270 Liansheng 32 I (2/2)

The old monk asked, with a bit surprising, ”And then... does the world not know yet?”

Ning Que replied, ”The storyteller is different, the content of the story might change.”

”This story has a simple ending.”

The old monk's voice grew even weaker. He said, ”The Devil's Doctrine did not manage to fool Crazy Ke, so he went to the Front Gate of the Devil's Doctrine. The leader of the Devil's Doctrine was full of himself then. He was not overly fearful and simply thought that he would kill him if he came. Crazy Ke did not want to be killed, so he killed all of them.”

He did not want to be killed, so he killed all of them.

This was such a simple statement, and the story was simple as well. However, the simpler one put the shocking past that resulted in annihilation and a history buried in past, the more alarming it was. After decades of years, only the old wizened monk and the countless bodies left in the main hall of the Devil's Doctrine bore witness to what had happened then.

Ning Que looked at the old monk's deep-set eyes. ”Why are you atoning for your sins? What have you to do with this?”

The old monk raised his slender arms. The cloth on his arms was ragged. He extended his fingers. The joints beneath the skin over his fingers were scary and looked like a pair of skeletal hands from the Underworld. However, the aura that exuded from his palms was silent and warm. It was benevolent, like two white lotuses fallen from Haotian.

The aura wielded in the white lotus Emblematic Gesture was abnormally strong and concentrated but not lethal. The bones around the old monk glistened with the flow of the aura and looked as if they were coming alive.

Ning Que stared at the old monk's hands before his abdomen and could feel the aura coming from within. He was shocked speechless. The power that the old monk had exhibited was of a state so high it could not be measured. It was the strongest he had ever seen in this life.

Mo Shanshan sat by the wall. She looked at the old monk's skeletal hands that had formed into Emblematic Gesture of white lotuses. She thought of what her teacher had said once, and could not help but allow the shock she felt made its way onto her face.

”There is a lotus in the west that landed in this world. It was born with 32 petals, and each petal is unique. They each make up a different world.”

...

...

”I atone for my sins because the sins are mine.”

”Because there was never any plot by the Devil's Doctrine. The plot was mine.”

”The Priest from the Judicial Department was from the Devil's Doctrine. I knew about this many years ago. I knew what they wanted to do, but I did not do anything. I sat on the cold black seat and propped my chin up with my hands and watched them finish the matter quietly. Then, I found a suitable time and told Ke Haoran about it.”

”But I underestimated Ke Haoran. I did not need to show him the evidence that I had kept carefully, and he knew that the matter was done by the Devil's Doctrine. That was great, so I sat quietly on the cold black seat and propped my chin up with my hands and waited for the moment to arrive quietly.”

The old monk who was as skinny as a ghost sat on the Bone Mountain. His bony hands bore the lotus emblem and his eyes were gentle and benevolent.

Ning Que looked at him with wide eyes and asked in a trembling voice, ”Who exactly are you? What did you want to achieve back then?”

This was the second time the old monk had heard the question. He lifted his head towards the skies slowly, jostling the chains in his belly. He made a clear sound, allowing the pain to show on his wizened face once more.

The old monk looked at the skies with a gentle gaze in his deep-set eyes. The white lotus flowers in his bony hands blossomed.

”I wanted to vanquish the Devil's Doctrine then. I wanted Ke Haoran to die. But he did not die despite the thunderstorm that was the Devil's Doctrine that I created with all my efforts and directed at him.”

”As for who I am?”

The old monk retracted his gaze from the skies and looked at the two, ”I am the judge.”

...

...

”Divine Lord Lotus?”

A voice filled with disbelief sounded from behind suddenly.

Ye Hongyu, the Tao Addict, who was dressed simply appeared. She looked at the skinny old monk sitting on the Bone Mountain and the Emblematic Gesture he made. Expressions of joy and disbelief filled her face.

Mo Shanshan exclaimed at the same time, ”Master Lotus?”