Chapter 1608 - This Gaze
After one hour, the illusory image disappeared before everyone, before Wang Lin's eyes. All the crew members still trembled and they remained silent.
They couldn't forget what they had seen inside the imagine, especially those burning rocks that scattered as the volcano erupted.
The scene they saw made it so they couldn't tell if it was real or fake, but they knew it was the anger of the sea spirit.
Wang Lin leaned against the ship and seemed to lose all his strength. Two streams of tears flowed down the wrinkles on his face and soaked his clothes. He looked at the image that had disappeared and his mind went blank. The only thing that remained was that delicate, white silhouette.
"Is this real… or fake… Is it even this a dream…" After a long time, Wang Lin shook his head and looked at the sea.
Time passed. One month, two months, three months...
On the ninth month of Wang Lin's journey at sea, he saw the real anger of the sea. At night, the dark clouds covered the sky and thunder rumbled. Lightning flashed and a few bolts seemed to strike deep into the sea. This caused the sky to flicker between darkness and light.
Every time lightning flashed, it would light up the sea. During that brief moment of light, you could see the waves surging. The fierce sound of the waves could compete with the thunder.
The wind roared across the sea and hit the ship. Every sailor was fearfully struggling between life and death as they manipulated this merchant ship to endure against the wrath of the sea.
Every single person was praying. Everyone wanted to leave behind their last words that might not see the light of day again.
The storm raged, thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, and monstrous waves raged.
Deep in the night, Wang Lin stood on the boat and clung to the pole next to him. His body seemed to lose control, trembling violently. The wind came by once and completely soaked his clothes. Water dripped from his white hair, but his eyes were bright!
As he looked at the wrath of the surging sea, his eyes became brighter and brighter. His heart expanded infinitely until it was enough to shroud the world.
"This is the power of the heavens, this is the real truth! This the mercilessness of nature!" Wang Lin laughed. His old laughter was weak compared to the thunder and waves, but it revealed the might of his heart.
He watched the mortals struggling to survive. He watched the merchant ship shake violently as if it was going to be submerged and devoured at any moment. Wang Lin looked at all these people and saw the unwillingness in their hearts!
However, this unwillingness was a bit weak and was simply insignificant before this wind and rain.
As the wind and waves became even more intense, a powerful wave arrived and the mast broke. It landed on a crew member who tried to dodge but was too late. Luckily, he wasn't seriously injured and struggled to climb out. He pulled the ropes and continued to struggle for survival.
However, the merchant ship was like a lone leaf in the wrath of the sea. It didn't have the power to contest against the waves. The entire ship gave off a sound as if it couldn't bear it anymore and would crumble soon.
An aura of despair permeated across the ship and filled everyone's hearts. Wang Lin no longer grasped the pole but joined the sailors, disregarding his old age. He did his best to resist the rage of the sea.
"Don't give up, we still have strength…" A middle-aged had a grin as he held onto a rope and let the sail down. The waves passed by beside him. At this moment of life and death, he began singing a sailor tune they all knew.
A teenager less than 20 years old wiped the sweat from his face and roared, "Don't despair, we still have dreams…" It was as if he had found the courage he lost with this roar.
"Don't be discouraged, we still have tomorrow…" More crew members began to sing amid the wind and waves. Their voices echoed together and fused into a defying sound to live!
"Don't give me, we still have the will…"
"Don't close your eyes, we still have to see the sun rise…"
"The heavens and earth are mighty, but they can't cover the voices of our survival. We travel the sea for a living, how can we fear death?! The wrath of the sea spirit can frighten us, can drown us, but it can't stop our song!"
All the crew members began to roar this song that had been passed down since ancient times across the seas of planet Suzaku!
The voices gave off a sense of courage, an indomitable spirit, a desire to live, and their fearlessness toward death. Wang Lin's old body trembled when he heard this cry. His eyes shined even brighter than before.
"This is a defying will! A defying will against the heavens and earth! Life and death, life and death, this defying will is born between life and death. It is because of reluctance and unwillingness that this defying will appears!
"If there was no reluctance and no unwillingness, there would be no life and death. Life is life and death is death… I understand!!" Wang Lin's mind trembled. He was still confused about karma, life and death, true and false, unable to see through them completely. However, when he heard the sailors' song, he suddenly gained enlightenment.
Life and death!
Like the mountain sees life as life and death as death, sees life not as life, death not as death. But in the end, after comprehending everything, you see life as life and death still as death!
Everyone has fear toward life and death. It was due to this fear that two paths appeared, one was compliance and one was defying!
Complying with life and death was the first realm of life and death!
However, if it turned into the defying will, it would mean to see life not as life and death not as death. This was the second realm!
People used to say "see through life and death," but in truth, one can't see through life and death. At most, one can only see life and death clearly!
With that defying will, one can disregard life and death and say "life is joy and there is no need to be afraid of death!" This is a determination to die, but it doesn't mean you have seen through life and death!
The third realm of life and death, the truth Wang Lin was searching for, was also not seeing through or surpassing life and death. It was just one line!
This line filled Wang Lin's mind, but he couldn't say it. It was as if there was a barrier that prevented him from saying it.
In the wind and rain, these words that looked down upon life and death and the unwillingness to submit echoed until the thunder disappeared, the lightning vanished, and the wind and waves calmed down. The night slowly passed and the dawn of the new day arrived. The cries of surviving a life and death ordeal echoed across the ship.
Wang Lin looked at them and smiled. He sat at the bow of the ship and looked at the rising sun. He saw the white bird flying in the rising sun, and its cries echoed.
On the eleventh month at sea, the continent could be see in the horizon. When they saw the continent, joyous cries came from the boat.
Wang Lin said goodbye to the crew he had known for almost a year. He left the merchant ship and arrived on this unfamiliar continent.
There were many mortal countries here along with many sects and cultivators he might know from his dream.
Among those countries, there was one called Hou Fen.
Wang Lin calmly walked in this continent across the sea from his homeland. He looked at the unfamiliar mountains, unfamiliar waters, and those unfamiliar faces as he walked.
Although he hadn't come here before in his life, his name had spread to many places in the last 10 years, including this continent.
Although he was not as famous as he was in his hometown, Wang Lin didn't care. He was a traveler, and he continued to travel across the continent. He walked through mountains and rivers and through the cities and countries.
In a flash, three years passed.
It has been 19 years since he left Zhao. Wang Lin's body was not as good as before and was getting tired. He held a cane in his hand, but he could still hold on as he walked.
He went to a lot of sects. He saw a lot of immortals. He saw a lot of emperors. His name gradually became known by countless people on this foreign continent.
No matter what country, no matter what sect, people all knew that there was an old man named Wang Lin who was the grand scholar of this generation. He was travelling through the world, searching for something.
His words became fewer as he got older. Often, he wouldn't need to speak; the wisdom in his eyes would cause people to enter a trance. A trance from which they didn't know when they would awaken.
On the autumn of the 19th year, Wang Lin arrived in a place filled with volcanoes. When he arrived, a volcano erupted far away. Wang Lin could see the black smoke rising in the sky.
A heat wave blew by from the distance and landed on his body. Wang Lin raised his head and looked at the black smoke in the sky. His old eyes revealed a gentle gaze that was never seen before.
He saw a white figure walking out of the black smoke. This white figure was a woman, and she looked very beautiful. She seemed to be collecting something from the erupting volcano and held a jade bottle in her hand. She turned and saw Wang Lin in the distance.
This gaze was something Wang Lin could not forget and made his body tremble. It was as if he had waited more than 1,000 years for that gaze. It was as if he had waited for a lifetime just to come here and see her gaze.