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Chapter 30 – Partings and reunions are impermanent, Part 3

That monk in black said, “My evil is really difficult to expel. Ten years ago, even after I’d already followed master for a long time, I still injured three people. Today, it’s as if my blood is boiling, and it’s been very difficult to control myself. I’m afraid that I’m going to commit a hideous crime. I beg for master’s mercy. Please cut off both of my hands.”

The white-eyebrowed monk replied, “Good, very good! I could chop off your hands for you. But for all the evil thoughts in your heart, you’d have to eliminate them yourself. If your evil thoughts don’t go away, how would my cutting off all your hands and feet help?”

The monk in black shook violently and suddenly choked in tears. He said, “Shifu [master] has enlightened me. But all this time I haven’t been able to get rid of my evil thoughts.”

The white-eyebrowed monk let out a deep sigh and said, “Although you know what’s right and wrong, your heart is filled with hatred. When you don’t know how to love, evil thoughts are always difficult to eliminate. Let me tell you a Buddhist tale of a mother deer.” The monk in black replied, “I’m listening.” Then he sat down cross-legged. Yang Guo and Xiao Longnü on the other side of the wall were also listening in silence.

The white-eyebrowed monk said, “A long time ago, there were a mother deer and two small fawns. The mother deer was careless and was captured by a hunter, who wanted to kill her. The mother deer kowtowed to him and begged, ‘I just gave birth to two fawns. They are young and innocent, and do not know how to find water and grass. May I ask you for some time so I can teach them to find food for themselves? After that, I’ll come back to die.’ The hunter wouldn’t listen. But after the mother deer begged and begged (with her sad doe eyes), he was moved and then let her go.”

“The mother deer searched for her two babies. Then she lowered her head and cried, licking her children’s bodies. In her heart was a mixture of happiness and sadness. She told the two fawns, ‘A love relationship is predestined. Meetings have to end, and we rarely have much time. Today I’m your mother. I’m afraid I can’t protect myself. Life and death are everywhere. And danger came too early.’ The two fawns were small and didn’t understand her meaning. And so the mother deer pointed them to a beautiful place with water and grass, tears flowing from her eyes. Then she said, ‘Our time has ended. I fell into a hunter’s hand by accident and was about to be killed. I begged the hunter so I could come back to see you, and today I’ll die. I pity you, having to be motherless so young and living by yourself.’”

Having heard this, Xiao Longnü recalled how her own life would also be cut short. She thought about these few sentences — ‘Life and death are everywhere, and danger came too early’ and ‘I pity you, having to be motherless so young and living by yourself.’ She couldn’t bear it, and tears were flowing from her eyes. Yang Guo knew perfectly well that the white-eyebrowed monk was only telling a Buddhist tale but the tale of the mother deer and her children was very sad, and so he also was moved.

The white-eyebrowed monk continued the story, “Having finished saying this, the mother deer left her two fawns. The two of them cried, weeping in sorrow and following her closely behind. The babies were small and couldn’t run fast but they scrambled, tumbling down and getting up, to follow their mother, not willing to let her go. The mother deer paused. She turned around and said, ‘Babies! You can’t come along. If the hunter sees you, we mother and babies will all be finished. I’m ready to die, only fearing that you two are still weak. Nothing is permanent in the world. Everybody has to leave. I am ill-fated, causing you to lose your mother when you are still small.’ And then she fled to the hunter. The two fawns didn’t fear the hunter’s arrows and arrived after her.”

“The hunter saw that the mother deer was trustworthy, giving up her life to keep her words, and that her determination surpassed that of humans. Besides, he saw that the three deer were not willing to leave one another. He felt pity and decided not to kill her. The three of them shouted out in happiness, thanking the hunter. The hunter then told this story to the king, and the whole nation applauded and stopped evil killings.”

The monk in black listened to this story, tears streaming down his face. He said, “The deer were righteous. The mother deer was compassionate, and her offspring were filial. In no way can I compare to them.”

The white-eyebrowed monk said, “If there is compassion, any killing intention will disappear.” While saying this, he looked at Peng Zhang Lao who was nearby, as if he was also explaining all this to him. The monk in black responded, “True!” The white-eyebrowed monk continued, “If one wants to make amends that also is virtuous. It’s better than repenting and doing nothing. From today on, we should do good deeds.” Then he let out a small sigh, “Even I, in my life, have done many bad things.” Having said this, he shut his eyes and was deep in thought.

Even though the monk in black understood his master’s teaching, he was still troubled, finding it difficult to control himself. He lifted his head, only to see that Elder Peng was staring at him with a cat-like smile, his eyes looking as if they were shining lights. The monk in black was startled, feeling like he’d seen such a person somewhere before. He felt very uncomfortable with this meaningful look, and so he immediately turned his head away to avoid the gaze. But after a short while, he couldn’t bear it and turned back to meet those eyes.

