The sandy pulp of the watermelon was extremely sweet. Perhaps because it had been born in this paradise, the juice oozed with happiness.
As “Eggborn” ate, he could not help but giggle away. He seemed to have never felt so relaxed and happy in his life. Suddenly, his cheek felt a little warm and moist. He wiped it and licked it, yet it was salty and bitter.
“What is this?”
He blinked his eyes. His jade-green eyes were like a foundation as more and more salty, bitter fluid covered his face. It never ended.
Perhaps because he was not born in this paradise and had been soaked in pain, he could only produce this bitter fluid.
His chest felt heavy as if something was trying to get out. His little face scrunched up, and he let out a growl that seemed almost non-human.
Green light spread out as waves, making the plants grow vigorously, entangling together and killing one another.
Like an ostrich, he buried his head within the melon peel. It finally stopped after quite a while. All of the vegetation withered away.
He raised his head, revealing another innocent smile.
The jade-green eyes turned scarlet again.
The old coupled were both surprised and puzzled. They had no idea what had happened.
The man called Li Qingshan had used the spirit turtle to suppress and seal away everything while he was at his most feeble during the Phoenix’s Nirvā?a, avoiding the regression of his cultivation. He was like a turtle pulling its head into its shell, avoiding the influence of the outside world.
However, he was well aware that this was only a temporary measure. The spirit turtle was good at defending, but not only was this fragile line of defence vulnerable to the influence of Sukhāvatī, but he would even end up questioning himself as well.
There would be one day when he would have to ask himself, Who am I?
Yet just then, the Qilin Transformation that had stagnated for quite a long time actually broke through when he was completely unconscious of it. Perhaps this world was suited for practising the Qilin Transformation, or perhaps he had unintentionally conformed to the principle of letting nature take its course.
In short, his cultivation increased instead of decreasing, but a crack appeared on the fragile turtle shell.
Those bloody memories filled with slaughter, pain, and despair, even just a hint of them, was not something that “Eggborn” could bear with right now.
Compared to his current comfort and joy, the words “beyond the Nine Heavens” were far too heavy and far too obscure.
Those sealed memories would return one day. By then, would he still be willing to take on this pain again?
In the blink of an eye, “Eggborn” turned a month old. The old couple invited everyone within five kilometres of their place, holding a baby shower on an empty field.
Of course, Sukhāvatī followed all buddhist precepts. They were forbidden from ingesting any meat or alcohol, so they only drank tea and ate fruit.
However, the atmosphere was just as intoxicating as alcohol. Within the fragrance of flowers, under the warm sun, everyone’s faces beamed. The laughter never stopped.
They set up a square table in the centre of the field and placed a rattan chair on it. The centre of attention of the celebration, “Eggborn”, sat high up on the chair, ensuring that everyone could see him.
He already seemed eight or nine years old. He wore a tiger hat and tiger shoes with a silver, glistening lock of peace around his neck, yet he was the only one present that was not smiling. His eyes were half-open, dozing off uncontrollably.
The crack rapidly grew larger, and the memories of the past seeped out endlessly, turning into nightmares.
Sometimes, he would dream of being forced to work under the scorching sun, leaving him aching all over. Sometimes, he would dream of carrying a corpse, climbing an icy mountain arduously.
The most terrifying dreams were the ones where he was being hunted down. There were various different enemies, like an ugly, sinister granny, a cold, graceful swordsman, and a vicious, black dragon. Every single time, he would be forced into dire straits before jerking awake from the nightmare.
As a result, he tried his best to remain awake at all times. When he could not hold on for any longer, he would nap a little.
Fortunately, when he was awake, he was still relatively happy. He liked this kind of liveliness too.
The field was jubilous. Even just casually glancing up was enough to see him. He was surrounded by people, forming a great crowd that admired him in surprise.
Among the many buddhist precepts, breaking the precept of sexual misconduct was far worse than the precept of alcohol consumption. However, sexual desires were always the greatest of desires. They were extremely difficult to overcome.
But in Sukhāvatī, this was not a problem at all. Everyone was free from these desires. Even couples did not sleep together, so there were rarely any newborns.
In a regular world, if they grew up in just a month, they would probably be treated as a monster, but in Sukhāvatī, no one thought that. Everyone’s hearts were filled with kindness, feeling happy for the old couple from the bottom of their hearts. They looked at “Eggborn” like he was their own child.
“Eggborn” was influenced by the atmosphere, making him smile as well.
“Eggborn, show them some of your tricks!” old man Ruan called out.
“Alrighty!”
“Eggborn” leapt up in response and performed a somersault, landing firmly on the back of the seat. He stood on one leg and called out, “Grow! Grow! Grow!”
Wheat sprouts burst out of the earth one by one. In the blink of an eye, the empty field turned into a glistening field of wheat.
Within the gasps, someone said, “It’s absolutely wondrous. He really is a child bestowed by the buddha. Old brother Ruan, you should go to the temple and return the favour.”
Old man Ruan rubbed his head. “This… I haven’t found the time to do that yet!”
“There is no better time than today. You might as well go now. We’ll all come with you!”
Everyone agreed and lifted up the table like it was a sedan chair, jostling off towards the temple.
This world was scattered with temples. In less than two hours, they arrived before a solemn, unadorned temple surrounded with trees.
The receiving monk welcomed everyone into the temple before inviting the abbot over.
Everyone spoke up in a gabble, leaving the abbot surprised as well, even slightly suspicious. Unlike these “bumpkins” that only knew how to chant the buddha’s name, he was a proper person of buddhism. Even the “child-delivering Guanyin” was an misinterpretation of laypeople, let alone a “child-delivering buddha”.
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As a result, he used the Heavenly Eye knowledge and took a careful glance at “Eggborn”, which left him surprised. He lifted up his kasaya in a hurry and dropped down to his knees, bowing deeply towards “Eggborn”.
“Amitābha. I did not know about the sangharama guardian’s visit, so please forgive me for failing to welcome you!”
What he saw was no longer a child, but a great, dignified god of golden light.
No matter how suitable Sukhāvatī was for cultivating buddhists, those that had undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation were still exceptionally rare.
Sangharama guardians were already formal gods of buddhism. Their official position was not too high, but they already stood among the ranks of gods and buddhas. They were worthy of the worship of followers.
Even upon rebirth with his memories sealed, his post still existed.
In Sukhāvatī, the status of monks was extremely high. Coupled with how they heard he was a sangharama guardian, everyone bowed in a hurry. Even the old couple could not help but bow.
“Eggborn” leapt into the crowd and helped them up. He widened his eyes and questioned the abbot, “You baldy, what are you on about? Get up, all of you. You can’t bow to me!”
The abbot was surprised inside, Don’t tell me this guardian refuses to expose himself?
At this moment, a mighty voice rang out from outside the temple, “Amitābha! Long time no see, general Li.”
A monk with a staff and a bamboo hat in an old kasaya walked into the temple. For some reason, “Eggborn” became restless inside. “And who are you? You say I’m some kind of general as well? And some kind of plum general. Why don’t you call me watermelon general?”
TL: Remember that Li Qingshan’s surname can mean plum in certain contexts.
“This monk is Upraised Light.”
