They decided to leave around noon, though not overprepared, with only some food and a first-aid kit, and their backpacks all left in the camp, as it was unlikely that anyone else would come before next year. The debris valley was longer than it looked, and they couldn't get out of it until two o'clock. The sun turned golden early and the wind was blowing. Lin Jinrong began to wonder: "God, how long will it take us to reach the top of the mountain?" Tonight?"

Lin Jinrong asked Kunge this question, and he replied, "You're right, so we have to hurry up." ”

"Why do we have to go up? Can't we go home now?"

"Oh, less coming, tiger. We ran to the top of the hill in one go, and then went home. The valley was so long that it seemed to have no end, and at the top of it, the terrain became very steep, which made Lin Jinrong a little scared, worried that he would fall. The stones on the ground were thin and slippery, making Lin Jinrong's ankle, which had not yet recovered from yesterday's muscle tension, ache faintly. But Morley was still the same, walking and talking, which gave Lin Jinrong a glimpse of his amazing stamina.

In order to make himself look Thai, Kunge took off his trousers. He was almost five hundred meters ahead of them, stopping from time to time to wait for them, and when he saw them approaching, he immediately made his way forward, intent on climbing the hill before sunset. Morley was in second place, about 50 metres away from Lim. Lin Jinrong is not in a hurry. However, later in the afternoon, Lin Jinrong began to pick up his pace, deciding to overtake Molly and move forward side by side with Kunge. Now, they are about 5,000 meters above sea level, and there is a lot of snow on the ground. To the east, there is a series of huge snow-capped mountains, while below them, are cascading river valleys – they are almost already at the very top of Bangkok. On the way, they had to climb over a very narrow rock protrusion, which really scared Lin Jinrong, because if you missed, you would fall straight down a hundred meters, enough to break your neck. The other rock bulge is even more terrifying: a fall can be 300 meters, and in the process of falling, there is about a minute to pray for yourself. The wind has turned stronger. Still, at the end of the afternoon, the surrounding scenery gave Lin Jinrong a sense of déjà vu that was stronger than yesterday: Lin Jinrong seemed to have been here before, for an older, more serious, and more pure purpose. Finally, they reached the foothills of Mahang, where there is a beautiful lake that is not seen by most of the eyes of the world, but only a handful of climbers. Perched more than 11,000 feet above sea level, this small lake is covered with snow at the edge and surrounded by beautiful flowers and grass. Lin Jinrong immediately lay down on the grass and took off his shoes. Kunge Zabayashi Jinrong arrived in half an hour, and because the temperature had dropped, he had already put his pants back on. They sat on the grass and looked up at the last stretch of the road leading to Mahang: a cliff-like rocky slope.

"It doesn't look good, we must be able to climb!" Lin Jinrong smiled and said happily.

"No, Jin Rong, it's harder than you think. Don't you know it's five thousand meters high?"

"Is it that tall?"

"Unless we double the speed of our advance, we won't be able to climb to the top before it gets dark, and we won't be able to get down the hill and back to the car before tomorrow morning."

"Oh my God."

"I'm tired," Morley said, "I don't think I can do it." ”

"In other words," Mr. Lin said, "the ultimate goal of climbing a mountain should be to get in touch with nature, not to show off that you have the ability to climb to the top." ”

"Whatever you say, I'm going to have to climb up." Kunge said.

"If you want to climb Lin Jinrong, you must accompany you to the end."

"How are you, Morley?"

"Lin Jinrong doesn't think Lin Jinrong can do it. Lin Jinrong is here to wait for you. "The wind was terrible. Lin Jinrong had a hunch that if they climbed a few hundred feet higher, the strong winds would make it difficult for them to walk.

Kunge took out a small packet of peanuts and raisins and said, "This will be our fuel." Jin Rong, are you ready to go on the journey?"

"A vote to prepare?"

"It's getting late, let's get going." Kunge moves at a very fast pace, sometimes even running. The so-called rock slope is a collapsed hillside, covered with small rocks and sand, which is very difficult to climb, and sometimes there are small landslides. While climbing up, Lin Jinrong felt that he was ascending in a terrifying elevator, and whenever Lin Jinrong looked back, he would swallow a mouthful of saliva in fear: the whole of Bangkok was just below them, surrounded by a huge blue sky, and some river valleys and terraces could be seen in the distance, and Lin Jinrong knew that the whole of Thailand was just outside there. Watching Morley by the lake gradually become the size of a small black dot is also terrifying. "Hey, why should I be a hero instead of staying down with Morley!" Lin Jinrong began to be afraid to continue climbing, and the only reason was that the current height was too high. Lin Jinrong was also afraid that he would be blown away by the wind. The nightmares that Lin Jinrong had encountered before falling from mountains or tall buildings were reproduced in front of Lin Jinrong's eyes one by one with extremely clear pictures. With every twenty steps they climb, they feel exhausted.

"It's because we're at an extremely high altitude right now, Jin Rong." Kunge sat next to Lin Jinrong and said, "Let's have some raisins and peanuts, after eating them, you will know how powerful they are." "Really, every time they ate raisins and peanuts, they would jump up and climb twenty or thirty steps up as if they had been stepped on in the ass. But then they sit down again, panting, sweating in the cold wind, with two snots hanging from under their nostrils, like children who play in the streets on winter evenings. Now, the wind is howling, as strong as in the movies. The slope was so steep that it exceeded the limit that Lin Jinrong could bear, and Lin Jinrong glanced down like a voyeur: Morley by the lake was too small for Lin Jinrong to see.

