Thunder, lightning, strong winds, heavy rain, seem to be constantly whistling in my ears, the chaos in my mind is muddled and confused, it seems that I can no longer tell who I am. Only in the intense pain, I feel the wind and rain passing by me, heading towards some unknown place.

  It seems like someone is talking beside me, the voice of that speech is quite strange, listening to it has a few points of anxiety, vaguely hearing: "He seems to be a bit off, you take a look?"

  A cold hand moved over his body, checking him out, and after a moment, exclaimed in shock: "How could he be injured so badly?"

  The man beside him said angrily: "Nonsense, he's under the Exterminating Immortal Sword, what do you think..."

  He didn't hear the rest of what was said, because at that moment a wave of dizziness hit his head and he almost fainted. In his daze, he only vaguely felt that the sky was still rumbling with thunderclaps.

  The person beside him seemed to have taken a fright, hastily examining him, the icy breath on his hand made him slightly sober for a moment, and he heard the man exclaiming: "It's bad, his forehead is scorching hot, afraid he has a high fever..."

  I didn't know I still had a fever!

  This was Gui Li's last thought before he fainted again and lost consciousness.

  ********

  A loud rumble awakened him from his unconscious state, and his first reaction was that it was still the thunderclap in the sky. But somehow, although he had become somewhat clear-headed, everything in front of him was still pitch black. He tried with all his might to open his eyes and look around, but to his astonishment, he found that his eyelids were still closed and could not be opened.

  Then a severe pain came, but it was not from his seriously injured chest, but from his throat. He unconsciously moved his mouth and called out in a hoarse and low voice:

  "Water..."

  It seemed as if there was no one around, only he was left alone, lying helplessly on the ground, his throat parched and dry, like a burning fire. His lips moved slightly, and to his surprise, he found some unknown strength in his body, which made him move his body slightly, while his consciousness in his mind seemed to be clearer.

  "Ah!" Suddenly, a voice came from beside him, this voice was different from usual, yet it seemed to have been heard before, with a few familiar tones, the tone of speech had a few surprises, saying: "You're awake, Shixiong, come quickly, he's awake..."

  The surroundings suddenly fell silent for a moment, and then immediately afterwards, there was the sound of footsteps quickly approaching, walking up to Gui Li's face. Gui Li struggled again to open his eyes, but somehow, this time, all the energy in his body had completely disappeared, and he could only vaguely see two people crouching beside him, while behind them, it seemed like there were several dark shadows looming. As for the faces of these people, however, he couldn't make out a single one.

  "Water..." he muttered again in a low voice.

  This time, people around understood:

  "Hurry up and bring some water, quickly."

  His footsteps hurried, coming and going in a flurry, when suddenly someone came running over, and immediately an icy hand carefully lifted his head, and a bowl-like object was placed against his lips.

  The cool water touched his dry, cracked lips, and the muscles on Gui Lie's face moved slightly as he struggled to open his mouth and took a sip. The clear water entered his throat like a refreshing spring in a parched land, immediately alleviating the scorching pain.

  The ghost's heart suddenly relaxed, and a wave of drowsiness came over him. He had fallen asleep again.

  The people around were shocked, and someone immediately came over to take Ghost Ji's pulse. After a moment, he let out a sigh of relief and said, "Don't worry, he's just severely injured and has a high fever, which has caused his body to exhaust itself. For now, there's no danger to his life."

  As soon as this was said, the people around seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and then, it seemed that someone looked at Gui Li with a soft sigh.

  ********

  He fell asleep again, and didn't know how much time had passed. In the meantime, he woke up several times to find a ghost, but each time he was only briefly awake before falling back into a deep sleep. The impression he got was that there was always someone standing guard beside him.

  In a daze, he saw many people: his parents when they were young, his innocent and beautiful Shifu sister, the unforgettable Bi Yao, the elusive Lu Xue Qi, and many, many others. They all flashed before him one by one. Once, he even thought he saw the Fah Xiang and Fa Shan brothers from Tian Yin Temple ten years ago, sitting beside him reciting sutras and chanting Buddha's name.

  He smiled wryly at that time, but even he himself didn't know whether his bitter smile could be expressed on his face; perhaps it would ultimately be just an illusion.

  It's as if this topsy-turvy life is like a dream!

  Why bother chanting sutras for me?

  What's the use of chanting scriptures?

  In a brief moment of clarity, he thought this in his mind, then he fainted again.

  ********

  "Dong...... dong...... dong...... dong......"

  It was as if the low, muffled sound of a bell reverberated in the sky, slowly awakening him from his deep slumber. The heavy tolling of the bell, from far to near, slow and steady, seemed to have penetrated into his very heart.

  For the first time, he didn't have the urge to open his eyes. He just lay there quietly, not thinking or caring about where he was or what world was outside of him.

  The vast world, at this moment, is left with only the low and mournful sound of tolling bells.

  "Dong...... dong...... dong...... dong......"

