Less than five kilometers east of the great Bodhi Mountain, there was a shabby little tea shack. Wind squeezed in through the cracks in the walls. The roof was cobbled out of some kind of animal hide. The customers sitting inside could see the sky through the gaps.
Every year from the end of spring to the beginning of autumn, when Bodhi Mountain wasn’t so inhospitably cold, there’d be many people, either aspiring students or disbelieving skeptics, swarming to it from all over the country. The Dasheng Sect would open a lecture hall halfway up the mountain, and perhaps if one was fortunate, they’d have the chance to speak a few words or two with one of the sect’s august masters.
But at the moment, it was still rather cold, and the tea shop’s business wasn’t doing too well. The boss was lazily wiping a table as he chewed some roots he’d picked out of the frozen earth. There was music coming faintly from the distance, rich and resonant. It was the sound of young herdsmen and herdswomen singing at each other from across the valleys.
Unexpectedly, a young man entered the store at that time, hugging a cloth bundle in his chest. There was a bit of white fur peeking out from underneath; it looked like some kind of small animal.
He entered, not looking up, not meeting anyone’s eyes, and found a table in the corner to sit at. Quietly, he called, “One pot of hot tea, and a bit of whatever appetizer you have.”
The boss quickly had Shi Wuduan’s order brought to him, then left to keep wiping tables. But he couldn’t help sneaking a few glances at that strange man.
Those who came to the shop to drink tea, aside from the local herdsmen, were all dusty travelers coming from afar in hopes of seeking the Dao. Perhaps there’d be a few amongst them who stood out, but he’d never seen anyone like him before. He was clearly right in front of him, yet he seemed so far away.
The boss of the tea shop thought, had he bumped into an immortal?
The man unwrapped his cloth bundle and took a rabbit out of it. The rabbit had odd bald patches all over, making it rather startling to behold. Yet the man didn’t disdain it at all. He cupped his hand over its head. It seemed the rabbit was too weak to open its eyes. It struggled to lift its trembling head and nudge the man’s wrist.
He seemed to smile as he looked down, but it was shallow as a line drawn in the sand; the slightest wind would blow it away. The rabbit’s head slowly sagged, as if its weight had finally gotten too heavy to bear.
He watched serenely as its eyes slowly slid shut and its body, which had been faintly trembling up till then, slowly still. He could feel, through the hand that was supporting the rabbit’s underbelly, as the interval between each heartbeat gradually lengthened.
Finally, using the last of its energy, the rabbit laid a paw on Shi Wuduan’s hand. Then, it seemed to sigh, and it was finally motionless. The light in its pitch-black eyes slowly faded away.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Llr tjcv, ktlmt tjv yffc ribkis ragbxlcu atf gjyyla’r oeg, mjwf ab j rabq. Llr ktbif ybvs kjr wbalbcifrr jr lo tf kjr ogbhfc lc alwf. Mbg j rfmbcv, atf ybrr jiwbra atbeuta atja tlr bkc ygfjatlcu tjv rabqqfv jr kfii, atja tf’v yfmbwf j ilofifrr gbmx.
Ktf ybrr bo atf afj rtbq mbeivc’a tfiq rjslcu, “Vlg, fnfgsatlcu atja kjixr, oilfr, bg rklwr fzqfglfcmfr ilof, vfjat, rlmxcfrr, jcv juf. Ktja’r tbk la lr obg tewjcr, ifa jibcf j gjyyla.”
The man, whose eyes were still lowered, was like one of the Dasheng Sect’s mysterious, yet serene images of Buddha. His handsome face had lost all sign of vitality; it seemed he’d turned into an empty sack of skin shambling soullessly through the mortal realm, with only a wisp of soul looking out through those forlorn eyes, witnessing the world in all its splendor and desolation.
A moment later, the man muttered, “Life, death, sickness, and age….”
“Well, of course.” The shop owner continued, “People aren’t grass or trees, they’ve got feelings. Even if it’s just a dog, cat, duck, fish, or rabbit, spend enough time with it, and anyone would get attached, but what can you do? These things all have to die in the end. You’re still young, you’ve gotta let it go.”
The man sat there blankly for a moment before he suddenly raised his head, looked earnestly at the boss, and asked, “But how do I let it go?”
The boss grimaced, exposing a mouth full of yellow teeth, stumped.
How does one let it go? It was just that bystanders could see things more objectively. But the people involved, though, how could they let it go?
At that moment, someone spoke, “As long as you look up and see the sky, look down and see the water, look forward and see that huge mountain, then you’ll know how to let it go.”
The tea shop’s door-curtain was once again opened from the outside. An old man with a turban on his head, old ratty clothes on his back, and a mark on his forehead that looked like he’d gotten it from kowtowing too hard, walked in. His worn clothes were covered in layers of patches – there were over three patches on a single sleeve alone – that made his originally dark, solemn robe look somewhat colorful and frivolous.
His eyes were extraordinarily bright, and his face was unusually affable. There always seemed to be a hint of a smile in his expression.
His dress was that of a beggar, but his manner was that of a wise sage.
The shopowner’s hand trembled upon seeing him, nearly dropping his mopping rag. He stared open-mouthed, and thought, holy fuck!
