The "her" now
Is it referring to the banshee she transformed into in her past
Since he was discovered, Jianchou no longer hid himself and walked out from the darkness directly, staring directly at the thumb-sized man with some curiosity in his eyes.
Perhaps recognizing her identity, the little man was no longer afraid of her. He turned over and sat back next to the lotus lamp, looking at her with a bit of curiosity: "Why don't you say anything? Am I wrong?"
"If by 'her' you mean my past, then you are not wrong. I am indeed her present."
Jianchou was talking to him, but the lotus cup was placed on the ground, very low, and she felt it was not very suitable, so she squatted down and sat cross-legged on the edge of the lotus pond, trying to look at it at eye level.
"But what about you?"
"I?"
The little guy chuckled, his eyes rolled around, and his gaze suddenly fell on the burning lotus lantern under him, and he had an idea.
"As for me, I am the boy under the seat of the ancient Buddha Ran Deng. You can just call me Ran Deng Boy."
The boy who lights the lantern
Jianchou knew at first sight that it was talking nonsense, but he did not expose it. He only guessed that it was a monster born in this ashes pool and transformed from something, so he also looked at the lotus lamp.
"So, Master Yichen lit this lamp for you?"
"Of course."
The little man looked white, and under the warm yellow light, it seemed as if his whole body was glowing. He proudly shook his arms and swayed his legs that were hanging on the edge of the lotus cup.
"I'm afraid of the dark. It would be so scary if I didn't turn on the light."
"… "
Afraid of the dark.
Jianchou suddenly felt speechless, but seeing the serious look of the little man who called himself "the Light-Bearing Boy", he didn't think it was a joke.
The boy with the lantern curled his lips: "You don't believe it?"
"No, sorry. It's just that since I started my cultivation, I have seen all kinds of creatures, but I have never seen anyone who is afraid of the dark. I was just a little surprised for a moment."
Jianchou explained and then looked towards the pool of cinders.
"She was born from here..."
Under the light of the lotus lantern, the ash pool was no longer as clear as it was during the day, but rather a bit blurry. If you look closely, you will find that those things that look like ash are actually a special kind of gray-black dust particles that gather into bunches and move with the water.
On the water surface, all kinds of illusions flicker.
Each stream of water brings a different illusion.
Some are men, some are women, some are mountain spirits, some are old monsters who have achieved success in their cultivation, there are even evil cultivators of the demon path, and there are also some powerful people who are hidden from the world.
What is discarded and what is forgotten are also different.
There are the high spirits when the spring breeze is blowing, and the lows when sleeping in the open air; there are the stubbornness when giving up everything in the world, and the hard work when using a firefly to illuminate the snow...
"Yes, when I first met her, she was different from others. Well, it doesn't seem right to say that, it's your past that is special. Anyway, after a few years, she could talk to me quietly and listen to Master Yichen reading Buddhist scriptures."
The boy named Ran Deng didn't know what Jianchou was looking at, so he leaned over to take a look.
"Do you like looking at them, too?"
"Just curious."
Jianchou shook his head but did not look away.
"In my opinion, this pool of ashes contains not only people's past, but even more fragmented things. There are forgotten objects, forgotten experiences, and even some qualities that have disappeared from their owners, whether good or bad..."
"Hey, the master said so too." The boy with the lantern blinked, his eyes brightened, "And they also complained to me, saying that the master no longer cares about them, so they came here."
not give a damn about…
Yes, I just don't care.
Jianchou's mood at this time was full of various things, all lingering on some, which was really complicated, so he couldn't continue the conversation. Just like this, seemingly concentrating, but actually looking at the illusions in front of him in a trance.
Seeing that she ignored him, the boy Ran Deng was a little unhappy. He stretched out his short arm and barely poked her knee: "What are you thinking about?"
Jianchou looked back at him and said calmly, "I'm thinking about her, me, people, and this pool of ashes."
"What's there to think about?"
The boy with the lantern still didn’t understand.
A dim flame burned behind it.
The full lamp oil had become a little lighter, but it still soaked the wick. After being ignited by the flame and burned out, it turned into a wisp of black smoke and drifted into the dark night sky.
It was as if the dark night was blackened by this lamp.
“Because I don’t understand, I have to think about it.”
Jianchou's gaze followed the wisp of black smoke, which gradually disappeared into the void, and then slowly retracted, and he actually had a vague understanding.
"Light the lanterns, pool of ashes..."
Embers mean ashes.
Jianchou narrowed his eyes slightly, and his gaze returned to the pool of water, staring at it for a long time.
The moon is at its zenith, and the stars are becoming sparse.
She didn't say anything else, and the boy who burns the lamp seemed to think she was not fun, so he didn't say anything to disturb her, but just continued to look at her face and expression curiously.
Although the man was sitting by the pool, he did not feel any breath.
Jianchou seemed to be in a state of meditation, as if the plants and rocks in the mountains had completely merged with the surrounding environment, creating a state of perfect harmony between man and nature.
If he hadn't been looking at her the whole time, the boy named Ran Deng would have almost thought that there was no one in front of him.
