Chapter One Hundred and Ten: Enlightening Sentient Beings

"… Suffering is not suffering, happiness is not happiness; it's just temporary attachments. Clinging to one thought leads to entrapment; letting go of that thought brings freedom to the mind. Things follow the mind's turning, situations are created by the mind, and afflictions arise from the mind. Some people, some things, are encounters, not something to be sought after; forcing them only leads to pain. Since it's like this, just relax and go with the flow…"

I have no attachments... I just hate the injustice of the heavens...

Yunsi had witnessed many separations in life and dispelled many attachments, freed many lost souls. She thought she had seen through life, but unfortunately, wishes were often in vain.

She didn't know when the seawater had receded, revealing the ocean floor. The scattered corpses had vanished completely, and the original village had dispersed like an illusion in the wind.

... In one night, there was a complete transformation, as if nothing had ever happened, as if nothing had appeared.

She panicked, holding the child in her arms tighter. She wasn't sure if she would disappear like the people here in the next second, after all... she was just like them, living here.

Yunsi used her entire body's power to suppress the spirit of Chu Yue.

It had rained almost all night, and just as the tide receded, a torrential rain came. The desolate place made her feel helpless. All she could feel was the person in her arms gradually stiffening.

With a dazed expression, she looked ahead, as if expecting something...

She was stunned, feeling as if she was hallucinating. She seemed to really see someone flickering.

Her head was spinning at the moment, and she couldn't be sure if it wasn't her own hallucination. It wasn't until the person walked in front of her, and she saw that face clearly.

This time, she couldn't help but cry, crying as if she were a wronged child, crying with a grimace, feeling wronged.

"Immortal, you've finally come. Do you know how long I've been waiting for you? Please help me, help me save her, can you?"

Jun Feng didn't rush to answer her, but his gaze swept from top to bottom, his eyes reddening at her miserable appearance.

His gaze finally fell on the child in her arms. He used his palm to feel the child's forehead.

With a solemn expression, he quietly withdrew his hand. "Her breath has long since dissipated, there's no way to revive her."

Yunsi almost forced back her tears, choked, "I know, but... aren't you an immortal? Is there really no way? I thought you would have a solution, so I've been waiting for you. Please think of a way, I beg you..."

With a deathly pale face and lips frozen blue, she looked pitiful.

Jun Feng withdrew his gaze, restraining the urge to blame himself, cursing his carelessness. He opened a red fairy umbrella to shield her from the rain, using his sleeve to wipe away the raindrops from her cheeks and temples.

Yunsi dodged away, gazing at him pleadingly, more like begging than being sincere.

"Do you have a solution?"

He returned her gaze, locking eyes.

After what seemed like a long time, he unconsciously cleared his throat, making a sound.

"Um..."

He averted his gaze, looking at the child in Yunsi's arms. After a moment of silence, he spoke again.

"If you truly wish to save her... I'll even brave the underworld for you."

The rain was too loud, she couldn't hear what he was saying at all, she just saw those two lips moving.

Suddenly, the child's frostbitten face broke into a smile. "Immortal, did you promise to save her?"

Seeing her smile, Jun Feng nodded, smiling back at her.

Humans have three souls and seven spirits: one heavenly soul, one earthly soul, and finally one life soul. When their time is up, their souls return to the underworld. Chu Yue's life soul had already passed; it was beyond saving. Her fate was sealed, her time in this world over. If she were to return to the living, her three souls would need to be summoned back.

Jun Feng led Yunsi through the Gate of Life, past the Gate of Death, and into the Underworld Gate.

They walked past a field of crimson Manjusaka flowers, ending at a stone bridge, where an old woman seemed to stand at the other end. She stirred a spoon in a pot, serving bowls of soup.

The line of people stretched from one end of the bridge to the other.

Yunsi, curious, ran over and craned her neck to get a better look at the pot in front of the old woman.

Ancient texts mentioned that when souls entered the underworld, they crossed the Naihe Bridge and drank Meng Po's soup to forget their past lives and enter the cycle of reincarnation.

Now, she was likely seeing Meng Po herself.

Being naturally gluttonous, Yunsi's eyes lit up at the sight of the bowls of Meng Po's soup, and she eagerly leaned in closer.

"Smack!"

She suddenly received a slap on the head.