With a smile Elder Peng said, “The snow has been coming down hard, don’t you think?”

The monk in black replied, “Yes, it’s been coming down hard.”

Elder Peng then said, “Come. Let’s go look at the snow.” Having said this, he pushed the door open. The monk in black repeated, “Good, let’s go look at the snow.” Then he got up to go stand side by side with Elder Peng at the door. At this time even though Yang Guo was behind the wall, he could sense that Elder Peng’s eyes were really strange and ominous.

Elder Peng said, “What your master said is right. Murder is wrong in any case. But the power in your body is overflowing. If you don’t let it out, your heart feels very difficult. Is that right?” In a daze, the monk in black replied, “It’s true!” Elder Peng said, “You might as well strike this snow man. Hit him, and you won’t sin.” The monk in black looked at the snowman and lifted both arms, eager to try. By now the two monks had been here for about half an hour, and the thin beggar’s body was thoroughly covered with white snow, even his eyes couldn’t be seen. Elder Peng urged, “Use your palms. Hit this snowman. Hit…Hit…Hit!” His words were soft, filled with encouragement. The monk in black channeled energy to his arms and said, “Good, I’ll hit!”

The white-eyebrowed monk lifted his head and let out a long sigh. In a low voice he said, “Where there is a murderous intention, there is sin.”

But then he heard a crashing sound. The monk in black shot out both of his palms, sending the white snow flying. The thin beggar’s body was struck, his pressure points unsealed, and so he let out a loud miserable ‘ah’ cry, which echoed into the distance. Xiao Longnü softly cried out, her hands grabbing Yang Guo’s.

The monk in black was shocked. He yelled, “There was someone in the snow!” The white-eyebrowed monk quickly came out and bent down to examine the body. The thin beggar was struck by the extremely powerful palms of the monk in black, and thus he was killed violently. The monk in black was all confused and became dully still.

Elder Peng acted like he was frightened and said, “This person was really strange. Why did he hide in the snow? Eh, why was he holding a knife?” Elder Peng had used his “Soul Absorbing Technique”, urging the monk in black to kill the thin beggar. He was very pleased with himself. Still, he couldn’t help being puzzled and thought to himself, “Surprisingly this servant had endurance, hiding very still in the snow. Could it be that the snow was blocking his ears and so he didn’t hear me urging that man to hit him?”

With a dull look in his eyes the monk in black could only cry out, “Master!” The white-eyebrowed monk said, “Such a pity. It wasn’t you who killed this person, yet it was you who did it.” The monk in black crouched down on the snow and his voice trembled, “I don’t understand.” The white-eyebrowed monk said, “You only knew that this was a snowman so you didn’t mean to hurt people. But your palms were wickedly powerful, without restraint. How can it be said that you didn’t have murderous intentions?” The monk in black said, “I certainly had murderous intentions.”

The white-eyebrowed monk looked at Elder Peng with a long steady gaze. His eyes were gentle, yet filled with grief. Simply with just this look, Elder Peng’s great ‘Soul Absorbing’ spell vanished. The monk in black suddenly cried out, “You are one of the Beggar Clan’s elders. It now came to my mind!” The cat-like smile on Elder Peng’s face disappeared in an instant. He frowned and shrewdly said, “And you are Iron Palms Chief Qiu. How did you become a monk?”

This monk in black was precisely Iron Palms Qiu Qianren. Years ago, on Mount Hua, he suddenly regretted all that he’d done and became a monk under Reverend Yideng’s tutelage. And this white-eyebrowed, old monk was Reverend Yideng, who was in the same league as Wang Chongyang, Huang Yaoshi, Ouyang Feng, and Hong Qigong. Qiu Qianren shaved his head and became a monk named Ci’en, following a Buddhist’s path and diligently mending his ways. But he’d done many despicable things in the past, making it very difficult to eliminate the monster in his heart. Facing the many temptations in the world, he couldn’t resist hurting people. And so he’d made a pair of strong manacles so that whenever his mind became troubled, he could shackle his hands and feet, keeping his evilness in check. At this time Reverend Yideng, who usually secluded himself in Hunan, had received a letter asking for help from his disciple Zhu Ziliu. So he and Ci’en were now on their way to the Passionless Valley. Nobody could have expected that they would run into Elder Peng on this remote mountain. Ci’en actually had no intention to hurt people.

In over ten years since becoming a monk, although Ci’en had violated some rules, this was actually the first time he had taken someone’s life. His mind was greatly disturbed, feeling that over ten years of his Buddhist study was all for nothing. He gave Elder Peng a vicious stare, with raging fire in his eyes.