Chapter 399 So it turns out that heaven and earth are but mayflies
At that moment, Shang Ruyi almost suffocated.
Although she didn't see anything frightening, on the contrary, when she looked up, she met a pair of clear and beautiful eyes.
These eyes were clear and bright, with a distant gaze. Even though we were looking at each other so close, it felt as if we were being watched by a pair of ethereal eyes that seemed to part the clouds from the heavens and peer into the human world.
Almost instantly, Shang Ruyi didn't even know where she was.
She stared blankly into those eyes.
Then, look at the owner of those eyes—
This was a young man dressed in a snow-white monk's robe. He was tall and slender, but because of his thin frame, the layers of robe did not look heavy or cumbersome on him. Instead, they gave him a sense of elegance. Especially when the wind blew, his robe fluttered in the wind, like white clouds drifting freely.
This person is the one from Yanyue City!
Although he still covered most of his face with a snow-white headscarf, revealing only his clear and bright eyes, Shang Ruyi recognized him at a glance as the white-robed monk who had watched her give rice at the temple gate in Yanyue City, but who had disappeared in the blink of an eye!
Although it was only a brief encounter, and because he disappeared so quickly, Shang Ruyi even doubted that the glance was just her imagination. But for some reason, that image was deeply etched into her mind.
So at this moment, it was recognized at a glance.
At this moment, he was dressed almost exactly the same as before, except that he now had a string of Buddhist prayer beads on his chest and a string of prayer beads hanging from the base of one hand.
Clearly, he had just attended a Dharma assembly.
For some reason, even Jiang Yu came to Dayan Temple to participate in the Dharma assembly. It was not surprising that other monks would come as well. However, when Shang Ruyi saw him, she felt a strange sensation, as if he shouldn't be here. At this moment, the white-robed monk, who was holding the door with both hands, unsure whether to go in or out, stopped inside the door the moment his eyes met hers, remaining motionless. This made her feel even stranger.
Almost instinctively, Shang Ruyi asked, "Who are you?"
"..."
Upon hearing this question, the white-robed monk's eyes curved slightly.
He was clearly laughing.
It was as if he had heard a funny joke, or perhaps he just found it amusing that someone who had suddenly barged in asked such a question. But he didn't answer. Instead, he slowly lowered his hands from the door and looked down at Shang Ruyi.
Those eyes, seemingly detached from the world and peering through the clouds, were pulled back to the human realm by this question.
He looked at Shang Ruyi quietly.
And Shang Ruyi also noticed for the first time that this person's eyes were somewhat grayish.
Ordinary people's eyes only become cloudy and grayish in old age, but he was clearly a young man, and his eyes were clear and bright, definitely not those of an old man; yet his pupils had a strange gray tint, which made his eyes appear even more transparent. It was precisely because of this that when he looked at someone, his transparent eyes had an eerie penetrating power, as if they could see right through a person's soul.
When Shang Ruyi was looked at by those eyes, her soul couldn't help but tremble.
She instinctively took a step back.
But as she stepped back, the white-robed monk spoke. The veil covering the lower half of his face fluttered slightly, and a deep, calm voice emanated from it—
And who are you?
Shang Ruyi frowned slightly.
This is not surprising. I barged in suddenly and then asked someone a question. It's normal for others to ask me the same question in return.
But for some reason, looking into his calm eyes and listening to his calm voice, Shang Ruyi always had the feeling that he knew everything but was deliberately asking questions to confront her.
Although, for the time being, this issue cannot be considered a head-on confrontation.
His attitude was not harsh.
Even after asking the question, the white-robed monk smiled at her, then turned and walked into the Buddhist hall.
Therefore, he doesn't really want his own answer.
But precisely because of this, the vague unease in Shang Ruyi's heart became even more abrupt, as if there was a bottomless abyss in front of her. She knew that taking a step forward might result in her being shattered to pieces, but this abyss had a captivating magic that made people keep exploring forward until they were completely destroyed.
She gritted her teeth and followed him inside.
She said, "I asked you first."
The white-robed monk took a few steps inside, and just as he reached the center of the Buddhist hall, in front of the incense table facing the Buddha niche, he heard these words and stopped. He did not turn around immediately, but stood silently for a while.
After a while, Shang Ruyi saw him raise his hand and place a string of prayer beads on the incense table.
Then he said, "The clouds disperse and the fog clears, illuminating the entire land."
"..."
Shang Ruyi frowned again.
This is--
Before she could explain the sentence in detail, the man lowered his head slightly and slowly took off the string of Buddhist beads hanging around his neck, chanting, "I see white hair but no living beings."
"..."
This time, Shang Ruyi understood.
This is a verse.
He not only participated in this Dharma assembly at Dayan Temple, but also just came from the inner altar assembly.
Thinking of this, her heart suddenly started pounding, as if it would burst out of her chest. But to suppress this violent beating, she calmed herself down, even standing stiffly at the door, focusing all her senses on her eyes and ears, watching and listening to everything.
