Nightfall

Translator: Larbre Studio  Editor: Larbre Studio

The Buddha land woke up, and so did the monks in the yellow temples. Ning Que was not worried about being discovered by the Xuankong Temple since Sangsang was by his side, so he kept searching like last night.

He stepped into every yellow temple he passed by and searched carefully for the sign of his Second Brother. It was Sangsang’s turn to be impatient since Ning Que spent much time searching.

On a cliff covered by the green vine, she turned around and asked, “Are you looking for Jun Mo?”

Ning Que answered, “Of course, I don’t have the ability to help you find Buddha.”

Sangsang said, “Idiot.”

After saying this, she walked toward the front yard of the cliff. Unlike last night, Ning Que was just stumped and puzzled. Why does she keep on calling me an idiot?

The green vines separated voluntarily to let Sangsang pass through, and Ning Que quickened his pace and followed her tightly. He found that the cliff was a bit weird.

There was an unknown tree by the cliff, projecting a shade on the ground. A small temple was behind the tree, with its yellow paint peeling off. It seemed that no one had been here for many years due to the dust on the stairs.

All the temples that they stepped in along the way from the bottom of the mountain were magnificent or sacred. They found it odd to see such a dilapidated temple here.

What puzzled Ning Que more was that he sensed familiar breath coming from the dilapidated temple. He and Sangsang had cultivated Buddhism in Lanke Temple, so they could detect the supreme Buddha nature in the breath.

The Buddha nature was very pure and even more powerful than that of the temples that they had stopped by last night all added together. How could a temple with such pure Buddha nature be so dilapidated? How could the monks in Xuankong temple forget about this temple? Who used to live here?

Was this the place Sangsang wanted to find? Was Buddha hiding here?

Standing under the tree by the cliff, Ning Que looked at the little temple and suddenly felt a little cold. He subconsciously leaned towards Sangsang and asked, “Is it here?”

Sangsang looked serious but said nothing and just walked straight to the temple.

The temple door was pushed open, and the cobweb inside was instantly swept to the endless abyss under the cliff by the breeze.

Stepping in, Ning Que found that this was a fake temple and what they saw before was only the front of the temple. There was not even any building inside the temple, just a corridor full of dust.

The corridor led directly to the wall of the cliff, and there was an entrance to a cave in the wall.

Ning Que was getting more and more nervous, but Sangsang remained calm. She walked straight into the cave with her hands behind her back and seemed to be a little impatient.

The cave was very quiet and dry, and the only furnishing was one futon, which was plainer than the one Ning Que once stayed in the Back Hill of Academy.

The futon lay in front of the wall of the cave, covered with dust and Ning Que felt that it would fall apart if he were to breathe heavily.

There was a shadow in the stone wall facing the futon. Examining carefully, he found that it was the shadow of a human figure and even vaguely recognized the edge of the kasaya.

A long time ago, there must have been a monk who sat quietly facing the wall. He must have sat here for countless years to make his figure print on the stone wall. Who was this monk?

Ning Que was shocked.

Sangsang completely ignored the identity of the monk who faced the wall here many years ago. She looked at the shadow and instantly knew that the monk was definitely not Buddha. So she was a little impatient.

“Don’t follow me. You will only slow me down.” After saying this, she stepped out of the cave.

Looking at her back, Ning Que shouted, “I am still looking for Second Brother.”

Sangsang didn’t turn back and said, “Idiot.”

Ning Que asked, “Even though I am an idiot, I have to look for Second Brother. What if we can’t find each other?”

Sangsang answered, “I can find you.”

…

…

Sangsang left, and Ning Que stayed at the cave alone. Looking at the shadow on the stone wall, he shook his head and was about to leave, but slowly stopped at the entrance of the cave.

While still standing under the tree in the front yard of the cliff, he felt that the breath in this dilapidated temple was very familiar. At this moment, standing inside the cave, his feelings became more and more obvious, and he even felt that he had seen the human figure on the stone wall somewhere before.

Ning Que thought for a while and then walked back to the depths of the cave. Looking at the shadow on the stone wall, he pondered for a long time and then sat down due to exhaustion.

But he had forgotten that the futon in front of the stone wall was very old and couldn’t support his weight. The moment Ning Que sat on the futon, it was scattered into cattail leaves, floating everywhere.

“What the fuck?”

Looking at the cattail leaves on the floor, Ning Que shook his head helplessly and reached out to collect the scattered leaves together. Then he took out the sewing kit from the luggage and started the sewing expertly.

It didn’t take long for the futon to be repaired. He pressed the futon and confirmed that it was strong enough to support some weight, then sat on it and stared at the shadow on the stone wall.

The shadow on the stone wall was branded by a monk of the previous generation using his Buddha nature. It was indeed a magical Buddha Dharma and he would be worshipped by countless Buddhist followers in the temples of the human world. But what did this have anything to do with Ning Que?

He didn’t know why he was so attracted by the shadow on the stone wall. Unwilling to look away, Ning Que felt that the shadow contained countless mysteries waiting to be discovered.