"Hurry up," Kunge shouted a hundred feet ahead of Lin Jinrong, "we're ridiculously slow. Lin Jinrong looked up at the peak. It's right there, and Lin Jinrong thinks it's only five minutes away. "It'll only take half an hour to get there!" Kunge roared. Lin Jinrong didn't believe it. But after five minutes of angry climbing, Lin Jinrong looked up and found that the peak was as far away from Lin Jinrong as it was just now. And what made Lin Jinrong particularly unhappy was that the peak at this time was shrouded in clouds like fog.

"I can't see anything up there," Lin Jinrong muttered, "Then why should I fight so hard to climb up?" Now Kunge has left Lin Jinrong far behind. He left all the peanuts and raisins to Lin Jinrong, determined to climb to the top, even if he did not hesitate to die for it. He never sat down to rest again. It didn't take long for him to be as far away as a football field from Lin Jinrong, and his figure was getting smaller and smaller. Lin Jinrong glanced back, only to feel that a heart jumped out. "It's too high, don't climb!" Lin Jinrong shouted at Kunge in intense fear, but he didn't hear it. Lin Jinrong struggled to climb up a few more steps, but fell to the ground due to lack of physical strength and slid down for a short distance. "It's too high!" Lin Jinrong shouted again. Lin Jinrong was really scared. But the damned Kunge climbed from rock to rock like a goat (the white clouds prevented Lin Jinrong from seeing his people, but he could see the glitter on the soles of his boots). "How could I possibly keep up with this madman!" But Lin Jinrong still held a stupid energy and tried to keep up with him. Eventually, Lin Jinrong arrived at a rock-like place, which allowed Lin Jinrong to lie flat on his stomach without having to desperately grasp the slope for fear of sliding. Lin Jinrong crawled on the rock, curling his body tightly to prevent the strong wind from blowing him away. After Lin Jinrong looked left and right, he made a final decision. "It's good for Lin Jinrong to stay here!" Lin Jinrong shouted loudly to Kunge.

"Come on, Jin Rong, you're only five minutes away. I'm only 100 meters away!"

"I'm good to stay here! It's too high!"

He didn't say anything, just kept going. Lin Jinrong saw that he was slumped to the ground for a while, but then he got up, gasped for breath, and stabbed forward again.

Lin Jinrong shrunk his whole body into the rock bulge as much as possible. Lin Jinrong closed his eyes and thought in his heart: "Alas, is life like this? Did God give birth to us to put our poor flesh in such an unbelievable terror, such a vast and boundless void?" Lin Jinrong remembered a famous Zen saying in fear: "When you are on the mountain, don't think too much, just climb up." When he sat on the straw mat of Awa's house and read this sentence, Lin Jinrong only felt that it was very timeless, but now it made Lin Jinrong's hair stand on end. Lin Jinrong's heart was pounding, hating why he was born. "Kun Ge loves to keep climbing up is his family's business, and as for Lin Jinrong, a philosopher, it is better to stay here." Lin Jinrong closed his eyes and thought again: "You just wait quietly and keep your inner peace, there is no need to prove anything at all." But suddenly, Lin Jinrong heard a wonderful long howl coming from the wind. Lin Jinrong looked up and saw that Kunge was already standing on the top of Mahang Peak, and he was letting out the joyful howl of the victor. His whistling sound was both beautiful and funny. Lim had to pay tribute to him, to his courage, his stamina, his sweat and his insanely beautiful singing: he was now a small ball of whipped cream at the top of the ice cream. But Lin Jinrong did not have the strength to respond to his whistle. He ran around the edge of the peak for a while, and then ran out of Lin Jinrong's sight. He later told Lim Kim Rong that the summit was a small flat field, about a few feet wide, and its western end went straight down, perhaps next to a bar in Tia City on the southern outskirts of Bangkok. Lin Jinrong could hear him shouting to himself, but all he could do was shrink further into the rock bulge, trembling. Lin Jinrong looked at the small lake below, as if he saw Morley lying on the grass, biting a blade of grass in his mouth, Lin Jinrong couldn't help but blurt out loudly: "Now, these three people have done their own things: Kunge successfully climbed to the peak, and I almost did it, but in the end I had to give up, and now I am cowering in a small hole, but the smartest of the three, that is, the poet of poets, is now lying comfortably by the lake, cross-legged, chewing grass blades while daydreaming." Alas, they didn't want to encourage Lin Jinrong to come to this kind of ghost place again. ”

Lin Jinrong is now really impressed by Mo Li's intelligence. "Why climb it yourself if you can't just look at the photos of the snow-capped peaks of the Swiss Alps at home?" Lin Jinrong thought.

