Chapter 236 Old Stories

The white-clothed woman bowed gracefully, uttering the words, "Paying respects to my benefactor."

The sword in Wei Yuan's hand stopped abruptly, unable to strike. Her sincerity was so profound that he almost wondered if it was a memory from one of his past lives.

If he, the person involved, was already this bewildered, how much more so were the onlookers?

The barrage of comments on the internet froze for a moment before erupting in an unprecedented explosion.

"Damn, benefactor? Xu Xian?"

"That pretty boy?"

"The number one gigolo in Shenzhou?!"

"Nonsense, he was a hero!"

"I'm not convinced! I don't understand where I went wrong, brothers."

A torrent of comments flashed across the internet.

Almost to the point of crashing the screen.

However, many calm individuals quickly deduced: "That's not right. If it were Xu Xian, then Bai Suzhen should be calling him 'husband,' not 'benefactor.' This must be another benefactor. It's not like Bai Suzhen only had Xu Xian as a benefactor…"

"Hiss… Could this be the difference between 'a debt of great kindness is difficult to repay, so I, a humble woman, offer myself in marriage' and 'a debt of great kindness is difficult to repay, so I will reincarnate as grass and a ring to repay you'?"

The internet was in a frenzy, but reality was quiet.

The scene of the White Snake transforming into a dragon had been overwhelmingly powerful. Even now, there was still a lingering sense of instinctive fear in their hearts. Considering that, Xu Xian's ability to withstand such pressure didn't seem so pathetic after all.

Yuanjue retracted his Buddhist light, landing beside Wei Yuan.

The White Snake's serpentine pupils looked at the monk, with a hint of resentment between her brows.

Wei Yuan felt his mind was in chaos. He rubbed his temples, noticed the gazes of the onlookers, and some brave souls cautiously pulling out their phones. He waved his hand and said, "Let's talk somewhere else…"

He paused, then added, "I have many things I want to ask you."

The White Snake, who had been quite impolite to Yuanjue earlier, nodded calmly.

Then, with a flick of her white sleeves, clouds gathered and dispersed. By the time the mist cleared, the three of them were gone, and the heavy dark clouds that had enveloped the area slowly dissipated. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the clouds, landing on Jinshan Temple, creating an almost solemn and sacred feeling.

"Gods, gods…?"

...

A moment later.

Through the conversation between the White Snake and Yuanjue, Wei Yuan roughly understood what had happened in the past.

He rubbed his temples: "So, in the Song Dynasty, I was a great thief."

Fahai would definitely nod in agreement.

Wei Yuan looked at Bai Suzhen: "I saved your husband?"

The white-clothed woman nodded.

Wei Yuan finally concluded:

"And then, during the flooding of Jinshan Temple, I died trying to save the people?"

"You were suppressed under Jinshan Temple."

"Fahai, or rather, Yuanjue, your previous life, exhausted his cultivation and passed away peacefully…"

Wei Yuan fell silent. Just listening to this, he almost felt like some sort of femme fatale. It shouldn't be, and besides, a great thief… He looked at the monk, a little curious, "Yuanjue, you said I was a great thief, what did I steal?"

Yuanjue put his palms together and replied, "Not steal, but plunder. And it was done openly and justly."

"As for what you plundered?"

The red-clothed woman hadn't been mentioned in the earlier recounting of past events. He pondered slightly.

In the depths of his mind, his past self reminded him, "Remember, remember, do not be rash."

"Do not be too direct again."

"Understood. This humble monk has taken language classes in this life and understands the beauty of linguistic embellishment and subtlety."

So Yuanjue reassured his former self and replied:

"Curator Wei, you stole the hearts of women."

???

Wei Yuan was first stunned. Was his previous life really such an unpardonable heart-stealing thief?

Then he understood Yuanjue's meaning.

Connecting it with the word "thief," he couldn't help but gasp, his brow twitching:

"A lecherous bandit?!"

Or was he a high-end player who played with emotions?

Should I just turn myself in?

