When I woke up from the dream, it was already dark outside, a candle flame was fluttering slightly on the table in the center of the room, Pei Yuanxiu sat on the edge of the bed, quietly guarding me, under the candlelight that was clearly extinguished, his expression was extraordinarily gentle.

I opened my eyes and looked at him for a moment, only to see him smile and say, "Wake up." ”

"Hmm."

"Hungry?"

"Hmm."

"Then it's up."

I was probably in a daze, and I looked at him for a while before I slowly came to my senses, and sat up on my own, and he had already taken off the clothes hanging on the wooden rack and handed them to me.

As I dressed, I asked, "Where's Li'er?" ”

"She has been accompanying that Xue Muhua, she just came back and saw you sleeping, I didn't want to quarrel with you, I let her go out to play."

"Yuanfeng, is there any news?"

"Not yet."

"How long did I sleep?"

"What do you say?" Pei Yuanxiu smiled and said, "It's dark." The dreadnought master has arranged dinner for us alone, so get up quickly, or he'll come and ask me for someone. ”

"Oh......"

I sighed softly, I really slept for a long time. Maybe it's because I'm too tired during this time, I ran to Longnan and Wuwei one after another, and came back to experience a big battle, these are probably just physical fatigue, and what makes me feel tired the most is that night and Zhengjue, that is, my second uncle played those Zen machines.

His mouth is stricter than Fu Badai's, and I can't be the slightest unkind to him.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but sigh softly, Pei Yuanxiu glanced at me: "What's wrong?" ”

"It's fine." I smiled, got dressed, and stood up.

Who knew that as soon as I got together, I somehow suddenly felt a whirlwind of the sky, and almost fell down again, but fortunately, Pei Yuanxiu's eyes were quick, and he hurriedly stretched out his hand to take me into his arms.

"What's wrong?"

“……”

I crashed into his arms, still a little dazed, and I couldn't come back to my senses for a long time.

At that moment, the person seemed to be stepping on cotton, and his eyes were blank, as if he had been emptied all of a sudden.

Strange, I've been resting for so long, why is this still happening?

"Young Baby?" Pei Yuanxiu looked at me with concern: "Are you uncomfortable?" ”

Raising my head and meeting his anxious eyes, I hurriedly smiled and said, "It's okay." It may be that I have slept for too long, and the person is a little confused. ”

As soon as the words fell, suddenly, I heard a long, distant bell in my ears.

He and I were stunned for a moment.

It's so late, why are you still ringing?

If it is said that it is the time for ordinary people to eat dinner, but the monks here in Tianmu Temple still follow the practice law of not eating at noon, and they will not use dinner.

Strangely, another long bell rang out, with a trembling sound.

It must have come from a long distance, but for some reason, it gave me a deafening illusion that the bell rang all the way to my head, back and forth in my head, and it didn't go away for a long time.

I was stunned for a moment.

Pei Yuanxiu was also stunned, and subconsciously said, "This is—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the third bell rang.

The bell rumbled incessantly, as if a thunderclap had exploded overhead, and I suddenly felt a cramping pain in my chest, and suddenly my whole body almost collapsed.

Pei Yuanxiu hurriedly hugged me in his arms: "Qingying, what's wrong with you?!" ”

"This, this bell—" My face turned pale for a moment, and when I looked up at him, I felt that my blood had clotted to ice.

This bell is-

"Bang", the door of our wing room was pushed open, because the force was too great, the door hit the wall on the side, and there was a loud bang, Pei Yuanxiu and I were both startled, turned our heads and looked, the fearless monk stood at the door with a panicked expression, and when he looked at me, his eyes were red.

"Miss!"

“……”

All of a sudden, my throat was dumb, and I stared at him with wide eyes.

He also looked at me, his tall body was trembling slightly at the moment, as if a huge mountain was about to collapse, he gritted his teeth again, and then slowly spoke: "Uncle Zhengjue - passed away." ”

The originally dark sky was illuminated by the bright lights in Tianmu Temple.

When I was half-supported and half-hugged by Pei Yuanxiu, following the fearless monk all the way up the stairs, the low chanting sound of the monks kept ringing in my ears, and in such a quiet night, it seemed to be singing Sanskrit, cleansing the filth in people's souls.

Walking to the door of the small Zen courtyard, Pei Yuanfeng and the others obviously knew that something was wrong, and they all gathered here, but they didn't go in, and when they saw us coming, they immediately greeted us and said, "Master Fearless, what is the matter with Tianmu Temple striking the bell so late?" ”

The fearless monk didn't speak, and I said softly: "It's the abbot who has passed away." ”

"Huh?!"

