Nightfall

In the autumn many years ago, there was once a Light of Buddha that penetrated the temple and landed on Sangsang.

The Light of Buddha was so compassionate and cold at the same time. In the light, Sangsang’s face seemed paler and her body seemed slighter.

During that time, she looked at Ning Que outside the Light of Buddha and bursted into tears silently.

From that moment on, she became the daughter of Invariant Yama and suffered endless pain and fear. And then she and Ning Que began to be hunted by the whole human world.

The Light of Buddha back then was undoubtedly the most fundamental turning point for the both of them. All the stories that happened later began here.

How could Ning Que ever forget?

At this moment, looking at the Light of Buddha on the cliff and Sangsang within, he seemed to return to the past, and the most painful emotions were all poured into his mind.

“No!” He cried out painfully.

…

…

The Light of Buddha appeared so suddenly, connecting the cliff yard and the sky together. Even Sangsang could not tell whether it was coming from the sky or from the bottom of the cliff.

More precisely, the Light of Buddha connected the cliff yard with the clouds.

Countless clouds gathered above the mountain peaks, completely covering the blue sky.

With her hands behind her back, Sangsang looked up at the depths of the Light of Buddha calmly.

Her face was as white as snow under the bright light.

Since she put her hands behind her back, she could no longer hold Ning Que’s hand.

Even though Sangsang was Haotian, she had to be concentrate while dealing with the Light of Buddha.

However, at this point, she heard Ning Que’s painful shouting coming from behind.

She didn’t frown seeing the Light of Buddha, but frowned tightly hearing Ning Que’s shouting.

Turning around, she looked at Ning Que and asked, “What do you mean ‘No’?”

Ning Que was affected by the Light of Buddha and was spitting out blood. And he turned extremely pale for he worried about her safety. He had never imagined that the whole thing would turn out to be like this.

He looked at Sangsang in the Light of Buddha and didn’t know what to say.

Sangsang did not cry, did not vomit blood and even did not call his name. She showed no fear.

Sangsang was not as thin and pitiful as before.

Her figure was so tall. Even the Light of Buddha couldn’t be compared to her radiance.

He realized that Sangsang had grown up.

She was now the omnipotent and omniscient Haotian, not the little handmaiden who refused to leave his side. She no longer needed his protection, but began to protect him.

“Nothing.” Ning Que answered with a smile. Then he went speechless and began to vomit blood.

Sangsang was a little irritated. Human beings are really troublesome creatures. They are terrified at one moment and then laugh the next moment. I don’t really know what is going on in his mind. Seeing the blood in the corner of his lips, she thought she understood what he meant. He must be in extreme pain under the pressure of the Light of Buddha since I am not holding his hand. The “No” he said must mean he that doesn’t want me to let go of his hand. And his boring self-esteem of male animals is no doubt the root of “nothing” he said later.

“I am not available.” Sangsang said to him, “Can you open the umbrella?”

She used to the one who vomited blood, and now it was his turn to be the weaker one. Ning Que was immersed in the sentimental emotion brought by the change. Hearing what Sangsang said, he suddenly woke up and took out the big black umbrella.

From the autumn at Lanke Temple, the big black umbrella had been tortured for many years and had been worn out. Ning Que brought the umbrella back from the eucalyptus tree and mended it with old cloths. The umbrella looked ugly, just like a beggar’s outfit that was covered with patches. Since the umbrella hadn’t been washed for many years, it was full of black mud and not as beautiful as before.

Ning Que didn’t care about this, and he was pleased to find that the black umbrella could actually block the Light of Buddha. Looking toward the depths of the light along Sangsang’s eyes, Ning Que wanted to see where the enemy was.

He was in good mood and so was Sangsang. The Xuankong Temple finally responded. She was very much looking forward to it rather than being afraid, for the clue of Buddha’s whereabouts might lie within the sudden change of the temple’s attitude.

However, what happened next somewhat surprised them.

The chanting sounds echoing around the cliffs gradually became neat, and the loud and distant bell did not cover up the sounds. And the bell was more like the wind in the bellows, helping the chanting sounds become louder and louder.

With the changes of the bell and the sounds, the Light of Buddha on the cliff yard had also changed. Its color had become clearer and clearer, and the Power of Buddha contained in it had also become more and more horrible.

Sangsang stood in the Light of Buddha with her hands behind her back, looking calm.

Ning Que’s hand which held the umbrella handle trembled slightly, and it was getting hard for him to hold the umbrella still. Putting the green pear into the sleeve, he used both his hands to barely make the umbrella steady.

…

…

On the summit. Behind the Grand Hall of the Xuankong Temple.

With nobody around, the ancient clock swayed with the wind.

The bell rang through the entire giant peaks and also the field under the peaks, reaching the cliff far away and bounced back. And the cycle repeated endlessly.

Sitting cross-legged on the stone steps in front of the Grand Hall, dozens of monks meditated with their eyes closed and kept chanting the scriptures with the rhythm of the bell.

