Chapter 359: Buddha agreed!
The weather was bitter cold and the ground was frozen. The cold wind was like a knife cutting through.
Because Grandfather Song Gudu did not like the noise of the city, he had moved to the Song family's Deer Park with a few old servants.
The Deer park was spacious and empty, and there were no buildings around that sheltered off the wind and rain, so they were in a very cold place, and a chill was pouring in from all directions.
The grandfather and grandson crouched under the veranda, like two old peasant farmers waiting for fat rabbits to knock into a tree stump.
Song Tao looked at the plum blossom tree under the cold moon and said: "It's so dark, we won't know when it blooms. Why don't Grandfather goes to bed first, and wake up early tomorrow to see the tree blooms, wouldn't that be a greater surprise?"
"It's not the same." The old man said stubbornly.
Song Tao smiled and said, "Why is it not the same? You just want to admire plum blossoms, right? Plum blossom likes the cold, and its flowering period is long, it wouldn't wither so soon. Didn’t you say there would be a heavy snow tomorrow? Among the forest of snow and ice, there are different peaches and plums mixed with dust. Suddenly overnight an aroma scatters, bringing a sweet scent across thousands of miles of the universe. This charm, this mood, is it not what Grandpa wants?"
"I want to hear the sound of flowers blooming." Song Gudu stated.
Song Tao smiled lightly, "Grandfather, how will there be a sound when flowers bloom?"
"See, you do not understand? You call yourself an art enthusiast, you only see its shape and do not know about its sound, how can you break the ten realms of painting?"
Having been criticised by Grandfather, Song Tao did not feel unhappy or unable to accept it, instead there was a strong sentimental attachment and reluctance to part with him.
He was sure what had happened when he was praying for his grandfather, and he knew exactly what that omen meant.
He hoped it was a coincidence, he wanted it to be a nightmare.
He did not want to see such an omen, or he would rather that he had not accompanied Cui Xiaoxin to Thousand Buddha Temple today.
This was the pain of knowing.
You know of the impending sadness, so it is difficult to enjoy the peace in front of you.
"In that case, I’ll stay with Grandpa here today. I would like to see whether the flower really makes a sound when it blooms." Song Tao looked at the delicate skin of his Grandfather’s neck and said aloud.
Song Gudu was not old at all, and even looked quite young.
He had reached the WIthering Glory realm when he was 51 years old, and it took him 19 years to break through the three stages from the lower stages of Withering Glory into the Starry Sky state.
The 70-Year-old Starry sky cultivator was already one of the most powerful people in West wind kingdom.
And because the Song family was extremely knowledgeable, they were named the Kingdom's library. The Song family was in charge of the compiling of the ancient records and the revision of the calendar system. So, Song Gudu had the nickname 'The eye of the starry sky'.
Song Gudu was like a pair of eyes on the starry sky, silently watching the rise and fall and the changes of this vast kingdom, as well as the vicious or gentle tactics of killing.
Some people say that there is nothing in this city that Song Gudu does not know.
Some people say that there is nothing in the kingdom that Song Gudu cannot solve.
Lu Xingkong was a towering figure, the god of the army. At his peak period, he controlled over one million powerful soldiers of the West wind kingdom.
It was also under the pushing of this old man, that Lu Xingkong's military powers were repeatedly taken back, and eventually only occupied a post with a high salary but no military powers.
It was also under this old man’s obstruction that Lu Xingkong's plan to occupy the position of left minister was incredibly difficult, and could even be said as an impossible matter.
"Moves like tiger, the heart of a fox, harmful to the country." This was Song Gudu's evaluation of Lu Xingkong.
Because of this sentence, Lu Xingkong was almost pressed into a quagmire for the rest of the life.
If it was not for the Lu family's thousands years of contribution, and the Lu family's generations of generals, then the Lu family would have long vanished from the face of earth because of this sentence, swallowed by people including their bones.
This mighty old man was going to die.
"If you want to see then stay, but don’t utter a word." Song Gudu again made a silencing gesture as he said: "Each blade of grass and every tree have a spiritual nature. If a hen is disturbed when she lays her eggs, the eggs will be pull back in. If this plum blossom hears a voice, what if it hides it buds back in?"
"Grandfather, can a blooming plum blossom be able to unblossom?"
"Of course it can."