They were all surprised, Pei Yuanfeng thought for a while, and said, "Then, we have to go in and say goodbye to the abbot." ”

"No need." The dreadnought monk's eyes and nose were red, and he said in a buzzing voice: "Uncle Shi, he usually doesn't see outsiders, but now that he has passed away, he naturally doesn't want to see outsiders." ”

After speaking, with a wave of his big hand, the people around him originally wanted to say something, but they were neatly cut off by his action.

Then, he turned to me and said, "Miss, you go in." ”

As soon as his words fell, Pei Yuanfeng and the others all frowned slightly, but no one had spoken, but some monks waiting next to him looked at each other, and one of the young monks who looked a little reckless stepped forward and said, "Uncle Fearless, you also said just now, the abbot doesn't want to see outsiders, this female benefactor——"

Before he finished his words, the fearless monk shouted, "What do you know! The eldest lady is the niece of Uncle Shi! Is that an outsider? ”

As soon as I said this, I heard everyone around me gasp.

A few of the little novices who couldn't hold their breath were already widening their eyes in shock, and they threw the wooden fish in their hands.

"What!?"

"The abbot is—"

"The Yan family? The abbot is a member of the Yan family?! ”

"Shhhh

I glanced around, met the surprised and frightened gazes, and sighed softly.

Although it is not a secret that Yan Yizhi, the second son of the Yan family, became a monk, it is definitely a taboo in the Yan family, since it is a taboo, naturally no one will mention it, so over time, everyone seems to have been trained into a habit to bury this person in the dust.

And after all these years of cultivation in Tianmu Temple, he naturally would not be willing to get involved in any red world, especially the Yan family.

In addition, in Tianmu Temple, the older generation of monks have all buried their bones in Tallinn, and there are fewer people who know his origins, and even fewer people who are qualified to talk about it.

In this way, this matter has really become a secret.

But tonight, the fearless monk took this opportunity to say it, not to dismantle anything, because after all, he is still a member of the Yan family, for his death, it is a matter of Buddhism, and it is also a major event in Xichuan, on the one hand, Tianmu Temple must do a good job in his future, on the other hand, it must also let the Yan family know the news.

I can't see that the fearless monk is a rough and fine person.

Thinking of this, I came back to my senses and said to Pei Yuanfeng and Tang Ting: "The abbot is my second uncle, the second master of the Yan family. His death is also a big event, I'll go first to see, what are the arrangements, I will explain to you at any time. ”

As soon as these words came out, Anyang Gongzi and Tang Ting immediately nodded in response.

The fearless monk folded his hands and said a Buddha name, and then I turned around and walked into the Zen monastery.

The tranquility of the courtyard had apparently been shattered, and the light of fires and candles shone in from outside the gray walls, casting strange images in the empty courtyard.

People are dead, but this courtyard seems to be alive.

I walked up the steps slowly, the door was open, the cold wind of the night had filled the entire meditation room, the green smoke rising from the incense burner had dissipated into the air almost before it had even formed, and the faint smell of sandalwood flashed on the tip of my nose.

Several of the older monks were in this meditation room at the moment, and when they looked back at me, they simply folded their hands and saluted, while the two monks who had been staying in this meditation monastery were saying intermittently:

"In the past, before the abbot entered the meditation, he would explain some things in the temple. But this time, he didn't say anything. ”

"Senior brother and I think it's a little strange."

"On weekdays, when the abbot is in meditation, we often see it, but this time, no matter how we look at it, something is wrong."

"That's why we got the courage to go into the meditation room today, who knows-"

When the two monks said this, their eyes turned red and they lowered their heads.

I stood in the doorway, and I lost my movement for a moment.

I couldn't even hear what the people around me were saying, and all my mind was on the futon, the quiet figure.

Zhengjue, Yan Yizhi, my second uncle.

He sat there quietly, his thin body wrapped in a bright red robe, obviously such a bright and warm color, but at this moment there was a strange silence; His eyes were lowered, and there was no warmth on his yellow face, no expression, not even the flickering candles in the room, which did not illuminate his gloomy look.

It was the same as when I saw him that night.

At this moment, my vision suddenly blurred.

Almost the scene in front of me, the same feeling, at this moment, the memory and the display completely overlapped.

Uncle Ai......

And so he sat still, silent, and by the time I wanted to see him again, he was gone.

But what I couldn't have imagined was that Yan Yizhi, my second uncle, would leave me in such a way!

Why is this happening? Why did every elder, every person who might know about my parents' past, leave like this after I finally met them and finally knew a little clue?

Is this God's arrangement?

Could it be that I will never be able to solve the mysteries of the beginning, and I will never be able to understand the love and hate they have experienced?

