Chapter 29

The ascetic monk finally understood that Lu Zheng was joking with him and laughed, saying, "It's not that this poor monk is unwilling to speak, but you really need to rest. Your body is weak, and you cannot exhaust your vital energy for too long, or the yin poison will flare up, which would be very serious. The rest of the story, this poor monk will continue tomorrow, okay?"

This big monk was casual and humble, but he was unwavering in what he needed to do. Although Lu Zheng still wanted to hear the rest of the story, he had to go to sleep first.

After Lu Zheng fell asleep, he mumbled, calling out "Zun Tanhua, Xuanmiaotian" one moment, and "Heavenly Demon, Earthly Demon" the next, and finally "Brother Jiu, Brother Jiu." The fire in the cave had gone out, but the jade pendant on his chest began to emit a glow, helping him resist the yin poison.

The ascetic monk carefully examined Lu Zheng's internal condition and found that the six qi masses seemed to have expanded slightly. The glow from the jade pendant was even stronger, and he frowned. He took off his monk's robe and covered Lu Zheng with it, then returned to the mat and sat in meditation. He practiced asceticism, not sleeping or resting, only sitting in meditation on the mat, both to rest and to guard Lu Zheng. His thoughts, however, turned to something else.

After Lu Zheng fell asleep, he had a dream. In this dream, that night he and Tang Xiaojiu went to Qinglong Temple to steal money and did not encounter any demons. They successfully stole over twenty taels of silver, said goodbye to Mingkong, and immediately fled. They endured many hardships and finally reached the northern border. Tang Xiaojiu took him to join the army, and the two became soldiers on the border of Huaxu Kingdom, even participating in several battles against the barbarians. Tang Xiaojiu, with his intelligence, quickly became a squad leader, and Lu Zheng was promoted to deputy squad leader, following him.

Then, Lu Zheng dreamed that he was on a battlefield, wearing a deputy squad leader's uniform that was a size too big. The sleeves and pants were longer than his limbs, always dragging on the ground, which he carefully rolled up. He wore a helmet that almost covered his eyes, carrying a military flag, and followed Tang Xiaojiu. He complained, "Brother Jiu, this uniform is too big!"

Tang Xiaojiu, riding a white horse and holding a shiny military knife, was shouting loudly to the soldiers behind him, urging them to charge at the barbarians! The barbarians were indeed as tall as the legends described, with eyes that were green fireballs. They wore clothes made of animal skins and wielded huge wooden clubs, appearing on the battlefield in groups, their roars like the bellowing of bulls, looking like a herd of elephants!

Tang Xiaojiu, riding his horse, looked at the giants with a look of satisfaction and disdain, shouting, "Brothers, follow this squad leader and charge!" Lu Zheng, with his sleeves rolled up and his helmet adjusted, waved the military flag in the air and shouted, "Charge, follow the squad leader and charge!" He took a few steps forward, and his helmet fell off, covering his vision, and the military flag got caught on something, making it impossible to wave.

Then he heard Tang Xiaojiu cursing, "Lu Zheng, you scoundrel, the military flag is poking my butt!" He then mixed in his curses at the other soldiers, "Idiots, why are you fighting them head-on? Quickly use your spears to poke their butts! Poke hard!"

Lu Zheng, flustered, quickly tidied up his clothes and helmet, and waved the military flag again, shouting, "Charge, follow the squad leader and charge!" When he looked up, he found himself no longer on the battlefield, surrounded by a vast white mist. The soldiers and barbarians had all disappeared. Lu Zheng was puzzled and saw Tang Xiaojiu riding a white horse, waving his military knife and charging into a cloud of white mist. He quickly raised the military flag and ran after him, shouting, "Brother Jiu, Brother Jiu, wait for me, wait for me!"

But Tang Xiaojiu did not stop. He whipped his horse's buttocks with his military knife and shouted back without turning his head, "Lu Zheng, catch up quickly, Lu Zheng, hurry!" Lu Zheng, running out of breath, saw Tang Xiaojiu ride into the white mist and shouted anxiously, "Brother Jiu, Brother Jiu." He hurriedly chased after him, running for a long time, but never saw Tang Xiaojiu's figure. However, he could still hear the sound of hooves and Tang Xiaojiu's cheerful shouts, "Lu Zheng, hurry, run faster, Lu Zheng!"

Lu Zheng ran around in the white mist, throwing away the cumbersome uniform and military flag, but could not find Tang Xiaojiu. He became anxious and closed his eyes, following the sound of hooves and Tang Xiaojiu's voice, running and running. Suddenly, his feet stepped into empty space, and he fell into a deep abyss, screaming, "Brother Jiu, where are you!"

At this moment, the mist suddenly dissipated, and six divine dragons appeared in the sky, circling and roaring, their dragon roars shaking Lu Zheng's heart. Lu Zheng felt dizzy, and suddenly, the largest golden dragon left the formation and dived towards him, its mouth open, calling, "Lu Zheng!" It then spat out a huge fireball, which whistled and drilled into Lu Zheng's body.

