5

    The Dark Fox Sect

    Young Master Wu Hu Lang led Chu Li Nong out of the decrepit residence, whistling with his hands behind his back. His face clearly showed satisfaction.

    Chu Li Nong squinted as he stepped into the bright sunlight, walking slowly behind Young Master Wu. He was the only one barefoot and without a hair tie like the others. Suddenly, Chen Hao Xuan pushed Chu Li Nong, urging him to quicken his pace.

    "You're too slow! If you do not serve Young Master Wu well, I will have you severely beaten," Chen Hao Xuan grinned maliciously, changing his tone when speaking to Wu Hu Lang, "Young Master Wu, may I address you as Senior Brother Wu?"

    "Of course," Wu Hu Lang responded with a smile, "If you don't mind, I'll be teaching the magic to the disciples of the Dark Fox Sect as a senior for a while."

    Master Li smiled in agreement, "That is indeed excellent."

    "Senior Brother!" Chen Hao Xuan beamed, his small canine tooth peeking out.

     He had great respect for Wu Hu Lang and wanted to become at least half as skilled as him. "If this unlucky creature fails in serving you, you can tell me anytime. I will discipline him myself!"

    "Ha, ha," Young Master Wu chuckled.

    Chu Li Nong paid them no mind, as the sights within the Dark Fox Sect captivated the former bodhisattva. The faint aroma from the surrounding peach trees filled the area.

    Peaches, bright red, adorned the trees, reminding Chu Li Nong of the sacred fruits humans used to offer him. One of them was these very peaches.

    Chu Li Nong hadn't received offerings for a long time, only hearing curses until he fell from Sukhavati. Nevertheless, he remembered humans bringing offerings before the golden statues in his temple.

    As the temple head, Chu Li Nong had planted these peach trees as a protective barrier around the temple. After his death, the trees were still young, so he had instructed the monks to care for them well.

    Over time, the trees died and regenerated, encircling the temple with their sweet fragrance. Chu Li Nong smiled beneath the hair covering his face, standing and admiring with his own eyes, a sight that brought him much joy.

    "What are you thinking about, Chu Li Nong?" Young Master Wu smiled slyly, turning to look at his personal servant. "I heard from Master Chen Hu Lang that you greatly revered Bodhisattva Chu Li Nong. Is that true?"

    Chu Li Nong paused.

    "Yes, Senior Brother," Chen Hao Xuan interjected. "On the day Master Chen Hu Lang brought this unlucky creature to the sect, he was worshiping Bodhisattva Chu Li Nong." Chen Hu Lang's adopted son sneered, deliberately embarrassing Chu Li Nong. "Bodhisattva Chu Li Nong can't help anyone. If you want protection, you should worship Master Chen Hu Lang instead!"

    After boasting, Chen Hao Xuan pointed to the center of the sect, near the training ground where a golden statue of a man emitting a thousand fox tails stood, bathed in sunlight. The offering table before it was lined with various sacred fruits.

    No matter where one stood in the Dark Fox Sect, they could see the large statue modeled after Chen Hu Lang, a man who had overcome evil throughout his life and ascended to become a god in Sukhavati, known as Xian Wei Hu.

    People traveled to the Dark Fox Sect to worship Chen Hu Lang because they believed the god would grant them victory over their enemies.

    Worship Chen Hu Lang instead of Bodhisattva Chu Li Nong.

    "You must be delighted to be in the Dark Fox Sect," Young Master Wu spoke softly. "It's as if you're in the temple of Bodhisattva Chu Li Nong. Master Chen Hu Lang is indeed very compassionate towards you."

    The Dark Fox Sect was once the temple built by Bodhisattva Chu Li Nong.

    "Yes! My foster father has been very compassionate!" Chen Hao Xuan slapped Chu Li Nong's back.

    This place was the temple that Chu Li Nong built before it was destroyed by Chen Hu Lang.

    Angered, Chen Hu Lang decided to establish the Dark Fox Sect over the temple grounds of Chu Li Nong and obstructed any reverence towards Chu Li Nong.

    You've done it.

    Chu Li Nong shifted his gaze away from the peach tree.

    I have fallen from grace, as you desired.

    Chu Li Nong's lack of response irritated Young Master Wu Hu Lang, prompting him to turn to Master Li and declare, "From now on, Chu Li Nong will serve only me, hence no one else should command him."

    Li Wan Chen nodded in acknowledgment,

    "As you wish."

    The guesthouse of the Dark Fox Sect was seldom used as Chen Hu Lang did not maintain relations with other sects, resulting in no visitors to stay over.

    Chu Li Nong walked past a wide river, observing the lush green lily pads floating on the water's surface. He was familiar with the pathways of this sect since it was once his temple.

    Chen Hu Lang stepped into the guesthouse nearby, and Chu Li Nong quietly followed, maintaining his composure.

    "We will be living together in this house for quite some time, Chu Li Nong," said Chen Hu Lang. He planned to use the identity of Young Master Wu Hu Lang to teach the sect's disciples, providing a pretext to stay at the Dark Fox Sect.

    Once alone, the former master of the Dark Fox Sect turned to Chu Li Nong and openly revealed who he was without any concealment.

    "You already know I am Chen Hu Lang, don’t you?" he asked.

    "Yes," Chu Li Nong replied shortly.

    Chen Hu Lang laughed. "How does it feel, falling from heaven to inhabit the body of Song Li Nong, a boy you once saved from death?" He moved closer to Chu Li Nong.

    "..."

