Tribulations Part 1

After the incident at the Feng Shan ceremony that day, the crowds came and went in a hurry. With the emperor dead, the capital was bound to face a period of turmoil.

The princes were all young and not yet ready to take on great responsibilities. Several royal uncles, as the emperor's blood brothers, coveted the lofty dragon throne. In an instant, a bloody storm swept through the palace. Initially, the Left Minister hastily summoned troops from Tianyu Pass. Halfway through the army's march, seeing no disturbances in the capital, he thought the demon that day only harbored resentment but had no wild ambitions. Changing his mind, he ordered the army to return and guard the strategic pass.

However, as the Third Prince and Second Prince were locked in a fierce battle, and the leading general was the Third Prince's in-law, an urgent letter was sent overnight. The old Left Minister's order lost its effect, and the army continued south to support the prince.

That night, the army arrived at the capital with great fanfare. The Third Prince emerged victorious and tried on the dragon robe that very night, sitting on the dragon throne, intending to ascend the throne on a chosen date.

Before the coronation date was set, urgent news—transmitted from Tianyu Pass at the cost of seven or eight horses—arrived. It said that the Yan forces launched an overnight assault, breaking through the strategic pass and marching south in great numbers.

The new emperor, holding the scorching imperial seal, issued his first decree, ordering the tens of thousands of troops outside the city to march north to intercept the enemy. However, although the southern dynasty had treacherous terrain, it lacked strong soldiers. Once the easily defended Tianyu Pass was lost, it had no means to resist. Wherever the Yan banners passed, there were calls for surrender.

The new emperor quickly became a ruler of a fallen nation.

Overnight, the dynasty changed hands. The people in the capital had not even reacted until the former emperor's empress put on her phoenix crown, dressed in bright red, let out a mournful cry, and leaped from the highest tower in the capital. Only then did they dazedly realize that the dynasty had changed.

Who would have thought that after the brave and mighty Yan general broke through the capital, before he could settle down, he suddenly fell gravely ill, on the verge of death. He left behind an infant son who had just learned to walk. On his deathbed, surrounded by brutish men who had followed him through battles, he sighed and entrusted his young son to the military strategist he had recently taken under his command - from this day forward, the State Preceptor.

The State Preceptor's surname was Zhuang, given name Baihan, and he was very young. Although his experience was shallow, he had the precedent of assassinating the emperor at the Feng Shan ceremony, and his talents were displayed along the way, so the subordinates all had faith in him.

Thus, the young emperor ascended the throne, assisted by the State Preceptor.

The State Preceptor wielded the imperial brush and held the state seal on behalf of the emperor. With one hand, he established a new dynasty, and with the other, he pacified the people, restoring the old rivers and mountains. He raised his spear and marched north again, with the intention of conquering the entire central plains.

The days slipped by, and in what felt like the blink of an eye, much time had passed.

At the foot of Mount Zhichen, there were households.

Legend has it that the mortal households in the secluded realm were the descendants of a high monk who insisted on returning to secular life hundreds of years ago. Regardless of the truth of this legend, since Mount Zhichen was a secluded Buddhist realm, the households there were simple and honest, not interacting with the outside world, like a utopia.

On the first or fifteenth of each month, when the market was held, people from the temple on the mountain would also come down to make purchases.

"Here you go." The stall owner wrapped up the items and handed them to his customer. Seeing a string of prayer beads around his wrist and several young monks in yellow robes following behind him, he knew they were from the temple. However, the handsome young man in front of him had not shaved his head and was not wearing monk's robes, prompting the owner to say a few more words: "You seem unfamiliar."

The man smiled faintly: "Senior Brother Liao Yi has been in seclusion and meditation recently, so I came instead."

The stall owner couldn't help himself and, seeing that the man had a friendly demeanor, asked, "Are you also from the Liao generation? Have the senior monks started accepting secular disciples?"

He heard the man reply, "Not a disciple, just a guest."

After a few more casual words, the man bid farewell and walked back into the deep mountains.

Since the beginning of summer, the mountains were lush and green, with no hint of the scorching heat.

A stone path led into the deep forest, with vines hanging from the trees and occasional bird calls.

The sound of a bell tolling could be heard in the distance, one ring after another.

Chen Weichen, halfway up the mountain, gazed at the majestic Buddhist temple faintly visible above and suddenly reflected that, with time passing so unnoticeably in the mountains, he had already been here for more than two months.

His eyes held a faint expression as he continued up the mountain, entering the temple gate. He handed the items to the monk in charge of affairs and went to the rear hall.

The Buddha statue in the hall leaned forward, its downward gaze indescribably compassionate or indifferent. The walls were painted with various patterns. On the east side was Mahāsattva sacrificing his body to feed a tiger, and on the west side was the Buddha Shakyamuni cutting his flesh to feed an eagle.

Below the Buddha statue stood the kind-faced Master Kong Shan, who saw him coming and gave a slight bow: "Little friend Chen has returned."