After sitting on the futon for a long time, Ning Que was tired. He clasped his knees with his arms and put his head on his knees. After a while, he changed his position again and began to cup his chin with his palm. Like a young child who was indulged in the village theatrical performance, he stared at the stone wall with good relish.

During the process of staring at the wall, Ning Que didn’t cross his legs, sit on a lotus seat, form the Emblematic Gesture or meditate. It seemed that he was just in a daze.

But in his Ocean of Consciousness, he sat on the lotus seat, formed the Emblematic Gesture, and thought of all the Buddha Dharmas he saw in Lanke Temple and learned from Master Qishan. He just didn’t sit in meditation.

After a while, Sangsang returned to the dark cave. While Ning Que was staring at the wall, she went to the three main halls of the Xuankong Temple and looked around for a long time, but gained nothing.

Upon seeing that Ning Que was stunned and facing the stone wall, her eyes turned bright, but she said nothing. She just turned around and walked out of the cave again. Then she went to the Commandment Hall in the West Peak.

The West Peak had countless old trees, but no traces of Buddha. Her expression had become more and more serious. Standing on the roots of the ancient trees leaning out of the cliff, she looked at the sun in silence.

The God’s Plan doesn’t work, so I can’t figure out the God’s secret. Where should I put the God’s heart?

Sangsang once again returned to the dilapidated temple and stood behind Ning Que.

Ning Que was still staring at the shadow on the stone wall.

Sangsang left again. Then she went to the East Peak which was full of strange stones. However, she still gained nothing. She stood on the stone and looked at the sun on the sky quietly.

Then she came back to the cave.

Ning Que was still facing the wall.

She left again.

The came back.

Over and over again.

Although she was Haotian, she felt a little tired and somewhat puzzled. The God’s Plan doesn’t work, and I can’t figure out the God’s secret. Why does the God’s heart always fall on this guy? … Is it true that I must stick to him?

Thinking of this, Sangsang looked at the back of Ning Que and was hit by an infinite amount of hatred and irritation. She was very anxious to kill him and put him in the deepest part of the earth.

But she couldn’t kill him if she ever wanted to be herself. She could only leave the cave again reluctantly and continued her search.

Ning Que didn’t know that Sangsang had considered killing him. Cupping his chin with his palm, he stared at the shadow on the stone wall and his expression kept changing, from solemn and quiet to a silly smile.

One day passed. When the setting sun fell, a white flower appeared on the unknown green tree on the cliff, but it fell to the ground only after a moment after blossoming.

The white flower landed on the cliff and touched the dust, then it was raised by the breeze from the cliff as if there were a pair of invisible hands slowly lifting it up. It drifted into the dilapidated door of the temple and then into the stone wall inside the cave, finally falling on Ning Que’s shoulder gently.

Ning Que took off the little white flower on his shoulder and twitched the delicate flower handle gently with his fingers. He looked at the shadow on the stone wall and said with a smile, “It turns out that you learned Buddha Dharma here.”

All of a sudden, the fragments of consciousness that had been buried in the deepest part of his Ocean of Consciousness for many years lit up and then faded away gradually, just like a pearl’s last shine before it died out.

It was twilight. The bells of the Xuankong Temple rang again, echoing in every corner of the mountain peaks.

Ning Que woke up and bowed to the shadow on the stone wall. Then he got up and walked out of the cave, looking at the sight of the Buddha land calmly standing under the green tree by the cliff.

This old temple was Lian Sheng’s former residence. When Lian Sheng studied Buddha Dharma in the Xuankong Temple many years ago, he once faced the wall in the cave, leaving his shadow on the stone wall and also leaving the legend of protecting the Front Gate of Buddha’s Doctrine in the human world.

In the Front Gate of Devil’s Doctrine, Ning Que inherited the mantle of Youngest Uncle, and also inherited everything that Lian Sheng had.

Before his death, Lian Sheng once said to Ning Que, “You have been enchanted. If you want to repair your demon, you must first cultivate Buddha Dharma. Please bravely walk to the night. There is a chance that you might die on the road, but I give you my blessing. In the meanwhile, I’ll curse you.”

Ning Que had long forgotten what Lian Sheng had said. Although he learned the Buddha Dharma from Master of Qishan in Lanke Temple, his intention was to cure Sangsang and he had never wished to master it voluntarily.

It was not until he came to Xuankong Temple and faced to the shadow on the stone wall silently for a whole day that he remembered Lian Sheng’s last words and made up the missed lessons, which turned out to be very important.

Ning Que gained a lot by facing to the wall for the whole day. Although his cultivation still remained at the Knowing Destiny State, a Bodhi seed was planted in his heart, which might break through the soil, sprout and become luxuriant one day, even covering the eyes of God and Buddha.

Sangsang walked up to Ning Que in the twilight.

Ning Que said, “It seems that you didn’t find Buddha.”

Sangsang said, “It seems that you didn’t find your Second Brother either.”

Ning Que signed, “I totally forgot to search for him.”

Sangsang asked, “Then what were you doing?”

Ning Que answered, “I was looking at something beautiful.”

Sangsang said indifferently, “How could the Buddhist Psyche left by an old monk be beautiful?”

Walking in front of her, Ning Que put the small white flower in her hair and praised happily, “Beautiful.”

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