Yunsi clutched her head and looked up innocently, only to be met with a fierce glare.

The old woman's face was shriveled and yellow, like the bark of an ancient tree, with sunken cheeks that made her look like a skeleton.

Yunsi couldn't help but sigh inwardly: truly someone from the underworld, with a face that strikes fear in both humans and ghosts.

The old woman's wrinkled face suddenly broke into a grin, her raspy voice saying, "You little mortal, hurry back to the living world."

At that moment, Yunsi's heart almost dropped; the old woman's gaping mouth seemed capable of swallowing her head whole.

She hadn't heard what the old woman said and hastily retreated, her trembling legs nearly causing her to fall.

Suddenly, a pair of hands caught her and pulled her into an embrace.

Seeing Jun Feng's face calmed her somewhat.

"This girl is with me. I have matters to discuss with the King of the Underworld. Please, Meng Po, lead the way," Jun Feng said.

Meng Po glanced at Jun Feng, scrutinizing him slowly before putting down her spoon and walking over.

She stopped in front of Yunsi, examining her closely, even sniffing her.

Yunsi was almost scared out of her wits; who could have expected such a terrifying sight of fangs and a gaping mouth so close to her? She felt as if her head was already being ground between those teeth.

"So, it's you two little ones!" Meng Po suddenly said.

Taking advantage of her speaking, Yunsi quickly hid behind Jun Feng.

Meng Po tapped her cane on the ground, instantly transforming into a kind-looking old woman.

Yunsi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"The King of the Underworld does not like seeing the living. Girl, you should wait outside," Meng Po said to Yunsi, then turned to Jun Feng, "Come with me."

After a few steps, she seemed to remember something and turned back with a cold smile. "Girl, don't blame me for not warning you. There are vicious ghosts in the underworld. You'd better find a place to hide."

Yunsi looked at Jun Feng. He seemed hesitant, about to say something to Meng Po, but she quickly spoke up.

"I'll be fine alone, Immortal."

Jun Feng hesitated, then took out a white dagger from his sleeve and handed it to Yunsi.

"If there's danger, use this to defend yourself. If things get really bad..." He paused, looking at the glass bead around Yunsi's neck, then said, "If things get really bad, shake it. I'll hear it and come."

Yunsi was taken aback, asking timidly, "I thought you couldn't hear it?"

Jun Feng chuckled, "I can."

Under the parasol tree, an old woman sat in a rocking chair, her white hair scattered around her. The sunlight streamed through the leaves, casting a golden hue on her gray hair. Silent tears traced lines down her wrinkled face.

Suddenly, the sunlight was blocked, and a voice said with a laugh, "Old woman, why aren't you taking care of yourself while I'm gone? Aren't you afraid of getting sunburned?"

The old woman blinked her eyes open, tears streaming down her face. "You old rascal, where have you been? I've waited so long for you, why are you only coming back now?"

The old man chuckled and patted the woman gently. In that moment, words failed him. This smile of his was one of relief and release.

He caressed her face, gazing at her silently. She hadn't changed—still stubborn, still deeply affectionate. He was willing to cherish her like a treasure in the palm of his hand.

But he was now a soul on the road to the underworld, unable to fulfill his promises. He smiled, a mix of helplessness and resignation.

"Old woman, I'm heading to the Bridge of Helplessness this lifetime. In the next life, I'll find you first. I'll make sure to marry you in grand style, with a proper matchmaker and a grand wedding procession. I'll fulfill all the promises I made."

With that, the old man turned and waved to Yunsi in the distance. "Little girl, thank you."

Before Yunsi could stop them, the two drank the soup of forgetfulness and vanished into the light.

Yunsi was stunned. Slowly, she realized that the old woman had come here, unable to bear the pain of separation, to find him.

Before she knew it, she was back in the underworld. She hadn't even found her footing when a shadow knocked her over.

Another shadow flashed by, and the two shadows clashed and rebounded.

The next moment…

…a small figure holding a red umbrella descended slowly from the air.

He glanced at her.

The boy, no more than seven or eight years old, had a gaze that, though brief, was filled with intense coldness. His bloodthirsty eyes were as chilling as a ghost's.

He said coldly, "It's been so short a time, and you've already grown so weak!"

