Chapter 4: A scene

Who is this voice, and what is this endless reincarnation? Could it be that Taoist boy… But I couldn’t think anymore. I never knew that this abstract pain would be more unbearable than the pain of a real heart wound.

My body was sitting on the rock, but my mind was in a state of numbness, and my consciousness was beginning to blur.

I was so confused that I couldn’t even see the deep pool in front of me, the moonlight, or the black silhouette of the bamboo forest in the distance.

However, I could hear the sound of a faint and ethereal chant in my ears, in the clouds, on the mountains… a vague shadow of a voice appeared and disappeared, looking at me, looking at me… and the look in his eyes was something I couldn’t read, that kind of sad disbelief, the most piercing pain.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t see his (her) face or figure… so I didn’t even know if he (she) was a man or a woman. I was just deeply struck by the look in his (her) eyes.

Then I felt my heart burning with anger, as if I were agitated by this inexplicable emotion. My footsteps were heavy, but I stepped out firmly. I heard myself say in a most open and honest tone, “I want to fight with you!”

Fighting? Why would I fight with this person? Don’t fight… he (she) seems so sad.

But my perspective is too strange. I feel like I am in it, but I am just watching from the sidelines. I can clearly feel that I don’t want to, but I have to fight with him (her) anyway… I am caught in an emotional state that is like fire and water.

“If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t fight!” For some reason, this thought came to my mind, so firm that it suppressed all the complicated thoughts and strong will, like a sharp sword piercing everything at once, independent of the sky.

This is my will, the will of Chen Chengyi, which has never been so firm.

But what does this mean? I don’t know… I just suddenly saw the picture in front of me shatter, turning into a few tiny glimmering points of light, drifting away in the darkness.

The scenery in front of my eyes returned, and it was the deep pool under the moonlight again, but my heartache did not stop because of this, but became even more painful. I couldn’t help but cover my chest, and with a “whoosh,” I inexplicably vomited out a mouthful of blood.

“Chengyi!” It seemed like it had been a long time, and that sad look in his eyes seemed to have lasted for ten thousand years. In fact, it had only happened in a few seconds. The master was still immersed in the shock of being a gravekeeper like snow, and suddenly saw me spit blood. The master couldn’t help but call out to me in a state of disarray, and then helped me up.

But I smiled. I didn’t expect that after spitting out the blood that had been stuck in my heart, the abstract pain in my heart would disappear. I breathed deeply, as if I had survived a disaster, and couldn’t help but look at the bright moon in the sky and shout, “It’s great!”

My exclamation of “I feel great!” puzzled my master, but the more abnormal my behavior, the more worried my master became. Finally, my master, who had originally not wanted to disturb others, shouted, “Li Ren, Li Ren!”

The sound of his voice cut through the night sky with a hint of panic. But the pain just now seemed to come from my soul. After experiencing this pain, it was as if all the energy in my body had been drained. I lay motionless on the rock, not wanting to move a single finger. I wanted to sleep, very much.

But I knew that my master was worried about me, and in a daze, I said, “Master, I’m fine.”

I really was fine. After that night, I just slept for a day and a night, but my injury was not serious and recovered under the diagnosis of Master Chen.

I couldn’t tell my master what happened that night, because I didn’t know if the mountain peak in the mist, with those sad eyes that seemed to doubt everything, was just an illusion I conjured up in my pain.

Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, another half month had passed.

These were two happy months for me. I felt as if I had been drifting for half my life, and it was only during these two months that I realized that the greatest feeling happiness can give a person is nothing more than peace of mind.

I recovered quickly, and the early spring had already passed, and it was suddenly the warm spring season.

The scenery of Sichuan is always lingering, because the mountains are always green throughout the year, and the warm spring season is even more endearing, because the new shoots of yellow-green turn into tender green, full of the hope of the beginning of life.

The bamboo in the bamboo hut also does not forget the spring ‘feast’. The green leaves are pleasing, and the bamboo shoots are coming out… stepping on the withered bamboo leaves on the ground, it makes a pleasant crisp sound. Smelling the unique scent of the bamboo forest, I sighed with satisfaction.

I turned my head and looked into the distance. Hui Gen was running around with two huge, makeshift stone locks in his hands, chased by Hui Da Ye. He didn’t dare to put down the stone locks, but he was chewing on half an egg. Hui Da Ye was behind him, scolding: “Grabbing an egg, you’re going to be beaten to death if I catch you, otherwise, I’m not going to let you go. This brat, who is he learning from? He’s getting more and more unfilial.”

“Hahaha…” Hui Gen’er swallowed the half egg in his mouth with a big smile, and his bald head shone with joy. But he was so happy that he choked on the egg and suddenly had to throw down the stone lock and cough violently.

Master Hui ‘coldly smiled’ and pounced on Hui Gen’er…

Over there, the sun was shining brightly, and Uncle Chen was processing some of the herbs that Master had scrounged from the gods. The sound of the pounding was very pleasant, and Brother Chengxin was watching carefully, occasionally adjusting his glasses and bowing respectfully to Uncle Chen.

