Chapter 686: January 23: I Left the Endpoint and Found the Starting Point Again

January 23: I left the endpoint, and found the starting point again.

January 23: I left the endpoint, and found the starting point again.

Tonight, the moonlight is dim, the floating clouds fill the sky. This kind of moonlight—dim moonlight; this kind of floating clouds—clouds that fill the sky, I have seen many times in my life, so it is not surprising.

I also never take it to heart.

Su Dongpo of the Song said: "Do not listen to the sound of rain beating through the leaves; wherever you chant and stroll, proceed slowly. A bamboo staff and straw sandals are lighter than a horse—who would fear? With a straw raincoat, I let mist and rain accompany me for life. The chilly spring wind blows, waking me from wine; slightly cold, the slanting light on the hilltop yet greets me. Turning back to the desolate place I came from, I return; there, there is neither wind nor rain, nor clear sky."

Yes, who can stop the wind and rain of nature? "Let the winds from east, west, south, and north blow as they may"! I will walk my own path, regardless of whether the moonlight is dim or bright.

Shouldering a simple pack, I head for distant places!

To the Peach Blossom Spring in my dreams!

I once vowed: in this world, I deserve the best, even though I am not the best.

Although time is like this dark night, blurring the road ahead; fate has placed me among the failures. I think that life's setbacks and stumbles, its winds and rains, its rises and falls, its dims and brights, are surely meaningful—surely a gift of life.

Since it is a gift of life, who could refuse it?

Listen, who is speaking——

You gave your song to the bird, and the bird sings to repay you.

Fate, you give to all beings and things; you take from me.

However, I think this is fair, because I willingly accept your punishment.

I walk, I run, I climb, I fall and rise again, I ford river after river, I cross mountain after mountain, a lifetime of wind and rain, covered in mud, exhausted—yet the Shudao, though as hard as climbing to heaven, I still willingly walk!

Fate, unveil your veil! I will not weep for the passing years; nor will I, because of the road ahead—"The green mud coils, a hundred steps ninefold winding around the cliffs"—sigh long with hand on breast.

Future, reveal your face!

Regarding time, I discard it, then pick it up again; I have left the endpoint, and found the starting point..............