Yikong is right, but so what?
I am in this world and will grow old with you.
If I don’t enter the world of mortals, how can I win your favor?
Fate and destiny in this world are truly unpredictable. Not long after he started traveling with her, he lost a relic. It seemed that the power that always accompanied him had weakened somewhat, which caused him to feel these inappropriate emotions.
"Probably around the time I lost that relic." He casually picked up the scroll beside him and stared at the twisted and complex words on it. He seemed to recall a familiar scene. "But I always feel like I've seen her a long, long time ago."
There was no surprise on Yikong's face, as if he had already expected him to say this.
"Your mother's family is truly special. It's no surprise that you often feel this way."
Su Wei looked at Yikong calmly, and there was a hint of coldness in his tone.
"I never mentioned my mother to you."
Yikong paused, picked up the teacup in his hand, and poured it onto the red-hot charcoal fire.
Steam hissed and rose, blurring the faces of the two people.
"Young Master, don't worry too much. Yikong was taught by Master Wushan, who loved to travel. I can't say I'm well-informed, but I do have a special liking for strange and unusual things. Besides, with your current status, how could Yikong possibly challenge you in the slightest?"
Su Wei didn't respond, and Yikong tacitly agreed not to mention it again. He took out the ancient yet familiar scripture, placed the demon-subduing pestle beside him as usual, and began a lengthy chant.
I don’t know how long it took, but the east was already slightly white, and the faint shadow of the moon was gradually disappearing.
The icicles under the eaves of the main hall of Yongye Temple loosened due to the rising temperature and suddenly fell to the ground and shattered.
Yikong's voice finally stopped, and Su Wei opened his eyes and looked outside the hall.
"The icicles under the eaves need to be cleared away promptly, otherwise they could easily cause injuries."
Yikong's hand brushed across the demon-subduing pestle, and then put it into the scripture.
"Sir, you are absolutely right. Everyone understands this principle, but when it happens to us, we always have a sense of luck."
Su Wei of course knew what the other party meant, and his slightly drooped eyelashes trembled slightly.
"I tried my best to stay away from her before I came to see you."
Yikong smiled, but did not give in in his words.
"After coming to see me, I hope you will do your best to stay away from her."
Su Wei remained silent for a long time before standing up. The exquisitely embroidered and luxuriously woven outer garment he was wearing had a deep wrinkle from sitting cross-legged all night, and it looked like it would be impossible to smooth out easily.
He stared at the wrinkle and suddenly asked, "I've heard that Master Yikong is well versed in Buddhism and is even more familiar with Buddhist terminology. I wonder if you've ever heard of the word 'puhuna'?"
Yikong pondered for a moment before slowly uttering a word: "Puhushana." After a pause, he continued to explain, "The word you mentioned, sir, should be Puhushana, which means 'the appearance of all living beings' in Sanskrit."
"From what you see, is there any deeper meaning?"
"The Dharmakaya is entangled in afflictions, and cycles through birth and death, hence the name of sentient beings. What we humans cannot grasp, we understand, and this is called the sentient being aspect. You and I are both sentient beings. You ask me questions, and I answer with the heavens and the earth; this is the sentient being aspect."
The man's figure suddenly came closer, and the butter lamp cast his shadow on Yikong's shoulders, which looked heavy as if they were wet.
"You know, is that really all there is?"
Yikong didn't look up, but put his hands together in front of his chest.
"These few words are indeed merely Buddhist terms to me. I have not learned the rest either, so how dare I speak nonsense?"
After a long while, there was still no response from the man. Yikong slowly raised his head and found that the man had already left. He was the only one left in the hall.
He stood alone among the oil lamp Buddha statues for a long time until the little monk named Zhuyu came to the temple again.
"Master, they have already left the mountain gate."
Yikong nodded: "I understand."
Zhuyu was exhausted from keeping watch, and thinking back to what had just happened, he felt a little angry: "Master, are those two really from the Prime Minister's residence? They came to my house in the middle of the night and were so rude, causing Master to recite scriptures until late at night..."
"If you're mad at yourself for not getting enough sleep, I'll just tell Ping'er to do it next time." Yikong bluntly exposed the young monk's thoughts. Before he could even begin to feel ashamed and reflect on himself, he suddenly asked, "Have you heard the story of a dragon turning into a carp in a pond?"
Candlefish shook his head blankly.
"Carp yearn to transform into dragons because, despite their yearning, they don't understand the true power of dragons. Conversely, if a young dragon were born in a lotus pond, surrounded by carp all day, it wouldn't know its true form could overturn the heavens and earth. Our job is to leave the waters alone. Only in this way can we maintain the lotus pond's tranquility."
Zhuyu was confused and felt even more troubled.
He could only secretly wonder, the identities of those two people must be unusually noble. His master didn't want to offend him, so he found so many excuses to lecture him on those profound principles.
"Master's teachings, Candle Fish will always remember them in my heart."
He agreed absentmindedly, just wanting to go back to sleep quickly.
Yikong glanced at him and felt that sleepiness was already dancing on his head, so he waved his hand.
"Go back to your room. Before you go to bed, remember to instruct everyone that the doors of the main hall must not be opened before noon tomorrow."
Zhuyu was a little confused as to what his master was still busy with after tossing and turning all night, but sleepiness finally got the better of him. He pulled himself together, bowed, and staggered back.
Yikong stood alone in the middle of the empty hall. After a long time, he lifted the prayer flag and walked toward the back of the hall.
Behind the Buddha statue in the center of the main hall stands an inconspicuous small niche. There is no plaque or seat in the niche, only a small copper bowl. The edge of the bowl has been polished to a shine, but the inside has a layer of verdigris, which shows that no one has touched it for many years.
"Master, what you worried about has finally happened."
He lit a stick of incense with a fire stick, but did not light a lamp. He just stared at the void ahead in the darkness.
"Everyone says that those who practice cultivation should not have prejudices. Now it seems that my cultivation is still not enough."
The young monk knelt slowly, his body like a pine or cypress tree fallen in front of a tomb.
"I have acted on my own initiative, violating your wishes. Consider this the ray of hope I have sought for the common people. I wish to be exiled from the Buddhist sect in this lifetime, my soul never to return to heaven and earth, to atone for the karma I have wrought against him."
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