Yuanjue was taken aback, seeing Wei Yuan's almost choked expression. He quickly reassured him, "Don't worry, don't worry, Curator Wei. Although your previous life was free-spirited, you didn't have much attachment to women. Plus, you died young, in the prime of your life, so your *yuan yang* (primordial essence) was still intact, which is why your cultivation was unparalleled."

Wei Yuan: "............"

Thank you for comforting me.

I originally wanted to smile and nod.

But why did I feel a strange inability to smile?

Wei Yuan's mouth twitched as he saw the white-clothed woman beside him pursing her lips, seemingly trying not to laugh. He sighed, rubbed his temples, and wondered when he had become so resistant to this level of social embarrassment.

It was as if…

Having seen a large firework display, he naturally wouldn't be interested in small firecrackers.

Having tasted Sichuan's mild spiciness, he wouldn't be able to handle Nordic extreme spiciness.

Wait, when was there ever this level of social embarrassment?

Why don't I remember?

Wei Yuan began to ponder the past.

Yuanjue looked at the White Snake and said, "...Back then, when you flooded Jinshan, although you stopped in time, you still brought an unnecessary flood to the people on both sides of the river, so you were confined in the temple for a thousand years, using your cultivation to replenish the land of Jiangnan as punishment."

"Now that the millennium has passed, Jiangnan is prosperous, and you deserve some of the credit."

"The karma between you and me…"

The white-clothed woman interrupted him: "Our karma is far from over!"

Her pupils faintly transformed into golden serpentine eyes again, and the surrounding aura was cold and fierce.

Yuanjue frowned and said slowly, "If you had been willing to live in seclusion with Xu Xian back then, this humble monk would not have interfered. But you stirred up a great flood, inundating Jinshan, almost causing widespread death and destruction. That is why this humble monk took action against you. And now you still want to be entangled?"

The white-clothed woman gritted her teeth and said resentfully, "That sounds nice. The message you left only said that you had taken my husband away, that humans and demons have different paths, and to take care of myself. The house was a mess, as if there had been thieves and robbers. How can I believe what you say now?"

Yuanjue's brow furrowed, then slowly relaxed.

The problem he had been vaguely aware of finally surfaced.

A millennium White Snake, with only the cultivation of a *jiao* (flood dragon), how could she have flooded Jinshan?

And if he left a message, with Bai Suzhen's previous personality, she wouldn't have recklessly stirred up a massive flood. So that's how it was. Someone must have been plotting in the middle…

Yuanjue sighed and said, "What this humble monk says is all true."

"If you don't believe it."

"You can recall what happened that day. When you went to Jinshan Temple, did Xu Xian receive any unfair treatment? It was only because he had remnants of your demonic energy in his body that this humble monk used Buddhist teachings to dissolve it. And you were not at home at the time, so I left a message."

He paused, then the monk raised his eyes, his gaze calm and peaceful:

"Moreover, even with your cultivation back then, you were still no match for this humble monk."

"If I had really forcibly taken Xu Xian into the temple, would the house have been left in such a mess?"

Even Wei Yuan couldn't help but think to himself that these words were truly domineering, yet calm and composed.

The White Snake was stunned.

Various past events surfaced in her mind.

Everything in the world, all matters, mostly cannot escape from the stirring of the heart, mind, and emotions.

In the end, it was all about the four words: "Concern leads to chaos."

Because she cared, she didn't dare to gamble on even the slightest possibility.

Yuanjue put his palms together, his tone softening:

"It seems that in the events of that year, both you and I were deliberately manipulated by a third party. It is rare to have this life. We should find out the truth. How did the events of that year really happen? Both you and I will be able to know. White Snake, you have already waited under Jinshan Temple for almost a thousand years. Surely you can wait this short time, can't you?"

The white-clothed woman was silent for a long time, then nodded, "Okay."

Yuanjue said, "However, you are, after all, a great demon with two thousand years of cultivation. I still have to inform the Special Operations Group and find the old Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain. Curator Wei… should we make a call in advance?"

The monk looked at Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan had already taken out his phone, but after hesitating, he silently put it back.

"We'll go straight up the mountain."

