569 Ask and It Shall Be Given (2/2)
It was unknown when the black horse carriage entered the cottage. Sangsang, who was in the carriage, had a fur coat and was snuggled in the blankets. She was no longer cold. However, when she heard the master cough, she could not help but cough painfully as well. Her face paled.
Ning Que, who was sitting by the carriage window lifted up the curtains to look around the cliff cave. He complained somewhat annoyedly, ”The old man knows that his cough is contagious, why didn't he try to control himself.”
This was a deliberate joke on Ning Que's part, but Sangsang did not laugh like she did for his sake in the past. She said worriedly, ”Master's illness seems to have gotten worse.”
Ning Que was speechless. Even though Master Qishan had been ill for long, weakened and haggard, yet he wasn't as weak as he was now when they first met. What had aggravated his illness?
It was naturally caused by the Go game.
...
...
The Buddhism Sect stresses on equality of all beings, but it was impossible to achieve absolute equality. For example, during the Yue Laan Hungry Ghost Festival, ordinary people would not even have the opportunity to enter the Wa mountain, so how would they meet Master Qishan? As such, how would they even have the opportunity to compete with cultivators on an equal footing and gain the chance to become the fated one?
Not even those who have come to the mountain today were equal. Master Qishan did not arrange the order in which the cultivators were to enter. As such, this was decided by the abbot of the Lanke Temple.
Other than the West-Hill Divine Palace and the Academy, most cultivators in the world did not dare go against royalty. The South Jin Kindom was second only to the Tang Empire. As such, the Crown Prince of South Jin Kingdom was the first to enter.
The South Jin Kingdom Crown Prince did not stay in the cave for long before leaving. Nobody knew what question he had asked, or whether it had anything to do with his fate with the Calligraphy Addict or the future of South Jin Kingdom. But he seemed a little lost, and they guessed that while the answer he had received was not pleasant, it wasn't unfavorable either. He might not be able to understand it just yet.
Quni Madi's status in the cultivation world was extremely high. She was also the royal aunt of the Yuelun Kingdom. As such, she was the second to enter.
The cliff cave was very clean and simply furnished. There was a futon, a straw mat, two blankets and some necessities. Master Qishan sat on the futon.
Quni Madi looked at the Master. Unlike other cultivators who were respectful, she did not bother to hide the hatred and ridicule in her expression.
He looked at her quietly and said, ”That year, you insisted on coming to see me on Tile Mountain. I have lived in seclusion for many years, but was forced to write you a letter. It seems as if I was really wrong.”
”You were wrong.”
Quni Madi said hatefully, ”You are my only elder in the Buddhism Sect. I came to you that year for you to clear my doubts. I asked if I should give birth to the child in my womb, and you said I should. I did so, and then, my child and I were separated for decades, and I had to grieve his death. Of course you were wrong.”
Master Qishan sighed and said, ”Even though the child was still in your womb, he was already a life. Buddhism is compassionate, so how could we kill? Furthermore, the child was highly fated for Buddhism.”
Quni Madi said shrilly, ”If you could see that the child was fated for Buddhism, then why couldn't you tell that he would be killed by those in Chang'an? If you couldn't see that, then you shouldn't have left me that letter!”
Master Qishan said, ”These have all passed and there is no use speaking of them now. I don't understand... why visit if you bear such a grudge toward me?”
Quni Madi panted in pain before calming down. She stared at the master and said hatefully, ”You were wrong once, so I want you to prophesy for me again.”
Master Qishan said with an odd expression, ”What else do you want to know?”
Quni Madi said viciously, ”I want to know when Ning Que will die!”
Master Qishan shook his head, ”Not even Buddha can foretell life and death, much less an ordinary person like myself.”
Quni Madi said heatedly, ”Then you have to tell me how I can get revenge for my son!”
Master Qishan suddenly looked up and out of the cave. He thought of the Buddhist chariot from the faraway Xuankong Temple. After a long moment of silence, he said, ”Since you've already made plans, why come and ask me?”
Then, he looked at Quni Madi quietly and said, ”But I have to remind you. You have been a Buddhist for decades, but you cannot shed your anger and hatred. You cannot blame others for this. You cannot blame the person on the Buddhist chariot, nor those in the Yuelun palace and least of all that child you bore. You have to ask yourself.”
”The thing you hate most— if not for what happened in the Wilderness, Ning Que wouldn't shame you before the palace. Dao Shi wouldn't have returned to Yuelun or go to Chang'an to be killed by Ning Que. You want revenge. Who should you serve it to? Ning Que or yourself?”
Said Master Qishan as he looked at her sympathetically.
Quni Madi was incensed when she heard this, and her entire body trembled. Green veins appeared in her right hand as she clutched her wooden cane tightly. She yelled, ”It is fine if you do not wish to answer my question. Why make up mystical things again? Uncle Qishan, you are not Buddha, but you dare to give what was requested like Buddha. You will come to a violent death!”
Master Qishan said, ”I am in the mortal world but I desire to reach the Buddhist Kingdom. I just want to lift the burdens of those in the world. I knew that I would suffer karma, and will accept death. What is the difference between a violent death and dying from old age?”
...
...
The Flower Addict, Lu Chenjia did not enter the cave. She looked at the cultivators quietly and indifferently. She was already detached from this world and no longer had any doubts. As such, she did not need to enter the cave to ask the master to solve any.
The cultivators all had their own doubts, so they entered the cave one after another. None of them stayed for long, but all had a satisfied look on their faces when they came out. However, no one mentioned what they had asked about.
Mo Shanshan should have been one of the first to enter the cave, but she did not fight with the cultivators. Perhaps she was thinking of what to ask, so she only entered the cave at the very end.
She sat on the futon silently, not knowing what to ask. After a long while, she said somewhat shamefacedly, ”I really don't know what to ask.”
As the Calligraphy Addict who had entered the Knowing Destiny State at a young age, she had become a Divine Talisman Master. She was doted upon by the Master of Calligrapher and was respected by her peers. It seemed as if there wouldn't be anything lacking in Mo Shanshan's life.
Master Qishan looked at her and said tenderly, ”Since you have come to Tile Mountain, you must have had a problem at the beginning. And all problems require an answer.”
Mo Shanshan thought of the black horse carriage. She smiled and said, ”I did have a problem that I wanted to ask you to solve, however, I have already received an answer.”
Master Qishan answered, ”That is good.”
Mo Shanshan stood up and bowed to him politely before leaving the cottage.
She suddenly stopped at the entrance. She turned and asked, ”Master, there is a concept called reincarnation in Buddhism. Is there... really an afterlife?”
She suddenly smiled and said, ”I was just asking, you don't have to answer.”
Master Qishan did not answer, but he also smiled.
...
...
-