Nightfall

Through Ning Que’s eyes, Sangsang saw that the Buddha mountain was still the same. The cliff yard changed a little and the field also remained the same. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were still chanting in their original positions and the indigo lion was still angry. Sangsang wondered whether or not the beast was tired after three years of wrath. Suddenly, she wanted to know how Ning Que spent the past three years.

“How did I spend the past three year? I just kept digging the ground with my iron cutlass. You can’t imagine how hard the mountain is. I only repaired one foot of the Buddha for the past three years. The farmers of Southland would look down on me if they were to ever see my work. I am so tired. What did I do when I was tired? Just rested for a while, just like how you would eat something when you are hungry.” Ning Que spoke at a fast speed and the pitch was particularly fluctuating, as if he was telling a very surprising story. Actually it was only because he had not spoken to anyone for three years.

Sangsang was silent for a moment and did not reveal any emotions. Then she asked, “What did you eat?”

In the past three years, what Ning Que could hear were the sounds of the iron cutlass falling on the cliff, the roaring of the indigo lion, the sound of the rolling stones, the sound of cicadas and frogs in the ponds, and the sounds of himself. At this point, he finally heard Sangsang’s voice and felt relax and happy. “What did I eat? Hey, there are many delicious things in this place. Boiled frogs, fried frogs, roasted frogs, and raw frogs. I change the recipe all the time!”

Sangsang remembered that Ning Que had said that there were some people in his world who made money by talking. These people often talked very fast and liked to use rhyme and repetition, or they liked and were also good at showing off their glibness in speech. Hearing what Ning Que said at this moment, she realized that he was probably mimicking those people.

Ning Que didn’t know what she was thinking, for he had no time to notice Sangsang and just happily talked about his life in the past three years. The saliva he spitted seemed to be more than the sweat he had dropped.

He said proudly, “I have oil too. Of course I need oil. I used the lotus seeds to extract oil and mixed the oil with wild vegetables or fried frogs. It is very delicious.”

Sangsang suggested “You should eat more vegetables.”

Ning Que replied, “Don’t worry. I know I should maintain a balance between meat and vegetables. I eat stewed lotus roots, fried lotus roots, and freshly peeled lotus seeds. In fact, my favorite is fried cicadas. But I feel a little guilty eating them when I think of my Third Sister.”

After three years of hard work, he was so thin and dark, and looked like the poor serfs under Xuankong Temple. But contrary to him, Sangsang felt much better. Even though the three poisons of attachment, aversion, and obsession were still inside her, she calmed down and was not as weak as before.

Seeing him, Sangsang could imagine how hard his life had been in the past three years and pitied him while listening to his story. The feeling was so strong that she felt so sorrowful and almost shed tears.

Ning Que sensed the sorrow in his heart. He went silent for a while and then smiled, “Don’t worry. You know that I am very good at living in the wild. I spent my whole childhood living in the wild.”

Sangsang didn’t reply. But you had me with you back on Min Mountain when we were little. Although you still carried me on your back, I did not actually accompany you during the past three years.

Ning Que was still nagging. She listened quietly and gradually narrowed her eyes, which represented her smile. Then she felt warm and gentle. After that, she frowned in his heart.

Sangsang went silent for a long time and then said, “I am a little tired. I want to sleep again.”

Ning Que didn’t expect this and was stunned for a while. But he replied with a smile, “Okay.”

Sangsang began to sleep again. This time, she slept for ten years.

…

…

Ten years later, Sangsang finally woke up.

She found that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the field did not change at all, but the snow mountain changed a lot. Ning Que had already repaired the feet of the statue of Buddha and was re-engraving the clothes. The iron cutlass kept cutting on the cliff, slowly forming the line of the clothes.

Compared with the past, Ning Que was much better at repairing the statue of Buddha and using the iron cutlass, just like those most sophisticated carvers in the town before Lanke Temple.

The progress of his carving technique resulted from the time he spent on carving and his hard work. Ning Que couldn’t remember how many times he slashed the iron cutlass in the past thirteen years. And his sweat dropped all over the cliff.

Sensing that she woke up, Ning Que was stunned and went silent for quite a while. Then he inserted the iron cutlass into the crack of the cliff, reached out to pat her hips and said with a smile, “Are you awake?”

“Yes,” said Sangsang.

“Then I take a break.” Ning sighed. He was a little tired and also satisfied. Holding her in his arms, he walked to the cliff and sat down, looking to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the field.

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas had chanted for thirteen years, and the Light of Buddha in the golden ponds shined brightly. Sangsang might die in the Light of Buddha if she still had the three poisons of attachment, aversion, and obsession inside her body.

