Chapter 651
The Gift
Chen Ji had a dream.
In his dream, he flipped through his mother's diary, looking at the scattered words inside.
“My baby is one year old now. I bought him a gold necklace, but he can’t wear it yet, so I’ll put it on for him for now.”
“My son is two years old now. I bought him a pair of sunglasses this year. I'll put them on him for now.”
"My little one is three years old, let's buy him a gold ring!"
"Four years old, not so easily fooled!"
"My son is turning five, and we've invited his kindergarten friends over to celebrate his birthday today. I made the cake myself!"
“My son is six years old. I cooked longevity noodles for him. They didn’t taste good, but I forced him to finish them.”
"At seven years old, I traded a piece of crispy shark for him to promise me that he would wish for his mother to stay young and beautiful forever. It was a really good deal."
"My son is eight years old. I made him wish that his family would become rich!"
"Wow, it worked!"
"I wonder if anyone will celebrate his birthday after his dad and I are gone... It's quite heartbreaking to think about. I'll buy myself a bag."
Chen Ji chuckled as he read, but his birthday in the diary remained forever at seventeen.
He kept flipping back.
He kept flipping through the pages.
Keep flipping through it.
But behind the diary, there are only blank pages that can never be turned.
Chen Ji's body suddenly plummeted downwards. Looking down, he saw that the villa's floor had turned into a bottomless, dark abyss. He continued to fall, not knowing how long he had been falling, until his surroundings suddenly opened up again.
The moment he fell out of the deep hole, his short-sleeved shirt, shorts, and sneakers suddenly transformed into a black overcoat and boots, the hem of his clothes fluttering wildly in the wind.
As Chen Ji continued his descent, he turned his head and saw an enormous, bright moon hanging high in the sky.
Beneath the bright moon lay an endless sea of black clouds, upon which a lone boat drifted aimlessly. Chen Ji landed on the boat, paused for a moment, then looked up and saw a thin, solitary figure standing at the gunwale, poling a long bamboo pole.
Chen Ji felt that the figure seemed somewhat familiar. He sat up and hesitated, "Li Qingniao?"
Li Qingniao did not answer, but continued to pole the bamboo pole.
Chen Ji pressed further, "Why were I smuggled to Ning Dynasty?"
Without turning his head, Li Qingniao said, "Sell me something, and I'll answer your question."
Chen Ji frowned: "What do you want to buy?"
Li Qingniao turned back under the bright moon: "Fate."
Chen Ji's expression gradually calmed down: "I can't give him my life."
Li Qingniao laughed: "It seems you've found something to cherish. Congratulations, you have a home now, you can move forward. Happy 18,000th birthday, Your Majesty."
Chen Ji suddenly asked, "No birthday present?"
Li Qingniao stood frozen at the bow of the ship.
He tossed the bamboo pole aside and rummaged through his clothes, then smiled helplessly: "Sorry, I didn't bring anything."
Chen Ji calmly said, "Just answer my question from before: why were I smuggled into Ning Dynasty?"
Li Qingniao thought for a moment, then said meaningfully, "Greed is the root of afflictions, creating karma and suffering. Anger is a million obstacles, turning small things into big ones, harming both oneself and others. Ignorance is the cause and effect of ignorance, leading to the cycle of suffering and preventing liberation. Greed, anger, and ignorance—who can win? I hope it's you."
Just as Chen Ji was about to ask further, a loud crowing of a rooster echoed across the sky above the sea of clouds, accompanied by the melodious tune of a night watchman: "The rooster crows at dawn, early to bed and early to rise!"
……
……
Chen Ji suddenly opened his eyes, lying on the floor, breathing softly, and for a moment he couldn't tell whether it was a dream or reality.
If it's true.
What are greed, anger, and ignorance? Why must we determine who wins and who loses? Is it related to the sergeant in the Military Intelligence Bureau who's been watching me?
Chen Ji pondered for a long time but came to no conclusion.
He lifted the dark cloud weighing on his chest, quietly lifted the covers and got up, but unexpectedly still disturbed Zhang Xia.
Zhang Xia, wearing a white undergarment, emerged from the bed curtains and fetched a long robe for him to drape over his shoulders.
She stood in front of Chen Ji, yawning as she straightened his clothes: "Did you have a nightmare? I heard you say something like 'I can't give you my life' in your dream."
Chen Ji looked down at Zhang Xia's smooth forehead, delicate nose, and phoenix eyes beneath her willow-leaf eyebrows: "Hmm, I had a nightmare..."
He probed, "What else did I say?"
Zhang Xia casually said, "You still dare to say that? If you keep running around like that, you're a dog." Chen Ji: "..."
Zhang Xia tied his belt: "Father said you waited outside Donghua Gate all day yesterday. How could you be so foolish? You're not a real coachman. After you take him to Donghua Gate, you can find a warm teahouse to pass the time. He will send a eunuch to call you before he comes out."
Chen Ji smiled and agreed, "Okay."
Zhang Xia straightened his collar again before walking back to the bed and pulling up the bed curtains: "Go on, I need to catch up on my sleep. I have to go to the Imperial Academy to teach when it gets light. After I finish my classes, I'll bring Xiaoman and the little monk to find you. It's your birthday today, so I'll treat you to hot pot at Donglaishun."
