Chapter 1459 - 790: Samantabhadra Bodhisattva (Double Chapter)_2

"You're not Master Puti."

"I see the Bodhi, and the Bodhi sees me."

For a moment, Chen Yi wanted to utter a disdainful "tch," but seeing how excited his lady of Great Yin was, with her red silk slips swaying in front of her, her dress also fluttering in the wind,

She indeed had some of the aura of an Immortal.

Illuminant Sage paused by the Bodhi Tree, his hand mimic touching the slips.

Whenever he saw her like this, Chen Yi always wanted to tease her, just like he might want to break a beautiful porcelain,

He had eyes that appreciated beauty and couldn't help but marvel at the ethereal elegance of Yin Weiyin when he saw her, like dew and electric light,

Yet occasionally... he feared that she might really drift away with the wind.

He recalled the spirit deer from last night, which drank up the female crown's white stone porridge and then stepped into the mist, just like a deer leaving a sage; would the sage also leave him like that?

Chen Yi paused briefly beside an empty table, spat out a few words: "Boring, let's go."

He walked a few steps, just out of the temple gate, and noticed that neither the female crown nor Miss Donggong was following.

He had to return, finding the female crown still in front of the tree, smiling slightly at him.

Unable to disrespect her in public, Chen Yi sighed and said, "Why write on paper slips? Let me fulfill it for you."

"An empty promise you might regret."

Chen Yi looked at Yin Weiyin with surprise, for a moment suspecting his Great Yin also had Heavenly Vision.

But he didn't think any further and decided to follow her wish after all.

Chen Yi ground ink and held the brush, writing his name on the blank paper slips, then handed it to Yin Weiyin, who wrote her name beside his. Their names gathered together.

Then followed a Taoist verse, which Chen Yi couldn't understand. As they hung it on the branch, he inadvertently noticed the date: Today was January 28.

Her birthday was February 7.

After tying it securely, he turned back and saw her mist-cloud hairpin shining brightly.

..........

The paper slips cost ten coins, the pen and ink cost one coin, plus two red silks costing twenty coins, totaling thirty-one coins which Chen Yi paid to the monk, and the group left Immortal Peak Temple.

Before leaving, Donggong Ruoshu turned back to glance at the red fluttering tree, murmuring softly: "So many wishes... can Bodhisattva hear them all?"

No one answered. The mountain wind still blew and rustled countless red strands, like numerous secret wishes, whispering silently in this quiet nook of the Buddha Country's Immortal Mountain, gradually swallowed by the greater sound of the mountains and forests.

The trio's silhouettes gradually faded away, merging once more into the verdant mountain path.

Near the Elephant Washing Pool, it's said Samantabhadra Bodhisattva used to collect water here to wash his white elephant, hence the name. The pool's water is shallow, with historic inscriptions on the surrounding rock walls.

On the stone terrace, an old monk recited sutras.

At this moment, Donggong Ruoshu, curious as a monkey, gazed intently at the characters of Elephant Washing Pool, she approached and asked, "What significance does the Elephant Washing Pool have?"

Yin Weiyin paused, in good spirits, and happily explained to Miss Donggong, saying: "Legend has it Samantabhadra Bodhisattva appears at the Golden Summit for destined ones, coming and going through the clouds. Each time he arrives or departs, he washes the dust off his mount, the six-tusked white elephant, in this pool, hence the name."

Miss Donggong suddenly understood. For some unknown reason, she felt an unfounded closeness to the six-tusked white elephant Yin Weiyin talked about. As she looked at the Elephant Washing Pool, some vague images surfaced in her mind, as if a large elephant emerged slowly from the water, with glistening droplets adorning its alluring white and round body...

It looked quite appetizing.

"Amitabha Buddha, you are well-informed. This pool is indeed named for the Bodhisattva washing his elephant." The old monk nearby chanted a verse upon seeing the three approach.

Yin Weiyin saluted with a nod and responded with, "Blessings of Infinite Heavenly Venerable."

The old monk, sensing their departure, paused and seemed to realize something, asking, "…Just now while meditating, I felt a trace of Clear Spirit Qi pass on the wind, extremely faint yet pure, as if familiar... On your way up the mountain, did you... encounter a spirit deer?"

Chen Yi and Yin Weiyin exchanged a glance, then the female crown slightly nodded.

