I am not Ximen Qing.

Chapter 152 Five-Star Hotel

On the way back to the hotel, Song Yu asked Zhang Sheng if he had been to the Buddha Mother Cave. Actually, what Zhang Sheng really wanted to do was climb the Five Peaks as soon as possible, if time allowed. It was such a pity that he couldn't climb the East Peak in one go, even though it was so close. It was too dark now, and there was a traffic jam on the way there. It seemed like there would be even more traffic jam on the way back to the hotel.

Starting from the neighborhood near Baishiqiao in Chegongzhuang, aside from the two or three rest stops requested by Song Yu's mother, we were almost always on the road! Human liberation, aside from Kerouac's Nirvana amidst the desires of the Beat Generation, is also found in the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha and the Avatamsaka Sutra, which points out the path to wisdom for liberation in China. We are always on the road. What insights have we gained while speeding along the expressways through the Taihang Mountains? The difference between inside and outside the mountains is indeed stark.

Zhang Sheng suggested that if Song Yu had the energy, they should go to Tibet to worship the Buddha of Bliss. The emperors in the Forbidden City believed that the Buddha of Bliss would bring sweet joy and happiness to marriage and love, just like the Buddha himself. Song Yu said he couldn't achieve that level of love and marriage, given the compassion and wisdom of Buddhism. Lin Daiyu and Dong Xiaowan were Emperor Shunzhi's most beautiful women; even the emperor couldn't face reality because of the karma associated with them. Whether it was Lin Daiyu or Dong Xiaowan, it was all a matter of cause and effect. Seeing through the illusions of the world, they understood the emptiness of inherent existence. Beauty is like a dream, and even the emperor, the Son of Heaven, is like Baoyu. Sitting in the Forbidden City, he's Zhen Baoyu; outside the Forbidden City, on Mount Wutai, he's Jia Baoyu. This world is a mixture of truth and falsehood. Zhang Sheng knew this wasn't what Song Yu wanted to hear; it was definitely fabricated from somewhere, a story about how the palaces of Shunzhi, Kangxi, Qianlong, and Yongzheng had all become large Buddhist temples! It has become a palace. In fact, Buddhism is closely related to the arising and emptiness of desire and love. Without monks and Taoists, where would the beauty of love and love be?

The schedule is too tight. Unlike Song Yu and Lao Zheng's first visit to Wutai Mountain, which was practically a stroke of good fortune—they stayed in a hotel for seven days, and for free! Tomorrow morning they have to go to Shuxiang Temple to pay homage to Manjushri Bodhisattva, riding a blue lion. What's the difference between Manjushri's Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Nirmanakaya forms? Anyway, the Manjushri statue riding the blue lion appeared in a dream. Then they'll go to Wuye Temple to worship Guangji Dragon King Bodhisattva. Song Yu is quite devout to this fifth prince of the Dragon Palace.

"For wealth and fame, Fifth Master is the most effective."

These are Song Yu's exact words after drinking. According to Song Yu's method of seeking enlightenment, faith is key. If one's wish for a child is successfully fulfilled at Hongluo Temple, in today's highly developed civilized society, he would be considered an opportunist straddling idealism and materialism. Zhang Sheng seems to have read some Buddhist scriptures. In fact, even Buddha understood that few are born with the wisdom of Nagarjuna. The Dharma is an inexhaustible treasure, and its elusive nature is found in the Dragon King's palace. The Eight Legions of Heavenly Dragons are protectors of the Dharma. Emperor Kangxi selected the auspicious site to build the Wuye Temple; it's merely a continuation of the Buddha's lineage. Some believe in Buddhism for beautiful women, others for wealth. All roads lead to Rome. The greatest aspect of Buddhism is the freedom to seek the Dharma. Enlightenment is enlightenment; ignorance is delusion. Hence the feeling of being lost in a dream. The grandest ceremonies and rituals at Wutai Mountain are always at the bustling entrance of the Wuye Temple.

The greatest affliction for all beings lies in their past and present lives. The ever-increasing karma accumulated through countless lifetimes manifests in two ways: global warming and drastic environmental changes. Global climate change is a consequence of excessive human desires and the excessive exploitation of nature. This includes the sum of all human factors. The afflictions of sentient beings in this world, the anxieties of job hunting and the pursuit of money, need no explanation with any lofty theories—they're too idealistic and detached from reality. Money is too materialistic. Living in a civilized, ecological society, one must buy a house and pay a mortgage. Without money, there are no goddesses to enter dreams of romance, let alone any romantic love. The beautiful women, their ethereal dances, rely entirely on the blessings of the Twelve Beauties of the Dream of the Red Chamber. The underlying logic at the entrance of the Wuye Temple is clear to the Buddha. There are also methods in Buddhism, and indeed, Buddhism is a method for achieving wealth and prosperity. In ordinary times, the entrance to the Wuye Temple was a sacred place for people to pray for wealth, regardless of their social status. People would light bundles of incense to pray for riches, fortune, and even to change their fate. The large cast-iron incense burner at the entrance of the Wuye Temple is forever adorned with black dragons, symbolizing the turmoil of the mortal world, soaring through the clouds. You can observe the expressions of six dragons in the sky. These six black dragons clearly understand what people need. After being cleansed by the billowing incense smoke from the large incense burner, at least Wuye himself becomes more sincere.

