Chapter 015 “I want to be closer, ah, my love!”
On the other side of the small clearing, Ling Yi and the others had already caught a lot of wild game and built a fire.
Wei Jin’s hand on Xie Chenyang’s dantian was caught and Xie Chenyang cracked open his eyes. “My face hurts a bit. Did you hit me?”
Wei Jin withdrew his hand. “No.”
“Hahaha, I was joking.” Xie Chenyang sat up and sniffed the air. “I’m so hungry. I can smell the aroma of roasting meat.”
Wei Jin shifted his legs. “Go eat then.”
“En.”
“Senior brother!”
“Young master!”
Ling Yi hurried over. “Senior brother, are you alright?”
Xie Chenyang touched his stomach. “Yes, I’m just hungry.”
“Senior brother, wait a little longer. This bird will be cooked soon.”
“Hmm.”
Ah-Fo sat beside Wei Jin. “Amituofo1“Amituofo” is the Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit word “Amitabha”, which means immeasurable light and immeasurable life. Saying “Amituofo” to each other is both a kind of greeting and a form of well-wishing. More info at bottom., this chicken is roasted. I’ll share half of it with you.”
Ling Yi looked up in surprise at his words. “Aren’t you a monk? Should you even be eating meat?”
Ah-Fo flipped the roasted bird while wearing a compassionate smile. “Benefactor2施主 shī zhǔ benefactor (term used by a monk to address a layperson) is mistaken. I cultivate Buddhism; holding the Buddha in my heart is all that matters. It has nothing to do with whether I eat meat or not. What matters is whether I have killed a living being or not.”
Ling Yi scoffed. “Strong words, fake monk.”
Ah-Fo bowed his head and flashed his smooth head. “This young hero, do you see any precept scars on my head3Small round burn scars left by monks on either heads or arms to show acceptance of the Buddah’s teachings. The more scars the higher the monks ‘level’. For visual refrence think of Krillin from Dragon Ball?”
Ling Yi: “No.”
“Then I can’t be regarded as having broken the precepts.” Ah-Fo raised his lips. “I worshiped under my master, practiced Buddhism, and dressed as a monk just like him, but I have not burned any precept scars, and I don’t preach about the rules of Qing4清规戒律 Qingguijielu, a Chinese idiom, originally refers to the rules and precepts followed by Buddhists . Now it is used to refer to the complicated and unreasonable rules and regulations that bind people . It comes from ” The Orthodoxy of Buddhism “. — Baidu… Do you want to know why?”
“Why?”
A poignant light flashed in Ah-Fo’s eyes. “I will tell you later when I have the chance.”
After another bird had been roasted, Ling Yi handed it to Xie Chenyang and asked in a low voice, “Elder brother, the Demonic Sect knows that we’ve escaped. They will surely go to the mountain’s sect to chase and intercept us… Should we still go back?”
“Of course we have to go back.” Xie Chenyang blew on the bird and gave it a nibble. “We shouldn’t be unable to return home just because of fear.”
“Senior brother is right, let’s go home!” Ling Yi raised a smile.
Their Famous Sabre Sect would never be extinguished!
A disciple couldn’t help but say, “But Young Sect Master, we are now reduced to only twenty or so people. The original several hundred people in the peak’s sect were unable to defend it. With the Sect Master and the elders all slain, and with only the few of us from the younger generation remaining… if the Demonic Sect comes for us again, will we be able to withstand them?”
If we can’t? What was the point of this escape? What was the point of saving them just to get captured again?
Xie Chenyang bit another mouthful of meat, and after a few chomps, he swallowed. He flashed a near-violent smile. “Oh? Do you think that I saved you in order to let you live in hiding and anonymity? Do you think that the corpses that are still lying around in the sect don’t include any of your friends or relatives? Are you even too afraid to go back and collect their corpses?”
“…But what’s the point of us going back and sending ourselves to our deaths like this?”
