Character side story: Yunye disciple · Li Jingming

A bonus chapter is here!

This extra chapter is an "bonus chapter" added in advance during the Peak Rankings event. It's being released at the end of the year because Tomato (the author) has a Spring Festival update event where you can get red envelopes (cash rewards), and with the thought of "why not take advantage of it?", it's been delayed until now, hehe~

Thank you again for your support during the chart-topping period, and I wish you all a Happy New Year in advance!

In the mountains, at Yunye Temple.

The Afterglow autumn paints the trees, and the setting sun weaves a tapestry of yellow across the fields.

Sparse, slanting shadows fall on the workbench, as if vying with the pen tip for the paper.

With incense smoke curling in front of him and a babbling brook flowing behind him, the beautiful scenery brought a sense of peace even to his heart Scripture Fold he copied the sutras.

A small, thin figure sat at the desk, meticulously copying down the deeds of the Founding Master of the temple, reciting them softly as he wrote.

Calling it a record of deeds is a bit of an exaggeration; it's more like a diary at best.

From the time he could remember, aside from eating, meditating, and sleeping, Xiao Li Jingming spent his time copying these diaries. He didn't know what the point was, but he couldn't deny that it was one of the few pleasures he had in the temple.

"On the 22nd of March, the sky was clear, the ice and snow had just melted, perfect for fishing. I set off with my rod and encountered a pilgrim who had caught a great many fish. I was quite envious, so I stopped him and preached to him, discussing the saying, 'The greatest virtue of Heaven and Earth is life.' I asked the pilgrim to release the fish he caught in the process of fishing for virtue. The pilgrim agreed and hurriedly went down the mountain, bowing three times with each step. After seeing him go far away, I picked up his catch and took it home. That night, I cooked it fresh, and it tasted delicious. Today was a great day."

"On the 26th of March, it rained, so it was best to close the temple. Today, there was a commotion in the temple. I woke up to find a worshipper arguing with my master, saying, 'We found fish bones in the kitchen. Why not release them instead of fishing?' I rushed over and argued, 'This is the work of a petty person, an insult to the Yunye.' Everyone who heard this was outraged and vowed to catch him. After he left, my master and I were drenched in sweat. From then on, all kitchen waste was burned to leave no trace."

"On the fourth day of the fourth lunar month, the sky was clear and the fish were fresh and delicious, making it a good time for fishing..."

At first, Li Jingming was too young to understand the contents of the text, but as he grew older, he felt that the Founding Master had told too many lies.

He felt this was different from what his Master had taught him, so he asked his Master why the Founding Master told so many lies. His Master smiled and told him that this was called being frank, unrestrained, and free, but he instructed him to understand the meaning but not to imitate the form.

Xiao Li Jingming was puzzled and asked why.

He still remembers the complex expression on his Master's face that day:

"I also yearn for the life of the Founding Master, but yearning is one thing, if you were to learn from them now... you would either be beaten by the villagers down the mountain or thrown into prison."

Alas, times have changed. In short, don't learn from this.

"Master, how did you know?"

"Ahem, it's getting dark, hurry up and cook."

"Okay."

As the days passed and Li Jingming grew up, he had copied the Scripture Fold in the temple countless times, and he was already very familiar with the deeds of the Founding Master.

However, he also had many doubts while copying the scriptures, two of which were the most perplexing.

Firstly, although there were many interesting stories in the Scripture Fold, he could not find many of the places mentioned in the mountains and surrounding areas. He asked his Master about this, and his Master said that the vicissitudes of life and the changes in the mountains and fields mean that many places have different names and therefore cannot be found.

However, the sutras have been copied and passed down from Scripture Fold generation, so there must be no error. At least no disciple of Yunye would dare to distort the past of their Founding Master, nor would they need to distort this rare pleasure.

Secondly, the records of Yunye Temple are not entirely continuous. The longest gap is from the generation of Grandmaster to Grandmaster, with a gap of almost 8 or 9 years in between. Li Jingming asked his Master again, and his Master said that when Grandmaster was young, he accidentally set fire to the scripture room, burning some Scripture Fold. After putting out the fire, he dared not make a fuss and thus kept it from Grandmaster.

