Free Web NovelChapter 1425: Chapter 530: The Fourth Dhyāna_2
Zhou Xuan entered the room with Lady Lianhua,
Lady Lianhua pointed at the fruits on the table and said, "Mr., make yourself at home. Eat and drink whatever you like. Don’t be reserved."
Zhou Xuan: "..."
He instinctively glanced around, somewhat doubting whether this was indeed his own home.
Huang Tianfeng couldn’t bear it and reminded her, "Lady, this is the Mr.’s home, not the Lotus Temple."
"Oh... I was overly enthusiastic and forgot."
Lady Lianhua momentarily confused the host with herself, amusing herself. As she laughed, the lumps on her body quivered along.
"Ho ho ho, Mr., please forgive me. I rarely leave the Lotus Temple. Previously, I was always the host for guests, but as a guest, I lack experience, resulting in this mix-up."
"No problem, no problem."
Zhou Xuan waved his hand, relaxedly picking up an orange to peel, saying while peeling, "Lady Lianhua, I heard from Mr. Huang that you have been quite eager to see me these days."
"I wouldn’t say eager. It’s just that lately, I’ve been having strange dreams, with eerie scenes. I thought since you, Mr., are a talented person and also a storyteller in the Dream Hall, you could help interpret my dreams."
Lady Lianhua was somewhat evasive as she spoke.
Zhou Xuan focused on peeling the orange, not looking up, and simply said, "Lady Lianhua, we are old acquaintances. Whatever it is, don’t hide it. Just speak openly."
Lady Lianhua couldn’t believe her ears. How did Zhou Xuan, without even looking at her, understand her thoughts so clearly as if he had eyes in the back of his head?
With Lady Lianhua remaining silent, Zhou Xuan tore off a section of the orange, tossed it into his mouth, and said,
"If it’s just about dream interpretation, you shouldn’t have thought of me first. You should have thought of my master, Yuan Buyu, who is also a storyteller and no less proficient in dream interpretation."
Seeing that Zhou Xuan spoke logically, Lady Lianhua began to believe the rumors about him—rumors that must be true. People outside often say Zhou Xuan is as clever as a demon, with nothing escaping his perception.
Lady Lianhua quickly smiled and said, "Mr., you see things so clearly. In reality, my dreams aren’t that strange, but they do relate somewhat to you."
"Tell me more."
Zhou Xuan said.
Only then did Lady Lianhua begin to speak, first asking, "Mr., do you remember you were the one who enlightened me about my Buddhist destiny?"
"Of course, I remember."
Zhou Xuan’s thoughts drifted back to a distant time, to the day when he was invited by Lady Lianhua to tell stories—his first foray into the Tangkou world of storytelling.
At that time, Lady Lianhua felt she was too unattractive to deserve a Buddha’s name, and thus, her Buddhist cultivation had not progressed for years.
However, through Zhou Xuan’s storytelling, he inadvertently guided Lady Lianhua, allowing her to hear three long rings of the Buddha Bell in her heart.
From that day forward, Lady Lianhua truly acquired her Buddhist name, and her path in Buddhism began to progress.
"Since that day, I have been dreaming every day, dreaming of a clear spring under a high-hanging moon, the spring nourishing a mirror,
I sit cross-legged in front of the mirror, with a clear mind and can hear the chanting of scriptures."
Lady Lianhua said to this point, putting her palms together for Zhou Xuan and saying, "Mr., since then, my Buddhist cultivation has advanced. Every morning when I wake from dreams, I hear the sound of the morning bell, and before entering dreams each night, I hear the evening drum resounding."
The morning bell and evening drum resound in Lady Lianhua’s heart as the sound of Buddha.
Zhou Xuan nodded, saying, "Isn’t that good? You should just continue to cultivate well."
"If it stayed like this, it would be good, but... several days ago, my dreams changed."
"What kind of change?" Zhou Xuan asked.
"In the treasure mirror of my dreams, a large, multicolored fish began to swim, a truly stunning fish spanning the Heavenly Dome."
"A large fish?"
"Not two days after the fish appeared, Mr. also appeared in that mirror."
Upon hearing that Lady Lianhua’s dream involved him, Zhou Xuan became more intrigued and continued listening,
"In the mirror, Mr. was covered with sinister mouths all over, thousands of large mouths continuously gnawing at the large fish until it became a pile of white bones."
As Lady Lianhua spoke to this point, her body trembled slightly, and her lips incessantly quivered, clearly indicating the dream was several times more terrifying and shocking than her mere words described.
Through Lady Lianhua’s narrative, Zhou Xuan naturally associated with the Fish Monk from Yellow Field Prefecture’s Mahayana Temple.
The Fish Monk is part of the "Six Desires Zen" among the Twenty-one Zen, originally a large fish.
And how did he die? Zhou Xuan had Yellow Field Prefecture hang the Fish Monk over the street, encouraging passersby to divide his flesh to nothingness.
This manner of death coincidentally mirrored the death of the large fish in Lady Lianhua’s dream.
Upon contemplating this, Zhou Xuan asked Lady Lianhua, "Do you recall the day and hour when the large fish entered your dream?"
"Every time I dream, after waking, I record a ’Dream Journal’ where I note down the day and hour..." Lady Lianhua retrieved a book from Huang Tianfeng’s hand, flipped through it, and handed it to Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan glanced at the dates in the book and couldn’t help but smile—the day the large fish entered her dream was precisely when Zhou Xuan visited the Mahayana Temple.
"Lady Lianhua, after the large fish in your dream died, have you heard any news from outside?"
Zhou Xuan asked Lady Lianhua.
Lady Lianhua eagerly nodded, saying, "I’ve heard, I’ve heard. I’ve heard about two major events in total."
