Chapter 437 : Missing Old Friend
437: Missing Old Friend
The blood pearl issue was indeed concerning, but Jiang Mo and her companions hadn't recovered it then, and now it was too late to do anything about it.
Golden Peng examined the blood-qi in the jade bottle. Compared to what typically remained after a blood fiend beast's death, this was noticeably less. Nevertheless, even this amount of blood-qi was not to be underestimated and required careful purification.
After mentally considering who within the Buddha Sect might be suitable to handle this task, Golden Peng led the two toward the guest quarters: "I'll find someone to deal with the blood-qi in this bottle. Once it's purified, I'll let you know."
Jiang Mo immediately recognized the path to the guest quarters, but had no plans to stay at the Buddha Sect. She stopped and said: "That won't be necessary. We trust the Buddha Sect can resolve this matter. Both Ah Yue and I are women, so it wouldn't be appropriate for us to stay long at the Buddha Sect. We'll forgo the guest quarters." After glancing at the notably quiet courtyard pathways, she added: "We don't know many people at the Buddha Sect. How is Tan Xin doing now? Could we trouble Senior to notify him to come meet with us?"
When Tan Xin had been gravely injured and unconscious, it was Jiang Mo who had brought him back, and Golden Peng who had received him. Thus, Golden Peng clearly understood their connection, and Jiang Mo's request to meet an old friend was perfectly normal.
However, upon hearing this, Golden Peng's steps faltered. When he turned to look at Jiang Mo, his expression was indescribably grave.
Jiang Mo's previously relaxed expression froze, giving her an immediate sense of foreboding. She asked: "What's wrong? Has Tan Xin's injury not healed?"
Golden Peng was reluctant to speak of it, but remembering that it was Jiang Mo who had brought back the half-dead Tan Xin, he felt no need to conceal the matter from her. He heaved a long sigh and said: "Yes, his injury hasn't healed, and it can't be healed. The Seven Treasures Glass Heart is too domineering; even after being lost, it maintains a connection with him. Therefore, even though we've tried to replace his heart, Tan Xin's body rejects it."
Jiang Mo immediately understood—this was rejection, which wasn't good news: "This... with the Buddha Sect's abundance of talented individuals, is there truly no solution? Without a solution, has Tan Xin remained unconscious these past three years?!"
Three years was neither particularly long nor short—long for mortals, short for cultivators. But there were exceptions. For someone like Tan Xin, young and exceptionally talented, three years would have been sufficient for considerable growth. During this missed time, his peers had been striving forward; perhaps after a few more years of delay, he would never catch up to the first-tier prodigies!
One step behind meant always behind, and Tan Xin, as a Buddha's Disciple of the Buddha Sect, absolutely could not fall behind others.
Hearing this, Golden Peng didn't answer, though his expression grew even heavier.
Yun Qingyue, who had remained silent until now, had been observing and listening throughout. She seemed to perceive or perhaps guess something, and finally spoke: "Beyond this, has something happened to Tan Xin?"
Surprise flashed across Golden Peng's face, but he didn't deny it. After a moment's thought, he nodded: "That's right, something has happened to him."
Though Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue weren't Tan Xin's closest friends, they had shared several life-threatening experiences. Otherwise, Jiang Mo wouldn't have gone to such lengths to preserve his life and return him to the Buddha Sect. Upon hearing that something had happened to him, both felt concern rise within them. Jiang Mo hastily asked: "What happened? Has his condition worsened?!"
This was the only possibility Jiang Mo could think of—after all, what could be worse for an unconscious patient than a deteriorating condition? Yun Qingyue, however, suspected it wasn't that simple.
Indeed, once again, Yun Qingyue's intuition proved correct.
Golden Peng shook his head and said: "No, his condition hasn't changed. But the person is missing."
A confused Jiang Mo: "???"
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Tan Xin, who had been severely injured and unconscious for nearly three years, had suddenly disappeared, just months ago. At that time, his condition hadn't improved in the slightest, nor had he shown any signs of regaining consciousness, yet he vanished one rainy night.
This incident caused a tremendous uproar within the Buddha Sect, firstly because of the disappearance of a Buddha's Disciple, and secondly because the person had disappeared from within the Buddha Sect itself.
It's worth noting that the Buddha Sect was a major sect no less prestigious than the Xuanqing Sect, and since Buddhist cultivators followed a distinct path, the Buddha Sect was the leader of Buddhist cultivators. In all seriousness, though the Buddha Sect appeared non-confrontational and kept an extremely low profile, it could be considered the strongest among the three major sects—the Xuanqing Sect and Tiandao Sect also had subordinate sects, but such affiliations could not compare to the unity of Buddhist cultivators.
