Chapter 83 Fate
Fate is perfect?
Qing Bai recalled what he had said when he had explained to him the issue of becoming a spirit nine years ago: spirits are another form of life. To break through that illusory boundary, one needs not only talent, understanding, timing, location, but also fate.
Now it seems that the Monkey King’s fate is only enough to open his intelligence, but the little monkey has accidentally crossed that illusory boundary.
Thinking of the little monkey's fluent human speech, Qing Bai seemed to understand the opportunity of this fate: "Because of those two old men?"
The monkey in question understood the changes in himself best. As soon as the wind blew away the ashes, the little monkey jumped happily on the spot. The Monkey King and the Sad Cicada looked at it with the same "kindness" in their eyes. Only Jiunian cared about Qing Bai's problem... and at most Qi Xiaopang, who was always keeping an eye on everything.
Although Qing Bai's words were brief and somewhat confusing if considered seriously, Jiu Nian understood his meaning: "Yes. Although Buddhism always advocates the equality of all beings, human and animal lives are never equal, whether in the human world or the underworld. Except for a few rare beasts, a hundred wild beasts might not even extend a person's life span by a year."
Qing Bai could understand this. After all, both Buddhism and Taoism had a similar classification of "animal realm" in their descriptions of the reincarnation world after death.
"But this little monkey's life extended Old Man Tang's life by more than ten years."
Qing Bai: "Because it has gained intelligence?"
Nine years: "Because of his destined opportunity."
Qing Bai seemed to understand, "So what Old Man Tang has been extending over the years isn't actually the little monkey's life as a monkey, but the opportunity for the little monkey to become a demon?"
Jiu Nian nodded. He looked at the little monkey jumping excitedly and said with a hint of emotion, "Ordinary beasts are different from spiritual beasts. Without opportunity, even if you reincarnate thousands of times, you will only be a dull beast."
"Although it's a bit...but his ability to speak and think fluently is indeed thanks to those two."
Qing Bai looked at the shattered clay shell on the altar, then recalled the Monkey King's immortal family that Chu Shan Ai Chan had described to them. He understood, "They built a temple and a statue for it. Although their original intention was to seal and imprison it, they also inadvertently provided a place for the little monkey's soul to rest..."
"And there's incense." Jiunian pointed to the crippled red clay incense burner outside the door. "Humans are the chief of all spirits. Their prayers and incense are a great tonic for all things possessed by ghosts and spirits. Furthermore, extending one's life by another is essentially forcibly weaving an unrelated life into another. To avoid detection by the underworld, the ghost of the one whose life was stolen must be properly 'placed' in the human world after death. Most of the time, this is done by suppressing or dispersing the soul. Building a temple and statue like this is considered a mild measure. Furthermore, one of the beings is an intelligent beast. After its life was extended by a human, the bones and soul hidden in the clay statue will inevitably be imbued with the human's spiritual energy. If we continue to worship like this for years and months, perhaps in a few decades we can truly worship a 'Monkey King' or wild mountain deity."
"Although the time is not right now, with the blessing of the string of bone beads to reshape the monkey bones, its future path of cultivation will be much smoother."
After listening to what Jiu Nian said, Qing Bai felt a little sad. Is this what they call misfortune and fortune are interdependent?
If it weren't for the evil things done by Old Man Tang and the old monk, the little monkey might still be busy trying to survive in the mountains and forests, waiting for the fate that would come at an unknown time. Or is this life-extending tragedy its fate?
Thinking of this, Qing Bai felt a little uneasy: "...So those two old men are its destined ones?"
Does it still make sense? The monkey killer turned into a grandfather who gave away opportunities?
Jiu Nian knew what Qing Bai was thinking the moment he saw his eyes. His heart softened immediately, and he thought to himself that even if he usually appeared cold and rational, he was still a child after all...
Jiu Nian was just about to comfort the indignant little cub in his arms when he heard him say, "Even beasts with spiritual intelligence and good fortune can extend a person's lifespan by over ten years, so what about a spiritual beast like me?"
Jiu Nian was stunned, not understanding why he would ask such a question: "What?"
After a moment of silence, Qing Bai said something even more blunt: "How many years of life can I extend for others?"
Jiu Nian frowned, thinking Qing Bai was uneasy, and assured him solemnly: "Don't worry, I'm here, no one in the world can use you to prolong his life."
Wow, what a reliable guardian statement.
Qing Bai sighed and said softly, "I just wanted to... Never mind, the time will never come again."
Jiu Nian lifted Qing Bai up with one hand and met his gaze. His handsome face, white as cold jade, was rarely so cold and solemn. He stared into Qing Bai's eyes. The gentle and indifferent eyes in his human form now shone with a frightening golden light. He said in a deep voice, "Don't think about it."
“…”
Qing Bai felt a little uncomfortable being stared at, and turned his head to try to avoid Jiu Nian's gaze. However, the fingers supporting the back of his neck did not need to use much force, they just lightly clamped the sides of Qing Bai's head to easily hold him in place.
Qing Baidi didn't know how many times he had disliked this little cat body.
Holding the idea of losing the battle but not the battle, Qing Bai pretended to be relaxed and joked: "Master Jiunian is really domineering."
Jiunian, who was always considerate and gentle, did not go down the stairs this time. His expression showed no sign of relaxation, but he still changed his words to a slightly gentler one: "Don't ever have such thoughts."
"Why?" Qing Bai was really curious.
Jiu Nian tapped Qing Bai's head with his finger and asked instead of answering, "Who do you want to give the inheritance to?"