His disdainful tone left Yunsi speechless, her big eyes filled with confusion.

A shadow darted toward Yunsi, reaching her in an instant.

Just as the shadow was about to touch her, Ye Bai leaped down and struck it away with a palm.

Yunsi took a step back, but something grabbed her ankle and dragged her away…

Splash!

Yunsi was submerged in the waters of the River of Forgetfulness, sinking slowly into its endless depths…

Her ankle was released, and she woke up, finding herself in what seemed like another world, dreamlike yet so real.

A woman approached her, swaying her hips. The red shawl she wore exuded an aura of seduction at every moment. She smiled, enchanting and bewitching.

She breathed out hotly, "After ten thousand years, I've finally found you." Her tone was light but perfectly controlled, her lips curling into a seductive smile. She seemed to be restraining an almost ecstatic joy, as if she had obtained something she had long desired.

She kept her emotions hidden, but forgot that a person's eyes reveal the most. She failed to conceal the joy and greed in her eyes.

Yunsi's gaze followed the woman's face, unable to look away.

This woman was a stranger, yet she felt an inexplicable familiarity, as if this mysterious aura was something she had known before.

Have I… seen her before?

After Junfeng left, Yunsi obediently hid as he instructed. Bored and restless, she suddenly heard the sound of sobbing, a mournful wail that chilled her to the bone. She shivered and covered her ears, but the crying only grew louder, more heart-wrenching.

Peeking out cautiously, she saw an old man with white hair squatting by the riverbank, crying and shouting. Feeling sorry for him, Yunsi approached and asked, "Are you alright, sir?"

The old man cried even harder upon hearing her, then angrily pointed at her and shouted, "Who said I'm alright? Do I look alright to you?"

He wiped his tears and continued wailing, "I consulted a great master who told me I had a hundred years to live, but here I am, not even reaching my grand birthday before those Black and White Impermanence ghosts dragged me away. My poor wife is still waiting for me. She can't cook for herself. How is she going to survive without me?"

"Well… people are born, grow old, get sick, and die. It's just part of life. Try to see it in a different light," Yunsi tried to comfort him. After all, it wasn't helpful for someone his age to cry so much.

"Bah!" The old man didn't appreciate her words, spitting in her face. "What do you, a mere child, know about love? My wife has been with me since she was a teenager. She's endured so much hardship with me, and now I'm leaving her behind. How is she supposed to live on without me?"

Yunsi thought for a moment, then took the bowl of Mengpo Soup from his hands, which he had nearly thrown away. "The past is already gone. Why not let go and find peace? Life is short, filled with joys and sorrows, separations and reunions."

The old man wiped away his tears and looked at Yunsi, laughing. "You're quite the interesting young girl. How old are you, and you're already talking about the impermanence of life?"

He sighed deeply, gazing into the distance with a touch of sadness in his eyes. "Life is short, but emotions are ever-present. How many people in this world can live freely and without care? It's only because we have people we care about that we feel bound."

"Young girl, do you not have anyone you care deeply about?"

Yunsi was taken aback, staring at the old man's kindly face. She fell into deep thought, staring down at the reflection in the bowl.

Her master always said, "For the sake of all beings."

She had never thought about living for herself. How should she live? Her master told her to relieve the suffering of the world, but the world's suffering was so vast. How could she possibly save everyone?

Forcing a smile, she asked, "Is your loved one the wife who is still in the mortal world?"

The old man smiled and nodded, tears glistening in his eyes. "She was once the daughter of a noble family, sacrificing everything to be with me. I promised her the best of everything, but I couldn't give her anything. I let her down."

Yunsi nodded and fell into her own thoughts again. After a long while, she slowly said, "Your past is already over. The future is uncertain. Why not say your goodbyes and let those left behind find peace?"

The old man suddenly stood up, his face lighting up with a mix of surprise and joy. He laughed like a child, "You can help me?"

Yunsi smiled and nodded, "All I can do is help you say goodbye. I can't do anything beyond that."

"Great! Great! You're a goddess, an angel!"

He dropped to his knees with a thud, and if Yunsi hadn't stopped him, he would have kowtowed.

Yunsi, overwhelmed by his gratitude, quickly stopped him. "If you keep doing that, I won't help you."

The old man immediately stood up straight upon hearing her.