It was another strange existence in the world, and its origin was extraordinary, so its intelligence was naturally very high. But some other beings in the ash pool were not so smart.
About half an hour later, when the energy in the mountains was at its highest, they began to emerge one after another.
There were streams of water in the ash pool carrying ashes, some as thin as butterfly wings, some as light as snakes. They all flew up from the pool and moved on the water surface. Some even swirled directly around Jianchou.
"The lamps are warm today."
"How's the evening, boy?"
"You little brat, you're not sitting properly again. Hehe, be careful or Zen Master Xuelang will come and beat you up tomorrow morning."
"What is this? Is it a new statue? Why does it look like our boss Jianchou?"
"Yeah, yeah, exactly the same."
"Tsk, what boss? She's gone, and now I am your leader!"
…
The tiny sounds were dense and buzzing, and soon they intertwined into one on the surface of the pool of water, completely surrounding Jianchou.
The boy who burned the lantern rolled his eyes, enjoying watching these ember spirits commit suicide.
It was just waiting for Jianchou to suddenly open his eyes and scare them to death.
But unexpectedly, after waiting for a long time, Jianchou, who was sitting there, didn't move at all, just like a statue.
The boy who burned the lantern was suddenly a little surprised.
It approached cautiously and poked it, but Jianchou still didn't move.
Eh, could he have died suddenly
He was frightened by the thought in his mind. If he was not afraid of the dark and dared not leave the lamp, he would have rushed down the mountain immediately to hug Zen Master Xuelang's thigh and ask him to come and see.
The boy who burned the lantern retracted his hand, and for some reason he felt a little scared.
If Jianchou opened her eyes at this moment and saw its timid and fearful look, she would probably laugh out loud. Fortunately, she still had her eyes closed.
I didn't respond to it, not because I couldn't feel it.
But it was because at this moment, what she knew and felt was too much, too broad, and too complicated!
Almost at the moment when she stared intently at the pool of ashes, all the floating, intertwining, and constantly changing illusions in the pool flooded into her mind!
How can I spare the time to take care of other things
Countless images spread out in her mind, some were just like a small, shining fragment, and some were long, like a gorgeous light belt...
Everything is a detail, a paragraph in someone else's life.
It is a long and bustling street in Kyoto.
The jade chariot was moving in all directions, the golden whips were whirring in succession; the dragon was holding a canopy, the phoenix was spitting out tassels.
The dandy rich man would sit high up in the painted building on the street, with his beauty in his arms, drinking and singing. The golden steps and jade hall, with silver candles shining brightly, were a scene of extravagance and waste.
It is a tent in the snow.
The beacon fires are always burning, the iron armor shines coldly; the white snow covers the flags, and the wind blows the drums!
The scholar who was sitting solemnly in the tent, listening to the cries from the outside world, finally put down his pen, burned the five carts of books, bowed to the emperor, and resolutely requested the order!
It is a passenger ship moored on the cold river at night.
The white moon sets, the magpies fly south; the fishing fires reflect the sad face. In the silence, the bell of the distant temple has struck my heart.
The stranger, who was bleached outside, was completely tossed and turned. He looked at the moon in the sky and the fishing lights on the river that were crushed by the waves. He sighed softly, but could not let go of the homesickness that filled his heart.
It is also a solitary snow-capped mountain that reaches the sky.
There are layers of clouds covering thousands of miles, and nine white waves; the peaks and ridges spread out like nine layers of cloud screens, but their majestic shadows fall into the clear lake below, reflecting a bright and beautiful indigo-like beauty.
The powerful monk holding the green jade staff flew up on the colorful clouds, raised his hand at the top of the snowy mountain, and the sky suddenly became dark. Thousands of stars gathered at his fingertips, forming a bright spark that illuminated the four directions!
…
There are thousands of kinds, seemingly endless.
The frivolity of being young and ignorant of the world, the melancholy of missing one's husband in the boudoir, the passion of fighting with others in the dark night, the tenacity of practicing in seclusion...
But these are all forgotten and abandoned by their former owners.
Under the illumination of the lotus lanterns, the floating things in the pond are the various lives of people in the world, the different choices made by saints and ordinary people, the right and wrong entangled in cause and effect, the seven emotions and six desires that rise and fall or shine or fade, and -
After the lamp burned, the remaining ashes!
Dipamkara Buddha, the Buddha of the past.
Pool of embers.
Burning sword.
All the fog dissipated the moment these three things were connected!
Seeing that he was worried, his heart suddenly became clear.
There was no more hesitation caused by past choices, nor was there any hesitation caused by the unresolved problem before him. Even this once confused heart seemed to have been wiped clean of all the dust, and was now clean and clear.
My heart is like a lamp!
Everything in the past is reduced to ashes.
If you don't sweep it away, how can the lamp be bright, how can the heart be bright? Just take what I don't want to give up, and give up what I don't want to take.
At this moment, her tightly closed eyes finally opened.
It's past midnight.
The ember spirits originally thought she was just a clay puppet, dancing freely around the ember pool. No one expected her to suddenly open her eyes, and they all stopped moving at once, as if frightened.
