The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

“Leave behind your worries, keep away from mortal affairs.”

The voice was deep and warm, resonating in the tottering main hall. Under the pouring sound of the rain, the small knocking sounds seemed to travel very far in the beautiful and secluded area.

Mu Yun Le was utterly stunned, she felt like something had cleansed through her soul, similar to her younger days when she accompanied her mother to the temple to redeem a vow. She had stayed a night and at that time she was still a very mischievous child and made so much noise it filled a whole courtyard. All of a sudden, she heard the knocking of the evening and morning bell, “Dong, Dong, Dong,” and she felt as if the dust on her soul had been washed off. Her soul became vacant and pure as if a huge peacefulness and calmness had overtaken. From then on, she had become more gentle and quiet.

Similar to the saying, “Leave behind your worries, keep away from mortal affairs,’ she had heard it many times before but it never had the touched and moved her the way that it had today. Thinking carefully, when other monks had recited the same saying, it was always for tonsuring, where they shaved off someone’s head. Because of the disheartened feeling when seeing the broken mortal world, that made people want to move to the secular world. The greenish black smoke rose, covering the face mostly to warn and have expectations. They were also grave and serene but lack the feeling of reminiscing that crossed and created a surge of feelings that the grey dressed monk Zhen Ding could do. They also lacked the feeling of having genuine importance of the Green Lamp of an Ancient Buddha.

All that loneliness, all that mournfulness, all the hope, were buried in that simple sentence.

Leave behind your worries, keep away from mortal affairs.

After a good amount of time had passed, Mu Yun Le finally regained her full consciousness and realized that, in that moment, she had forgotten to guard the outside of the temple. She stuck out her tongue sheepishly and said quietly in her heart, “Master has always said that I am too young, do not have sufficient practice, and am still slightly soft and immature. Master also said that my emotions are surface level and although I am very suited to the Huan Hua sect’s picturesque swordsmanship, I still lack a solid form. It is easy to integrate man and nature but in order to return to one’s true self like the seniors, it really is not easy. Now that I see it, I finally understand what it means…”

She honestly admitted to herself that her temperament is still not up to standard, just because of the circumstances that made her think, she almost forgot to stand guard.

“Master, you have also heard of this song? You know Godly Monk Zhen Hui? Your Dharma name is Zhen Ding, could it be that the Shaolin word Zhen for the generation under senior Superior Monk?” Mu Yunle borrowed the opportunity from sentiments felt the peacefulness to ask. She spread her consciousness wide, conforming with heaven and earth, feeling all sorts of movements and at the same time ask questions that puzzled her which she did not get to raise previously.

She then saw that the grey dressed monk Zhen Ding continued to lightly knock on the wooden fish, keeping his eyes closed and not turning around, reply lowly and concisely in one sentence, “Lucky to have heard of.”

Something that was heard twenty years ago… it has been long since he thought of his previous life…

The main hall suddenly became quiet, in the midst of the silence and calmness, exhaustion led to the lack of thoughts. Outside the temple, the rain poured rapidly as the wind changed, pitter patter sounds from the lotus leaves.

Mu Yun Le discreetly looked away, not wanting to disturb the grey dressed monk.

At this moment, Wang Tong said, “Lady Yun Le, why are you behaving so strangely and asking this monk so many questions?”

“Don’t you feel that Master Zhen Ding is the type of monk that hides his life story? He definitely has some heart-wrenching past, the type that would make tears fall uncontrollably…” Mu Yun Le’s eyes became pitch black as her mind turned, when she is not using her sword, she still had the playfulness of a young lady.

Saying until here, she suddenly laughed at herself, “Aiya, don’t bother about me, we who come from the Huan Hua sect are always so unthinkable.”

“I know, I know, everyone is from the Huan state, who wouldn’t know the lifestyle of the Huan Hua sect?” Wang Tong rushed to justify himself.

The lady in front of him was proud yet reserved, had an abundance of self-confidence and loved to receive compliments. When she used her sword, it would seem like her whole body was glowing. She was chivalrous and radiated confidence, making it hard not to stare. On normal days, she would also display joy and annoyance. With her innocence, every frown or smile was like a sight to behold…

He controlled his expression afraid that if Mu Yun Le saw his eyes, she would see the admiration that he could not suppress.

Right from the beginning, Mu Yun Le was not looking at him, one of her fingers lay on her lower jaw while the other supported her elbow as she surveyed the lonely night. She looked at the many lotuses getting splashed by the rain and how tell petals remain clean and fresh.

Dong, Dong, Dong, sounded the wooden fish, making people feel at peace. Unsure of how much time has passed, Liang Jiu Zhou breathed out sharply and spat out a mouthful of black-colored blood. His pale white face seemed to become a bit rosier.

“Senior Liang, has your injury improved significantly?” Mu Yun Le smiled saying. She felt that Liang Jiu Zhou’s energy increased significantly.

Liang Jiu Zhou breathed in slightly and said, “At dawn, my energy should have recovered by three quarters, which should be enough to take you all by the Air-Conveyance Technique.”