But when he asked why his Grandmaster hadn't recorded the fire from that year, his Master gave him a strange look and ignored him.

Li Jingming was extremely curious and searched the scripture room thoroughly, but even after peeling off the plaster, he couldn't find any traces of smoke or fire. So one day, while shopping, he went down the mountain to inquire, and only then did he learn from the village elders about the Scripture Fold.

Back then, when war broke out everywhere, the Daoist priests on the mountain went to fight with guns and never came back. The older generation of villagers thought that Yunye Temple had died out. It wasn't until decades ago when someone came up the mountain that everyone belatedly realized that it seemed to be that person's disciple or grand-disciple who had returned. This person was Li Jingming's Grandmaster.

After staying at Yunye Temple for a few days, the man began cleaning the main hall. Soon after, Yunye Temple reopened, and everyone offered their congratulations. The incense offerings were restored and have continued to this day.

The elders recounted their story with great detail, marveling at the flourishing incense offerings at Yunye Temple. They remarked that so many people had died in the war, yet someone had managed to crawl back from the Sea of Blood corpses to inherit the temple. People at the foot of the mountain believed it was due to the divine intervention and protection of the various deities within the temple, which further fueled the temple's popularity.

Only Li Jingming felt that this argument was completely untenable.

If Grandmaster was truly a disciple taken in by Grandmaster while he was away, why wouldn't he fill in the gaps in his Memory of his time with Grandmaster, ensuring that the history of Yunye Temple is complete?

That day, Li Jingming was completely baffled. When he returned, his face was filled with confusion. Seeing this, his Master sighed and finally told him the secret.

He vividly remembered every moment of that day: his Master stood before the hall, the moonlight and incense smoke intertwining, casting fragmented shadows in the hall.

"Actually, your Grandmaster wasn't your Grandmaster's Master."

Just one sentence left Li Jingming frozen in place.

"Your Grandmaster passed away on the battlefield without leaving any lineage. Your Grandmaster was just a passing refugee who fled here to beg for food and seek refuge. He found that Yunye Temple could shelter him from the wind and rain, so he stayed here."

He was literate, so he could naturally understand the various things recorded in the Scripture Fold. After reading through many Scripture Fold, he fell in love with this place, so he gave up his idea of going south and stayed, 'inheriting' the mantle of Yunye Temple.

To be honest, neither of us are direct descendants of Yunye; we are merely outsiders who have usurped her place.

"!!!"

Li Jingming was stunned. He never imagined that his proud identity as a disciple of Yunye was actually a lost lineage he had picked up. His Master was also "fake," and his Grandmaster was also "fake." Only his Grandmaster was real, but he had no relation to him whatsoever.

At that moment, he felt lost about everything he had recorded.

His Master knew this feeling all too well. When Master was young, he had also asked his Grandmaster with the same curiosity, but when he finally learned the truth, he felt it would have been better not to know.

This is 'recollection'—tracing back to the past, joy and sorrow arise from the heart.

History itself never Change; what Change is how later generations view it.

As a child, I was ignorant and had no choice, but as an adult, I can choose how to view this past.

Although Yunye is a small temple, it carries the memories of countless ancestors. The Master read through the Scripture Fold and yearned for it, so he returned here to rekindle the incense offerings.

The Tao seeks the natural order; who can say this isn't a teacher-student relationship separated by several years?

Therefore, do not underestimate yourselves. You and I are both disciples of Yunye, or at least from a branch of the new lineage. As for whether you consider yourself to be from the main lineage, that depends on how you view the relationship between your Grandmaster and Grandmaster.

When the connection is right, we become teacher and student; when the connection is shallow, we still cultivate together.

Memory is natural, and so is the way of things.

That night, Li Jingming had an epiphany.

The "form" of the past is left by our predecessors, but the "meaning" of the past is interpreted by later generations. History is not wrong, nor is Memory. As for whether the interpreter is wrong, it depends on whether he can live with a clear conscience.