Chapter 65: People are prone to parting

I think I am content to settle for this plainness.

鈥擱emembering the days I spent with my master in the bamboo forest.

This is a sentence I wrote many years later. At that time, I must have been satisfied. I had plain congee and simple dishes, the sunrise and sunset, and I was content to stay in the mountains. I had many people I cared about, but I didn’t worry about them because I knew where they were and that they were busy with their own lives.

That period of time is not particularly memorable, but it does not affect the dazzling radiance it exudes in my memory. Life is sometimes a cycle, and at that time I suddenly felt that I had gone through a cycle with my master and had returned to the bamboo forest cottage. The only gain was that my heart was filled with a little more concern.

When the night is quiet, that feeling of concern will also emerge, a faint astringency, a heavy heart, is this not an emptiness of the soul?

On many nights when the insects chirped and the moon shone brightly, I would miss Ru Xue. Did she, like me, stand by the window, pining for someone?

I will think of Ru Yue and Grandma Lingqing. When the smoke from the kitchen in the village rises, will Grandma Lingqing still look at Ru Yue lovingly as she cooks, and will Ru Yue be eating something in secret?

What about Master Hui? Hui Gen should be sleeping soundly by now. Are you tucking Hui Gen in again?

My fellow apprentices, brothers and sisters? Are you, like me, meditating every day, content and at peace?

Where is the crispy pork? After a long day of running around, you should be snoring loudly in your room right now.

Qin Huai? When you wake up in the middle of the night, do you suddenly think of your two brothers and spit out a mouthful of saliva, saying, “Bah, in the end, I’m still the most handsome.”

The days are busy, the nights are filled with thoughts, and time passes by one chapter after another. Before I know it, another month has passed, and early summer has quietly arrived. It’s just that in this quiet bamboo forest cottage, I don’t feel so hot and stuffy.

I have thought many times about asking my master what I should do in the days to come. Should I join that department or blend in with the world? But many times I have remained silent, because I am content and want to stay content, so I don’t ask.

One day at noon, I had lunch with my master.

I vaguely remember that we had cucumber salad and a pot of pumpkin and mung bean soup. The thick, seasonal bean porridge was also satisfying.

After the meal, Master and I would usually sit in front of the small pavilion, drink a pot of tea, talk about our experiences with the Tao, discuss the difficulties of cultivation, and casually chat about strange and unusual things from all over the world. But on this day, Master just patted his stomach and said, “I’m too full. Let’s go for a walk. Take those fresh fish with you, and we’ll go see your parents on the way.”

I nodded and went down the mountain with my master.

My home was at the foot of the mountain. If we walked straight, we would arrive at my home first. But when we got there, my master said, “I see that the fields are green and full of life. Let’s take the small path instead of the main road.”

I nodded and agreed, carrying the fish. I knew my master’s virtue. Whenever he saw a vegetable growing well and happened to be his favorite, he would still go and ask for a meal. However, over the years, the villagers have also become rich, so it’s just a matter of asking for a meal. No one would really ask my master to work again.

They always think that this old man who disappears from time to time is extraordinary. Who doesn’t remember the time he dispensed medicine in the market? There are rumors that my master is actually an old doctor.

I always smile when I hear that, hmm, a shriveled old doctor.

So, walking along the path with my master, although it was in the afternoon, there were always people working in the fields, and we greeted each other along the way. It wasn’t lonely at all, but rather there was a strong sense of nostalgia in it.

When we were about to reach my house, my master took a quick look at my house from a distance, and then his eyes were drawn to the people working in the fields.

When I looked, I saw that it was Liu Fang and her husband working in the field. That year, I was still young, but Liu Fang was the prettiest girl in the village. My master was always following others’ footsteps and smiling even when he was scolded.

Now, time has passed, and Liu Fang has long since married and is already a mother. My master’s teasing remarks, which were similar to the behavior of a child, were not taken seriously.

