Quinn Shepherd’s eyes widened in utter disbelief—a surreal mix of horror and dark comedy. The sword light had just avoided him, shooting straight for Buddha-Heart’s brow and piercing through his skull before Quinn could even try to block it.
The flying sword had come out of nowhere, meant to kill him—the Heavenly Demon Cult Master. But Quinn and Buddha-Heart were locked in battle, Quinn wielding the Grand Buddha Mahayana Scripture with Buddha-light blazing skyward, while Buddha-Heart fought back with the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra, his demonic nature overwhelming.
The sword’s owner was still a li away, and in the hazy moonlight, all they could see was the glow around the two combatants—then, in a flash, Buddha-Heart was dead.
The Crown Prince’s retainer was no amateur; his swordsmanship was pure orthodoxy. Buddha-Heart, already wounded by Quinn, was caught off guard and lost his life in a daze.
Beside the Great Thunderclap Temple Boundary Stone, the Dragon-Qilin stared at the Fourfold Chimera. But before the two spirit beasts could even begin to fight, it was already over.
The Fourfold Chimera relaxed when it saw Quinn hadn’t killed Buddha-Heart, only for the sword strike to come so suddenly that even it couldn’t react. Buddha-Heart was assassinated in a single blow.
Several figures surged forward from behind. Without hesitation, Quinn retreated toward the Dragon-Qilin. The Fourfold Chimera, thrown into chaos by Buddha-Heart’s death, was instantly suppressed by the Dragon-Qilin’s aura.
Quinn vaulted onto the Dragon-Qilin’s back. The spirit beast spun around, fire-clouds billowing under its hooves as it raced away.
"That head is mine!" shouted one of the Crown Prince’s retainers.
Another retainer yelled, "No one else better try to steal my credit!"
He rushed to the boundary stone, pulled the flying sword from Buddha-Heart’s brow, and was about to cut off Buddha-Heart’s head—then paused, confused. "Why is there no hair?"
The other Crown Prince’s retainers arrived, surprised to see the Buddha-Child riding away on the Dragon-Qilin, while the Fourfold Chimera stood frozen in place.
Quinn glanced back. Bathed in moonlight, the Heavenly Demon Cult Master gave the retainers a faint smile—a smile that sent chills down their spines.
"Heavenly Demon Cult Master..." one retainer stammered.
The retainers froze, ice running through their veins. If the one fleeing on the Dragon-Qilin was the Heavenly Demon Cult Master, then who was the corpse at the boundary stone?
One retainer awkwardly tried to plug the sword wound in Buddha-Heart’s brow, then attempted to drag the corpse away—only to turn and find the others staring at him.
The retainer panicked, glancing from Buddha-Heart’s corpse to his companions, then back again, over and over, unable to decide what to do.
"What do we do?" he asked, voice trembling.
His voice broke. "We came out here together—don’t even think about throwing me under the bus! If you turn me in, you’ll all die too! Killing the Buddha-Child is a huge crime. The Crown Prince will have us all executed!"
The other retainers were at a loss. One rasped, "Let’s just go all the way—destroy the body, erase the evidence, and blame it on the Heavenly Demon Cult Master! He’s already got enough pots of filth on his head; one more won’t matter!"