Chapter 71 Zhu Gu

His keen intuition kicked in once again, and Qing Bai frowned and turned to Ai Chan: "Why do I feel like this old man is up to no good and wants to mess with you?"

"...You as a child."

Ai Chan shook his head. Ever since he entered the yard and saw people, he seemed to have suddenly practiced the art of silence and was unwilling to say a word.

Fortunately, for nine years, Qing Bai’s words would never fall on the ground.

Jiu Nian didn't stare at the two people in the room like Ai Chan, nor did he observe everything carefully inside and out like Qing Bai. His gaze rarely stayed on one place for long. It should be said that he only glanced at anyone at any time...Except for Qing Bai. Perhaps because of Qing Bai's form as a spirit beast cub, he always had to take a few more glances before he felt at ease.

The more he looked after, the more his attention would naturally be focused on one thing. In addition, animals were naturally sensitive, so Jiu Nian could always detect Qing Bai's condition and emotions at the first moment, and then speak at the right time.

"His ears are withered and his breath is cold. His life span is over."

Qing Bai: "So the people we saw at the farmhouse at the foot of the mountain were dead?"

Jiu Nian said it in a subtle way: "It is always difficult for dying people to accept reality."

After listening to Nine Years' words, a certain line in Qing Bai's mind suddenly became clear - Old Man Tang's appearance in reality was younger and more energetic than in the cracks, and the mountain road built more than ten years ago to fulfill a vow... I'm afraid it was just as Qi Xiaopang said when he went up the mountain, that generous pilgrim made an extraordinary wish in this temple, and it was fulfilled.

I think that extraordinary wish is the reason why Mr. Tang, who loves to wear Zhongshan suits, can still visit Chushan again with a large number of "bodyguards".

Thinking of this, Qing Bai's tone could be described as envious: "Mr. Tang is so lucky..."

Before he died, he could still find a reliable monk to prolong his life, unlike him, who looked for so many monks, Taoist priests, half-immortals and old charlatans, and finally found a "theoretical monk" who was useless except for his academic qualifications and was always thinking about returning to secular life.

Jiunian frowned, disagreeing: "Birth, old age, sickness and death, when the time comes, it will happen. It is the natural law of life and the normal state of life. There is no point in forcing it."

Qing Bai looked at him. Even when he was speaking such didactic words, Jiu Nian was still gentle and upright... Qing Bai almost hated his gentleness.

Until this moment, Qing Bai was finally willing to admit that their current relationship was neither legitimate nor proper. He was not like a strict teacher, let alone a good friend. He was neither up nor down, unable to advance, nor to retreat... nor was he willing to retreat.

Qing Bai felt that he had restrained himself and no longer looked at Jiu Nian, but the end of his voice still trembled uncontrollably: "What if you insist on forcing me?"

Jiu Nian did not respond immediately. He did not understand why Qing Bai, who had always been selfless, would suddenly say such paranoid words at this time.

Although he didn't understand the crux of the matter, he subconsciously felt that there were many deep secrets hidden behind this short question, which made it difficult for him to easily deny it.

But many times, silence is already an answer.

However, miraculously, Qing Bai's originally aching heart suddenly calmed down, his eyes could continue to look straight at Jiu Nian, his voice no longer trembled, and he even had the leisure to pay attention to Qi Xiaopang next to him, who was nervous and a little stiff for some reason.

Qing Bai smiled, but because of the hair on his face, only he knew he was smiling: "Don't worry, I'm unlucky."

If you have bad luck, there is no point in forcing it.

It was clearly a very relaxed sentence, and he should have felt relieved after hearing the deep meaning in it, but Jiu Nian's heart tightened and he blurted out, "I'm sorry..."

After he finished saying this, he was stunned, and couldn't understand why he should say sorry at this time.

So he looked into Qing Bai's eyes, hoping that the other party could help him solve his doubts.

Unfortunately, this gap was not a quiet place for a good conversation. After just a few words, the sky began to darken. Although it did not really get dark in the blink of an eye, the sun in the sky did move westward at an unreasonable speed. As a result, the shadow of the huge locust tree that originally covered the temple hall now covered the houses.

In the dim light, a young monk with stubble on his head walked quickly into the courtyard. Although he tried hard to conceal it with his behavior, the leaves stuck on the back of his collar, the scratches of grass juice on the hem of his clothes, and the mud on the edges of his straw sandals all showed that he had just come from the woods in the mountains.

The young monk bowed to the old monk in the room a little nervously, without saying anything, just shaking his head slowly.

Mr. Tang reacted greatly, supporting himself on the table and suddenly standing up. However, he couldn't hold his ground for a few seconds before falling back down. He glared at the old monk, "Master, what does this mean?"

The old monk sat quietly in the darkness, no emotion visible on his wrinkled face. If Ai Chan was a wooden sculpture when he was meditating and chanting, then the old monk was an old, tangled tree root that had just been dug out of the soil. Even if it was washed clean with water, it still exuded a smell of decay.

The old monk gave the young monk a look and he quickly left. He waited until the young monk had completely left the courtyard before he spoke again, "The monkey is intelligent and can distinguish between good and evil. It won't be easy to capture it overnight. Mr. Tang, please be patient."

Mr. Tang said fiercely, "Please be patient, please be patient. I want to be patient, but I don't have time!"

Perhaps knowing he was overly emotional, Mr. Tang took two deep breaths and suddenly rolled up his sleeves, revealing an arm that was barely skin beneath the cloth and looked three times more fragile than a dead branch. "Thanks to the mage, I was able to survive with flesh and blood, but I don't have much flesh left! Now I'm just... a skeleton covered in skin!"

