Chapter 187

Chapter 187: Suppressed for a Hundred Billion Years!

The elder monk nodded slightly, “He is my student.”

Ye Tianming looked at the elder monk before him in disbelief. He had never imagined that he would encounter his teacher’s teacher here.

The little boy named Liu Sha said softly, “So it was written by Third Senior Brother…no wonder it’s so good.”

As he spoke, he glanced over at Ye Tianming, his eyes flickering, as if lost in thought.

The elder monk handed the jade pendant back to Ye Tianming and smiled, “You are quite remarkable as well.”

Ye Tianming said nothing. He knelt down and kowtowed deeply.

His teacher’s teacher was naturally his grand-master.

When the elder monk saw Ye Tianming kneel, a ripple stirred in those otherwise still and tranquil eyes of his. That little boy from years ago had knelt before him in the same way.

But now, that little boy was gone.

The elder monk let out a soft sigh and gently helped Ye Tianming to his feet, “Rise.”

Ye Tianming said quietly, “Grand-master, my teacher, because of me…”

“It wasn’t only because of you.”

The elder monk cut Ye Tianming off, “He merged his cultivation into this law not only because of you, but also because he felt the world was not right, and he wanted to try to change it.”

Ye Tianming said softly, “Grand-master, the world cannot be easily changed by a single law.”

The elder monk smiled, “You know that, and he knew that too, but someone always has to take the first step.”

Ye Tianming lowered his head in silence, his expression somber.

The elder monk looked at Ye Tianming, “He took that first step, and that step is a hope.”

Ye Tianming nodded, “I understand. I will carry that hope forward. A single spark can start a prairie fire.”

A faint smile spread across the elder monk’s deeply wrinkled face.

The elder monk said, “I have three days left before I depart. Stay here and cultivate with me during these three days.”

Ye Tianming immediately replied, “Alright.”

Beside them, Ya Shi suddenly laughed, “What a remarkable coincidence. I never expected him to be the disciple of your disciple. I won’t disturb you any further. Fellow Daoist Ye, I’ll come for you in three days.”

With that, he rose and took his leave.

Ye Tianming quickly stood to see him off.

Outside.

Ya Shi turned to look at Ye Tianming and said softly, “I truly never expected that you and he would share such a connection.”

Ye Tianming smiled, “I never imagined it either, that I would meet my teacher’s teacher in this place.”

Ya Shi said in a low voice, “Your grand-master’s origins are extremely mysterious. We once even suspected he might be the vanished Lord of Truth from ages past, but we could never be certain…regardless, following him in cultivation, even if only for three days, is an extraordinary stroke of fortune for you.”

Ye Tianming nodded, “I understand.”

Ya Shi smiled, “I’ll come for you in three days.”

Ye Tianming asked, “Is this place no longer within the real world?”

Ya Shi said, “Of course not. Now hurry back. Your grand-master is waiting for you.”

Ye Tianming gave a slight nod, “Thank you for your help on this journey, Senior. We’ll meet again in three days.”

Ya Shi smiled, then vanished into the distance.

After seeing Ya Shi off, Ye Tianming returned to the room. When he got back, he found that the elder monk had already gone to sleep.

Liu Sha tucked the blanket over the elder monk, then led Ye Tianming out of the room. He turned to look at Ye Tianming and smiled, “By seniority, you should call me Little Martial Uncle.”

Ye Tianming: “……”

Liu Sha said, “Little Martial Nephew, follow me.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

Ye Tianming shook his head with a smile and followed along.

Liu Sha led him to a small room, “This will be your room…”

He pointed to the bed, “That’s your monk’s robe. Here, you must wear the monk’s robe at all times. Every day you must face the wall in ‘self-reflection’ for one hour. Beyond that, every afternoon we go outside for ‘cultivation’. The rest of the time you may read or practice, but you must be asleep before the hour of Hai…also, food must be grown yourself. If someone donates to you, that’s fine too. Since you have nothing right now, you can eat with me for the time being.”

Ye Tianming smiled, “Thank you.”

Liu Sha said earnestly, “Don’t mention it. You’re my little martial nephew. It’s only right that I look after you.”

Ye Tianming: “……”

Liu Sha asked, “Do you have any other questions?”

Ye Tianming said, “You mentioned facing the wall in ‘self-reflection’ just now. What is that?”

Liu Sha asked in return, “You’ve never done it?”

Ye Tianming shook his head.

Liu Sha smiled, “The human heart is the most restless of things. Without realizing it, all manner of stray thoughts take root. Teacher once said that every stray thought is a demon of the heart. You don’t have to eliminate them, but you must learn to master them. Don’t be a slave to your stray thoughts. Be their master instead.”

After a moment of quiet contemplation, Ye Tianming asked, “Little Martial Uncle, do you have stray thoughts?”

Liu Sha blinked, “I do.”

Ye Tianming was a little curious, “What kind of stray thoughts?”

Liu Sha shook his head repeatedly, “Can’t say, can’t say.”

Ye Tianming: “……”

Liu Sha said, “Little Martial Nephew, you should rest early. Tomorrow morning we still have to go outside the city for ‘cultivation’. Teacher doesn’t come for the outdoor ‘cultivation’, it’ll just be the two of us. Don’t sleep in.”

Ye Tianming nodded, “Alright.”

Liu Sha gave him a monk’s salute before taking his leave.

In the room, Ye Tianming took off his plain robe and changed into the monk’s robe. The robe was simple, dark teal, woven from plain cloth. When he put it on, he found it fit perfectly, as though it had been tailored just for him.

He lay down on the bed and slowly closed his eyes.

Facing the wall in reflection!

Stray thoughts!

The human heart!

