Chapter 12 Strange Balance and Heavenly Threat
Days passed just like that, one after another.
It felt weird, yet it held a strange kind of balance.
He still knocked the wooden fish and chanted scriptures every day, trying to reform me.
I still cracked jokes and stirred up trouble in every way I could.
He would still get so angry at me sometimes that his face turned green and veins bulged on his forehead. Sometimes he even summoned the golden bowl to pin me down for a moment, forcing me to reflect on my faults.
But more often, it was waking to the warm spot left beside me in the morning.
It was the occasional snacks on the table that broke every monastic rule.
It was the arm that wrapped around me more naturally each night.
And the light kisses that sometimes brushed the back of my neck, so faint they felt like nothing more than an illusion.
When he chopped wood, I stood beside him pointing and gesturing.
When he cooked, I squatted nearby stealing bites.
When he repaired the leaky roof, I held the ladder below and mocked how his skills were not what they used to be.
Love and hate.
Perhaps that was it.
Only the hate slowly changed its flavor, becoming a tacit, restless tug. And the love... no one ever spoke the word, yet it seeped into every corner of this small courtyard without anyone noticing.
Until that afternoon, when the weather turned unusually hot and stuffy.
He suddenly set down the Buddhist scripture in his hands, stood up sharply, and stared toward the western sky. His face tightened into a solemn frown I'd never seen before.
What is it? I asked, idly fiddling with that grasshopper toy.
An old acquaintance's aura, he said in a deep, cold voice, carrying a trace of barely noticeable tension. Very strong. Heading straight this way.
My heart leaped hard.
The kind of old acquaintance that could make him look like this...
I realized in an instant. People from the immortal realm? Weren't they unable to descend anymore?
The separation between heaven and earth always has cracks, he replied, his gaze sharp as a blade as it suddenly fixed on me. It was coming for you.
My face paled in terror.
The fear carved into my bones after eight hundred years of pursuit seized me instantly.
I nearly transformed and fled right then.
But a large, scorching hand clamped down hard on my wrist.
I looked up and met his eyes.
There was no killing intent in them. No trace of the old obsession to destroy me body and soul. Only a deep, dark intensity in his eyes.
Do not be afraid, he said, voice low and hoarse. The grip on my hand tightened until it hurt. Stay here.
He yanked me behind him. His tall frame shielded me completely. The saffron kasaya billowed without wind. Powerful Buddhist energy surged and wrapped the entire small courtyard in flowing golden light that formed a solid barrier.
Almost the second the barrier took shape, a blinding white light crashed down from the sky and slammed into the golden shield.
Boom!
The ground shook violently. The small courtyard trembled hard, tiles and rubble raining down.
The golden barrier flickered wildly but held against the blow.
The white light faded. In mid-air appeared the silver-armored silhouette of a heavenly general, face stern, eyes like lightning. His gaze locked instantly onto me where Fa Hai shielded me.
Fa Hai! the heavenly general thundered, voice heavy with the power of the heavenly laws. Hand over the demon Qing She! Harboring a sinful demon violates the heavenly rules. Do you know your crime?
Fa Hai stood in front of me, his back straight and unyielding. His voice stayed calm but carried absolute resolve.
There is no issue here, and no demon, he said slowly, lifting his head. His gaze cut like cold lightning toward the heavenly general's silhouette. Please leave, sir.
The heavenly general seemed stunned by the answer. After a moment he erupted in fury. Insolent! You bear the heavy duties of the Buddhist sect, yet you willingly fall and consort with a demon! Today I will take you down as well and drag you back to the heavenly realm for trial!
Even stronger pressure crashed down. A radiant spear formed in the heavenly general's hand, ready to strike again.
Terror froze my limbs. I clutched desperately at the back of Fa Hai's robe.
But he reached back and squeezed my wrist firmly.
The grip carried reassurance and iron determination.
Then he stepped forward.
Buddhist light blazed around him brighter than ever. The saffron kasaya fluttered loudly, faint golden dragon shadows swirling across it.
He deliberately dropped the courtyard barrier.
Fa Hai! I cried out.
He ignored me and simply looked up at the heavenly general. His voice rang clear between heaven and earth, calm to the point of arrogance.
Eight hundred years ago, my Dao heart was already broken.
For eight hundred years, my worldly karma remained unfinished.
Today, he said, slowly raising his hand. The golden bowl appeared in his palm, humming with power, aimed not at me but at the immortal general above. This demon, I protect her.
To take her, he paused, his voice cold and fierce, you must first step over my corpse!
The golden bowl erupted in blinding light, turning into a golden rainbow that tore the sky and collided head-on with the immortal spear.
Boom!!!
The terrifying energy shockwave exploded outward instantly.