Song Yu also said that after emerging from the Buddha Mother Cave, life would begin anew. Zhang Sheng understood that Song Yu's so-called rebirth meant saying goodbye to past love, bidding farewell to Song Yu's past romances, and starting a new one! This selfish fellow, it turns out, knew a clever trick to always find fresh love. His method of nirvana was somewhat opportunistic and incomplete, like an Arhat, but the karma of love was too great; he might end up with a shrewish Rakshasa!

Zhang Sheng felt a lingering fear when he thought about it, but it wasn't a big deal. If he hadn't fallen in love with the Rakshasa woman, she would have taken revenge on human society in another way. Perhaps Song Yu was a reincarnation of the Monkey King in his previous life, or maybe he was the Victorious Fighting Buddha returning to the human world. We then think of Ximen Qing, Pan Jinlian, Chen Jingji and Pang Chunmei, Song Jiang and Yan Poxi. Song Yu's previous incarnations were Ximen Qing, Chen Jingji, Song Jiang, his mistress, Pan Jinlian, Pang Chunmei, and Yan Poxi—karmic reincarnation continues their past lives. How could Song Yu possibly achieve true Nirvana? Studying the mandala, generally speaking, Song Yu and Zhang Sheng's ambitions could only reach the Maitreya Hall.

I'll never forget the Maitreya Peak at Hongluo Temple. Meng Liang, Song Yu, Zhang Sheng, and Guo Jia chased each other as they explored Hongluo Temple and the ridge of Hongluo Mountain. It seemed as if one could feel the ethereal and otherworldly air of the Zen masters of past generations, searching for hermits in vain. Hongluo Temple, Hongluo Mountain, Hongluo Fairy, a sacred place of Zen lineage, with the divine Maitreya Peak, or perhaps a sketch of Maitreya Peak. It can only be compared to Huang Gongwang's "Dwelling in the Fuchun Rivers and Mountains." It seems there's also a brother Cao Cao, and Song Yu's theory of resurrection and nirvana. At least one doesn't have to be reincarnated; it's just that one can have fresh love, a new romance to get rid of the karma of the old love. Zhang Sheng still misses Dailuo Peak, hoping to climb the 1080 steps to revisit the small pilgrimage platform. One pilgrimage to the small platform can at least satisfy the regret of not climbing the top of Wutai Mountain! Every so often, the images of Manjushri Bodhisattva riding the blue lion, and the five Manjushri statues in the Five Directions Manjushri Hall, would become blurred. Song Yu said that he had too many goddesses in his mind and hadn't properly understood the Heart Sutra. Lost in the illusion of form and emptiness, he would naturally become confused and in a state of chaos. However, Song Yu said that this state was still the most awesome. Borrowing from Liu Yuxi of the Tang Dynasty, who described the lotus as rising from the mud unsullied, one shouldn't be ashamed if one cannot become a lotus; one can become a dragonfly or butterfly on a lotus petal, which is also quite nice.

The lotus is the embodiment of the flower goddess, but Zhang Sheng now wants to become the dew on the skin of beauties, a part of their fragrant and beautiful lotus blossoms. His mind is filled with images of goddesses washing silk by the stream, so lifelike and ethereal. He's beginning to believe in the illusions of *Dream of the Red Chamber*, the Taoism of emptiness and the interplay of truth and falsehood. Song Yu, for his trip to Mount Wutai, made ample preparations in advance. A month ago, he booked a VIP room at a five-star hotel there. The initial plan was for Song Yu's mother and his girlfriend to travel together. But in their love story, plans never keep up with changes! He's not buying a house, and even that idea keeps changing. At least the experience of buying a house in Tianchuang World Garden still casts a shadow over him. Now he has new ideas about housing. As long as you make money, the question of whether a house is expensive or not doesn't exist. The underlying logic of housing seems different from that of currency and finance. Marx could rent forever, as could Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, provided they were tech giants. Owning one of the world's greatest multinational corporations, Song Yu's ideas were overly progressive. However, he was a speculator who profited from a wave of gains. Previously, a down payment of 30, 80, or even 1 million yuan was considered too expensive. But now, a down payment of 100 million yuan, a bank loan of over 200 million yuan, and monthly payments of around 200 yuan felt about the same as before. This was a well-thought-out plan by Song Yu. His mother's greatest desire was for her son to own a property in Beijing. That way, when they returned to their hometown, the neighbors would not only envy him for taking her on trips every year, but also feel a sense of vanity—her son had finally settled in Beijing. Besides admiring his mother's camellia tree, the neighbors thought that if Song Yu could settle in Beijing and own his own apartment, everything would change too quickly. His girlfriend, who had been hesitant just a month ago, couldn't come to Wutai Mountain with him because of wedding preparations. But she and Hera had learned to track and monitor Song Yu's every move. Even more twisted than Shangguan Xifeng, but still not trusting Song Yu, worried that Song Yu would cheat on him. Of course, he basically wouldn't give Song Yu any room for infidelity, ensuring he fulfilled his duties to the emperor, leaving him no energy to cheat even if he wanted to. What happened in that month? Too much happened. Song Yu was getting married, and Meng Liang suddenly called Zhang Sheng saying that he and Song Yu had some problems. Meng Liang explained a lot. Meng Liang and Song Yu knew each other, and indirectly, Zhang Sheng also knew Meng Liang, but their relationship was purely platonic, just friends with no business dealings, just drinking, eating, and having fun together.

