Chapter 67: Little Eight of the Hua Family

Jiangnan.

A young man with polite manners, handsome and refined, wound his way up the bluestone steps and arrived outside an elegant and secluded small building.

One could see the vermilion-lacquered door was half-closed, and a few peach branches poked obliquely out over the wall, with fine raindrops condensed on the petals, as if they were tears not yet wiped from a beauty's cheek.

The handsome young man entered the door with ease. The fragrance of the courtyard rushed into his eyes; the gnarled peach branches slanted across, screening the daylight into patches of pink clouds, and the petals that fell on the blue brick floor had accumulated half a finger thick, as if stepping on clouds when walked upon.

As soon as the servants in the building saw the handsome young man, they hurriedly called out "Seventh Young Master." He waved his hand and walked elegantly and calmly toward the hexagonal pavilion by the pond in the courtyard.

Inside the hexagonal pavilion, a red-clothed youth with a lazy expression lay leisurely on a long chair.

He was fifteen or sixteen years old, his face fair, as if carved from white jade, handsome and peerless, his appearance was peerless, his bearing outstanding; he possessed a peerless charm that, although he was a man, surpassed countless women in the world.

What was regrettable was that the red-clothed youth with peerless beauty not only had a black silk ribbon covering his eyes but also had long white hair that could reach the ground, which could not help but give rise to a feeling of regret that white jade had a slight flaw.

"Little Eight, every time I come to your residence, I feel that I should be like you and move out to live earlier. Now I have finally made up my mind and plan to build a small building near you."

Facing the courtyard full of peach blossoms, the handsome young man looked toward a most lush peach tree with eyes that had no light or focus, a warm smile appearing on his face:

"I don't know why, but I just feel that the wonderful vitality of the flower buds slowly opening in the spring breeze here is much stronger than what I feel elsewhere."

The red-clothed youth spoke lazily:

"Hua Qitong, logically speaking, with your keen perception of nature, opening the 'Heavenly Eye' and 'Heavenly Ear' mentioned in Buddhism and Daoism should not be a problem. Why is it that you just can't do it?"

"Perhaps I was blinded postnatally, while you were blinded congenitally." Hua Manlou turned back and smiled lightly:

"To use your words, it is that Heaven closed a door for you, but it must have opened a window, so that misfortune and fortune depend on each other, making your hearing, Little Eight, different from everyone else in the world, close to the 'Heavenly Ear Ability' mentioned in Buddhism."

He did not forget to add a sentence at the end:

"Also, you should call me Seventh Brother; don't forget you are several years younger than me."

"Oh, is that so?" Zhuang Buran said nonchalantly:

"Hua Qitong, twenty-three years old this year, only now willing to move out of the house. You must be enjoying others letting you have your way everywhere and helping you all the time."

"From this, doesn't it show that you are still a child who hasn't grown up? Isn't calling you 'Qitong' just right?"

Hua Manlou smiled and shook his head:

"You know clearly that I am unwilling to let them worry, which is why I couldn't bear to propose moving out."

"After all, there is already one son who makes them worry often; if there were one more, it would be somewhat cruel."

The red-clothed youth said slowly and methodically:

"With your kind and benevolent Bodhisattva heart, I think that if you cannot attain Buddhahood after you die, it must be that those immortals and Buddhas are too blind."

"Hahaha, I accept your auspicious words."

Hua Manlou laughed very heartily, his whole person completely relaxed, and he smiled:

"If I attain Buddhahood, I will definitely not forget to bring you along. There is a saying that is very reasonable, called 'the chicken and dog ascend to heaven'."

The red-clothed youth was silent for a long time, then said:

"Hua Qitong, you have learned to be bad."

"You taught me," Hua Manlou replied gently.

Zhuang Buran sneered:

"You even learned to wrong people. Ever since you met a guy with four eyebrows, I have increasingly understood what is meant by 'near vermilion, one gets red; near ink, one gets black'."

"I just came to your place and occasionally talked about him, and you actually determined that he is ink, not vermilion." Hua Manlou could not help but laugh.

The red-clothed youth asked back with slight surprise:

"A person who is naturally romantic and loves to meddle in other people's business—if he isn't ink, what is he?"

"You, just like before, are a person who doesn't care about anything in the world and is even lazier to pay attention to it." Hua Manlou sighed:

"Little Eight, the person who truly possesses Buddha-nature is you. No wonder you don't need to realize it yourself to have the Buddhist Heavenly Ear Ability."

