Red Bean Prayer Beads Part 2

... The best solution was to use the art of Gu to let the various karmic fruits battle in the sword, sifting out the strong, then leaving a space of Yin in the elixir field to feed the murderous Yin souls with one's body, living together with them, helping them grow strong, letting them be used by oneself.

If Ruyi's nominal master at Hanshan Temple heard of such a cultivation method, he would surely stomp his feet and cry absurdity.

Ruyi didn't abide by the precept against killing, bringing karmic retribution upon himself, already mired and severing his path to the Western Paradise. How could there be any sense in nurturing karmic fruits in one's own body?

But in practicing the sword, Ruyi was never constrained by these Buddhist principles.

He deeply agreed with Feng Rugu's pointers, momentarily regarding Feng Rugu as a sword friend in his heart.

He asked Feng Rugu: "So this is the Guixu Sword Technique?"

Feng Rugu tossed the last Go piece into the bowl with a crisp clack: "No."

"What is the sword technique called?"

"Useless Sword Technique." Feng Rugu blurted out, his voice carrying a hint of self-mockery, but he quickly changed his words, "Oh no, Suiyuan* Sword Technique."

*T/N: Going with the Flow

... Ruyi suspected he made that up on the spot.

The boundless sword intent scattered in the void.

The setting sun was about to fall, dyeing the green peaks with a thousand feet of jade color.

Feng Rugu put away the Go board, lazily crossing his legs.

After a round of sword fighting, the repression from being schemed against by the Tang saber swordsman and having old grudges dredged up had all blown away with the wind. Feng Rugu felt incomparably refreshed.

He casually started chatting with Ruyi: "Little Ruyi, if one day you encounter your nemesis, what will you do? Kill them or let them go?"

Ruyi thought for a moment and said: "Buddhism does not speak of nemeses, only of karma. The so-called nemesis is nothing more than bad karma."

Feng Rugu raised an eyebrow: "So?"

Ruyi: "So this poor monk will eliminate the karma."

Feng Rugu: "Eliminate?"

Ruyi said coldly: "That is, to make this karma completely disappear from the world."

Ruyi had stayed at Hanshan Temple for ten years, but could never cultivate a Buddhist mindset.

Or perhaps, he was never meant to be a Buddhist.

Ruyi was born amidst myriad malice and desires, spending nine ignorant years in the mortal world, not knowing love, kinship, or friendship.

As a child, he grew freely like a beast or grass, thus developing his rather cold nature.

As a result, no matter how many Buddhist scriptures he studied later, they could not warm his stone heart.

In the three thousand worlds, only his adoptive father could soften his heart, afraid of hurting him.

Ruyi originally thought Feng Rugu would laugh at him for cultivating at a sacred Buddhist site for ten years yet still not understanding the way of goodness. But unexpectedly, Feng Rugu nodded in agreement: "Yes, karma must be resolved by any means. Dragging it on will only turn it into a grudge. Since it's one's own grudge and also others' grudge, eliminating karma is imperative."

He paused, then added: "... At any cost."

Having said that, Feng Rugu naturally nestled against Ruyi's shoulder, his hands tucked into his sleeves, much like a cat tucking its paws into its bosom, as if he didn't feel the slightest bit frivolous about his actions. "I'm tired. Let me lean on you for a bit."

He had already taken medicine before coming out, and after experiencing an intense sword fight, although he didn't use any spiritual power, it was normal for him to feel mentally exhausted.

Ruyi's lips moved slightly, but he didn't drive him away.

He thought, letting him rest for a while was not a problem.

He asked, "Does Lord Yunzhong want to return now?"

Feng Rugu said, "Let's fly for a while longer."

Ruyi said, "Alright."

Even Ruyi himself didn't notice that the corners of his mouth curved up imperceptibly.

Feng Rugu's eyes were slightly closed, and because he was sleepy, the corners of his eyes were tinged with a light red, extending into a rather enchanting arc.

Ruyi didn't deliberately lower his head to look at him, only using his knuckles to gently stroke the few strands of loose hair hanging down Feng Rugu's forehead.

Who would have thought that Feng Rugu, with his eyes closed, reached out his hand and felt around on the sword, as if searching for Ruyi's hand.

Ruyi thought that his little movements had been discovered by him, so he hurriedly put his hand down, letting his arm hang naturally, allowing his palm to be grabbed by Feng Rugu.

He said with some guilty conscience, "Lord Yunzhong, please restrain yourself."

Feng Rugu gave a rather enticing smile, and actually obediently listened, letting go of his hand.

Ruyi felt a sense of emptiness in his heart, and was actually a little frustrated.

But the next moment, Feng Rugu hung something on his fingers.

...A string of red bean prayer beads.

