Chapter 162

"Blessings to the Infinite Heavenly Venerable…"

At the critical moment, a lingering Daoist chant drifted from deep within the forest, its sound ethereal and traceless, as if from far away in the deep mountains, leaving no trace to be found; yet it seemed right before one's eyes, each syllable entering the ear.

What is even more astonishing is that the Great Sage Monkey, brandishing teeth and claws in midair, suddenly fell from the sky with a bang, shaking up dust all over the ground.

"Rootless tree, flowers in seclusion, who would refrain from clinging to glory? Worldly affairs are a boat in the sea of suffering, tossed to and fro, unfree, boundless and endless, hard to moor, often wandering in the perilous realm of fish and dragons. If one turns back, that is the shore; do not wait for storms to wreck the boat."

The sound slowly came from the forest, carrying an indescribable power that made the whole heaven and earth seem to fall into a state of clear and tranquil peace.

An old man slowly walked out from deep within the forest, his steps slow, each movement carrying the ease of a leisurely stroll in an idle courtyard. His clothes were worn but ordinary, and at his waist hung a wine gourd; he was reciting Zhang Sanfeng's elixir verses.

"Rootless tree, solitary flowers, who can ask if yin and yang find their match? A hen's egg, hard to hatch chicks, having turned away from the yin-yang crucible of creation. A woman without a husband is a resentful maiden; a man without a wife is an idle husband. Sighing at the lost path, too vague; sitting alone in solitary cultivation, the qi withers."

The old man was neither hurried nor slow, chanting the verses; as he drew nearer, his voice grew ever clearer.

The sound of his chanting carried a power that penetrated the heart and reached the celestial spirit, causing my heart to be suffused with an indescribable emotion.

It was anxiety, it was impatience… finally gradually becoming calm. At the spiritual platform, all was clear; body and mind felt as if they had been washed clean.

After the heat gradually faded and my mind and spirit entered tranquility, I slowly opened my eyes. And just then, I discovered that my hands had regained a sense of qi…

Moreover, that previously arrogant, overbearing red-haired monkey, the Great Sage Monkey, now lay prostrate on the ground like a neighbor's baby, utterly devoid of any overbearing arrogance.

I have heard that when sages expound the Dao, merely holding a scripture in hand and reciting its words brings forth celestial music; all beasts that hear it have their Spiritual Apertures instantly opened, and all sentient beings that listen to the Dao undergo purification of essence and marrow.

Although this is merely a legend, an illusory one, the old man before us has clearly reached an unfathomable realm; with just a single elixir verse, he has renewed my rebirth and even washed away the ferocity of the Great Sage Monkey.

In this world, there exists a type of person whose state of mind has reached a realm unattainable by ordinary people; his eating, sleeping, speaking, and expounding sutras are all completely merged with the Dao.

Perhaps this old man is one of those few.

As he approached my side, I then noticed that this old man was actually a Mediterranean-type (half-bald), and he wore neither Daoist robes nor a headscarf, only ordinary clothing; moreover, a strong smell of wine emanated from him, as evidenced by the wine gourd he carried, showing that this old man before us is definitely a drunkard.

He walked up to me, glanced at the knife in my hand, then looked at Xiao Changsheng beside me.

His gaze made my heart tighten; could it be that this old man also covets the true form of Xiao Changsheng?

I secretly panicked, my whole body filled with a sense of helplessness. If the Great Sage Monkey were a fierce tiger and I could still fight it, then this old man would be a dragon of the nine heavens, leaving me utterly unable to muster any resistance.

"Ah……" Suddenly, the ragged-clothed old man sighed and touched the leaves of Xiao Changsheng, whose luster was not particularly bright.

"The Grand Derivation Dao has forty-nine, leaving only a sliver of life. All things grow and have their appointed time; this is your affinity, and also your calamity?"

The old man sighed softly toward Xiao Changsheng; he looked very aged, his cloudy eyes showing no glimmer, only his voice carried the weathered wisdom of having seen it all.

After bowing three times before Xiao Changsheng, he sat down slowly beside it, and then, as if no one were present, began to chant the sutras.

"……With the extinction of ignorance, the mind has no arising; with no arising, the realm follows extinction; with the extinction of causes and conditions, all mental phenomena cease, and one attains Nirvana." As the final line of the sutra fell, Xiao Changsheng's stem seemed to regain vitality, its leaves showing vivid green, fresh and dripping.

