NOVEL WEB Chapter 12: The Lotus
Chapter 12: The Lotus
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“Clang!”
The resonant toll of a bell echoed in Lin Yao’s ears. He exhaled softly.
“Midnight.”
Just as he reached for the door, a familiar presence brushed against his senses.
“Weaving Fate?”
The door shattered.
The Weaver Girl lay on the ground, drenched in blood.
“How did you end up like this?”
Though the ox hide had foretold this scene,
Lin Yao hadn’t expected her to be in such a wretched state.
He quickly knelt to lift her.
“Does my dear husband worry for me?”
The Weaver Girl chuckled weakly, fresh blood trickling from her lips.
Lin Yao frowned. Even now, this woman refused to be honest.
“You’re badly hurt. Stay still—what happened?”
As he moved to lay her on the bed, a sinister aura prickled his back.
The Weaver Girl seized his shoulder—
and the world twisted around them.
They reappeared inside Lankā Temple.
The sight before Lin Yao tightened his chest.
The temple matched the ox hide’s description—
but reality was worse.
“Cough—”
Another mouthful of blood spilled from the Weaver Girl’s lips as she swayed.
Lin Yao steadied her, his eyes locked on Lankā below.
The aura radiating from him bore no resemblance to an enlightened monk.
The lotus of Buddha’s hands rampaged through the devotees, their chewing sounds audible even from the rooftop.
“Hmm?”
Lankā, reveling in the bloodshed, sensed Lin Yao’s gaze.
His eyes found them atop the hall, and he smiled.
When his focus settled on Lin Yao, excitement blazed in his gaze.
“A body of future karma! What a gift.”
“Boom!”
A deafening crash erupted overhead.
Lin Yao looked up—
a Buddhist manifestation loomed, its presence icy and malevolent.
As its eyes opened, Lin Yao’s blood turned to frost.
The colossal hand descended.
Red threads erupted from the Weaver Girl as she strained to hold it aloft.
“Buy me time if you can.”
His whisper brushed her ear before he shoved her aside.
The Buddha’s hand crushed down.
The hall collapsed, burying Lin Yao.
The Weaver Girl landed hard, staring blankly at the rubble.
He’d chosen to save her.
“My dear… you never cease to surprise me.”
She lay amid the wreckage, threads shredding approaching devotees.
“Fine. You’ve stolen Weaving Fate’s control again.”
The lotus beneath Lankā trembled—
but his eyes burned with triumph.
His Response Body was awakening.
“My thanks, goddess, for such a generous offering.”
His laughter filled the air as he descended, tearing devotees apart with glee.
“The scent of blood… intoxicating.”
With Lin Yao’s body secured, these puppets were mere playthings.
He stopped before the Weaver Girl, tilting her chin up.
Disgust twisted her features.
“You’re right—you do resemble that little green snake.”
He paused, reconsidering.
“No… perhaps more like the fox.”
A crimson thread pierced through devotees, aimed at his back—
but only dispelled one trapped soul in his blue robes.
“Sacrificing a city for your own enlightenment? You’re no bodhisattva—just a fraud.”
Instead of anger, her taunt drew laughter.
“And you? Didn’t you imprison your villagers for centuries? Don’t you relish their screams?”
His smile was euphoric.
“During the ritual, those fools still knelt, calling me ‘master.’ Their realization… exquisite.”
He yanked her upright, gripping her face.
“The heavens are gone. The gods vanished. You’re the last broken relic. Join me—ascend together.”
The Weaver Girl went still.
Her head tilted.
“My dear husband was right about you.”
Confusion flickered in Lankā’s eyes.
“You really are just a lecherous monk. The Rebirth Inn’s punishment must hurt.”
His fingers tightened around her throat.
She kept laughing.
“A bodhisattva by day, a butcher by night—what does that make you? Buddha? Or Asura?”
“Die!”
The facade shattered.
He hurled her into the reconstructed hall.
“Once I refine that body, you’ll regret this.”
As the doors slammed shut, the Weaver Girl leaned against a pillar.
“My dear… this is all I can do.”
—
Lin Yao opened his eyes.
A world of blood stretched before him.
He lay in a crimson river, the stench overwhelming.
“Inside the lotus?”
He tried to stand—
searing pain lanced through his leg.
“Broken.”
Gritting his teeth, he dragged himself ashore.
His leg was mangled but intact.
Around him, mutilated devotees twitched as spectral hands dragged them into the walls.
“So this is his refining crucible.”
Trapped, Lin Yao sat back to think.
“Fahai was unrecognizable tonight.”
Those black eyes haunted him.
“No filth beneath his feet. No pretense of monkhood. The corruption has consumed him.”
“Correct.”
A rasping voice answered.
The three-faced arhat crawled forward, two heads nearly dissolved—
only Not-Speaking’s mind-reading ability remained.
Heavenly Sight for Not-Seeing. Heavenly Hearing for Not-Hearing. Mind-Knowing for Not-Speaking.
“A meticulous scheme.”
If the arhat survived, were others here too?
The blood pool suddenly churned.
A green shadow flashed—
foul breath washed over Lin Yao as the arhat gasped:
“Green Snake!”
(End of Chapter)