Lu Zheng woke up with a scream, realizing it was just a dream. However, the dream felt so real, and the sound of Tang Xiaojiu calling him still echoed in his mind. He looked around and remembered where he was. He saw that the mat was empty, and the ascetic monk was gone, leaving him alone in the cave. His heart sank, and he called out anxiously, "Big monk, big monk, where are you? Where are you?"

He called out several times, but there was no response. It seemed that the ascetic monk had left, just like Tang Xiaojiu in the dream. He felt a sudden sense of abandonment, and tears welled up in his eyes. He buried his head and sobbed.

As he cried, he heard someone calling, "Little layman, why are you crying?" Lu Zheng opened his eyes and saw the ascetic monk. He immediately pounced on him, hugging his neck and sobbing, "I thought you had abandoned me and left me alone, wuhu..."

The ascetic monk, not understanding at first, said, "This poor monk said I would take you to a place where you can be cured of the poison in your body. We haven't arrived yet, so how could I abandon you?"

Lu Zheng continued to cry, "Wuhu... I woke up early and couldn't see you. I thought you had left and didn't want me anymore."

The ascetic monk was taken aback and then laughed, "This poor monk is right here, and you're still hugging my neck!"

Lu Zheng finally realized that the ascetic monk was indeed standing there. He quickly let go of the monk, feeling a bit embarrassed. During this time, the ascetic monk had been patient and caring, running around for him, and his speech was gentle and without temper. He was knowledgeable and skilled, and Lu Zheng had already formed a deep attachment to him, seeing him as a father figure.

Lu Zheng, who had grown up as an orphan and was used to the coldness of the world, was a sensitive child. After having a nightmare and waking up to find the ascetic monk gone, he felt a sudden sense of abandonment, which made him cry.

Letting go of the ascetic monk, he saw that the monk was holding a green bamboo tube, with water droplets still dripping from it. It turned out that the ascetic monk had gone to fetch water for him. He also noticed that the monk was only wearing a single layer of clothing, without his monk's robe. Looking back, he saw the monk's robe rolled up on a pile of dry grass, and he understood everything. Lu Zheng felt a warm feeling in his heart and said, "Big monk, I thought you had left, but you were just fetching water!"

The ascetic monk, guessing his thoughts, ignored his childish behavior and handed him the bamboo tube, saying, "Little layman, don't worry. This poor monk will keep my word and won't abandon you. Drink some water, eat something, and rest. Then we'll set off." He handed him a steamed bun.

Lu Zheng took the bamboo tube but did not take the steamed bun, instead taking out the half a bun from last night from his pocket and saying, "Look, I still have some. You eat this bun!"

The ascetic monk, however, pushed the bun back into his hand, saying, "The bun in your pocket is hard. Eat this one. This poor monk practices asceticism and follows strict precepts, so I cannot eat."

Lu Zheng, curious, asked, "Big monk, do you really not eat?"

The ascetic monk replied, "Not only do I not eat, but I also do not sleep."

Lu Zheng, biting into the bun, asked, "Then you don't get hungry or tired?"

The ascetic monk put his hands together and recited a Buddhist chant, "All desires are suffering! This poor monk is devoted to the Buddha, diligently practicing asceticism, and with the power of the Buddhas, I can naturally subdue and transcend all desires."

Every time the ascetic monk said these things, Lu Zheng only half understood, but he felt that the ascetic monk was very powerful and did not ask further. He drank the water and ate half a bun, putting the remaining half and the half from last night back into his pocket.

The ascetic monk put on his monk's robe and sat in meditation, waiting for Lu Zheng to finish eating. When Lu Zheng was done, the ascetic monk stood up, took the wooden frame, and said, "We should set off."

Lu Zheng said, "Big monk, I don't feel tired now. I think I can walk for a while. When I get tired, you can carry me."

The ascetic monk thought for a moment and said, "That's fine." He still carried the wooden frame, took Lu Zheng's hand, and the two walked out of the cave.

It was just after sunrise, and they were on a steep cliff. As they stepped out of the cave, they saw a red sun rising in the sky, like a red pill, with a cool breeze blowing, making them feel refreshed. Lu Zheng, feeling the cold wind, couldn't help but sneeze. The snake poison in his body was cold, and he felt a chill in his chest.

At this moment, a warm force came from the ascetic monk's palm, quickly spreading throughout Lu Zheng's body. The cold in his meridians was dispelled, and he felt warmth in his limbs. Suddenly, the cold wind on his face no longer felt uncomfortable, but rather comfortable, like a gentle spring breeze.

The two continued to walk on the Two-Boundary Mountain. Lu Zheng, looking at the winding mountains, remembered the story the ascetic monk told yesterday. Suddenly, he felt as if he saw the scene of the battle between humans and demons, and he said, "Big monk, I know! When the ten evil demons surrounded Zun Tanhua and Xuanmiaotian, it must have been the great person who planted the fence that the big monk mentioned who defeated the demons and saved them!"

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