Chapter 571: Blessing (13)

Ring~

Ring~

The camel bells were stirred by the wind, their crisp sound ringing out leisurely. On the long ancient road, the merchants gathered their camels and packhorses into a circle to block the wind and sand, while they sat in the middle and lit a campfire.

The group sat around the campfire, chatting and exchanging pleasantries with one another, talking about trivial household matters, discussing the recent prices of goods across the Western Desert, and debating various strange tales and anecdotes.

"Have you all heard? Many strange phenomena have been appearing in many places recently!"

"Heard it, heard it, isn't it just about that fake Spirit Mountain? I don't know how many times I've heard people talk about it. Is there really such a thing? Why do I feel like someone is deliberately slandering Spirit Mountain?"

"It's true, absolutely true, I was in that vicinity at the time! That Spirit Mountain was indeed incomparably magnificent; I even saw Buddhas walking within it." An old man wearing a feather hat spoke excitedly, his eyes full of piety. "I have been to Spirit Mountain countless times; that Spirit Mountain is not fake! This must be the Fozhu manifesting, giving us a revelation that we need to fathom."

The old man's words made the others fall silent. It wasn't that they hadn't doubted the authenticity of this matter, but this Believer's words were quite persuasive.

This man was also known among them for his piety; he had no offspring, no property, and kept only some trading capital, having dedicated all he had to the temple.

And such a pious Believer could not possibly be spouting nonsense; he had truly seen it, and he believed this was a miracle created by the Fozhu.

"And that's not all!"

While the group was silent and deep in thought, a bearded merchant suddenly slapped his thigh, attracting everyone's gaze, and said in a low voice:

"Someone saw a Buddha statue walk down from a Lotus Platform and fly into the sky, disappearing from sight. Later, he fell unconscious, and when he woke up again, he found he was twenty years younger and his body had become strong..."

"There are also people who found some abandoned temples deep in the mountains and saw ancient Buddha statues they had never seen before..."

"Others even heard the call of a Buddha at night, followed His instructions to head deep into the desert, and eventually dug an arm bone and a giant Relic out of the sand..."

That merchant was a skilled storyteller; every strange tale was told with such vivid detail that it seemed as if he had seen them all with his own eyes, causing everyone else to become immersed in his story.

From the moment night fell, he had been narrating until the moon reached the center of the sky. Finally, he finished the last story, picked up his water bag, and took his first sip of water.

"Ha! Hahaha, these are all just things I've heard; I can't guarantee whether they are true or false. Just listen to them for fun, don't take them seriously."

The night was already very deep, but the group felt not the slightest bit of sleepiness; on the contrary, they became increasingly excited.

Merchants are a group of sufficiently shrewd people. Although they also believed in the Buddhas of Spirit Mountain, compared to the foolish Believers who only knew how to bury their heads in hard work, they were educated. They knew better how to cooperate with the temples—not only to satisfy the requirements for offerings but also to ensure their own profits.

At this moment, they were all pondering one question: were these phenomena truly revelations from the Fozhu, telling them that the ten thousand Buddhas were awakening and that Spirit Mountain would flourish once again?

Or was it actually that some evil beings were at work in the shadows, attempting to subvert everything the Buddhas had done in the Western Desert?

They did not know, but they felt this seemed to be a very good opportunity.

Although they could not be entirely certain right now and needed to think it over carefully, there should be business opportunities in this.

And just as the other merchants were deep in thought, considering how to maximize the profit from this matter, the bearded merchant who had told the stories was drinking water while a mocking smile appeared in his eyes.

"Heh,"

Then, he froze for a moment, blinked in a daze, turned his head as if waking from a dream, and whispered strangely in his heart: "Why am I here? Didn't I already go to sleep?"

At this time, the old man wearing the feather hat was the first to recover from his trance. He seemed to notice the confusion in the others' eyes and took the initiative to say:

"Everyone, there is no need to overthink! With the protection of the Fozhu on Spirit Mountain, we don't need to worry; the Monk masters will come up with a solution! Even if there are evil beings at work, they will be easily suppressed by Spirit Mountain."

His saying this made the merchants recover their senses. It was unclear what they were thinking in their hearts, but on the surface, they all nodded in agreement, loudly praising the Fozhu and praising Spirit Mountain.

"Yes, yes, yes, that is indeed the case!"

"Thank you, Fozhu, for protecting us!"

"We can have the life we have now, all thanks to Spirit Mountain."

A caravan consists not only of merchants but also of accompanying guards and ordinary Believers who chose to travel with the caravan to seek help.

Among these people was an inconspicuous mother and son.

Their attire was no different from ordinary Western Desert Believers, looking thin and poor.

The people around them were already asleep, but this mother and son had not fallen asleep, huddled together wrapped in thin blankets.

"Mother, are we really going to leave?" the boy asked in a lowered voice.

The boy had looked a bit more spirited earlier; the wound on his forehead had been simply bandaged, and one could faintly see blood seeping through, but some color had returned to his face.

"Didn't the Buddha master already save you? Why must we sell all our family property and go somewhere else? If we don't stay at Lingxin Temple to fulfill our vows, the Buddha master will punish us!"

