Volume One: The Hidden Dragon in the Abyss Chapter 24: Resolution

"Is there anything else?" the Emperor asked.

The censor found himself suddenly unable to discern the sovereign's intentions, and replied, "Your humble servant believes that Wang Chuan is full of suspicious points, and his arrival bodes ill. Out of loyalty to Your Majesty, I have spoken up and leave the matter to Your Majesty's judgment."

"And what say the rest of you?" The Emperor's gaze swept the assembled ministers.

A heavy silence settled over the air.

…

Wang Chuan moved like the wind. After speeding out of the city, he abruptly halted.

Someone was pursuing him.

After a while, the figure drew near, revealing a man clad in tattered monk's robes.

His face was gaunt, his frame thin and frail, yet he radiated an unimaginable energy. Though his robes were worn and old, they had been carefully laundered and were impeccably neat.

What caught Wang Chuan's attention most was that the man was barefoot.

This Buddhist master, whom Wang Chuan had only recently parted from, now stood before him and sighed, chanting a Buddhist benediction.

Looking at Ji Xin, Wang Chuan sensed the sorrow in the monk's heart. Gazing at the master's bare, bloodied feet upon the sharp stones, Wang Chuan asked, "Master, why have you done this to yourself?"

"My shoes were torn," Ji Xin replied sorrowfully, "and as I was intent on mending them, I failed to sense the murderous intent in your heart. By the time I realized, it was too late, and I cast aside my shoes and hurried here as swiftly as I could. I must never wear shoes again."

Wang Chuan was stunned at this, and for a long while said nothing. "Master, there was no need for this. It was I who harbored murderous intent, knowing I could never achieve Buddhahood. I am not one destined for enlightenment; I am fated to fall into the abyss and become a demon. Why must you treat yourself so harshly for my sake?"

"Amitabha," Ji Xin intoned with a sigh.

"Master, I was wrong. It was my own stubbornness. Had I known you would come to stop me from committing slaughter, I would have restrained myself. There is no need for you to feel guilt." Wang Chuan went on to persuade him, "In our past discussions of Zen, we once said: if one seeks to temper oneself by deliberately inviting hardship through the practice of meditation, it is to chase the shadow and forsake the substance, contrary to true meaning."

The sutras say: 'Not until hell is empty shall I become a Buddha.'

Ji Xin, too, had been so absorbed in mending his shoes that he did not sense Wang Chuan's intention in time to prevent bloodshed. He resolved never to wear shoes again.

His Buddhist resolve only grew stronger.

"The past mind cannot be grasped; the present mind cannot be grasped; the future mind cannot be grasped."

Long after Ji Xin had left, Wang Chuan remained rooted to the spot, filled with melancholy and loss.

Master, I am sorry.

…

"What do you think should be done with Wang Chuan?" the Emperor suddenly asked.

The censor cast a furtive glance toward a certain spot, hesitated, then steeled himself and replied, "Your Majesty, Wang Chuan committed violence in public. By law, he should first be arrested, and if necessary, eliminated as a threat."

The Emperor nodded and waved his hand. "Very well. Guards, take him out and execute him."

"Your Majesty is wise—" The censor's words froze on his lips; his mouth hung open and could not close. "Your Majesty…"

He thought the Emperor had misspoken.

But the guards, obeying their orders, seized him and began to drag him out.

"Your Majesty…" the censo