945 A Prairie Fire (1/2)

A monk walked out of the hall. He was young, swarthy and chubby. His eyes were set apart, which made him look honest and dull, while innocent and clumsy. Yet his eyes were crystal clear and glittering.

He was holding a well steamed hot bun. The steamed bun tasted so good that he was engaging himself in the taste and forgot to look ahead. Thus he knocked into Ning Que.

”Ouch! Ouch!”

The monk rubbed his head and his fingers wiped the dots that were etched on his forehead. He was still tightly holding the steamed bun in his left hand and his fingers stuck to the bun. His eyes were filled with tears. It seemed like he was really in pain.

He knocked into Ning Que because he was not watching his way. But upon seeing his clumsiness and innocence, Ning Que took pity on him and apologized to him tenderly.

The monk looked into Ning Que and got stunned for a second. Then he seemed have forgotten his pain and suddenly cheered up. He gave the steamed bun to Ning Que and beamed a hearty smile, ”Take it.”

Ning Que found it abrupt and asked, ”Why are you giving it to me?”

The monk answered, ”Because you look like me. My master said I am a good man. Then you must be a good man too.”

Ning Que looked at this clumsy monk and wondered, How could I look like you? He asked, ”Who are you?”

The clumsy monk answered, ”I'm Qingban Zi.”

Ning Que figured from his expressions and words that this monk was probably mentally dysfunctional. He asked casually, ”Where is Qingban Zi from?”

Monk Qingban refused to answer and placed the steamed bun at Ning Que's mouth.

Ning Que took the bun to take a bite.

Monk Qingban then clapped his hands cheerfully and led Ning Que towards the wall of the temple. He pointed to the moss-covered rock stairs outside the side entrance and said, ”I come from here.”

Ning Que looked at the rock stars and understood what he meant. He was probably abandoned by his parents and left on those rock stairs outside the White Tower Temple. The monks here took him in and raised him.

”Why did you say we looked alike?” he asked curiously.

Monk Qingban chuckled and looked shy. ”My Master said I am dull but I brought wisdom from my previous lives. Fellow monks here all said I'm dull. You looked dull previously. Then you must have brought wisdom from your previous live as well.”

Ning Que reasoned, I have the eminent monk Lian Sheng in my Ocean of Consciousness, of course I have wisdom. But the monks said Qingban is dull. How does dullness have anything to do with carrying on wisdom?

Monk Qingban was innocent and lovable. Ning Que would never hurt him with such nonsense or cause trouble for him. He let Qingban hold his hand and stroll around the temple.

The distant bell sounds in the temple pacified Ning Que's mind. The strange feeling he experienced by the lake when he was watching the reflection of the White Tower on the lake water had completely disappeared, which made him feel comfortable.

In a meditation room in the side hall, Monk Qingban showed Ning Que over three hundred volumes of Buddhist scriptures his Master had left to him, as if a child was showing off his collection of treasures.

Ning Que did not want to upset him, so he picked up a volume randomly and started reading. He wowed from time to time. Monk Qingban sat restlessly beside him and looked very cheerful.

The scriptures talked about the ultimate truth. Ning Que was perfunctory at the beginning. But gradually he found himself deeply captivated by the teaching and forgot about time.

When recollected himself, it was already very dark. He was worried and stood up immediately. He woke up Monk Qingban who had been sleeping on his futon, left the White Tower Temple, and rushed home.

He was worried because while he was indulging in reading scriptures, he had missed the time to cook dinner for Sangsang. Eating and sleeping were her most important businesses nowadays. What would she say?

Sangsang was not in the courtyard. She was standing under the tree by the brook. She heard Ning Que's footsteps but did not turn to him. Instead, she was still engaged in watching the sky.

A small white flower in her hair shuddered in the wind.

Ning Que came to her and expressed his sincerest apology for forgetting about cooking dinner tonight.

Sangsang was in a very good mood because she had been watching the sky the whole day. It was so beautiful that she completely forgot about eating. So she forgave Ning Que generously.

That night when they were having dinner in the courtyard, Ning Que mentioned what he saw in the White Tower Temple during the day. He told her about the dull Monk Qingban and asked, ”Would you like to come with me and meet him tomorrow?”

”It's good you've made some new friends.”

She answered like any ordinary housewife would, but did not promise to go with him the following day. Because she would rather stay home and watch the sky. It was so charming that she could never get enough of it.