hope the old man returns

The next day, I rode a good horse all night and finally arrived at the western suburbs that the old monk mentioned.

The western suburbs are nothing more than a tall green hill!

Standing at the intersection at the foot of the mountain, looking up along the straight ten-thousand-story stairs, it feels like a road leading to the sky. The crisp and green pine trees on the left and right further set off the sense of coercion of the "thousand-story white jade stairs". It left me breathless, and fear and surrender spread from the bottom of my heart.

"How can I get up here?" I looked at the white smoke curling up from the end, frowning and muttering.

"Young master, you want to go to Nanshan Temple?" I saw an old man chopping firewood passing by me, and stopped to ask curiously.

"Exactly, what advice does the old man have?" I asked him respectfully.

The old man shook his head with a sigh and said, "It's so difficult to go up this mountain!"

"Why? Isn't it easy for people in the Jianghu?" I asked suspiciously.This mountain is indeed a bit weird, and it has a lot more vitality than ordinary mountains and forests.

"People from the rivers and lakes? Hehe..." The old man smiled along his white beard with his hands, "I, an old man, can go up this mountain, but it's difficult and easy to say."

"Please enlighten me, old man!"

"I don't dare to be this little old man! Speaking of which, I have never heard of anyone going up this mountain, but I have seen the immortals in the temple come down a few times. They told us that if you go up this mountain, you may never be able to climb to the top. If you really want to It depends on your own heart." The old man said with a smile.

"Heart?" I asked puzzled.

"Heart, sincerity. And this 'thousand-layer white jade staircase' is something that tests your sincerity." The old man paused and continued, "There is a green tripod placed on every hundred floors of this 'thousand-layer white jade staircase', and it takes Kowtow five thousand and forty-eight rings in front of the 64 green tripods to show his intentions. Young master, I think you should go back!"

The old man gave some advice, and walked into the dense forest with firewood.

One thousand and sixty-four green tripods?Five thousand and forty-eight rings?

"Why not?" I firmly glanced at the unreachable top of the mountain, and stepped on the first step.

"...All conditioned dharmas are like dreams and bubbles. Like dew and like electricity. You should contemplate like this... If you commit serious crimes, you will be deeply condemned; if you repent and don't do it, you can uproot the root karma...to realize the impermanence of the world. The country is fragile. The four great sufferings are empty. The five yins have no self. The variation of birth and death. The hypocrisy has no owner. The heart is the source of evil. The form is a sinful place. Observing like this. Gradually departing from life and death... There are causes and predestinations that gather in the world, and there are causes and predestinations. The collection of the world; there is a cause and a predestined relationship to destroy the world, and a cause and a predestined relationship to destroy the world..." The chaotic and noisy muttering of the Buddha's words came to the ears one after another, and the body ached like being torn.

"The first thousand...zero fifty...three..." I almost climbed up the white jade steps where the green tripod was placed, my exhausted body collapsed on the hot stone surface, and the blood that kept flowing from my forehead was covered The whole face was covered with blood, and I don't know how much of the face is sweat and how much is blood?

I stood up staggeringly while supporting the feet of the Qingding tripod, looking at the terrifying bloodstain left on the white jade steps below it, the corners of my lips curled up weakly.I turned around and knelt down due to inertia, my knee fell heavily on the stone with a loud noise, heart-piercing pain came from my leg bone, blood once again stained the Tsing Yi at the hem of my knee.

Bending down and slowly bumping his forehead against the stone, leaving a large red spot with flesh and blood, over and over again, the soreness on his body became numb, and he couldn't even feel the burning pain of the sun shining on his body.

"... four thousand and eighty-nine, four thousand... zero and ninety... four thousand nine hundred and ninety... one... five thousand and zero..."

"One thousand and fifty four...one thousand zero...54...one thousand zero...ha..."

. . . .

"Amitabha! Master Lan, why are you bothering? You can definitely let Dong Tzu..." I lay down on the last step, and saw the old monk standing in front of me with his hands clasped, shaking his head and sighing.