  The bell's sound was lingering, as if it would never stop, and it kept ringing on. He listened with his ear sideways, breathing slowly, and all his spirit had merged into this gentle tone, unwilling to leave again.

  It had been a long time since he lay down so carefree and untroubled.

  Who knows what kind of pain it is to bear the weight of so many burdens every day?

  But this small world would eventually come to an end as well, a series of footsteps echoed from afar and drew near, disrupting his train of thought.

  That was a bell tolling in his heart, suddenly seeming to move away from him, and all at once it was far off in the sky.

  Silently, sighing...

  He slowly opened his eyes.

  Buddha!

  This was what he saw at first glance.

  A giant "Buddha" character hangs high on the roof, surrounded by a circle of golden flower patterns. Around this Buddha character, there is a circle of 500 Arhat images intricately carved in relief, forming another large circle. All the Arhats are roughly the same size, but their facial expressions and postures are all different, arranged in rows, perfectly symmetrical. Then, on the outer edge of the large circle, there is a blue background with black edges, hanging two feet higher than the central Buddha character circle. The paintings above have different styles, consisting of square grids, each grid one foot square, with golden borders and inner paintings of auspicious Buddhist animals such as Qilin, Phoenix, Golden Dragon, and Goat. These patterns are identical in each grid.

  Although he was not good at carving buildings, Ghostly saw it at a glance and knew that this was the work of Ghost Axe. On the roof, in the inner circle surrounding the Buddha character, two golden chains hung down, suspending a long-lasting lamp. From below, looking up, it was roughly a three-foot-diameter copper basin, which should be filled with lamp oil inside.

  The ghost frowned and looked around, only to see that this place was like a meditation room in a temple. The room was quite spacious, with four red lacquered pillars at the corners, blue bricks on the floor, and doors made of tung wood. On either side of the door, there were windows also painted with red lacquer, looking very solemn. On one wall hung a picture of Guanyin holding a jade vase, below which was an incense table with four plates of offerings: pears, apples, oranges, and pomelos. In front of the offerings stood a copper stove, on which were inserted three thin sticks of agarwood incense, emitting wisps of light smoke that wafted through the air.

  On the other side of the wall, there was a wooden bed, simple and sturdy, with no more decorations. It seemed that monks didn't care about such things. The room was also very simple, except for the aforementioned items, there was only a round table in the middle, surrounded by four round stools. The table and chairs were all black, on which were placed tea pots and cups, made of plain ceramic.

  Just then, the footsteps had already reached the door outside. The door of this Zen room creaked open and a person stepped in. Gui Li looked at him and was stunned for a moment, but it was an unfamiliar young monk he had never seen before, holding a wooden tray with a new teapot on it. He walked in without looking towards Gui Li, but directly to the table in the room, exchanging the teapot on the table with the one on the wooden tray.

  "Who... are you?" Guī Lì asked, but as soon as he spoke a word, his throat suddenly felt painful, although it wasn't as severe as the last time he fainted, it was still very uncomfortable. His voice also became hoarse at once.

  However, this also startled the little monk, who immediately turned around to look, and in his haste, almost flipped over the wooden tray in his hand.

  "Ah, you're awake?" The little monk seemed quite surprised, but his eyes had a joyful color, and he smiled, "Then wait a moment, I'll immediately call Brother Master and the others to come see you."

  As he spoke, he wanted to run out the door, but Gui Li shouted at his back, asking in a hoarse voice: "Little Master, may I ask, where is this place?"

  That little monk turned back with a smile, his face looking quite innocent and elegant. He smiled and said: "Here? Of course this is Tianyin Temple!"

  Tenyu-ji Temple!

  Gui Li was stunned, as if struck by a thunderbolt. The little monk ran off quickly, probably to call for someone, leaving Gui Li alone, lying back on the bed in a daze, his mind extremely confused.

  Ten'ō-ji Temple

  He was shocked and uncertain in his mind, but somehow, he had another kind of bitter feeling that arose from the depths of his heart.

  Tenyu-ji Temple... Tenyu-ji Temple... Fuchi...

  ********

  Distant voices were faintly heard, and several footsteps approached the Zen room. Someone seemed to be asking a young monk something in a low voice, and the young monk, who was obviously not very old, replied with a lively smile.

  For some reason, listening to their conversation, Gui Li suddenly became distracted and didn't think about his current situation or past grievances. At this moment, he suddenly felt a pang of envy towards the ordinary little monk. With an innocent and lively appearance like his, perhaps he still doesn't know that the world also has hardships and hatred?

  Was it really our most happy days in all these years, when we were young and ignorant?

  The footsteps stopped abruptly outside the door, and someone said to Little Monk, "You don't need to go in now. Instead, you can go to the backyard and report to Master Fangzhang that Zhang Xiaofan, the donor, has woken up."

  Xiao He Shang laughed and said: "Alright. However, Fa Xiang Shixiong, you did promise to teach me the Mahavairocana Sutra, you can't go back on your word."

  The man outside the door laughed and said: "Little guy, you're quite greedy. Hurry up and leave, I've promised you, so I won't go back on my word."