Xie Chenyang jumped to his feet upon hearing his rebuttal. The roasted bird in his hand was about to be fiercely thrown down on the grass, but he paused and shoved it into Wei Jin’s hand. Only then did he meet that disciple’s eyes. “You are banished from the Sabre Sect. Now leave.”
That disciple’s face reddened in shock and anger. “Xi Yang! You have to know that if it wasn’t because of you, the Sect Master and the Elders wouldn’t have trusted that spy so much! It was all because of you–”
Wei Jin’s eyes flashed coldly as he picked up a pebble and threw it over, hitting the disciple hard in the chest.
He yelped in pain and spat out a mouthful of blood as he hastily retreated. “If you’re so hell-bent on leading your disciples back to their deaths, I won’t stand in your way. I’m leaving! The Demonic Sect will not let you go!”
Xie Chenyang almost laughed. Was this a disciple of his famous Sabre Sect or the Demonic Sect?
Wei Jin thumbed open his sword.5A sword is usually friction fit into its scabbard/sheath. So when you see a character ‘thumbing open’ a sword it usually means they are breaking the friction seal at the top so if needed it can be more easily drawn out. Like when an action movie has a character ‘cock a gun’ or ‘flick the safety off’, it’s also used as an intimidation tactic.
Xie Chenyang glanced over his shoulder as if he was aware of this. “Let him go.”
Wei Jin resheathed his sword and bowed his head to gnaw on the meat. When he noticed the complicated look in Xie Chenyang’s eyes, Wei Jin looked back up at him with a hint of query in his calm eyes.
Xie Chenyang glanced at the meat that didn’t have more than two bites left. “I asked you to hold it for me. Why did you eat it…”
Wei Jin: “…” He frowned and tossed the last of the roasted bird at him.
Xie Chenyang reached out and caught it. “It’s not like I wouldn’t let you eat it…” Wei Jin averted his eyes and refused to look at him again.
Ah-Fo laughed and broke off a leg of the roasted fowl he was holding and passed it to Wei Jin. “Come, come, come, I have plenty here. Feel free to have some.”
Xie Chenyang: “…” It really wasn’t that he wasn’t allowed to eat it; it was just that he hadn’t expected Wei Jin to.
With the sight of Wei Jin stone-faced and chewing on a chicken leg, Xie Chenyang didn’t continue to defend himself, instead he scanned the group and announced, “If you don’t want to go back to our Sabre Sect, you can leave directly. The Demonic Sect is responsible for the loss of a few hundred of our Sabre Sect’s inhabitants; this is why I want to rebuild our Sabre Sect! I won’t rest until there is no more Demonic Sect.”
Ling Yi was the first to answer. “I’m going back to our sect with my senior brother!”
“No one will say anything if you leave now, and I won’t blame anyone. Valuing one’s life is not a bad thing, and it’s not cowardly either. Presently, we are all that’s left of the sect, together with some of the Blade Masters of the Forge who are still locked up in the Demonic Sect,” Xie Chenyang continued. “Whether it’s because you want to find a better path forward, or for any other reason, those who want to leave can do so on their own.”
Ling Yi: “I believe that senior brother would never lead us to our reckless end!”
“I also believe in the Young Sect Master!”
“My master and the others were all killed by the Demonic Sect. I’m going back to the Peak to collect them and seek justice for them!”
“I have faith in the Young Master of the Sabre Sect!”
“Vengeance!”6报仇雪恨 Trad. 報仇雪恨 bào chóu xuě hèn to take revenge and wipe out a grudge (idiom) — Along the lines of “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!”
Xie Chenyang grinned wolfishly. “Then let’s eat first to replenish our strength, take a short rest, and continue our journey together!”
“Yes, Young Sect Leader!”
Xie Chenyang sat down again next to Wei Jin. “You’re not angry, are you? It’s not that I didn’t want you to eat just now, I…”
Wei Jin turned sideways and extended a hand towards Ah-Fo. Ah-Fo chuckled and tore another portion of meat for him. With a frown, Wei Jin bit into the meat.
