Hong Ren sighed for a moment, explaining, "This matter was once recorded in the historical books of the Great Heng Kingdom, but with the downfall of the Great Heng Kingdom, the name of this assassin has become little known. This might just be a striking coincidence, or perhaps, fate has its own arrangements."
Jian Qin Wan gazed at Liang Xiao, her heart surging.
What a legendary story this was!
That assassin, Liang Xiao, had ended the king of the Eastern Sea's life of slaughter, and now, Liang Xiao, the Marquis of An Guo of the Great Gan Kingdom, had inherited the divine artifact of the former king of the Eastern Sea who had achieved great enlightenment. He upheld the path of "ending war with war," making amends for the king of the Eastern Sea's past regrets, and imbuing this divine artifact with a brand new meaning!
"This old monk already knows of the deeds of the Marquis of An Guo. In the future, whether the Marquis of An Guo takes to the battlefield or strategizes to win a thousand miles away, countless people will inevitably die because of you... In accordance with the last wish of the king of the Eastern Sea, this old monk has three questions for the Marquis of An Guo. These three questions, even the successive abbots of this temple could not fathom."
"If you can impress this old monk, then this old monk shall entrust this halberd to the Marquis of An Guo, and then lead you to find the second treasure. The second treasure was also a providence left by the king of the Eastern Sea, but it was an accident. Even a wise man like the king of the Eastern Sea did not foresee what would happen after his death."
"What if he answers poorly? He already said 'ending conflict is martial,'..." Jian Qin Wan's tone was a little tense.
Hong Ren replied, "Then it will be up to this old monk to ponder, and it may take several months, or perhaps, a lifetime of no chance."
"Please enlighten me, Master." Liang Xiao's expression was calm.
Yue Lian and Jian Qin Wan held their breath, afraid of disturbing Liang Xiao's thoughts.
Hong Ren gazed at Liang Xiao and asked, "The Heavenly River is filled with countless grains of sand, how will you measure them?"
Jian Qin Wan and Yue Lian immediately became anxious, looking at Liang Xiao.
The Heavenly River flowed to the sea, its surface vast, the grains of sand within smaller than mustard seeds, countless, how could one possibly count them all!
The first question was so difficult, it was no wonder that even enlightened eminent monks like the successive abbots could not fathom it. The two women felt despair.
"Whoosh!" Liang Xiao immediately drew the precious sword from his waist.
"Pervert, calm down!" "Young Master, don't be angry!"
Jian Qin Wan and Yue Lian cried out in unison, afraid Liang Xiao would chop Hong Ren with his sword and snatch the divine artifact.
Hong Ren continuously watched Liang Xiao, unafraid.
Under the gaze of the three, Liang Xiao simply walked to the left side of the wall, swung his sword to engrave stone, and wrote a single character.
【劫】! (Jie - Calamity)
This character was written with great spirit and strength!
"Jie??" Jian Qin Wan and Yue Lian were bewildered.
Hong Ren finally showed a look of surprise, looked at Liang Xiao, and sighed, "Marvelous, marvelous!"
Yue Lian, both surprised and delighted, whispered, "Abbot, how do you explain this..."
Before Hong Ren could answer, Liang Xiao spoke.
"Though the grains of sand in the Heavenly River are many, there is always a number. But the calamities of sentient beings in the human world, from ancient times to the present, are endless!"
Yue Lian and Jian Qin Wan suddenly understood, secretly rejoicing.
Hong Ren nodded solemnly and sighed, "One calamity, one grain of sand; one grain of sand, one calamity. What a subtle comparison... Compared to the calamities of the human world, the number of sand grains naturally appears insignificant. This is the wisdom of the Marquis of An Guo."
Yue Lian clapped her hands in delight, then quickly quieted down, full of trepidation.
There were still two questions!
Hong Ren regained his solemn expression and asked, "Then, slaughter and mercy, human nature's good and evil, how will you weigh them?"
Liang Xiao pondered for a moment, then engraved another character on the right side of the wall.
【知】! (Zhi - Knowledge/Awareness)
This character was written with flowing ease and swift decisiveness.
The two women were once again lost.
Hong Ren seemed to understand, took a deep breath, and requested, "Please elaborate on this character."