  That little monk was obviously very happy, hehe smiled and bounced away. The wooden door creaked open, with a squeak, as if someone outside had paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and then walked in.

  It turned out to be Fa Xiang, and following behind him was still that tall and majestic monk, Fa Shan.

  He wore a white monk's robe, with a clean and pale face, holding a rosary in his hand, looking like a Buddhist monk. It seemed that he hadn't changed at all over the past decade. He slowly walked towards the wooden bed where Gui Lie was lying, and when he reached the bedside, their eyes met, and for a moment, neither of them spoke a word.

  The atmosphere in the room was a bit strange for a moment, and after a while, Fasheng's mouth corner revealed a faint smile. He joined his palms together to greet Gui Lie: "Zhang Shizhu, you're awake?"

  The ghost's eyes twitched at the corner, and he suddenly said coldly: "My surname is not Zhang. I've long forgotten that name."

  Her expression remained unchanged, staring at Gui Li, after a while she spoke in a soft voice: "Whatever name you choose is up to your own mind, but if you don't even want the surname, have you thought about whether it's fair to your parents who gave birth to and raised you?"

  The ghost's face changed, and he snorted, but didn't say anything else. He turned his head away, no longer looking at him.

  Fashang didn't seem to mind either, and he and Fashan looked at this evil cultivator who was despised by the righteous path with completely kind intentions. Fashan moved two chairs from behind the round table and placed them beside the bed, saying in a low voice, "Please sit down, Shixiong."

  Fa Xiang nodded and sat down in the chair, looking at Gui Li and said: "How is your body feeling now?"

  The ghost didn't need to ask, he had actually secretly examined his own body before. The ribs that were originally severely injured and fractured at the chest were now completely healed and wrapped in thick bandages, apparently to help fix them in place. As for the many external injuries on his shoulders and back, they were all neatly bandaged up, although the wounds still sent waves of pain from time to time, there was a faint coolness that came with it, obviously some excellent medicine had been applied to the wound, which is why it was healing so well.

  Fa Xiang saw that he didn't respond, nor did he get angry. He smiled and said: "When you were unconscious, I helped you set the broken bones, and other external injuries are not serious. However, your internal organs suffered severe damage, and only with careful care can they be fully recovered. Fortunately, your body is strong, otherwise even a deeply cultivated person would not have escaped under such heavy injury."

  He paused for a moment, then said: "Just now my little junior brother also told you, this is the Tianyin Temple. You are here except for a few people in our temple, no one else knows, so it's very safe. Just take care of yourself and recover from your injuries..."

  The demon suddenly interrupted his words, staring into his eyes and said: "Was it you who saved me?"

  The smile on Fashang's face stiffened for a moment, seemingly hesitant. He turned his head and exchanged a glance with Fashan. Fashan lowered his head and softly chanted a Buddhist mantra.

  She turned her face back, no longer hesitating, nodded and said, "Yes."

  The ghost let out a cold hum and said, "Don't tell me you don't know, if your actions are found out by the Qingyun Gate, what kind of situation will that be?"

  "I naturally know."

  The demon sneered coldly: "Since that's the case, why are you still carrying your master on your back to come and rescue this demonic cult's evil person?"

  Fa Xiang glanced at him, and for some reason, his eyes seemed a bit unusual. Gui Li frowned and said, "What are you looking at?"

  Fa Xiang smiled and said: "How did you know I was definitely going against my master's orders to save you?"

  The ghost's expression changed, and he said, "What?"

  Fa Xiang said with a smile, "The seven leaders of the Qingyun Gate were not ordinary people back then. Each of them had something extraordinary about them. Feng Hui Peak's leader, Xiong Shu Chang, was one of them. When I fought him that day, I had to bind him and couldn't reveal our sect's skills in a short period of time. This kind of skill, I still can't do it myself."

  The fierce ghost stared at Fa Xiang, gazing for a long time. Fa Xiang remained calm and smiled unchanged. After a while, the fierce ghost suddenly closed his eyes and stopped looking at Fa Xiang. Fa Xiang nodded and said, "You are seriously injured and still need to rest more."

  The ghost closed his eyes and suddenly said: "Why did you want to save me?"

  Fa Xiang fell silent for a moment before responding faintly, "This question, I cannot answer you."

  The ghost took a deep breath and said, "Why?"

  Fashang whispered a Buddhist mantra and said, "You don't have to rush either. After a few more days when your injuries are healed, someone will naturally tell you."

  The ghost opened his eyes and frowned, saying: "Who?"

  Fashang's mouth twitched, as if hesitating again, but finally said: "It doesn't matter if I tell you, it was my master, the abbot of Tianyin Temple, Puhong Shangren!"

  Gui Li was stunned for a moment, and after a while, he looked at Fa Xiang's face and knew that he couldn't ask anything more, so he let out a long sigh and lay down with his head buried.

  The distant bell tolled again, and its melancholy sound wafted over once more.

  "Dong...... dong...... dong...... dong......"