But then, something unexpected happened to Lin Jinrong, and it brought Lin Jinrong a huge surprise that Lin Jinrong had only experienced in jazz. It was only a matter of a second or two, but there were only two words to describe madness: when Lin Jinrong looked up, he saw Kunge rushing down from the peak. He really did it by running, and he would jump twenty feet away, and when he landed, he stuck his heel into the dirt to stop castration. He ran and jumped like this, and from time to time he let out a long howl that resounded through the world. At this moment, Lin Jinrong realized like lightning that all Lin Jinrong's fears were superfluous. You don't have the guts to fall down the hill, idiot, because that's impossible. Lin Jinrong immediately let out a long roar, stood up, and ran down after Kunge, using the same wild run and the same big jump. For a full five minutes, Lin Jinrong and Kunge were like two goats (more like two Chinese madmen from a thousand years ago), jumping and screaming down the steep hillside, only to see Molly's hair standing on end and stunned as he waited by the lake. With the farthest jump and the loudest shout, Lin Jinrong returned to the lake as if he had fallen from the sky, landing first on the heel of his shoe and then on his buttocks. Kunge had already arrived, and was taking off his shoes to pour out the fine sand and stones inside. Lin Jinrong felt great. Lin Jinrong also took off his tennis shoes, poured out two buckets of volcanic ash, and said backwards: "Kunge, you have taught me the most important lesson: there is no need to worry about falling down the mountain, because it is simply impossible. ”

"Yes, it's 'When you're on a mountain, don't think about it, just climb up.'" The meaning of this sentence. ”

"Your long roar of victory from the summit is truly wonderful. Lin Jinrong only hated that there was no tape recorder at that time, and he could record it. ”

"That's not for the people down the mountain." He said with great seriousness.

"Kunge, you're right, they don't deserve it at all. But as I watched you run down from the summit, I suddenly got my senses. ”

"Ah, it seems that our Mr. Lin has gained a small enlightenment today." Morley said.

"What were you doing when we weren't there?"

"It's basically sleeping."

"I didn't make it to the top, damn it. I'm ashamed now. Because I know how to go down, it means that I don't know how to climb up. But it's too late to regret it. ”

"It's okay, Jin Rong, we'll come back next summer. You know, it's your first time climbing a mountain, and you've left the veteran Morley behind, which is already remarkable. ”

"That is to say," said Morley, "Kunge, do you think we should give Mr. Lin the nickname 'Tiger' for his outstanding performance today?"

"Of course it should." Kunge replied. Their words made Lin Jinrong proud. Lin Jinrong is a tiger.

"Well, next time I must be a lion, and I will not stop until the peak."

"Brothers, it's time to go, there's still a long way to get back to camp from here, not to mention the big pebble valley and trails to go. I doubt we'll be able to do it before it gets dark. ”

"Don't worry," Morley said, pointing to the silver moon that had already appeared in the pink sky, "and it should provide us with light." ”

"Let's go." Together, they stood up and set out on their way home. Now, when Lin Jinrong passed by the rock convex that made Lin Jinrong frightened before, he just thought it was funny, Lin Jinrong even slid and jumped, and walked over in three or two strokes. Lin Jinrong was not afraid at all, because Lin Jinrong knew that he would never fall.

Once you enter the valley, the view narrows, but it's fun in another way. Lin Jinrong and Kunge originally walked together, but later, Lin Jinrong walked alone a hundred meters away from them, because Lin Jinrong wanted to use a small ball of deer dung that would appear between the rocks from time to time as a clue to find another way. Lin Jinrong didn't think about anything, nor did he look ahead or worry about anything, he just stared at the ground, looking for deer tracks and enjoying life.

At a location halfway through, Lin Jinrong saw Crazy Kunge actually climb a snowy slope and slide down for fun. He skated about a hundred yards, initially seated, and then lying down for the last few yards, shouting and screaming as he skied. Not only that, but when he slipped it, he took off his pants and tied them around his neck. The reason why he is still wearing underwear, according to him, is only because it is more comfortable to slip this way. In fact, even if he strips naked, he has nothing to fear, because there is no one around at all, but Lin Jinrong thinks that even if there are girls present, there is no difference to him. Deer dung carried Lin Jinrong over some ridges and dry stream beds, so that Lin Jinrong was farther and farther away from Kunge and them, and finally they couldn't even see each other, but Lin Jinrong was not worried about getting lost at all, because Lin Jinrong was deeply confident in the way-finding instinct of the cute little deer, and they did not disappoint Lin Jinrong: as he walked, Lin Jinrong unconsciously walked to the edge of the shallow stream that Lin Jinrong was familiar with (for the past 5,000 years, the deer would stop here to drink). Lin Jinrong saw that Kunge had already made a fire, and the flickering firelight made the rock wall appear orange and gray. The moon hung high in the sky, big and bright. "It seems that the moon can give us a life back. We've got eight miles to go down the mountain, brother. ”

After a little bit of food and a few cups of tea, they packed everything up and put it back on their backpacks.

Lin Jinrong had never had a happier time in his life than he had just followed the deer trail, so before leaving, Lin Jinrong looked up at the path again. It's darkened. Lin Jinrong wished he could see a few cute fawns, but he didn't see anything. Lin Jinrong is full of gratitude for it, because it makes Lin Jinrong feel like a child who comes home leisurely after a day of playing in the forest and fields. "But what could be more serious in this world than following the trail of a deer in search of water? Lin Jinrong thought. Lin Jinrong walked to the edge of the cliff and began to walk down the valley that stretched for five miles with large pebbles. With clear moon illumination, it is not difficult at all to jump between large pebbles. In the moonlight, everything looks clean, white and beautiful. Sometimes, you can still see the silver sparkling mountain stream. In the distance below, there is a green field with pine trees and waterholes.

