abnabooks Chapter 2342 A Fleeting Life, A Dream Within a Dream
Chapter 2342 A Fleeting Life, A Dream Within a Dream
Chapter 2342 A Fleeting Life, A Dream Within a Dream
He found the door Liu Baobao had mentioned without much effort and gently knocked on it.
It was quiet inside, without any movement. Aunt Zhu didn't hear anything unusual either.
He Lingchuan knocked three more times, but still no one answered.
However, the door of another house next door creaked open a crack, and a child of about eleven or twelve years old peeked out, saying to He Lingchuan:
"The Great Shaman has gone on a long journey again; you're late."
Why was He Lingchuan not surprised at all? "When did he leave?"
"last night."
Dong Rui chuckled, "What a coincidence, as if you knew we were coming."
The child sized them up, his tone disdainful: "Who are you?"
In his mind, the Great Shaman Zhaomandu was a first-rate master, so who could force him to go out in the middle of the night?
These two guys think way too highly of themselves.
At this moment, Aunt Zhu moved behind He Lingchuan. The door was narrow, and the child hadn't seen Aunt Zhu before. Suddenly, a thick, strong, and hairy long leg flashed before his eyes, startling him so much that he stumbled backward, and the wooden door slammed shut.
He Lingchuan had no choice but to say to the door, "I lived in Blackwater City more than ten years ago. This time I am revisiting this place to visit the Great Shaman."
He could hear the child's heart pounding. After a while, the other party said, "The Great Shaman instructed before leaving that today's visitors should come straight in."
Dong Rui asked curiously, "Could the great shaman have predicted your arrival?"
“This isn’t the first time.” He Lingchuan’s curiosity had reached its peak, so he walked back to the black door and gently pushed it; the door was locked from the inside. He confirmed that there was no barrier here, then climbed over the wall and jumped inside.
The courtyard behind the gate was not small. Unlike ordinary families who grow vegetables and raise chickens and ducks, there was a clump of bamboo and a set of stone table and chairs under the jujube tree.
There is also a stone guardian next to the bamboo, carved into the shape of a round egg with gaps on it.
The door was half-open. He Lingchuan gently pushed the door open and went inside. The furnishings inside were unremarkable.
If it weren't for the fact that this was the residence of the great shaman Zhaomandu, he would have thought he had entered any ordinary house, which was excessively clean and tidy.
The three of them walked back and forth between several rooms. Everything was in good order, but there was no sense of everyday life in the room.
In ordinary households, there are always a few things that are left lying around carelessly.
On the round table near the entrance, a letter is held down by a candlestick, with a few small words written on the envelope:
Respectfully addressed to Lingchuan.
Was this letter for him? He Lingchuan picked it up, not worried that it had been tampered with, and gently unfolded the letter.
The letter contained only fourteen characters:
Life is but a fleeting dream within a dream.
The affairs of the world are like the wind in the air. [Note 1]
Aunt Zhu also came over, her dozen or so eyes staring at the letter:
"A verse? What does that mean?"
One of the reasons it hates humans is that they love to speak in riddles!
The letter contained only two sentences, without any beginning or end, no signature, and no hidden content.
He Lingchuan remained silent, placing one hand on the Floating Life Blade.
Does "Floating Life" refer to this knife?
This was once Zhong Shengguang's sword, which was later reforged by He Lingchuan after it broke. He didn't know anything about the sword's past, but the name "Floating Life" was something he uttered spontaneously when the sword was completed.
He named it himself; no one gave him any hints.
This leads to the thought that the "dream within a dream" might be the world of the coiled dragon within the large square pot.
Only after the "Floating Life Blade" was forged did he begin his nighttime journeys through the Panlong world. It wouldn't be wrong to say that this blade served as a link and vessel between him and Panlong City.
Furthermore, when He Lingchuan first entered the Panlong World, it was always while he was asleep at night, and he genuinely believed it to be a dream.
If this verse can be understood, what does the next verse mean?
Just as I was pondering this, a strong wind suddenly blew in from somewhere, rustling the bamboo in the courtyard and accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, which sounded somewhat like the clash of swords and the clash of horses.
Hearing this commotion, He Lingchuan suddenly remembered!
Before he left Cangyan, he had a dream in which he met the great shaman Zhaomandu and asked him questions. It was dark then, and the surroundings were indistinct, but the sound of the wind rustling through the bamboo was exactly the same as it was now!
Could it be that he had a conversation with the great shaman right here?
He ran to the yard in two strides, and with a quick glance, he found the source of the sound:
That round, egg-shaped stone guardian, whenever a strong wind blows, somehow emits a murderous sound that stirs the heart. However, there seems to be soundproofing in the courtyard, so the sound doesn't carry and disturb the neighbors.
He listened to those sounds of killing and asked the great shaman several questions.
Strangely, he couldn't recall what he had specifically asked, as if it were related to the Great Square Pot or the Panlong World; but the Great Shaman's answer was now resurfacing in his mind:
All phenomena arise from dependent origination and are empty of inherent existence; all things are impermanent; all appearances are illusory. [Note 2]
After reciting these sixteen words, the high shaman asked him, "Have you remembered them?"
He Lingchuan shook his head at the time: "I can't remember it. I always feel like these words are going to float away from my mind."
In his dreams, his mind is never as clear as in reality. It's as if a layer of mist hangs over his dreams, obscuring his path and confusing his existing knowledge.
“That’s because the time isn’t right yet.” The great shaman wasn’t surprised at all. “It doesn’t matter if you can’t remember it. Just leave it in your dreams. With your temperament, you should be able to remember it soon.”
Now, He Lingchuan did remember.
The meaning of these sixteen characters is then very easy to understand.
He Lingchuan sat down at the stone table in the courtyard, took out the newly acquired verse, looked at it a couple of times, and then became lost in thought.
Dong Rui also sat down at the table, while Aunt Zhu curled up and nestled by the bamboo grove.
They didn't bother him.
The wind blew, and it was unclear how many times the stone egg rang before He Lingchuan took a deep breath and stood up.
Dong Rui immediately asked, "So, is there any hope?"
Aunt Zhu said, "You look terrible."
"It's alright, I'm just a little mentally exhausted." He Lingchuan stretched and put away his serious expression. "Let's go to the Panlong Ruins."
Just then, Aunt Zhu suddenly said, "Five people have entered the alley and are coming this way."
The high shaman's residence was located at the end of the alley, a place rarely visited. He Lingchuan pointed to the back of the woodshed: "Let's go."
The three jumped over the back wall and left, leaving a small eyeball spider on a tree in the yard.
They had just left when the others arrived at the Great Shaman's gate and reached out to push it open.
He Lingchuan also monitored their every move through the eyeball spider, and at this moment he raised an eyebrow.
These men, clad in full armor, were led by someone I knew.
Shan Youjun.
More than ten years ago, he recruited several skilled fighters from the Li family's private army under Dunyu. Shan Youjun was one of them. Even Ding Zuodong, the later chief steward of Yangshan, was introduced to He Lingchuan by Shan Youjun.
After He Lingchuan fell into the water on the northern front of the Yuan Kingdom, Shan Youjun naturally switched allegiance to his father, He Chunhua, and has remained there ever since.
Now he was dressed in bright armor, wearing the armor and robes of the Shen Kingdom, and the guards behind him had sharp eyes; they were also skilled fighters.
Note 1: From Li Qunyu's "Self-Exile" in the Tang Dynasty.
Note 2: From the Diamond Sutra.
(End of this chapter)