Chapter 230: White Hair Reappears

I shook my head, I had never heard of such a thing as worldly wandering.

But looking at the literal meaning, it obviously means to run around outside, right?

Liu Junyan explained: "The so-called worldly wandering is a special training method in Buddhism, where enlightened monks, meditation masters, lamas, etc., leave the Buddhist order, measure the world with their footsteps, spreading teachings wherever they go, contacting big and small Buddhist institutions along the way, thereby promoting the Dharma and elevating themselves."

I furrowed my brows: "In other words, worldly wandering has no fixed route or goal; wherever you walk counts."

Liu Junyan nodded.

I asked again: "Then how long does this take?"

There are countless big and small Buddhist places in the world; there must be a limit.

I thought it might be a year or two, at most three to five years.

Liu Junyan blurted out: "At least ten years."

At least ten years!

Just thinking that I might not see him for ten years makes me feel at a loss.

I unwillingly asked: "During those ten years, can you contact us? Give a call to report safety? Or if you reach some place, I could come find you?"

Liu Junyan laughed: "Xiao Jiu, have you ever seen a monk representing Buddhism who goes out to preach and still brings his family?"

Yes.

Although he wasn't made to shave his head or become a monk, since he accepted this worldly wandering task, he represents Buddhism, so how could he still be entangled with the secular world?

In other words, for those ten years he must treat himself as a monk.

I remained silent for a long time.

Empty Silence Abbott, seated in charge of Great Dharma King Temple, is truly an enlightened monk.

People like him, a spit and a nail—if he says Liu Junyan will face this calamity in the future, it will surely happen.

But… Liu Junyan bears too many burdens.

When he is at Dang Pu, he must shoulder Dang Pu's karmic obstacles.

When he is at Linghai Dragon Palace, he must go rescue his mother.

Moreover, there is the Four Ferocious Beast Formation Array, the hidden dangers behind the seven Golden Scales, and so on…

Each of these, to him, is a major calamity, right?

Thinking this through, I tentatively asked: "Which calamity does Empty Silence Abbott refer to?"

"I don't know either." Liu Junyan said, "Empty Silence Abbott said that when I truly encounter it, I will naturally know, and he also believes I will definitely return to Song Mountain to find him then."

This feeling of having my heart hung in my throat, unable to go up or down, is truly agonizing.

I am very worried about him: "Given the current situation, what do you think is most likely to become this calamity?"

"None." Liu Junyan said, "Although many things remain unresolved now, they are still under control.

The seven Golden Scales, we have already retrieved three, with one remaining in Chang City; the other three should not be as scattered as these, and will eventually show up.

After retrieving the seven Golden Scales, I will find an opportunity to return to Linghai Forbidden Ground to settle my mother's affair.

As for the Four Major Ferocious Beast Formation Array, it is tied to Dang Pu's fate; our strength and personnel are gradually growing, far from being helpless.

Therefore, I really don't feel that there is any calamity right now that I absolutely cannot overcome."

"Could it be the great calamity of ascension?"

"If it weren't for Dang Pu back then, Liu Junyan would have been cultivating to become a dragon."

As he continues to cultivate without cease, he should still have a chance to become a dragon in the future.

Ascension is a major calamity.

But asking that, I realized I had asked in vain.

If he could ascend and become a dragon, he wouldn't need to undertake worldly wandering for over ten years, right?

"Xiao Jiu, don't worry about things that haven't happened yet." Liu Junyan said, "Let's handle the present well, first settle your side's issues—whether returning to your Feng Clan identity or your role as Dang Pu's shopkeeper—you will eventually be able to stand on your own; by then, even if I'm absent for ten years, I believe you can manage everything."

I closed my eyes and leaned back in the chair, without responding.

I am not a saint.

These years, especially the past half year, I have grown accustomed to relying on Liu Junyan.

Just thinking that he will be away for so long still makes my heart feel unbearably distressed.

But I also understand that this feeling of distress is limited to these few hours of the return trip.

Once I return to Dang Pu, I will have to compose myself and face whatever comes next.

Liu Junyan's driving skills are excellent; the highway is inherently smooth, and before I knew it I fell asleep.

These days I haven't had a good sleep; whenever I doze off I see the Great Witch.

Now the Great Witch's oil is exhausted, her lamp dried up, and that face has completely vanished.

This time I slept, and indeed I did not see the Great Witch again.

I slept very deeply.

In my dreams, I was sometimes bathed in incense, sometimes plunged into a sea of fire…

But neither of those made me feel any discomfort.

Until the car entered the territory of Wufu Town, amid a jolt, I slowly woke up.

I adjusted my sitting posture, and Liu Junyan asked: "Awake?"

He had both hands on the steering wheel, his eyes always looking straight ahead.

When I made a movement, he then glanced at me sideways.

But that glance, he immediately furrowed his brows and slowly pulled the car over to the roadside.

I didn't understand: "What's wrong?"

Liu Junyan reached out and lifted a strand of hair from my temple.

I instinctively lowered my head and saw that lock of hair he had lifted…… it was actually white!

I hurriedly put down the makeup mirror, leaned in to look left and right, and discovered that my hair wasn't just white at the temples; even that lock in the middle of my forehead…… had turned white.

That whiteness ran from root to tip, each strand pure snow-white.

White hair is my nightmare.

It's been that way since childhood.

Since taking over the pawnshop, I've rarely encountered this situation.

Everything was fine—how did I suddenly turn so much white?

Liu Junyan's expression was also unusually grave: "It shouldn't be due to insufficient merit blessing; unless we left these two days and the merit in the Soul-guiding Lamp was stolen, but that's impossible."

Indeed.

If the Soul-guiding Lamp had a problem, Li Qingying would have contacted me right away.

In other words, this time Liu Junyan trying to transfer merit to me wouldn't solve my white hair problem.

And the biggest change that happened to me these past two days is…… the disappearance of the Great Witch's face.

Its disappearance directly caused my two liquefied ribs to vanish as well.

Now, white hair has reappeared……

Dahui Chan Master said, didn't he, that his relics plus the breath Ah Wu passed to him back then could keep my soul from scattering for a while.

But it can't last long.

I need to quickly recover my incomplete soul.

This matter is urgent.

The reappearance of white hair is the signal that my soul is unstable and my life is draining away.

When my head is full of white hair…… that should be my time of death.

No, more precisely, it's the time of utter annihilation.