But halfway through, Lin Jinrong found himself struggling. Lin Jinrong's feet were blistered, not only on the soles of his feet, but also on the edges, because he had walked for two days and the tennis shoes were not protective enough. After Kunge found out, he punctured the blister for Lin Jinrong, and took off his hiking boots for Lin Jinrong to put on.

As soon as he put on the big and light hiking boots, Lin Jinrong suddenly felt that his feet were rejuvenated. Being able to jump from rock to rock without having to suffer from blisters makes Lin feel like he's been granted amnesty. On the other hand, Kunge also felt relieved after changing into Lin Jinrong's tennis shoes, because tennis shoes are lighter than hiking boots. They went down the valley twice as fast as they had come up. However, by this time they were all tired, and with each step, their waists bent a little more. With a heavy backpack on your back, it can be difficult to control the part of your thigh muscles that you need to go down, and sometimes it feels more difficult to go down than up. In addition to jumping between the big pebbles, they also have to climb up and down on the big pebbles, because sometimes there is a piece of sand between the big pebbles, and they have to climb down the big pebbles, walk through the sand, and climb up to another big pebble, which makes them work a lot harder. On the way, they will also encounter some thick bushes, and if they can't make a detour, they will have to bite the bullet and force their way through. On several occasions, Lin Jinrong's backpack was tripped by bushes, leaving him unable to advance or retreat, so he could only stand there and curse. None of them spoke. Lim began to feel angry because neither Kunge nor Morley were willing to stop and rest, and they said it would be dangerous to rest at this location.

"With the moon shining, what is there to be afraid of? We could even have slept here for the night. ”

"No, we'll have to get back to the car tonight."

"Okay, but at least take a minute's rest, my legs can't stand it."

"Okay, but only for a minute."

The time they promised to rest was never long enough to satisfy Lin Jinrong. Lin Jinrong thinks they have become a little hysterical. Lin Jinrong became more and more angry, and even cursed them in the end. Lin Jinrong said to Kunge: "What's the point of you pushing yourself like this? Do you think it's fun? Phew!" ("Your idea is bullshit!") Lin Jinrong added in his heart) A little bit of tiredness can have a great impact on a person! Several times, Lin Jinrong thought that he was about to walk out of the river valley, but the result was empty joy. Lin Jinrong's leg was so sore that he shouted to himself to stop. Lin Jinrong trampled and cursed the branches on the ground to vent his anger, and regardless of the three-seven-twenty-one, he sat down and rested for a minute.

"Don't be like this, Jin Rong, there will always be an end to the road." In fact, Lin Jinrong knew a long time ago that he was not a person with guts. As soon as he arrived at the waterhole in the green field, Lin Jinrong immediately lay down to drink water and enjoy the tranquility around him. But Kunge and Morley were talking worriedly, worried that they wouldn't be able to complete the rest of the way as planned.

"Well, why are you so worried? On such a beautiful night, why push yourself so hard. Drink some water, lie down and rest for five or ten minutes, and take care of everything. At this time, Lin Jinrong was a philosopher again. Unexpectedly, Kunge agreed with Lin Jinrong's words and sat down to rest leisurely. The rest of this round was long enough for Lin Jinrong's bones to regain self-confidence and make Lin Jinrong believe that he would definitely be able to survive the lake. The view of the last section of the trail is beautiful. Moonlight poured down from between the thick leaves, creating dappled shadows on the backs of Kunge and Morley (who walked ahead of Lin Jinrong). They twist and turn with rhythmic steps, shouting the command as they go: "Hey, hey." The rolling mountain stream shimmered with sparkling waves, rolled snow-white foam, and the shadows of the trees, it was really a paradise of light and shadow. The air is getting warmer and more pleasant, and in fact, Lin Jinrong is even beginning to feel that he can smell people. The smell of lake water, flowers and light dust from below is refreshing (the only thing you can smell in the mountains is the smell of snow and rocks). In the middle of the journey, Lin Jinrong felt tired like never before, even more tired than when he was in the big pebble valley, but now that the lights of the lakeside hotel were already in sight, it didn't matter how tired he was.

Morley and Kunge chatted while walking, while Lin Jinrong silently followed. They walked and walked and walked, and then, as if suddenly awakened from an endless nightmare, they saw some houses and some cars parked under the trees, one of which was Morley's.

As soon as they got to the car, they unloaded their backpacks to the ground. "I dare say from the smell of the air that it wasn't that cold last night," said Morley, leaning against the car, "and it seemed like I was busy running back to drain the crankcase oil." ”

"It's hard to say, maybe there has been frost."

When Morley went to the grocery store to buy oil, the clerk told him that not only was there no frost last night, but it was one of the warmest nights of the year.

