“Since you are here, why do you not come in?” Gu Zhaoyan stood up, supported Liaokong’s body until he slowly lay down on the arhat bed, and did not spare even a single glance at the silvery-white shadow outside.
The silver wolf walked in silently, the anger in its ice-blue eyes completely gone. It walked over slowly and said, “If I had known earlier that you were picking the spiritual herb for Master Liaokong, I would have agreed.”
Gu Zhaoyan shook his head with a hoarse voice, “Even if I had brought it back sooner, it would have been useless. Master, he…” He arranged Liaokong’s remains properly, then turned around to hand the spiritual herb to the silver wolf. “Since Master no longer has any use for it, I am returning this spiritual herb to you. Apologies, because I picked it prematurely, its medicinal efficacy might be somewhat lacking.”
The silver wolf shook its head slightly. “No need. Ineffective medicine is useless to me. Keep it.”
Gu Zhaoyan ignored the silver wolf’s refusal, placed the spiritual herb on the ground right in front of it, and once more turned around to pick up Master Liaokong and carry him outside.
This temple was very small, consisting of only two or three rooms. Perhaps having sensed his time was near for a long time, Liaokong had prepared a coffin well in advance. Gu Zhaoyan placed Master Liaokong into the coffin and, with a blank gaze, slowly closed the lid.
In both his past and present lives, he had never enjoyed much affinity with family. In his past life, his parents abandoned him; in this life, he was forced to leave his birth mother; and now, he was facing the death of his master. Ever since Liaokong had brought him back to the temple, though they were master and disciple, it was truly no different from being father and son. Now that Liaokong was gone like this, Gu Zhaoyan felt an empty, drifting void in his heart.
The silver wolf followed quietly behind Gu Zhaoyan. It had interacted with Master Liaokong a few times in the past, forming a modest, gentlemanly bond of friendship, so it had come to see Master Liaokong off on his final journey.
Gu Zhaoyan knelt on the ground, staring at the newly formed grave before him while memories of the trivial yet precious moments spent together with his master lingered endlessly in his mind. With red-rimmed eyes, he kowtowed toward the tomb and said, “Master, this disciple has already decided to head to the capital to search for my birth mother. Moreover, since this disciple has learned these skills, I naturally wish to wander across the lands, slaying demons and routing ghosts. However, I will frequently return to check on you. Once I have served my mother for the rest of her days, I will come back to accompany Master.”
Now that the seven-day mourning period following Master Liaokong’s passing had passed, Gu Zhaoyan intended to go down the mountain to search for his mother. He remembered that when those two old hags had brought him here, the journey had not taken very long, so he imagined it was not far and he could return at any time.
Three strands of pale smoke rose slowly with the wind from before the grave, seemingly responding to Gu Zhaoyan’s words. The branches and leaves of the pear tree nearby rustled noisily. Gu Zhaoyan raised his head to look, blinked his slightly reddened eyes, and felt his throat tighten with sorrow. “Master, your disciple is leaving.”
With those words, he stood up and shouldered the travel pack he had already prepared. Gu Zhaoyan cast a reluctant glance at his surroundings before walking away. As he exited the temple, he took one final look at the place where he had grown up, locked the temple gates, and descended the mountain with a long sigh.
To his surprise, halfway down the path, his way was blocked by the silver wolf. “You are going down the mountain?”
Gu Zhaoyan nodded. “Yes. Is there something you need?”
The silver wolf stared at Gu Zhaoyan for a long time before speaking. “I am coming with you.”
Gu Zhaoyan froze. “What? Coming with me? Why?” He was merely a mortal, whereas the silver wolf had already refined its vocal cords and, with diligent cultivation, might one day attain human form. He could not understand why a silver wolf would want to tag along with a human like him; wasn’t it just asking for trouble?
Without beating around the bush, the silver wolf stated directly, “It took me two hundred years of cultivation just to refine my vocal cords and speak with a human voice, yet you possess such abilities at only sixteen years of age. Although Liaokong was your master, he was merely an ordinary monk; your skills were not taught by him. I have a premonition that following you might help me find my own Dao.”
Hearing this, Gu Zhaoyan frowned slightly. The silver wolf’s intuition was remarkably sharp, but he had no desire to take on a beast companion, especially since his own Dao was still uncertain, how could he possibly light the path for a silver wolf?
As if reading his thoughts, the silver wolf added, “I can serve as your guardian spirit beast. One man and one beast would certainly be better off than you fighting single-handedly. After all, you have not yet reached the point where you can sweep through everything on your own.”
To be fair, the silver wolf’s words struck squarely at Gu Zhaoyan’s concerns. He immediately agreed, “Very well. But from now on, you must listen to me.”
The silver wolf nodded. “Naturally. Since I am your guardian spirit beast, I will naturally obey your commands.” It could sense that Gu Zhaoyan’s aura was very pure, and the path he walked was the same immortal path as its own, which was why it had accepted the condition.
Gu Zhaoyan walked over to the silver wolf, reached out, and tentatively stroked its silvery-white fur. “Let’s go.”
The silver wolf flicked Gu Zhaoyan’s hand off its head and followed him down the mountain.
The night was boundless. Deep in the desolate mountains and wild forests, a bright campfire flickered with an orange glow.
Gu Zhaoyan handed a roasted wild chicken to the silver wolf, which accepted it without hesitation and bit right into it. Seeing it eat with its head down, Gu Zhaoyan picked up a crispy, soft flatbread and began to eat as well. Although he was only a lay disciple of Master Liaokong, with his master having passed away, he felt obligated to observe a three-year period of mourning for the man who was more a father to him than his actual father.
“I still don’t know your name,” Gu Zhaoyan said, taking a sip from his waterskin after finishing his flatbread. “I can’t just keep calling you Silver Wolf.”
Swallowing his last bite of roast chicken, the silver wolf replied, “My name is Bailang, the lang of a bright moon and a starry sky.”
Hearing this, Gu Zhaoyan raised an eyebrow playfully. “I didn’t expect you to be such a cultured wolf.”
The silver wolf explained, “Once, I accidentally wandered into Floating Cloud Temple and heard Master Liaokong chanting Buddhist scriptures. Master Liaokong discovered me, but he wasn’t afraid of me, nor did he drive me away. Over time, he taught me how to read many characters and told me a great deal about the mortal world.”
Mention of Master Liaokong stirred up grief in Gu Zhaoyan’s heart, leaving him with no further desire to converse. He leaned back against a large tree and closed his eyes to rest.
Within a vast, stark-white void, a man suddenly appeared. He wore an outer black robe embroidered with silver patterns, layered over a silvery-gray inner garment, the two colors complementing each other without a trace of discord. Half of his pale-golden hair flowed loosely down his back, while the other half was secured simply behind his head with a hair circlet. His slender, powerful hands tightly gripped a black folding fan, accentuating his noble and dashing demeanor. With sword-like brows, star-bright eyes, and matchless good looks, his entire aura was cool and ethereal, yet carried a gentle warmth when he smiled. A silver mark between his brows lent him an even more mysterious and majestic air.
The moment Gu Zhaoyan saw this man, his eyes instantly flushed red. He sprinted forward quickly, threw his arms around the newcomer, and choked out, “Senior Brother… Master, he…”