By this time, the sun had already risen high.
A Cheng didn't have time for breakfast and rushed to the academy, but he was still late.
He was punished by standing in a horse stance.
During poetry class, he stood outside the classroom door.
During martial arts class, he stood at the edge of the training ground.
His classmates went about their lessons; some familiar ones would occasionally pass by him, smile at him, and tease him a bit, while unfamiliar ones would secretly glance at him, a hint of schadenfreude on their faces.
It was amusing to see others punished, but very unpleasant when he himself was punished.
A Cheng's mind was empty; he was like someone fishing by the Heart Lake, trying to capture that girl, her every expression and smile.
His meditation cultivation was quite good; he could already achieve 'thoughts like beads,' where every idea was as clear as lines on his palm. He meticulously cut and sealed every minute and second he spent with Bi Li, like luminous pearls, dropping into his heart, growing into a heavy sea of flowers, hiding in the Heart Lake, transforming into a large school of fish.
He tried hard to recall, not daring to neglect any memory.
Occasionally, the epiphyllum between his eyebrows would light up, and A Cheng hoped to receive news from Bi Li; however, it was only the snickering messages from a few old friends, probably wanting to tease him again. A Cheng ignored them, still anxiously awaiting her message.
All day, Bi Li sent no messages.
...
Father stood on the eaves.
The eaves on the moonlit night were covered with a layer of moisture, and the moss was damp.
He stood steadily, gazing at the distant plains, A Cheng's slender figure rising and falling amidst the weeds, like a frantic wild rabbit, like a tired bird rushing home.
But he wasn't frantic; his purpose was clear. Nor was he rushing home; he was heading into the distance.
Father's face was ashen.
He looked down on his son.
Foolish, scrawny, lazy, cowardly.
Father was a survivor of the great war between good and evil in the last century. Having experienced bloodshed, he carried an air of nonchalance. He loved his life, loved nature, but disliked humans.
Virtuous Path Star was a place full of order, Father knew, yet he hated order.
Evil Path Star was a chaotic and insane place, Father also knew, yet he equally did not wish for it to be controlled by an evil god.
Mythological legends say that Lu Yuan Bodhisattva is a great god who opened the heavens, while Duanye Evil Buddha is a great demon who destroyed the world. They are not distinguished by superiority or inferiority, and thus each can govern half of the universe.
The difference is that the Bodhisattva remains in a state of divine seclusion, never interfering with the human world, while the Evil Buddha is always active, constantly trying to devour the world of righteous dharma and light. In the world of righteous dharma, one can reincarnate after death, but in the world of external paths, one can only fall into hell after death, suffering the pains of enslavement.
When Father was young, he didn't understand these things and even once longed to live on Evil Path Star. However, during the war between good and evil, he heard many things about that place and thus abandoned the idea.
They say Mount Sumeru is a city wall, and people on both sides long to cross over. Only the tragic scenes at the end of the century could awaken the beautiful dreams of idealists.
Father detested the hypocritical rules of the Virtuous Path and feared the eternal torment of the Evil Taoist. Like countless others, he yearned for the legendary Shengdao Star.
However, no one had ever truly been to Shengdao Star; it might just be a fictional other shore, and people were merely immersed in a carefully woven lie, unwilling to wake up.
...
"Bi Li, Bi Li, I'm here!" A Cheng called out.
The lakeside was quiet, and there was a strong ball of light in the center of the lake.
The ball of light slowly dissipated, revealing the figure of the mountain spirit Bi Li.
She walked to the lakeside, first glanced at A Cheng, then smiled, "It's you, A Cheng."
A Cheng asked in confusion, "Why did you come out of the light?"
"Ah, I came from a very far place, it takes time."
A Cheng felt she was not answering his question, but he didn't mind, showing a silly smile, "I'll sing for you again. What do you want to hear?"
Bi Li shook her head, "No."
"Why?" A Cheng's smile stiffened.
"I don't want to listen."
The mountain spirit was tired; she furrowed her brows. Her eyebrows were like the silhouette of distant mountains, long and elegant, and they looked beautiful even when furrowed.
A Cheng fell into immense panic. Did she no longer like it? Did she no longer like the Book of Songs, no longer like Li Sao? What then did A Cheng have to offer?
The only thing of value was now no longer needed. A Cheng felt like a prisoner about to be hanged, just like he saw when he followed his Father to the execution ground in the city as a child: the noose tightening around his neck, the trapdoor beneath his feet ready to disappear at any moment, followed by the fall, his neck breaking. Or perhaps, being beheaded. A Cheng feared beheading more, because the body of a hanged mortal was still whole, but beheading was different; the head would fly high.
Now, Bi Li was the executioner—though there had never been such a beautiful executioner—but A Cheng still felt a cold blade moving across the back of his neck, slowly shaving off the hairs, all for the most direct cut, splitting skin, muscle, blood vessels, slicing through the gaps in the bones, severing the throat and windpipe, and finally, with a flick of the blade's back, tossing the fine head into the air.
A Cheng closed his eyes.
Bi Li leaned close to his ear, her breath cool and sweet, "I want to ask you to go somewhere."
A Cheng: AWSL
"Where?" He felt a little dizzy. A Cheng looked down at the patterns on Bi Li's dress on her shoulder—clouds and phoenixes, woven with silver threads, shiny and light, not blackened at all. He thought this might be clothes made by the Weaving Maiden.
"My home," Bi Li pursed her lips, suppressing her singing-like tone, "I'll take you there, and then you can find me later."
"Okay, good, no problem."
Bi Li took A Cheng's hand, left hand holding right, but it was more like walking a dog. Bi Li seemed to be holding a leash, and A Cheng just followed dumbly, step by step.
The mountain spirit walked on the surface of the lake, and A Cheng fell directly into the water. Bi Li gently pulled A Cheng out of the water and patted his chest with her right hand.
A Cheng felt a stream of frost flow, from his chest all the way down to his feet, passing through the three meridians and seven chakras. The internal qi surging within them seemed to be stimulated, running wildly like mad dogs, rushing from the root chakra to the heart chakra, and then returning from the heart chakra to the root chakra. The abdominal chakra, navel chakra, and phantom sea were greatly shaken. A Cheng felt his heart leap to his throat, his cultivation so chaotic that he felt his meridians might snap at any moment.
However, ultimately, nothing bad happened.
He even felt his cultivation had become much more refined.
When he came to his senses, he realized he was walking on the surface of the lake, the water only covering his insteps, a cool breath from the soles of his feet supporting him.
"Where are you taking me?"
Bi Li turned back and smiled sweetly at him, "You'll know soon."
In the center of the lake, A Cheng looked down and found that the lake water was clear to the bottom.
The moonlight gently illuminated the world at the bottom of the lake, where there were large patches of flowers, epiphyllum, stone flower carvings.
Bi Li let go of A Cheng's hand, and he still reluctantly grabbed at the air a few times.
The mountain spirit danced on the lake, circling A Cheng, her movements gentle but expansive. A Cheng feared her hands might hit him, so he kept dodging, hunching his shoulders and back, looking odd and comical, like a monkey desperately imitating the dancer's movements at her feet.
The moonlight grew stronger, and the epiphyllum stone statues at the bottom of the lake also emitted light—ethereal blue, golden-red, emerald green, a riot of colors, like drops of heaven and earth.
A Cheng and Bi Li were enveloped in light, as if falling into a large cocoon. When the light dissipated, they vanished from the lake's surface.
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