Chapter 2

In the dark alley, only a few scattered lights could be seen. If it weren't for the old monk with his white eyebrows and beard standing before him, one might have thought he was encountering a ghost.

The old monk was draped in a yellow robe, a string of ancient prayer beads hanging from his chest, and he held a lotus staff in his hand. His eyes were squinted, and he looked at the young man in front of him with a surprised and delighted gaze, as if he had seen some priceless treasure.

"Master, are you speaking to me?" The young man stopped and looked around, realizing that there was no one else but him.

He was sure he had never met this kind-hearted old monk before. Although it was an era of flourishing immortal arts, the Buddhist community still held a significant position, and among the lower classes, the path of Buddhism, which did not require innate talent, was more popular among the poor.

After all, pursuing the path of immortality was impossible without supreme talent or a large amount of rare treasures. In contrast, Buddhist cultivation emphasized Buddhist principles and the cultivation of one's past and present lives, and there were many legends of people achieving enlightenment and the blossoming of the Bodhi tree in a single moment.

The story of putting down the butcher's knife and instantly becoming a Buddha was always enticing to those who lacked the talent to cultivate the path of immortality.

"Indeed, Amitabha Buddha. I am Master Huiguo, from the Western Spirit Mountain." The monk clutched the old prayer beads around his neck, which were now warm and faintly emitting a white Buddhist light.

These were not ordinary prayer beads but a treasure of the Buddhist community, made from the seeds of the seven-leaf white lotus.

The seven-leaf white lotus, a treasure of the Buddhist community, was naturally imbued with Buddhist nature and could sprinkle millions of dewdrops to purify the mind and calm the spirit. The string of white lotus prayer beads made from its seeds had been venerated for years and possessed many wondrous and inexplicable powers.

The fact that the white lotus prayer beads were reacting so strongly indicated that the young man in front of him had a connection with the Western world.

Buddhism saves those with a connection. Having traveled from the distant Western Spirit Mountain to Mount Tiantai, he had encountered another promising young man with a connection to Buddhism. How could he let him go?

In the current era of flourishing immortal arts, people with some means were all vying to enter various immortal academies, while those who sincerely followed Buddhism were mostly elderly or poor people who could not afford education. The Buddhist community was finding fewer and fewer promising young men, which was a cause for concern.

Although the Buddhist community did not care about one's background or talent, the young men with a connection to Buddhism were being snatched away by the immortal sects, and even the great cultivators of the Western Spirit Mountain could not sit idly by. They sent their disciples to guide those with a connection, to prevent the Buddhist lineage from being severed.

Master Huiguo was one of them. He had already guided over a dozen disciples on his journey from the West, but the young man in front of him was the most suitable candidate he had encountered.

The fact that the white lotus prayer beads he was given were glowing on their own indicated that this young man had a natural connection to Buddhism. If he entered the Buddhist community, he would surely become a great monk.

"Master Huiguo, why are you looking for me?" The young man was puzzled.

He did not remember doing anything that would draw attention. Although he had read a few Buddhist scriptures while studying, he had only been interested in the records of strange beasts, and he had no understanding of the Buddhist principles.

Master Huiguo looked at the bewildered young man with a kind gaze and said, "You have a connection with my Buddha. Would you be willing to accept this connection?"

"Buddhist connection?" The young man was quite surprised. He did not have anything like that.

He was an orphan picked up from a battlefield, having never known his parents. Apart from knowing he was of the Yan clan, he had no other clues about his background.

Over the years, he had grown accustomed to it and had long given up on finding out about his parents.

Since he was found on a battlefield, it was unlikely he would ever see his parents again. With this realization, he had grown up alone.

He cooked alone, read books alone in his room, and tried to refine medicines alone. While other children of five or six years old were playing with their parents, he had already started supporting himself with his talent as a pharmacist and had used the savings from this talent to enter a primary academy.

At sixteen, he had successfully graduated from the primary academy and passed the初级药师 (初级 means "primary" and 药师 means "pharmacist") exam. To most people, his life could be considered smooth sailing, and even if he did nothing now, he could live a comfortable life with his identity as a pharmacist.

However, his life was far from ordinary; it was filled with setbacks and tragedies.

Because he had a peculiar constitution that made him fall in love abnormally with certain special girls.

He did not know where this constitution came from. From a very young age, he could not control this impulse and repeatedly confessed to beautiful and adorable girls.

He did not understand why, but the moment he met these girls, he felt a deep stirring in his heart and could not control the emotions surging within him, rushing forward in one breath.

Naturally, these sudden confessions never succeeded. Most girls were shocked and rejected him without hesitation.

The gentle ones would politely refuse; the more impulsive ones would beat him up; and the eccentric ones would leave him with tragic memories that would last a lifetime.

This cycle had repeated 999 times, and three days ago, it was the time he came closest to success.

Unfortunately, the outcome was the same.

However, he never resented them, whether they politely refused, beat him up, or played tricks on him. He forgave them all.

Because he loved them.

It was not just a casual liking but a love that could embrace all their flaws and virtues, a love that came from the heart.

Each time he met them, his heart would race; each time he encountered them, his face would turn red, and he would forever engrave their images in his heart.

He could even close his eyes and recall the appearance of every single one of them, from the first to the 999th, without making a mistake.

For him, each encounter was a miracle, each meeting a first love, and this sweet and bitter memory had repeated 999 times.

So, he had a diary with 999 pages. Each page recorded a story, a story that began with a fairy-tale encounter and ended with a tragic parting.