Once, when he’d gone up Bodhi Mountain with a distant relative to hear a sermon, he’d had the fortune to catch a glimpse of that old man. Though he didn’t know what his dharmic name was, he did know that he was one of the Dasheng Sect’s revered masters. Instantly, he couldn’t care less about the young immortal-like man. He dashed to the door, both hands outstretched, palms facing up, and bowed deeply. He uttered piously, “Great master.”
The old man waved him off and chuckled, “I’m just here to shamelessly ask for a bowl of hot water to drink, no need to be so polite, no need.”
The shop owner was so excited he started rubbing hands together. The great master was actually going to drink water at his tea shop, wasn’t that a huge honor? The teacup he used would be ‘touched by the divine,’ he was going to build a shrine for it, that was for sure! Thus, he exclaimed in agreement and hurried off.
There were many empty seats and tables in the shop, yet the person headed straight for the man with the rabbit and sat down across from him. His gaze, filled with compassion landed on the rabbit’s corpse, as he said quietly, “The reason you can’t see past this is because you refuse to open your eyes; the reason you can’t think through this because you refuse to open your mind. Since that’s the case, then why insist on going about it the wrong way.”
The man he was speaking to was indeed Shi Wuduan, who’d recently arrived at Bodhi Mountain. When he’d been staring at the rabbit in fixation just then, it seemed its eyes were like shallow pools of water, water that was now frozen over.
Shi Wuduan didn’t even spare him a glance. He coldly scoffed, “Of course I’m not as good as thinking things through as you, great master. You’re quite impressive, great master. You knew we were lying in ambush, yet you retreated so agreeably from Dazhou Mountain and sold out the Xuan Sect and the Mi Sect.”
The old man lowered his head; he didn’t return the verbal barb. His dirty fingers slowly brushed the engravings on his vajra, as if he was silently reciting scripture in his heart, over and over.
Shi Wuduan didn’t let the matter rest, “Who could’ve thought that the first to break the thousand-year treaty wouldn’t be the hypocritical Xuan Sect or the overly ambitious Mi Sect, but the one that always preaches about justice and virtue and saving the common people, the Dasheng Sect? I was rather shocked. What say you, great master?”
“We of the Dasheng Sect respect heaven and earth, respect the mountains and rivers, respect the beasts that soar the skies and walk the ground, respect every living thing that suffers in this sea of misery. What is valor and glory to one such as I? Only those removed from the world can save all those within it. Since your brilliant plan shattered the treaty, what sense is there for us to cling to it?” The old man was neither surprised nor offended. He slowly lifted his wrinkled eyelids and looked at the rabbit corpse in Shi Wuduan’s arms and said, seeming to skirt around the point, “When things end, it brings change; change is the lifeblood of every living thing, and permanence is their death; even water knows not to persist within a single pond. You foolish child, trapped by earthly trammels, why are you so opposed to letting go of your obsession?”
Shi Wuduan felt like he was talking out of his ass, he very much turned his nose up at his words.
Suddenly, a faint mist flew from the rabbit’s body. The shopowner arrived just in time to catch sight of it and scream in shock. Shi Wuduan’s gaze flashed, he flung his sleeve out, and the shopowner silently collapsed. Somehow, the old man managed to catch the teapot from his hands.
The white mist slowly congealed into a person. Shi Wuduan’s alarm rapidly increased. He stood up so abruptly that all the tea things on the table rattled. After who knew how long, he softly called, “Little Li-zi…..”
The misty figure was a bit indistinct, it flickered in mid-air and stared silently at Shi Wuduan, it’s gaze unspeakably gentle, so much so it almost didn’t seem like Bai Li.
He appeared to have a mountain of things to say, yet he didn’t know where to begin. His lips moved slightly, but no one could hear a sound.
The old man sighed and lowered his eyes, his fingers tracing circles on his vajra.
Bai Li’s image faded quickly until, a moment later, his features were already blurry. He lightly raised his hand, as if to stroke Shi Wuduan’s cheek, but his hand turned to smoke and dissipated the moment he made contact.
He frowned vaguely in distress. Then, he moved closer and leaned towards Shi Wuduan. His entire form turned into a hazy white mist; he seemed to be hugging him.
Then, the white mist became a thin wisp, and rose into the air, circled twice around Shi Wuduan’s head, then reluctantly flew out through the tea shop’s door.
Shi Wuduan stood there, his brows deeply furrowed, but at the same time, his eyes were open wide. He couldn’t help but reach out, as if wanting to keep that unkeepable sliver of soul.
The old man said quietly, “Dust to dust, earth to earth. He’s returned to the place he should return to.”
Shi Wuduan looked at him wordlessly.
The old man said, “If you’re willing, mister, then come visit the mountain with me. It counts as good karma if nothing else.”
Then in one gulp, he drained the teapot, and made a gesture of invitation. Shi Wuduan made eye contact with him for a few moments, retrieved a few coppers and put them on the table, then very rudely strode out ahead of him.
Thank you for translation!
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Thank you for the update..
Thank you so much 🙏❤️🐇
💙💙💙
is bai li dead too..
fuck everything im just gonna die here..
THANK U FOR THE TRANSLATIONS!!!!
Did bai li…😭
I knew it!!! Tge rabbit is part of Bai Li’s soul.
That was far too reminiscent of when my cat got sick and died. 😭 But hopefully it will lead to something good…
Thank you for the translation!