The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

After crossing the falling mountain door, they reached the front of the main hall bathed in a soft yellow glow from a broken lamp. Mu Yun Le felt like she just walked into day from midnight.

The light was not very bright and among the lonely mountain range that stretched for thousands of miles, the light seemed small and lonely. Although the view in front of them was somewhat blurry and hazy, compared to the pitch black darkness and pouring rain, it was warm, peaceful, and bright. Multiple lotuses dotted and covered rays of light, surpassing the bath of sunlight, it made one feel a sense of cheerful goodbye.

Du, du, du… a feeling of harmony overcame Mu Yun Le. Being born in the Huan Hua Sect had always made her charming, ranging from having a "Killing a man at every ten steps, showing no mercy" chivalrous attitude to a "One cannot forget some things even after a decade" reminiscing attitude.

Clean.

Her face was gentle and her gaze soft. Her inner person was, however, vigilant and always ready to take action.

Right at this moment, the door of the tottering main hall creaked open. Some time ago, the percussion sounds stopped unbeknownst to the group.

Behind the door stood a monk in grey robes, his haggard face made it difficult to estimate his age. Maybe thirty or even forty is possible.

Mu Yun Le stared blankly at the monk, although he looked plain and haggard, but deeper examination would show all five of his limbs to be especially outstanding. When he was young, he would definitely have been a confident and elegant, striking young man. But now, his energy seemed to resemble rotten wood and his eyes showed signs of being beaten and exhausted that were hard to cover up.

All these deductions were made by looking, the ability of Mu Yun Le to take about twenty seconds to look at the front five of the Man List showed that he was not superficial. With her two palms flattened against each other, and her voice as clear as flowing water, "Sorry to disturb you this late in the night, please do not take offense. We were traveling in the night when the rain started pouring. The fear of meeting demons led us to follow the light shining from this temple in the darkness and we sought shelter for the night. Please take us in for the night out of the benevolence of your heart."

"Amitabha, please help yourselves," the monk in grey robes extended the courtesy in a unwavering and clear tone.

Mu Yun Le's gaze looked past the grey-drabbed monk to land on the statue of Buddha in the centre of the hall. It was made of stone and had low eyebrows with downcast eyes. It reflected sorrow, which under the soft glow of the lamp, cast a yellow haze reflecting radiance and giving an inexpressible feeling.

This was definitely the work of a devoted and sincere monk attached to Buddhism. It had the ability to deter any evil intentions and as long as there was no true intention to disturb the demons from the Demon race, the demons would stray far away… Mu Yun Le deduced that this place was somewhere that could be used to stay the night and hide from the rain.

In the past ten years, the demons from the Demon race has been particularly active. If there were any monks alive in the temple located out of the city, it was either due to the spiritual energy of the Buddha or that the monks themselves were powerful. This place was surely protected by the former.

She turned around and nodded slightly to Liang Jiu Zhou and Wu Tong, signalling them to enter.

"Thank you, Master," Liang Jiu Zhou and Wu Tong bowed in respect after entering.

The grey-robed monk did not say anything more as he retreated with his hands clasped together. He walked to the Buddha statue and sat down cross-legged on dried hay. In front of him was the broken percussion instrument.

Upon seeing this, Mu Yun Le's eyebrow, which was thicker and darker than an average girl's, crinkled. Liang Jiu Zhou and Wang Tong became suspicious, not because of anything else but just the way that the monk sat was strange. Different from the normal, the monk was not facing towards the Buddha statue but was sitting with his back facing the Buddha. He was also leaning to face the left wall where there was a large hole in the wall. Outside the wall, was the lake that they had seen earlier, the lotus leaves were a deep shade of jade green color, almost black. The flowers were vibrant and clean, protruding out of the mud yet not dirtied or stained in any way.

It was because of the presence of the large hole that allowed the rays from the broken lamp to shine unobstructed, onto the lotuses.

"Not facing Buddha, but facing the lotus. His actions are strange, is he a monk practicing Zen Buddhism that is unaware of the consequences his actions bring?" Wang Tong asked Mu Yun Le.

Mu Yun Le did not think the same, she focused on assimilating her energy into the space, and took note of every single detail, lonely mountain ranges, a single temple, a broken lamp. Other than this grey-drabbed monk, they was no sign of any living thing around the area. Even the traces that any passerby would have left as they walked past were minimal.

One man, one broken lamp, one buddha statue, one temple, one lotus lake, the flowering and withering of flowers. How many days did he pass like this?

The quick-witted and sensitive Mu Yun Le could sense the deep loneliness, silence and sorrow that not even the devotion to Buddhism could overshadow.

This kind of monk would most likely have a past that he is unwilling to look back on, right? Mu Yun Le suddenly felt sympathetic for the monk and retracted her gaze. She looked for a spot and sat down cross-legged.

After Liang Jiu Zhou sat down, he exhaled a few times and smiled slightly, "Lady Mu, Lord Wang, thank you for help."

"This is our duty," replied Mu Yun Le. As she replied, she could not resist looking at the grey-robed monk once more. His eyes were half open half closed, with his spirit hidden in his body. He did not say a single word nor hit the wooden percussion fish, but just sat there seeming to disconnect with the mortal world.