Xiao Changsheng swayed its leaves, as if nodding to the old man.

Only then did I finally relax, realizing that this old man had never intended to harm Xiao Changsheng; from the start, he had merely planned to save it, with no malicious intent.

"All calamities arise from affinity; all affinities arise to meet calamity. I hope that after this ordeal, upon attaining great awakening, you may soon reach that mysterious gate. … Cultivate well! I, the old one, will first take something from you." Having said that, the old man bent down and took from Xiao Changsheng's root… two rootlets.

After placing those two rootlets into a box, the old man gave me a faint smile, as if he had perceived my inner worry,

The old man said with a smile: "This Solomon's seal is a nurturing product of an auspicious feng shui site, born by the pity of the Heavenly Dao. His encounter with you and experiencing this tribulation together is a predestined affinity between you two. However, to evade the pursuit of this strange beast, his spirit and body were forced apart; clinging to life for a long time, he also used his essence and blood to purify your marrow, already damaging his spirit; now he must cultivate for a while longer before he can again nurture spiritual wisdom."

Having said that, the old man seemed thirsty; he pulled out the wooden gourd at his waist, took a big gulp of wine with a gurgling sound, stood with his hands behind his back, and said: "Past deeds are like passing clouds; to eat and drink is to be mysterious; this life has long been extinguished, and Nirvana here is also affinity."

Although the old man's words were self-directed, I understood he was speaking to me; his meaning was clear: he was telling me that this is a predestined affinity from the unseen, that Xiao Changsheng is destined to meet me and also destined to form a karmic bond with me—this is our mutual affinity, and also Xiao Changsheng's calamity.

After this tribulation, Xiao Changsheng can only start cultivation anew; when he regains spiritual wisdom, he will be like a newborn infant, devoid of memories of past events and forever unable to remember me.

I let out a long sigh, then crouched beside Xiao Changsheng, touching its vivid, dripping leaves and gazing at the tiny humanoid form beneath them.

Yet my heart was slowly filled with an indescribable bitterness.

I know that the child who once clung to me, calling me "uncle," stuffing himself with pastries and getting crumbs all over his mouth, is now gone.

No matter now or in the future, I will never encounter him again; he will not remember me, nor will he remember that there was once an uncle who mistakenly took him for his own son.

My encounter with him was truly like a dream; in the dream, flowers fell and bloomed, vanishing swiftly. In the end, all that remains is a lingering longing and those memories I cannot bear to part with.

"Xiao Changsheng, no matter whether you later remember or forget me, Uncle I will never forget you! Uncle also hopes that future children will be as lovable and as kind as you."

I finally wiped away the tear at the corner of my eye; perhaps I should feel happy for Xiao Changsheng's new beginning, or perhaps I should rejoice at its rebirth through Nirvana. Yet why do I feel so lost, why does my heart feel empty, as if something had been forcibly torn away?

"How can one not have feelings, being not grass or trees!" The old man's long sigh fully elucidated my complex emotions.

And just then, I turned around and saw the old man crouching, using his withered hands to gently stroke the fur of the Great Sage Monkey.

He looked at the Great Sage Monkey and sighed softly: "You are by nature an extraordinary species, born alongside a spiritual object; only because you had no guidance did you become obstinate and hard to train. If you are willing to follow me back to the Seven Stars Cavern Heaven to cultivate the Dao, climb onto my shoulder; if not, you may go your own way, but I only wish you to cherish the sliver of life heaven has left you, and not to cause disaster by clinging to your stubbornness."

"Squeak……" In no time, the Great Sage Monkey climbed directly onto the old man's shoulder and sat there obediently.

"Good, good……" The old man laughed heartily, stroking the Great Sage Monkey's head and affectionately saying: "You are essentially a monkey, yet when you move you are like a rushing thunder, and when you cry out you are like a thunderclap. I will give you a homophonic surname 'Hou' and the character 'Lei' for thunder; what do you think?"

Before the Great Sage Monkey could respond, the old man, very pleased, clapped his hands and declared: "Good, from now on you shall be called Hou Lei."

And I, standing aside, stared agape, my lips twitching.