Chapter 434: Bonus (Extra Chapter for Her Brother's Crown Reward) The Gourd Old Man

「Heavenly Venerable of Boundless Blessings……」

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

Even more astonishing, the Great Sage Monkey, brandishing its claws and fangs in midair, strangely fell from the sky with a bang, shaking up dust all over the ground.

「Rootless tree, flowers in seclusion, who would refuse to indulge in fleeting glory? Worldly affairs are a boat in the sea of suffering, tossed to and fro, unfettered, boundless, impossible to anchor, forever 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 vessel. 」

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 in the forest, his steps slow, each movement leisurely like a stroll in an idle garden. His clothes were worn but ordinary, with a wine gourd at his waist, and he was reciting Zhang Sanfeng's elixir hymn.

「Rootless tree, lonely flowers, who can ask if yin and yang have found their match? A hen's egg, hard to hatch a chick, 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 lost ways, too vague; sitting in solitary meditation, the qi withers. 」

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

The voice of his chant 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 still platform, everything was bright and clear; my body and mind felt as if they had been washed.

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

Moreover, that arrogant, overbearing red-haired monkey, the Great Sage Monkey, now lay prone on the ground like a neighbor's baby, utterly devoid of its former overbearing aura.

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 living 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 hymn, he let me be reborn and even washed away the ferocity of the Great Sage Monkey.

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

Perhaps this old man is one of those few.

When 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 shown by the gourd he carried, indicating that this old man before us is definitely a drunkard.

He stepped before 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 that I could still grapple with, 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, stroking the leaves of Xiao Changsheng, whose luster was not particularly vivid.

「The Grand Evolution Dao forty-nine leaves a single thread of life. All things grow in 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 to Xiao Changsheng, he sat down leisurely beside it, and then, as if no one were present, began to chant the sutra.

「……With the extinction of ignorance, there is no arising of mind; 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 faded, Xiao Changsheng's rootstock seemed to regain vitality, its leaves showing vivid green, fresh and lush.

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 harm toward Xiao Changsheng; from the start, he merely meant to save it, with no malicious intent.

「All calamities arise from affinity; all affinities give rise to calamity. I hope that after this ordeal, upon attaining great insight, you may soon reach that profound 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 rootstock…… two rootlets.

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

The old man said, 「This Solomon's Seal is a nurturing object of an auspicious feng shui site, born by the pity of the heavenly Dao. It could meet you and undergo this tribulation with you, which is also a predestined affinity between you two in the unseen realm. However, to evade the pursuit of this strange beast, its spirit and body were forcibly separated; it lingered on its last breath for a long time, and using its essence and blood, it purified your essence and marrow, already damaging its spirit and mind. Now it must cultivate for a while longer before it can again nurture spiritual intelligence. 」

Having said that, the old man seemed thirsty, pulled out the wooden gourd at his waist, took a big gulp of wine, stood with hands behind his back, and said: 「Past events are like clouds and smoke; one drink and one peck is called the mysterious; in this life, after years have passed, all has faded into extinction; Nirvana here too is affinity. 」

The old man's verse, though self-spoken, I understood he was saying it for me to hear; his meaning was clear. He was telling me that this is a predestined affinity in the unseen realm, 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 robbery, Xiao Changsheng can only start cultivation anew; when it regains spiritual intelligence, it will be like a newborn infant, with no memory of past events and never remembering me.

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

But my heart was slowly filled with an indescribable bitterness.

I know that the child who used to cling to me, calling me uncle, stuffing his face with pastries and getting crumbs all over his mouth, is 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.

Our encounter truly was like a dream: in the dream, flowers fell and bloomed, vanishing in an instant. In the end, all that remains is a lingering longing and those memories we are unwilling 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 feel glad that it could be reborn through Nirvana. Yet why do I feel so lost, why does my heart feel empty, as if something had been forcibly torn away?

「Who among humans, like plants and trees, can be devoid of feeling! 」 The old man's long sigh fully elucidated my complex emotions.

And just then, I turned around and saw the old man crouching, his withered hands gently stroking 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 a stubborn, untrainable temper. If you wish to follow me back to the Seven-Star Grotto Heaven to cultivate the Dao, climb onto my shoulder. If not, you may go your own way, but I only hope you cherish the sliver of life heaven has left you, and do not invite disaster by clinging to your obstinate nature. 」

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

「Good, good……」 The old man burst into hearty laughter, stroking the Great Sage Monkey's head and affectionately saying: 「You are essentially a monkey; in motion you dash like a rushing thunder, in cry you roar like thunderclap. I will give you a homophonic surname 「Hou」 and the given name 「Lei」—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.

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