Liuli opened her eyes and saw a wide-open view. She stood in an open space. To her right was a lush forest, and to her left were fields of farmland. People were working everywhere in the fields, and the bright sunlight shone on them, reflecting on their sweaty but extremely satisfied faces.
Suddenly arriving here from a real world left her utterly bewildered. She looked around blankly for a while, finally fixing her gaze on a path through the farmland. There, she saw a gray-robed monk talking to two hunters. As Liuli looked over, she saw him hand his alms bowl to one of the hunters, in exchange for a white fox tightly bound in a net.
This scene overlapped with her memory, the most profound image deep within her mind. However, what bewildered her was that she couldn't describe how she felt about this memory. She was stunned for a while, barely managing to discern the complex emotions surging into her heart at this moment, which seemed to include remembrance, gratitude, and a trace of reverence and dependence on the monk in the distance.
Liuli stared blankly at the scene in the distance, gradually forgetting the prayer wheels in the Bodhi forest, forgetting everything outside, and instead immersing herself completely in the world before her, forgetting everything else.
She took a step and slowly walked over.
Liuli approached the gray-robed monk, who was untying the net and releasing a snow-white fox. The fox raised its head, its two black gem-like eyes fixed on him.
"I see that you have some spiritual potential. You may one day cultivate into a demon. If you remember how I saved you when that time comes, remember never to harm living beings and to have a kind heart. Is that alright?"
His face was gentle and kind, his eyes were warm and gentle, and the smile on his lips was so warm that it was even warmer than the summer sun.
Just looking at his smile, Liuli's heart, which was as cold as an iceberg, suddenly showed signs of melting a little.
Before she knew it, tears streamed down Liuli's face. She choked out, calling out, "The...the monk..."
Perhaps hearing Liuli's call, the gray-robed monk suddenly turned to look at her. He remained squatting on the ground, looking up at her, his eyes narrowed, and then he suddenly smiled brightly.
Looking at his radiant smile, Liuli's tears flowed even more freely, like pearls from a broken string sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto her chin.
“Monk Jiawu…” Liuli wanted to thank him, but her voice choked and she couldn’t speak. She looked down at him and sobbed for a long time. When she felt that she could barely speak, she gently opened her lips, but before she could make a sound, the gray-robed monk and the obedient white fox sitting on the ground suddenly disappeared. In the blink of an eye, the scene in front of Liuli changed again.
"Monk Jiawu!" Liuli exclaimed in surprise. She reached out as if to grab something, but only managed to grasp a few specks of golden light.
“Eee-ya… um…”
Just then, a child's indistinct voice came from the side. Liuli withdrew her hand and turned to look. She saw a woman in white holding a swaddled baby in her arms in the distance, separated by tree trunks. The woman was speaking softly, "Who are you? Do you know why they threw you here? They are so cruel. Aren't they afraid you will be eaten by wild animals?"
The child was humming something, as if answering her.
Liuli turned around, stopped crying, and walked slowly over with a bewildered expression. She came to the woman in white, and saw that the woman looked down at the baby in the swaddling clothes with genuine affection and tenderness.
Liuli followed the white-clad woman's gaze to the infant in the swaddling clothes. She saw that the infant's chubby little face had bright and spirited eyes, which contained a hint of vicissitude and wisdom. Such an expression should not appear in the eyes of a child.
Liuli tilted her head and slowly reached out to touch the child's chubby little face. She could even imagine the temperature on his cheeks, which must be extremely warm.
Liuli's slender, fair hands trembled slightly as she was about to touch the child's face when suddenly, the woman in white turned and left.
She skipped and hopped forward, saying thoughtfully as she ran, "Let me give you a name first... um... how about... how about Bai Ling, like the lark in the tree!"
"Bailing..." Liuli began, her voice trembling, staring blankly at the white-clad woman's retreating figure. Tears, which had just stopped, welled up again, wetting her cheeks. "My Bailing..."
Suddenly, Liuli moved, leaping into the air and rushing towards the white-clad woman who was walking further and further away. She was extremely fast and quickly caught up with the white-clad woman. At this point, she slowed down and walked forward with the woman while turning her head to look at the woman's small face.
The face was so familiar; it was her own. But the expression on that face was so unfamiliar—innocent yet cunning, playful yet adorable, as if she had no worries at all, looking so carefree.
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