Dusk Returns to the Ruined Building

Life's affairs are like fleeting clouds; I met an old friend at Yanquan.

Ning Menghuan actually knew that one should not travel at night in the Beimeng Mountains.

Shen Yichen eventually entered the dilapidated temple on Beimeng Mountain. Although there were no monks there, he still felt uncomfortable!

As dusk fell, the three arrived at a dilapidated temple called Thousand Temple. Although the temple was in ruins, the broken walls and ruins still hinted at its former glory!

The following is written on the left wall in front of the dilapidated temple:

One mountain, one Buddha, one world!

On the right it says:

A thousand rivers, a thousand paths, a thousand worlds of mortals!

Ning Menghuan walked straight into the temple, but Shen Yichen and Yixuan stopped at the entrance. The couplet was so strange!

Shen Yichen thought that the couplet was written incorrectly; it should be:

"One mountain, one path, one world; a thousand rivers, a thousand Buddhas, a thousand worldly affairs!"

This seems to be referring to Guanxing Mountain and the Jianghu (江湖, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry), but the couplet reverses the Buddhist and Taoist concepts.

Shen Yichen felt something was off!

What about Yixuan?

He was thinking of Yunxia Mountain.

"One mountain, one Buddha, one world"—this saying perfectly describes Yunxia Mountain, as there really is a Buddha statue there.

"A thousand waters, a thousand paths, a thousand worlds"—this seems to describe the Ji family's imperial city. "A thousand waters, a thousand paths" truly reflects the appearance of the Ji family's imperial city. "Paths" here refers to the roads.

For some reason, Yixuan felt that this was a couplet written by the Ji family. But why would it be associated with Buddhism and Taoism, or rather, why would it be tainted by worldly affairs? Is it Buddhism and Taoism that have become tainted by worldly affairs, or is it the Ji family that has become tainted by worldly affairs?

Yi Xuan suddenly thought of Shen Yichen beside him. Shen Yichen cultivated both Buddhism and Taoism, and was tainted by the mortal world!

Yi Xuan turned to look at Shen Yichen and exclaimed in surprise:

"This...this isn't written by you, is it?"

Not only Yi Xuan thought so, but Shen Yi Chen himself also thought so.

Shen Yichen stared at Yixuan in shock, and exclaimed in horror:

"How...how did you figure that out?"

Shen Yichen and Yixuan viewed the couplet from two different perspectives, yet arrived at the same conclusion:

This couplet must be related to Shen Yichen!

Shen Yichen and Yixuan looked at each other without saying a word.

After a long while, Yixuan shook his head and sighed softly:

"Yichen, the path of the martial world in Yanquan is likely to be difficult!"

After Yixuan finished speaking, he walked into the Thousand Temples.

The chosen one is a member of the Ji family, yet he has become tainted by worldly affairs. Yi Xuan seems to have found the answer in his heart: Shen Yichen may be a calamity for the Ji family!

One mountain, one world—that is the Ji family; a thousand rivers, a thousand worlds—that is the Jianghu (martial arts world); all things returning to one is the Ji family's dream, and also Yi Xuan's dream, but Shen Yi Chen is caught in the middle.

Shen Yichen stood alone for a long time, unable to figure out what it meant, or rather, what he should understand from it.

As night fell and a bonfire was lit inside the temple, Shen Yichen entered the Thousand Temples.

Shen Yichen was stunned when he entered the temple, because the luxurious carriage was parked in the courtyard, and it must have come in through the broken wall.

Shen Yichen felt uneasy. Logically speaking, this carriage should have been far away by now and couldn't possibly be staying here overnight. His first thought was, could it be waiting for him?

Shen Yichen was overthinking things this time!

Yiqian Temple is the last place where you can stay overnight after leaving Beimeng Mountain. Further ahead, there are no villages or temples.

In other words, the people here must leave Beimeng Mountain tomorrow, or they will have to spend the night in the wilderness of Beimeng Mountain. Those familiar with Yanquan know that they must spend the night here.

With a heart full of trepidation, Shen Yichen entered the dilapidated temple.

When Shen Yichen arrived at the temple entrance, he was startled.

The huge, dilapidated temple was full of people—ordinary folks and江湖人士 (jianghu figures, people from the martial arts world). Some were drinking and eating meat around a campfire, some were resting with their eyes closed, some were sitting cross-legged, and some were warily watching the people around them.

Everyone had one thing in common: they didn't speak!

Shen Yichen quickly found Yixuan and Ning Menghuan.

Yi Xuan leaned against the pillar, quietly watching Shen Yi Chen. His gaze was really strange, not as enthusiastic as before.

Ning Menghuan was drinking, and a woman was sitting next to her. They seemed to know each other and were drinking together.