"The complexity of human nature cannot be explained in a day or two. How can slaughter and mercy be easily judged in a few words? Goodness and evil are determined by people; the starting point is merely a matter of standpoint. And now, as a person of the Great Gan Kingdom, I stand from the perspective of the Great Gan Kingdom."
"The myriad states of sentient beings, the affairs of the world like a game of chess! Everyone might be forced into conflict, even escape is a luxury. Where there is conflict, there is inevitably slaughter. Some people kill, others save, and some kill to save. For example, when the soldiers on the front lines are bathing in blood, do they care if they are killing people? No, they care about whether they can prevent the homeland and its people behind them from being ravaged!"
"As for me, Liang Xiao, I have a profound and firm understanding of what I am doing and what I should do, and that is enough!"
Yue Lian was already in tears, sobbing softly, while Jian Qin Wan's beautiful eyes were red, speechless.
This character, in the end, echoed "ending conflict is martial"!
Hong Ren exclaimed in disbelief, "This old monk understands, this is your vision, very good! Very good..."
The stone in Jian Qin Wan's heart finally landed. Her eyes flickered as she stole a glance at Liang Xiao.
With two questions satisfying Hong Ren, they should be able to safely take away this divine weapon!
Hong Ren placed his hand on the broken iron railing, hesitated for a long time, and finally asked his last doubt.
"Then, how can you bear the weight of life?"
Liang Xiao and the other two fell silent.
No one knew better than Liang Xiao that this was the most difficult question.
He could be a Heavenly General, capable of taking down a thousand enemies, killing like slicing vegetables. He could also be the Marquis of An Guo, strategizing and making enemies vanish with a mere laugh.
All of this was built upon the lives of people!
Even if Liang Xiao had a deep understanding of his actions, how could he bear the weight of life, how could he bear the immeasurable karma of killing!
Liang Xiao sighed several times. After a moment, he raised his precious sword and slowly engraved a character in the middle.
【舍】…… (She - Sacrifice/Abandonment)
This character was no longer vigorous, nor was it swift and decisive. It carried an indescribable heaviness.
Jian Qin Wan stared at this character blankly, two streams of tears involuntarily sliding down her exquisite cheeks, unstoppable.
Hong Ren stood stunned. After regaining his senses, his entire body, including his white beard, trembled. He re-examined the youth before him: "She, this is your resolve..."
Liang Xiao looked at that character, took a deep breath, as if talking to himself, his gaze profound.
"The world is unsettled, with treacherous officials in power and strong enemies surrounding us. How can I, Liang Xiao, be caught up in contemplating life and death here? What does it matter if I am covered in blood? Someone always has to bear the heavy burden. I will spare no effort to abandon the world's stubborn views of good and evil, abandon my own glory, and use war to end war, use killing to end killing!"
"Buddhism speaks of hell. Since I choose to bear the karma of killing, I will surely descend into hell in the future. So what? Let them chop my body, let the karma fire burn my soul, I will have no regrets as I walk this bloody path, until death!"
"After I die, a nameless monument shall be erected at my grave. My merits and demerits, I leave for future generations to judge!"
Liang Xiao's forceful words echoed in the storeroom, followed by two cries. Even Hong Ren couldn't help but shed tears.
Yue Lian choked, "Young Master, even if you go to hell, Yue Lian will go with you!!"
Jian Qin Wan gazed at Liang Xiao with tenderness, her tears falling like broken beads. At this moment, she envied Yue Lian so much, for at least she could openly express her feelings.
Liang Xiao walked over and gently patted Yue Lian's shoulder to comfort her, then looked at Jian Qin Wan, "Bodhisattva?"
Jian Qin Wan quickly turned her back to Liang Xiao, "None of your business..."
Liang Xiao was stunned.
Hong Ren bowed deeply to Liang Xiao and sighed, "Goodness! Jie, Zhi, She, represent the Marquis of An Guo's wisdom, vision, and resolve, respectively. Since you have such a grand ambition, you are surely the destined master of this halberd. Please accept it."
Liang Xiao suppressed his excitement and walked over to pick up the long halberd again.
Hong Ren, as if a burden had been lifted, smiled again, "Marquis of An Guo, do not underestimate this halberd. This halberd is far more exquisite than you imagine, perfect and flawless. Look at the mechanisms on its body."