Nightfall

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

A few days later, Ning Que, who was carrying Sangsang on his back, arrived at a field that was dozens of li away from the snow mountain. There were thousands of lakes and ponds with countless paths in between.

The banks of the ponds had willow trees and white and red lotuses. The green leaves of lotuses were like a dress, and the stems were all golden. It was very beautiful.

There were golden lights pervading the countless ponds, from lotus flowers to willow trees and even the pond water. That was the Light of Buddha.

The Light of Buddha was too bright, and the scene before them was too beautiful. Even though Ning Que held the big black umbrella very low, they couldn’t avoid the ubiquitous light. Affected by the poisons in Sangsang’s body, his chest and abdomen were in pain and his throat felt itchy, which was a sign that he was about to vomit blood.

This beautiful and holy world was the real Buddha land. He was sure that the Buddha was living here, but didn’t know exactly where the Buddha was at this moment.

He searched the ponds with Sangsang on his back. Stepping on the narrow dirt road between the ponds and pushing aside the willow branches in front of him, he was extremely patient and looked for signs of the Buddha among the lotuses and lake stones.

Sangsang was silent the whole time. After a long time of watching Ning Que’s aimless searching, she couldn’t help but ask, “Do you know where the Buddha is?”

Ning Que said, “I don’t know.”

Sangsang said, “Then what’s the point of looking around?”

Ning Que answered “The Buddha will wake up as long as we see him, so looking around is the right way to find him.”

The Buddha would show up if seen. Ning Que walked through the golden pond with Sangsang on his back, looking at the lotuses in the pool, the clear water in the ponds, the mud at the bottom of the water, the lotus roots in the mud, the stones by the pond, the willow trees, and the golden cicada on the willow trees. And he rarely blinked, for he feared that he might miss the Buddha.

One day, while listening to the croaks from the lotus field, he thought for a while, then put Sangsang down and jumped into the water. He caught a fat frog in the depths of the lotus field.

He lifted the frog to his eyes and stared at it for a long time. The frog opened its round eyes and stared back at him. Ning Que and the frog just kept staring at each other for quite a while.

At the end, Ning Que’s eyes began to get sore and silently shed tears. Sangsang taunted in his heart, “Even though you think the thing you are doing now is indeed stupid, it’s not worth crying.”

Ning Que was a little annoyed and explained, “My eyes are sore.”

Sangsang said, “You shouldn’t stare at the frog for too long.”

Ning Que answered, “I have looked at so many flowers, willows, and stones, but I still can’t find the Buddha. After thinking it over and over again, I think the frogs in the pond are most likely to be the Buddha. Of course I have to look carefully.”

Sangsang was somewhat puzzled and asked, “How could the Buddha be a frog?”

Ning Que replied seriously, “The Buddhist scriptures said that the Buddha was a prince of a small country when he lived in the human world, and Ksitigarbha confirmed the story that day. So there is a chance that he may turn into a frog.”

Sangsang was even more puzzled and asked, “What is the relationship between the frog and the prince?”

Ning Que said, “Have you never heard of the famous story of The Frog Prince?”

Sangsang remembered the story and asked, “Is it the fairy tale you told me when I was little?”

Ning Que nodded and said, “The prince turned into a frog. Isn’t this a hint?”

Sangsang said, “Then you have to kiss it.”

Ning Que put his whole heart into finding the Buddha and didn’t catch her taunting tone. He hesitated for a while, then raised the frog in front of his eyes and kissed it.

The frog did not change at all, but it looked to be a little wronged.

Ning Que wiped his mouth and spat a lot of saliva into the pond, “Not him.”

Sangsang said, “There are at least tens of thousands of frogs.”

Ning Que looked at the thousands of golden ponds and listened to the sound of cicadas on the willows and the sound of the frogs in the lotus fields. I think that there are more than tens of thousands of frogs. I don’t need to deal with the golden cicadas in the willows, for they are Third Sister’s speciality. But if I were to kiss all the frogs, then my mouth will definitely be swollen. What if I kiss a toad? I am certainly not a swan.

After searching for a few days, they still found nothing. He became anxious for the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who were chasing them would be catch up with them soon.

The golden ponds occupied most of the field, and a towering snow mountain stood on the middle of the field. The whole mountain, from the summit to the foot, was covered with thick snow, entirely shielding the original color of the mountain. And there were trickles flowing down from the snow, moistening the field and finally flowing into the thousands of ponds.

Under the dark sky, the snow-white mountain peak was surrounded by thousands of golden ponds, which looked extremely spectacular and beautiful. One day, Ning Que came to the foot of the mountain and was speechless while watching the spectacular scenery.

He remembered that the Prajna Peak, where the Xuankong Temple was located, was transformed by the body that the Buddha had left in the human world. It seems that Buddha likes to see himself as mountains, so is there a chance that the snow mountain was the Buddha? And the golden ponds and golden lotuses in the field are covered by the Light of Buddha. Is it because of the snow water?

After thinking about it, he denied his deduction. The snow mountain could be seen from hundreds of li away. For the next several days. he occasionally looked at the snow mountain, but the mountain never moved. Therefore, it seemed quite unlikely that it was the Buddha.

“Hey, answer me if you are the Buddha!” Ning Que shouted at the snow mountain. The snow mountain stood still quietly, and only his voice echoed through the field. He laughed and then turned to the next pond. But he suddenly stopped before he had gone too far.

He heard a voice behind him, which was not the echo from the snow mountain, for the voice was very loud and sounded that it came from a very high place, just like thunder.

Ning Que turned to look at the snow mountain. Suddenly his face became pale and his body became stiff.

The voice came from the top of the snowy mountain, and it was the sound of an avalanche.

The snow was collapsing. The snow line at the forefront was getting higher and higher, which looked like a huge wave. The snow and the cliff rubbed against each other, emitting a thunderous sound!

The field began to vibrate violently, as if an earthquake was hitting the field. Countless ripples appeared on the surface of the golden ponds, and the water in the ponds began to dance to the Light of Buddha.

In the fierce wind, the willows by the ponds bent down, the lotus leaves in the pond swayed, the lotuses blossomed, and the frogs and the golden cicadas were screaming, as if there were preparing for a great birth.

The avalanche was still going on. Standing on the shaking field, Ning Que looked at the summit which gradually revealed its real appearance and the black cliff which was still covered with unmelted snow. He suddenly remembered that the highest snow mountain by the Thermal Sea in the north of the human world was the terminal point but also the starting point. Then Ning Que somehow understood something.

His face turned even more pale and his body became stiffer. Holding the hilt tightly with his right hand and putting the left hand in front of his chest, he communicated with Sangsang inside his body and waited for the final judgment.

The avalanche lasted for a very long time. After the avalanche finally stopped, the snow mountain looked different under the dark sky. The black rocks were still dotted with some snow, and the outline of the mountain could be vaguely seen. If the snow mountain was a status, then of course it would have an outline.

After the avalanche, the Buddha finally showed up. He sat between the sky and the earth with his legs crossed. With the summit as his face, the Buddha had a very rough and vague facial line, which gave an impression that he was not real.

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