—–
When they wearily arrived back at their Sabre Sect, they found that the bleak mountain residence had already been tidied up. The corpses had all been changed into clean clothes and placed into coffins, which were lined up behind the residence, and all that was left to do was to seal the coffins.
A group of people dressed in white were walking around the sect as if they’d taken over it. Upon hearing their name, as the people of Sabre Sect Mountain Villa, the white-clothed people with vigilant faces glanced at each other, and one of the women then said, “Please wait for a moment. I’ll go and inform our Lord.”
Xie Chenyang: “… ” Why does it feel like I’m here as a guest? By all rights, this should be his mountain villa, right?
Ling Yi: “Senior brother…”
Xie Chenyang met his somewhat worried gaze and hooked his lips. “Don’t worry; if it’s because they really think we’ve been exterminated and have come to take advantage of us, I’ll just wipe them out!”
Ling Yi: “I’m not worried about that. When we were on the way up, we could see the coffins behind the villa. They should have no malicious intent.”
Xie Chenyang: “Oh, whether they have or not, we’ll only know when they show up.”
Ling Yi: “…”
Soon, a handsome young man also dressed in white walked out. At first glance, he spotted Xie Chenyang in the crowd, and his gaze softened. “Ah-Yang is back.”
Xie Chenyang: “?” Who’s this?
System: [Ruan Zhou.]
Xie Chenyang took some effort to match this person from Xi Yang’s memory. Ruan Zhou was the young master of White Crane Valley. The White Crane Valley sect was especially good at medical techniques and formations. There were two schools of medicine and battle formations within the valley. The Valley Master was once a war general in the battlefield, then separated from the imperial court and entered the Jianghu, where he married the daughter of the Divine Doctor. Ruan Zhou was his son.
Xi Yang’s connection with Ruan Zhou originated from when he became sick when he was young, and his mother took him to White Crane Valley to seek medical treatment. He stayed there for mostly a year. As a child, Ruan Zhou had been dressed as a girl due to his mother’s little hobby. Without mentioning the whole process, Ruan Zhou had said that he wanted to marry Xi Yang when he grew up, and the mothers of the two families even teased that it was a betrothal.
Later, Xi Yang learned that Ruan Zhou was a boy and never thought about the matter. White Crane Valley people had never liked to travel, and if they did, they would keep a low profile. To sum it up, Xi Yang hadn’t seen Ruan Zhou for a very long time.
Xie Chenyang commented: [Kind of dog blooded7狗血 gǒu xiě melodramatic; contrived.]
System: “It is quite melodramatic, hahaha. He can still be considered as your fiancé in this case.”
Ruan Zhou had already walked up to Xie Chenyang with a soft smile. “I’ve been waiting for you to come back. I’ve already collected the corpses of all the heroes of the Sabre Sect, and was only waiting for you to return to lay them to rest.”
Xie Chenyang choked. “What if I couldn’t return?”
Ruan Zhou: “You would. Not seeing your corpse, I knew you were still alive, and since you are alive, you would definitely come back.”
Unfortunately, Xi Yang had never returned in the original plot. In any case. “Thank you.”
“With our relationship, there’s no need to be so polite,” Ruan Zhou said softly. “You take everyone to freshen up first. I’ll wait for you at the back of the mountain.”
Xie Chenyang: “Ling Yi, take everyone to freshen up.”
“Yes, senior brother.” Ling Yi led the others to go in first.
Wei Jin and Ah-Fo remained standing in place with no intention of stepping inside. Wei Jin said indifferently, “Since you have arrived safely, Ah-Fo and I will go back first. When you have prepared everything, Ah-Fo and I will come back to pay our respects to all the fallen.”
“Go back where?” Xie Chenyang grabbed his hand without a second thought. “Come with me back to the Villa.”
“It’s not proper.” They were outsiders after all.
