Nightfall

The wheelchair was not big, but it was still too big for the Abbey Dean, for he was very thin now. Even if he were to wrap himself in a blanket, he couldn’t take up too much space. Any great person would end up in a small casket after death, but of course we couldn’t use this to deny the greatness of that person.

He quietly looked at the gray sky with bleakly. He was no longer in high and vigorous spirits as the day he entered Chang’an. At this point, he was old and ailing like a candle guttering in the wind.

If one were to disregard the issues of good, evil, morality or the future of mankind, then the Abbey Dean was certainly a great man. Although he had one foot in the grave, he was still thinking about great things.

Putting Haotian in his plan, who dared to say that this was not great?

Long Qing went silent for a long time and then couldn’t help but asked, “What if?”

The Abbey Dean answered, “There is no ‘what if’.”

He was the greatest person of Taoism in the millennium, and he was the most devout follower of Haotian. Although he was scheming against Haotian, he would never doubt the almighty Haotian. “No one can kill Haotian, not Headmaster of Academy, not even Buddha.”

Long Qing looked at the gray sky and said, “But Buddha trapped Haotian in the chessboard.”

The Abbey Dean explained, “The chessboard is the Nirvana of Buddha. Although I can see that Buddha had reached Nirvana, I clearly know what Buddha wants to do, but it is all in vain.”

Long Qing replied, “I don’t understand.”

The Abbey Dean said, “Haotian knows everything and is capable of doing anything. Although she thought she didn’t know, she still knows. Even if God’s Plan doesn’t work, she still has God’s Heart. And God’s Heart falls exactly in the chessboard. It is her own intention to go inside the chessboard. Otherwise why is she looking for the trace of Buddha in the human world?”

Long Qing asked, “Why does Haotian want to look for the chessboard?”

The Abbey Dean answered, “Because she needs the chessboard to go back to the Divine Kingdom.”

Long Qing replied, “I still don’t understand.”

The Abbey Dean answered,”I guess she hasn’t figured it out either, let alone you.”

Long Qing frowned and said, “But you understand.”

“Because Haotian had given me a hint.”

The Abbey Dean pointed to the dark sky and said, “It’s not Taoism that had tried to scheme against Haotian, and it’s not me who wanted to kill Haotian with the help of Buddha’s plan. It was Haotian herself who wanted to go back.”

Long Qing was silent for a long time. He understood what the Abbey Dean meant. Even if Buddha were to kill Haotian in the chessboard, it only meant it would help Haotian to turn back into the purest rule.

But…is this really her own idea? Or is it the idea of Haotian in the Divine Kingdom? What is her relationship with Haotian in the Divine Kingdom? Who is the real Haotian?

“They are both Haotian,” the Abbey Dean said.

“If Buddha is really in the chessboard and can suppress and even occupy Haotian forever, then how could she return to Divine Kingdom if Buddha were to never kill her or were to never let her out?”

Long Qing said, “One year ago, the Chief Monk of Scripture said that there is only affinity to Buddha, never Heaven’s Will.”

Hearing this, the Abbey Dean couldn’t help but laugh, and he laughed happily and innocently, like a child who secretly opened a gift in a tree house. And he even shedded tears.

“Except for Haotian herself, nothing would last forever. Maybe she will die inside the chessboard, and then she will back to the Divine Kingdom. Or maybe she will survive the chessboard, and then she will also go back to the Divine Kingdom.” The Abbey Dean took over the handkerchief that Long Qing handed over, wiped away the tears on his face, and said with a smile, “Who can trap Haotian? How can Haotian be trapped? Even if one were to escape God’s Plan, then how can one ever escape God’s Heart? Even Haotian herself can’t escape her own mind, let alone the Headmaster of Academy or the bullshit Buddha. What a joke!”

Long Qing still didn’t understand. If Haotian were to die in the chessboard, then maybe she could turn back into rule and return to Divine Kingdom. But why is the Abbey Dean so sure that she will return to Divine Kingdom if she were to survive?

The Abbey Dean felt cold and held up his skinny right hand.

The middle-aged man stood behind the wheelchair in silence. Seeing the gesture, he pushed the wheelchair to the stone house.

The Abbey Dean gave Long Qing his instruction, then refreshed his spirit by closing his eyes.

“Tell Xiong Chumo to get ready.”

…

…

Morning bells and evening drums. Spring flowers and autumn fruits. Pickles and rice/ Black crows and creeks. Buddhist scriptures and the sky. Lakes and white towers. Time and space seemed to be flowing and also staying still.

Ning Que had finished reading hundreds of volumes of Buddhist scriptures, and began to read the notes left by the previous generations of monks. Accompanied by the bells, he cultivated Buddhism in silence, and his understanding of the Buddha Dharma gradually deepened. His mind was naturally tranquil like a well without any waves.

Sangsang was still watching the sky, sometimes in the small courtyard, sometimes by the lake, sometimes through the stream and sometime through the lake water. It seemed that she could never get bored.

One morning, Ning Que came to the White Tower Temple after making breakfast. As usual, he gossiped with the demented monk named Monk Qingban, and then went to the meditation room to read the scriptures.

