Wandering Gods of Day and Night

"Using cowhide to encircle the Great Snow Mountain, will the Ancient Buddha descend?"

Zhou Xuan pointed at the mural and asked Ning Yu Chan Master.

Ning Yu replied, "That is no ordinary cow. The disciples of Revolving Wheel Temple respectfully call it the ’Five-Colored Divine Bull,’ also known as ’Earth Mother.’"

"Earth Mother? The name is a bit of a tongue-twister," Zhou Xuan said.

"Oh, it means—it is the mother who nurtured the Ancient Buddha, hence named Earth Mother."

Ning Yu further explained, "In Snow Plain Prefecture, we have extreme reverence for bulls. At the beginning of each year, nine Cow Kings are selected and sent to the temple for worship,

by the year’s end, they are sent into the Great Snow Mountain."

"Aren’t the cows afraid of the cold?" Zhou Xuan asked.

Ning Yu: "..."

He felt that he and Zhou Xuan were on completely different wavelengths—he was discussing the Cow Kings entering the snow mountain to receive the baptism of the God of Da Xue Mountain, while Zhou Xuan only cared if the cows would feel cold.

"They are yaks from the snow domain, with lush fur, impervious to the harsh cold and snow."

Ning Yu explained cautiously.

Zhou Xuan crossed his arms and pondered, "Then your Ancient Buddha is quite peculiar—surround the mountain with a cowhide, and the Ancient Buddha is born, without egg, womb, or Mother Palace."

When it comes to birth—whether you emerge from a crack in a stone, there is still a way,

But this Ancient Buddha, neither egg-born nor womb-born, by encircling some cowhide, a celestial Buddha hand emerged,

It sounds rather illogical.

Zhou Xuan, this person, loves to ponder foolishly, but with such pondering, Ning Yu became anxious.

Accompanying Zhou Xuan throughout the journey, Ning Yu had already realized that this Mr. is a person of strong opinions. Due to having many opinions, he has developed a rebellious nature and unpredictably sprouts some "extreme" thoughts.

To prevent Zhou Xuan from continuing to contemplate this way, Ning Yu interjected, saying, "Mr., such murals have been passed down through generations, and they contain deviations, likely harboring elements of ’interpretation,’ not to be taken literally."

"I think, as Mr. mentioned, the Ancient Buddha surely has a mother body or is egg-born."

Ning Yu followed Zhou Xuan’s line, but Zhou Xuan was displeased.

He shook his head, saying, "The Heavenly Spirit Tower is dedicated to the Buddha energy surrounding the Great Snow Mountain, presumably a very formal place,

In such a place, if the murals aren’t genuine, how could they be randomly painted, unlike the poetic verses on restaurant white walls,

If they are carelessly scribbled, what would it become?"

"..."

Ning Yu found this Zhou Xuan rather cunning; ordinary words couldn’t dismiss him at all.

"This... given the long time, there certainly are deviations... there are indeed some deviations."

Ning Yu stammered, while Zhou Xuan beckoned him with profound secrecy, "Monk Ning, let me have a word with you."

"Mr., what do you want to say?" Ning Yu asked while leaning his head towards Zhou Xuan’s mouth, pretending to listen.

Zhou Xuan said in a very low voice, "Monk, do you think the Ancient Buddha might not be originally from our Jing Country?"

"Your words are peculiar; the Ancient Buddha is Jing Country’s Ancient Buddha, he remains one of Jing Country’s Four Great Venerable, if not born in Jing Country, raised in Jing Country, what else could he be?"

Zhou Xuan leaned on Ning Yu’s shoulder, pointing at the mural in the Buddha Tower, saying,

"Monk, look at the sky in those paintings. I remember when the ’Five-Colored Divine Bull’ had not yet been slaughtered by monks, the sky was as usual, cloudless, with bright sunshine.

But when the Ancient Buddha’s celestial hand appeared in the Great Snow Mountain, everything changed, the sky turned gray, yet adorned with extremely beautiful star clouds, indeed multicolored."

"Mr., the small monk really doesn’t understand what you mean to say."

Deep within Ning Yu’s eyes, hidden worries, unease, and fear stirred continuously.

Zhou Xuan whispered even softer, "Ning Monk, do you think that Ancient Buddha might be..."

He pointed in the direction of the Heavenly Dome, saying, "descended upon our Jing Country from beyond the Starry Sky."

"Hiss..."

Ning Yu instantly inhaled the cold air, Zhou Xuan’s words were very subtle, yet like a chill-bearing ice shard piercing into the depths of Ning Yu’s heart.

He became cold from head to toe, his smile turned stiff, his speech seemed frozen, words emerged one by one,

"This... perhaps... might be... rather startling..."

"What, scared?" Zhou Xuan laughed and said.

"No... not at all..."

"Just teasing you," Zhou Xuan smiled, "I just glanced at the mural, and a story suddenly sketched in my mind, said it out loud as a joke, don’t think too much about it."

After saying this, he swaggered up to the seventh floor of the Heavenly Spirit Tower, leaving Ning Yu behind, continually breathing to calm his Heart Spirit.

In such a cold, frosty place, no one would know that Ning Yu’s back was covered with layers of sweat, soaking through the inner lining of the monk robe, sticking tightly to his back.

"Did he truly guess it, or just said it casually?"

Ning Yu recalled Zhou Xuan’s subtle expressions moments ago, trying to grasp some clues within those expressions.

No matter how hard he tried to remember, he could never articulate Zhou Xuan’s true thoughts.

In his view, Zhou Xuan was like a well tightly sealed with a green stone—the sound of water could be heard standing by the well, but its view remained unseen.

"This young man has something of a demon about him."

Ning Yu couldn’t understand, so he had to walk upstairs.

On the seventh floor of the tower, a human skull was enshrined,

The skull was etched with dense inscriptions,