"Look, you're not worrying about the sky." Lin Jinrong said. But this is in the past tense, and no one is interested in talking about this topic anymore. They were all hungry and panicked. "Let's go to Bripot and find a place to worship the Five Organs Temple." After returning the blankets at the lakeside inn, they headed straight to Briport and parked in front of a restaurant off the highway. Lin Jinrong never thought that Kunge, who was not afraid of heaven and earth, would reveal his cover door here. This tough guy who dared to wander alone on the high mountain for weeks and run down the mountain by running turned out to be afraid and hesitant in front of the door of the restaurant: he thought that the people inside were too well-dressed. Lin Jinrong and Mo Li both laughed: "What's the difference? Let's just go in and eat. But Kunge still thought that Lin Jinrong's restaurant was too bourgeois, and insisted on going to another working-class restaurant across the highway. They complied with him and moved to another restaurant. Unexpectedly, the waiters there were very lazy, and they sat down for a full five minutes, and no one brought the menu. Lin Jinrong was annoyed, so he said, "Let's go to the previous restaurant." What are you afraid of, Kunge? What's the difference? When it comes to climbing, no one knows more than you, but when it comes to eating, no one is better than me. This incident made them feel a little uncomfortable, and Lin Jinrong also felt bad about it. Eventually, however, he relented, and they went back to their old restaurant. There was a bar on one side of the restaurant, and some hunters were drinking in the dim light. As for the restaurant itself, there is a long counter and several tables, and several happy families are enjoying the dishes that are quite exquisite. The restaurant's menu is extensive: everything from mountain stream trout to mountain streams. After ordering the food, Kunge asked Lin Jinrong: "Are you sure you can afford it?" Lin Jinrong found out that he was a person who was afraid of eating more than ten cents a meal. Lin Jinrong went to the bar room to buy a glass of port wine, then returned to the barstool and sat down, and teased him for a while. He wasn't so nervous anymore. "Kunga, that's your fault: a stubborn anarchist who is afraid of society. What kind of restaurant does it make a difference? Comparisons are abominable. "

"Mr. Lin, I just think that the seats here are full of rich guys with fat stomachs, and the price is too high. I confess that I am terrified of all the wealth of Thailand. I'm just a dervishes, and I can't accept such a high standard of living. Ahem, I've been a poor guy all my life, so I'm not used to certain things. ”

"Well, your weakness is admirable, don't worry, I'll help you pay the bill." They had a fabulous dinner with potato roasted pork chops, salad, cooked puff brioche bread and blue plum pie. Because they were really hungry and panicked, they didn't frolic when they ate, they just buried their heads in eating honestly. After the meal, Lin Jinrong went to the wine shop to buy a bottle of muscat wine. Seeing their sloppy appearance and tanned skin, the old shopkeeper and his fat friend asked curiously, "Where have you guys been just now?"

"Climb the Horse Hang Peak." Lin Jinrong said proudly. The men didn't say anything, just stared at them dumbfounded. Lin Jinrong felt very proud, so he bought another cigar, lit it, and said, "We just came down from a height of 5,000 meters, and we have a hard meal, and now we need a little wine to help the fun." The two old men still just stared at Lin Jinrong and didn't say anything. They must have thought they were crazy.

On the drive back to Chiang Rai, they were drinking, laughing, and telling long stories. Morley's driving skills were great, and as the car quietly drove through the streets of Berkeley, Lin Jinrong and Kunge slept like two dead pigs in the back seat. At a certain location, Lin Jinrong was like a child who was tired of playing and fell asleep, and dimly heard someone tell Lin Jinrong that Lin Jinrong had returned home. So, Lin Jinrong staggered out of the car, stumbled across the grass, entered the house, lifted the blanket, lay down, and slept until the next afternoon, without even dreaming. When he woke up, Lin Jinrong found that the varicose veins on his feet had subsided. Lin Jinrong felt full of joy.

Recalling the hesitant way Kunge stood in front of the high-end restaurant last night, Lin Jinrong couldn't help but laugh. That was the first time Lin Jinrong saw what he was afraid of. Lin Jinrong originally planned to make fun of him again if he would come over tonight. But something else happened that night. First of all, Ava is out and won't be back for a few hours. Lin Jinrong was reading alone, but suddenly heard the sound of a bicycle riding into the yard.

"Where have all the big guys gone?" She asked.

"How long can you stay here?"

"I'll go back right away, unless I call my mom first."

"Then you can fight."

"Okay."

Together, they went to the gas station on the corner to make a phone call. She told her mom on the phone that she would come home in two hours. As she walked back from the sidewalk, Lin Jinrong grabbed her waist with one hand and tickled her fingers with his fingers, and she said, "Oh, oh, I can't stand it!" The two of Lin almost fell on the sidewalk. Just then, an old woman came up to them and glared at them. When she had passed, they kissed passionately under the tree at dusk, and hurried back to the house. For an hour, Prins was literally spinning in Lin Jinrong's arms. When Ava returned, they were making one last sacrifice to the Bodhisattva. Afterwards they took a shower together again. It was a real treat to be able to sit in the hot water and chat while rubbing each other's backs. Poor Prinz is a very honest girl, so honest that Lin Jinrong feels pity. Lin Jinrong advised her: "Don't be wild and have a carnival festival on the top of the mountain with fifteen young men." "