"You once said that my temperament is 'I see the green mountains as charming, and I expect the green mountains to see me the same way.' In my view, you have realized and insighted the Heavenly Dao."

"You know deeply that everyone has their own encounters, and you are never willing to intervene too much. Therefore, you know the ways of the world but are not worldly, and you have family affection but do not rely on it."

When he said this, a trace of regret appeared on his face:

"In your eyes, all living beings are equal; you see no difference between officials and commoners, no difference between poor and rich, no difference between crying and joy, no difference between body and mind. You allow everything to happen and allow all things to be as they are."

"Sure enough, a blind person must be hundreds or thousands of times keener than a normal person with keen ears and bright eyes." A lazy smile appeared on the red-clothed youth's mouth:

"Respecting other people's fate, letting go of the obsession to help others, and avoiding self-moving—this has always been my favorite style of conduct."

Hua Manlou laughed and said:

"So, you and Lu Xiaofeng are two extremes, so naturally you think he is ink."

"It seems you think he is vermilion." The red-clothed youth was indifferent:

"Hua Qitong, since you already know my temperament, don't bother me with those trivial matters in the future when you live near me."

"Hahaha, I ask myself that my martial arts are not bad, so I shouldn't bother you with trivial matters. And with your age, having practiced martial arts for only a few years, even if I told you about trivial matters, I fear you would be powerless to do anything about them." A shallow and faint smile appeared on Hua Manlou's face.

"Exactly. I was born with an eye disease and have been weak and sickly since I was young. I only gradually recovered at seven or eight. I didn't expect that just after recovering, I would get a strange disease, aging before my time, and at twelve or thirteen, I actually had a head of white hair."

Zhuang Buran said slowly:

"And now I live alone in a small building, just to muddle along and wait for death, so I am powerless to do anything about the various things in the world."

After hearing this, Hua Manlou, who had always been generous and kind, did not show any sorrow on his face.

This was only because after his youngest brother developed a strange disease, the family had invited countless famous doctors, but they all said he was as strong as an ox, very healthy, and even born with copper tendons and iron ribs, possessing divine strength.

"If I remember correctly, you have good martial arts that combine internal and external cultivation."

"Can't compare to the 'Flowing Cloud Flying Sleeves' that everyone praises for Hua Family Seventh Brother." The red-clothed youth looked as if he was sighing at his own inferiority.

Hua Manlou really didn't know what to say about his youngest brother's lazy posture, so he said:

"My small building hasn't been built yet, so for this period of time, I will stay at your place first."

"The room you live in has always been there; why ask me?" Zhuang Buran picked up the teacup beside him, took a sip, and said:

"I am a rice worm of the Hua family; what qualifications do I have to stop you from coming in to live?"

"A good 'rice worm of the Hua family,' coincidentally, I am one too."

Hua Manlou sat down with a smile, picked up the teapot like a normal person, and poured himself a cup of tea.

In the evening, in a bedroom.

Zhuang Buran took off the black silk ribbon covering his eyes, revealing a pair of terrifying eyes that were only white, with no pupils.

"It's not easy to have a good family background, but I carry some kind of congenital disease, and the 'True-Returning Map' has started to function normally again."

The red-clothed youth lay on the bed, his mind immersed deep in his brow, where he saw a misty and illusory half-body Arhat statue.

"Killing to protect life, cutting karma is not cutting people. You have already returned the Heavenly Ear Ability; I hope you do not forget your original intention and attain the Bodhisattva fruit."

A layer of faint, fluorescent white light gradually appeared in Zhuang Buran's pale, colorless eyes, and he thought:

"I have become a mentally disabled person with spirituality. Once Zhuang is blind, he is presented with the ability to listen to the sounds of mountains, rivers, grass, and trees, perceive the subtle changes of all things in the world, and hear all sounds to distinguish good from evil."

"It looks a bit flashy but useless. Returning to the 'Nisheng Triple' will naturally allow me to construct eyes and restore light."

He closed his eyes and whispered softly:

"But this Heavenly Ear Ability has ultimately made things much more convenient for me. Sensing the world, I can perceive the various vibrations of the world full of Qi. With my accumulation over several lifetimes, I can already use spiritual power to detect the movements, words, and actions of everyone within three miles."

Zhuang Buran suddenly smiled:

"This world is much more exciting than the last one. Assassination and poisoning are the true ways to open the martial arts world."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 68 =====