Chen Weichen returned the bow: "What does the Master need from me?"

Master Kong Shan did not speak directly but looked him up and down: "Compared to when you first arrived, little friend, your hostility has dissipated by a good amount."

"As have you, Master," Chen Weichen replied calmly. "I still remember when I first arrived, Master was waiting outside the mountain gate, and the first thing you said was 'Sinful one, you finally know to come.' Today, you're calling me 'little friend.'"

Master Kong Shan stroked his beard: "If you weren't so stubbornly deluded, how could you have ended up in a state where your life was in danger, and the slightest carelessness would have left you in an endless slumber?"

Chen Weichen no longer argued with him and simply said, "Thank you, Master, for your shelter and guidance."

Master Kong Shan held prayer beads in his hand and said, "Today, I came for two reasons. First, to see your progress, and second, to inform you of a matter."

"My cultivation has fully recovered a few days ago. According to the method Senior Brother Kong Ming taught, when using the Heart Sutra to observe the demon realm, I often feel hindered by demons and unable to make the slightest progress."

"That place is like a quagmire. Even you cannot solve it." Master Kong Shan pondered for a moment and said, "Can you describe the situation there to me in detail?"

"There are no scenes there," Chen Weichen said. "It's not like the human world. There are no locations or forms. When I was there, it was all a chaotic mass, with occasional perceptions, but no spiritual intelligence."

"So the root of the demon realm's calamity is that the heart demons somehow gained spiritual intelligence and then found a way to enter the human world through unknown means." Master Kong Shan mused, "The disciples outside sent news that the human world has begun to be affected by the demons, with people often going mad and dying."

"Originally, when separated, the demons and humans had nothing to do with each other. Now that the demons have appeared in the human world, humans and their respective demons are inherently one. If they cannot guard their minds, their thoughts will become confused, and they will eventually lose their lives."

Master Kong Shan shook his head and sighed, "It originates from the mind and must be extinguished by the mind."

After the worried old master left, Chen Weichen smiled helplessly, thinking that the old monk was getting on in years and couldn't even remember things clearly. He said he had something to tell, but turned around and forgot.

He didn't pursue the matter and knelt before the Buddha as usual, flicking the prayer beads. Sometimes he cultivated, with the three energies of immortals, demons and Buddhas subtly merging and circulating within his body. Other times he just recited Buddhist scriptures, gradually emptying his mind and spirit, until he couldn't even hear the cicadas chirping outside the temple.

He didn't know how long had passed. Just as his spirit was wandering beyond the great void, two sets of footsteps came from outside the hall, knocking on his heart, becoming clearer and clearer, causing his hand that was repeatedly flicking the prayer beads to pause.

He still closed his eyes and recited a scripture in his heart: "Emptiness is also empty, emptiness has nothing to be empty of; since what is empty does not exist, non-existence also does not exist; since non-existence does not exist, it is eternally tranquil. Tranquility has nothing to be tranquil about; how can desire arise?"

The visitor stopped behind him, not moving.

He also did not move.

In the great hall, there was only the sound of light breathing rising and falling.

After an unknown amount of time, one of them came and sat down beside him.

In his peripheral vision was a patch of red.

"I thought for a long time, and I don't know what exactly happened. No one told me, Ye Jiuya didn't say, and you didn't say either." Lu Hongyan spoke, "I feel very aggrieved in my heart, and I don't know who to tell."

Chen Weichen was silent for a while, then said, "Why bother getting to the bottom of it?"

"If I don't get to the bottom of it, I'll be kept in the dark for the rest of my life. I wanted to avenge my family, cultivated into an immortal, and returned to my hometown, only to find that only ruins remained, with no clues at all. I wanted to find my brother, but discovered that the various sects had shut their doors and hidden in the mountains, and I couldn't even gather information. I wanted to revive Emperor Yan, to repay his kindness, but in the end, I don't even know why he died, and I can't even ask if you had anything to do with him." Lu Hongyan laughed, "In these years, I have accomplished nothing and know nothing. I just want to cut everything clean with one sword."

"You go out first, I'll say a word to him." Chen Weichen said to her.

Lu Hongyan didn't move. Chen Weichen gently said to her again, "Listen to me."

She rubbed her eyes hard, stood up, and quickly walked out, slamming the door hard.

After that door slam, the hall was again silent.

Finally, Ye Jiuya said, "Why leave?"

"I don't want you anymore." Chen Weichen gripped the Buddha beads in his hand, his voice still calm.

Ye Jiuya was silent for a long time, then said, "You should have at least left a letter before leaving."

Chen Weichen's heart ached severely, his vision went black in waves. He took a few slow breaths before he could finally speak, "I didn't know where to start, wasted a few sheets of paper, and finally put down the pen, thinking you wouldn't look for me anyway, so it's better to leave cleanly like this."

His voice was very soft, as if that sentence "I don't want you anymore" just now was already the limit of the harsh words he could say. Anything more unkind, and he wouldn't be able to bear it.