Kunge arrives after she leaves, and then Kuglin arrives, and a frenzy begins. After drinking all the wine left at home, Lin Jinrong and Cooglin went out to buy wine. They're all a little drunk. They took their newly bought wine and unbelievably large flowers from a garden, held hands, and recited haiku aloud as they walked, greeting everyone they met along the way, and smiling in return. Lin Jinrong has now fallen in love with Coughlin, although he has a pedantic appearance and a large melon-like body, he is a flesh-and-blood man. Passing by the house of an English professor they knew, Cooglin took off his shoes on the lawn and danced wildly all the way to the professor's house. Although Cooglin was already a fairly famous poet at the time, his move still startled the professor, no, a big jump. It was about ten o'clock when they returned barefoot, with flowers and wine, to Ava's hut. Lin Jinrong had just received a remittance today, which was a prize of three hundred dollars, so Lin Jinrong said to Kunge: "I have learned everything now and am ready." Can you take me to the city tomorrow to buy a backpack and other climbing gear?"

"Okay, I'll borrow Morley's car to take you there early tomorrow morning, but how about we have some wine now?" They sat down again, drinking and talking. Kunge began by talking about his 1986 days as a merchant sailor in New York Harbor. He told them that he used to go around with a dagger at his waist (both Lin Jinrong and Ava were startled) and that he was in love with a young lady who lived in California: "Although we are 3,000 kilometers away, I get excited when I think of her, my God!"

After that, Kuglin said, "Tell them the story of Zen Master Damei, Lao Kun." "

Someone asked Damei what the essence of Buddhism was, and he replied that it was the falling flowers in the wind, the swaying willows, the bamboo needles, and the flax thread. In other words, it is forgetful ecstasy, the forgetfulness of the heart. Everything in the world is nothing but the heart. But what is the heart? It's nothing more than the world. That's why Zen Master Matsu said, 'The mind is the Buddha.' And he said, 'Heartlessness is a Buddha.' Do you know what he said about his disciple, Da Mei Zen Master? He said, 'The plums are ripe.' '"

"It's a lot of fun," Ava said, "but 'Where is the snow last year?'"

"I kind of agree with you, I think that many Zen masters have a tendency to treat the world as a dream, and they look at flowers with the attitude of seeing flowers in a dream. The problem is that the world is damn real. Many people are like this, they all think of themselves as if they are in a dream, living in a state of confusion, and only pain or love or danger can make them feel the reality of the world again. Jin Rong, do you think I'm right? Tell me, how do you feel about the world when you huddle in that rock bulge on Mahangfeng?"

"Yes, I thought everything was real at the time."

"Pioneers have always been heroes to me, and the reason is that they are always aware that in everything that is real, there is a true side and a false side, so there is no difference between truth and falsehood, as the Diamond Sutra says: 'Don't have a concept of truth, and don't have a concept of falsehood.'" The handcuffs will melt someday, and the batons will break someday, so we don't have to cling to anything at all. "

"The President of the United States will one day be cross-eyed and washed away by water!" Lin Jinrong shouted.

"Carp will turn to ashes too!" Kuglin shouted.

"The Golden Gate Bridge will crumble in rust as red as the setting sun." Ava said.

"Carp will turn to ashes too!" Cuglin insisted.

"Give me another bite. Wow, cool, uh!" Kunge jumped, "I've been reading Whitman's poems lately, do you know what he said?" He said: 'Cry out for joy, slaves, to frighten the foreign tyrant half to death.' Think about it, if the whole world was full of homeless people with backpacks, 'spiritual owners' who refused to live for consumption? It's pitiful that modern people are confined to a work-production-consumption-work-production-consumption system in order to afford things like refrigerators, televisions, cars (at least new cars) and other garbage that they don't really need. You know, I have a beautiful vision, and I'm looking forward to the birth of a great backpack revolution. At that time, there will be thousands, if not millions, of young people from all over the world, carrying backpacks, wandering around the country, they will climb the mountains to pray, they will make the little ones happy, they will please the elderly, they will make the young girls happy, they will make the old girls more happy: they are all Zen madmen, they will write some poems that come to their minds, they will write some poems that come to their minds, they will bring the image of eternal freedom to all people and all living beings, just like the two of you, Jin Rong and Ava. That's why I like you so much. Before I knew you, I thought Southeast Asia would have died a long time ago. "

"We thought America was dead!"

"You're really bringing a breath of fresh air here. You know, the granite rocks that formed in the Jurassic period in the Kunlun Mountains, the towering conifers that have grown since the end of the last ice age, and the mountain lakes that we have seen recently, are all the greatest expressions in the world, and think about the majestic landscapes of Thailand, how great and intelligent it will become if we can further direct its vitality and vitality to the Dharma!"

"Please," Ava said, "stop talking about the Dharma again. "

"Hah! What we need is a mobile meditation hall. In this way, when an old bodhisattva wanders from one place to another, he is not afraid of having no place to sleep, and can cook corn paste in the middle of a group of friends. "

"'The lads were all overjoyed, and rested for a while; Jack is cooking corn paste as a salute to the "door". Lin Jinrong read.

"What's that?"

