Heaven-Defying Rebel Sage
Chapter 117: Encountering Reincarnation within Reincarnation

Chapter 117: Chapter 117: Encountering Reincarnation within Reincarnation

Ye Qingxuan strolled slowly by the West Lake, her eyes clouded with confusion as she murmured, "Where am I?"

Then, catching sight of the scenery of the West Lake, she couldn’t help but laugh and say, "I’ve forgotten! In the springtime, the scenery of West Lake is at its most beautiful, and I specifically came to see the sights. How could I be so forgetful? Could it be that I’m getting old?"

It was early spring, a time when the warmth of the season brings flowers into bloom.

A gentle breeze carried warmth by the lakeside, where lotus leaves had begun to surface, fishes swam in the shallows, and the entire West Lake was shrouded in a misty haze.

Suddenly, from afar, someone came rowing a boat, singing as they paddled, "Spring has its flowers, autumn the moon, summer has cool breezes, winter the snow. If one’s heart is untroubled by idle concerns, every season is a fine time to be alive."

The sky suddenly began to sprinkle rain, neither heavy nor light but just enough to soak a person through.

The boat approached the shore, and Ye Qingxuan finally made out the newcomer’s appearance. Clothed in monk’s robes but with hair grown long, this individual had clear, expressive brows, and their eyes shone bright as beacons. The monk disembarked from the boat, opened an umbrella, walked up to Ye Qingxuan, and shielded her from the wind and rain.

"Why does the benefactress stand alone here in the rain?" the monk asked.

"Why have you, Master, grown out your hair?" Ye Qingxuan replied, not with an answer but a question of her own.

"Within my heart resides the Buddha, hence I need not adhere to the false practices of those Buddhist followers—vegetarianism, tonsure, or suppression of desires," the monk replied.

"Though it’s raining, there is no rain in my heart. May I ask the Master’s dharma name?" Ye Qingxuan responded.

{The monk couldn’t help smiling and said, "The poor monk is called Hui Ming. Though your heart harbors no rain, benefactress, catching a chill from being drenched is not good."}

Ye Qingxuan nodded and said, "Then, would it be alright to lend me your umbrella?"

But Hui Ming replied, "If I gave it to you, I would catch a chill."

Unable to hold back a laugh, Ye Qingxuan said, "The Buddha has said, ’If I don’t enter Hell, who will?’ Even the Buddha Ancestor cut flesh to feed the eagles. Why are you so selfish, refusing even to care for one small woman?"

Without a moment’s hesitation, Hui Ming replied, "That’s nothing but a false Buddha! A true Buddha must not only liberate others but more importantly, oneself. What use is taking someone else’s place in Hell? Or giving flesh to eagles? Better to keep one’s body intact and enlighten all beings. How can one who cannot save himself save others?"

Ye Qingxuan said, "You’re really twisting logic here!"

Hui Ming replied, "Every Buddhist principle in this world is but cunning debate. To deal with them, one must twist logic."

Amused by this, Ye Qingxuan said, "Could it be that you are a fake monk?"

With hands joined in prayer, Hui Ming said, "Meat and wine pass through the intestines while the Buddha Ancestor stays in the heart! If one’s heart contains the Buddha, why then should one study the Buddhist Sutras? If one’s heart contains the Buddha, why concern oneself with so many precepts and regulations? If one’s heart contains the Buddha, then anyone can become a Buddha right here on earth."

Ye Qingxuan said, "Alright then, there’s only one umbrella, and I don’t wish to go back yet. What do you suggest we do?"

Hui Ming then said, "Then I invite the benefactress to board the boat and tour the lake, which might also keep your clothes from getting too muddied."

Ye Qingxuan said, "Alright."

Somehow, she felt a kinship with the monk and readily agreed to join him in a boat trip around West Lake.

After boarding the boat, Hui Ming set to paddling towards the heart of the lake.

The world appeared dreamy and veiled within mist and drizzle. Not just the mist over Jiangnan, but even the young woman’s heart seemed shrouded in haze.

Suddenly, two painted boats appeared on West Lake.

The two boats slowly drew close, then stopped a couple of fathoms apart. Hui Ming paused, took out an ancient zither, sat cross-legged, and began to play softly. The music of his zither was like mountains echoing with flowing streams, gentle and continuous; without hurry, without aggression, it soothed the listener’s soul.

Enthralled by the music, Ye Qingxuan saw a man and a woman emerge from the two boats. Both were carrying swords on their backs. Yet, these swords were no longer called Extermination Immortal and Slaying Immortal. Nevertheless, the names of the two people had not changed; they were still called Heaven-Defying and Ye Bodhi.

"There are two swordsmen over there," said Ye Qingxuan.

"I usually throw my zither away when I meet swordsmen," Hui Ming said, yet he continued to play.

"Then why haven’t you thrown it away today?"

"Today is different."

"What’s different? Are those two not ordinary swordsmen?" Ye Qingxuan asked curiously.

"Because ordinary swordsmen carry a killing aura, but those two lack such vulgar murderous intent. Thus, they are the exception," said Hui Ming with a slight smile, stopping his music and gazing intently at the two swordsmen.

