Chapter 613 - 296: Hua Jing’s Request (2)

You Su understood this reasoning and obediently followed behind the esteemed head master.

As they walked out of the Buddha altar with the pool, You Su glanced back and saw raging flames engulfing the altar. The previously still evil followers writhed frantically within the fire, trying to crawl over the stone gate of the altar. But just at that moment, the stone gate slammed shut, trapping these worshippers of evil in this inferno.

Only then did he realize that the sensation of focusing solely on Hua Jing earlier wasn’t an illusion, but a reality.

The head master had used some sort of mystical array or skill, causing the evil followers to fail to notice them standing among the evildoers. The method was astonishing.

"Master Hua Jing... they were just miners who accidentally strayed into the valley..."

"Never judge others based on strength, but on essence. You feel pity for them not because they are miners, but because they are weak. Such pity is false and won’t change the fact that they have become evildoers."

Hua Jing’s words always carried the clarity of one standing atop a mountain peak.

"But removing the Heart Buddha, they should have a chance to revert back to normal people..."

"Do you think you can definitely find the Heart Buddha now? If not, what will they do in the meantime? If they end up taking a life, who will take responsibility? Should the Exorcism Bureau bear the cost of supporting them all?"

Hua Jing responded to You Su’s concerns with a series of rhetorical questions, concluding with, "

"Not to mention, you’ve already offered your heart to the Evil God once, would you mind a second time?"

You Su had no retort, and he took a chilling breath.

He felt as if, in this woman’s eyes, once tainted by evil, it became a lifelong blemish, irredeemable regardless of cause or repentance. To her, those tainted were unforgivable criminals.

You Su merely followed silently behind Hua Jing, asking himself, unable to judge the merit of Hua Jing’s principle.

The Exorcism Bureau had a comprehensive process for handling evildoers—identify and assess, capture and execute, detain and study.

As one of the three heads of the bureau, Hua Jing strictly controlled the first line against such evil.

She exerted every effort to maintain the purity of human society, but this inevitably led to too many unforeseen complexities, which she could not measure, thus forcing her to enforce with what seemed to be a ’cut-and-dried,’ ’unmerciful’ standard—

Once tainted by evil, it was sin.

For this reason, Hua Jing had become the most criticized head externally.

While the other two heads faced only the evil, she had to contend with more, including humans.

People would not hate the executioner who swung the blade at their relatives, but would only hate the official who mercilessly condemned their innocent relatives.

Yet despite the ongoing criticism of Hua Jing, this remarkable woman used her abilities and perseverance to cleanse the human realm, earning boundless admiration.

You Su imagined himself in her place, doubting he could last a single day.

The grievance over Hua Jing’s unfeeling judgment of Yiyi had somewhat dissipated.

Of course, this was under the assumption that his suspicion was unfounded.

"Divine Son, where do you think this Heart Buddha might be hiding?"

After walking for a while in the secluded valley, Hua Jing broke the silence first.

You Su looked up to find nothing but pitch blackness above, unable to see anything, and even the previous evildoers hadn’t ventured this deep.

"I do not know," You Su shook his head, but felt a rising curiosity.

The other was the most powerful seeker of evildoers in the Zhongyuan Continent, and without his eyes, he would be little more than a footnote in comparison.

Yet how was it that Hua Jing proceeded without using any magical treasures or symbols, relying solely on her eyes like him? If the Heart Buddha hid in an unseen place, wouldn’t they be out of luck?

She suddenly stopped, "You should know..."

Hua Jing’s words left You Su baffled.

"I..."

Hua Jing did not give him a chance to explain but continued, "

"People say that Hua Jing’s white eyes are the purest things in the world, thus enabling them to see through all illusions. But do you know how I attained my eyes?"

You Su was slightly stunned, as Hua Jing usually referred to herself in the majestic third person, but now she used ’I.’

"I do not know," You Su replied.

"Wangshu is a Divine Maiden bestowed by heaven, while there were several generations of man-made Divine Maidens before her. I am the only one who survived among them."

You Su was puzzled as to why Hua Jing suddenly mentioned her past, sensing a hint of confiding a parting message.

"Recalling those memories, the only thing I remember is the pain, an excruciating, heart-wrenching pain."

She passed over the pain with a single sentence, yet You Su seemed to scent the tangible bitterness of that suffering.

"But fortunately, I endured. These white eyes can see through all disguises, and falsehoods cannot hide from me. Making even the most pesky evildoers of the Master of Dreams, the Human Race’s cultivators’ nightmare, be as vivid to me as a bat during daylight. I’m known as the nemesis of such evildoers of the Master of Dreams."

You Su was unsure whether to praise or lament and merely listened silently.

"My parents created me with the goal of dealing with the Master of Dreams, one of the three Great Evil Gods. For this, they even sacrificed their lives. I inherited their will, emerging from innumerable bewitchments of evil skills. I’ve always believed my only lifelong adversary was the greatest source of disaster hidden in the unknown."

You Su’s heart tensed, breath frozen, fearing the imminent arrival of the word ’but’.

"But I was wrong."

You Su clenched his fists, feeling an inexplicable heaviness.

"The Divine Maiden accompanying you is actually me paving the way for you. This trivial help means little, but I still hope you can do me a favor."

So it wasn’t the First Elder...

"Please, Head Master Hua Jing, I will do everything in my power!" You Su exclaimed.

"But before you help, you need to pass my final test."

You Su furrowed his brows, focusing on the word ’final’... Had he been tested by Hua Jing unawares?

"Please go on, Head Master Hua Jing."

"Let me ask you again, Divine Son, where do you think this Heart Buddha might be hiding?"

You Su was in a daze. Based on Hua Jing’s behavior moments ago, he’d already surmised the answer.

He haltingly provided his answer:

"On... you..."

As the words fell, beneath the night sky, You Su’s eyes concentrated—

Silver hair cascaded down like a heavenly river, illuminating an exceedingly indifferent face and an exquisite body.

Yet the alluring allure of this graceful figure was wholly cleansed by those pure white eyes; she seemed to disdain everything.

This face was beautiful enough to rival Master in brilliance, and looking into those white eyes, even You Su felt an impulse to worship.

"You are correct," Hua Jing said.

She removed the mist she used to obscure her unparalleled beauty, which was merely to cover her eyes.

"The Heart Buddha resided on me long before you arrived."

You Su stood agape, throat moving but unable to articulate anything, unable to understand why the Venerable Hua Jing confessed this to him.

Had she chosen not to reveal it, not even You Su could have seen through her disguise, the first time this happened for him...

"Don’t doubt yourself. These eyes of yours can indeed see all evildoers. The reason you couldn’t see me is because at that moment... I was not an evildoer."

Hua Jing spoke calmly, her cold voice languidly paced.

And after the word ’evildoer’ fell, the utterly beautiful face abruptly transformed, with the entire right side turning into decayed, filthy flesh, forming a stark contrast with the magnificent, indifferent left side, grotesquely devouring and eroding each other to the extreme.

"What... should I do to help you?"

"I want you to kill me."