There were a total of forty-two red beans, representing the forty-two stages of a Bodhisattva's practice of "ten abidings, ten practices, ten dedications, ten grounds, virtual enlightenment, and wonderful enlightenment". The red beans were full and even, as red as blood, threaded with silver wire, and the patterns on them were actually connected. It was not difficult to imagine how meticulous and careful the person in front of him was when selecting the red beans.

He probably had to search an entire red bean tree to find these few dozen red beans with connected patterns.

Thinking of the figure jumping down from the red bean tree, Ruyi's heart was brushed by the long hair hanging from his shoulder, feeling slightly hot.

"That Tang saber swordsman came because of me, and your prayer beads were broken because of me, so I should compensate you with a string." Feng Rugu's tone made it seem like this was the most normal thing in the world. He even rubbed against his shoulder socket and instructed, "Lower your shoulder a bit. It's uncomfortable to sleep on."

Ruyi supported his shoulder and settled him on his lap.

Feng Rugu was stunned by this overly intimate gesture. He opened one eye and met Ruyi's overly focused gaze. For some unknown reason, he became happy, and his smile carried a few hints of sincerity. "So obedient."

With that, he fumbled to pull the other end of the prayer beads and wrapped it around Ruyi's right wrist.

"If you accidentally let the sword fly over deep water, remember to wake me up," Feng Rugu joked. "Feng Er is good at swimming, so saving Master Ruyi again is no big deal."

Ruyi responded in a low voice, "Mm."

After Feng Rugu fell asleep, Ruyi finally dared to carefully examine the string of red bean beads.

Upon closer inspection, his heart trembled even more.

On the bead string, a complete "Heart Sutra" was actually engraved with hidden needles.

...It was really an overly thoughtful gift.

Ruyi couldn't help but lower his eyes to look at him.

Feng Rugu had temporarily resolved his worries and had truly fallen asleep.

Only now did Ruyi notice that because there was no time to find a thimble, Feng Rugu's index finger and thumb tips had two bright red needle marks.

From the first time Ruyi saw him in front of the Green Bamboo Hall on Fengling Mountain, his complexion had always been pale and lacking blood. His indigo-black long hair was scattered on Ruyi's lap, his slender and beautiful eyebrows hidden under messy bangs, looking both pitiful and adorable.

The sky gradually darkened, and the moon shone on the cold river, creating a scene of boundless romance.

Ruyi reached out to the sky, took down a piece of moonlight, condensed it into a hair tie, and gently used his fingertips to comb Feng Rugu's messy hair. After sorting it out, he tied it up with the hair tie and draped the long hair diagonally over his shoulder.

But Ruyi quickly felt that his actions were strange. Seeing Feng Rugu's appearance with his hair tied at his shoulder, it actually overlapped somewhat with Chang Boning's figure. Feeling uncomfortable in his heart, he simply pulled off the hair tie and threw the moonlight back into the sky, allowing his black hair to scatter along the sword again.

The two remained silent as they traveled through the woods near Jianchuan, quietly enjoying the sounds of the pines and bamboo, but they didn't notice when an additional figure holding a lantern appeared in the forest.

Chang Boning was warming books and brewing tea in the room. After finishing two pots of tea and reading three books, he waited for a long time but Feng Rugu did not return. Seeing that it was getting late, he became worried that something had happened to him, so he came out to search. He happened to see the two in an intimate posture, taking a night stroll together.

He blankly grabbed the clothes in front of his chest and tugged hard, taking a small breath before getting over that suffocating feeling.

After a while, Chang Boning turned around and headed towards Jianchuan.

...Rugu had always felt guilty towards his adopted son in his heart. Since they hadn't seen each other for a long time, it was natural for them to be more affectionate and caring.

As long as Rugu was happy, that was all that mattered.

Chang Boning was unable to sort out his emotions and didn't want to return to Jianchuan for the time being, so he simply walked in the opposite direction of the two, wanting to clear his mind.

When he reached the bamboo forest behind Jianchuan, Chang Boning unexpectedly ran into a cold figure dressed in dark clothes.

This person had spiritual energy in his body, but did not carry a sword, only leaning against a pomegranate tree, looking up at the stars.

Chang Boning vaguely felt that this figure looked a bit familiar.

But he had been confined in Fengling Mountain for a long time and was not good at socializing. His ability to recognize faces had become even more lax. Unable to recall if he had ever met this person before, and afraid of being rude, he could only call out a greeting.

"I am Chang Boning of Fengling. May I ask which fellow cultivator is here stargazing?"

That person suddenly heard a voice and froze. He turned his head, revealing a face covered by a crimson veil, exposing only a pair of narrow phoenix eyes, quietly looking at him.

Chang Boning saw that he looked friendly, but still couldn't remember who this person was. He only looked at him expectantly, waiting for a response.

After a long while, that person said, "Just a wandering immortal, not worth mentioning."