Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Sangsang’s greatest wish in her whole life was to become white.
Not to turn the black chess into white pieces, but to whiten her skin.
Looking at the black chess pieces, she thought about Master Qishan’s words and laughed at it with embarrassment. She thought that it would be great to become white whenever she wanted, without using the cosmetics in Chenjinji Cosmetics Store. That would be convenient as well. No wonder the master said it was called the convenient method in Buddhism.
Master Qishan felt surprised at this, and he did not understand why she was laughing. Was there anything wrong with the convenient method he had said, which was just discovered by this little girl?
The only person in the world who could guess the true reason of why Sangsang was laughing was Ning Que, who couldn’t help laughing along as he saw Sangsang’s slightly shy smile.
The dark and cold cave was filled with sounds of laughter, which gradually calmed. Master Qishan’s voice was heard from time to time, along with some of Sangsang’s questions.
Without knowing how long it had been, the lesson for today had come to an end. Looking at Ning Que, Master Qishan said, “It is always a long process to cure the disease. It is damp and chilly here, and therefore not good for her recovery. You’d better take her down the hill and have a rest in the temple. If given time, before going to bed, let her think about what has happened today.”
Ning Que said, “It is inconvenient to go downhill and then come back. We might as well stay here.”
Master Qishan replied, “I will also go downhill at night, so let’s meet at the temple tomorrow morning.”
Ning Que felt shocked because everyone knew that Master Qishan had lived in seclusion in the Wa mountain for several years and he wouldn’t go downhill for even the Yue Laan Hungry Ghost Festival. Why did he say that he was going to leave here tonight?
Master Qishan said, “This is probably the last time that I will leave the cave. I have to go to the temple so that I can feel at ease.”
After saying this, the Master picked up the black chess piece on the ground in front of the futon, and put it into Sangsang’s palm.
Listening to the master’s words, Ning Que had guessed something vaguely. While being shocked, he felt gratitude towards the master all the more. Not knowing what to say, he saluted to him solemnly and then helped Sangsang walk outside the cave.
At the entrance of the cave, he said to Master Qishan, “You will come to the temple tomorrow, right?”
Master Qishan sighed and said, “Don’t worry, I will come.”
Ning Que left reluctantly, and said, “Sangsang’s illness is still in treatment, so you cannot die before her.”
Master Qishan laughed in anger and said, “Where have you developed such a bad temperament? Now I can understand why the Headmaster always gets irritated, but can’t find a way to punish you.”
Ning Que smiled and said, “The Headmaster just likes my honesty, and I know he loves me, so he never punishes me.”
They left the cave.
Ning Que entered the horse carriage with Sangsang in his arms.
Sangsang leaned against the bedding and clasped her fist for fear of losing the black chess. She looked at Ning Que and asked, “The master… is going to die, right?”
After a moment of silence, Ning Que nodded and said, “Don’t think too much about it. It has nothing to do with you. All Buddhist monks know their destiny, let alone such masters as him who can predict the future.”
The night breeze came gradually, lifting a corner of the curtain.
Looking at the solitary shrine next to the mountain path, Ning Que frowned slightly. He did not know why the chief monk of the Xuankong Temple was waiting outside the cave all the time. Why was no one guarding beside the shrine?
…
…
Quni Madi had brought all the sadhus of White Tower Temple in the Yuelun Kingdom to the foot of the mountain. Monks of the Lanke Temple had left earlier, and monk Guan Hai had sent the black horse carriage downhill. There was no one around the cave.
The night wind blew through the autumn forest, making a rustling sound, but it did not disturb the birds. A subtle ringing of bells sounded, but it seemed to be unreal and disappeared in an instant.
The Buddha chariot outside the cave was still quiet. Suddenly, one hand stretched out from the yellow curtain and opened a gap. A monk in a dark brown coat stepped down from the Buddha chariot.
The monk’s eyebrows were straight as a horizontal ruler, and his eyes were like precious stones. The vicissitudes of life could slightly be seen from his eyebrows and eyes, with wrinkles in his forehead. However, one could not tell his age. It would make sense if either one said he was over sixty or said around thirty.
This monk was the president of Commandment Yard of the Xuankong Temple.
The monk stepped down from the Buddha chariot and slowly walked into the cave. Through the dim light, he looked at the string of tiger mahogany bracelets on the ground and he made a Buddhist gesture with one hand. He asked, “Uncle, what on earth have you seen?”
“Baoshu, why do you ask about that?” Master Qishan replied calmly.
Master Baoshu, the president of Commandment Yard, looked at Master Qishan quietly and said, ” We monks never tell lies. Today, you have played the three games of chess on Wa Mountain, and called out the chessboard left by Buddha especially. Certainly, you do not want to make things difficult for the poor and sick girl, to make sure if she is that person.”