When she saw me and my master on the path, she took the initiative to greet us, but my master just wouldn’t move. He looked at Liu Fang and asked, “Liu Fang, I haven’t been back to the village for many years. Do you miss me?”

I was reaching for my cigarettes to give Liu Fang’s husband a smoke, but I didn’t expect my master to ask such a question. I was so shocked that I almost fell off the path.

Has my master gone mad again? You see, Liu Fang’s husband is not a generous person!

Sure enough, Liu Fang’s husband’s face immediately turned dark, and Liu Fang blushed and spat, saying, “You’re so old, and you’re still joking. Aren’t you ashamed?”

The master said seriously, “When did I ever joke around? All these years, I’ve missed you the most.”

“What are you saying, you old man?” Liu Fang’s husband had a fit.

I don’t know what’s wrong with Master, so I quickly went to pull him away, but he broke free and said with a smirk, “What did I do? Am I not allowed to think about it? Is that reasonable?”

Liu Fang’s husband was furious. You can’t scold an old man, and you can’t hit him either. So he simply took Liu Fang and left.

But the master followed him and suddenly started to sing loudly: “Sister, you boldly go forward, go forward! Don’t turn back…”

I was embarrassed to chase after the master, not understanding what was going on with him. The song was from the movie Red Sorghum. According to the plot, anyway, this song was often sung by young men in the village to tease girls.

Liu Fang and her husband were walking very fast, and so was Master. I was carrying the fish and couldn’t catch up with them for a while, but there was nothing I could do to stop Master.

It wasn’t until the master sang, “The road to the sky is nine thousand… nine hundred…” that Liu Fang’s husband finally couldn’t help but yell, then ran towards the master, seemingly to “single-handedly” fight my master.

The master laughed heartily, and when he was laughing, he suddenly turned and looked at me. Under the sunlight, it seemed as if he was crying, as if I couldn’t see clearly, or as if it was just tears of laughter.

This glance was only a short moment, and then the master turned and ran up another path, shouting, “Sanwa, others are chasing me, you go to your parents’ house first.”

I didn’t have time to react, and I just felt that this village was being chased away, something that only happened to teenagers. How could it happen to my master?

I wanted to chase after my master, but I saw Liu Fang’s husband running and picking up a stone, throwing it at my master. I could only pray that my master would run faster.

The paths were winding and the crops in the fields were growing very well. The vines were winding around, and soon my master was gone without a trace. I could only see Liu Fang’s husband come back cursing, saying, “Old boy, you ran so fast.”

I smiled wryly and could only carry the fish and go to my parents’ house to wait for my master.

Unfortunately, at that time, how could I have known that I would never see him again?

That day, I drank a large jar of water at home, and my master had not returned yet.

That day, I was playing chess with my father in the courtyard, and my mother’s fish was already cooked, but Master still hadn’t returned.

That day, we reheated the dinner again and again, but Master still didn’t come back. He yelled as he did before, “Xiu Yun, hurry up! What’s good to eat? Pour me some wine.”

That day, I ate a little bit of food perfunctorily and hurried back to the Bamboo Grove with a flashlight. The bamboo grove still made a rustling sound, and the small building still stood quietly where it was. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the familiar, faint yellow light.

I swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and I tried to keep my mind on nothing, shouting with a cheerful voice, “Master, you won’t be eating any fish.”

No one answered me.

I was a little uneasy and shouted, “Master, Master, are you there? You said you were so old and still flirting with women? Did Liu Fang’s husband’s stone hit you?

I swear I was trying to control my emotions, but no matter how hard I tried, my heart couldn’t help but beat wildly. My voice began to tremble, I began to get angry, and I began to climb up the bamboo hut at a faster pace. I slipped halfway up and shouted, “Master, if you say anything, I’m going to freak out and get angry.”

Still no one answered me.

I stopped shouting, I stopped calling, I rushed into the house, and I searched every room. I didn’t see my master.

I sat down on the ground, then fell down with a thud. I looked up at the ceiling, and the entire empty room echoed with my voice: “Master, where are you? Stop playing around.”