Wei Huo saw six or seven deer. Their horns emitted blue light, but upon closer inspection, he realized that it was not their horns that emitted it. Instead, a few blue butterflies were sitting on their horns.
A few deer were jumping on the mountainside, and blue butterflies were flying from time to time.
At that moment, a deer approached Wei Huo. It was not afraid of humans at all. It even approached Wei Huo and sniffed his sleeve.
Wei Huo smiled and flipped his hand to reveal a biscuit.
The deer happily licked the biscuit in Wei Huo’s hands. At that moment, the other deer surrounded Wei Huo.
Dang!
Another loud bell sound came from the top of the mountain. A few deer hopped up the mountain in shock.
Wei Huo followed the deer closely. Perhaps it was because Wei Huo had just shown his friendliness or because they were close to humans, but they surrounded Wei Huo and moved forward with him.
Wei Huo followed the deer and leaped over a pile of rubble. He jumped over a stream and saw a small path. Wei Huo followed the path uphill and saw an ancient bell pavilion. There was an old monk about 60 to 70 years old in the bell pavilion.
Dang! The bell rang and the deer ran to the old monk’s side. When they saw the old monk spill many special green fruits, the deer started chewing on them.
The old monk’s beard and eyebrows were already white. There were nine rings on his head, and he was wearing an average patched monk robe. He was also wearing a pair of cloth shoes. When he saw Wei Huo, he clasped his hands together and said, “Amituofo, the deer has attracted a visitor. He must be fated to meet Buddha. Where did the guest come from? Where is he heading?”
Wei Huo thought about it for a while before answering, “I came from the void and I am heading into the void?”
The old monk was speechless.
He said, “I was just asking who you are. What are you doing here? There’s no need to give such a complicated answer.”
Wei Huo was speechless.
Why don’t you ask me what you want directly?
Wei Huo said, “I just realized that this mountain is a little weird, so I came up to take a look.”
The old monk walked out of the bell tower and asked, “What’s so weird about this mountain?”
Wei Huo looked around and realized that the plants and buildings were not growing crazily. He asked, “Don’t you know what happened beyond the mountain?”
The old monk put his palms together. “I’m sitting in the middle of the mountain. What has the outside world got to do with me? No matter how many variations occur outside the mountain, I will remain motionless within the mountain. Humans do not change. The world will not change. If humans change, the world will change!”
The old monk’s rank was very high. Wei Huo only then realized that the old monk was a Rare-ranked creature. In other words, his soul strength was 100 times stronger than that of normal humans.
Wei Huo was intrigued. Was this old monk at a higher realm, or was this mountain not simple?
Wei Huo asked, “Are you always alone on this mountain?”
The old monk shook his head. “There should be another village at the foot of the mountain. However, most of the residents have moved away. Someone has rented dozens of acres of land on the mountainside. It seems like they are planning to plant fruit trees. However, I did not see or hear anything. It seems like they have given up.”
Wei Huo said, “I think you should go outside and take a look. The world is different now!”
The old monk put his palms together. “I can’t leave this place. If I leave, who will ring the bell? Who will sweep the ground? Who will take care of the tower?”
Wei Huo listened attentively. He suddenly felt that the old monk’s words were Zen-like. He nodded and said, “That makes sense.”
The old monk told Wei Huo, “Esteemed guests like you come from afar. Why don’t you go to the temple and have a cup of tea and a few fruits? A month ago, there was a huge tree dozens of meters tall in the temple courtyard. An unknown fruit was growing on the tree. I named it the Bodhi Fruit. I plucked it and fed it to the deer.”
Wei Huo asked, “Didn’t you realize that the day has grown?”
The old monk smiled. “One day is one day. How can it grow?”
The old monk led Wei Huo into the temple, which was ordinary. There was a small courtyard, a main hall, three rooms, and a kitchen.
There were also a stone table and a stone chair in the courtyard. They were right under a huge tree in the middle. This was a weird tree. The leaves were light blue, and the branches were light red. The fruit was green.
The old monk had Wei Huo sit by the stone table and walked into the kitchen. Soon, white smoke was emitted from the kitchen’s chimney. Before long, the old monk came out with a pitch-black water boiler. The surface of the water boiler was covered in black carbon. This carbon had accumulated on the surface of the iron furnace due to the lack of fuel. The old monk had been using the stove to boil water for a long time. The whole iron furnace had turned black, and its surface was covered in uneven but glowing black carbon. When he opened the iron stove, it was filled with water. One round after another, it went from the inside out to the bottom.
The old monk’s method of making tea was simple. He took two white porcelain bowls with holes in them and placed some broken tea leaves in them. He poured the hot water into the bowls, and amid the sound of the porcelain bowls, the tea leaves kept spinning under the hot water. Gradually, a fragrance spread out.
The old monk said, “These are dried wild tea leaves. If someone comes and wants to drink it, I will make this tea.”
Wei Huo nodded. The boiler did not look good. It was pitch-black, and the water in it was thick. The color was deep, and the teacup was simple. The tea was popping up through the cracks.
No one would come to such a temple. No one would be willing to drink such tea.
Wei Huo took a sip and felt a faint fragrance coming from the tea. It was not bitter. The water was hot initially, but in combination with the tea, it only felt hot instead of bitter. However, after he drank it, his body would feel hot.
“Have a taste of the Arhat Fruit.” The old monk plucked a few green fruits. This fruit was about the same size as a walnut. It was neither sweet nor sour, just like the tea. It was light, but Wei Huo felt his body heat up after eating it. The fruit contained strong energy. No wonder the old monk did not feel that a day was long, as he did not feel hungry.
“I want to trade with you. I need fruit seeds and wild tea leaf sprouts…” Wei Huo paused halfway as he realized that he might not have anything that the old monk needed.
Food? The old monk did not lack anything. Besides, Wei Huo only had prey. Clothes? The old monk probably did not need them. Silver? The old monk could not use it at all.
Wei Huo asked, “Do you need anything?”
The old monk smiled and shook his head. “There are a lot of these things on the mountain. I can give them to you. I don’t need anything.”
Wei Huo smiled as well. “You’re indeed a Master. You have no desires.”
The old monk stood up and looked at the sky before saying, “It’s about time. I have to cultivate.”