No wonder, no wonder the Zhongshan suit he wore, although the length and size seemed fine, always gave people a feeling of emptiness. It turned out that it was just a skeleton without the support of flesh and blood.

Qing Bai looked at Old Man Tang carefully, as if trying to see the distribution of his bones beneath his clothes.

Qi Xiaopang took two steps towards Ai Chan and asked softly, "What are they catching monkeys for?"

Ai Chan turned around and saw Fatty Qi tilting his head, looking very curious: "Do you know?"

Before Ai Chan could reply, the old monk spoke first. Although he looked like a human being, he still looked very serious when he put his hands together and made a promise. His slow tone even had a sense of finality: "Don't worry, Mr. Tang. Even if your flesh and blood are exhausted and you breathe your last, as long as your body is still there, I, the monk, will definitely make you open your eyes again."

Mr. Tang lowered his sleeves, not knowing whether to emphasize or threaten, "Of course I believe in you, Master... Times are tough these days, and I'm sure things are tough in the temple too. I just hope our partnership will last forever... After all, your little disciple is so adorable and tender. It would be such a shame if he suffered the hardships of life and became haggard and frail."

The old monk remained unmoved, saying, "It is natural for a monk to endure hardship."

"Master, that's a mistake," Mr. Tang said earnestly. "Although the Buddha says that all living beings suffer, doesn't it also follow that only one can save oneself? If you can make life better for yourself, the people around you, and the younger generation you love, and suffer less, why not do it? Isn't this what we endure all our lives for?"

Qing Bai was a little surprised and said to Ai Chan, "Is he trying to use you to persuade the old monk?"

Ai Chan probably knew this for the first time as he stared at the old monk with an obscure and complicated expression.

The old monk remained silent and motionless.

Mr. Tang sighed and spoke slowly again, "We've known each other for decades. I've always wanted to ask the Master a question, but due to etiquette and considerations, I haven't been able to ask it. Now that life and death are at stake and the future is uncertain, I can't bear it anymore... May I ask how old you are, Master?"

The old monk raised his thin eyelids and stared at Mr. Tang, his cloudy eyes flashing a cold gleam in the dim light.

Mr. Tang pretended not to notice the old monk's expression and continued, "I met the Master several decades ago when I was still in my prime. Back then, the Master looked like an octogenarian. Decades later, I am already quite old, but the Master is still the same as he was then."

He sighed, "Now that I think about it, even if I continue to age like this, even if I become unrecognizable and look like a dove, as long as I don't die, isn't that immortality?"

"But I really never thought that one day, Master, you would also change..." Mr. Tang slowly leaned forward, his eyes blazing at the old monk's bark-like face, then slowly moved down to look at the hands where the knuckles were almost invisible. "You haven't been down the mountain for five years, right? Ever since you led that kid up the mountain, you haven't come down again. Master, do you know what those people down there say? They all say that the old monk on Chu Mountain has died of old age... I was really scared at first, thinking, how could Master be dead?"

"The magician has great powers and can do anything."

After saying that, which sounded like some unorthodox cult slogan, Old Man Tang paused briefly, a strange smile appearing on his sallow face. "But when I saw you again, I found that they were right. You really are going to die of old age."

"You're shorter than before, your back is more hunched, your face is more wrinkled, and most importantly, your eyes are cloudy. You're no different from those old men down the mountain who are just enjoying their grandchildren and waiting to die."

Qing Bai listened for a long time and suddenly didn't understand what this person was trying to express.

Was it a provocation? Or was it simply a final verbal attack?

Mr. Tang’s next words proved that he was neither of the two and that he remained true to his original intention.

"Is it because of the child?" Mr. Tang raised his chin toward the door, the soft skin on his neck stretching and squeezing like toilet paper that had been rubbed on his mouth and then tucked away in his trouser pocket for half a month. "Zhugu, the Tibetan transliteration, is also known as... 'Living Buddha.'"

The old monk finally stopped being silent and said, "What do you want?"

Mr. Tang sat up straight and said in a deep voice, "I don't want to die. I want to live forever."

"What you don't want, I want."

The old monk shook his head: "There is no such thing as immortality in this world. As long as there is life, there will be a day when it dies. It's just a matter of sooner or later."

"Then I would rather die later. Even if I will continue to grow old, my body will shrink, and I will become half-human, half-ghost, I will still choose to die late." Mr. Tang's words were extremely firm and impolite.

Hearing him say this, the old monk sighed and nodded in agreement: "As you wish."

After receiving the promise, Mr. Tang finally calmed down: "Master, don't worry. If I get what I want, I will definitely take care of the temple in the future..."

After a pause, he continued, "Take care of Zhugu."

After hearing this explosive amount of information, Qi Xiaopang suddenly realized, "What is Zhugu... Living Buddha...?"

This question was a bit esoteric. Qing Bai thought about it and decided to go with the official explanation: "Buddha said that there must be living Buddhas. So, after the Party Committee organized a field investigation and widely listened to the opinions of the local people, they held a meeting to conduct in-depth research and discussion, and finally approved it. After meeting the conditions stipulated in the "Regulations on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas" and completing the application and approval procedures, the relevant departments put forward their opinions and reported for approval, and agreed to the reincarnation of the Living Buddha."

Qi Xiaopang: “???”

Qi Xiaopang's face was full of question marks.

Zhugu himself said seriously: "Only those who have been identified through formal procedures can be called 'living Buddhas'. I am not one of them."

There are wild things in love.