Chapter 230
Chapter 230
I shook my head. I’d never heard of anything called a “Worldly Pilgrimage.”
Judging by the name, though, it obviously meant traveling all over the world, right?
Liu Junyan explained, “A Worldly Pilgrimage is a special form of training within the Buddhist Order. Enlightened monks, Chan Masters, lamas, and others set out from the Buddhist Order and traverse the world on foot. Wherever they go, they spread the scriptures and make contact with Buddhist Order institutions large and small along the way. Through this, they propagate the Dharma and elevate their own spiritual state.”
I frowned. “So a Worldly Pilgrimage has no set route or destination? You simply go wherever your journey takes you?”
Liu Junyan nodded.
I asked, “Then how long does it last?”
There were countless Buddhist Order sites of every size across the world. Surely there had to be some sort of limit.
I figured it might take a year or so — three to five years at most.
But Liu Junyan opened his mouth and said, “At least ten years.”
At least ten years!
The thought that I might not see him for ten years left me completely at a loss.
Still unwilling to accept it, I asked, “Can you contact us during those ten years? Maybe call to let us know you’re safe? Or when you arrive somewhere, could I go and see you?”
Liu Junyan smiled. “Xiao Jiu, have you ever seen an eminent monk go out to spread the scriptures and preach the Dharma on behalf of the Buddhist Order with his family in tow?”
He had a point.
No one was making him shave his head or take monastic vows, but once he accepted the Worldly Pilgrimage, he would be representing the Buddhist Order. How could he remain entangled in worldly affairs?
In other words, for those ten years, he would have to live as if he were a monk.
I fell silent for a long time.
Abbot Kongji presided over the Great Dharma King Temple, so he was unquestionably an enlightened monk.
He was also unquestionably a man of his word. If he said Liu Junyan would one day face this Calamity, then it was bound to happen.
It was just that… Liu Junyan already carried far too many burdens.
As a member of the Pawnshop, he had to shoulder the Pawnshop’s Karmic Burden.
As a member of the Linghai Dragon Palace, he had to rescue his mother.
Then there was the Four Great Fiends Formation, the hidden crisis behind the seven Golden Scale pieces, and everything else…
Every one of those would be a major Calamity for him, wouldn’t it?
With that thought, I tentatively asked, “Which Calamity, exactly, was Abbot Kongji referring to?”
“I don’t know either,” Liu Junyan said. “Abbot Kongji said that once I truly encountered it, I would naturally understand. He also believes that when the time comes, I’ll definitely return to Mount Song to find him.”
The suspense was agonizing, leaving my heart lodged in my throat.
I was deeply worried about him. “Based on the current situation, which of these matters do you think is most likely to become that Calamity?”
“None of them,” Liu Junyan said. “A lot of matters may still be unresolved, but they’re all under control.
“Of the seven Golden Scale pieces, we’ve already retrieved three, and another is in Chang City. The remaining three probably won’t be scattered as widely as the ones we’ve found so far. They’ll surface sooner or later.
“Once we’ve retrieved all seven Golden Scale pieces, I’ll find an opportunity to return to the Linghai Forbidden Zone and deal with the matter concerning my mother.
“As for the Four Great Fiends Formation, it’s closely tied to the Pawnshop’s fate. Our strength and manpower are both gradually growing. We’re nowhere near the point of being helpless.
“So I don’t believe there’s any Fated Tribulation before me right now that I have absolutely no chance of overcoming.”
“Could it be the Ascension Tribulation?”
If not for the Pawnshop back then, Liu Junyan would have undergone Dragon Transformation.
As he continued cultivating, he should still have another opportunity for Dragon Transformation in the future.
Ascension was itself a major Calamity.
But the moment I asked, I realized it had been a pointless question.
If he were able to Ascend to Dragonhood, he wouldn’t need to spend over ten years on a Worldly Pilgrimage, would he?
“Xiao Jiu, there’s no point worrying now about something that hasn’t happened yet,” Liu Junyan said. “Let’s focus on the present and deal with your problems first. Whether you reclaim your place in the Phoenix Clan or continue as the proprietor of the Pawnshop, you’ll be capable of handling things on your own someday. By then, even if I’m gone for ten years, I trust you to keep everything in order.”
I leaned back against my seat and closed my eyes without answering.
I wasn’t a saint.
Over the years — especially during the past six months or so — I had grown used to relying on Liu Junyan.
The mere thought of him being away for so long made my heart ache uncontrollably.
But I also understood that I could only allow myself to wallow in that pain for the few hours of our journey home.
Once I returned to the Pawnshop, I would have to pull myself together and face everything that came next.
Liu Junyan was an excellent driver, and the highway was smooth. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.
I hadn’t had a single good night’s sleep in days. Every time I drifted off, I would see the Grand Witch.
Now that the Grand Witch had exhausted the last of her strength, that face had finally vanished.
Sure enough, I didn’t see the Grand Witch again this time.
I slept deeply.
In my dreams, I was sometimes bathed in incense smoke and sometimes trapped in a raging sea of fire…
Yet neither made me feel the slightest discomfort.
It wasn’t until the car entered Wufu Town and began jolting over the uneven road that I slowly woke up.
As I adjusted my position, Liu Junyan asked, “You’re awake?”
Both hands rested on the steering wheel, and his eyes remained fixed on the road ahead.
Only when he heard me stir did he turn to glance at me.
But at that single glance, his brows immediately furrowed. He slowly pulled over to the side of the road.
Confused, I asked, “What’s wrong?”
Liu Junyan reached over and lifted a lock of hair from my temple.
I instinctively looked down — and saw that the lock between his fingers was white!
I quickly flipped down the vanity mirror and leaned closer, examining myself from every angle. It wasn’t just the hair at my temples. Even the lock in the center of my forehead had turned white.
The color ran all the way from root to tip. Every strand was snowy white.
White hair had always been my nightmare.
Ever since I was a child.
Since taking over the Pawnshop, this had rarely happened to me anymore.
Why had so much of my hair suddenly turned white for no apparent reason?
Liu Junyan’s expression was unusually grave. “It shouldn’t be because you lack the support of enough Merit. Unless the Merit inside the Soul-Guiding Lantern was stolen during the two days we were away — but that’s impossible.”
He was right.
If anything had happened to the Soul-Guiding Lantern, Li Qingying would have contacted me immediately.
In other words, this time, my white hair wasn’t a problem Liu Junyan could solve simply by finding a way to transfer Merit to me.
And the greatest change that had happened to me over the past two days was… the disappearance of the Grand Witch’s face.
When it vanished, the two liquefied ribs inside me had disappeared along with it.
Now, my white hair had returned…
Hadn’t Chan Master Dahui said that his Sarira, combined with the breath Ah Wu had transferred to him all those years ago, could keep my Souls from dispersing for a while?
But it wouldn’t last long.
I had to recover the missing pieces of my Souls as soon as possible.
There was no time to waste.
The return of my white hair was a warning that my Souls were becoming unstable and my life was slipping away.
By the time every hair on my head turned white… that would probably be the day I died.
No. More precisely, it would be the day I was utterly erased from existence…