"Okay," Chen Ji replied and prepared to put on his shoes and go out, only to find that his old boots were gone and a new pair of boots were on the ground.
Zhang Xia seemed to be able to see outside through the bed curtains, and immediately added, "The soles of your previous shoes were almost worn off, so Xiaoman secretly made you a new pair as a birthday gift. She even forced the little monk to chant sutras over the boots for three days, saying that the little monk should bless the boots to ensure your safety."
Chen Ji put on the new boots, which surprisingly fit him perfectly.
He carried Wuyun by the neck and placed it on his shoulder, then went out with the whale knife. When he arrived at the main hall, Zhang Zhuo was sitting alone at the Eight Immortals table, drinking porridge and looking at the memorials at hand.
Chen Ji glanced at it; the memorial mentioned matters concerning Yunzhou.
On November 20th of the 32nd year of the Jia Ning era, the Sakya school of Esoteric Buddhism won a debate and captured the 'Great Treasure Palace' of the Ganing school. This was an important center of the Ganing school's practice and could control the three local chieftains.
After conquering the Maharatnakuta Palace, the Sakya school set off for Dangan Monastery. It was only a matter of time before they conquered Dangan Monastery. If the Sakya school were to conquer the final Drepung and Sera monasteries, the Gelug school would be truly defeated and beyond redemption.
Chen Ji sat down at the octagonal table and asked curiously, "Has something happened in Yunzhou?"
Zhang Zhuo closed the memorial and said, "This is not something you should be worrying about today."
Chen Ji was puzzled. What was wrong with him today?
He asked again, "Where is Mother?"
No sooner had the words been spoken than footsteps were heard outside the main hall.
Chen Ji turned his head and saw Madam Zhang walking in front, with Nuan Chun behind her carrying a tray. On the tray was a bowl of steaming noodles with two poached eggs on top.
Madam Zhang gracefully sat down at the octagonal table without saying a word.
Nuanchun placed the tray in front of Chenji and said with a smile, "It's the son-in-law's birthday. This is longevity noodles that Madam made herself."
Chen Ji asked in astonishment, "Mother made this herself?"
Madam Zhang sat opposite him, still with that indifferent expression.
Seeing Chen Ji looking over, she immediately picked up her bowl of porridge and slowly skimmed the red date skins floating on the surface with a spoon, without even lifting her eyelids: "The noodles are going to clump together."
Chen Ji smiled and said, "Thank you, Mother."
Nuanchun stood behind Madam Zhang and whispered, "Madam got up at dawn and kneaded the dough herself. She said that the noodles bought outside were not chewy enough. For her birthday, she ate longevity noodles, and the noodles had to be continuous from one end to the other."
Madam Zhang placed the bowl of porridge on the table and said in a deep voice, "You talk too much."
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the main hall, and Zhang Zheng dragged Xu Shu in.
Xu Shu's hair was a mess, and there were red marks on his face from the pillow: "What's going on here? He's only nineteen years old. What's so special about his birthday? I'm over a thousand years old and I've never seen you celebrate my birthday. I'm the one in the whole Zhang family who should be celebrating my birthday the most."
Zhang Zheng said helplessly, "You've even forgotten your own birthday, how are we supposed to celebrate it for you?"
Xu Shu said impatiently, "It's not that I forgot, it's that I can't say. If your birth date and time aren't strong enough, people will have their eyes on you and it could be deadly, do you understand?"
Zhang Zheng replied perfunctorily, "I understand, I understand."
As soon as Xu Shu entered the door, he exclaimed, "Sister, what delicious food are you making so early in the morning? I can smell the aroma from across the yard... Oh, where's my breakfast?"
Madam Zhang glanced at him sideways: "A person who doesn't get up even when the rooster crows three times, what kind of breakfast is he going to eat?"
Xu Shu took a half step back, nudged Zhang Zheng with his elbow, and said in a low voice, "Why is your mother so murderous this morning?"
Zhang Zheng ignored him and said to Chen Ji, "Your uncle wants to give you something."
Xu Shu's expression changed: "Using someone else's flowers to present to Buddha?"
Zhang Zheng urged, "Hurry up, hurry up."
Xu Shu reluctantly pulled a palm-sized cloth bag from his sleeve, the opening of which was tied with a red rope. He placed the bag next to Chen Ji and said, "Take this."
Chen Ji opened the cloth bag, inside was a copper talisman necklace, engraved with four seal characters: "Medicine Master Glass".
The bronze talisman was no bigger than a thumb and was slightly warm.
Xu Shu yawned, leaned back in his chair, stretched, and then lazily began to speak: "Your body is like crystal, clear inside and out, breaking through the darkness of ignorance. If you're ever about to be beaten to death, just recite that passage."
Chen Ji asked curiously, "And then?"
Xu Shu blinked: "Then I'll know where you died, so it'll be easier to send you to the afterlife... Sister, why did you hit me? I was just joking with him!"
Madam Zhang coldly slapped him on the back: "On such a good day, why are you saying such unlucky things!"
Xu Shu quickly said, "This thing is very useful... Stop fighting!"
Chen Ji sat silently in the noisy main hall for a long time, then whispered a thank you, though it was unclear whether anyone else heard him.
Zhang Zhuo smiled and stood up, patting him on the shoulder: "Don't be so reserved at home. Come on, take those memorials with you." (End of Chapter)