, every full moon I would chant sutras for Zhongnian."

"And then?" Kitagawa Hei, utterly captivated, urged him on.

"Every time I chanted the sutras, I would inadvertently catch a glimpse of that figure, yet your senior brothers all claimed they never saw it."

"Later on, the frequency with which that figure appeared dwindled... until Xiunian joined the temple. That figure only appeared a few times sporadically, and after that, it never showed up again."

He fell silent for a moment before continuing, "Still, I remained uneasy. Therefore, I continued chanting sutras as usual."

"But today, I feel it is time to let go. In any case, two years have passed, and I think that is enough..."

"Not enough."

A muffled voice echoed.

"Who?!" Abbot Tianyong turned around in terror.

A thunderclap exploded, and amidst a flash of lightning, a towering figure wearing wooden clogs stood upon the windowsill.

A bitter gale and driving rain poured down behind him. A huge straw raincoat enveloped his body, and a muffled whisper like distant thunder came from beneath the red Tengu mask: "Monks... shall be shown no mercy!"

"Aaaaaah—Tengu...?! Why?!"

Overcome by intense terror, Abbot Tianyong unconsciously lost control of his bladder.

Could it be that using the Tengu's name for personal gain had incurred the wrath of Lord Tengu...?!

Yet the massive shock froze his body entirely; he opened his mouth, but only dry, rattling gasps came out.

Kitagawa Hei, however, could see that this was no Tengu, but merely a man wearing a Tengu mask!

Abbot Tianyong was certainly hateful, but he deserved to face the judgment of the law, rather than being inexplicably murdered by some masked coward hiding his identity!

The "Tengu" slowly raised his right hand from beneath the straw raincoat, revealing a reverse-held wakizashi.

With another clap of thunder, he lunged forward, leaping toward the paralyzed Abbot Tianyong!