After gently stroking the planted Flower of the Other Shore one last time, Su Mo rose in silence and slowly walked over to the Great Calamity.
The Great Calamity glanced at Su Mo and said calmly, "An old monk died at the bow..."
Su Mo shuddered all over, his expression stiffening as he slowly turned to look at the Great Calamity.
"To help you stop that Ninth Elder who descended from the Rain Sect, he used his own life to ferry him across..." the Great Calamity said softly.
In a daze, Su Mo walked out through the pitch-black stone gate...
A short while later, he returned carrying Master Hui Kong's body and gently laid it beside the Flower of the Other Shore by the river.
"Didn't you say you were going to ferry me across? How did you end up ferrying someone else instead..."
Beside this river that flowed toward an unknown destination... there were now Girl, Su Mo, and Master Hui Kong...
Just as the three of them had once chatted and laughed in that ruined temple in Jiangnan, just as they had discussed Zen and the Dao by the stove in the ruined mountain temple a few days ago.
Now, of the three who had traveled to Jiangnan together, only Su Mo remained...
"This old monk's understanding of the Buddhist teachings was extraordinarily profound. He was the closest to a 'Buddha' of anyone I have ever seen..." The Great Calamity slowly walked to Su Mo's side, looked at Master Hui Kong's body, and asked slowly, "How did you meet him?"
Su Mo slowly spoke, looking despondent. "That year, when Girl and I were on our way to the capital, we had no silver and were nearly starving to death. He supported us for a while. A couple of