Chapter 226 The Old Monk

When Yuanjue went to the ancestral hall of Jinshan Temple to settle the karma of his past and present lives,

Wei Yuan looked at the scenery around Jinshan Temple. The woman in white stood quietly beside him, seemingly pondering something. He was happy to be idle. The scenery of Jinshan Temple was quite good. At this moment, the clouds gradually dissipated, and the sunlight broke through the clouds and scattered all over the ground, giving it the solemn atmosphere of a Buddhist holy land.

So much had happened here that the other tourists had been sent away by the monks of Jinshan Temple, so the Buddhist temple was now quiet and peaceful. When Wei Yuan raised his eyes, he saw fallen leaves again under that old tree, and the old monk sweeping the fallen leaves.

Fallen leaves fell on his shoulder, but the old monk just lowered his head and swept.

At this time, Yuanjue had also finished his business and strode out.

He nodded and smiled at Wei Yuan, his face still showing the familiar honest and simple composure. The slightly sharp and deep aura from before had subsided. He came over, pushed Wei Yuan's wheelchair, and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Museum Head Wei. Let's go down the mountain."

Wei Yuan nodded. The monk's palm pushed the wheelchair. He had cultivated the physique of a Vajra in the world. Wei Yuan's weight plus the weight of the wheelchair was nothing to Yuanjue, not even as heavy as a feather. Holding the handles of the wheelchair, he could easily lift it flat and carry it down the mountain.

But when they reached the mountainside, Wei Yuan suddenly said:

"Yuanjue, and Miss Bai, please wait here for a moment."

"I want to go up the mountain once."

Yuanjue was surprised.

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "Just like you, I have something to deal with."

...

Yuanjue did not stop Wei Yuan.

Not to mention Wei Yuan's cultivation, his ability to control the wind was already unparalleled in the world. He easily ascended the mountain, which was not too steep. The ancient temple with its green lamps was surrounded by mountain winds and autumn rain, and the leaves had long turned yellow, making the whole mountain look like it was covered in gold.

And the monk under the old tree was sweeping the fallen leaves on the ground, one sweep at a time.

The fallen leaves seemed to never be finished.

Wei Yuan slowed down and stopped behind the old monk, looking at the old tree. Having experienced so many years of wind and rain, the tree almost gave people a feeling of wisdom. The monk, feeling Wei Yuan's gaze, finally stopped his movements, turned his head, made a single-handed salute, and said faintly:

"Esteemed Benefactor."

Wei Yuan looked at the old tree and said, "How old is this tree?"

The old monk replied, "About a thousand years."

"A thousand years..."

Wei Yuan leaned back slightly, looked at the old tree covered with yellow withered leaves, and said, "Did you plant it when you came to the mountain to become a monk? Should I call you Master, or should I call you Doctor Xu Xian?"

The old monk's white eyebrows drooped, and his always calm expression finally showed a trace of ripple when the name Xu Xian was mentioned. In the end, it seemed as if he had something to say, but it only returned to the four-character Buddhist chant of Amitabha, his voice old and plain.

"Esteemed Benefactor... is wise."

Wei Yuan shook his head and replied, "It's not wisdom, it's just that it's the first time I've seen a *d缚灵 (dibuling, earthbound spirit)* able to exist in a Zen Buddhist holy land... I'm a little curious, and there are doubts that I can't let go of, so I came up to ask."

"Earthbound spirits are just attachments, and attachments remain, neither evil nor mischievous."

"The Zen forest is vast, and there is naturally a place to accommodate them."

The old monk replied softly, his wrinkles heavy, and some age spots.

His body and face were no different from ordinary people, but when the wind blew, one could still see the true face of the old man in front of him from the blurred ripples like smoke and rain at the hem of his clothes. This was not a human being, nor did he have a fleshly body. He was just an earthbound spirit with a remnant of obsession, just like the one he had seen in Jiangnan back then.

Wei Yuan did not ask further, and stretched out his hand, just catching a yellow fallen leaf, and said:

"Why don't you go down and see her?"

"If you weren't for seeing her, why would a wisp of obsession remain in the world even after your death and *yuanji (Buddhist term for passing away)*?"

The old monk shook his head and said, "There is no need to meet. Meeting creates karma, and only increases regret."

"This poor monk's millennium was not for seeing her."

He raised his hand, was silent for a moment, and said softly: "This poor monk is just atoning for his sins..."

"Atoning for sins?"

"Yes..."

The old monk's voice was peaceful, neither fast nor slow: "Back then, she flooded Jinshan, and the cause was also related to me. But I was just a human, with decades of lifespan, but she had to wait for a full thousand years of confinement. This is not fair, so I wanted to at least accompany her through this thousand years."