And from time to time, the master and apprentice would both meditate at the same time, nodding and smiling at each other.

“What a refined pair of master and apprentice, right?” I leaned against a clump of bamboo, and Xiao Chengqian was right next to me, his mouth holding his most precious cigar, but not lit.

Before, we said goodbye in the holy village, and he gave me this box of cigars. Later, when we got together again, after I had recovered from my injuries, he shamelessly asked me for them back. He said that he wasn’t Xiao Da Shao, that it was hard to get these cigars, and that we should cherish them a little.

So, he enjoyed smoking them and then smoked cigarettes with me.

When Xiao Chengqian asked me about this, I just smiled. Is Chengxin really a gentle man like jade? I was afraid that Xiao Da, who had been arguing with him for a long time, knew better than I did what Chengxin’s true nature was.

I gently stretched, but I didn’t dare to move too much. I had just recovered, and I was afraid of pulling on the wound… The sun was so warm that the smile on my lips became lazy, and my eyes wandered randomly, but I saw my favorite Uncle Wang, who always wore a long face, following behind my sister Chengzhen, and he said loudly, “My apprentice, my precious, can’t you admit that you were wrong?”

Chengzhen was indignant, but she didn’t buy it, yelling, “What kind of master are you? You have no patience at all, and you scold people for the slightest mistake?”

“Okay, okay, I won’t scold you! Master will explain the feng shui formation to you again. You can’t set it up like this in this place…” Uncle Wang’s voice gradually became smaller, and his expression changed from bitter to serious.

Chengzhen was crouching next to him, and they were both on the ground, fiddling with something, writing and drawing. It was less than a minute before Wang Shishu shouted angrily, “Pig, you… your master has seen countless people in his life, but I’ve never seen anyone as ugly as you.”

“It’s over.” Xiao Chengqian and I said at the same time, and then couldn’t help but laugh out loud together.

But then I heard my master’s gentle voice guiding Chengyuan from the other side: “Little Yuan, you don’t have a solid foundation in the basics. It’s all because I left too early. You’ll probably have to practice this hand sign a few more times. You have to know that a tiny mistake can lead to a huge difference. But you’re not bad, not bad… you’re much smarter than that brat Chengyi.

Standing next to Master and Chengyuan was Grandma Lingqing. She smiled as she watched Master carefully explain something to Chengyuan. Ruoyue sat next to Grandma Lingqing, her head resting on Grandma Lingqing’s shoulder. In her hand was a fat silkworm with inexplicably grown transparent wings. From time to time, she would raise her hand and point at the silkworm, saying something to Grandma Lingqing. Only then would Grandma Lingqing look away and say a few kind and patient words to Ruoyue.

The two of them smile beautifully, and Grandma Lingqing will gently reach out and stroke Ru Yue’s beautiful hair in this smile that they share.

Not far behind Ru Yue, Su Rou and Qin Huai were messing around with some Mongolian barbecue. Su Rou had always been an unwavering foodie, staring at the barbecue with eyes so hot they were about to burst into flames. Just like when he was a child, he wasn’t afraid of being beaten by his parents, but he was afraid of not having any food to eat… Qin Huai was distracted, and his eyes would occasionally fall on Ru Yue. The gentle light in his eyes was even brighter than the warm sunlight.

“Damn Qin Huai, can you be serious? If you help me get the fire going, it will be easier. If my meat isn’t cooked well, I’ll fight you to the death!” Su Rou was not going to take it anymore.

“What did you say? I don’t understand Sichuan dialect, what did you say?” Qin Huai turned his head and looked “innocent” and silly.

Su Rou was angry and rushed over to fight with Qin Huai. He shouted, “Damn it, I want to fight you one-on-one.”

“Oh, Su Rou, why did you have to learn from Master Jiang and Master Hui?”

“Haha…” Xiao Chengqian and I couldn’t help but burst out laughing when we saw this.

Under the warm sunlight, the bamboo hut also looked so free and easy. Xiao Chengqian’s elders were sitting in the same position that my master and I used to love to sit in, drinking tea and playing chess. My father was also involved. Their expressions were so calm and peaceful that I couldn’t help but think, in the gang where Xiao Chengqian was once, they could call the wind and rain, but could they have such a time?

Over there, Hui Gen and Hui Da finally finished fighting, and then they remembered Tao Bai, who was following them with a look of innocence, head down and blushing, wanting to speak but not daring to, and who had agreed to practice with Hui Gen.

Lu Shan just shook his head and smiled, looking at all this helplessly. But when his gaze fell on Tao Bai, he was full of calm and gentleness.

The smoke from the kitchen adds a touch of humanity to the scene. It is my mother and two sisters busy in the kitchen. The familiar smell and aroma…immersed in this warmth, I have already been in a dream.

The most reluctant is the world, the reason for not letting go, returning to the beginning, is it just this warmth?

“What do you want to talk to me about?” I only then remembered that Xiao Chengqian was inviting me to a private conversation.

“It’s nothing. Just watch and enjoy the happiness for a while longer.” Xiao Chengqian’s gaze was also lost in thought, and his face was also filled with the happiness of being lost in it.