Qi Nian sat in the forefront. He was very powerful for he had cultivated Silent Meditation for many years. The words he chanted today were far more than he ever said in the past decade, and his sound was full of infinite power.

The rest of the monks were very old. Their white eyebrows seemed to hang down to the chest and their hands which were put together were more wrinkled than the bark of the oldest tree in the cliff. They were obviously the powerful elders of Xuankong Temple.

There were also people chanting in the Grand Hall. Master Qi Mei who had been severely injured by Ning Que’s Eldest Brother in front of the Cong Ridge knelt before the Buddha statue in the most pious manner, chanting the scriptures ceaselessly. The back of his head was severely deformed, and his chanting was a little ambiguous. However, the chanting somehow became extremely clear while coming out of the hall.

Hundreds of monks in red kasaya sat cross-legged on the cliff yard in several yellow temples in the East Peak and the West Peak. They put their palms together devoutly and looked determined, chanting ceaselessly.

Thousands of monks in gray kasaya sat cross-legged in the meditation room in dozens of temples on the mountainside. They put their palms together devoutly and looked nervous, chanting ceaselessly.

Countless monks in robes with different colors sat cross-legged in front of Buddha status in hundreds of yellow temples at the foot of the mountains. They put their palms together devoutly and looked puzzled, chanting ceaselessly.

Millions of people kneeled toward the direction of Xuankong Temple in the vast field at the bottom of the giant sinkhole. It did not matter whether they were shabbily dressed or well dressed because they looked very pious. They kept praying.

The different positions in the Buddha land meant different clothes and different performances. The powerful monks didn’t have to sit in front of the Buddha statues, but the normal ones needed to rely on the Buddha statues to gain courage. The most powerful monk looked calm, the less powerful monks looked determined, the normal monks looked nervous and the puzzled ones didn’t even understand what was going on.

Those devout followers in the field didn’t understand what was going on either, but their faiths were the firmest. They had never learned any scriptures, but their praying had the most powerful effect.

But no matter which ground these people belonged to, they kept chanting and praying.

The Buddha land was full of the sounds of bell, chanting, and praying.

The clouds remained calm, but gradually revealed some traces.

That was the shadow projected by the scriptures.

The real scriptures were in the air. Thousands of temple-sized words were flecked with faint golden light, drifting over the heads of herdsmen, through real temples and across the green trees among the cliffs. And these words kept changing positions in the sky.

The dark field was brightly illuminated by the scriptures with golden light.

The followers who kneeled in the field showed excited expressions on their faces. They became more pious, their hearts to Buddha were much firmer, and the sounds of their praying became clearer.

Compared with the kneeling herdsmen, Jun Mo who stood silently by a blue lake near the cliff wall seemed very special. He looked so lonely but so powerful.

He looked at the scriptures with golden light flying to the giant peaks and frowned slightly.

…

…

Thousands of scriptures with golden light gathered together from all directions and rotated around the giant peaks slowly, making the trees and temples among the peaks bright and then dark. The Light of Buddha on the cliff yard became brighter.

In the Light of Buddha, Ning Que held the umbrella handle tightly with both hands and struggled to keep the umbrella steady.

Looking at the depths of the Light of Buddha, Sangsang turned paler and paler. But she didn’t fight back, for she wanted to see clearly where the light came from and where Buddha was.

Ning Que looked at her back and felt nervous. Although he didn’t know what the Xuankong Temple was capable of or what the scriptures with golden light in the sky meant, he did have unmatched talent on Fu Tao. He instinctively calculated that the Buddhists would attack when these golden words were finally arranged into a Buddhist Scripture. I’m afraid Sangsang might have trouble dealing with it when the Buddhist Scripture is completed. Why does she still not fight back?

Sangsang stared at the depths of the Light of Buddha for a long time.

All of a sudden, she looked toward the cliff yard and said, “I see.”

…

…

The mountain where the Xuankong Temple was located was the highest and most massive mountain in the human world.

However, the mountain had been hidden in the giant sinkhole the whole time. Looking from the surface, it was just a obscure hummock.

The meaning within was consistent with the nature law believed by Buddhism.

Because the mountain was the highest man in the human world who refused to reveal himself to the world.

The cliff yard was not a real one, but the open palm of the highest man that was facing the sky.

The pear tree by the cliff was not a real one either, but a flower held by the man between his fingers.

The man was Buddha.

Ning Que and Sangsang stood on the cliff yard, next to the pear tree. In other words, they actually stood in the palm of Buddha, under the little white flower between his fingers!

Sangsang took off the small white flower in her hair and threw it into the wind. She looked at the summit and said ironically, “The mountain is just your dead body, not you. Do you think you can trap me in your palm like this?”

Yes, the mountain was not Buddha, but the remains of him after he reached nirvana.

However, it was still the remains of Buddha, the highest mountain in the human world.

Who could escape from Buddha’s palm?

…