We Agreed On Experiencing Life, So Why Did You Immortals Become Real?

Chapter 562: Returning to Lay Life

The heavy rain over Four Void Mountain lasted a full day and night.Within the main hall of Four Void Temple, Xiao Mo sat for that entire day and night as well, his once soaked robes now only half dry.

The following morning, the sky just beginning to lighten.

Xiao Mo, seated beneath the Buddha statue, slowly opened his eyes and rose from the prayer cushion.

Just as he was about to walk out of the hall, he saw Abbot Yuankong standing at the entrance, smiling as he looked at him.

"Master." Xiao Mo pressed his hands together and gave a respectful bow.

Compared to how he had looked upon first returning to the temple the day before, Xiao Mo, after a full night of quiet meditation, seemed to have gained considerably more clarity in his eyes, and a firmer resolve.

"Have you thought it through?" Yuankong asked calmly. "Even though you have broken your precepts, if the Buddha still dwells in your heart, what harm is there in one lapse?"

"Many thanks, Master, but this disciple has already thought it through." Xiao Mo shook his head, his tone steady. "Even if Master were to forgive this disciple, I fear I would no longer be able to recite the sutras with a settled heart. This disciple can never repay Master's kindness in raising me all these years."

"It is not as serious as you make it sound. It is nothing more than this master having one extra bowl and pair of chopsticks to set aside." Yuankong looked at Xiao Mo with kindness, letting out a quiet sigh. "It is simply a pity, a pity that our Buddhist tradition will, in the end, lose a fine disciple."

He paused, a comforting smile rising to his lips.

"But in exchange, this world will gain a rather fine Daoist instead."

"Go and rest in the courtyard for a while. This master will arrange the ceremony for your return to lay life shortly."

"Yes, Master." Xiao Mo gave a bow, turned his head, and took one last look at the silent Buddha statue behind him before drawing his gaze away and walking toward the rear courtyard.

Returning to this courtyard where he had lived for over a decade, Xiao Mo began packing his belongings, piece by piece.

Though he had become a monk the moment he was born, without any real choice in the matter.

Regardless, Xiao Mo had genuinely spent a full eighteen years as a monk.

When a person spends eighteen years doing nothing but reciting sutras and observing precepts faithfully, does it really matter whether that monk was "true" or not?

And besides, throughout those eighteen years, Xiao Mo had genuinely felt in his heart that studying the Dharma was a truly good thing.

Perhaps it had been a form of escape, or perhaps a search for a kind of comfort and peace of mind but at the very least, throughout those eighteen years, Xiao Mo's heart had been at peace.

Once his belongings were packed, Xiao Mo walked out of his room and found Gui Junmeng already standing quietly in the courtyard, her eyes blinking as she looked at him.

"I heard from Abbot Yuankong." Gui Junmeng said gently, anticipation filling her gaze, though a note of confusion lingered in her expression. "You... are you truly willing to come with me to the Seeking Immortals Temple?"

"Yes." Xiao Mo gave a nod. "I will be in your care from now on."

"No trouble at all, none at all. But... yesterday you said you were a monk and were unwilling to come with me. Why have you changed your mind today?" Gui Junmeng's voice carried a careful, guarded fear, worried that Xiao Mo was only humoring her.

"Yesterday, I truly was a monk, and could not go with the young lady." Xiao Mo gave a faint smile and a nod. "But Miss Gui, I can no longer remain a monk now."

"Why not?" Gui Junmeng tilted her head slightly, confusion filling her eyes. "Why can you no longer be a monk?"

"Because I have broken my precepts." Xiao Mo answered.

"Broken your precepts? Which one?"

Gui Junmeng was even more confused. Xiao Mo's Buddhist resolve in this lifetime had seemed so unshakable. How could he possibly have broken his vows?

"A monastic does not tell falsehoods."

"I deceived a young lady."

Xiao Mo shouldered his pack and walked step by step toward the courtyard exit, his voice drifting softly through the courtyard, lingering for a long while.

"I said... I did not like her."

…

Four Void Temple.

Today, the temple's doors were closed to visitors, and no pilgrims came to burn incense or worship.

But within the main hall, every senior monk of standing had gathered.

They stood arranged on either side, chanting sutras together, the sound of Buddhist chant drifting through the air, solemn and dignified.

On the other side of the hall, the little monk Xu Jing wiped away his tears continuously as he joined in the recitation, gazing with deep reluctance at the figure standing at the very front of the hall.

At the front of the hall, Xiao Mo knelt on the prayer cushion.

Abbot Yuankong had already lit three sticks of incense for him and placed them firmly in the incense burner, thin smoke rising in wisps.

As the sound of the monks' chanting gradually quieted, until it faded entirely, Abbot Yuankong walked slowly to stand before Xiao Mo, his gaze calm, and asked, "Monk Quyin, today before the Buddha, do you have anything you wish to say?"

Xiao Mo pressed his hands together and looked directly at the statue. "This disciple, Quyin, has broken the ten precepts of the Buddhist path. The abbot has offered a chance for repentance, but this disciple knows his own transgression runs too deep. My heart is no longer settled enough to recite the Buddha's name, and I have no face left to stand before the Buddha."

"Today, this disciple wishes to renounce the Buddha, renounce the Dharma, renounce the Sangha, renounce the title of monk, renounce the title of preceptor, renounce fellow monks, renounce fellow preceptors, renounce all the pure-practicing bhikshus, renounce the precepts, renounce the monastic code, renounce the study of these teachings."

"Today, this disciple wishes to return to lay life and leave the mountain."

"From this day forward, I will be a layman, no longer a son of the Buddhist order."

Xiao Mo spoke each word slowly, his voice steady and resolute, every word settling heavily into the heart of every monk present.

Many of the monks who heard this let out a quiet sigh, complicated emotions showing in their eyes.

"..." Yuankong gave a small nod, his tone even and far-reaching. "Today, this master returns your freedom to you. You are no longer Quyin, but Xiao Mo once more. May the path ahead of you be free of confusion, free of doubt, neither straying nor swaying."

Yuankong pressed his hands together, closed his eyes, and quietly recited the Buddha's name, "Amitabha."

"Amitabha."

The monks all responded together, and the sound of Buddhist chant rose once more, echoing through the hall for a long while.

Xiao Mo rose to his feet.

Master Yuankong personally removed Xiao Mo's old monk's robe with his own hands and dressed him in a plain layman's garment.

"This disciple leaves the mountain today and can no longer look after Master. I only hope Master will take good care of himself and stay in good health." Xiao Mo knelt once more and bowed three times with full respect, expressing his gratitude for the eighteen years of care he had received.

"Good child." Master Yuankong gently helped Xiao Mo to his feet, drew a sutra from inside his robe, and handed it to him with solemn care.

"Though you are no longer a disciple of the Buddhist order from this day forward, who is to say that only those within the Buddhist tradition may recite the sutras? In the future, whenever you find yourself with leisure time, or facing confusion, feel free to open this and read it. Perhaps your heart will find some understanding within it."

"Yes... Master." Xiao Mo accepted the sutra with both hands and placed it carefully inside his robe.

Yuankong gave Xiao Mo's shoulder a gentle pat, his gaze warm and kind, his tone full of earnest feeling. "Go now. May your life ahead be free of complaint, and free of regret."

Xiao Mo gave Master Yuankong one final bow, then turned and walked step by step out of the hall.

Within the hall, the Buddha statue continued to hold its flower and smile, gazing down upon the departing disciple.

Watching him grow more and more distant.

Watching him never look back.