Master Qishan smiled and said, “The Great Divine Priest of Revelation cannot see it. The Great Divine Priest of Light thought he had seen it, only to find that he was wrong. How could I see it then?”
“Did Wei Guangming really misjudge it?”
Master Baoshu looked indifferently and said, “What if he didn’t get it wrong? What if the Son of Yama was really born in the General’s Mansion? What if Ning Que really was the Son of Yama?”
Master Qishan shook his head and said, “If Ning Que is the Son of Yama, how could the Headmaster accept him as his disciple?”
Master Baoshu shook his head and said, “The Headmaster is not an ordinary person, so he can do some extraordinary things. Even if he accepts the Son of Yama as his disciple, it is still acceptable.”
Master Qishan looked at him and said, “If things are as simple as what you have imagined, it is meaningless for the Xuankong Temple and Zhishou Abbey to do anything.”
Baoshu understood what he said. If the Headmaster knew that Ning Que was the Son of Yama and still accepted him as his disciple, then he would be on Ning Que’s side, even if the whole world wanted to kill him.
But it seemed like the Headmaster did not know.
Because Buddha had said that there were no omniscient people in this world.
Baoshu said, “I want to know what you have seen on Buddha’s chessboard. What did he do?”
After a moment of silence, Master Qishan said, “I saw a black horse carriage stopping between the criss-crossed streets.”
Baoshu asked again, “Where was the Lady of Light?”
“She was waiting on the mountain.”
Master Qishan answered. But he didn’t tell Baoshu all what Sangsang had experienced in the world of the chessboard.
Baoshu went forward and sat on the futon. He remained silent for a long time.
The oil lamp on the wall of the cliff cave was slightly disturbed by the night wind.
Baoshu suddenly said, “When Ning Que wanted to shoot the arrow at the foot of the mountain this morning, my heart had felt great signs of warning. The bell began to vibrate but it did not ring. Something odd is in his body.”
Master Qishan said calmly, “He has something like our younger brother Lotus.”
Hearing the name of Lotus, Baoshu’s meditative mind suddenly came into disorder, with his eyebrows slightly raised like an iron ruler that was going to attack. He said with a cold voice, “He is a disciple of the Academy. How could he have something like uncle Lotus?”
Although he came from the Unknown Place, as the president of Commandment Yard of the Xuankong Temple, he still felt shocked when he heard the name of Lotus. As everyone knows, Lotus had learned the skills of Buddhism, Taoism, and the Devil’s Doctrine. He had led a legendary life, and was decorated with high honor and status in the preaching halls of the Xuankong Temple. Thus, who could think lightly of him?
Master Qishan shook his head and said, “Maybe it has something to do with Mr. Ke.”
Baoshu calmed down gradually and looked with determination, “I increasingly believe that Ning Que is the Son of Yama.”
Master Qishan shook his head and said, “He is not the Son of Yama, even though there is no way to prove it.”
Baoshu said, “The Son of Yama is about to wake up. Only then will I be the only person who can prove it.”
Suddenly, Master Qishan’s eyes became extremely sharp. Although he had been ill for many years, with his real cultivation and state became very low, his eyes still had the power of the thunder.
“Why does the Xuankong Temple never connect the two worlds like the Academy? Because Xuankong Temple was originally a place where Buddha used to preserve its Buddhahood in the Dhamma Ending Period, so it was required to be isolated from the world. The unknown place should be unknown.”
Master Qishan looked at Master Baoshu and said with a low voice, “You are the president of Commandment Yard, not a World Wayfarer who has to obey the Buddha and not enter the human realm. Why did you come to the Wa mountain? You should leave immediately!”
For other monks in the world, even the master of the Yuelun Kingdom or the Monk Huang Yang of the Tang Empire, they would show great respect for bigwigs like the president of Commandment Yard, let alone reprimand him like this.
However, Master Qishan had a special identity. As the rumors said, he was the illegitimate son of the previous Chief Preaching Monk in Xuankong Temple. He had become a monk since childhood, so he ranked extremely high in the clan. Besides, he knew what kind of place Xuankong Temple was, so he need not care about his attitude while in Xuankong Temple.
Baoshu did not feel angry, but remained calm and said, “There must have been a reason for coming here.”
“It should have been Qi Nian, not you, who came here. If it were not for your deep connection with Buddha, which gives you an induction with the bell, how could you be the president of Commandment Yard with the middle cultivation of Knowing Destiny State? In this way, you should be more cautious, and should not shake the bell, let alone allow yourself to be persuaded by Quni Madi, coming to the world from the Wilderness.”
Master Qishan looked at him seriously and said, “You are a Buddhist. You should understand the cause and effect, you cannot be blinded by hatred. Dao Shi died in the hands of Ning Que, because he deserved it.”