Wei Yuan said seriously, "This way, we can catch him off guard."

"Otherwise, I'm afraid Daoist Zhang will disappear without a trace."

...

The White Snake, who had just escaped her confinement, couldn't fully understand the true meaning of these words.

But after pondering, Yuanjue nodded knowingly, obviously agreeing with Curator Wei's far-sightedness. Then he said, "Curator Wei, please wait for me for a moment. This humble monk has one more matter to settle on the mountain."

He put his palms together, recited a Buddhist prayer, and turned to walk towards Jinshan Temple.

At this moment, the many monks of Jinshan Temple were already waiting in front of the Ancestral Hall. Earlier, they had witnessed the battle between the White Snake and Yuanjue and felt that the heavens and earth were shaking, and their minds were shocked to the point of losing their ability to think. Now, seeing Yuanjue, who had ascended to the sky earlier, walking towards them, holding a monk's alms bowl in one hand and Buddhist beads in the other, these monks shuddered and all woke up.

The old abbot stepped forward and was about to pay his respects, but Yuanjue reached out and stopped him.

He said, "This humble monk, Yuanjue, is here to return karma."

The old abbot had not yet understood, but he saw the monk raise his hand and send the monk's alms bowl back to the offering table. Then he threw the Buddhist beads in his hand, and they also fell down, not caring about these two thousand-year-old Buddhist treasures. Then Yuanjue gazed at the roll of withered yellow ancestral portrait, a smile on his face.

He raised his hand and pressed it against his brow, using a little force, as if pulling something out. The monks saw clearly that he had actually pulled out another monk from his spiritual platform. Looking at his appearance, he was exactly the same as the ancestral master Pei Toutuo in the portrait. They were all shocked and speechless, unable to say a word.

Unlike Wei Yuan's Undying Flower, where each generation is the true self.

Ordinary heroes who are reincarnated will definitely be dominated by their previous life.

But the true cultivator of Buddhism…

Does not seek the next life, does not seek the previous life.

The original nature is self-sufficient.

Yuanjue looked at his past self, Fahai looked at his future self. The two monks put their palms together and bowed slightly, smiling. Then Yuanjue just waved his sleeve, and Fahai's true spirit flew into the portrait. Accompanied by the sound of a Buddhist bell, a calm Buddhist prayer, it slowly dissipated.

The abbot was shocked and speechless.

In Yuanjue's mind, the memories remained.

After sighing for a long time, he suddenly pointed to the *sharira* (relics) of his previous life, stored on the top floor of the pagoda, and laughed:

"Hey, he is him!"

Then he pointed to the portrait: "You are you!"

He raised his hand and patted his forehead, laughing loudly: "I am me!"

Turning around and leaving, he sang loudly:

"Go! Go!"

"This monk will only be a monk in this life."

The abbot heard the sound of thunder, his mind trembled. He originally wanted to call out to the ancestral master, but he felt it was inappropriate, so he just shouted loudly, "Master Yuanjue, Master Yuanjue?!"

The tall monk turned his head and only asked with a smile:

"Yuanjue is here, but where is the master?"

'Yuanjue' is the original self.

'Master' is the self as seen by others.

Yuanjue is here, but where is the me in your eyes?

The abbot was speechless, ultimately unable to answer. The monk laughed three times and left.

Many monks asked bitterly, "We don't know where you are at this moment?"

Yuanjue did not turn back, walking straight out of the Ancestral Hall, and then out of the main hall, his simple monk's robe exposed to the sunlight. Looking at the young man who seemed to be admiring the scenery in the distance, he nodded gently, then looked at the monks beside him, and then answered:

"Amitabha."

He put his palms together, with a smile:

"This humble monk is just a *bhikkhu* (monk), merely a sweeper and cook under Curator Wei's service..."

ps: Today's first update...

It seems that some readers have doubts about the previous trials. That trial can actually be regarded as an experience in a parallel world. At this moment, the true spirit returns, which is equivalent to experiencing another life. The memories and experiences are all real.

The daily routine was directly reverted to its original state... Alas, I don't know how many updates there will be today.