Chapter 3570: Rebirth in Paradise, 99 Return to the True Self

An Chengxi felt very reluctant when he parted with Lin Wan'er.

She felt that she had become extremely fond of this ancestor-like girl, and could even be said to like her extremely much.

If possible, she would like to have a long talk with Lin Wan'er for three days and three nights, and pour out all the words that she had hidden in her heart because she felt it was difficult to find a soulmate.

Lin Wan'er also admires An Chengxi.

For hundreds of years, she had never had a friend with whom she could truly confide and feel at ease.

Adopted sons are always adopted sons. As the lady who raised them, although she would tell them some of her secrets, there is still a gap in generation and status between them. As a traditional Chinese woman, she must uphold the attitude of a strong mother.

When facing Ye Chen, she always lowered her status in front of him because Ye Chen had saved her life and she had physical intimacy with Ye Chen.

An Chengxi is the first person in all these years who is truly in the same dimension as me.

As the saying goes, money is easy to come by, but a true friend is hard to find. If I had plenty of time, it would be very enjoyable to chat with An Chengxi for several days, but time does not allow it now, and it is indeed not the right time.

After all, Kong Yin's passing made her very sad. She just wanted to quickly return to the top-floor villa of Zijin Villa, cry alone and vent her emotions.

So she hugged An Chengxi gently and waved goodbye.

An Chengxi reluctantly told her, "Senior, please take care of yourself."

Lin Wan'er nodded gently and said, "Mrs. Ye, the same goes for you. Be careful. We'll meet again later."

An Chengxi said respectfully, "See you later!"

Sister Sun, Tang Sihai, and Master Jingqing all looked at Lin Wan'er respectfully and said in unison, "Senior, please take care."

Lin Wan'er looked at Master Jingqing and said, "Master Jingqing, please take care of Zhengping's affairs after his death."

Master Jingqing immediately said respectfully, "Amitabha, please rest assured, Miss Lin, I will do my best."

Lin Wan'er nodded, looked at Kong Yin, who was now sleeping peacefully, then looked at everyone else, and said with a smile, "Since that's the case, I'll take my leave now. You don't have to see me off; I can leave on my own."

After saying that, she turned and left without waiting for anyone to respond.

Walking out of the main hall, the dazzling warm sunlight spread on Lin Wan'er's face. A spring breeze mixed with a bit of warmth blew on her face, carrying a faint scent of flowers, causing Lin Wan'er's figure to pause slightly.

She closed her eyes, feeling the mood of spring flowers for a moment, then took off her high ponytail and skillfully tied it into two ponytails, and her face returned to the childish look she had when she came.

Although her mood was still heavy, the new green buds on the treetops and the flower buds in the flower beds on both sides made Lin Wan'er once again feel the power and meaning of life.

Life means that every spring when flowers bloom, there are always new trees sprouting and fresh flowers blooming. However, those flowers and plants that withered in the late autumn and cold winter are gone forever. Just as Gong Zizhen wrote in his poem, fallen petals are not heartless things, they turn into spring mud to protect the flowers.

Plants are passed down from generation to generation in this way. Humans, as the highest known life form, are even more so, carrying on the tradition generation after generation.

Although Saito Shohei, her adopted son, is gone, Kongin, a master of Japanese Buddhism, will always exist.

Although Kongyin failed to attain enlightenment in this life, there will definitely be people in the future who will be enlightened by him, become monks, and gain enlightenment through the vast Buddhist teachings.

The moment I stepped out of the Kinkakuji Temple, the melodious and powerful sound of bells came from behind me.

The bell rang one after another for several times without any sign of stopping.

The monks who were doing their duties in the temple stopped when the bell rang more than thirteen times.

The bell of Kinkaku-ji Temple is rarely rung, and is only used to tell time on important days.

The chimes for telling time will not exceed twelve.

Once the bell rings more than twelve times, all monks in the temple must put down what they are doing and go to the main hall immediately.

Because the bell will continue to ring for 9981 times, and the bell sound means that the abbot has passed away.

Although Japanese monks are more secular, the monks of Kinkakuji Temple, under the influence of Kūin, are much more pious than ordinary Japanese monks.

In Buddhism, they are like a swaying boat that needs a conspicuous flagship to guide them, and Kongyin is that flagship.

Now, Kongyin's passing is like losing his guide in the vast ocean for these devout monks.

Many monks could not help shedding tears and walked quickly towards the main hall.

Hundreds of monks, all with red eyes, walked and ran towards the main hall without saying a word. They did not dare to run wildly because they did not want to disturb the abbot's rebirth in the Western Paradise.

Lin Wan'er stopped again when she heard the bell.

Her thoughts went back to Kyoto City more than a hundred years ago.

At that time, her residence was not far from Kinkaku-ji Temple.

One day, she took her children to appreciate the cherry blossoms in the courtyard and told them the history of cherry blossoms. She told them that the cherry blossoms that can be seen everywhere in Japan and are highly sought after were actually introduced from China during the Nara period more than a thousand years ago. At that time, China was in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty.

As the children were asking questions about this period of history, the bells of Kinkaku-ji Temple continued to ring throughout Kyoto, just as they do today.

When the children asked her why the bells of Kinkaku-ji Temple kept ringing, she told them that the eighty-one rings of the bells meant returning to the true nature.

Japanese Buddhism originated from China. After nearly two thousand years of sedimentation and localized development, Chinese Buddhism has also integrated much of the wisdom of the ancient Chinese.

The ancient Chinese Book of Changes regards nine as the largest yang number. In other words, nine is also the largest single digit in the decimal system.

Therefore, nine represents the greatest and perfect.

Eighty-one is the square of nine, which means even greater perfection beyond perfection.

She did not convey death to these children, but smiled and said: "The reason why the bells of Kinkaku-ji Temple are ringing 81 times is because their abbot has completed his merits, and everyone in the temple is celebrating for him."

At that time, an ignorant little boy looked at her and said crisply: "Miss, Zhengping wants to be the abbot in the future, and Zhengping also wants the bell of Kinkaku-ji Temple to ring 81 times in his honor!"

Lin Wan'er shook her head helplessly and smiled, "Of all of you, Zhengping, you're the most determined. You're always fighting for everything."

The little boy pointed at the largest snowman in the yard with his red, frozen hands and said proudly, "Miss, Zhengping wants to be the best at everything, even making the biggest snowman! So Zhengping will definitely become the abbot of Kinkaku-ji Temple in the future!"

The light and shadow of a hundred years ago whizzed through her mind, and Lin Wan'er couldn't help but sigh in her heart that some things seemed to be unintentional jokes and pranks, but in fact, they were already predestined.

She looked up at the sky and murmured in her heart, "If there really is a Western Paradise in this world, I might even be the one with the most connections in that paradise. You are all good children. You must have gone there long ago and you must all be waiting for me there, right?"