977 Cultivating Buddhism Another Part II (2/2)

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.”

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