Mu Yun Le and Wang Tong had yet to say anything when Liang Jiu Zhou turned to face the outside of the temple only to see that the rain was still pouring and a fog had permeated the air. In the dark, it was impossible to see far. He frowned and said, “I was planning to make use of the darkness after I recovered to rush our journey and break away from anyone that might be chasing us… but this huge rain and this dark night is precisely the kind of environment that tyrannical demons like to roam in. If we were to meet with any kind of trouble, it would be endless, and would be no less than being attacked by the Exterior realm.”

The situation was urgent and the enemies lay behind, if not for the restrictions placed by the environment, they would not have been able to afford to hide from the rain and use the time to recuperate.

“Senior Liang, although the rainy dark night and demons are a threat to us, they would also be for our pursuers, don’t worry too much,” Wang Tong consoled.

Mu Yun Le muttered, “Does the senior know who our pursuers are?”

Previously, Liang Jiu Zhou only said that the pursuers were very powerful and tried to dissuade the two others from helping but did not go into detail.

Liang Jiu Zhou breathed out and said, “I don’t know about the others but I only know two of them. One of them is the current descendant of the Bodhisattva of Joy, the Bodhisattva of Desire Ying Ning. Although she has not ascended the first level of the Heavenly Stairs, she is not far from the fourth layer of heaven. The other is the maid of the Siren of Daluo Gu Xiaosang from the previous generation. Today’s Brocade-Weaving Idleman Shao Changge cultivation is not any worse than Ying Ning, but is as regarded as highly as the current generation’s Luo Sect’s holy maiden.”

“The current descendant of the Bodhisattva of Joy, the Bodhisattva of Desire Ying Ning… Brocade-Weaving Idleman Shao Changge…” Wang Tong inhaled a rush of cold air, these were all famous beings from the Heretic Evil Demon!

Mu Yun Le composed herself and said solemnly, “Are the Nine Demonic Sects involved?”

“Of course,” Liang Jiu Zhou replied and his expression gave away his feeling of unease.

Dong, Dong, Dong, they waited for the rain to stop as they guarded against their enemies. Unknowingly, the sky started to turn bright, the clouds retreated as the rain drizzled to a stop, it was a night of peace.

Liang Jiu Zhou dragged out a breath of air, at last, they had survived the most dangerous period. Hurriedly, they gathered themselves and paid their respects to the grey dressed monk Meng Qi, “Master, we have to leave, thank you for taking us in.”

Meng Qi bowed without saying anything.

Liang Jiu Zhou released the astral wind which gathered around Mu Yun Le and Wang Tong. Keeping close to the ground, they burst outwards and proceeded on their journey.

When leaving, Mu Yun Le could not help glancing backwards, but all she was the grey dressed monk sitting in the tottering main hall with the muted wooden fish as usual. Storing his soul away, his heart seemed as if to turn into dust, leaving only a shell of the person he once was.

A pleasant and safe journey, they reached the nearest Northern city.

…

Outside the range of the lonely mountains, the beautiful and lovable simple-minded Ying Ning looked at Shao Changge who purposely mimicked Gu Xiaosang and frowned, “I can’t believe we lost them, do you think they are hiding within the mountain ridges?”

“We already searched every inch of the mountain three times last night and fought five battles with the demons and still did not come across any trace of them? Looks like we were tricked by the traces they left behind,” Shao Changge said plainly.

Ying Ning snorted, “Since when did Liang Jiu Zhou have this kind of ability? Even if it was his sworn brother Gu Changqing, he would also not be able to hide from me!”

“Maybe they had a lucky encounter? Shao Changge looked afar and said, “We should head back.”

…

In the Northern city, Liang Jiu Zhou went to look for the storytellers from Huamei Heights that were here. Mu Yun Le listened to the music as she went for a walk through the streets along with Wang Tong by her side.

All of a sudden, her eyes flashed in recognition of someone familiar, “Hero Yuan, you also came to the north?”

Not far away stood a woman in bright bold clothing, not looking like anyone from the north or the Great Jin Dynasty. She had stunning features and her eyes and eyebrows had a mature look.

The hero that Mu Yun Le recognized was called Yuan Yang, from the Southern Wasteland. She had made used of the calling back of the Blood Cloak Cult to help several tribes escape from trouble and was looked up to by many. Now that the Blood Cloak Cult seemed to be stirring again, she had no choice but to retreat back to the Central Plains to devise a plan to protect herself first.

Due to the fact that Huan Hua Sect and the Southern Wastelands were rather near each other, she and Yuan Yang had met a few times before and both admired the other greatly. Especially under the circumstance where she does not have much inheritance, she has almost passed the first level of the Heavenly Stairs already!

Yuan Yang smiled sweetly, “You this little rascal, have you been travelling the grasslands?”

Little rascal… this name made Mu Yun Le fondly recall past memories. Quickly changing the topic, she asked, “Hero Yuan are you travelling?”

Yuan Yang’s smile softened, “Yes, and I am also looking for someone.”

Her expression suddenly became nonplussed, “Many have been saying that he is dead, but I believe he is definitely still alive but for some reason, is no longer roaming the martial arts world.”