Chapter 14: A natural Taoist?
It was strange, especially my mother, who felt it most deeply as she stood in the room. As the old monk’s chanting fell, the originally cold and gloomy room gradually felt brighter, and even the bone-chilling coldness was slowly felt.
It was estimated that after only 20 minutes, the old man stood up, walked into the west room, looked around, and said to the widow, “Your husband is leaving. If you have anything to say, say it quickly.”
Hearing this, the widow Zhou burst into tears and cried out, “Master Zhou, you can rest in peace now. Don’t worry about us, mother and son. In the next life… I’ll be with you again.”
The widow Zhou stopped hiccuping?! My mother looked at the widow Zhou with a puzzled look, but listening to the widow Zhou’s words, she was reminded of the thoughts of a woman, and she couldn’t help but shed tears along with her.
“Yangqi has finally returned, but it is too weak,” said the old man Jiang in a low voice. He said that the road is merciless, and the old man Jiang asked himself if he could break through the word “love” in the world. So he couldn’t help but remind Mrs. Zhou that Mr. Zhou’s soul was about to leave, so that this affectionate couple could have a chance to say a few last words.
It was Zhou Da’s blessing to have another chance to set foot on the road to the underworld, and he hoped that Zhou Gua would understand all this.
The room was no longer as cold as before, and it felt like a normal room. It seemed that Zhou Da’s soul had finally entered the Yellow Springs Road, but the old monk’s chanting still continued, resounding throughout the room.
My mother asked Master Jiang softly, “Master Jiang, isn’t Zhou Da gone? Why is Master Huijue still chanting?”
“Zhou Da’s soul is too weak, and he is afraid that he will not be able to cross the Yellow River. This old bald monk wants to give him some more spiritual power, which is also a way to send the Buddha to the West, so that he can complete the Yellow River Road.”
The old monk was indeed a monk, and he was truly compassionate. My mother sighed and completely forgot about the old man who had to be the second uncle of the old man.
The old monk recited the scriptures for Zhou Da for an hour before finishing the ritual. The Zhou family was naturally grateful and insisted on having Jiang Lao Er and Huijue monk stay for dinner. However, the old monk Huijue said with a serious expression, “No, no, performing the ritual is my merit. If I eat, it will become doing business. No, no.”
Everyone was at a loss for words. How could the old monk speak so cryptically? And he looked so pious.
Only the old man Jiang said, “Don’t mind him, he’s very calculating.”
After saying goodbye to the Zhou family, my mother followed the old man’s advice and returned to my home first, while the old man and the monk wandered around until almost 10 o’clock in the evening before they arrived at my home.
After serving two cups of hot tea to the two masters, my father asked, “Master Jiang, Master Huijue, why did you come so late? You made me worry so much that I thought you weren’t coming.”
Old Master Jiang took a sip of tea slowly and then said, “Although the houses in the village are far apart, I often visit your house, so it is inevitable that others will have a guess. Therefore, it is better to avoid people’s attention for a while.”
My father thought, “That’s true. In this environment, it’s better to be careful.”
The two of them didn’t sit for long. The old monk Huijue was performing a ritual to help the ghosts that the old man Jiang had suppressed. The ritual took all night and didn’t end until the rooster crowed the next morning.
My parents stayed up with the old monk all night, and my mother specifically told my two sisters not to say anything about what happened at home, not even a word.
Old man Jiang was in high spirits, and didn’t sleep all night, just teasing me. When I fell asleep, he would stare at me and laugh foolishly. My mother, who occasionally brought him tea and water, would see this scene and often go out with goosebumps. My father didn’t seem to be so mushy to me.
After the ceremony, the slightly tired Master Huijue washed his face and had breakfast with Master Jiang. He didn’t sleep either, and sat solemnly with Master Jiang in the main room. It looked like Master Jiang was going to talk to my parents about me.
What kind of person is my father? He is straightforward, honest, and has a clear mind. He is a person who is well-versed in human nature and knows the world. Seeing the two masters in this posture, he knew that there was something important to say, and it was about his son. He immediately sat down respectfully in front of Master Jiang, and then said, “Master Jiang, if there is anything wrong with my son, you can tell me. I can handle it.”
The old man sighed, put down his teacup, and seemed reluctant to speak. After a long pause, he said, “Do you remember what I told you last time?”
“What?”
“Your child has no affinity with his parents.” Old Master Jiang slowly said this, staring at my father’s face the whole time, wanting to see how my father would react.
My father immediately became nervous: “So Master Jiang, are you saying that my son still has a calamity? We can’t keep him, right?”
“There will be a disaster. He is a Taoist child, so he was born to face disaster. The Taoist attitude towards disaster is to face it yourself, and this is unavoidable. I said he has no affinity with his parents because he is a Taoist child, and he will always return to me. It is not his fate to stay with you. If he is forced to stay, he may not be able to overcome the many disasters.” Old Master Jiang spoke slowly, carefully choosing his words, for fear that my parents would not be able to accept it.
“So, Master Jiang, what you’re saying is that I should send him to the mountains to become a monk?” My father’s face was ashen. This was unthinkable to him. The only son, who had just turned one month old, was to be sent to become a monk? No way, absolutely not.
Not only my father, but also my mother was agitated at this time: “Master Jiang, the child is still so young. I will not send him away. He is my son. I will raise him and feed him even if I have to give up my life. I don’t care about his life. I will protect him as his mother!”
As soon as he said this, the old man Jiang immediately became embarrassed, and the old monk Huijue beside him could not help but recite a Buddhist mantra. The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned cold.
“You woman, what are you saying? How did Master Jiang help us? Why are you talking so badly?” The atmosphere in the room was dull, and my father saw the embarrassment of the old man Jiang. In matters concerning their children, women definitely do not speak rationally. This is the natural instinct of a mother to protect her children, but my father, as a man, must not handle things this way.
Besides, one should be grateful for favors. Old Master Jiang not only saved his son, but also gave him a tiger tooth, which was a great favor. How could he make others feel so embarrassed?
My father rarely lost his temper with my mother. When he yelled at her, she was first taken aback, but then she realized what he meant and her face immediately turned red. She quickly apologized to Master Jiang: “Master Jiang, I’m sorry. I was really too excited just now. After all, he was so young, and I couldn’t bear to see him like that…”
The old man waved his hand, stood up and sighed, saying, “You are not to blame for this. No parent would accept that their son’s body is better and they have to separate from him. In fact, I saved your son by chance, and it is my duty to treat him so well. There is a rule in our lineage. In fortune-telling, we can tell the future of the world, the universe and people, but not our own. However, when one’s cultivation reaches a certain level, there will naturally be a connection.
At this point, the old man paused, crossed his arms, and walked back and forth in the hall, thinking for a while before saying, “As early as a few years ago, I had a vague feeling that I would have a master-disciple relationship, and that I would have a disciple to pass on what I had learned. I have been alone and wandering, and it would be a happy thing to have a disciple at this age. I went to find someone to help me roughly calculate it, and pointed out that my disciple would probably appear in this area. Does he want to calculate it again? I refused. After all, he had to pay a price for peeking into the heavens. I didn’t want to owe him too much. I owed him a favor, and if I didn’t repay it, the karma would be destined to be repaid by my disciple. I didn’t want to see that.