Baoshu slightly frowned, and gradually calmed down.
He said, “Originally, I was the cause of Dao Shi, and he was affected by me. Since the cause and effect of Dao Shi were ended by Ning Que, then this is the cause and effect between us.”
“I was born and bred in the Pure Land, and I carry the bell wherever I go so that I’m able to scare all the evils in the world. If Ning Que were the Son of Yama, he would wake up by listening to the bell. This is also the cause and effect between us.”
“The reason why I came to the Wa mountain this time was to understand this cause and effect, and bring it to an end.”
Master Qishan shook his head slowly and said, “Since you are so obsessed with this, I have to abolish your duty in the temple, and punish you to think about it by facing the wall for ten years.”
Baoshu said calmly, “I want you to know, I have come after receiving an edict.”
Master Qishan felt a little bit shocked. After frowning for a long time, he said, “Even so, the Buddhism Sect still believes in Qi Nian. All earthly matters will be based on his mental state.”
“I will persuade my younger brother.”
Baoshu stood up, saluted single-handedly, and then left the cave.
…
…
The cliff cave was extremely silent.
Today, Master Qishan, who was over a hundred years old, felt the most profound unease in his life.
This kind of feeling was even more profound than it was a few decades ago when the Devil’s Doctrine massacred those in front of Lanke Temple.
The door creaked, monk Guan Hai had returned.
“Master, Mr. Thirteen and the Lady of Light have taken a rest in the front temple.”
Master Qishan looked at his disciple and asked suddenly, “The Yue Laan Hungry Ghost Festival will begin soon, and the Underworld Invasion will still be discussed. What are your thoughts about this?”
Looked at the Master’s face, monk Guan Hai wanted him to have an early rest. He said, “No one knows where the Underworld is, it’s just a legend.”
Master Qishan smiled and said, “Don’t act as a fool! When the legend turns into reality, it won’t be called a legend anymore.”
Monk Guan Hai smiled patiently and said, “Then, let’s wait until it turns into reality.”
Master Qishan added, “What do you think of the Xuankong Temple?”
Monk Guan Hai felt a little bit shocked, and he found that the master seemed a little bit strange today. He said, “You never allow me to ask about the Xuankong Temple and other Unknown Places before.”
“You have been the abbot of Lanke Temple for 20 years. In other words, you have been isolated from the outside world for many years. Since you are going to the Xuankong Temple someday, it’s just as well to know something in advance.”
Master Qishan said, “The origin of the Xuankong Temple is closely related to the legend of the Underworld Invasion.”
“The Underworld Invasion is the Everlasting night, and it is called Dhamma Ending Period in Buddhism. By then, everything in the world would be destroyed. Buddha had seen the tragic picture that would happen many years later. He thought of many ways to solve this problem, but still failed.”
“Buddha had perceived the coming of his Parinirvana, so he found a pure land in the Western Wilderness, and worked hard to build a temple and brought the Everlasting night as a barrier. Buddha taught Buddhism and Zen meditation there, and the great disciples of the late Buddha can enter the temple to listen to the preaching and improve their cultivation. This was what we later call the Xuankong Temple.”
“The reason why this is so is that after many years of thinking, Buddha still did not think of the method of preventing the arrival of the Dhamma Ending Period, because it is the original cause and effect of the world. Everyone in the world must die, even after thousands of painful reincarnation. Hence, he hoped that the disciples of the Buddha could survive the devastation of the Dharma Ending Period by the shelter of the Xuankong Temple. And help the monks in the temple to survive the long night that is as long as eternity, with the spirit of perseverance and silence, until a brand new world comes.”
After a long time of silence, Master Qishan sighed, “But today, the Buddhism Sect seems to have forgotten the teachings of Buddha and no longer have this kind of thought. Both Qi Nian’s entrance into Chang’an City and Baoshu’s coming to the Wa mountain all prove that they want to find the Son of Yama and kill him.”
“Master, I think… The Bhadantas of the Xuankong Temple are doing just fine.”
Although monk Guan Hai had practiced Buddhism for many years, he was still young. Thinking about the frightful scenes of the invaders, he said in a low voice, “All human beings have suffered a lot, we should show mercy to everyone, not to be isolated from the rest of the world.”
Master Qishan laughed and said, “You… You are really simple-minded.”
Monk Guan Hai smiled somewhat embarrassedly. Suddenly, he thought of something and said shockingly, “Master Baoshu came for the Son of Yama… Is he on the Wa mountain?”
Master Qishan patted his shoulder with a smile and said nothing about it. He thought that there were many ways to make the Son of Yama disappear from this world, you did not necessarily have to kill him.
Since the Headmaster said this was feasible in his letter, then it should be so. He would give it a try, no matter for the whole world or his cause and effect with the Xuankong Temple.
…