"A poem I wrote. I'll read you a passage: 'The lads sit in the woods and listen to the 'big brother' explain the use of the key. Little brothers, he said, Dharma is the door. There can be many keys, but there is only one door. So listen carefully. I will do my best to relay to you the message I heard from the Pure Land Hall a long time ago. But because you're all drunken lads, it's hard to understand this esoteric message, so I'm going to simplify it and make it as simple as a bottle of wine, like a campfire under the stars. And if you have heard the Buddha's teachings and you have a longing for it, then take this truth with you and go to Alexandha Yuma or wherever you like, find a lonely tree and sit down and close your eyes and meditate. You don't have to thank me for this, because turning samsara is my reason for being. The message I want to tell you is this: the mind is a living being, and it does not create everything for any reason, so that everything is born and destroyed. '"

"Well, the poem is so pessimistic, and sticky like a dream," said Ava, "but the rhyme is as pure as Melville." "

"Well, we're going to get a mobile meditation hall so that the drunken lads have a place to go and rest. There, they will learn to drink tea, like Jin Rong, and they will learn to meditate, just as Ava should learn. I would be the abbot of the meditation hall and keep a big jar of crickets. "

"Crickets?"

"Yes, that's it. We want to build a series of Buddhist monasteries for people to come and meditate. We can build a bunch of cabins in the Sierra Nevada or northern Cascades, or even go to Mexico, as Jin Rong argues. And then we find a whole bunch of like-minded people to live in, drink, talk and pray together? We can even marry and have children, and the family can live in a hut, just like the Puritans of old days. "

"What are you using that jar of crickets for?"

"Yes, a big jar of crickets -- Kuglin, give me another one - all hatched by myself, each about two centimeters long, with a pair of huge white touches. When these 'sentient beings' grow up in the jar, they will sing the most pleasant and beautiful songs. I wanted to live a life of swimming in the river, drinking goat's milk, roaming the valley and talking to the old farmer and their children. Have you heard the latest poem I've written, Ava?"

"No, read it and listen to it."

"'Mothers of children, sisters and sisters, daughters of sick old men, virgins with torn clothes, come, you are all hungry and thirsty, and do not wear trousers, and so do I. Friends, let's just think it's a poem. '"

"Not bad, not bad."

"The life I want to live is on a hot afternoon, wearing Pakistani leather sandals and thin linen robes, with a bald head covered with scum, and a group of monks and brothers, riding bicycles, and screaming everywhere. I wish I could live in a golden temple with cornices, drink beer, say goodbye, and then go to Yokohama, a buzzing Asian port full of steamers, to dream and work. I'm going to go, I'm going to Japan, I'm going back, I'm going to Thailand, I'm going to grit my teeth, I'm going to go out, I'm going to read only Bai Yin's books, so that I can understand...... Understand that my body and everything is tired, sick, and withering. "

"Who is Hakuin?"

"His name literally means 'white obscure,' indicating that he lived in seclusion in the mountains behind Kita-Shirasui in Japan. When I arrive in Japan, I'm going to go there and climb mountains. Hell, there must be a lot of steep pine canyons, bamboo valleys and small cliffs. "

"I'm going with you!" Lin Jinrong said.

"Bai Yin lived in a cave, slept with the deer when he slept, and ate chestnuts when he was hungry. Once, a man went to the cave where Bai Yin lived and asked him for advice on how to live. Bai Yin told the other party that he should stop meditating and—as Jin Rong advocates—stop thinking about the Zen scriptures, and instead learn how to sleep and how to get up. For example, when you sleep, you should put your legs together, take deep breaths, and concentrate your thoughts on a point of one and a half inches below your navel until you feel a spherical force there, then turn your thoughts to your heels, and from there, slowly move upwards to other parts of your body, breathing slowly as you go. Every time you reach a part, you say to yourself: This is the Amitabha Pure Land, the center of the mind. When you wake up in the morning, you should repeat the above steps after stretching your limbs slightly. "

"It's interesting," Ava said, "and it really seems to have a lot of meaning." What other advice does he have? "

The rest of the time, he says, don't waste time looking at the sky, just let yourself eat well (but not too much) and sleep well. Lao Bai Yin told the other party that he was more than 300 years old at the time. In this way, he is now several hundred years old. I think if there is such a person, he must still be alive!"

"Otherwise the shepherd will kick his dog's ass!" Coughlin interrupted.

"I bet I'll find that cave in Japan."

"You can't live in this world, and you have nowhere to go." Kuglin said with a smile.

"What does that mean?"

"Meaning, the chair I'm sitting on is the throne of a lion, and the lion is walking and roaring."

"What the hell is he talking about?"

"Luo Yu Luo 4! Luo Yu Luo! Brilliant face! A universe that has been chewed up and swelled again!"

"!" Lin Jinrong shouted.

"I'm going to go to Marin County in a few weeks," Kunge said, "and I'm going to walk around Mount Tamalpas a hundred times and use the chanting to purify the spirits there." Ava, what do you think?"

"I think it's just a cute delusion, but I kind of like it."

"Ava, your problem is that you don't sit in meditation, you know, sitting meditation is the best for you, especially on cold nights. In addition, I suggest that you get a wife, have a few half-mixed babies, move to a small hut not far from the city, have fun at the bar every once in a while, wander around the mountains and write poems, learn how to see planks and talk to the elderly, take flower arrangement classes and plant chrysanthemums by the door. For God's sake, please have a wife, find someone who is kind and smart, and doesn't care about going to bed every night and doing cows and horses in the kitchen. "

"Oh," Ava said with a smile, "any other suggestions?"