Yet despite the Buddha Sect's formidable strength, a comatose Buddha's Disciple had disappeared from within the sect, naturally causing alarm—unless the Buddha's Disciple, unconscious for years, had awakened and left of his own accord, didn't his disappearance prove that someone had infiltrated the Buddha Sect and abducted an important figure?!
This incident, whether due to the Buddha's Disciple's status or the infiltration of the Buddha Sect, demanded attention.
For several months, the Buddha Sect had devoted almost all its energy to this matter. They rigorously investigated internal conditions while searching for the missing Buddha's Disciple. Almost all the high monks within the Buddha Sect had been mobilized, and countless disciples had been dispatched.
This explained why the Buddha Sect appeared unusually quiet when Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue arrived today.
Golden Peng's concerns were also related to this. Unlike Divine Lord Zhiming of the Xuanqing Sect, who enjoyed sleeping, Golden Peng was a thoroughly dutiful guardian divine beast. Both times Jiang Mo had come, he had welcomed her before she could even be announced, demonstrating his comprehensive awareness of the Buddha Sect's internal and external affairs. Yet he had failed to notice the Buddha's Disciple's disappearance, naturally causing him immense regret afterward.
Having shared everything he could, Golden Peng couldn't help but sigh: "The person disappeared right under my nose. I actually wanted to search for him, but the Abbot and several elders wouldn't allow it."
Having grown accustomed to Divine Lord Zhiming's laziness, Jiang Mo couldn't help but marvel at Golden Peng's conscientious dedication—if Divine Lord Zhiming were here, he wouldn't care if the sect lost a disciple, simply letting the Sect Leader and others search themselves. Unless the sect's very existence was threatened, he wouldn't be bothered, and self-reproach would be even more unlikely.
Nevertheless, the Xuanqing Sect was her home sect, and Jiang Mo had no interest in exposing its internal affairs before another sect's divine beast. She could only comfort Golden Peng: "It's alright. The little monk has tremendous fortune; he survived last time despite everything, and he'll surely be fine this time too. Perhaps he encountered some opportunity and will come bouncing back before long. Besides, the Buddha Sect's experts aren't famous for nothing—they'll definitely find him."
After a pause, she followed up with a question: "It's been several months now; they should have found some clues, right?"
Golden Peng nodded, seeing that Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue's concern for Tan Xin was genuine, but he had no intention of divulging the Buddha Sect's internal affairs. Nor did he tell them that Dharma Master Huineng's divination had yielded unfavorable results, prompting the Buddha Sect to dispatch a large contingent.
The discussion about Tan Xin could only go so far; Golden Peng had said all he could or should. Grasping the jade bottle containing the blood-qi, he said to the two: "You won't be able to see Tan Xin this time. I must now find someone to handle the blood-qi purification. Will you leave now, or stay to await news?"
Hearing this, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue exchanged glances. They weren't careless enough to hand over a troublesome item and simply leave without concern. Originally, they had planned to catch up with old friends while waiting for news.
Now, however, their only acquaintance at the Buddha Sect was gone, having disappeared under such mysterious circumstances, making it difficult to feel at ease.
After some thought, Yun Qingyue finally said: "Thank you for your trouble, Senior. We'll stay and wait."
Golden Peng perceived the two's concern, which might stem from mistrust, but he wasn't offended—Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue weren't doubting the Buddha Sect's integrity, but with Tan Xin's inexplicable disappearance and the lack of clues or traces, concern was inevitable. By staying to await news, they might not be able to help, but at least they would have peace of mind.
This was natural human sentiment, even responsible behavior. Given Golden Peng's conscientious nature, he saw nothing inappropriate in this. Thus, he again led the two toward the guest quarters: "Very well, you can stay in the guest quarters for these few days."
As for both being female cultivators, that posed no obstacle, since not all who practiced Buddhism were men. There were plenty of female Buddhist cultivators, both those who had taken tonsure and those who practiced with their hair intact; the Buddha Sect actually had female disciples as well.
This time, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue didn't decline, following behind Golden Peng, who seemed to walk increasingly faster.
The familiar paths, the familiar buildings—whether intentional, unintentional, or simply out of habit when guiding visitors, Golden Peng led the two to the same guest quarters where Jiang Mo had temporarily stayed three years ago. Back then, Yun Qingyue's ancestral reversion tribulation had damaged much of the guest quarters, but now the place had been restored.
Actually, "restored" might not be the right word. The courtyard had been rebuilt exactly as it was when Jiang Mo had stayed there, with every table, chair, wall, and tree unchanged. Not new, but rather restored to its original state.
Just as Jiang Mo was reflecting on this, Golden Peng, having brought them there, showed no intention of lingering. He directly said to the two: "You can stay here for now. I'll take this blood-qi to someone for purification. If anything is amiss, or if you have any other matters, send word to me later."
With these words, Golden Peng departed hurriedly, suddenly seeming quite urgent.