Since Chen Ya was injured, his impression of the Sui Dynasty had completely changed. When he rode his white tiger from Fan Gu into the Eastern Sui Empire, a land his master called a demonic place, he was filled with disdain. In his eyes, apart from Buddhism, all other sects in the world were evil and insignificant.
Chang'an City gave him a considerable shock, but that was only because Chang'an City was large enough.
Later, he hid in an inn, appearing as a woman. For Chen Ya, this was by no means a disgrace, because in the eyes of the Buddhists, appearance did not hold any special meaning. Of course, the Buddhists had a deep-rooted prejudice against gender; in their eyes, women were sinful.
Therefore, this was a very contradictory matter. Chen Ya felt that a woman's body was sinful, but he did not think that a woman's appearance was sinful. This speechless way of thinking could only appear so righteous and awe-inspiring within the Buddhist community.
The first person to change Chen Ya's impression of the Sui Dynasty was the Crane Cry Daoist. That domineering red-robed high priest possessed strange cultivation, and his repulsive force was unparalleled in the world. Although somewhat singular, its power was terrifying.
He thought he had completely discarded his underestimation of the Sui people and had begun to take them seriously. But when Zhuo Buyi appeared, his heart tightened. This was the second time since entering Chang'an that the eccentric monk Chen Ya had been bound and deprived of his freedom.
The first time was the Crane Cry Daoist's illusionary binding.
The second time was Zhuo Buyi's drawing a circle on the ground as a prison.
Chen Ya didn't know who Zhuo Buyi was, nor did he know what Zhuo Buyi's methods were. But he could sense that this man in plain clothes seemed to possess methods even more powerful than the Crane Cry Daoist's illusionary binding. When Zhuo Buyi stood before him, Chen Ya finally understood where this man's superiority over the Crane Cry Daoist lay.
The Crane Cry Daoist's illusionary binding bound the body.
The methods of this man in plain clothes bound not only his body, but also more than just restraint.
In an instant, sweat streamed down Chen Ya's forehead, not from pain, but from fear.
He suddenly realized that he felt utterly naked before this despicable Sui man. This feeling wasn't just about the lack of clothing on his body, but even the lack of protection in his heart. Many of his deepest secrets were exposed to the man's seemingly indifferent gaze.
Without clothes.
Without dignity.
He was dressed, yet felt naked; he tightly closed the door to his heart, only to find a force forcibly breaking it open in a way he couldn't resist. He couldn't find a way to stop this method of directly tearing open the seal to see secrets.
"Who...are you?"
Chen Ya turned his eyes with some difficulty to look at Zhuo Buyi.
Zhuo Buyi didn't answer, but looked intently into Chen Ya's eyes, as if there was something in them that attracted him. Focused, single-minded.
The more focused Zhuo Buyi became, the more afraid Chen Ya became.
He tried to use his willpower to hide the deepest, most shameful things within him once more; he desperately wanted to find a fig leaf to cover his shame. But he discovered that the invading force had transformed into a dazzling sun, hanging in the sky above the depths of his heart. It illuminated even the most hidden places, leaving no blind spots. Too bright, too dazzling, too terrifying—was a heart that could hide nothing still a heart?
"No wonder."
Zhuo Buyi frowned slightly after observing for a while, then turned to Heli Daoist and said softly, "This person actually holds a high position in the Buddhist sect. He is the most favored disciple of the Buddhist Wisdom Celestial Venerable. His Dharma name is Chenya, a name personally given to him by the Great Snow Mountain Great Wheel Bright King. His most proficient skills are the Buddhist Flower-Picking Finger and Formless Skill; these two skills are indeed enough to make him proud."
Heli Daoist nodded and walked to Zhuo Buyi's side, saying, "I have witnessed Mr. Zhuo's 'Drawing a Circle on the Ground' technique."
Zhuo Buyi shook his head slightly and said, "The Divine Official's Heavenly Eye is the ultimate illusion binding technique. My 'Drawing a Circle on the Ground' technique has reached its limit; further cultivation will be difficult. But your Heavenly Eye..." "The power it can unleash now is negligible. Given time, I can't even imagine anyone being able to resist Illusionary Binding."
"You flatter me, sir."
The Crane Cry Daoist smiled modestly, then walked up to Chen Ya and coldly asked, "Although you are a disciple of the Wisdom Celestial Venerable, you might enjoy unparalleled honor elsewhere, with people seeing you as a god. But in the Great Sui Dynasty, you are nothing more than a homeless dog, living in constant fear. I'll give you a chance now: tell me who rescued you that day, and where they are now?"
When Zhuo Buyi stopped looking into Chen Ya's eyes, Chen Ya found that the sun-like light in his heart had also disappeared. This made him involuntarily breathe a sigh of relief, a feeling like a defiled person finally seeing the process of being defiled end. Although being defiled was a fact that couldn't be changed, it was still better than being defiled forever.
"You want to know why I should tell you?"
Chen Ya answered. Crane Cry Daoist wasn't angry. Instead, he nodded and said, "I just asked because I felt I should, even though I knew you wouldn't tell me whether I asked or not."
"Are you Sui people all so bored?"
"None of your business!"