Just as I struggled to look at the blurred figure, almost unsteady, a monk who looked very old and solemn slowly walked up to me, folded his hands and said, "Female donor." ”

I glanced up at him, because my eyes were full of tears, and I really couldn't see the person's appearance clearly, so I barely choked up and replied: "Master." ”

"The old man knows that the female benefactor is a relative of the enlightened layman, and it stands to reason that these things should be taken care of by you. But after all, Zhengjue was ordained in this monastery, and he was already an outsider. This time, he passed away and returned to one, and what he left behind, the whole temple up-"

Without waiting for him to finish speaking, I already understood what he meant, and said calmly: "I understand what the master means, since the second uncle is the abbot of Tianmu Temple, his posthumous affairs are naturally the affairs of Tianmu Temple, you can just do it according to the rules, I will not interfere." ”

"Amitabha."

"There is only one thing," I said: "The death of the second uncle, after all, is also the matter of the Yan family, I need to inform the people in Chengdu, if the Yan family has any arrangements at that time, I hope the master can be accommodating." ”

The old monk glanced back at the other monks, and they all nodded, and he said to me, "Okay." ”

I nodded and thanked me again.

"So, what else does the benefactor have to command?"

I know that they are going to discuss some remaining matters, Zhengjue is the abbot of Tianmu Temple after all, although I heard them say that he has not seen outsiders over the years, and often settled, it should not be very practical to manage the affairs of the temple, but the abbot has passed away, and the successor is naturally to be discussed.

And this is the internal affairs of Tianmu Temple.

It stands to reason that I should have taken my leave, but after thinking about it, I spoke again, "Master." ”

The old monk looked back at me.

"I have a question for you."

"Excuse me, female benefactor."

"My second uncle, Master of Enlightenment, passed away in a state of concentration, right?"

"Not bad."

"Then, he is so close and dead, can he be controlled by his thoughts?"

The old monk's face showed a look of consternation, as if he didn't expect me to ask such a question, including several other old monks in the meditation room, who were also a little moved.

He was silent for a moment, and his eyebrows were a little solemn, before he slowly replied: "The female benefactor can ask such a question, and probably understands that when a person enters the meditation, he completely enters his own spiritual realm, which is another time and space beyond reality, and the things he experiences are all inspired by the thoughts, thoughts, feelings and understandings of the person who has entered the meditation. ”

I nodded.

"Meditation is a state of great freedom for a practitioner, but there are also some practitioners who, if their willpower is not firm enough to control their own spiritual power, can easily fall into an illusion and cannot extricate themselves, and everything in the illusion will also correspondingly be in the physical and spiritual spirit of the practitioner. Therefore, there are often tragic incidents of spiritual trauma, madness, and even death. ”

I frowned, "So, what about the Master of Enlightenment?" ”

"Enlightenment, is the abbot of the temple, although he started late, but he was born with wisdom, sensitive to the world, is very Buddha-like, is his meditation, like entering his own meditation room, often come and go freely."

"What the master means, it is unlikely that he passed away because he was affected by some illusions after entering the meditation."

"Not bad."

"So—"

My throat choked and I suddenly couldn't speak.

The old monk's expression also darkened silently, and after a long time, he finally sighed: "Amitabha." ”

I held the door frame with a slight force, and even felt a trace of pain in my fingertips, before I finally allowed myself to stand still, and then put my hands together and saluted softly towards the emaciated, silent figure on the futon: "Amitabha." ”

With that, I turned around and walked out.

The night is deeper.

And this courtyard is even brighter, the candlelight is orange, and in the light and shadow, you can see a lot of dust rising with the activities of those people outside.

went to a person, but it became lively, with red and dust.

I sighed softly.

And at this moment, someone came out of the meditation room behind him, and when he looked back, it was the two young monks who had been following enlightenment, it seems that now that things have been figured out, those old monks have to discuss some important internal affairs, so that the young monks can't participate, so they naturally have to retreat.

I thought for a moment and beckoned to them: "Two little masters." ”

As soon as they saw me, they all hurriedly stepped forward and saluted respectfully: "Female donor." ”

I asked, "The two little masters have been practicing with the Enlightenment Master, and the time is not short, right?" ”

"It's not short, it's been years."

"We have been following the abbot since we started, and over the years, the abbot has been with us."

"In this case, then I have a question for the two little masters."

"Excuse me, female benefactor."

I looked back at the half-closed wooden door of the Zen Temple, looked at the two of them again, and said in a low voice: "Over the years, Master Zhengjue is really an outsider, haven't you seen it?" ”

As soon as these words came out, the two monks seemed to be startled, and they looked at each other and lowered their heads at the same time.