"Well, then. I’ll listen to my Grandfather, from now on, I won’t say a word. However, if the plum blossom does not bloom, you cannot blame me."
"It’s certainly going to be bloom." Song Gudu looked up at the sky, where the cold moon had disappeared. The sky was like an ink plate, the dark wind was like a wolf howling. "It’s going to snow."
"It is going to snow." Song Tao glanced up the darkness of the sky and knew that the cold winter was about to arrive. The former Song Tao feared nothing in heaven or earth; he felt that there is nothing in this world that he cannot solve by himself. But having witnessed blood gushing out from the eyes of Bodhisattva, Song Tao began to feel afraid.
He was afraid of the old man in front him leaving, afraid the pillar of the Song family would collapse.
The old man stopped talking and Song Tao no longer spoke.
The two people crouched quietly under the veranda, unblinkingly staring at the nearest plum blossom.
The night was getting darker and the wind was getting stronger.
Then the wind blew and the temperature plummeted.
In the howling cold wind, there was a white feather hovering in front of their eyes.
Swaying and fluttering.
Song Tao's playful nature surfaced, he reached out to grab hold of the feather.
The old man suddenly jumped up, eyes flickering a strange brilliance.
Song Tao put back down his stretched out hand, his eyes fixed on this scene with look of astonishment on his face.
That ordinary plum tree was emitting a circle of silver luster.
On top of that dark, rugged branch, two or three tiny buds were coming out, as if there were countless black peas on the branch.
Under the watchful gaze of the Grandfather and Grandson, the little peas that blossomed one after another, were producing a delicate but crisp and melodious sound.
It was the sound of flowers blooming, the sound of winter snow.
It was the joy of the deepest part of the heart.
Song Tao's eyes widened, exclaiming: "Heard it, I really heard it——"
Song Gudu was also overjoyed, his pale face become dizzy red, like he had drank 2 or 3 cups of plum wine.
"Flowers bloom to see Buddha, have you seen Buddha?" Song Gudu's line of sight was still on the blooming plum blossom when he asked indifferently.
Song Tao’s expression stiffened, then he said with a smile, "Grandfather, I did see Buddha. I saw so many Buddhas. I recited 'The Sutra of the Medicine Buddha' before Buddha and prayed to bless you with peace and joy."
Song Gudu had a smiling expression as he asked, "Buddha agreed?"
"Agreed." Song Tao smiled.
"If Buddha agreed, would you have hurried back to see me?"
"Grandfather——"
Chapter 360: Unwilling to let you die!
"Grandfather——" Song Tao's face was crossed with surprise. Grandfather had already guessed his reason of coming? "
Yes, if he had not seen the warning from Buddha, then he would not had returned from Thousand Buddha Temple on the same day.
Moreover, the first thing he did once he came back was to report at the Deer Park.
The old man had lived for nearly 100 years, his eyes had seen for 100 years and his ears had listened for 100 years. Is there anything that he hasn’t seen or heard?
His every move, his every action, his every word, and his intention of hiding any secrets from him would most likely be as clear as a mirror.
"Tell me, what hint did the Bodhisattva gave you?" The old man said calmly, getting up and walked closer to the plum tree.
The wind was weak, but the snow was heavy. Fluff-like snowflakes fluttered about as they were falling, as though were contending in beauty against the plum blossoms.
"The Bodhisattva bled." Song Tao did not dare hide anything from the old man and said.
"Hm, the Bodhisattva bled, the country loses its pillar——This is a great praise to an old man." Song Gudu said smilingly. He stood in the midst of a snow flurry and seemed to merge with the snow.
"Grandpa, it is windy and snowy outside, let’s go back to the house to talk?" Song Tao urged.
"Silly." Song Tao softly reprimanded. "This wind, this snow, this cold air, can it hurt me?"
"But——"
The old man looked up at the sky, sighing softly, "It is the will of heavens that hurts me. The will of heaven cannot be violated."
"Grandfather——"
"Spring has hundreds of flowers, autumn has the moon, summer has the cool wind and winter has snow. The seasons alternate, and life and death are uncertain. What’s so sad about it?"
"Grandfather, you will be fine. You are a Starry Sky cultivator, the strongest martial artist in our West Wind kingdom, no one is a match for you in the entire divine continent, you certainly will pass this obstacle, then you can live forever——" Song Tao said in a choked voice.
