Little Pink Starfish

Abbot Mo Wen’s Doubts

In the chaos, Commander Wang grabbed a random Ministry of Justice official who happened to run past and dragged him to Emperor Xianzong.

The official had never seen the emperor before, but he recognized the man gripping his collar—being held in such high regard by the head of the Imperial Guards could only mean one thing. Legs going weak, the official dropped to his knees.

“What’s with the fire?” Emperor Xianzong demanded before the official could even kowtow. “Weren’t there reports of a monster? Where’s the monster?!”

The official stammered, “Your Majesty, it’s the worms—the entire place is full of worms.”

“What?” Xianzong leapt from his carriage. A eunuch rushed to hold an umbrella over him, but the emperor shoved him away. Monster trouble turning into worm trouble—were these people out of their minds? Rain pounded down, but Xianzong stood in it, seething. “So you’re telling me the monster was just a bunch of worms?” he snapped. He swore, if this idiot dared nod, he’d kick him to death.

“N-no, that’s not it,” the official stuttered. “The monster—its eyes, its body—was full of worms. The worms spread all over the place. The Prince Consort ordered the place burned, but the rain came suddenly, weakened the flames, and the worms started crawling out again…”

Xianzong turned to Commander Wang. “Can you make any sense of what he just said?”

Commander Wang shook his head. Not a word. Worms inside monsters? Was this man telling ghost stories? Had he read too many supernatural tales?

“It’s true! Worms!” the official shouted, his voice cracking.

Xianzong startled at the yell and barked, “What are you screaming for? Where’s the monster or the worms now?!”

“I don’t know,” the official said miserably.

“And the princess?” Xianzong demanded.

The official shook his head again.

Fury welled up in Xianzong. His daughter was still inside, battling who-knows-what, while these cowards had fled?

“Your Majesty,” the official cried, “please, dispatch more troops—quickly!”

Xianzong flung his sleeves and marched straight toward the Ministry.

Commander Wang dropped to his knees and grabbed the emperor’s legs, begging, “Your Majesty, you can’t go in!”

Inside the compound, the sounds of collapsing buildings echoed nonstop. Everyone standing outside on the street could feel the ground shaking.

Xianzong, clearly no match for Commander Wang’s strength, struggled with all his might but couldn’t break free. Frustrated, he turned back to the official. “What is this—worms bringing down buildings now?! They’re demolishing structures?!”

Everyone present had the same question—was the fire really caused by worms? But no one dared ask aloud.

Another group of prisoners was driven out through the gate by jailers and bailiffs.

Xianzong scanned them all—still no sign of Yu Xiaoxiao. His heart clenched in panic. “Linglong! Yu Linglong!” he shouted toward the gate.

At that moment, Gu Xingnuo arrived at the gate on horseback. He dismounted swiftly and, seeing the blazing inferno and pouring rain, froze in disbelief.

Xianzong saw him and exploded. “You left before me—why are you only getting here now? Where the hell have you been?!”

Gu Xingnuo approached, pale-faced. “Your Majesty… how did the Ministry catch fire?”

Xianzong caught a whiff of blood from him, and his expression darkened. “You’re injured? What happened?”

Gu Xingnuo glanced around before stepping closer and whispering, “Assassins ambushed me on the way. I drove them off—that’s why I was delayed.”

Xianzong nearly lost it. Yesterday there were assassins in the palace. Now Xingnuo had run into them on the road? Were assassins becoming a regular part of his life now? Still, something didn’t sit right. “I also came to the Ministry. Why didn’t I see you on the road?”

“I took a shortcut,” Gu Xingnuo replied. “I wanted to get here faster.”

A shortcut… and got ambushed. That meant either the assassins could read minds and knew he’d take that route—or someone had started tailing him the moment he left the Temple of National Protection. Even Xianzong, not known for his smarts, could figure that out. Those assassins had to be Mo Wen’s men.

Blood dripped from Gu Xingnuo’s fingertips, hidden behind his back.

Xianzong asked, “Are your injuries serious?”

Gu Xingnuo shook his head. His left arm was definitely broken, and he had internal injuries too. But he was grateful—thanks to how badly Mo Wen’s monks had been wounded by Yu Xiaoxiao, only two or three remained. If more had come for him, he wouldn’t have survived.

“Your Majesty,” Gu Xingnuo warned in a low voice, “Mo Wen has been provoked. Please be cautious.”

Standing in the downpour, no one could tell if Xianzong was crying or not. He thought bitterly: Mo Wen is angry—so what can I do? Kneel and beg for mercy? Would that bald bastard let him go?

Meanwhile, Mo Wen stood at the edge of a dry well in a courtyard on the northeast side of the Temple of National Protection.

Inside the well and all around the courtyard lay scorched earth—utter lifelessness.

Mo Wen bent down and scooped a handful of black ash. Its scent told him exactly what it once was. What kind of force could turn all of this—his things, stone, land, every living and dead thing—into scorched wasteland? Mo Wen couldn’t imagine. No poison on earth could do that. No cultivation technique existed that could incinerate everything like this.

“Abbot,” a monk’s voice called from above the well.

Mo Wen leapt out and looked at the monk standing before him. “Wuhuan is with Jing Mo?”

The monk bowed low and replied, “Yes. Wuhuan is at the Delighted Immortal Wine Manor. Jing Mo gave him a pill, and he vomited blood right after. When I left, Wuhuan had regained consciousness.”

So… Yu Linglong’s group had the antidote.

“But Abbot,” the monk added, “no one entered the Buddha Hall tonight. How did Jing Mo get the antidote?”

“Return to the hall,” Mo Wen said quietly. “See if any of my medicine bottles are missing.”

“Yes,” the monk responded, then withdrew.

Soon after, several warrior monks from Yongsheng Temple arrived at the courtyard.

Mo Wen scanned their faces. “Gu Xingnuo escaped?”

All the monks bowed their heads. “Abbot, we were not strong enough.”

“It’s fine. I don’t blame you.” Mo Wen smiled faintly. “He was trained by me years ago. It’s no surprise you weren’t his match. Go rest.”

The monks hadn’t even left when another monk rushed in, this one one of Master Fenglin’s attendants.

“Abbot!” the monk called urgently. “Master Fenglin has been poisoned!”