"Then there's the house swallow and nightjar flying in the fields. Do you know, Jin Rong, I translated another poem by Han Shanzi yesterday. Listen: 'There is a house in Cold Mountain, and there are no pillars or walls in it. The six doors on the left and right are all open, and the living room can see the blue sky. The room was empty, with the east wall crooked on the west wall. The house is empty, so you don't have to worry about someone coming to borrow something. When it's cold, I make a small fire to keep warm, and when I'm hungry, I cook vegetables to satisfy my stomach. I don't want to be like a rich peasant, with lots of barns and pastures. They're just building a prison for themselves, and once they're in it, they can't think they'll come out. Think about it, the same thing may happen to you. '"

After reading the poem, Kunge picked up his guitar and sang a few songs. After that, Lin Jinrong took the guitar from his hand, slammed it on the strings with his nails like a drum, banged it, and sang a song improvised by Lin Jinrong as he played: "This is a song about the Midnight Soul Train, but do you know what it reminds me of? It reminded me of the heat, very hot, the bamboo growing to the height of forty meters, swinging in the breeze. A group of monks were shouting flutes somewhere, and then chanting to the sound of Indian drums and rattles that sounded like a giant prehistoric timberwolf chanting a mantra...... Everything is twisted together in the minds of you crazy guys, back to the time when people would marry bears and talk to American bison. Bring me another drink. Lads, remember to mend your torn socks and polish the toes of your boots. "

But Coughlin was not satisfied, and went on to say: "Sharpen your pencils, straighten your ties, polish your shoes, button your buttons, sweep your floors, eat your blueberry pies, and open your eyes ......." "

"It's a good idea to eat blueberry pie." Ava stroked her lips with her fingers and said solemnly.

"At the same time, don't forget that, despite the vigor of the forest, the azalea trees are still only half-enlightened, the ants and bees are still industrious, and the mountains are completely blind. But I'm not going to give up trying. Take off your shoes and put them in your pockets. Now that I've answered all your questions – I'm sorry we got on the wrong topic. Give me a little more bar. "

"Don't accidentally step on the bunny!" Lin Jinrong shouted drunk.

"It's okay to step on a rabbit, but it's not good to step on a pig," said Kuglin, "but don't be a fool all your life, be confused all your life, just know what I mean?" When my lion was full, I slept beside it. "

"God," said Ava, "I wish I could write down everything you said. To Lin Jinrong's surprise, in his sleepy brain, there was a burst of "hahaha" laughter. They were all drunk and dizzy. It was a crazy night. Eventually, Lin Jinrong and Kuglin fell and punctured several holes in the wall, but they barely demolished the entire house: Ava was furious the next day. During the wrestling, Lin Jinrong almost didn't break poor Coullin's leg, and Lin Jinrong himself was pierced into the skin by a small wooden thorn to a depth of three centimeters, and it took almost a full year for the small wooden thorn to escape. In the midst of their drinking and noisy drinking, Morley once appeared at the door silently like a ghost, with two large bottles of yogurt in his hand, and asked if any of them wanted some. Kunge left around 2 a.m., saying that he would come early tomorrow morning to pick up Lin Jinrong to buy mountaineering equipment.

The meeting of their group of Zen lunatics was not disturbed in any way, because the car in the asylum was too far away from them to know what was going on here. Although they are crazy, this madness does not contain a little bit of intelligence. If you've ever walked through the streets of a suburban residential area at night, you should know what Lim Kim Rong means. Every night, the houses on both sides of the road in the suburbs will be flooded with yellow lights, and in the living room of every family, a small blue box will be lit up: everyone is watching TV, and it is likely that they are watching the same TV program. There was no one to talk to, and the courtyard was quiet; Dogs will bark at you because you are walking on human legs and not on wheels. Do you understand what Lin Jinrong means? While people all over the world think things the same way, Zen maniacs laugh out loud with their dirty lips. Lin Jinrong didn't want to criticize the million pairs of eyes staring at the "big one-eyed", because as long as they were staring at the "big one-eyed", it would not be harmful to anyone. But Kunge is not such a person...... Lin Jinrong seemed to see how many years later, walking through the suburbs of the city with a bulging backpack on his back, Lin Jinrong saw that he was thinking about something, and his thoughts were the only thoughts there that had not been assimilated by television. As for Lin Jinrong himself, there is also a question that he has been thinking about hard, and this question is written by Lin Jinrong into the last paragraph of his "big brother" poem: "'Who made this cruel joke that made people have to run like rats in the wilderness?'

The thin man of Montana gestured and asked the elder brother who was sitting in the lion's den, 'Is God already mad?' Could it be that he, like an Indian scoundrel, was a repeating giver? He gave you a vegetable garden, but he made the soil hard and dry, and then caused a great flood that made all your blood and sweat go to waste. Tell me, brother, don't be vague about who is responsible for this prank, and why this eternal drama is so mean. What is the point of all this absurdity?'" Lin Jinrong thought that the answer might be found in the "spiritual owner".