Chapter 285: Driving Towards Death, the End of a Life

"Can't find Fangcun Mountain?"

Zhao Si was stunned for a moment when he saw the disappointed Lin Liu leaving Xiniu Hezhou to meet his destined death.

Because he imagined many situations, such as Patriarch Bodhi not accepting him, or Patriarch Bodhi teaching him the method of immortality, but he could not learn it.

Zhao Si even thought that it was possible that Bodhi Patriarch saw the difference in his identity and slapped him, the outer demon, to death with a slap...

But Zhao Si never thought that Lin Liu couldn't even enter Fangcun Mountain.

He had thought of a lot of things, but they all died inexplicably right at the start!
"What's going on?"

Zhao Si scratched his head:

"Since the monkey has invited him in to become his disciple, it means that Patriarch Bodhi is willing to accept him as his disciple, so it is impossible that Bodhi is not allowing Lin Liu to enter the mountain gate."

"The problem could only be with the monkey..."

"In the end, Patriarch Bodhi said that the monkey's heart is different from others, so it can find Fangcun Mountain... The monkey's heart?"

Monkey's heart, is there any difference?

Zhao Si thought about it and realized that in the original version of Journey to the West, the monkey seemed to have another name, called "Monkey Heart".

The monkey represents the "heart monkey" and the white dragon horse represents the "willful horse". If Tang Monk wants to successfully obtain the true scriptures and become a Buddha, he must control his heart and willful horse, which symbolizes the principle of spiritual practice.

Although this chapter is not Journey to the West, from this point of view, some of the metaphorical settings of the original work are still adopted...

"The Lingtai Square Inch is the heart, and the three stars of the crescent moon are also the heart... The fact that the monkey can find this place that symbolizes the [heart] shows that the monkey is different from others."

"So, the monkey is also the [heart]... or in other words, Lingtai Fangcun Mountain is bound to it, and no one except the monkey can see it..."

Zhao Si thought about it. Although he still didn't quite understand the principle, the monkey's specialness was beyond doubt. If Lin Liu really wanted to meet Patriarch Bodhi, it would depend on the monkey sooner or later.

But... Lin Liu should have given up, because this time the blow to him was too great, so great that he could not bear it at all. He was so frustrated that he just wanted to die on the boat on the way home!
"Then, if Lin Liu wants to obtain extraordinary power, he can only temporarily give up seeking the immortal method from Bodhi Patriarch... He only has one way, which is the visualization method."

This is a last resort. Even if Lin Liu's visualization method cannot be cultivated, it is still more realistic than the completely impossible Bodhi Immortal Method.

As for the difficulties...

There's nothing we can do about it, just take our time.

"However, he probably doesn't have any chance in this life..."

Zhao Si could see that Lin Liu’s first life was about to come to an end.

……

[You stubbornly steer your boat, sailing against the wind and current into the vast blue waves. ]

[Even if you know that it is impossible for you to reach your hometown and you can't see your familiar relatives...]

[The monkey has been trying to persuade you to return, but because you are too stubborn, it has no choice but to obey you and continue to guide you in the direction and the supply location.]

[But as you paddled, your body couldn’t hold on any longer…]

[In the first month, you can still row for four or five hours every day.]

[In the second month, you can only row for one or two hours even if you grit your teeth.]

[In the third month, you can no longer hold out for even half an hour, so you row for a while and then rest for half a day.]

[In the fourth month, you were pushed back to the starting point of the second month by the adverse situation...]

[In the end, you can no longer row and can only lie on the boat exhausted every day.]

[Your arms are no longer strong, your hair and beard have already turned white, you are less than sixty years old, but you look older than a person in his seventies or eighties.]

[You start to lie in the cabin in a daze for a long time, gradually recalling the past...]

[After six years of separation, has my grandson grown up? Has he gotten married?]

[Is my wife healthy? Does her legs still hurt when it rains?]

[Has my daughter been bullied? When they quarrel, will they fight?]

[After thinking about these living relatives, you think of those who have passed away. ]

[That damned Western King, that damned county magistrate, that damned imperial court...]

[Familiar faces appear before your eyes one after another, some you hate, some you miss, and some you are reluctant to leave. ]

[Finally, you recalled your deceased father and mother: Although your family was not wealthy in the early years, your mother would always find ways to make delicious food for you, such as fish soup, shrimp paste, grilled shellfish... She would always smile and invite you home for dinner.]

