The next morning, Song Cheng and the two had a simple meal at the inn.
Last night, Song Cheng couldn't sleep. Even he couldn't comprehend why he had acted like that the night before, like a clumsy unafraid idiot.
"Song Cheng, you look tired." Qin Su spoke.
"I'd like to appreciate General Song for last night." Yuan Jin said, smiling at him.
"En."
"As for that Bai Hua, what a strange figure!" Yuan Jin added.
"Ah Noble Masters! Eat as you like! Your meal is on the house." The old housekeeper spoke, rushing to their table.
"Old Sir, there's something I'd like to ask." Song Cheng spoke. The old housekeeper gestured him to go on.
"Who is Master Bai Hua?"
"Master Bai Hua." The man's eyes lit up again. "Master is a noble deity. Nobody knows from where he came or what's his name, but master has a pure will. Anywhere we need help, Master Bai Hua is the first to come. He's like that man you know..."
The old housekeeper seemed to ponder, as if trying to remember something hard. Slamming his fist on his hand, he spoke,
"Yah! The man who saved a thousand maidens."
"You mean The Duo That Saved A Thousand Maidens." Song Cheng corrected him.
No matter what but if it wasn't for Lu Feng with him, he wasn't sure if he could've done it as well.
"There were two men? I always heard there was just one! Ah what was his name? Song...Song Jing?
Well, anyway there's a Temple Of A Thousand Maidens by the lake. Master Bai Hua likes to visit there, nobody else dares goes there." The old housekeeper spoke.
"And why doesn't anyone?" Qin Su questioned.
"Master Bai Hua says it's a temple of good and evil. We do as the Master says." The old housekeeper chirped and went away.
"One thing's for sure, these people are hell bent of the goodness of Bai Hua. No wonder these mortals will turn down the heavens sooner." Qin Su spoke, looking at the retreating housekeeper.
"How could it be a temple of good and evil? I don't understand though. Isn't it because of that Lu Fe..." Yuan Jin trailed off.
"Lord Yuan Jin is right. After his defiance, Lu Feng was turned out as evil. Lord Wu Jing personally delivered this will down. Perhaps, at that time the temple would've already been made, and hence to keep away was the only option." Song Cheng explained.
"But I still cannot understand...does Bai Hua have something to do with Huang Lin? And this Huang Lin...what do we know about him?" Qin Su asked.
"I've been thinking the same. And hence, I ask Lord Yuan Jin for a favor." Song Cheng spoke. "Is there any way to talk to the Eight gods for more information?"
Yuan Jin's face grew pale and he shook his head.
"N-No. I won't. Lord Xue Min will just mock me for being an ignorant uninformed person. I can't!"
"Tssk! What a god!" Qing Su spoke under his breath.
"But there is another way! The way that the mortals use." Yuan Jin spoke excitedly.
"And what that may be?" Qin Su asked, annoyed.
"Who do mortals speak to when they need to talk to the heaven?" Yuan Jin asked, playing with the flower in his hair.
Qin Su wiggled his brows.
"Lord Wu Jing." Song Cheng spoke. "The method you mean is to pray to Lord Wu Jing?"
"Yes! General Song is so clever! But we'll need a place of high spiritual energy to pray." Yuan Jin said, looking around at the room.
"Don't bother, I know somewhere." Song Cheng spoke.
After their meal, the three walked back towards the marketplace. Song Cheng had thought of coming back but he didn't know it'd be a visit so soon.
Soon, the three reached the Temple Of Ling Rui.
The lake glistened in the sun in distance and Song Cheng just wanted to go for a swim, like he used to when young but he restrained his urge.
Afterall, he wasn't the same person.
"I'll go buy incense and offerings." Song Cheng spoke and left as the other two waited on the temple pavillion.
A small stall near the temple sold incense and some fruit. Song Cheng bought a few and walked back to Qin Su and Yuan Jin. While Qin Su sat down quietly, observing people, Yuan Jin was busy producing small flowers out of his hand.
Soon, a small pile of fresh white orchids was built up on his lap.