"Why tell them?" I gasped.

"The old monk is confused. Let's go to the temple with the poor monk!"

I passed out and fell asleep for a long, long time.Occasionally when I woke up, I found that this is the meditation room in the backyard of the temple. It is very simple and full of smoky smell.It took about a few months before I really woke up.This Nanshan Temple is very small, only the old monk lives there, and he does everything by himself.

"What is this?" I saw the old monk coming over with a golden bowl filled with red viscous liquid, and asked suspiciously.

"Cinnabar. Put it on your forehead, so that you won't feel uncomfortable in the temple." The old monk said, took a chopstick and touched it on my forehead, and scraped off a little bit of the golden bowl. Gold dust is sprinkled on top.

Maybe this is really not ordinary cinnabar.

The old monk had just finished doing this, and I felt like a dull bell sounded in my head, and after the lingering sound, the dizziness that had always existed when I woke up disappeared strangely.

"Thank you, Master."

The old monk shook his head with a smile and asked me, "What are you talking about here?"

"Master." I took out the sachet he gave me at the beginning and said, "Master, ashes return to ashes... Hehe, I really don't understand. That person said I am Lan Su, and even you, Master, call me Lan Su." Donor, but I don't understand the emotions between the three, and I don't know who Lan Su is...Master, I am Su Lan!" I suddenly growled excitedly.

"Indeed." The old monk nodded and said, "Master Lan, do you know His Royal Highness?"

"Leng Pusheng?" I asked in amazement, "I don't understand. There seems to be a bond between them, and I could vaguely see it when I was six years old...and..."

"And what?" The old monk gestured for me to continue.

"Besides, Leng Pusheng was just like me at that time... not like a child..." I hesitated.

"Benefactor Lan thinks His Royal Highness..." He didn't say any more.

"I don't know, I just feel..." I lowered my head and stroked back and forth the sachet embroidered with the pattern of green bamboo and colorful clouds.

"Hehe..." The old monk stroked the white beard on his chin and laughed.

"Why?" I asked him, frowning.

"Benefactor Lan, the old monk laughed at you for being too stupid, too cruel, too poisonous, and too heartless."

"Please tell me clearly, Master." I looked at his wrinkled face in confusion.

"Benefactor Lan, even if you insist on not changing and staying in the world, why do you suffer from the 'ten thousand steps' and seek it from the old monk?" said the old monk.

"Master, it was my fault for stealing your 'Prajna Pearl'."

I suddenly stood up and bent down to apologize to him, and said, "Master, I really let go this time. In the last life, I locked him up by deceiving myself and ended up like that. In this life, I still selfishly choose to forget , ignoring things, feeling disgusted with the orchids they love... because of my selfishness, they searched for me with guilt, and even changed their habits to fall in love with orchids...but all of this is fake, I lied to..."

I showed him the sachet in my hand, and laughed at myself, "Master, I should really thank you for returning this to me...'Love Love', 'Love Love', 'Long Lovesickness' made me lose my obsession... What's the use of this empty obsession? I thought it would be just to vent my resentment... But what I get in return is my deep trap, and that deep trap is actually Su Lan, not Lan Su!?"

I roared in panic.

"Amitabha! Love is a thing that hurts others and oneself. Life in the world is like being among thorns. If the heart does not move, people do not move rashly. If they don't move, they will not hurt. If the heart moves, people will move rashly, hurting their bodies and bones, so I have experienced all kinds of pain in the world." The old monk closed his eyes and muttered with emotion.

"Master, what should I do?" I approached the old monk's calm face and said pitifully.

"Let's go to the Nai River!" The old monk opened his eyes and looked at me helplessly, and said, "It's meaningless to think about 'Prajna Pearl'..."

"Master!!" I was horrified to see a small golden bead appearing from the top of my head and falling into the old monk's hand.

The old monk looked at me and nodded in satisfaction, "This is you!"