"Accompany her, but not see her?"

"If the Esteemed Benefactor is interested in chatting with this wisp of my remnant soul, would you have the time to listen to a little story?"

The wind blew through the withered leaves on the old tree, rustling.

Wei Yuan lowered his eyes and smiled:

"I would like to hear the details."

The old monk's tone was peaceful, like someone who truly understood Buddhism.

"Does the Esteemed Benefactor know that in ancient times there was a *da chun (dachun, ancient tree)* that considered eight thousand years as spring and eight thousand years as autumn? It was a thing of longevity. And on the *da chun*, lived a bug that lived in the morning and died in the evening, eating the morning dew."

"For this bug, the *da chun* was as great as a god. But one day, the spirit of the *da chun* fell in love with a bug that lived in the morning and died in the evening. When the morning sun rose, the bug ate the morning dew and danced lightly in the wind, light and lovely. But by noon, the bug had already become lazy."

"When the sun set, the bug died on the earth."

"The spirit of the *da chun* was heartbroken, and then gradually stopped absorbing morning dew and starlight, hating the sun in the sky, thinking that it was the setting of the sun that caused the death of the bug it loved. In the end, it refused to accept the sunlight and slowly withered and died."

The old monk's tone was gentle, like someone who truly understood Buddhism.

"What does the Esteemed Benefactor think?"

Wei Yuan said, "Are you saying that longevity is bitter..."

The old monk stretched out his hand, and a flying insect landed on his fingertip, saying: "Human beings, compared to soaring dragons, are just like insects that live in the morning and die in the evening. If she sees this remnant soul of mine, what will she do then? She will put all her thoughts on this obsession of my remnant soul."

"But that's wrong. You have to open your eyes and look further."

"The *da chun* can have eight thousand years of spring and eight thousand years of autumn, with wind and rain and stars. Why be obsessed with a flying insect? A dragon can be in the nine heavens. The *da chun* has already abandoned the entire world for that insect. How can I restrict her to Jinshan Temple again? This is letting go..."

Wei Yuan asked, "But have you ever thought that perhaps Lady White doesn't mind these things?"

The old monk smiled and nodded, and said calmly:

"But I mind."

"Perhaps I still miss her... that's why I don't want to use myself as a chain to restrain her."

"And that's why I have to let go."

Wei Yuan looked at the old monk, thoughtful: "A thousand years of loneliness, just to let go?"

The old monk asked gently, "Is it helpful to the Esteemed Benefactor's situation?"

This monk seemed to see something from Wei Yuan's expression.

Wei Yuan nodded, then shook his head, but then suddenly smiled:

"But Master, you don't seem to have let go either."

"Since you've let go, why did you still want to see her today?"

"If it's atonement, why did you choose Jinshan Temple, which is far away from Lin'an Prefecture, back then?"

The old monk nodded gently, but did not answer.

Wei Yuan looked at the Jinshan Buddhist Temple and said, "It's also a story. Buddhism cultivates oneself, and the original nature is sufficient. It is impossible to turn into an earthbound spirit. Xu Xian, you cultivate Buddhism, but in the end, you use Buddhism as an obsession. The true spirit is no longer here, and you can never cultivate the right fruit... After a thousand years, have you ever been lonely?"

The old monk had already picked up the broom again and lowered his head to sweep.

Even when Wei Yuan left.

The monk did not raise his head, but only repeated the past actions.

The Buddhist bell of Jinshan Buddhist Temple rang lowly.

The young doctor of the past had already turned into a wisp of obsession. The trees planted by hand when he entered the mountain were already a thousand years old. Chanting scriptures and reciting Buddha, green lamps and ancient temples, kowtowing again and again, saying *Namo Amitabha*, *Namo Amitabha*, taking refuge in the Buddha, taking refuge in the Sangha.

But would he be lonely?

For a thousand years, he had been under the old tree next to the Buddhist pagoda. With Buddha in his heart, how could he be lonely?

It's just that when he thought that she would no longer be there in the future, he felt a little unaccustomed.

When he was lonely, he could look down the mountain.

Looking at the human world where she was.

...

Wei Yuan came down the mountain. It was a bit strange for a patient like him to control the wind and push a wheelchair.

The Great Monk Yuanjue couldn't help but smile when he saw this, and hurried forward to help, so that Wei Yuan was spared the embarrassing scene in front of the tourists who wanted to go up the mountain. The monk's palm was strong, and he steadily pushed the wheelchair. Wei Yuan's fingers played with the golden fallen leaf.

Looking at the quiet woman in white next to him.

Obviously, Xu Xian hoped that he would keep it a secret.

But…

Wei Yuan opened his mouth, put the fallen leaves down gently, and said, "Miss Bai..."