The youth was a bit afraid, and also a bit dissatisfied with his mother's stubbornness. He himself had spent so much effort to make the Buddha master change his mind and save her.

Yet now, his mother was going to commit an act of betrayal against the Buddha; it was simply intolerable!

If it weren't for his unreserved trust in his mother, had it been anyone else doing this, he would have already secretly gone to report them.

But beside him, the dazed woman shook her head after hearing this and did not answer. She raised her hand to touch the child's head, her gaze lingering for a moment on the wound on his forehead.

"... Still saying nothing; I'm not a child anymore!"

The youth turned his head away with some dissatisfaction. He knew his mother was going to remain silent again. He had asked this question the entire journey, but his mother had always avoided talking about it, as if there were some terrifying thing in her heart.

But just as he had said, he was long past being a child; he wanted to get an answer.

After a long silence, the woman looked at the child's stubborn profile and finally whispered: "... Little one, you must remember, you cannot tell anyone what I am about to say, do you understand?"

The youth looked up in surprise, his eyes full of anticipation, and nodded earnestly, "Yes! I will definitely not tell anyone!"

The woman nodded, lowered her voice extremely low, and whispered in his ear: "That day... it actually wasn't the Buddha who saved Mother."

"The Buddha statue worshipped in Lingxin Temple is not a Buddha, but a Ghost Star!"

"The one who truly saved Mother was a Fox Immortal."

!!!

"Wha... Mmph!" The boy exclaimed, but his mother, who had been prepared, covered his mouth, and he only let out a muffled sound, without attracting anyone's attention.

The woman's three sentences were more shocking than the last, more blasphemous than the last, leaving the boy frozen in place.

"... What did you say?" After a long silence, he was released by the woman and said with difficulty: "Mother is joking with me, right? These..."

The woman shook her head firmly, holding the child's hand. Both pairs of hands had become rough and cracked from labor, covered in calluses and scars.

"Little one, Mother is not lying to you, and will never lie to you."

"Mother knows you cannot accept this for a moment, which is why I didn't tell you before."

"Mother is not mad."

"Ever since your father died, Mother has only had you left; in this life, Mother would never deceive you, no matter who else she might deceive."

"Remember Mother's words, let all of this rot in your heart, and do not tell anyone."

After hearing these words, the boy became completely quiet.

Had his mother gone mad?

Even if she were truly not mad, what difference was there between these words of hers and madness?

She actually doubted the Buddha.

She...

The boy pondered for a long time, and in the end, not knowing if he had taken his mother's words to heart, he asked in a low voice, "Mother, where are we going now?"

The woman was silent for a moment, then looked up at the bright moon surrounded by the vast sky of stars.

Yes, where should they go?

The Western Desert is vast, yet there is not a single place that is home for this mother and son.

In truth, she did not know where to go next either.

She only knew that as a mother, if she wanted her child to grow up safe and sound, she had to flee that place.

Thus, she sold off the little bit of poor farmland at home for a pittance, sold everything else at a low price to others, and taking only the remaining money and her child, she left the place filled with painful memories all alone.

Once, she had only felt happiness in worshipping the Fozhu, feeling not the slightest bit of hardship, but when everything woke up, when all the disguises were torn away, she discovered that the only thing that place had left her with was suffering.

Therefore, she had to flee.

But as for exactly where to flee to, she was not clear.

Fox Immortal, what exactly should we do?

Save us!

Fox Immortal, please give us guidance.

The woman stared at the moon for a long time, and finally said softly:

"... Go north, there will be hope there."

She did not know why she had reached such a conclusion.

It was just that, while she was staring at the moon, she had a momentary feeling—to go north.

If this was a revelation from the moon, then she would follow it.

"May the Fox Immortal protect us mother and son."

"This isn't right."

Ren Yidao pondered, feeling as though he had been latched onto.

"I clearly did a good deed without leaving my name, so how could she still latch onto me?"

The feeling in the woman's heart naturally did not appear out of thin air, but was sent down by that Fox Immortal she revered and was grateful to.

The other party's faith was very devout, but also too weak; he could not transmit sentences, and could only give her a hint in her heart.

"Go north; if you can find a way to cross the boundary and reach the Beiming Divine Continent, under the rule of Beigan, if nothing else, at least the most basic living can be guaranteed."

"Hmm! From now on, I won't care anymore; it's settled."

Regarding this tragic mother and son, Ren Yidao only intended to help this far.

We are not related, and I don't covet anything from you; I saved your life, and pointed out a path to survival for you, which can be considered having done all that is humanly possible.

Huhu, I am not some great saint.

After Ren Yidao made up his mind, he stretched and sighed, "As expected, one really cannot be a good person; a moment of impulse to do a good deed ended up bringing me such troublesome matters."

"Why does Daoist suddenly say this?"

Mingxin, across from the campfire, raised her brows, not knowing why this would lead to such a sudden, negative sigh, "Is there something on your mind?"

"It's nothing, just suddenly thinking of some old stories I heard in the past." Ren Yidao waved his hand casually and changed the subject: "Mingxin, do you say that people should rely on self-help? Or wait for Heaven's help?"