Pages 269-286 Summary

As this section opens, Hong is riding in a cart on his way to a ceremonial tomb dressed as a young Buddhist monk with a shaved head and a prayer wheel, which he spins ritually. He is to meet Tang Wangai at the tomb and learn the time and place where the White Lotus will find Ni Fenglin in order to kill him. Hong carefully makes his way around the grounds of the tomb, watching for the Silk Robes, disguised spies for Ni Fenglin who are thought to be tailing Tang. As Tang Wanglai pauses at a monument, Hong approaches and walks nearby, muttering a prayer to himself. Tang whispers the message to him as he walks past, and Hong continues on as if nothing has happened.

Tang leaves the area and Hong continues to wander around the grounds. He is...