Chapter 2 (1/2)

The acceleration of the fall chilled his body and froze his heart solid. He was only an ordinary human. Other than death, he couldn’t think of a different ending from falling at such a height.

The wind rattled his ears. He didn’t know how much time had passed until a loud *plonk* was heard, followed by a large splash. In that instant, Jiang Xiaofan became ecstatic. He was grateful that he knew how to dive, having learned it long ago for the sake of peeping on girls playing in the water. Otherwise, he would’ve been in hell right now, having a chess match with Satan.

“Son of a bitch! That damned sissy boy, how dare he burn our bridge?! After I get out of here, I’ll get a big black dog to sic him!” Jiang Xiaofan loudly cussed as he swam towards the shore.

“You who have come from afar, you are finally here. I have long waited for you.”

After he had climbed onto dry land, a voice echoed. In front of him from a short distance was an eroded stone platform with a monk sitting in lotus position on top. Xiaofan didn’t know how many years had passed him by. The old monk’s flesh and blood looked withered like rotten wood.

“Who…. Who are you?”

Startled, he unconsciously took a step back. He didn’t think that there’d be a monk here. Accurately speaking, he was more like a dried up corpse.

“I am Dipankara[1]….”

“Fuck, then I’m Gautama!”

He had reflexively said this out of fear but then immediately thought that his speech was too vulgar. Instead, the old monk simply nodded his head.

“You…. believe me?”

“Of course, why shouldn’t I? Buddha once said that Heaven and Earth are one. This universe has no form. All beings are buddhas.”

He was taken aback. There was something vastly different about this old monk, especially when compared with those monastery monks back on Planet Earth. Even though he was so emaciated, he emanated an aura of spiritual transcendence.

Not easily daunted, Jiang Xiaofan recomposed himself. He asked the monk why he had chosen to stay here, but the monk’s response elicited another cuss from him, nearly puking a mouthful of blood.

“I have been meditating here for eighteen thousand years, waiting for the fated person. I wish to pass on this sutra….”

The monk’s eyes were etched with emotion, causing Jiang Xiaofan to momentarily hesitate. However, he soon firmly shook his head. Who was he kidding? He was still an innocent virgin and wasn’t ready to give up his mortal desires just yet.

Caught slightly off guard, the old monk thought again and faintly smiled. With both hands in Anjali Mudra[2] position, he explained, “I merely want to pass it down. Whatever happens in the future is up to you as the judge….”

Jiang Xiaofan inspected the old monk carefully. This felt too surreal. Somehow, he had encountered the legendary Dipankara, Buddha of the Past, and furthermore, this monk wanted him to have his sutra. It was like a dream.

He was partially skeptical. He had no interest in Buddhism, but he could sense this monk’s sincere conviction. The monk most likely wasn’t lying. Moreover, Jiang Xiaofan had nothing on him that was worth being lied to.

He raised his head and rubbed his chin. This was a legendary figure after all. Although this incident seemed a bit ridiculous, why should he care so much? He had nothing to lose. At the worst, he could pretend that this was all part of an elaborate storytelling.

Seeing him nod in agreement, the old monk smiled again and then raised a shriveled finger at him. A ray of golden light shot into the area between his brows and was absorbed. In his sea of mind, millions of gold-colored talismans appeared before finally agglomerating into a large “fo[3]” which was then dispersed into golden rays and assimilated by the meridians throughout his body.

He widened his eyes and stared at him with his mouth agape. He had never imagined that his so-called passing down would be something like this. He was a true immortal!

“This sutra has been handed down to me from Buddha. Take good care of it. Do not reveal it in front of anyone.”

After giving it to him, the old monk grew noticeably weaker. Wearing a solemn expression on his face, he took out a seemingly insignificant, silver-colored brass piece that was approximately the size of his palm. It shook slightly, disappeared before Jiang Xiaofan’s eyes, and then appeared inside his body.

*Boom*

The moment the brass piece entered his body, it felt ablaze, releasing radiant, colorful rays of light which illuminated the entire cave.

At this moment, he could somehow see through his body. In his abdomen was a small, almost illusory, multi-colored lake. In the center of the lake was the brass piece.

It serenely floated on top, emitting a faint, mystical glow as if it was the source of saintliness, supporting all that of Heaven and Earth.

The mysterious lake glowed more brightly. The colorful rays were translucent, like a naturally formed rainbow. Occasionally, he could hear a unique sound resonating from that silver-colored brass piece.

“The Heavenly Way, harm will befall you if not repaired….”

The sound was loud and sonorous, travelling to his heart like a flowing stream and reverberating like a large, ancient bell which cut through space and time to shake his spirit.

The monk had revealed an expression of shock for the first time but then swiftly calmed down as if there was nothing left in this world that could concern him.