"Sixty-three years have gone by. That aura, I cannot forget."

The old monk murmured to himself,

"At that time, I was a novice monk, newly ordained, and happened to meet this spirit deer in the forest. Upon returning, my master told me it was Samantabhadra Bodhisattva's messenger; that I have great wisdom and Buddha Nature."

Hence, whenever I had free time, I would venture deep into the forest, searching everywhere."

Donggong Ruoshu listened curiously and asked aloud, "Old monk, why do you seek it?"

"It is the Bodhisattva's messenger. To find it is a connection with the Buddha. I traversed the Emei Four Peaks, enduring hardships, yet never found a trace. Now I have ceased my search, and in reflection, perhaps the thought of seeking the deer was too driven by ulterior motives, hence unfulfilled, Amitabha Buddha."

Looking back, the old monk seemingly realized he'd been dreaming and let go, but upon waking, he sighed:

"…Back then, Lord Pu did find the track of the deer and ascended Huazang Temple's Golden Summit, where he met Samantabhadra Bodhisattva."

Chen Yi listened alertly to these words, glanced back at the summit.

The temple's flying eaves and brackets interlaced amid flourishing branches, as the white diffuse skylight peered through the grove, revealing a faint golden ring.

"To have a guest from afar is a joy indeed." Chen Yi scoffed and said.

The old monk, hearing this enigmatic remark, was startled, saying, "You are the guests."

The man did not turn around, merely chuckling, saying, "Your cultivation is lacking."

The old monk's aging white brows furrowed in confusion, considering that the smiling man might be playing with him, feeling a flash of anger, ready to rise from meditation and confront him, yet suddenly shifting his thoughts; if he were to rise, wouldn't he be entering the man's world?

From my Zen meditation, into his universe.

Who is host, and who is guest then?

With this thought, the old monk's moment of emotional stir ceased, returning to meditation by the Elephant Washing Pool.

Leaving the wind to blow and leaves to fall, unmoved.

Unable to disrupt others' Zen heart, Chen Yi gathered his mischievous thoughts and looked back up the summit.

Just testing a notion.

Only at the Golden Summit could one witness the Buddha Light.

..........

It didn't take long to arrive at the Golden Summit.

The outline of Huazang Temple emerged before them. At the summit, the temple wasn't large, but its halls and chambers were staggered beautifully across the mountaintop.

At Emei's heights, Yin Weiyin gazed sideways, occasionally catching glimpses of the immense cloud sea below, like waves of snow spreading out, with distant peaks barely showing their tips, resembling ethereal islands in the ocean.

With hosts accommodating guests, even disciples of Demon Buddha Po Xun should pay their respects at the Golden Summit. What's more, the Buddhist and Taoist sects aren't adversarial; after all, monks and Taoists have countless deep shared bonds, my existence in yours, yours in mine. Yin Weiyin went to request incense sticks.

The monk noticed she was Taoist and did not charge her.

Chen Yi and Donggong Ruoshu's incense did cost money.

This Golden Summit, famed for its Buddha Light, commands ten coins for the thinnest incense stick, to which Miss Donggong sighed at the cost.

Chen Yi shook his head; this stupid girl only aware of money but ignorant of life; the devout pilgrims who travel far to visit the summit should offer incense and pray. Otherwise, wouldn't they be at a great loss?

So even if it were a hundred coins, one would grit one's teeth and endure.

It wasn't peak season, so the temple had few visitors. With incense in hand, they entered the Golden Summit's Golden Hall, its door wide open, bronze Samantabhadra riding the white elephant, amidst Bodhisattva's bowed brows and solemn aura.

Chen Yi, unseeking, paid his respects casually yet sincerely, recalling the old monk's earlier words with genuine curiosity.

Lighting the incense with a virtual prayer, he placed it into the incense burner.

As the incense sank into the burner, Chen Yi faintly saw the cloud sea parting at a corner, and wisps of Buddha Light ascended ethereally, as an immensely majestic white elephant gradually emerged from the mist.

Turning back, Yin Weiyin and Miss Donggong were nowhere to be seen, nor was he in the Golden Hall.

Yin Sword Mountain's Cangwu Peak lay beneath his feet,

Chen Yi narrowed his gaze, thoroughly examining the man on the white elephant, scrutinizing this unexpected intruder into his world.