A Favor

Chapter 748: A Favor

"So, Mistress, have you let it go?"

At Lyu Xiucai's words, Bai Lingmiao's heart trembled. Memories she had buried surged to the surface.

She wanted to say that she had let it go, but the words refused to leave her mouth.

Seeing Bai Lingmiao standing silent, Lyu Xiucai bowed to her, turned, and walked out of the White Lotus hall.

"Mistress! Don't try to talk me out of it. I, Lyu Xiucai, might not be worth much, but even if I only kill one more Fa Sect believer, then I've been useful."

When the drumming from the distant military camp signaled the army's assembly, Lyu Xiucai's eyes lit up with excitement. He tugged at the bronze coin sword slung across his back and, humming a line of opera, ran toward the sound.

"Success, and my soul returns to native soil; failure, and I die in a foreign land! To avenge my family, that is my due! With a righteous heart, alone I go! Boiling blood, a chest full of fire!"

Listening to Lyu Xiucai's song fade into the distance, Bai Lingmiao, her heart growing uneasy, silently turned and walked deeper into the hall.

This was the most heavily guarded place, for it held the White Lotus Sect's most precious treasure.

She pushed open a door, walked past two folding screens, and a white lotus emitting a soft white light appeared before her.

Compared to when it was first discovered in the Niuxin Village ancestral hall, the lotus was now blooming far larger. The gentle radiance was no longer intermittent but shone continuously.

Around the lotus sat a circle of people—men and women, old and young. Only those most qualified within the White Lotus Sect were permitted to approach it.

Bai Lingmiao sat cross-legged on a cattail mat and began to pray quietly to the lotus, the Twelve-Grade Merit Jade Lotus.

"Wusheng Laomu, Native Land of True Emptiness. Wusheng Laomu, Native Land of True Emptiness…"

It was a prayer to Wusheng Laomu, but also a way to convince herself that the Native Land of True Emptiness existed.

The white lotus on Bai Lingmiao's forehead shone in tandem with the lotus on the table. Her upper body abruptly split into two.

The two halves of her torso faced away from each other. Four hands formed lotus seals, hovering in the air like the branches of a tree. Her lower body remained seated, transforming her into a strange, pale, fleshy stump in the center of the room.

It seemed to be some kind of White Lotus cultivation technique, but its true nature was known only to the White Lotus Saintess herself.

Two hours later, the light outside had begun to fade, but the room remained as bright as day, illuminated by the lotus.

Suddenly, Bai Lingmiao stopped. Calming herself, she rose from the cushion and tilted her head toward the silent world outside the door. "What is it?"

Her senses were sharp; not even the slightest disturbance could escape her notice.

"Holy Maiden, someone from the Four Qi Imperial Office came by. His Majesty wishes to see you."

"The Four Qi Emperor?" Bai Lingmiao couldn't help but think of the two Dragon Veins that had been used as bait.

Though she didn't know what he wanted, she dared not slight a sitting sovereign. She gathered her people and set out.

Even though the Four Qi Kingdom had fallen, the emperor's name still carried weight. Even in this cramped, overcrowded city, his residence was a three-courtyard estate.

When Bai Lingmiao saw the Four Qi Emperor, she almost didn't recognize him, so different was he from the utterly wretched figure he had been before.

The last time, the Dragon Vein had just been fished from a mud pit, covered in filth. Now, the Four Qi Emperor…

His bright yellow robe was embroidered with a pattern of a dragon soaring over the sea. Beneath the pearl tassels of his imperial crown, his jet-black eyes gleamed with an unspoken authority, exuding the kingly aura of one who could command the world.

"No need to kneel. Bring a seat for Lady Bai," the emperor said, waving a hand from behind the table where he sat in his dragon robe.

Two elderly eunuchs immediately brought a stool.

Bai Lingmiao bowed in thanks and sat down gently. "May I ask, Your Majesty, why you have summoned me here?"

The Four Qi Emperor looked her up and down. "I hear the White Lotus has been spreading far and wide recently. You've taken territory from the Fa Sect's mouth, and the common folk are flocking to your banner."

"Your Majesty flatters us. The White Lotus has done nothing worth mentioning. Everything we do is to prevent the Fa Sect from making a comeback," Bai Lingmiao replied. Though her words were humble, a knot of unease tightened in her stomach. That didn't sound right.

"Flatters you? Not at all!" A burly, fat general in heavy armor walked out from behind the emperor. "The number of people who believe in your White Lotus is enough to rival a thousand-chariot state. If that's 'nothing worth mentioning,' then nothing is worth mentioning."

Bai Lingmiao remained silent, unsure what he was getting at.

"I didn't summon the Holy Maiden for any other reason," the Four Qi Emperor said, stepping down from his dragon throne and walking slowly behind her with his hands clasped behind his back. "Since so many of the White Lotus faithful now heed your command, I'd like to discuss a small matter with the Holy Maiden."

Bai Lingmiao glanced sideways, waiting for him to continue.

The fat general spoke up directly. "Ah, Your Majesty, let's stop beating around the bush and get to the point!"

Without waiting for the emperor, the general began to rattle on. "Holy Maiden, it's like this. The Zhongyin Temple over in Qingqiu has a plan. They can perform a ritual to wipe out all the remaining Fa Sect scum in Four Qi at once. But the ritual needs something… unusual. So they want the Holy Maiden's help."

"Zhongyin Temple?" Bai Lingmiao's heart stirred with unease at the name.

"They need human lives," the general said. "Not the kind of life-extending pill human lives, either. They need to sacrifice people to heaven. Not a few hundred, not a few thousand. One million, eight hundred and ten thousand."

Bai Lingmiao didn't speak. She was clearly stunned by the number.

The Four Qi Emperor gave the fat general a look, and he continued. "The tricky part, see, these lamas have a rule. The victims have to go willingly."

"Go figure, right? How am I supposed to know what's going on in those Qingqiu heads? They insist on willing sacrifice. We can't get that kind of thing ourselves, so we wanted to ask the Holy Maiden for a hand."

"Surely, the White Lotus has some useless people, right? The old, the weak, the sick, the crippled. It wouldn't hurt to make use of the waste."

"Just use that line you always do," the fat general suggested. "Tell them that if they die, they'll go to the Native Land of True Emptiness. They'll be overjoyed to go and get themselves killed."

When the fat general finished, the Four Qi Emperor added, "Don't worry. As long as the Fa Sect is driven from Four Qi and I'm reinstated on the throne, I will repay you five times the number of followers you lose!"

"What? Do you take me for a man of my word? I can swear it before my ancestors! Is that enough to put your mind at ease?"

Bai Lingmiao's hands began to tremble. Looking at the Four Qi Emperor, she was reminded, for some reason, of the female general Peng Longteng.

"Your Majesty!" Bai Lingmiao's voice quivered. "That's a million, eight hundred and ten thousand lives!"

"What of it? They'll be going to the Native Land of True Emptiness to enjoy bliss. What's the matter, Holy Maiden? Don't tell me you don't believe in the Native Land of True Emptiness?"