A Cheng was stunned.
"Where is that Xiao Luo you mentioned?"
Bi Li frowned, "He, it's been a long time since he..."
"Since he what?"
"He hasn't come, it's been a long time." Bi Li's face showed a worried expression, "A Cheng, do you think Xiao Luo might be lost?"
A Cheng's heart immediately churned with mischief. Oh, always think for the best, maybe he's dead?
"I don't know, maybe he forgot you. That's why you came to find me, isn't it?" A Cheng felt his words were really sour.
"No! It's! Not!" Bi Li's eyes widened, huffing like a little tiger baring its fangs and claws, "You, A Cheng! Are the same! Xiao Luo is Xiao Luo! A Cheng is A Cheng!"
A Cheng covered his face.
Bi Li pulled his hand away and cupped his face. "You're unhappy?"
"Happy." A Cheng forced a smile uglier than crying, "Bi Li, can you send me home?"
"You don't want to stay with me?"
"I want to be alone right now."
"Alone?"
When A Cheng heard her words, for some reason, he actually calmed down. He mocked himself, Qian Fucheng, oh Qian Fucheng, you and this girl are not related at all. This is only the second time you've met, and you're already shamelessly clinging to her. Not to mention whether she's willing, just your thoughts are against propriety and rules. A gentleman expresses his feelings but stops at courtesy. Your actions deviate from the Saint Path, and in the Afterlife, you will fall into the world of the Black Heavens and Outer Paths!
A Cheng now decided to treat all of this as a beautiful dream. After he returned, he would get a good night's sleep, or if he was a bit weak, have a good cry and forget all about the mountain spirits, "Li Sao," and "The Book of Songs" completely!
"I want to leave, do not hold me back."
"Oh. But, you can't use the Pure Land."
"What do you mean?"
"You are too weak to leave."
Bi Li was, after all, an anomaly. Once she started explaining at length, her speech would become illogical and her word order inverted. A Cheng listened with great difficulty and only understood what she meant after a long time.
To leave this place, one must reach a certain realm, at least have a deeper connection with the Pure Land. Only then can one activate the white marble altar and traverse the starry sky.
A Cheng was truly in a difficult situation now. From Bi Li's words, it was impossible for him to reach that level in a short time.
"Bi Li, can you send me back?"
The mountain spirit tilted her head, "You are angry, I don't like it."
"I'm not angry with you. I'm just angry at myself."
"Don't be like that, you need to be well, Bi Li needs to be well, Xiao Luo, he also needs to be well."
A Cheng urged to leave several times, but the mountain spirit just wanted to chat with him. It seemed that Xiao Luo really hadn't come for a long time, and she was very lonely.
From Bi Li's words, Xiao Luo's image gradually became clearer, filling out the outline of a vague name with flesh and blood.
A little boy, at least he was a little boy the last time she saw him.
When she met Xiao Luo, the sky was always full of stars.
Xiao Luo couldn't sing; he just liked to pick up pebbles by the lake and skip them across the water.
He liked to talk, saying some boundless things. Like wanting to rule both good and evil paths, to make the world a true Pure Land.
A Cheng listened, feeling a pang of bitterness.
They were both young men, but that Xiao Luo was so righteous, while his, Qian Fucheng's, biggest dream was just to be a muscular strong man.
A-Zhi sent him a message.
"Bi Li, I really have to go now. I'll find you again tomorrow, okay?"
"A Cheng, will you, like Xiao Luo, suddenly not come back?"
He had already made up his mind not to come here again, especially after knowing about Xiao Luo. But looking into the mountain spirit's eyes, her eyes held the flower sea and himself.
A Cheng's heart softened, "No, I will definitely come."
The mountain spirit smiled gently, took his hand, and then picked an epiphyllum, lightly tossing it up. When the epiphyllum fell, they both appeared on the white jade altar.
"This is... Divine Foot Technique?!"
"So, it's called Divine Foot Technique?"
A Cheng sighed again. Shengdao Star was truly blessed. Divine abilities were exclusive to great cultivators; usually, only Buddhist and Daoist Laymen in their seventies or eighties could glimpse a bit. He never expected that here, just by picking an epiphyllum from the inexhaustible flower bushes, one could travel a thousand miles in an instant.
A Cheng secretly picked three flowers and tucked them into his in my arms.
Bi Li danced again, and light enveloped them, returning them to the lake.
A Cheng fell into the lake water, immersed in it, separated from the mountain spirit by the rippling surface of the lake.
He felt incredibly clear-headed, his mind becoming purer.
Perhaps, this was what it meant to gain and then let go, to have experienced it and then see through it.
A Cheng felt he had seen through love and affection.
He silently swam to the shore and looked towards the east. The sun was rising, and the eastern dawn was reddish-purple. When he was young, he once thought this was the color of Mount Sumeru. Now he knew that mortals were not worthy of gazing upon the Heavenly Pillar. To witness it meant a death calamity.
How unfair it was.
A Cheng waved to Bi Li, "You go back! It's getting late!"
Yes, it was getting late. If he didn't go to the academy soon, he'd have to stand in punishment again.
"Remember to come see me!" Bi Li pouted, her expression a little bewildered and uneasy, as if she smelled a certain scent, a scent named betrayal.
A Cheng smiled, "Okay." Turning, he ran quickly, rushing into the forest. His wet clothes clung to his back, like fish skin to fish flesh, and he, twisting, was a fish out of water, or perhaps, a bird out of its cage.
Bi Li watched him leave, silent.
In the shadows of the forest, another pair of eyes, half-open, looked at the mountain spirit on the lake. The morning light shone through the gaps in the tree canopy, illuminating a cold face.
...
A Cheng, steaming with water vapor, ran ten miles. His body was burning, yet he felt incredibly comfortable, his cultivation surging like a tide. A warm current in his stomach continuously nourished his tired body. He felt like a giant chasing the sun, able to run until he died.
He wasn't late.
He entered the classroom just as the bell rang. His master merely glanced at him and snorted coldly.
Life, it seemed, had returned to how it was before.
Three meals a day.
Breakfast was alone, lunch was with a group, dinner was with two people.
Every night he received messages from Bi Li, watching her expression change from confusion to anxiety, then sudden understanding, and finally, a bewildered calm.
A Cheng felt his heart was hung under the eaves, exposed to wind and rain, damp, cold, and shriveled. At first, it dripped blood, then it dried up, leaving only a trace of blood, which was then washed away by the rain.
Completely clean.
His meditation became even more profound.
Every day, he would consume a petal of epiphyllum, and his inner energy would grow vigorously.
Soon, he had memorized all the poetry and books taught at the academy and could report to the Dean.
The Dean, as imposing as a wall, was a Ming Wang from the main Vajra Sect, holding a high position and fond of being a teacher.
"You're a good boy. Working hard is good, and reading more is also good. But why have you memorized the entire Tang poetry collection, yet you don't know 'The Book of Songs' and 'Li Sao'?"
"This student is dull. I know the sea of learning is boundless, and human effort is finite; there will always be places I cannot reach."
"Hmm. I'm not blaming you. You may go. Practice your martial arts well, and I will personally promote you to the main sect."
"Thank you, Dean, for the promotion. This student is endlessly grateful."
A Cheng, he became popular.
His classmates all knew he was favored by the Dean.
Some said he was the second Senior Brother Sangji.
A Cheng said, A Cheng is A Cheng.
Just like...
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