"Ah Song Cheng! Are you sure you want to pray to Lord Wu Jing? What if she's with Lord Zhang-" Qin Su spoke, while Yuan Jin cut him off.
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP IF YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Yuan Jin yelled, his face red. This was the first time they both had seen him angry.
"Lord Yuan Jin. I did not speak any ill of you, why do you yell?" Qin Su spoke.
Before Yuan Jin could speak again, Song Cheng walked in.
"Lord Yuan Jin, let it be. First, let's just focus on what we have on our hands." Song Cheng spoke firmly.
Yuan Jin looked at him for a moment. "Only a fool believes everything he hears." He spoke, gritting his teeth and marched inside the temple.
Song Cheng had decided that it wasn't right to pray to Wu Jing inside someone else's temple and hence, he lighted the incense and put up the offerings on the pavillion.
Since there weren't much people inside the temple, Qin Su decided to go inside as well.
Song Cheng sat in a lotus position and in his mind, he called Wu Jing's name in prayer.
He wasn't sure if this method could work but with Yuan Jin's incompetence, he had no other choice.
Soon, the voices and thoughts in his mind dispersed away. He felt a certain warmth hover him.
"General Song." he heard a familiar female voice speak. He opened his eyes.
He was no longer in the Temple Of Ling Rui but inside the Chamber Of Eight Gods.
Wu Jing sat on her throne, and her dim aura seemed brighter in the vacant chamber.
"Lord Wu Jing."
"What is it that you call me for?"
"I'd like to know about Huang Lin." Song Cheng spoke.
"Aren't you curious about Bai Hua too?" Wu Jing asked, with a gentle voice.
"En."
"Although they're so similar, there's nothing about Bai Hua we know. He's not a problem. As for Huang Lin, who would know better than General Song?" Wu Jing turned to look at Song Cheng directly.
"I don't understand what My Lord means."
"What I mean is, Huang Ling is someone very much like your Lu Feng. Somebody with so much arrogance only can dare defy the heaven."
Song Cheng didn't respond but only clutched his belt.
"Huang Lin has been in notice for a few decades but only now does he cause such trouble. Pleasing the common folk, such a great master. That 'Empty Chamber', like his name lacks a soul.
A few years ago, three heavenly maidens descended to the mortal realm to deliver the Heaven's will, and ran into Huang Lin. There was a famine in YuFu town near JinHu. The will had three possible outcomes; all perish, a war or a deadly disease furthers. Not only did the maidens encounter great misfortune meeting that troublemaker, none out of the three outcomes ever came to be. Instead, Huang Lin fished out a fourth way."
Song Cheng looked at Wu Jing's unchanging expression.
"He established his own domain. Since the Heaven's will cannot infiltrate around him, everyone was saved. Each person lived. To the mortals, he's no less than a god but the heaven knows what great consequences does this imbalance of life causes.
After what he did, instead of those hundreds of mortals being sacrificed, Huang Lin dared provoke the Ghost King Chen HuiQing and sacrificed hundreds of the ghosts he had imprisoned. Even though those ghosts were full of malicious intent, they were the source of the Ghost King's powers. Huang Lin dared riot against the Heaven's will and ceased the peace between ghosts and gods. He dares follow Lu Feng."
"I understand, My Lord." Song Cheng spoke.
Although that person was openly against the heavens, no god had faced him only because of the mortals.
Afterall, they were the reason the gods existed in first place. If every person ceased to believe in the gods and overthrew the will, it was difficult to say what state would the heaven reach.
"However, there is something I wish General Song to answer." Wu Jing spoke, a gentle smile unfading on her face.
Her eyes looked tired as always but she still maintained her composure.
"Lord Wu Jing may ask."
"Killing that person, do you ever regret it?" She asked.
It seemed like she'd pressed a nerve. Song Cheng only clutched his belt harder. It was a feeling bigger than regret. Something he couldn't put into words.
How did he feel after killing that person he'd made a promise to?
It felt better if he'd rather died.
After a moment, he finally answered.
"Always."
The light in his eyes seemed to fade away and Song Cheng opened his eyes, still sitting outside the Temple Of Ling Rui.