Crane Cry Daoist asked irrationally, then slowly reached out and gently placed his hand on Chen Ya's chest. The movement was so gentle, as if he were brushing away the fallen leaves from Chen Ya's chest, or smoothing his clothes. But the moment Crane Cry Daoist's hand touched Chen Ya's chest, the air around it suddenly trembled violently. A visible ripple spread outwards, like a rapidly unfolding storm.
That hand was the eye of the storm.
Repulsion!
...
...
The repulsive force that exploded on Chen Ya's chest was much smaller in scale than the repulsive force he had witnessed when he first saw Crane Cry Daoist's cultivation level, but precisely because it was smaller, the impact of this repulsive force was exceptionally concentrated. A visible ripple of air spread across Chen Ya's chest before the repulsive force fiercely penetrated his body. However, due to Zhuo Buyi's self-imposed confinement, Chen Ya remained rooted to the ground, unable to move.
Therefore, the seemingly subtle yet violently sharp repulsive force pierced through Chen Ya's chest. A spurt of blood, mixed with bits of flesh, shot from Chen Ya's back.
Chen Ya's body twitched involuntarily, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of his mouth.
But this proud and arrogant monk showed no sign of yielding in his eyes.
Zhuo Buyi seemed utterly uninterested in this kind of interrogation. He slowly walked to a large rock nearby and sat down. He looked up at the sky peeking through the dense foliage, lost in thought. He was a strange person; he often remained motionless, gazing at the sky. Sometimes he would sit like this for an entire day, until the sky turned completely dark.
If this was a strange quirk of his, it was more accurate to call it a habit.
No one knew when or why this habit began. Zhuo Buyi was never one to blend into the crowd, even without fine clothes or a prestigious crown. Fang Jie once said that if Zhuo Buyi wanted to be a little more flamboyant, he would have no shortage of mature women and even young girls throwing themselves at him. Fang Jie had once pondered how to describe Zhuo Buyi, and after much thought, only one sentence barely fit:
He was a pretentious intellectual with an artistic flair.
But without a doubt, Zhuo Buyi had the capital to be arrogant.
Zhuo Buyi looked up at the sky; the Crane Cry Daoist was drilling holes.
Drilling holes in Chen Ya's body.
When Zhuo Buyi looked down from the sky, Chen Ya's body was riddled with holes. But the Crane Cry Daoist had avoided all of Chen Ya's vital points, leaving this proud, enigmatic monk riddled with wounds yet somehow still alive. Looking at the blood-soaked figure, there was no trace of his former handsome and refined appearance.
Most importantly, Crane Cry Daoist merely used repulsive force to blast bloody holes into Chen Ya's body, yet he didn't ask a single question. He only asked once, when Zhuo Buyi used the "drawing a circle on the ground" technique, "Where is your savior?" After that, he focused intently on the torture, seemingly uninterested in questioning.
After the thirty-seventh time his hand left Chen Ya's body, Crane Cry Daoist hesitated. He wasn't hesitant about whether to ask anything or stop. His hesitation stemmed from the difficulty of finding another place to attack Chen Ya. Previously, he had consistently avoided vital points, but now finding a suitable spot was proving difficult.
Crane Cry Daoist frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then slowly raised his hand to Chen Ya's forehead.
Just then, Zhuo Buyi turned his gaze from the sky and glanced in their direction. A hint of doubt flickered in his eyes, but it quickly vanished. The moment the Crane Cry Daoist's hand touched Chen Ya's forehead, Zhuo Buyi seemed to lose all interest in the man, turning his gaze back to the sky.
"You're going to kill me?"
Chen Ya, seemingly drained of all strength, suddenly asked, his eyes still showing no fear.
"Yes."
The Crane Cry Daoist nodded slightly.
"Why did you give up?"
Chen Ya asked again. The Crane Cry Daoist replied earnestly, "I've punched you thirty-seven times. If you wanted to confess, you would have done so long ago. These thirty-seven blows prove you're not someone who can be forced, so there's no need to continue. It's just a waste of cultivation energy. Although you're an enemy, your arrogance has impressed me, so I've decided to stop torturing you and give you a quick death."
Chen Ya's lips twitched, as if he were smiling, "I…I'm curious, why…why didn't you try threatening me by destroying my Qi Sea before killing me? Isn't that the most direct and effective way to threaten a cultivator?"
"Is that so?"
The Crane Cry Daoist shook his head slightly, "But I'm not interested anymore."
Chen Ya hummed in agreement, trying to lower his head but realizing he couldn't move. Then he tried to close his eyes, only to find that besides being able to speak, he couldn't even close his eyelids. Thus, the resentment that finally appeared in his eyes was clearly seen by the Crane Cry Daoist. Resentment, lingering attachment, longing, anticipation—a complex mix.
But the Crane Cry Daoist seemed to have truly lost interest, completely ignoring the complex emotions in Chen Ya's eyes. When such things appear in a person's eyes, it often signifies that their willpower has begun to waver.
His hand remained on Chen Ya's forehead, then he slowly channeled the repulsive force from his meridians. Just as that repulsive force was about to burst forth from his palm, a voice suddenly seemed to come from afar, ethereal and distant.
"Enough. Evil has reached its extreme. Today I understand that the Sui people are truly demons without any sense of reverence."
Hearing this, the Crane Cry Daoist's lips couldn't help but curl into a smug smile. This wasn't forced confession; it was forcing the one who deserved it to come out of their own accord.