The indigo lion roared at the cliff, and the clouds in the sky shattered instantly.

Looking at the angry indigo lion, Ning Que laughed and said, “Quit roaring! My wife just woke up, and I am the one who should be roaring.”

Sangsang looked at the lines of the clothes and felt that it was not a kasaya. She asked, “You changed Buddha’s clothes?”

Ning Que answered, “I always do things meticulously. I will never ignore the details.”

Sangsang asked, “Is the Buddha still the Buddha without the kasaya?”

Ning Que replied, “Why must the Buddha wear kasaya?”

Sangsang asked, “Then what should the Buddha wear?”

Thinking of the clothes he designed for the Buddha, Ning Que answered proudly, “You will know when I finish. I am sure you will like it.”

Sangsang was silent for a moment and said, “Your clothes are torn.”

As the World Wayfarer of the Academy, Ning Que always wore the uniform of the Academy in the human world. The uniform he picked was black, not easy to get it dirty, durable, and could resist ordinary attacks. That was why he hadn’t changed his clothes for many years, only washing it occasionally when it was too dirty.

He didn’t wear the uniform when he was imprisoned by Sangsang in the Divine Halls and only got it back when they left the West-Hill. Then, the black uniform had accompanied him for countless years in the chessboard world but didn’t decompose or break. But after thirteen years of carving, the uniform was torn. It showed that he worked hard during these years.

At this point, Ning Que was very thin, black, and had thick calluses on his hands, looking more like a farmer. But his eyes were very bright, for he felt better, more determined and stronger as Sangsang was gradually recovering from the poisons.

“I developed many new recipes during the past years.” Sensing that Sangsang was indeed a lot better than before, Ning Que was happy and held her in his arms. He pointed to the ponds at the foot of the mountain and said happily, “I thought there were no fishes in the ponds, but later I discovered that the fishes were hiding in the depths of the lotus field. I caught some and made a pot of fish soup. It was really delicious.”

He smacked his lips, recalling the delicious taste of the fish soup. Then he immediately felt down and said, “But it is a pity that there is too few fish and it is hard to catch them. Besides, I don’t have enough time.”

Sangsang was silent for a long time and then said, “I am a little tired. I want to sleep a bit more.”

After saying this, she fell asleep again. Nobody knew when she would wake up again.

Looking at her face, Ning Que was dull and struggled to squeeze out a smile, “Sleep well. I will take care of everything here.”

Sangsang’s long cycles of sleep reminded him of the time when she was seriously ill and he was very worried about her. But he did notice that she was getting better and thought that the three poisons were so powerful that she might need more time to recover.

He felt a little tired and sat on the edge of the cliff to look at the field silently. The body he held in his arms was so tall, but he looked very lonely.

He could endure the exhaustion and pain for he still had hope. But loneliness was the hardest thing to tackle in the human world. He felt extremely lonely since he only said a few words to Sangsang during the thirteen years of repairing the statue of Buddha.

Due to the emotional problems, Ning Que took a break from the heavy work. He slept all day and didn’t wake up until the next morning. He stretched his waist and the strained muscles and bones squeaked. He lowered his head and kissed Sangsang on the cheek.

“Black…pig.”

“Black…pig.”

“La, lala, lalalala! Lalalala! La…la!”

“La, lala, lalalala! Lalalala! La…la! Black…pig.”

In the lonely rhythm, he carried Sangsang on the back, tied the big black umbrella tightly, held the iron cutlass and climbed up and down the cliff. He kept carving skillfully, forming new lines of the clothes of Buddha.

Buddha had a pair of delicate feet.

The kasaya that the Buddha wore gradually changed, and it looked simple but elegant. The kasaya had a hemline trailed to the ground, looking like a loose handmaiden costume woren by a thin body.

Three years later, Sangsang woke up.

She looked at the familiar handmaiden costume and was silent.

Ning Que bit a lotus branch and asked, “How do you feel? Does it look familiar?”

Sangsang said, “If I wear it now, it would not be so loose.”

Ning Que replied, “Although your body has changed, you look as beautiful as before in my eyes.”

Sangsang asked, “How is your progress?”

Ning Que pointed to the summit and answered, “I will start to repair the face of Buddha tomorrow.”

Sangsang was surprised, but she didn’t show any joy.

She said, “You are faster than before.”

Ning Que replied with a smile, “Practice makes perfect.”

Sangsang asked, “Will everything end after you finish your work?”

Ning Que answered, “Of course, everything will end soon.”

Sangsang was silent for quite a while and then said, “Indeed, everything will end soon.”