Chapter 498 – Haohao’s story (1)

Once upon a time, there was a mountain. On that mountain, there was a temple. The temple had an old monk that was telling a story to a young monk.

“You have an innate talent for cultivation. If you properly cultivate, you’ll definitely become great,” Monk Xuwu sincerely and earnestly said to the teenager.

“This disciple understands the meaning of Shifu‘s words, but this disciple wishes to go down the mountain to earn money.” The elegant teenager’s inky black hair was tied up high. When he raised his face, his radiance made everything around him pale in comparison. His thin lips were slightly raised as he extremely seriously said, “If this disciple doesn’t leave the mountain to earn money soon, this temple is going to collapse.”

A gust of wind blew by, and some of the straw on the temple’s roof was blown away. Monk Xuwu sighed. “This place is the closest spot to Heavens. It doesn’t matter if its broken down or not. You’ve already been studying Buddhism for eleven years. After a few more years of cultivating, you’ll definitely surpass me.”

“And then?” The teenager tilted his head. “Does attaining enlightenment bring joy? Why do people feel sorrow? Humans are the mayflies of the world. Buddhism is detaching oneself from the world. To attain enlightenment and leave behind human society, there would be no meaning. Why not stay in this world and live a natural and unconventional life for a while?”

Ning Jinchen had been kidnapped by Monk Xuwu as a child under the excuse of detoxifying. But, after the poison was removed, he didn’t let him go. He said Ning Jinchen had amazing innate talent, and it would be best for him to stay with him to study Buddhism.

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Having left home so young, Ning Jinchen only vaguely remembered that he had a dad. He seemed to have a mom and a teacher too. He had originally been fine with wholeheartedly learning Buddhism from Monk Xuwu, but recently, he kept dreaming about his mother that he had no impression of. He thought it would be immoral to not show any filial piety. How could he ascend to an immortal before repaying his parents?

Monk Xuwu sighed. He recited a prayer, “Amitabha. This old one knew you have unfinished business in earthly world so you’re reluctant to leave it. That’s why this old one hasn’t shaved your head. That’s alright. Go on then. Once you’ve gained understanding of the earthly world, that will be the best time for you to commit to converting.”

Ning Jinchen nodded. “Then, I’ll be leaving, Shifu.”

“En.” Monk Xuwu magnanimously nodded.

Raising his foot to go down the mountain, Ning Jinchen ended up having to stop his steps. He looked down at the old monk that was hugging his thigh. “Shifu, you’ve already agreed. Shouldn’t you let go of me then?”

Monk Xuwu looked up with a face full of tears. “It was so hard for me to swindle you from Marquis Moyu. I truly feel reluctant to let you go. Just let me hug you a while longer. Wahhh…”

Ning Jinchen: “…”

With pants that were wet with tears and snot, wearing a monk’s attire and a wooden hairpin, Ning Jinchen finally left the mountain at sixteen.

—

He brought along a token that would confirm his identity when he went back to look for his parents, but actually, there was no need to bring that token. As soon as he stepped into Marquis Moyu’s estate, he was directly invited to the main hall. Everyone was pointing at his face and stuttering.

They acted as if they were seeing a ghost. Ning Jinchen hadn’t seen this many people before. His childhood memories had already been blurred by time. He couldn’t recognize anyone.

Until a woman came inside.

“Haohao!” Ji Man was so excited that she was shaking. As soon as she reached him, she hugged him. Her warm breath blew over him.

Having lived on the mountain for so long, he naturally hadn’t seen a woman there, much less experienced being hugged by one. Ning Jinchen was in a daze for a long time before seeing this woman raising her head. Her beautiful face looked somewhat familiar.

It looked somewhat similar to the face he had seen in the pond a few days ago after coming down from the mountain.

“You’re back?” A man stepped through the doorway. His appearance and aura felt very familiar too. Ning Jinchen tilted his head and carefully looked at him. He finally came to a sudden realization.

His face looked very similar to these two people, as if he was a combination of them.

Lifting up his robe, he knelt down. Ning Jinchen bowed to them. Naturally, his parents’ kindness was the first thing he should express gratitude towards.

Ji Man and Ning Yuxuan felt moved.

—

A welcoming banquet was held for him in the estate. A table of food, none of it look familiar. One by one, Ning Jinchen tasted everything. Although the food was tasty, he didn’t overeat.

This estate could be considered his home, but his father’s body held a lot of blood debt, and there seemed to be the remnants of spirits tethered to his mother’s body. His younger sister was cute and lively, and his second brother was somewhat taciturn.

—

The earthly world and the world where one sought enlightenment through Buddhism; these were two completely different worlds. Ning Jinchen set up Buddha statues in his room. He continued seeking enlightenment while interacting with people in the earthly world.

However, he had grown up only interacting with an old monk that spent most of his time reciting Buddhist prayers, so there were naturally many things he didn’t understand about the earthly world. His mother came over to chat with him for a long time about this.

Ji Man asked, “What did the old monk teach you?”

He answered, “He taught me how to practice Buddhism, to work towards ascending to the Heavens.”

The woman’s gaze turned extremely strange. After a long period of silence, she said, “Mom will bring you to the rice store tomorrow so you can see the joys of the world.”

—

Actually, not only did Ning Jinchen have an affinity for Buddhism, he had a greater affinity with money. After Ji Man tossed him to the rice store for only two days, this mere sixteen-year-old teenager understood basic accounting and how to use an abacus. He even figured out how to play a few clever, but minor tricks in business.

—

Shopkeeper Yan Buba, who managed Ji Man’s rice business, had married a long time ago. His daughter was already ten years old. However, his wife’s favorite activity was to spend money. After so many years of marriage, their pattern of behavior never changed. As they passed through a street, Madam Yan was full of enthusiasm in buying stuff. Yan Buba would follow behind her with an abacus in hand. As he calculated her spending on his abacus, he would murmur, “This trip cost three taels and seven coins. I’ll have to work two more days for the boss…”