Chapter 130: Seeking Penance, The Well of Shackled Sins

A pair of hands was held out in front, fair and clear, with distinct palm lines. Each hand possessed six fingers, with every knuckle clearly defined; if one looked at the palms against the light, the jade-like bones beneath the flesh were visible.

Beneath the thousand-year-old plum tree, Susu watched these hands intently, her heart filled with complex emotions. Once, she had condescendingly critiqued "Golden Boy" in front of Ling Gu, never suspecting that everything he had displayed was the result of deliberate concealment. How old was he—fourteen or fifteen? Yet he had hidden in the cave for three or four years without her ever noticing.

The Master gazed at him for a moment, her expression unchanging. "When Flying Crane sent you here to take refuge in my cave, I knew there must be secrets about you, but I did not expect you to be a 'Heavenly Being' descended to the mortal realm. A six-fingered Heavenly Being—how interesting." Her tone was light and breezy, as if she intended to brush the matter aside.

Susu felt a flicker of jealousy. The Master was always strict with people and affairs; she had not expected her attitude to change for Golden Boy—a shift her master likely did not even realize herself.

Ji Ming wore a look of guilt. "Master has treated me with sincerity, like a son or a nephew, yet I have deceived you until now, only revealing the truth once my enemy arrived at our doorstep. I come today first to confess and accept punishment, and second to request to leave the cave. Golden Boy no longer has the face to remain here."

Seeing the seriousness in his tone, the Master sighed, "Why go so far?"

Ji Ming shook his head and bowed again to request the punishment. His action was a retreat to advance, but he knew his penance had to be genuine and undiminished to properly show his repentance. If he took advantage of her leniency to treat himself with indulgence, it would only leave a rift in the Master's heart—that would be a loss far outweighing any gain.

Old Ape arrived under the plum tree, glanced at Ji Ming, and said to the Master, "Master, the thief-monk has been escorted to the Well of Bound Sins on Cold Ridge Peak. I asked the Mountain God; he is a monk from the He-Shan region named Huijin. He used Zhong Chengzi’s connections to gain access to Zirong Peak."

The Well of Bound Sins mentioned by Old Ape was an ancient well from the Tianzhou era. No one knew who had carved it; it connected to the underworld’s nether-earth energy and was used by many immortals in the Jihang Mountains to imprison demons and suppress evil. Once a monk like Huijin was dropped into that well, the only way to keep his physical body from falling into the abyss of the netherworld was to cling to the well walls, enduring the agony of ghostly winds scraping his bones day and night.

"The monk came seeking revenge and caused a disturbance by fighting before our cave. Let him be imprisoned in the well for a year and a half." The Master looked at Ji Ming, her tone softening. "The well houses many sinners and demons. Since you have requested punishment, you shall guard the well for two years. After two years, you may leave the Lihuo Cave, and once you have performed three hundred deeds of merit, you may return."

Old Ape grew anxious, as he got along well with Golden Boy. "The Cold Ridge Peak where the well is located is freezing, and because a 'Small Qiu Dragon' is currently imprisoned within, evil beings often raid the well. Is it not too risky for Golden Boy to go there?"

"Golden Boy, what do you say?" the Master asked.

Ji Ming replied without hesitation, "I will go guard the well."

The Master was satisfied with his attitude; he admitted his faults without stalling or making excuses. This was the character a disciple under her tutelage should possess. It was a pity, however, that he was her disciple in practice but not in name—a thought that brought a flicker of resentment toward the old man, Flying Crane.

"Bring me the Filthy Gold Vase!" the Master commanded Susu, who stood nearby.

The Master took out a plum branch that had been kept in the vase. "This thousand-year-old plum branch has been nurtured in this vase for a long time. It can sweep away filth and evil, and it can also channel my divine ability, 'The Heavens are Round and the Earth is Square.' Take it with you; if you truly encounter an enemy you cannot defeat, use this treasure."

Ji Ming received it respectfully. The branches of the thousand-year-old plum tree above them shivered slightly, as if displeased that the Master was lending out its bough. The Master laughed at the tree, "You have a thousand years of cultivation; why are you so stingy?"

Ji Ming and Old Ape returned to the Tougu Garden together, and on the way, he asked about the situation at the well on Cold Ridge Peak.

"Many demons and evils are locked in that well. It is not just the immortals of our Zirong Peak; cultivators from other peaks who capture demons or wicked practitioners all send them down there. Once someone is sent down, they never come out."

"And the monk Huijin?"

Old Ape gave Ji Ming a reassuring look. "For a mere practitioner at the second stage of Qi Refining, it would be a feat of great ability just to last a full year down there." He leaned in and whispered, "I heard that before the Lady of Nanhua Fire Virtue ascended to the heavens, she imprisoned many great demon lords in that well. Those demons didn't dare face her, so they let their physical bodies fall into the netherworld, turning their souls into ghosts and spirits to build their own empires in the underworld."

"What about that Small Qiu Dragon?" Ji Ming asked.

"There are some demons in the well with deep connections who occasionally have remnants or disciples who sneak onto Cold Ridge Peak to try and open the well, though it is rare. That Small Qiu Dragon is the son of a True Dragon from the Tianqing Great Region. I don't know why, but it wandered down to the Jihang Mountains and drowned an entire town of people, so it was captured by an immortal from our peak and thrown into the well. This dragon son is highly favored by that True Dragon. If this weren't the Jihang Mountains—the dojo of the Lady of Nanhua Fire Virtue—the dragon would likely have come to open the well itself, rather than just sending some small fry."

"Without the plum branch, could I handle those small fry?"

"That..." Old Ape pondered seriously for a while. "It is hard to say."

Whether this was to save Ji Ming's face or because it was truly uncertain, Ji Ming guessed it was the former; after all, the "small fry" of a True Dragon were certainly not ordinary fish.

Old Ape, thinking Ji Ming was worried, said, "Not to mention you have the plum branch for protection, there is a 'Mountain Calf' guarding the outside of the well, so why worry? Just remember one thing: when evil beings raid the well, step aside and don't get accidentally injured. If it really comes to it, use the Master's divine ability and come back."

Ji Ming was not fearful, but he was thinking of Su Luozi. Once Su Luozi received news that the monk Huijin had gone missing on Zirong Peak, if he followed the trail, he would eventually find him. He was safe for the moment, but he could not hide under the Master's protection forever; in three years, he would have to go to Taiping Mountain to sit for the Daoist examinations.

The best plan was to have the old man think of a way. As time passed, he felt the pressure of Su Luozi closing in. The incident with the monk was definitely no accident; in places he could not see, Su Luozi was surely making other efforts to track him down. Ji Ming could not rely on Su Luozi’s incompetence or stupidity, nor could he rely solely on the arrangements of the old man, Flying Crane. He had to think of a countermeasure himself. Relying on himself was difficult; the Master would protect him, but she would likely not help him strike back at Su Luozi, and he had almost no power of his own to use.

"The Small Qiu Dragon?" Ji Ming was startled by his own absurd thought—he was considering how to use a dragon son desperate for freedom. However, the monk Huijin imprisoned in the well was an opportunity. As Su Luozi's second disciple, the monk surely knew his master's enemies, and perhaps even his weaknesses.

After giving instructions to the two boys in the garden, Ji Ming wrote a letter of repentance and cast it into the Jing River below the mountain, having the local river deity deliver it to the Crane Monastery. Then, packing his belongings and brushing the plum branch, the earth beneath his feet seemed to contract, flowing behind his heels. With a single step, Ji Ming arrived on the wind-swept peak.