Shen Yichen sat down next to Yixuan. He didn't dare to speak, and he didn't know why everyone was silent.

After sitting down, Shen Yichen used his peripheral vision to search for the person in the luxurious carriage. It was the blood-robed old man from Jianying City. Today, in the carriage, the blood-red lotus in Shen Yichen's bloodline had reappeared.

Shen Yichen was certain that the person in the carriage was the old man in the blood-red robe, but after scanning around, he did not see anyone wearing the blood-red robe.

Shen Yichen saw the disheveled Daoist, as well as people from the Shadow Hall, the Wulang Academy, and it seemed he also saw people from the Mingmo Sect.

After scanning the area twice, Shen Yichen locked onto a person whose entire body was hidden in a black robe, and whose face was still not visible. That was the old man in the blood-red robe.

Shen Yichen guessed that the old man in the blood-red robe must have been returning to the Ancient Miao Region from Guoyanquan, and didn't seem to be paying attention to him.

Shen Yichen's tense mood eased a little.

Shen Yichen was really curious as to why no one was speaking. He quietly poked Yixuan's waist and wrote a message between them to ask Yixuan the reason.

Yixuan pointed to the Buddha statue in the temple.

Shen Yichen turned to look at the Buddha statue. He didn't understand it and couldn't see anything wrong with it. As always, it was covered in dust.

Shen Yichen shook his head.

Yixuan was truly helpless, and wrote on the ground:

“That’s the Contemplative Arhat, also known as the Silent Buddha. Didn’t you see what was written on the door when you came in?”

Shen Yichen didn't look at it, of course; it was already dark when he came in.

Shen Yichen shook his head again.

Yixuan wrote:

"Pretend to be deaf and dumb to weather the calamity, keep your mouth shut and stay away from the mortal world!"

Shen Yichen shrugged and stuck out his tongue. He didn't believe in Buddhist teachings, but he didn't dare to speak.

Shen Yichen closed his eyes to rest, but he smelled the scent of Drunken Dream Burn again.

Shen Yichen secretly licked his lips, opened his eyes, and looked at the unsteady Daoist who was drinking wine from a gourd.

Shen Yichen stared at it for a while, feeling both tempted by the wine and puzzled, as the wine in the gourd seemed inexhaustible.

Shen Yichen, that simpleton, forgot that Ning Menghuan had reminded him that she was a master.

Shen Yichen was discovered, of course.

The disheveled man, unsteady on his feet, turned his head to look at Shen Yichen, and the gourd in his hand moved silently, flying towards Shen Yichen.

Shen Yichen was slightly taken aback. He took the gourd, but he couldn't catch it. To be precise, Shen Yichen caught the gourd, but he fell down because the gourd was too heavy.

Shen Yichen really didn't expect that he would finally understand why the wine in the gourd could never be finished.

Shen Yichen picked up the gourd forcefully and, without any hesitation, gulped it down in one go. It had been a long, long time since he had drunk so much.

Just as Shen Yichen was about to return the gourd, Ning Menghuan snatched it away and started drinking from it as well.

Shen Yichen was embarrassed; he hadn't even had time to wipe his mouth yet.

Ning Menghuan also drank a lot, then wiped the gourd mouth dry with her sleeve and handed it to Shen Yichen.

Shen Yichen took the gourd, thought for a moment, and then took another sip. He couldn't let such a slovenly person touch Ning Menghuan's fragrant lips; it would be a waste!

After returning the gourd, Shen Yichen smiled and nodded.

If the path is unstable, it's as if you don't see it.

Shen Yichen didn't pay attention and leaned against the pillar, closing his eyes to rest, but he couldn't fall asleep at all.

Shen Yichen wondered who wrote the couplet outside the temple? And how did Yixuan determine that it was written by him? This was really strange!

After an unknown amount of time, Shen Yichen opened his eyes and looked at Yixuan, who was sleeping with his eyes closed. He frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then got up and walked towards the temple gate.

Shen Yichen then realized that the moon was already high in the sky, and it was almost midnight.

To Shen Yichen's surprise, the purple-robed man, Ji Xuanren, was standing alone on the wall of the dilapidated temple, gazing up at the waning moon.

Without a doubt, Ji Xuanren also jumped off that cliff and had been following them ever since.

Shen Yichen stopped thinking about it and decided to just go along with it; there was nothing he could change anyway.

Shen Yichen walked to the courtyard gate, and only then did the purple-robed man, Ji Xuanren, notice him. Clearly, Ji Xuanren had been lost in thought.

Shen Yichen nodded slightly, then stood beside the couplet, gazing at it quietly, muttering to himself:

"One mountain, one Buddha, one world; a thousand rivers, a thousand paths, a thousand worlds!"

Shen Yichen sat cross-legged, intending to enter a state of meditation and perceive the true meaning within!