"..." Qing Bai looked at the familiar face so close in front of him, his eyes wandering, not knowing whether he should say it or how to say it.
Jiu Nian was still the considerate and gentle Jiu Nian after all, and he wouldn't resort to torture to extract a confession. He loosened his fingers, his expression softened, and said softly, "I'll answer your questions when you're willing to speak."
Are you trying to exchange questions with him?
Qing Bai had been holding a grudge in his heart for many years, hurting his body and heart. He had always thought that he would continue to hold this grudge for his entire life, until the last moment of his life when he faced death, and then he would sigh... Who would have thought that fate was so fickle and his life as a human being was so short.
Since he is now living as Lingxi, and this person insists on asking, then... it's not that he can't tell him.
"Ex-boyfriend."
Jiunian blinked slowly, looking even more stunned than before: "...What?"
Qing Bai said in a cold tone: "I said, I once thought about giving my short-lived ex-boyfriend a second chance."
Wow, three emphasises in such a short sentence. I couldn’t tell what the main point was, I could only hear Qing Bai’s gnashing of teeth.
"..." He was in a daze for nine years, not knowing what he was thinking. The golden light belonging to the spirit beast's eyes deep in his pupils could no longer be suppressed, and black and gold kept alternating, like a colorful lantern with unstable voltage.
Qing Bai, who had been face to face with Jiu Nian, was caught off guard, as if he had accidentally entered a treasure gold mine, or accidentally unearthed a glittering golden legend.
Qing Bai narrowed his eyes and looked at the people. "Of course, I'm talking about the past, a few years ago. At that time, I was still an ordinary human... or at least I looked ordinary human. I had no hair on my body, no horns on my forehead, and I was unlucky. The masters I found were all fake half-immortals or real charlatans. They were not very capable and only cheated people out of money, not their lives..."
Qing Bai chattered on and on for a long time before Jiu Nian finally came back to his senses. His eyes settled back to a clear, light black. He held Qing Bai in his arms, his expression very serious, his tone full of earnestness. He said, "You're still young..."
“???” What’s with this feeling of déjà vu of a kind teacher painstakingly persuading a student who is in a premature love relationship?
Qing Bai felt that this development was not right and interrupted, "I'm not a child anymore. I've been an adult for several years."
He didn't speak for nine years, and just looked at Qing Bai with gentle eyes that were a little distressed and worried.
"..." Qing Bai looked away, "Don't look at me like that, and don't use the age scale of spirit beasts to make your point. Compared to you, all the humans in this world are just cubs."
Jiu Nian shook his head, disagreeing with Qing Bai's words, but Qing Bai didn't notice and continued, "Okay, I've said it, now it's your turn to answer my question. Lord Jiu Nian, you wouldn't go back on your word, would you?"
Jiu Nian was silent for a moment, then whispered, "Spiritual beasts can prolong more than just human lives."
"Can the monster's be continued?" Qing Bai nodded in self-assurance, "That's quite impressive."
Nine Years: "...Yeah, very impressive."
Not only monsters, but even a country or a dynasty... as long as it has something to do with 'fate' or 'luck', it can be continued.
Qing Bai looked at his claws and sighed, "As powerful as he is, he's also being remembered."
Humans, with their limited lifespans, are so desperate to prolong their lives, but at least their lethality is limited. But those monsters, especially the great monsters who have lived for countless years and whose abilities are unknown, if they suddenly want to catch a young spirit beast to prolong their lives when they are about to die...
Jiu Nian suddenly felt a lot of anxiety in his heart. Perhaps the time he spent guarding Lingxi should be extended. Adulthood didn't mean anything... At least he had to wait until he was strong enough that no one in the world dared to covet and plot against him, and his mind was mature and firm and not moved by meaningless emotions or external things.
Qi Xiaopang suddenly broke the two people's deep thoughts: "Brother Qing, Brother Qing, hurry up!"
"...What's the hurry?"
Qi Xiaopang reminded: "Takeout! Takeout! The cicadas have finished their fight, let's hurry up! Deliver the peaches to the Monkey King and we'll be done!"
"Oh." Qing Bai was not in a very good mood when he suddenly found out that he was a popular target, but he didn't want to come here in vain.
So, the moody Qing Bai slowly snatched the cleanly wiped peach from Jiu Nian's hand, carefully positioned it, and then kicked it hard in the direction of the Monkey King and his mother - "Little monkey, catch it."
Although the peach came unexpectedly, fortunately, the little monkey was still as skilled as ever even after being imprisoned for more than ten years. Almost at the moment Qing Bai spoke, it reached back and caught the peach flying towards it accurately.
However, Fatty Qi had no time to admire its agile and nimble figure. He anxiously shouted, "Brother Qing, you sent the wrong monkey! It's the Monkey King! Monkey King!"
“???” The little monkey holding the peach tilted his head in confusion.
After kicking the peach, Qingbai leaned back against Jiunian's chest and said slowly, "It's the Monkey King."
Qi Xiaopang noticed that his brother Qing seemed to be in a slightly off mood. He was anxious but had to force himself to be patient. He carefully suggested: "How about... you take another look?"
Qing Bai glanced at it politely. "The Monkey King mentioned on the takeaway is the 'immortal' Monkey King, who enjoys incense and offerings. So these peaches that have come all the way from Shangjing should naturally be given to the little monkey who has a temple, a statue, and incense. Don't you think so... Aichan?"
Sad cicada: “…” Sad cicada smiled bitterly without saying a word.
Qi Xiaopang: “…” We are all family, so there is no need to add the prefix “from a long way away” to the wild peaches that were just picked from the altar…right?
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