However, the time span is quite long; male friendships are enduring, like the pure shared ideals of Marx and Engels. There's also the pure friendship of Yuan Zhen and Bai Juyi, who frequented brothels together, enjoying songs, wine, poetry, and a carefree, unrestrained spirit. Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen represent the most romantic and purest form of male friendship. Zhang Sheng and Song Yu's relationship, including Meng Liang's, had been long-standing. Meng Liang said Song Yu was too hypocritical, and no other words could describe his anger towards Song Yu! Zhang Sheng also said that Song Yu had recently achieved unprecedented success in his career, and it was normal for some estrangement and problems to arise between friends. Song Yu hadn't mentioned anything about the problems between him and Meng Liang to Zhang Sheng. Based on past experience, time would restore everything to normal. Love and affection, even if they seemed to magically transform, would subtly hint to Song Yu that she would never rely on him. She possessed youth that Song Yu lacked, and there would be better choices for her. Song Yu so wished she could be like Humbert's teenage girl, escaping from his side. His girlfriend wasn't foolish; she couldn't bear to part with Song Yu. These days, May-December romances were common, a way to complement each other's resources. She had youth, and he had money. Changing his mind with his girlfriend was heartwarming. Couples in love are always exclusive. In the past, on weekends, the guys would travel together, then sit in the food court with a keg of French dark beer, drinking from 9 pm until 4 or 5 am, returning home satisfied, discussing their creative work.

How about composing a few romantic poems? A few romantic daydreams, how delightful! If that's not enough, go for some Japanese food, pickles, sake, sashimi, tuna, salmon—those carefree, boundless days are gone forever. On the way, Song Yu's thoughts were almost entirely on the house and his girlfriend's glittering WeChat profile picture. Her ghost still lingered in the car. To be honest, his girlfriend had been keeping him in suspense for so long, but it wasn't the marriage he wanted. His insecurity-based rules had failed him. How could this little demon let go of Song Yu, who was a monkey god in his past life? His girlfriend's unwavering determination to marry him, to bind him to her, was beyond Song Yu's expectations. He thought of Big D and the unmarried Meng Liang. But the beauty of Beijing is that seducing girls into sleeping with you as a subletter isn't a big problem. Beijing is truly a Babylonian paradise of desire and lust, where men and women alike become part of it. Desire, like Balzac's *The Ass's Skin*, is slowly being consumed by lust. The feast of lust always comes to an end, just as an actor who has seen too much of the world at the gates of the Beijing Film Studio, tasted the grand feast of cinematic art, and possessed countless directors' phone numbers, is like a rose in its twilight years, left only withered branches and leaves, lost in contemplation. In the urban jungle, with the support of artists and painters in Songzhuang, the alluring fairies sometimes use the swift, decisive power of art to quickly seduce lost women at his rented apartment. Once he's tasted a new girl every month, or even every few months, and fallen into the river of lust, marriage becomes utterly unthinkable.

The cruelest thing is time. Even though time is an illusion, it doesn't truly exist, but Song Yu finally understands. Almost all his friends are married now. He understands the meaning of Li Bai's "money comes and goes," and that life can't be reversed. She's willing; even if it's the truth, let it be, let fate take its course. During the two years he lived with his girlfriend, it was also a process of her gradually getting to know him better. Her intuition constantly probed for traces of other competitors. It's also strange that Song Yu, who was almost always open and free-spirited with girls, didn't take his habit of chatting and taking notes seriously. He only reminisced about love experiences after they were over, like a masterpiece released from the instincts of a master painter, afraid that his great love masterpiece would be lost. So it still exists on the old computer's hard drive, an image no matter what. A living trace of love, she is a Virgingirl, thinking of exchanging her chastity for the love of a philandering man. But it's okay; to love someone is to forgive their past. However, his girlfriend always seemed to have a feeling that the ghosts of other girlfriends were entering his body. She often called Song Yu dirty, and his girlfriend would go home to discuss all sorts of details about their marriage, including the dowry. Now he's starting to understand his girlfriend's almost obsessive sensitivity—all for his sake, so he wouldn't cheat on her anymore. This is his allface.