Chapter 95

Gu Feiyin had been living inside the Zen staff for quite a few days. She discovered that the Handsome Monk truly was a ruthless man-so beautiful in appearance, yet his heart was anything but. The reason was simple: she was growing weaker by the day. Even though she spent each day gathering her soul and accumulating strength, hoping to break free from the Zen staff and reclaim her freedom, her Soul Power was still diminishing as days passed, leaving her feeling weaker and weaker…

Gradually, she barely had the strength to hop around a few times. Most of the time, she lay listlessly inside the Zen staff, sometimes feeling so miserable that she would scream her heart out, heedless of everything.

Little Monk Liao Yuan liked circling around the Zen staff all day long. In the past, Gu Feiyin would still think of ways to win him over, but now she didn’t even have the strength to speak. Yet, she didn’t forget to mutter a few words, asking when they would let her go-her soul was about to be scattered from all their chanting.

The little monk said, “Shizhu Gu, you really misunderstood. Shifu is trying to save you.”

Gu Feiyin didn’t quite believe it. The more they tried to save her, the worse she felt. It was as if her body and mind were being ripped apart, the pain was unbearable-her soul was about to scatter.

The little monk was truly frightened. He rushed off in a panic to find his Shifu: “Shifu, Shifu! Sis Gu seems to be getting worse and worse, please think of something!”

Zong Nan said, “Leave it to fate.”

What did that mean? The little monk didn’t quite understand. Did his Shifu give up on Sis Gu?

How could that be!

His nose tingled, and tears rolled down his cheeks. Although Sis Gu was timid and greedy, and her courage was as small as a bean, she was a good ghost-far better than some living humans. Besides, it was for saving them that she ended up like this.

Because of this, he sulked for a long time. That afternoon, he went into the mountains to set traps, and after waiting two days, finally caught a gray rabbit. He killed and roasted it, sneaked into the kitchen to steal some salt, chili powder, and rapeseed oil, marinated it for a few hours, and only after the flavors had seeped in did he roast it until it was fragrant and golden, bringing it to Sis Gu to eat.

He thought Sis Gu’s soul was about to scatter-at the very least, she should have a good meal before she died, and she happened to love meat.

When Gu Feiyin saw the fragrant roasted rabbit, her eyes lit up. She sniffed-it really was delicious!

But why was he giving her rabbit? And why did he look as if he were seeing her off for the last time? What did this little monk mean?!

The little monk said, “Shizhu Gu, you should eat quickly, or it won’t taste good when it gets cold.”

Gu Feiyin glanced at him suspiciously, but the aroma of the roast rabbit was too tempting. Tentatively, she asked, “Is it tasty?”

The little monk nodded. “It’s tasty, really tasty! I spent a long time roasting it.”

“Oh, really? Eat some for me to see.”

……In the end, she still didn’t trust him. 🙂

The little monk said, “I am a monk; I don’t eat meat.”

Gu Feiyin curled her lips, acting as if she’d expected that: “And yet you say it’s tasty? You little monk, you’re not honest-you little rascal, how dare you try to fool a ghost.”

The little monk: “…?!”

He was dazed for a moment, only to hear Sis Gu shout, “Zong Nan, Zong Nan! Your disciple says roasted rabbit is tasty, your disciple says it’s especially tasty, aren’t you going to do something about him?”

The little monk: “…!!!”

This time, the little monk really cried. He really shouldn’t have pitied her!

…

The little monk was called out by the Handsome Monk. He drooped his head and glared at Sis Gu angrily, taking the roast rabbit with him as he left, not realizing that the rabbit had long since lost its flavor. Inside the Zen staff, Gu Feiyin smacked her lips-ah, the color, fragrance, and taste were all perfect, it was truly delicious.

The little monk had to copy scriptures a hundred times and was punished to reflect before the Buddha. Every time he saw his Shifu carrying the Zen staff, it was as if he could see Sis Gu flaunting herself at him. He snorted in anger, and for several days afterward, he ignored Sis Gu whenever she tried to talk to him.

Actually, he thought things were just fine as they were now. He, Shifu, and Sis Gu-living together peacefully like this was happiness enough.

But the unexpected still happened. Sis Gu’s soul became more and more unstable. If not for living inside his Shifu’s Zen staff, if not for his Shifu nourishing her with scripture every day, she would have long ago lost her mind, turned into a murderous evil ghost, and been cast out by the Six Realms, with no future to speak of.

Sis Gu was such a good person-if she knew she had killed so many, she would surely be heartbroken.

It was in the depth of night when Sis Gu, living inside the Zen staff, suddenly let out a piercing scream. The sound was so loud it woke him from his dreams. He rushed over in panic, only to see his Shifu coming out with a grave expression, carrying the Zen staff. He instructed, “I’m taking Gu Feiyin to the main hall. Guard the door for me. Before I come out, no one is to disturb us.”

He nodded anxiously, his heart full of worry. “Shifu, Sis Gu will be all right, won’t she?”

Zong Nan lowered his eyes to the Zen staff, his voice calm yet resolute: “She will.”

He let out a sigh of relief and promised his Shifu not to let anyone disturb them.

Zong Nan took Gu Feiyin into the hall-for seven days.

During those seven days, the little monk would bring food and leave it by the door. Sometimes his Shifu would open the door to take it, sometimes a whole day would pass without a sound. He waited outside. At first, he could still hear Sis Gu’s anguished screams, but as the days passed, her voice grew weaker and weaker, until by the seventh day, he heard nothing at all.