Then, a strange roar suddenly arose in the mountains!
This group of strange creatures that had previously been swaggering in front of Jianchou let out shrill screams almost at the same time, and either changed direction on the water or in mid-air, and began to flee in all directions.
It can be seen that Chou's movements are more than ten times faster than theirs!
Looking up at the void, the whole world seems to be still at this moment!
She looked at them with pure kindness in her eyes, and sighed softly: "I have a lamp in my heart that I want to light, please lend me a spark!"
As soon as the words fell, the whole pool was stirred!
From the surface of the pool to the bottom, all the ashes, whether they were from those who held deep resentment and turned into ashes, or those who had lost consciousness and sank to the bottom, all surged up!
In the darkness, there were tiny specks of light shining from them...
It is the various grievances and right and wrongs that have already been given up by their former masters, and also the seven emotions and six desires that they are unwilling to give up; it is the obsession that one lets go, and the long-cherished wish that the other picks up!
Their former masters achieved their present status through “giving up”;
And they themselves, because of their reluctance to give up and their inability to give up, have become who they are at this moment.
People can let go of the past, but if the past itself has a spirit, how can they let go of the past and themselves
borrow.
Lend me your joys and sorrows, your sorrows and joys, your separations and reunions;
It is not too late for you to study in your old age, and it is not too late for you to put down your pen and take up the sword.
Borrow the morning dream of Zhuangzi who was fascinated by butterflies, borrow the spring love of King Wang who entrusted the cuckoo;
Through the songs when awake, the sleep when drunk, the gathering and the separation, the completion and the incomplete…
I'll lend you a strand of black hair under the lamp, and I'll lend me a third of the years between your brows!
Thousands and millions, countless lights.
Although it was as small as dust, even blurry and dim, it seemed to be attracted by something strange at this moment, and merged into a hazy star stream, flowing towards Jianchou's fingertips.
Then, they gathered in an instant, condensed at her fingertips, and burned into a bunch of sparks!
The Burning Lamp Sword that she had originally gathered up had already floated out when Jianchou pointed his finger towards the ashes pool, and was now hanging straight above her head, with the tip of the sword pointing downward, only three inches from the top of her head.
At this moment, the sparks on her fingertips turned into a waterfall.
It flew up in an instant, and the hilt of the Self-Ignite Sword fell down from a high place, like boiling red magma, covering the area below!
The twenty-one precious flower patterns on the sword seemed to be ignited by the spark or the fire of the heart in an instant. As the flames covered it, they lit up one after another and turned red!
As it dripped down, even the one on the tip of the sword lit up completely.
The entire Ran Deng sword looked as if it had been forged again, and the warm scent of fireworks already had a hint of otherworldliness.
The sparks fell to the tip of the sword and gathered together like drops of water from a stream.
It is much smaller, but also much softer.
It was just like the flame of the lotus lamp in front of Jianchou that lit up and dispelled the darkness around it. It "ticked" along the tip of the sword and landed on top of her head. It sank into her forehead and appeared between her eyebrows, illuminating her entire body!
The sword is named Randeng, and it is the second level.
The fire is called the heart lamp, which can penetrate the past and the present!
When the "heart lamp" lit up between the eyebrows, all the dirt in the heart and body was gone. Jianchou could fully feel the shock he received at that moment.
She had originally suppressed him at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage...
There were actually signs of loosening!
But she reacted very quickly.
With a pinch of his fingers, his mind and soul were calmed, causing the lamp in his heart to gradually dim. The state that was about to break through the limit was finally slowly suppressed and no longer wavered.
Although his state of mind has risen dramatically, his physical state is still that of Nascent Soul!
When everything was stable, she retracted her finger gestures, and then she spread out her fingers. The Lantern Sword automatically flew into her palm, and it felt as warm and cool as warm jade.
On the pitch-black sword, twenty-one precious flower patterns were filled with flame color.
The Light Sword, the Buddha of the past, originally wanted people to understand and see through the past.
She let out a long breath.
At this time, the many ember spirits on the ember pool that had borrowed her sparks had already been scared back into the pool and dared not to appear. Only the boy who burned the lantern beside the pool bravely poked his little head out, blinking his eyes with intense curiosity.
"What did you do?"
"I figured out some things."
Jianchou put away his sword, but the feeling of enlightenment he had just felt had not yet dissipated, and his voice was still a bit hazy and vague with a hint of regret.
The Burning Lamp Boy was puzzled: "Is it her, yourself, or the person you were thinking about before?"
Jianchou smiled and nodded: "Not bad."
At this moment, the boy named Ran Deng was even more confused.
He raised his arms and placed them on the edge of the lamp, just enough to support his chin, and muttered, "Who is this person, you, her, what does it mean?"
What does it mean
Seeing that there was a distant look in his eyes, all the insights he had a moment ago suddenly flooded into his heart.
"People are lamps. Life is just like lighting a lamp."
Her gaze shifted away from the boy who lit the lamp and fell back on the lotus lamp on which he was lying. The flame of the wick was faint, and green smoke and ashes were curling up. She chuckled and sighed softly.
"After all, I am the flame, and she is the ashes."