She watched as the man removed his possessions, then slowly turned around. His grayish-blue eyes fixed on her, as if he had made up his mind about something at that moment. He raised a large, soft, white hand, reached behind his ear, and gently removed his headscarf.
A tuft of black hair, however, had fallen from the headscarf even earlier than anything else.
Shang Ruyi's eyes widened in surprise!
That's when she realized that this person wasn't a monk at all!
He had long hair, which was wrapped in a white headscarf, making it difficult to distinguish between a monk and a layman. His long hair was as black as jade, and when it cascaded down, it was as if the pitch-black night of heaven and earth had turned into ink and flowed into the world. He only tied his long hair in the middle with a white ribbon, and the hair fell softly to his arm, with thousands of strands intertwined, as if to prevent the pitch-black night from spreading to the whole world.
At this moment, Shang Ruyi felt as if she was also entangled by something, and even breathing became difficult.
But the person before him remained calm and composed, and with a clear and gentle voice slowly recited the third line: "Step by step, one pace leads to the imperial palace."
"..."
Shang Ruyi's breath caught in her throat.
She opened her eyes wide and watched as the snow-white headscarf, like a wisp of ethereal white cloud, was suddenly blown away by a gust of wind behind her, revealing an unfamiliar face.
Although it was a stranger, the moment Shang Ruyi saw this face, she suddenly had a strange feeling. It was as if, in that instant, all her past dreams, whether beautiful or terrifying, whether they captivated her or suffocated her, and even those bloody nightmares, were all just countless illusory images. And these illusory images combined in that instant, transforming into a heavy, sudden reality.
And reality is this face right in front of you.
A face that can be described in just four words, and only these four words can describe such a face—
He was exceptionally handsome.
With well-groomed eyebrows and bright eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin, yet sharply defined lips that naturally possess a slight smile, that smile seems to mock the foolishness of the world, yet also carries boundless pity.
It was as if a single glance from him could bring spring to this cold and cruel world, and make it a place of lasting happiness.
Yet, just as he could glance at this beautiful world, he could also turn it into a battlefield of endless war.
This contradictory feeling added a touch of mystery to his handsome appearance, shrouded in mist and clouds. Even though he recited "the clouds disperse and the mist clears," his true nature seemed to remain hidden deep within the clouds and mist, thousands of miles away.
Then, Shang Ruyi heard the handsome man recite the last line to her.
"It turns out that we are all mayflies in the universe."
So it turns out we are all just mayflies in the universe...
Therefore, he used this verse to answer his own question.
Is he just a mayfly in the universe?
But who would answer a person's question with such a verse? In this world, who isn't just a tiny mayfly?
His answer seemed more like a test for himself.
Shang Ruyi frowned, looking at the handsome face in front of her that was beyond description. She felt that this person was full of mystery and contradictions. His eyes should be very gentle, but there was a sense of alienation in the depths of his eyes. He should be very compassionate, but there was a kind of indifference to the world in his bones.
He should be a Buddha, but he seems to be a demon.
Who exactly is he?
Who exactly is he?!
Shang Ruyi's heart was pounding, but she clenched her hands tightly, the veins on the back of her hands bulging, as if she wanted to shatter something. And the truth was behind that broken heartbeat!
After answering the verse, this person remained calm and composed, looking down at Shang Ruyi with his clear, gray eyes, then slightly raising them.
It seems to be saying—
Your turn.
He was indeed testing himself.
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath and released her hands, which had been clenched so tightly that her fingers were almost cramping. She then realized that her palms were covered in cold sweat. When the wind blew, the chilling sensation pierced her heart from her palms, but it calmed her down instantly.
She gazed into those clear, bright eyes and softly said, "A question to the green mountains, a question to the waters; mountains and waters are only fit to distinguish north from south."
Upon hearing these two seemingly ordinary lines of poetry, which appeared to conceal turbulent undercurrents beneath a calm surface, the man narrowed his eyes slightly, and the corners of his gently pursed lips seemed to curve into a slight smile.
Shang Ruyi had already walked past him, reached the incense table, and picked up a string of prayer beads that he had placed there.
The prayer beads are round and smooth, clearly having been handled countless times over the long years, and must have experienced many knots and complexities to achieve this current tranquility.
Shang Ruyi gently twirled the prayer beads, murmuring, "Recite the scriptures thousands of times,"
Then, she heard the sound of clothes fluttering behind her. The person had walked up behind her and was looking down at her.
Shang Ruyi twirled the prayer beads, turning one after another, until her heart, which had been pounding since she first saw this person, finally calmed down. Only then did she turn around and look into the man's clear, bluish-gray eyes.
He said, word by word, "So I didn't know who the right person was."
Those bluish-gray eyes suddenly jolted.
Shang Ruyi said, "You are—"
Just as her voice was uttered, before it had even fully formed, a somewhat heavy voice came from the entrance of the Buddhist hall.
"Big brother...?"
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