"Silly boy. What person can live forever?" Song Gudu gently shook his head. "Only Gods and Buddhas can live forever. Mortals also want to live as long as the heaven lasts? Besides, in the vast divine continent, strong cultivators are as abundant as the clouds, how will there not be a worthy match against Grandfather? Third son, don’t underestimate the heroes of the world."
"Yes, Grandfather——"
"Well, sort out your girly attitude. You see, I’ve already figured it out. What is there to cover up? Flowers will close and grass will wither, you guys have all grown up, would I live forever?"
"We can’t let Grandpa die." Song Tao said in a sorrowful voice.
"Yes. You can not bear me to let me die, I also don't want to die." Song Gudu stroked the bud that had just bloom, took a deep whiff of the aroma, and softly said, "In this world when one has lived for a long time, one would develop feelings to everything familiar. And when death comes, they would be more unwilling to die. A chair that has been sat on, a sword that have been used. The planted flowers and trees, the raised deer——I want to hear the sound of the flowers, because I fear that next year I will not be able to hear it——"
"Grandfather——" Song Tao’s eyes were red, raising his face so that tears do not flow down.
"It’s great to be able to survive this. But if I can't, I still can leave calmly. It’s just that the matters of this country, I'm still a little worried about——"
"Grandfather is afraid they will shake the foundations of the country?"
"Everyone thinks that if two tigers fight, one will get injured. However, they only know to pay attention to the tiger, but not what the tigers are fighting about. This is not wise."
"Grandfather, what do you mean?"
"There are things that need to be settled. Causing an unnecessary ruckus, where is the grace?" Song Gudu gently sighed, his line of sight shifting to the plum blossom that he was rubbing in his hand.
Covered with ice, and red as blood——
When Li Muyang and Cui Meng returned to their room, Cui Meng looked as though his soul had been taken away.
"Li Mu, we had dinner with the young Miss, we had dinner with the young Miss ——"
"My ancestral graves are emitting green smoke, otherwise how would I received such a huge blessing?"
"If I told this matter, all the servants of our Cui family will envy me——"
Li Muyang listening to Cui Meng chattering away at his ears, suddenly turned around and said loudly, "Where do we take a bath?"
"Bath?" Cui Meng exclaimed. "On this cold day ou still want to bath? It's going to snow in a few days. In winter, it doesn’t matter if you just wash once at month. I used to only wash once in winter."
"I've travelled a long journey today and my body is dusty. It will be a much more comfortable sleep after bathing." Li Muyang smiled. In the illusion, he also had not bathed for many days. However, there was nothing he could do in those difficult situations. As long the conditions permit, he hopes to have a hot bath before he sleeps every day.
Li Muyang thought about what he had sent today and said aloud: "You sleep first, I'll go out to have a look."
"Alright. I’ll sleep." Cui Meng said. Before even washing his face, he covered himself fully with a blanket, giggling foolishly to himself.
Li Muyang walked out of the courtyard, passed through the arches, and headed to the back of the mountain.
Earlier today, he saw a lake of water deep in the mountains. The lake was giving off steam in the winter, and he could smell a sulfur taste from a distance.
Li Muyang knew that it was extremely difficult to find hot springs. If soaked in such a hot spring, it can alleviate fatigue, as well as treat a variety of diseases.
Li Muyang searched around in the dark, and indeed found a lake hidden by thickets and rocky walls.
He scanned the surroundings and did not see any figures.
He quickly removed his clothes, folded them and placed them under a rock. Then he gently dipped into the hot spring, submerging his whole body into the warm water.
"Ahh." Li Muyang couldn't help but groan out loud. The feeling of hot spring water surrounding his body was too comfortable.
Every night Li Muyang must recite the 'subdue dragon and tame the tiger mantra' or soak himself in a bucket and practice 'The art of traveling through clouds and summoning rain' for a period of time.
Now that he was situated in the sacred Buddhist land, Li Muyang dared not take any risks. He was afraid of the old monks finding out.
So, now the bath was purely to clean himself
Li Muyang immersed himself in the hot spring, closing his eyes to think about what had happened today.
Thinking of the changes of Cui Xiaoxin, thinking of the changes of Li Shinian, and also thinking about his own changes.
As he was deep in thought, in the distance came subtle and chaotic whispers.
"It’s dark and the road is slippery, Miss watch your step."