Chapter 25: Meeting a Noble Person in Times of Trouble

  Transforming all living beings through ascetic practices, one should pity those who are destitute and at the end of their journey. Transforming karma by traveling extensively throughout the nine provinces, emotions are always present amidst the myriad waters and mountains. Preaching scriptures and discussing the Way to guide those with affinity, eliminating violence and bringing harmony through benevolent deeds; with worn-out soles and tears in one's eyes from a thousand journeys, responding to the suffering monks within the temple.

  Here is the translation:

  After leaving Neihuang County, Wang Zipeng begged for food along the way and arrived in Tangyin. When he reached the county town of Tangyin, his eyes turned dark with hunger, so he went to a pawnshop and pawned the decent clothes that Li Xianling had given him, exchanging them for several copper coins. He then ate two bowls of noodles at a street-side noodle shop to fill his stomach before leaving the county town and heading straight to Wangjiazhuang in Yonghe Township.

  When he arrived at the small river in his hometown, he stopped in his tracks and thought to himself: "My parents are no longer alive, and there is not a single relative left at home. What's the point of going back? A man must make something of himself and cannot live a life without purpose. I must strive to create a new world for myself and bring honor to my parents."

  At this moment, Wang Zipeng made up his mind and came to the ancestral burial ground in Wangjiazhuang, where his parents were buried. He kowtowed several times in front of their graves and said: "Father, Mother, I have decided to seek out a famous teacher to study literature and martial arts. In the future, I will achieve great things and bring honor to you both. Please bless me from the underworld and let my wishes come true."

  After speaking, he stood up and bowed deeply, then added some yellow earth to his parents' graves before reluctantly leaving.

  All along the way, he visited many temples to find a famous teacher to learn martial arts, but after visiting all the famous mountains and rivers in Xiangzhou, he still couldn't find a decent martial arts teacher.

  "Since Xiangzhou doesn't have it, I'll go to Shaolin Temple." Wang Ziyu made up his mind that no matter how hard or tiring it would be, he had to go to Shaolin Temple to learn from a master. Along the way, he inquired and found out that Zhou Tong, a famous teacher, was actually a Shaolin disciple. The essence of all martial arts under heaven originated from Shaolin's founder, Bodhidharma.

  Wang Zongpeng left Xiangzhou and rushed to Shaolin Temple without stopping his horse.

  It was autumn, on the way, encountered heavy rain, the Yellow River flooded and became a disaster, the people along the coast suffered from floods, no harvest, everywhere was full of starving people, refugees begging for food were everywhere.

  Wang Zongpeng contracted cholera due to encountering heavy rain all the way, and finally fell ill on the road with hunger and cold.

  People on the road were fleeing in all directions, too busy to care about this unfamiliar beggar.

  After several days of heavy rain, a sunny day finally came out. The scorching sun shone on Wang Zipeng who was lying on the road, making him feel warm all over his body. He struggled to get up, leaning on a small wooden stick and continued moving forward. When he arrived at an old abandoned temple, Wang Zipeng suddenly felt dizzy and deaf, his eyes spinning, and his body involuntarily went limp.

  Perhaps Wang Ziyu was not destined to die, at this moment, an old monk came to the broken temple. The old monk saw the young man lying on the ground, squatted down, and used his fingers to explore his breath. He found that he still had a breath, immediately lifted him up and sat him by the door, opened his mouth, and stuffed a pill into his mouth.

  About half an hour later, Wang Ziyu slowly woke up, opened his eyes, and saw a kind-hearted old monk sitting beside him. He couldn't help but ask: "Master, where is this?"

  "This is the ruined temple at the foot of the nameless mountain. I saw you lying on the ground unconscious when I came in just now, so I saved you. Young man, you have contracted cholera and are seriously ill. If I hadn't given you a heat-clearing pill just now, your life might have been lost in this ruined temple. This is also your good fortune. Child, I see that your clothes are tattered, your face is yellow and thin, and you must have suffered a lot! Where are you from? What about your parents and family? Are you going somewhere alone?" The old monk asked with concern.

  Wang Zi Peng heard the old monk's question and couldn't help but burst into tears.

  "Child, don't be sad, speak slowly." The old monk comforted.

  Wang Ziyu wiped away the tears on his face and said: "My name is Wang Ziyu, my hometown is in Tangyin County, Yonghe Township, Wangjiazhuang. My parents have passed away. There are no brothers or sisters at home, only me. I've been begging for rice and food along the way, just wanting to find a famous teacher to apprentice with and learn some skills, so that I can make a name for myself in the future. I didn't expect that after traveling through all of Xiangzhou's mountains and rivers, I wouldn't meet a single master. So, I decided to go to Shaolin Temple to apprentice. Who would have thought that when I arrived at the Yellow River, I would encounter several days of heavy rain? I got soaked in the rain, and on top of that, I hadn't eaten for several days, so I fell ill. Today, I managed to survive, thanks to meeting a noble person like you at a critical moment. Master, thank you, your great kindness and virtue, Wang Ziyu will never forget. May I ask where the master cultivates?

  "I live on this nameless mountain, where there is a Temple of Sensation, which is my place of practice. I usually wander around the world and rarely participate in Chan meditation in temples. Today you can meet me here, that's fate. Child, haven't you heard of Zhou Tong in Xiangzhou? He lives not far from Tangyin in Neihuang County. He is a remarkable person. He has a disciple named Yue Fei, who is also very good. Why don't you make him your master?"

  "Alas... never mind, it's all because I acted impulsively and left Neihuang County at the time. Otherwise, he would have become my master by now." Wang Ziyu sighed and said.

  "Why let good opportunities slip away?" asked the old monk.

  Wang Zi Peng then told the old monk everything that had happened in Neihuang County. The old monk was shocked upon hearing it.

  "What? You look very similar to Yue Fei? And you might be his twin brother? You are also from Yonghe Township, Tangyin County, Wangjiazhuang is not far from Xiaoti Village. How old was your mother when she gave birth to you? How old are you this year?" The old monk asked a series of questions.

  "Master, I'm also puzzled. That Yue Fei really looks like me, and our age and height are almost the same. Could this be a coincidence? Wangjiazhuang is only a dozen miles away from Xiaoyi, my mother was nearly sixty years old when she gave birth to me, and I don't have any brothers or sisters. What's going on here? I'm also confused. The people in Wangjiazhuang all say that I am the son of my mother, are they deceiving me?" said Wang Ziyu.

  The old monk listened and became even more certain that the young man in front of him was indeed Yue Teng. He had a kind of spiritual connection, otherwise today wouldn't have been such a coincidence.

  "My child, to be honest with you, over a decade ago, I once went to Xiaoyi Village. In Xiaoyi Village, the Yue family had a pair of twins, the older brother was named Yue Fei and the younger brother was named Yue Teng. These names were all given by me. It's just that Yue Teng had too much evil energy on his face, so I asked the Yue family to send the child away through water. Alas... thinking about it now, it's truly a sin. I hope this child is like you, turning bad luck into good fortune and meeting blessings in adversity." The old monk sighed.

  Wang Zipei listened and remained silent.

  "Child, you are weak and your illness is not yet healed. Why don't you come with me to the mountain and recover first before making any plans? The journey to Shaolin Temple is long and arduous, how can you travel with an illness? Come! Let's go up the mountain together." The old monk said as he supported Wang Ziyu and headed towards the mountain.