His heart was filled with joy and peace while reading some wonderful contents in the Buddhist scriptures, and he only felt that he was suddenly enlightened. Listening to the bells coming from the distant hall, he seemed to have forgotten his troubles.

All of a sudden, he saw a shadow on the wall, which was the figure printed by the candlelight. The shadow was sitting with the legs crossed, as if it was cultivating.

It wasn’t until now did he notice that the sky was dark outside the window and it was late at night. He couldn’t help but feel that Buddha Dharma was indeed wonderful and reading Buddhist Scriptures could make people forget the passing of time and all the sadness and suffering.

Sangsang did not accompany him to the White Tower Temple today. Thinking that she was still waiting for him to go back to make dinner, Ning Que collected the Buddhist scriptures on the table and blow out the candles, preparing to leave.

He suddenly took a step back before he was about to cross the threshold.

He was silent for a long time while standing inside the threshold, and sweats gradually appeared on his forehead.

He wanted to turn back, but he dared not to do so. He had a strong feeling that something bad would happen and he would lose the wonderful life he had now if he were to turn back.

He struggled for a long time and eventually turned around.

Because he was very curious. For humans, it was the most powerful emotion to be able to overcome fear.

Ning Que saw the shadow on the wall again.

He was no longer reading the Buddhist Scriptures by the table. The candles on the table were already extinguished, and the stars above the temple were covered by clouds. The room was dark, but the shadow was still there.

It was not his shadow. Then whose shadow was it?

Looking at the shadow, Ning Que was silent for quite a while and then walked to the wall.

His footsteps were heavy and his expression was solemn.

Walking to the wall, he observed it for a long time in silence. He even reached out and touched it, only to find that there was nothing strange about this shadow. It was just a normal shadow which could be seen but not be touched.

The trees, the sun and the mountains all have their own shadows. Then whose shadow is this? How can there be a shadow that exists by itself in the world? Ning Que thought for a while and then sat before the shadow with his legs crossed.

It wasn’t until then did he find that it was his own shadow, for it looked exactly the same as his figure.

He didn’t notice that the shadow seemed to be cultivating with the legs crossed when he sat by the desk before.

It suddenly occurred to him that he once saw a shadow on a stone wall in the depths of the cliff cave in the Xuankong Temple.

That was the shadow of Master Lian Sheng.

Is it possible that I have already reached the state that Lian Sheng had mastered? Ning Que was surprised. He sat on the lotus seat and formed Emblematic Gesture in his Ocean of Consciousness, and started to cultivate Buddha Dharma.

He was worried that the shadow would fade away and wanted to strengthen it.

In only an instant, he entered the meditation state in which he forgot himself and all the things around him.

What shocked him was that the shadow on the wall began to move! No longer crossing its legs, the shadow stood up on the wall, raised its arms to the top of its head, as if it was holding up something very heavy. No, the shadow seemed to be trying to break through the sky!

But the sky was too heavy, so the shadow did not succeed. And it began to hold its head and twist its body into different strange shapes, as if it was in severe pain.

The shadow continued to struggle, looking like a black flame that was burning on the white wall and bursting into flames. It looked like that the shadow was performing a weird dance and was inviting the whole world to dance with it!

Ning Que looked at the shadow who was struggling in pain, and somehow he could understand its pain. What made him feel cold was that he could sense extreme unwillingness and anger which was so desperate that the whole world would be weeping over it.

Ning Que was hit by grievance and sadness, then bursted into tears.

At this moment, a bell came from the White Tower Temple.

The evening course should be over by now, then why is there a bell coming from the temple?

The bell was so melodious that it can calm everyone’s minds.

Listening to the bell, Ning Que gradually became calm.

The shadow on the wall also became calm, but an instant later, it began to struggle again. And its struggle was even crazier and more violent due to the bell!

Then there was a loud noise!

It wasn’t the bell in the temple, but the voice in Ning Que’s mind. He felt that in his head, there was someone swinging a sharp axe into his skull!

An indescribable pain spread from his head to his body. He turned extremely pale, and his lips began to tremble. The pain was so severe that he couldn’t make a sound!

The bell stopped, and it was very quiet everywhere.

But the bell in Ning Que’s head was still going on, and the axe kept chopping his skull as if it was trying to cut his head open. He kept clutching is head and rolling on the ground due to the severe pain!

What is happening?

Because of the intense pain, his sweat drenched his clothes. Due to the trance, he did not realize that deep down in his Ocean of Consciousness, there were several fragments of consciousness that became extremely bright, as if they were going to explode.

His only remaining consciousness was to find the person who kept swinging the axe in his head. He wanted to kill that person and release himself from the terrible pain!

He climbed to the wall, looked at the shadow which was still struggling crazily, then pulled out the iron cutlass and used all his strength to attack the shadow. He knew that all this must be related to the shadow, so he had to hack it!

The iron cutlass fell on the wall, causing the dust to rise and the bricks to fly around. But the shadow was still there, in front of his eyes.

At this moment, a bell suddenly came from the high sky above the temple.

The bell fell into the meditation room, and also fell on his body and heart.

The bell was another large axe.

Someone was swinging the axe in his head.

Someone was swinging the axe in the sky.

Curling up in the corner, he turned pale and his eyes were full of pain, as if he would die at any moment.

…