Chapter 631: All Heavenly Secrets Revealed
Sun Chuanting and Zhang Zongheng were utterly bewildered.
No one was hidden behind the shrine, nor in the cabinet beneath it. So where was that voice coming from?
Zhang Zongheng's gaze involuntarily drifted downward, scanning the floor. He began to suspect someone was hidden beneath the ground.
Sun Chuanting, however, slowly shook his head. "There are no tunnels here."
Zhang Zongheng pushed the shrine aside slightly, then stomped his foot hard on the ground. Sure enough, the sound that resulted was dull and solid, the kind a firm floor would make. If it were hollow underneath, it wouldn't resonate like that.
Now both men were completely stumped.
Zhang Zongheng asked, "You certainly heard that voice just now, didn't you?"
Sun Chuanting nodded. "I certainly did."
Zhang Zong heng mused, "Could it be. . . someone was hiding here, speaking, and then immediately jumped out the window? "
They flung open the window and peered out. On the corridor outside stood several house stewards and maids; Sun Chuanting had instructed them to attend outside while he met with his esteemed guest. Now, seeing their master and the distinguished visitor suddenly shove open the window with such force, they were startled.
Sun Chuanting, his face grim, demanded, "Did anyone just jump out of this window?"
The house stewards and maids shook their heads. "No, sir."
Sun Chuanting was speechless.
Zhang Zongheng was equally confounded.
Just then, both men heard it simultaneously: from the shrine behind them, that peculiar voice spoke again: "Zhang Zongheng... Sun Chuanting... stop searching. This Venerable One is right here, and has not moved an inch..."
Both were greatly astonished and spun around at the same time.
This time, they were certain: the voice emanated from the Guanyin Bodhisattva statue itself.
Their gazes simultaneously locked onto the Guanyin statue, but... their feet were frozen. For a moment, they dared not approach, remaining rooted by the window, backs turned to the open frame.
Their posture made it abundantly clear: they were ready to scramble out the window at any second.
Li Daoxuan found their reactions amusing. He thought, *I'm only using the Guanyin Bodhisattva statue to speak, and they're this terrified. If I were to display my own divine image, wouldn't they mistake me for Wusheng Laomu?*
He continued, his strange voice drawing out the words, "You were just discussing Kong Youde..."
Sun Chuanting and Zhang Zongheng exchanged a glance, a tremor of panic stirring within them.
The Guanyin Bodhisattva was speaking! This... this was simply unbelievable!
Li Daoxuan pressed on, "In just over a month, Kong Youde will be defeated... and after his defeat, he will surrender to the Manchu..."
Sun Chuanting gasped, utterly shocked.
Zhang Zongheng was similarly stunned.
Both men were profoundly startled, then almost simultaneously exclaimed, "In just over a month from now?"
Li Daoxuan replied, "Indeed... in just over a month... This is a heavenly secret... a heavenly secret not meant to be revealed, but... this Venerable One, seeing your concern for the nation and its people... has specifically come to inform you..."
Sun Chuanting dared not believe it.
Zhang Zongheng was equally incredulous.
They exchanged another glance, both seeing deep suspicion reflected in the other's eyes.
Li Daoxuan continued, "In the seventh month, Kong Youde will feign surrender... but his scheme will not succeed... Subsequently, General Wu Xiang will attack Dengzhou... Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming will flee to Gaizhou... and surrender to the Manchu..."
They exchanged yet another glance, their minds swimming with questions.
The Guanyin Bodhisattva was growing increasingly detailed, even explaining such intricacies. The more precise the pronouncements, the more real they sounded to the two men, and a sense of unease began to settle over them.
Sun Chuanting urgently inquired, "Bodhisattva, Kong Youde commands a vast number of warships, firearms, and skilled artisans... if he surrenders to the Manchu, wouldn't that be... wouldn't that be a massive gift handed directly to them?"
Zhang Zongheng knitted his brows, at a loss for words.
Li Daoxuan lowered his voice, making it even more resonant, and spoke languidly, "Kong Youde will indeed deliver a great gift to the Manchu... but there are others who have been showering the Manchu with gifts... for many years..."
Sun Chuanting grew agitated. "Who?"
Li Daoxuan secretly reveled. *Excellent question! You finally hit on the crucial point. The objective of my divine impersonation this time has been achieved.*
He slowly recited, "Fan Yongdou, Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu, Liang Jiabin, Tian Shenglan, Zhai Tang, Huang Yunfa... ah, Huang Yunfa is already dead..."
As this string of names was announced, Sun Chuanting recognized few of them. But the name "Tian Shenglan" jolted him awake; he had just heard it recently.
Compared to Sun Chuanting, Zhang Zongheng was familiar with far more of the names.
Zhang Zongheng had heard every one of these eight names, and had personally met several of these individuals.
Zhang Zongheng urgently pressed, "Can this be true?"
Li Daoxuan chuckled inwardly. *If I were to engage in a discussion of truth or falsehood now, I would utterly strip the Guanyin Bodhisattva of all her divine mystique. Do deities need to provide mortals with evidence when enlightening them?*
He said coolly, "The heavenly secret has been revealed to you... You must act wisely."
With that, he spoke not another word.
The great hall fell silent, leaving only the distinct sounds of Sun Chuanting's and Zhang Zongheng's breathing audible.
After an unknown stretch of time, Sun Chuanting slowly took two steps towards the shrine, appearing as though he intended to reach out and touch the Guanyin Bodhisattva statue. But midway, his hand faltered, and he fearfully withdrew it.
Zhang Zongheng murmured, "Regarding what will happen in just over a month... Master Sun, what are your thoughts?"
Sun Chuanting shook his head. "I don't know... I truly don't know..."
Zhang Zongheng frowned. "Laizhou has been engaged in battle for three months now, and no one can truly predict how events will unfold."
Sun Chuanting pondered, "While Kong Youde is a great traitor, surely he wouldn't stoop to surrendering to the Manchu, would he?"
Zhang Zongheng sighed, "That's hard to say... there's no shortage of Han Chinese who have sided with the Mongols."
Having spent a long time on the border, Zhang Zongheng had witnessed many Han Chinese working for the Mongols. Even now, north of Xuanfu and Datong, numerous White Lotus cultists were leveraging Mongol protection to stir up trouble.
Just as they reached this point in their conversation, a servant entered to report, "Master, the merchant named Tie Niaofei is outside the hall. Shall I let him in?"
Sun Chuanting instructed, "Have him enter."
The two high-ranking officials swiftly composed themselves, shedding the startled expressions the Guanyin Bodhisattva had provoked. They regained their usual composed, elegant, and dignified demeanor, returning to their chairs and settling in.
Soon, Tie Niaofei entered.
The initial greetings to the two esteemed officials, the polite refusals, invitations to sit, self-introductions, and countless other pleasantries—all were omitted, and they moved directly to the main topic.
Zhang Zongheng stated, "Tie Niaofei, I heard from Master Sun that you discovered the Jin merchant Tian Shenglan conducting business with the northern barbarians?"
Tie Niaofei confirmed, "Yes, sir!"
Zhang Zongheng pressed, "Do you have proof?"
Tie Niaofei shook his head. "No, I do not."
Zhang Zongheng had originally intended to rebuke Tie Niaofei for speaking without evidence. However, after the recent encounter with the Guanyin Bodhisattva, Zhang Zongheng's attitude was entirely different.
He furrowed his brow, lost in intense thought.
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