The two swordsmen skimmed over the lake surface like dragonflies touching water, and in just a few exchange of moves...

Suddenly, Heaven-Defying grabbed Ye Bodhi’s arm, threw away his sword, and Ye Bodhi too discarded her sword.

"To exchange those fleeting honours for a gentle song, under the slowly blossoming roadside flowers, one could willingly become intoxicated!" Hui Ming could not help but laugh.

"What does that mean?" Ye Qingxuan couldn’t help but ask.

Hui Ming still smiled and said, "They are all first-rate swordsmen under the heavens, their swords have become divine, and they have become the gods of swords!"

Ye Qingxuan said, "So, in martial arts there is no second place, they are contending for the title of the number one swordsman?"

"Exactly. How could there be two Sword Gods in this world? There can only be one true Sword God. But unexpectedly, as they crossed swords, they found themselves matching in spirit and even fell in love with each other. This time, although they vowed to fight to the death at West Lake, in the end, they could not escape the fetters of affection. Look, in this world, there are no longer any Sword Gods, just an ordinary, ordinary couple in love," said Hui Ming, looking at the two swords slowly sinking to the bottom of the lake.

"They gave up their Sword Dao for love, but why?" Ye Qingxuan couldn’t help asking.

"Why? Perhaps to settle the regrets of their past life," Hui Ming answered with a smile.

Ye Qingxuan saw the man embracing the woman in his arms, bending down to kiss her deeply...

"Unfeeling yet perceiving feeling," Hui Ming brought his hands together and said.

Ye Qingxuan also sighed longingly and said, "Then where is my love?"

Her gaze shifted as if she remembered something.

—That day, I saw you burning incense and chanting True Words in the Buddha Hall, as if we had met in a past life.

—That month, I rotated all the prayer cylinders for you, not for transcendence, but just to feel your warmth.

—That year, I did not hesitate to trek eighty thousand miles to Spiritual Mount to ask the Buddha Ancestor for one more glimpse of you...

That day, that month, that year... all engraved into Ye Qingxuan’s eyes.

Ye Qingxuan couldn’t help but jump up, pointing at Hui Ming and exclaiming, "Is it you?!"

Hui Ming couldn’t help but smile slightly, and unbeknownst to her, his monk’s robes had transformed into a plain white robe. He smiled and said, "It’s me!"

Ye Qingxuan said, "You didn’t die?"

Hui Ming nodded and said, "You brought me back from the Buddha Ancestor, but his condition was to make you forget all memories about me. I trekked eighty thousand miles here and finally awakened you." He stepped forward, took Ye Qingxuan’s hands, and with a serene and easy smile, as if a lotus blossoming, said, "Thank you. In this life, let’s not part."

Ye Qingxuan couldn’t help but laugh, tears shimmering in her eyes, yet she said nothing; sometimes silence speaks louder than words.

They say reunions are joyful, but there is a kind that is indescribable, where one can only hold hands and gaze with tearful eyes, choked with emotion.

Ye Qingxuan couldn’t help but throw herself into his arms, leaning against his chest and said, "So that’s it! You are my love."

In the distance, the swordsmen known as Heaven-Defying and Ye Bodhi laughed as well.

Heaven-Defying pointed toward the couple and said, "Look over there."

Ye Bodhi smiled lightly and said, "Isn’t that Master Hui Ming? He came from the Western Heaven in search of his beloved. He also told me that I would find mine."

Heaven-Defying said, "He told me the same, that I would find mine."

Ye Bodhi nestled in Heaven-Defying’s arms, took the gourd of wine from his waist, took a sip, and immediately a very attractive blush rose to her cheeks. Heaven-Defying took the gourd and drank deeply. They laughed heartily while drinking, and no one knew what they were laughing at.

Was it the carefreeness after discarding their swords?

Was it the chaos of the Jiangnan they had left far behind?

Was it the laughter at finally being able to be together?

Or was it this unbelievable romance?

No one knew, so why bother pursuing the reason for laughter?

"Where shall we go?" Ye Bodhi asked, letting Heaven-Defying pick her up around the waist and carry her into the Painted Boat.

"To a place where no one else can find us," Heaven-Defying answered with a laugh.

"Where can no one find us?" Ye Bodhi asked again.

"There’s a place rumored to be called Heaven Pillar Mountain, towering into the clouds. We, with our profound cultivation, can borrow strength from each other and ascend the mountain with our qinggong. Once there, naturally no one else will be able to find us!" said Heaven-Defying.

"Good, wherever you go, I will go," said Ye Bodhi, closing her eyes peacefully as gentle as water.

And so, they went to Heaven Pillar Mountain and settled there. Besides each other, they never saw anyone ever again.

When their hair was white with age, they lay down together on the flat rock bed, looked at each other one last time, and laughed again, still not knowing the reason for their laughter. Then, they closed their eyes slowly.

And what of Ye Qingxuan and Hui Ming?

They led similarly plain and simple lives, and although it was mundane, there was always a warm current flowing in their hearts, never ceasing, until they returned to dust.

The six-colored wheel gently turned, and another life had passed...