[My father is a typical silent and honest fisherman. He will teach you various ways of fishing, as well as the little details involved: how to cast the net so that it is round, how to tie the hook so that it is not easy to fall off, and what the feeding preferences of different fish are...]

[These things you once forgot suddenly became clear again, as if your mother was still calling you to go home and drink fish soup, as if your father was still asking you to put the harpoon behind the fish so as not to miss it...] [And when you recalled all the people and things you had met in this life, a big golden monkey finally appeared at the end.]

[It was devoted to seeking immortality, and was full of confidence, believing that it would be able to obtain the elixir of immortality, so that it could lead the monkeys and their descendants on the island to immortality together...]

[Gradually, the silhouette of the big monkey gradually overlaps with the monkey in front of you who is worried about you.]

【It hasn't changed at all. 】

[So you somehow regained some thoughts and strength, and slowly asked it a question. ]

[“Have you become immortals with your monkeys and grandchildren?”]

[As soon as these words came out, the monkey was stunned...]

[You sighed. Although it didn't answer, the answer was obvious from its appearance: it had not fulfilled its original promise and dream.]

【"I……"】

[The monkey hesitated, as if he wanted to explain something, but in the end he didn't say anything. He just lowered his head and said, "My benefactor, you are right. I failed..."]

[“My journey to the West only helped me find a way to save myself, but I didn’t find a way to help the world. I can’t even save you, not to mention the monkeys and their descendants…”]

[It was very sad. Although it really found the immortal and learned the immortal method of cultivation and longevity, its original goal of finding the immortal was not achieved. No matter how good its immortal method was, it could only be learned by one person. Others could not see Bodhi Patriarch, so naturally they could not learn the immortal method either.]

[And since the monkey’s goal was not achieved, it can be said that it failed in its quest for immortality…]

【So there were two losers on this ship. 】

【"……I would like to know."】

[The feeling of powerlessness as life leaves your body gradually comes over you, and you clearly realize that you are about to die.]

[And the closer you get to the final moment, the more unwilling you become: you have been thinking about becoming an immortal your whole life, but you still have nothing to gain when you die! ]

[So you looked at the monkey with a complicated look: "What magic did Patriarch Bodhi pass on to you?"]

[The monkey shook his head subconsciously: "I don't have the master's permission, so I can't tell Liu Er..."]

[One person has two ears, so six ears naturally refers to a third person, meaning that the master and the disciple pass on the knowledge orally and do not let the third person know.]

[Obviously, the monkey is still unwilling to disobey his master's order.]

[However, you still stare at it intently, with only obsession left in your eyes... Your life has entered the countdown! ]

【“…”】

[When he saw that your life was coming to an end, the monkey finally gritted his teeth and chose to disobey his master's order: "I say!"]

[It looked into your cloudy eyes and slowly revealed the ultimate secret.]

[“The ancestor said: The world is a dream, wake up to the reality!”]

[As soon as the words were spoken, the world fell silent...]

【Your life has come to an end.】

[But there is a faint smile on the corner of your mouth...]

【…】

[You died. The wrong choice led to the wrong ending... Your life was that of an ordinary person. You were born ordinary and died ordinary. The most spectacular thing in your life was helping the county to lure and kill the brutal bandit leader, the King of the West.]

[Other than that, you don’t have any achievements to show for yourself…]

[You don’t know what the extraordinary world is like, nor do you know what the world situation is like. As a mortal in a remote county, what you can experience is still too little.]

[But you have your own destiny. The strange monkey you met when you were seventeen eventually influenced your life.]

[The monkey must have some unknown secrets. It cannot be an ordinary monkey, nor is it a simple monkey demon... It is bound with the secret of the "heart". Through it, you may be able to obtain the most ultimate information...]

[And at the last moment of your life, you successfully used it once. Through its tolerance towards the dying, you finally obtained the content of the immortal law passed down to it by Bodhi Patriarch, although it was only one sentence.]

【The world is just a dream, wake up to the reality...】

[It's a sentence without a beginning or an end. It's hard to say what kind of extraordinary information is contained in it, but getting this sentence is already a qualitative breakthrough! ]

[You don't expect to gain any sudden enlightenment or the power to ascend to immortality from these few words, but this short sentence is enough for you to put a fairly perfect end to your unremarkable life.]

[With this period, you will have the confidence to continue to struggle. With the accumulation of life after life, you will always accumulate the answer you want... As the protagonist, you are never afraid of hard work and dedication. The only thing you are afraid of is that you work hard and pay, but get no reward...]

【You look forward to the afterlife! 】

……

(End of this chapter)