He turned over the little martial uncle’s words carefully in his mind. Having reached the realm of ‘Establishing the Dao’, he felt no sense of superiority, no impulse to look down on others.

On the contrary, the higher his realm, the smaller he felt.

Had he ever had stray thoughts?

Thinking about it now, he suddenly realized there seemed to be quite a few.

The next day.

As soon as dawn broke, Ye Tianming got out of bed.

He had just stepped outside when he saw Liu Sha, who had already prepared breakfast. Liu Sha handed Ye Tianming a bowl of porridge, “Little Martial Nephew, Teacher is reading. We can’t disturb him right now. Eat quickly. When you’re done I’ll take you outside the city for ‘cultivation’.”

Ye Tianming smiled, “Alright!”

After eating, Ye Tianming followed Liu Sha out of the monastery.

As soon as they reached the street, the people on both sides bowed to them one after another. Liu Sha quickly returned their bows.

Ye Tianming followed along and bowed in return.

Ye Tianming noticed that when these people looked at them, the respect in their eyes was genuine, including when they looked at him.

He understood it was probably because of the monk’s robe he was wearing.

Before long, Ye Tianming followed Liu Sha to a small village. As they entered, a crowd immediately gathered around them, clustering near Ye Tianming and Liu Sha and kowtowing respectfully.

Liu Sha helped everyone up one by one, then led Ye Tianming from household to household. At every home they visited, they were welcomed with great warmth, and Liu Sha would sit down with him and chat with the family.

In this way, Liu Sha took him through dozens of households. At each one, the reception was equally warm. Liu Sha didn’t do much of anything, just listened. The moment the people of each household saw them, it was as if a floodgate had opened, and they would talk on and on without end, about all sorts of things, family disputes, arguments over farmland, gossip…

In Ye Tianming’s eyes, these were all trivial, inconsequential matters.

But what surprised him was that Liu Sha listened to every single one of them attentively. Not only that, he would actually discuss things with them.

And when they finally left, the people of each household were always reluctant to see them go.

As they were leaving the last household, a little boy suddenly grabbed hold of Ye Tianming. He looked up at Ye Tianming, “Are you a newly arrived monk?”

Ye Tianming nodded, “Yes.”

The little boy’s face was full of admiration, “I want to become a monk someday too.”

Ye Tianming smiled, “Why do you want to become a monk?”

The little boy said earnestly, “Because I want to help more people!”

Ye Tianming ruffled his little head and smiled, “Work hard. You’ll definitely be able to do it someday.”

“Really?”

The little boy suddenly became overwhelmingly excited. He grabbed Ye Tianming’s arm with both hands, “I…I can really become a monk someday?”

Beside him, the boy’s mother leapt up with excitement, “Heavens, the monk said my child can become a monk someday…heavens.”

With that, she ran outside, talking as she went…and before long, the whole village had heard.

Ye Tianming was a little dazed.

Liu Sha suddenly grabbed Ye Tianming and ran outside. Once they were out of the village, he looked at Ye Tianming with a serious expression, “Little Martial Nephew, what you did was wrong.”

Ye Tianming already knew where he had gone wrong, but he didn’t say it. Instead he said, “Little Martial Uncle, please correct me.”

Liu Sha let out a quiet sigh, “All things have cause and effect, and so does every word and action. Because they believe in the divine and in monks, when you said that to him, he will take it as truth. If he sets his heart on goodness, works hard at cultivation, and becomes a monk in the future, that would naturally be a wonderful thing. But what’s to be feared is…”

Ye Tianming picked up where he left off, “What’s to be feared is that from now on he believes he is destined to become a monk, and so does nothing, just waits for that day to come. And since the villagers believe he will become a monk, they will surely flatter and fawn over him. He may lose himself amid all the praise and flattery, and then…”

At that, he let out a quiet sigh.

He truly regretted it.

Sometimes a single sentence can really harm a person, even one spoken without any ill intent.

Liu Sha said, “Don’t worry too much. Every matter has two sides, and it won’t necessarily develop in the bad direction. But if it truly does go that way, then this is your cause and effect, Little Martial Nephew. It is your tribulation, and you must have the courage to bear it and not run from it.”

Ye Tianming nodded, “Understood.”

Liu Sha smiled, “Let’s go!”

On the way back, Liu Sha smiled and said, “Little Martial Nephew, let your martial uncle test you. Do you know why we come to listen to them?”

Ye Tianming glanced at the little martial uncle with the upturned corners of his mouth. Though the answer had long been in his heart, he still smiled and said, “Please enlighten me, Little Martial Uncle.”

Liu Sha said, “Only by experiencing their suffering can we help them out of it…if we have not experienced their suffering, we cannot truly empathize. And if we cannot truly empathize, we have no right to…”

At that, he looked over at Ye Tianming and smiled, “You already understand all of this, don’t you, Little Martial Nephew?”

Ye Tianming smiled, “Why do you say that?”

Liu Sha smiled, “Anyone who could write a law like that must be an exceptionally sharp person. Even if you didn’t understand this at first, you would have figured it out after going through it just once.”

Ye Tianming said, “You know a great deal yourself, Little Martial Uncle.”

Liu Sha smiled faintly, “When it comes to knowing a great deal, aside from Teacher and Senior Brother, it would be Second Senior Sister.”

Ye Tianming was a little curious, “Second Senior Sister?”

Liu Sha nodded, “Second Senior Sister not only knows a great deal, she is also an incredibly fierce fighter. Let me tell you, back then Second Senior Sister once reached across billions of cosmic star rivers with a single hand and forcibly suppressed a terrifyingly powerful and arrogant great clan, the one called something like Ancestral Sacrifice, for a trillion years…”