The youth had his forehead poked, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He took brush and ink, dipped it in dark ink, pondered briefly, and with flair wrote three characters on the paper.

...You Hongchen.

The youth held the brush horizontally in his mouth, mumbling with great interest, "You Hongchen, a perfect contrast to my name, free and unrestrained."

The child leaned over to look at what he had written.

The youth pointed to the three characters above for him to see, "You, Hong, Chen. From today onwards, I've decided to give you this name. Do you like it?"

The child blinked, seeming to half understand.

The youth tentatively called him, "Little Hongchen."

The child made an effort to utter a syllable, "...Hmm?"

The youth was certain he was a clever child. Beaming with joy, he patted his head in approval.

Little Hongchen moved the hand from his own body and pointed at the youth's chest, poking it.

The youth looked down at where he was poking, "...What are you doing?"

Little Hongchen pointed to himself, then at the youth.

"I am called..." The youth understood, pausing slightly, awkwardly scratching his cheek. He picked up the paper with "You Hongchen" written on it, shook it, coughed lightly and said, "I...am Fengling's Chang Boning."

The movement of "You Hongchen" was indeed in contrast to the stillness of "Chang Boning".

From then on, for the next four years, the two were together day and night. The child, with a sincere heart, served his god, and every day felt like a pilgrimage.

You Hongchen initially learned from the children in the village how to address elders, calling the youth "father". The youth refused, saying it made him sound old, and that "elder brother" was fine. Later, after You Hongchen had read some books, he began calling the youth "adoptive father".

The youth had indeed done everything a father should do, so being addressed as "adoptive father" was not undeserved.

He took him traveling all over the world, taught him to read, write, practice swordsmanship, play the konghou, and often took him to watch plays at the theater.

The first play You Hongchen saw in his life was "The Butterfly Lovers". On stage, Liang Shanbo noticed the mark left by earrings on the cross-dressing Zhu Yingtai and asked her why.

Zhu Yingtai explained, "There is a reason for the earring marks, Brother Liang, there's no need for suspicion. In my village, there are many temple fairs to offer sacrifices to the gods, and every year I play the role of Guanyin. Brother Liang, focus on your studies, don't you want to think about your future prospects rather than hairpins and skirts?"

Liang Shanbo said, "From now on, I dare not look upon Guanyin."

You Hongchen peeled melon seeds for his adoptive father while asking, "Adoptive Father, why does he not dare to look at Guanyin?"

The youth, fanning himself with a small fan, replied, "Because he has feelings for Zhu Yingtai."

You Hongchen asked, "If he has feelings, why does he not dare to look? I also have feelings for Adoptive Father, and I am willing to look at Adoptive Father every day."

The youth didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He tapped his head with the fan, "Silly boy, how can the bond between you and me be mentioned in the same breath as this."

You Hongchen thought about it and agreed.

In all the world, You Hongchen did not believe in Buddha, ghosts, or gods. He only believed in his adoptive father.

He thought that even Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai probably did not have such a deep bond.

Later on, You Hongchen was separated from his adoptive father and picked up by an old monk at Hanshan Temple. When he saw the clay-gold painted Buddha statues, his lonely and helpless heart was filled with an irrepressible disgust.

Any object with painted gold reminded him of his past experiences in the mountains.

When he himself was a sacrificial offering, confined in the mountains, he did not feel there was anything wrong. But looking back, he felt nauseated.

He avoided looking at the Buddha statues throughout the hall until he came to one statue.

He saw a Buddha's hand, reaching out through the thin sandalwood incense smoke.

At that moment, a clear sound of a Buddha bell rang out.

In an instant, he felt as if struck by lightning. Before his eyes, he saw his adoptive father reaching out his hand to him on the day they first met, asking if he was willing to go with him. He had placed his index finger on his palm, and from then on, stepped into the mortal world.

You Hongchen looked up at the solemn Buddha's hand, momentarily entranced.

The old monk, seeing him in a daze, put his palms together and said, "This is Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, who with the power of compassion, saves those on the verge of falling and those who have already fallen into Avici Hell."

You Hongchen's shoulders trembled, unable to speak. He lowered his gaze, not daring to look again.

From then on, he paid respects to Ksitigarbha the most at Hanshan Temple, but rarely dared to directly look at Ksitigarbha.

He felt that he must have something on his mind that he was unwilling to confess to others or even to the gods and Buddhas. But what exactly that feeling was, he couldn't say for sure.

...

Ruyi's wandering thoughts were interrupted by Feng Rugu's frivolous voice: "Master Ruyi, what are you thinking about?"

Ruyi came back to his senses and saw that they had already entered the city walls of Shuisheng City and were now in the main hall of an inn. Looking at the pearl curtains, golden screens, the coquettish hostess, and the faint scent of women in the air, he knew that this was an elegant den of iniquity.

Beside him, Hai Jing was already red-faced and tongue-tied, looking at Ruyi and stammering incoherently.

Feng Rugu asked again, "How about this place?"

Ruyi's expression, however, showed no impropriety. He gave a slight nod, seemingly in approval.

On the stairs, women were already giggling and pointing at Hai Jing's little bald head. Hai Jing's face was burning with embarrassment, and he wished he could bury his head in the ground. "Martial Uncle... are we really staying here? The Buddha will blame us..."

"Hey, that's not right," Feng Rugu spouted nonsense. "This is clearly the Buddha's test for you. Entering a place of sensual pleasures with a heart still like iron, unmoved by a thousand beauties, not deluded by sensual forms - only then can you have the foundation to become a Buddha."

This explanation did not put Hai Jing's mind at ease, while Luo Fuchun and Sang Luojiu beside them were also very uncomfortable, both staring at each other's shoes.

Only Ruyi and Feng Rugu remained very calm.

Ruyi knew that such elegant brothels, gathering guests from all directions, were well-informed, and the women who played the zither and sang were long-time residents, making it extremely convenient to gather information.

This was something his adoptive father had taught him.

When traveling with his adoptive father, if he heard of any evil spirits somewhere, he would definitely go to the brothels in that place, choose an elegant one to stay in, and within a day, he would be able to find out all about the local customs, legends, who was kind-hearted, and who committed many sins.

In comparison, Feng Rugu's explanation on his side was much more frivolous: "Either way, we're going to stay and gather information. Instead of giving tips to the waiter, it's better to reward the pleasing ladies. If they're happy, I'm happy too."

Luo Fuchun couldn't help but grimace in disgust.

The hostess handed three exquisite keys to Feng Rugu, her manner lacking any deliberate seduction, yet her voice alone, rich with charm, was enough to stir one's heartstrings. "Daoist, there are three top-grade rooms in total. There are song books in the rooms. Whatever you lords wish to hear, just let us know."

Tossing one key to Luo Fuchun and Sang Luojiu, and another to Hai Jing, Feng Rugu unexpectedly tossed the last one to Ruyi and issued an invitation: "Master, would you mind sharing a room with me?"

Ruyi lowered his eyes.

He had been thinking about his adoptive father the whole way, and even now his heart was still unsettled.

Since his adoptive father had entrusted him to take good care of Feng Rugu, he should do his best.

Moreover, he could tell that Feng Rugu had something to discuss with him.

So he nodded and followed Feng Rugu upstairs, leaving Hai Jing alone, holding the key, with a blank expression on his face.

Author's Note:

Hai Jing the little monk: ???????????