"Do you know that Xu Xian is on this mountain?"

Even Yuanjue next to him almost jumped his eyebrows, and his palms shook.

You just asked so directly?

Museum Head Wei, don't you know what it means to open your mouth gently?

Contrary to the monk's expectations, the woman in white was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "I know."

"If it weren't for him, I might not have been able to withstand this thousand years."

Wei Yuan said, "Then why don't you go see him?"

The woman in white said softly, "...If I go to see him, what will we say?"

"He's already passed away. What's left now is an obsession."

"If I go to see him again, his obsession may never be eliminated."

The woman in white said softly, "When the true spirit leaves, only the obsession remains in the world. It's not easier than the seal I suffered back then. It's like being hung in the darkness, raising your head and not seeing the sky, and your feet can't touch the ground. There are countless whispers echoing all around."

"He can only maintain his consciousness by constantly reciting Buddhist scriptures..."

"Only when the obsession disappears can his spirit return to oneness."

"I want to see him again, but how can I bear to... If it were you, would you bear to? Because of me, he can no longer be a doctor, and his obsession has made him drift alone in the world for a full thousand years. How can I let him continue?"

The woman in white seemed to want to smile, but the expression on her face carried an unspeakable desolation and determination.

"Longevity and short life."

"Perhaps, humans and demons really have different paths in this life."

Wei Yuan was speechless. The monk did not cultivate for the afterlife, and his original nature was sufficient, but he left a thousand years of obsession, only for the White Snake to let go; while the White Snake seemed free and easy, going down the mountain and leaving, but she was unwilling to let go, pretending to let go, so that the monk could be freed.

There are two sentences in Zhuangzi's discussion with people, "You are not a fish, how do you know the joy of fish."

"You are not me, how do you know that I do not know the joy of fish."

Wei Yuan didn't know how to deal with such things either.

On the side of the road, there was a young couple who were obviously here to play. The short-haired woman, wearing a couple's shirt, put her hands together and whispered seriously, as if teasing her boyfriend: "The first best is not to meet, so you can not fall in love.

"The second best is not to know each other, so you can not miss each other."

"The third best is not to accompany each other, so you can not owe each other."

Wei Yuan said, "It's a post left by a Tibetan Buddhist called Cangyang Gyatso, but it was continued by modern writers. After the original text is translated, most of them are like 'But once we meet, we will know each other. How can we not meet each other? How can we part with you, so that we don't have to miss each other in life and death?'"

The White Snake was stunned.

But in fact, this is also because the anecdotes of that Cangyang Gyatso guide most translations to rely on love, but in fact, it is the Buddhist essence of not being involved in karma and not entering the mundane world. Not meeting, not knowing each other, and not missing each other. Everyone is independent of each other and does not get involved in each other's karma.

Yuanjue pushed the wheelchair and suddenly asked, "Museum Head Wei, if you also encounter this..."

"What will happen?"

Wei Yuan knew that he was referring to the matter between himself and Jue, which was also about longevity and short life.

He thought of Xu Xian's old age just now, and looked at the woman in white who looked like she was twenty-three or four years old beside him. He felt that he had to pass the Kunlun trial no matter what, and at least fix his appearance in its current state. As for whether they would separate in the future... He was silent for a while, then pretended to be relaxed and said:

"The matter hasn't reached that point, so I don't know."

"Perhaps, I will do everything regardless. Whoever dares to stop me will be blown away with an axe."

"Or perhaps, I will become a monk and completely avoid the mundane world..."

Yuanjue said with a smile, "If Museum Head Wei wants to become a monk, this poor monk will personally shave your head and give you a free *du die (Buddhist certificate)*. Don't worry, don't worry, this poor monk still has some connections in this matter."

Huh? !

The smile on Wei Yuan's face froze, and the corners of his mouth twitched. He looked up at Yuanjue and was about to grit his teeth and say thank you for your trouble, don't worry, but he saw the monk looking at him, his expression peaceful, making a single-handed salute, and smiling freely: "Amitabha."

"It seems that Museum Head Wei has already made a plan in his heart, hasn't he?"

Wei Yuan: "..."

The feeling that the monk in front of him gave him seemed to be more clear and mellow.

Wei Yuan glanced at the moisture in the air, narrowed his eyes, and then helplessly said:

"Alright, let's go, let's go, let's go to Longhu Mountain."

The monk agreed with a smile.

ps: Today's second update... four thousand words

Regarding that trial, many readers have already elaborated on it in the chapter comments.

It's pretty much the same. You can go to the previous chapter to find the explanation. Just chilling..., in addition, many people have noticed a point about Bai Suzhen, so please wait a few more chapters (cat head likes), and try to struggle for a third update...