Chapter - 531 Refusing to Acknowledge Zhang As Husband (8)

Zhou Zhiruo stood up slowly with her body slightly facing the east. Suddenly her countenance greatly changed, while she called out, "You … you … you have come again!" Her voice was shrill, suppressing all other noises in the main hall.

Zhang Wuji followed the direction of her eyes and saw the paper pasted on the window was somehow torn, and the hole revealed a young woman's face. The face was full of scars. Zhang Wuji was so shocked that he shivered and could not stop from crying out. Although that young woman's face was full of scars and the bumps of the former days were gone, he was very sure the face belonged to his dead cousin, Yin Li!

He wanted to rush forward and call her, but his legs did not obey their master's bidding; it was as if his feet were planted on the ground.

As the face appeared suddenly on the window, there was a loud crash in the main hall as Zhou Zhiruo fainted and fell to the floor. Zhang Wuji no longer cared whatever Shaolin Pai might think of him; he called out loudly, "Zhu'er, Zhu'er! [spider kid] is that you?" But no one answered him.

After calming himself down, he flew to the back of the hall to pursue, but all he saw was the moon hanging low on the horizon, casting its cold shadow on the trees; the young woman in black was nowhere to be seen. Normally he did not believe in deities and demons, but faced with these kinds of images and scenes, he could not restrain cold sweats from wetting his body and hairs from rising on the back of his neck. Bracing himself, he said to himself, "It is she, it is she! No wonder her back looked so familiar, turns out it is Zhu'er. Did her ghost know that the eminent Shaolin monks are offering prayers to help her crossover to the netherworld, so she came here to receive the prayers? Could it be that because she died an unjust death her spirit did not find peace?"

As the Shaolin monks heard some noise, several people came over to investigate. As they saw Zhang Wuji, they could not help but be startled. A senior monk stepped forward, saluted him and said, "We did not know Zhang Jiaozhu came to visit this late at night, otherwise we would have welcomed you properly. Please accept our apology."

"I do not dare," Zhang Wuji replied, cupping his fists to return the propriety. Stepping aside, he entered the main hall.

He saw Zhou Zhiruo's eyes were shut tight; her face was without any sign of blood. Apparently, she had not regained her consciousness. Walking toward her, he put forth his strength to massage her and knead [orig. 'tui na' – a form of Chinese manual therapy] her back for some time. Zhou Zhiruo slowly awakened.

As she saw Zhang Wuji and realized she was in his embrace, Zhou Zhiruo hugged him and called out, "Ghost, there is a ghost!"

Zhang Wuji said, "This is indeed strange, but you don't need to be afraid. There are so many eminent monks in here. I am sure they will be able to solve this mystery."

Zhou Zhiruo had always been a dignified and staid woman. This time she was scared out of her wits, and right now she was embracing him in public; hearing him say these words, her face blushed and she busily pried herself away from him. She stood up, but could not stop herself from shivering. Quickly she grabbed his hand and even if she had to die, she would not dare to let him go.

Zhang Wuji exchanged some propriety with Kong Wen; he mentioned that someone was spying on them outside the window just now. Neither Kong Wen nor any of the monks had seen it, but the fact remained that it was a new torn on the paper, and the hole was still there.

"Wuji Ge … Zhang Jiaozhu," Zhou Zhiruo said, "That was what I saw earlier." Zhang Wuji nodded.

"You … you …" Zhou Zhiruo's voice was trembling, "Who did you say she was?"

"She is Miss Yin, my Biaomei Yin Li," Zhang Wuji replied. Zhou Zhiruo cried out in fear and fainted again.

This time Zhang Wuji pulled her hand that she did not fall to the floor. She was unconscious for a moment but quickly recovered. Zhang Wuji said, "I did see Biaomei, but … she is a human, not a ghost!"

"She is not a ghost?" Zhou Zhiruo was still trembling.

Zhang Wuji said, "I followed her all the way to Shaolin Temple. She walked like a human, not like a ghost." He had said that to comfort Zhou Zhiruo, but deep in his heart, he was unsure.

"So you saw her walking like a human and not like a ghost?" Zhou Zhiruo asked.

Zhang Wuji then recounted how he saw that black-dressed young woman and followed her all the way to Shaolin Temple; also how he saw her hiding outside the long window and spying inside the main hall. Every action and every movement was of a young woman who was adept in martial arts, not at all peculiar in any way.

"Fangzhang," he asked Kong Wen, "I [orig. 'zaixia' – the humble one] have one thing I am not sure I understand, I beg Fangzhang's advice. When someone dies, will he really become a ghost?"

Kong Wen pondered about it deeply for half a day before answering, "The matter of the netherworld is difficult to assert."

Zhang Wuji said, "That being the case, why did Fangzhang hold a ceremony to cross the departing soul to the netherworld?

"Shanzai, zhanzai!" Kong Wen said, "The departing soul need not be helped to cross over. In the matter of live and death, virtue has its reward, evil has its retribution. The way of Buddha seeks to help living people achieving peace; the ones need help to cross over are the living ones."

Zhang Wuji understood immediately. Cupping his fists he said, "Many thanks for the direction. I have stirred up trouble and caused disturbance this late at night. I only wish for Fangzhang's forgiveness."

Kong Wen smiled and said, "Jiaozhu is our humble Sect's great benefactor. You have saved us several times, enabling Shaolin Pai to avoid disaster; why be overly courteous?"

Immediately Zhang Wuji took his leave from the crowd of monks. To Zhou Zhiruo he said, "Let us leave!"

Zhou Zhiruo seemed reluctant, she was afraid to leave the security of the Buddhist hall. Zhang Wuji did not feel comfortable to urge her strongly; he simply cupped his fists again and said, "In that case, we will say goodbye here." Finished speaking, he turned around toward the hall gate.

Watching his back, suddenly Zhou Zhiruo called out, "Wuji Gege, will you see me again? I … let me go with you." She jumped to catch up with him, and then side-by-side they walked out the Temple gate.

After they were far away from the Shaolin Temple, Zhou Zhiruo leaned on Zhang Wuji's side and held on to his hand. Zhang Wuji knew she was still afraid. With her soft and smooth palm in his hand, and catching a whiff of fragrance coming from her body, it was not possible for his heart to remain unmoved.

The two of them walked silently for quite some time. Zhou Zhiruo slowly heaved a deep sigh and said, "Wuji Gege, when you and I met for the first time at Hanshui River that day, I was saved by Zhang Zhenren. If only I knew that I would suffer so much pain in the later days, my death in Hanshui River that day would be a lot cleaner."

Zhang Wuji did not answer; in his heart he remembered the song the Ming Cult people, and without realizing it, he was humming softly, "What joy is in life, what pain in death? I pity the mankind, with their many sufferings!"