Liang Jiu Zhou nodded his head and laughed a small laugh, "I have already heard of Lady Mu's big name and reputation before. Now that I have the opportunity to meet you, it is way better than hearing about your big name."

Mu Yun Le was pleasantly surprised as she replied, "Senior Liang, an expert of your level has also heard of my humble name?"

"Of course, Huan Hua sect's Jade Sword Mu Yun Le is one of the most outstanding swordswoman of this generation's Man List, helping Huamei Heights abdicate suffering, and along with Jing Cao restore the clan's name and is therefore called the magnificent name of Glory in three days. How could I not have heard of you?" saying up until now, Liang Jiu Zhou could not help but let out a sorrowful sigh. "Looking at you all, these groups of smart and talented youths always remind me of my age. I have aged, I have aged, the world is soon to belong to you all…"

He had used close to forty years to achieve exceptional success and make a great name for himself, but when facing ladies, he was somewhat inexperienced and his vitality was threatened. He had already achieved the Integration of Man and Nature and his future road would be much smoother. How could he not feel that the young would slowly be catching up and the feeling of being replaced hit him.

Mu Yun Le's mouth upturned involuntarily and bits of sincerity showed. She controlled her expression and said resolutely, "Senior Liang, in the martial arts world there is no distinguishing between the old and new people. The initial people would become masters, in addition, there would be exceptional masters and expert Dharmakaya where the old is bound to surpass the new. Maybe ten or twenty years later, you would still be in the prime of your life while the juniors after you would gradually become outdated."

"You sure know how to talk," Liang Jiu Zhou laughed out loud, seeming to become more open-minded. He turned around and said courteously towards the grey-drabbed monk, "I am sorry if I have disturbed you, please forgive me. May I ask how to address you?"

"Humble Monk Zhen Ding," the grey-drabbed monk replied concisely.

"Thank you for taking us in," Mu Yun Le still had the temperament of a young lady and smiled charmingly. Wang Tong followed along to give his thanks.

Liang Jiu Zhou stared blankly before smiling slightly, "Master's Dharma name is similar to another hero before and made me slightly taken aback."

"Which hero? How do I know not know?" Mu Yun Le's eyes opened widely, clearly distinguishing between black and white.

Wang Tong also became curious, "Someone that Senior Liang calls Hero must be someone exceptional. I wonder who it is?"

Liang Jiu Zhou laughed, "Ah, there are many that remember his name or nickname, but those that remember he once was a Shaolin disciple that went astray with the Dharma name Zhen Ding, would only be old me."

"Do not group us together, he is definitely in front of me. I would not dare call myself a hero. When he was at his peak, he was brave, heroic and righteous, and everyone received his kindness, even the demons feared him. At that time, I was still a nameless nobody that hears stories about him. Ah, I was born at the wrong time, such a pity I have never got to meet him."

Mu Yun Le's eyes were vacant as she still could not guess who it was. Wang Tong's eyes rolled as he seemed thoughtful.

"Okay, I am going to first sit in meditation to heal myself as quickly as possible." Liang Jiu Zhou's palms formed the Mudra on his lap as he closed his eyes and a slow white mist started to gather around the top of his head.

Mu Yun Le became alert of the surroundings but was only aware of the sound of rain falling outside. The raindrops seemed to knit together and form a pitter patter sound upon hitting the lotus leaves. In the temple, lay the Buddha statue, broken lamp, the lonely grey dressed monk. At that moment, she started to chant softly,

"When the bustling noise enters the empty door, it kills mortals, dreams lay in the cold as it wanders through life, debts accumulate… a straight sorrow, a broken lamp and a fallen mountain door…"

Her voice flutters in the wind, speaking of an endless picture.

At this point, she saw the grey-drabbed monk turn to face her and open his eyes. His voice was low and muffled, seeming to draw her, "Who taught you this song?"

Mu Yun Le pursed her lips together in a smile, "The unrefined lyrics from a remote village must seem funny to master. I had the opportunity to meet a Godly Monk Zhen Hui and hearing him chant made me interested and fond of the lyrics. Hence, I memorized them secretly."

"Godly Monk Zhen Hui…" the grey-dressed monk Zhen Ding stared blankly. It was definitely Meng Qi, he suddenly felt melancholy,

Even Zhen Hui has become a Godly Monk, these past ten years sure passed by in a flash, life or death were obscure…

After finishing saying, Mu Yun Le saw that Monk Zhen Ding did not respond but instead turned his back again and started knocking the wooden fish, dong, dong, dong. His mouth opened slightly and the sound of his chanting reverberated, "Hearing the youth, brings about laughter, envy for many others…"

Flowers bloom and flowers wither for dozens of years.

Hearing the youth bring about laughter… Mu Yun Le was stunned, she only saw the broken lamp and the back of the grey dressed monk. The sky was pitch black outside and only the lotus flower was flourishing. The sound of the chant was faint as it filled the place with a sorrowful mood.

This emotion and circumstance made her suddenly feel foolish as she silently chants,

"One cannot forget some things, even after a decade."

The sound of the chant fell silent as the wooden fish continued knocking, the deep voice sounded again,

"Leave behind your worries, keep away from mortal affairs."