He had enough information with him to proceed.
He went inside the temple to look for Qin Su and Yuan Jin.
Inside, a pair of a crippled mother and daughter sat in prayer, with no one else around.
'Where had Yuan Jin and Qin Su gone to?' Song Cheng wondered.
He looked around the temple and near the stalls but he couldn't trace a sight of the pair of purple and black robes.
Searching, he went back to the temple. They couldn't have vanished into thin air.
"QIN SU? LORD YUAN JIN!!"
"AH QIN SU! WHERE ARE YOU?"
Song Cheng cried but no one responded.
He stood on the temple pavillion where he had prayed before. Suddenly, he heard careful footsteps approaching him from behind, rustling and crushing the fallen leaves on the temple grounds.
He turned to see Bai Hua. In the daylight, his snow white robes and jade skin looked more beautiful, justifying his title.
His hair were still let loose on his back and small locks were tucked behind his left ear.
It occurred to Song Cheng that he only looked about eighteen, so he didn't mind him calling him 'ge'.
Also, he didn't want to doubt the man any further, afterall Wu Jing had no bad news about him.
"Master Bai Hua." Song Cheng addressed.
"Is Xiao ge looking for something?" The other man asked.
"En."
"Has Xiao ge lost something?"
"Actually.... it's my two companions. They went inside the temple and now they're nowhere." Song Cheng managed to explain.
"Did Xiao ge say they went inside the temple? How long were they inside?" Bai Hua asked, walking towards Song Cheng.
"About a time of two incense sticks." Song Cheng replied honestly.
"Were they both sick in any manner?" Bai Hua asked, as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Standing next to him, Song Cheng felt small and fragile, as if he'd loose his cover again.
"No. They were completely fine. One of them is a skilled swordsman." Song Cheng spoke, referring to Qin Su.
"We must look inside." Bai Hua spoke and walked inside, followed by Song Cheng.
Song Cheng noticed Bai Hua's sword missing.
Although he wanted to ask about that brilliant spiritual sword, now he had find Qin Su and Yuan Jin first.
Inside, the temple was now fully deserted. The walls of the temple were covered with various images of Ling Rui delivering beautiful gifts to the mortals.
One of the paintings on the walls especially lured Song Cheng.
It was that of Qing Fuhua, who stood next to Ling Rui , seeming to overlook this Temple Of Ling Rui. He wouldn't have recognised Qing Fuhua in the first place but in her hands was a four leaved clover that Song Cheng knew was her healing tool.
'Why was there a Qing Fuhua painting?' Song Cheng thought. The real goddess of healing stood with the one presumed, of course the painting made Qing Fuhua look like a maiden instead.
He walked closer towards the painting when something seemed to be crushed under his feet.
He squatted down to take a closer look, it was flower.
A fresh orchid lay on the ground.
It was Yuan Jin's.
"Has Xiao ge found something?" Bai Hua asked, approaching Song Cheng.
Song Cheng stood up, holding the flower in his palm, showing it to Bai Hua.
"I had wanted to ask Master Bai Hua, why are there only sick people inside the temple and does this temple has something do with the goddess Qing Fuhua?" Song Cheng asked.
"A few years ago, this Temple of Ling Rui wasn't like this. It was a temple devoted to Qing Fuhua. Ever since it became a Ling Rui temple, whenever a healthy person entered, they would turn sick. And those who became sick got no avail anywhere else but here." Bai Hua spoke.
"Although I have searched this place, there isn't any trace of dark energy. Instead, this place is filled with immense heavenly energy." he added.
"What Master Bai Hua means to say is there might be something wrong with this temple. That this Ling Rui temple was deliberately meddled with, shifting it's energy?" Song Cheng asked.
"It could be." Bai Hua spoke.
"The flow of Heaven's energy can be redirected. Could it be so?" Song Cheng questioned, furrowing his brows.
Suddenly, a loud bang rang through the room.
Bai Hua and Song Cheng both looked around.
BANG! BANG!
Coincidentally, both Song Cheng looked at the ground beneath their feet in unison. The sounds came from under their feet!
***