Chapter 155
Chapter 155
Over the past two days, I continued to work during the day.
I used to earn money to live a good life and to ensure my family lived well too.
But now, making money seemed to have lost all meaning.
Still, I had to find something to do to distract myself.
I used to feel sentimental over other people’s stories, but now, I had become the person in the story.
The greatest matters in life are nothing more than the two words ‘life’ and ‘death.’ I have experienced life, and I have experienced death. Since I am not dead, I must go on living, but I was completely at a loss as to how I should live my future.
At night, I tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep no matter what I did.
I even got a prescription for sleeping pills. After taking them, I felt dizzy, but I still couldn’t drift off.
Finally, I pulled out the book my grandfather had left behind and flipped to the first page.
This was a book of wonders; Seventh Master had told me as much.
I thought that since it was a book of wonders, it should be obscure and difficult to understand, requiring a stroke of fate to grasp. It surely recorded esoteric arts and profound mysteries that were beyond the reach of ordinary people.
However, as I read carefully, I found that the content-at least the beginning-was not that obscure.
It spoke of the secrets of the universe’s beginning, the reasons for the formation of heaven and earth, and what the Dao, Heaven, Humanity, and Earth truly were.
I was a college graduate and considered myself highly educated, with an understanding of the universe, the Earth, and the origins of humanity.
But this book was vastly different from what I had learned. The formation of the universe and the world described within was from a metaphysical perspective. It was mysterious and profound, yet it was presented in a way that was immediately acceptable, even making a great deal of sense.
It stated: Before the universe formed, there was a state of chaos. This chaos became Yin, which then transformed into the two energies of Yin and Yang. The clear energy rose to become Heaven, representing Yang; the turbid energy sank to become Earth, representing Yin.
Heaven and Earth then gave rise to all things in the world. Thus, the One produced the Two, the Two produced the Three, and the Three produced the ten thousand things.
Humans, dwelling between Heaven and Earth, are born of them and are the soul of all things. Thus, there are the ‘Three Talents’: Heaven, Humanity, and Earth.
In the Eight Trigrams, Qian is Heaven and Yang; Heaven is the father, covering all, firm and upright.
Kun is Earth and Yin; Earth is the mother, sustaining all, embracing all things.
Through the mutual generation of Yin and Yang, the trigrams of Qian and Kun gave birth to the remaining six trigrams, symbolizing all things in existence.
The ancestor Fuxi used the River Chart to draw the Earlier Heaven Eight Trigrams, passing them down to later generations.
King Wen Ji Chang used the Luo Script to draw the Later Heaven Eight Trigrams, then doubled the trigrams to derive the sixty-four hexagrams, which were also passed down.
Building upon the wisdom of these two ancestors and using Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, the Four Images, and the Eight Trigrams as a foundation, the forefathers invented and derived the Five Arts of Metaphysics: Mountain, Medicine, Life, Physiognomy, and Divination. These five arts are often misidentified as the five arts of Daoism, which is actually an error.
The book I was reading, Mysteries of the Six Yao, belonged to the branch of Divination within the Five Arts of Metaphysics-one specific lineage within the vast system of divination.
In recent times, there was a man named Tang Zhui. Using the Six Yao as a benchmark, he integrated his life’s learning into it, perceiving even more advanced Qimen Magic, which included Fulu, Arrays, mechanical traps, and medical arts…
Unfortunately, this extraordinary man died young before he could pass his knowledge on.
His disciple organized these materials into a book, which became the Mysteries of the Six Yao.
I was completely enthralled. The more I read, the more I became immersed. I realized that the contents were not impossible to understand; as long as one understood the meaning of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and the Eight Trigrams, the subsequent content was quite easy to grasp.
I watched and read, eventually losing track of time and forgetting where I was.
The next morning, as the sun rose, I slowly opened my eyes.
I realized I had actually fallen asleep…
I didn’t know when it happened. One second I was engrossed in the book, and the next, I was waking up.
Even sleeping pills couldn’t fix my insomnia, yet this book had granted me a full night’s rest-and a refreshing one at that.
But something felt off. If I was asleep, who was reading the book last night?
I sat there dazed for a long while. Though I was still confused, my perception of this book had been completely rewritten.
This wasn’t just a strange book; it was a divine one!
After a night of reading, I felt as though my heart had opened up significantly.
Humans may be the soul of all things, but compared to the vastness of the earth and the mysteries of the universe, we are truly minuscule.
If one could grasp the profound mysteries within, life and death seemed to become less significant.
I finally understood why those in the depths of despair turned to gods and the Buddha, even if such entities couldn’t tangibly solve their problems.
I couldn’t explain it, but in that moment, I felt it deeply.
During the day, I went to the shop to work as usual.
That evening, I received a call from Seventh Master.
Seventh Master told me that Li Yanzhou-my father-was going to leave in a few days. He asked me how I had rested.
The implication was clear: he wanted to know if I had accepted my identity.
To be honest, I hadn’t. However, compared to when I first learned the truth, my heart was much calmer.
Besides, whether I accepted it or not, the fact remained that one of my identities was Li Fuguang. I was Li Yanzhou’s son. My father had searched for me for so many years; as his son, I owed my parents so much. I had to go and see him off on his final journey.
I hailed a taxi and rushed to Seventh Master’s house.
It was already dark when I left, and late at night by the time I arrived.
Seventh Master’s main hall wasn’t brightly lit; there was only the faint glow of candlelight.
Standing outside, I suddenly felt a wave of hesitation. In my capacity as Li Fuguang, I was suddenly afraid to face my father.
Seventh Master stepped out from inside, looked at me, and said, “Go on in. Regardless of everything else, he finally found you. His wish has been fulfilled. Let him let go of his obsession and go to where he belongs in peace.”
I nodded and walked inside.
The room was dimly lit, with only a single Everlasting Lamp burning.
A dining table stood in the center, covered with a spread of delicious dishes-likely prepared by Seventh Master.
It seemed my father wanted to share this final meal with me.
He stood there, waiting for me with an equal sense of nervousness.
The moment I saw him, I couldn’t control my tears. Thinking of the suffering he had endured felt like needles stabbing at my heart.
“Quick, sit down,” he gestured to me.
I walked over and sat opposite him, looking at him. “Are you… doing alright?”
“Good, I’m doing very well.” A smile spread across my father’s face, a look of pure joy. “I really never expected that I would get to see you again. Back when I was alive, I dreamed of this every single night.”
“Back then, your mother told me you were gone. I didn’t believe her. I never believed it. I always felt you were still alive. I believed you had to be alive. And now, I’ve truly seen you. I’ve truly seen you.”
“Do you… still remember who I am, Fuguang?”