    "Do you see what his life has become after you saved him?" Chen Hu Lang said, smiling as he touched Chu Li Nong's unkempt hair. "Ah, poor Song Li Nong, you’ve suffered because you worshiped the wrong bodhisattva. If I hadn't seen you worshiping Bodhisattva Chu Li Nong that day, I would have killed you."

    "..."

    "And you wouldn’t have had to live in misery for many years," Chen Hu Lang laughed, gripping Chu Li Nong's hair in frustration.

    "..."

    "Are you mute?" Chen Hu Lang snapped irritably.

    "No."

    Chen Hu Lang then tilted Chu Li Nong's chin up, causing his hair to shift and revealing his battered, dusty face.

    Chu Li Nong's deep black eyes briefly glinted golden—a vestige of the bodhisattva's majesty still within his spirit. Chen Hu Lang studied his face slowly.

    "You don’t look like what I remember at all," Chen Hu Lang said with a cold smirk, manipulating the face of the former bodhisattva. "This isn’t the face of Song Li Nong." He was certain that Song Li Nong was not naturally divine in appearance, thus this face could not belong to him.

    It was the face of Bodhisattva Chu Li Nong.

    "Heh," Chen Hu Lang chuckled.

    The appearance of Song Li Nong was altering according to the spirit within,

    Just as the face of Young Master Wu Hu Lang was beginning to take on aspects of Chen Hu Lang.

    Chen Hu Lang gripped Chu Li Nong's chin tightly. "I despise this beauty."

    He hated the face he had once dreamed of seeing in his childhood.

    Chen Hu Lang then released Chu Li Nong’s chin, leaving a red mark on his pale skin, and walked into the only bathroom in the house.

    "Come and wash my feet," he demanded.

    The guesthouse's bathroom had a wooden tub for soaking and a wooden basin for washing feet. Chen Hu Lang sat on a chair, wiggling his bare feet, waiting for his servant to attend to him.

    "Would a bodhisattva like yourself stoop to wash a human’s feet?"

    Chu Li Nong remained silent, unresponsive to the provocation.

    "Hurry up," Chen Hu Lang sneered, his sharp eyes intently watching Chu Li Nong.

    Finally, Chu Li Nong spoke, "I am not a bodhisattva."

    He knelt before Chen Hu Lang, lifting his thick foot with his left hand, the soft skin indicating that he was a nobleman. Chu Li Nong showed no emotion as he gently poured water over Chen Hu Lang’s feet with his right hand.

    His thin, dry fingers massaged Chen Hu Lang's toes, diligently washing the other's feet with willingness, without a hint of disgust despite his once divine status.

    Chen Hu Lang mocked, "What an honor for me, having Bodhisattva Chu Li Nong wash my feet like this."

    Chu Li Nong moved to wash the other foot. "Now, I am merely a human, not the bodhisattva you speak of," he said carefully cradling Chen Hu Lang’s foot.

    "Arrogant."

    "I dare not."

    Chen Hu Lang moved his toes to pinch Chu Li Nong's index finger before twisting it with more force, horrifyingly disfiguring it.

    "Does it hurt?" Chen Hu Lang smirked.

    Having been near Chen Hu Lang for quite some time, Chu Li Nong could no longer see the face of Young Master Wu. He only saw the cunning, fox-like face of Chen Hu Lang.

    "No," Chu Li Nong replied softly.

    Chen Hu Lang pushed Chu Li Nong's finger back until his nails almost touched his wrist. "Does this hurt?"

    "No."

    Chen Hu Lang applied more pressure. "Are you sure it doesn’t hurt?"

    Crack.

    Chu Li Nong's index finger was now broken.

    "No," Chu Li Nong manipulated the other's foot with his thumb, "I'm probably not as hurt, compared to your."

    Chen Hu Lang gritted his teeth, fuming with rage.

    "Very wise!" Chen Hu Lang kicked over a wooden bucket, splashing water that drenched the gaunt body of his servant. The grime on the once white robe dissolved into a stream of repulsive black water, stinking up the area.

    Chen Hu Lang stooped to grab the dirty marks on Chu Li Nong.

    "Yes! What you experience cannot compare to what I've been through!" Chen Hu Lang's eyes blazed with rage and hatred, veins throbbing on his sculpted face.

    "..." Chu Li Nong remained silent.

    The question Chen Hu Lang had always pondered was finally voiced. "How did you feel the day my family was massacred?"

    "..."

    "How did you feel after abandoning me to hell?" Chen Hu Lang squeezed Chu Li Nong's right shoulder hard. "How did it feel to give blessings to the enemies of the Divine Earth Sect and then watch them kill my father, my mother, my brother, and everyone I loved?"

    Crack.

    Chu Li Nong showed no pain on his face, though his shoulder and fingers were shattered. His expression remained as serene as a deity utterly detached from the worldly path.

    Chen Hu Lang growled softly.

    "I'm hungry. Go get me some food."

    Chu Li Nong stood up.

    "As you command, Young Master Wu," Chu Li Nong bowed to his master, then walked away, his body filthy and wet. Even though he knew it was a trap to torment him, Chu Li Nong followed Chen Hu Lang's orders without hesitation.

    Chen Hu Lang, now a deity of Sukhavati, had no need for food. He could remain satiated for eons. Therefore, sending Chu Li Nong to fetch food from the kitchen must have had another hidden motive.

    Suddenly, Chu Li Nong heard the thoughts of Chen Hu Lang.

    'Weep for me to see, Chu Li Nong.'

    The tears on the beautiful face of the former bodhisattva were what Chen Hu Lang craved.

    'Suffer as much as I have.'