He anxiously lay at the doorway, peering inside. He didn’t know what was happening within, nor did he know how Sis Gu was doing, and he had even less idea what method his Shifu might have to save Sis Gu…

Other than praying for the heavens to show mercy, there was nothing he could do.

It wasn’t until dusk on the seventh day that Zong Nan finally emerged from the main hall. Bathed in the last rays of the setting sun, his frail, white figure stood beneath the dim golden light, as if he might drift away in the next moment.

“Shifu?” He rushed forward. “Shifu, are you alright? What about Sis Gu?”

His Shifu turned around, and he followed his gaze, seeing Sis Gu quietly floating inside the hall, her faint, barely-there body enveloped by a chilling aura of deep resentment.

She still hadn’t awakened. He and his Shifu had kept vigil by her side for so long, yet she showed no sign of waking.

“When will Sis Gu wake up?”

“When the time comes, she will naturally awaken.”

He nodded earnestly, saying alright, he could definitely wait until Sis Gu woke up. After all, he wasn’t in a hurry-he had plenty of time.

But a day passed, ten days, a month… Sis Gu still showed no sign of waking. He grew very worried, unable to be as calm as his Shifu, who could sit in meditation and chant scriptures beside Sis Gu as usual, or haul her by the leg and throw her out onto the stone terrace to “sunbathe”…

Actually, he really wanted to say, do ghosts even need to sunbathe?

Yet Zong Nan pointed at Sis Gu’s pale, bluish face and said, “No color in her cheeks, like a ghost.”

…But isn’t Sis Gu a ghost?

Of course, he didn’t dare to refute his Shifu’s words-he just nodded and agreed, saying yes, yes, everything you say is right.

But one morning, when he got up early for his morning practice, he discovered that Sis Gu, who used to float on the roof beam, was gone. Panicked, he rushed to ask his Shifu, “Did Sis Gu wake up?”

His Shifu shook his head and said no, she hadn’t woken up, she had just left. She must have returned to the place she felt safest.

The safest place? The little monk couldn’t understand. Weren’t they safe here? And if Sis Gu hadn’t woken up, how could she return to the safest place?

Zong Nan gazed at the rolling, lush mountains and forests, thinking with the mind of that little ghost, she had probably, unconsciously, returned to her own pit while in deep sleep.

He lowered his eyes, a barely perceptible sigh drifting through the air.

Sis Gu had vanished without even a trace of her ghostly shadow. Liao Yuan, the little monk, was heartbroken for a long time. But from then on, he went up the mountain every day, because he knew Sis Gu’s whereabouts could only be there. Sometimes he would bring offerings from the altar-these offerings had been presented to the Bodhisattva, and eating them would bring good fortune. He thought if Sis Gu ate them, she would also become blessed. She was such a good person, she deserved good fortune. He even caught wild chickens and rabbits several times, roasted them and hung them on the mountain, but unfortunately, there was never any sign that the food had been touched.

He was quite disappointed. It seemed Sis Gu hadn’t returned; otherwise, with her lazy but gluttonous nature, how could she resist? She would definitely have been tempted.

Of course, he was even more curious about what had happened in the main hall during those days, why Sis Gu had never woken up, and why his Shifu’s health declined day by day until, in just a little more than ten years, he died.

Only then did he realize that back then, in order to save Sis Gu, his Shifu had paid an enormous price. As for what that was, his Shifu never told him, but he could vaguely guess-otherwise, how could Shifu have died so early? But even so, it was only enough to temporarily keep Sis Gu’s soul safe and sound.

It was also at that time that Shifu told him, years ago he had divined Sis Gu’s fate, and had always wanted to find her to see how she was doing. But the only thing he knew was that she would come back someday. He just didn’t know how or when she would return.

Liao Yuan, the little monk, wept as he said, “When Sis Gu comes back, I’ll definitely tell her-we’re not bad monks, she misunderstood Shifu.”

But Zong Nan simply shook his head and said, “Heaven’s secrets cannot be revealed.”

“…Shifu? Shifu! Shifu!”

…

That was the last thing his Shifu ever said.

Liao Yuan thought about it for a long, long time, but still couldn’t understand what it meant. Was it that Shifu didn’t want Sis Gu to know he had saved her, or how much he had sacrificed, for fear of making her sad? Or was there some other reason? He didn’t understand.

He pondered it for many years, until, decades later, he faintly sensed something.

So-called heaven’s secrets.

…

When Gu Feiyin awoke, she sat dazed in her pit for a long time. She blinked, hearing little ghosts chattering outside the pit, discussing work, discussing extended shifts, some singing in babyish voices, and even Water Ghost passionately reciting Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream.”

She sat up in the pit, rubbing her groggy head. Her mind was crammed to the brim with memories both strange and familiar. In her discomfort, she threw back her head and howled, “Ah-!!!!” The shrill cry instantly silenced the little ghosts outside, who scrambled backwards in fright, muttering, what happened to the landlord? Is she about to go feral?

“What do you mean, go feral? The landlord is just warming up her voice early in the morning!”

“…”

Ghost Lady even came out to take a look when she heard the noise. Water Ghost didn’t dare recite “I Have a Dream” anymore-he flicked his two legs, slipped into the depths of the river like a fish, and didn’t dare budge for a long time.

After letting out a shout, Gu Feiyin finally felt a bit better. Her pale face was clouded with confusion as she murmured, “Zong Nan?”

So it really was the Handsome Monk who saved her.