Now, this diary had only one page left, the final page.

How could someone who always repeated tragedies have a Buddhist connection?

"Master, you must be mistaken. I am a descendant of the Yan clan and a pharmacist. I have never practiced Buddhism." Although he was grateful for Master Huiguo's attention, the young man did not believe he had the legendary Buddhist connection.

According to legend, those with a Buddhist connection were natural Buddhist practitioners who would naturally achieve great enlightenment and become great monks once they entered the Buddhist community.

Many people believed that a Buddhist connection was a characteristic of great Buddhist practitioners reincarnated. Among millions of people, it was rare to find one with a Buddhist connection.

He was just an ordinary descendant of the Yan clan. How could he have such a thing? If he did, it would have shown when he read the Buddhist scriptures.

"Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. All things in the world have a connection with my Buddha, it's just a matter of when. With the countless beings in the world, the fact that we meet here today is a connection. The fact that you resonate with these white lotus prayer beads is a connection. The fact that you have seen through the illusions of the world is a connection, is it not?" Master Huiguo snapped his fingers, and a white lotus bloomed. He smiled at the young man, holding a flower.

"Master, you see through me..." The young man did not realize his melancholy was so obvious.

Indeed, he was tired.

The first heartbreak was bitter, the second was sad. Who could experience 999 heartbreaks, each one genuine and heartfelt?

Because he put his heart into each relationship, each heartbreak was even more painful.

Because each encounter was so beautiful, each parting was even more bitter.

Even the strongest nerves would break after 999 tortures.

He finally realized that perhaps he was not suited for love, perhaps he had been wrong from the start.

From the first to the 999th time, he repeated the same mistake, reaping the same failure.

It was time to end it.

He no longer needed to love, no longer needed to have illusions. He had long understood that no matter how many times he fell in love, he would always end up alone.

Seemingly sensing the young man's sorrow, the white lotus prayer beads in Master Huiguo's hand emitted a gentle white light, forming a seven-leaf lotus, which could instantly dispel one's worries.

This was not a simulated lotus by Master Huiguo's Buddhist powers but a genuine seven-leaf lotus, a natural Buddhist scene of the white lotus prayer beads.

Seeing this, even the already enlightened Master Huiguo was greatly surprised.

What was happening?

The young man's Buddhist connection was so profound? No, the fact that he could make the white lotus prayer beads form a seven-leaf lotus without practicing any Buddhist arts was not just a simple connection but a higher level of connection.

Words and actions aligned, the lotus bloomed—this was a sign of wisdom!

In the Buddhist world, among millions of people, only one might have a Buddhist connection, and those with wisdom were already legendary. They were the foundation for achieving the supreme Buddhist manifestation.

Whether it was the Vajra manifestation that suppressed all demons or the Bodhi manifestation that saved all beings, these were great powers and great wonders of Buddhism, realms that even he had not reached.

"Amitabha Buddha, in the presence of the Buddha!" Master Huiguo's hand holding the white lotus prayer beads trembled, almost pulling the treasure from his chest.

There was no other reason; the young man's Buddhist talent had moved him, almost breaking his long-cultivated Zen heart.

This was wisdom, the supreme connection to Buddhism, a natural saint of Buddhism. Once he entered the Buddhist community, he would immediately achieve great enlightenment, with limitless potential.

"Master, do I really have the talent to practice Buddhism?" At this point, the young man felt that perhaps he did have some connection with Buddhism.

After 999 heartbreaks, feeling disheartened and walking alone on the road, meeting this high monk who had specially shown him the lotus scene, it was not wrong to say they had a connection.

He did not understand much about Buddhism and was sure he did not have the legendary Buddhist connection, but perhaps he had a connection with Master Huiguo.

"Amitabha Buddha, a monk does not lie. You have a connection with my Buddha, and it is a special one." Master Huiguo closed his eyes and bowed his head, speaking with great solemnity.

In his hand, the seven-leaf lotus formed by the white lotus prayer beads naturally bloomed, emitting countless rays of Buddhist light.

This light did not rise to the sky or descend to the earth but was shown for one person, a supreme Buddhist wonder.

Amitabha Buddha, in the presence of the Buddha, today Master Huiguo has the good fortune to meet someone with wisdom. Even if he were to die or lose all his cultivation, he would certainly guide him into Buddhism.

The sea of suffering is boundless, but there is a shore of return. This is a sign of the great prosperity of Buddhism.

The young man looked up at the starry sky, something that people of this era could only dream of reaching, where it was said the gods and Buddhas once resided, but that was a thing of the past.

Perhaps it was time to awaken. The past is past, and today he has a connection with Buddhism and with Master Huiguo.

"Master, wait for me one night. Tomorrow morning at the top of the mountain behind, I will come." The young man made his decision, the most important one of his sixteen years.

"Amitabha Buddha, the Buddhist community is fortunate. I will not break my promise." Master Huiguo clasped his hands and nodded to the young man, then walked toward the back mountain with the grace of flowing clouds.

Clearly, he was going to secure a spot.

Buddhism saves those with a connection. Guiding someone with wisdom into Buddhism is a great merit, a great joy, and a great auspiciousness. As a Zen master from the Western Spirit Mountain, Master Huiguo had come to the Eastern Sea to find someone with a connection to Buddhism.

To guide a young man with wisdom into Buddhism, he would wait not just one night but even three years or thirty years.

Looking at Master Huiguo's retreating back, the young man felt his sincerity and was even more determined to enter the Buddhist community.

So, tonight would be the final farewell, to his past.

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