“It’s very proper.” Xie Chenyang pulled Wei Jin’s hand and walked towards his villa.
Ah-Fo looked at their backs and folded his hands. “Amitoufo, then I’ll go in as well.”
Xie Chenyang took Wei Jin back to his room. Ah-Fo consciously made his way to the side to find an unoccupied room. Soon enough, someone from White Crane Valley brought them hot water.
Wei Jin stared at Xie Chenyang, who was starting to undress, then spun around. “I’ll go next door…”
Xie Chenyang hugged him from behind, a little aggrieved. “Let’s wash together. I’m so tired, I don’t want to move.”
After decades, he had gotten used to being close to him. He knew that the other man didn’t have any memories of his last life, but Xie Chenyang had patiently endured this entire journey on the road for a very long time. There was a strong desire to be close to him. Wei Jin’s body stiffened slightly.
System: “Forgive me for saying this, but he’s also quite fatigued. While you were unconscious beforehand, he didn’t once let go of you the entire time he was running.”
Xie Chenyang: […Then I’ll wash his body for him?]
System: ”… ” That’s unnecessary.
Wei Jin’s voice was cold. “You want me to bathe you?”
Xie Chenyang hesitated as he thought that they were both quite tired. “Let’s rub each other’s backs?”
Thud– Wei Jin threw him off and left the room in large strides.
Xie Chenyang, who was lying on the floor with his head spinning: “…”
System: “To you, he’s the lover you’ve shared decades with, but to him, your relationship isn’t that close.”
Xie Chenyang got into the bath tub despondently. “Then how am I going to chase him down quickly?”
System: “You still need me to teach you this?”
Xie Chenyang: “I don’t have any experience, ah. Last time it was him who confessed first. Do you think he’ll agree if I confess directly to him later?”
System: “I don’t think so.”
Wooo, Ah, my love!
Edit: Krone
Proofread: Choux_choux
Chinese buddists
Q1: Why do Buddhists always greet each other with “Buddha Amitabha (Amituofo, in Chinese)”?A: “Amituofo” is always used whenever Buddhists meet or say goodbye; to express gratitude, apologies, praise, anger, or sadness; or, when something unexpected happened. Why is “Amituofo” used so frequently?
The custom of reciting “Amituofo” on every occasion among Buddhists started with Chan master Yongming Yanshou (904 – 975 CE) of the Later Tang during the Five Dynasties, who advocated reciting the Buddha’s name 100,000 times daily. This entails reciting the Buddha’s name every moment of the day, be it sitting, standing, walking, lying down, during conversation or in silence, as well as whether moving or in stillness. Whenever people called him or asked him for guidance, his conversations always began and ended with “Amituofo”. Thus, the practice of “recollecting the Buddha’s name in every thought” was passed down from one generation to another to form a part of ordinary people’s daily life, which in turn shaped the tradition of Chinese Buddhism.
— https://www.dharmadrum.org/portal_d8_cnt_page.php?folder_id=34&cnt_id=96&up_page=1#:~:text=%22Amituofo%22%20is%20the%20Chinese%20transliteration,a%20form%20of%20well%2Dwishing.
Precept Scars
(It was actually a very interesting readand I recommend checking out this link!)
–”As for its origin, according to Tan Xuan’s “Research on the Ordination Scars of Chinese Monks”, it is said that it began in the 25th year of the Yuan Dynasty (1288), when the monk Zhide was the abbot of Jinling Tianxi Temple. He gave ordination to seven people and burned incense on his head, which was a lifelong oath. This gradually evolved into a custom. Later Chinese Buddhists often used this to express their faith, and the burning of ordination scars by monks became a way to identify whether they had received ordination. However, this is not a Buddhist rule, and it is unique to China and has not been seen in other countries.” — Baidu
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E6%88%92%E7%96%A4/998503?fr=ge_ala
Rules of Qing
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E6%B8%85%E8%A7%84%E6%88%92%E5%BE%8B/3887777?fr=ge_ala
