Preface

"Master Chan, I apologize for my rudeness," Jiang Zhuliu quickly returned a bow, "I momentarily lost my composure and made a fool of myself before you. I wish to seek a divination to inquire about my future. May I ask if it is a convenient time for you, Master?"

Jiang Zhuliu was quite puzzled, wondering what this bamboo stick was all about. Kong Xing, seeing Jiang Zhuliu's confused expression, smiled slightly and said, "Benefactor, please follow me to the ancient well with three eyes beside this temple, and I will explain the divination to you in detail"

The ancient well is located on the left side of the main hall, about one hundred meters away. There is a pavilion protecting the three-eyed ancient well. Beside the pavilion, there are several stone benches. Kongxing invited Jiang Zhuliu to sit down and then said: "Benefactor, it is an old tradition in this temple that the first abbot, Huitong, before his passing, once said that in a certain year, if someone comes to draw lots and obtains the Tuan hexagram, it would mark the beginning of the temple's revival. Tuan, Yuanheng, Lizhen, do not use for any travel. It is beneficial to establish a marquis. This hexagram has Zhen below and Kan above. A gentleman who obtains it will have the benefit of a marquis. Benefactor, you will surely have a prosperous official career in the future! I hope you will provide more support for the construction of this temple in the future!"

Jiang walked slowly on the stone steps, subconsciously tightening the zipper of his down jacket. Indeed, the mountain wind was biting. Since it was not a holiday and the wind was strong, there was no one on the mountain path except for him and the books. He smiled wryly, not expecting that he, who had never believed in ghosts, deities, or Buddha, would come here to seek a divination.

In the evening, Jiang Zhuliu tossed and turned in bed, lost in thought. He recalled his childhood visit to the Moon Mountain Temple, which was still in a state of disrepair at that time, yet he felt an inexplicable sense of awe. After returning from the Moon Mountain Temple, he, at the tender age of eleven, experienced the taste of insomnia for the first time. "It has been ten years," he thought, "perhaps it is time to revisit that place."

At the southern foot of the Taihang Mountains, approximately 30 kilometers from Jiaozuo City, there lies the Yuanshan Temple, which was established in the early Ming Dynasty and is the birthplace of Baji Quan. Most of the buildings here were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. In the late 1980s, the local government coordinated efforts, and devout believers voluntarily raised funds to restore all the destroyed structures. Several monks who had returned to secular life also took vows again and returned to the Buddhist faith. During holidays, a continuous stream of devout believers comes to pray and offer incense. There are three ancient wells here, less than a foot apart, yet the water from each well has three distinct tastes: sweet, salty, and bitter, and the flavor of the water changes at any time. Each person who drinks from the wells experiences a different taste. It is said that these three ancient wells connect directly to the South China Sea and share the same source as the water from the Pure Vase of Guanyin in the South China Sea. Ordinary people who drink from it can enhance their health and prolong their lives; while those with wisdom can hear the Eight Sounds, awaken the Eight Intelligences, abandon the Eight Sufferings, realize the Eight Paths, and reach the supreme and wondrous gate of the Eightfold Dharma.

On November 15, 2007, it was already late autumn, and the mountain winds howled. The maple leaves on the Taihang Mountains blazed red, resembling clusters of torches burning in the autumn breeze. In the sunny crevices of the mountainside, a few clusters of daisies timidly emerged, trembling in the wind. Deep in the valley, one could see the golden Buddhist banners of the Moon Mountain Temple fluttering in the wind

"Benefactor," Master Kongxin said with a smile, "since you have come to this temple, you must drink the holy water from this ancient well!" With that, he instructed a young monk to open the ancient well and filled three small buckets with water.

In the grand hall, the incense wafted through the air, with a golden statue of the Buddha at the center, flanked by the Four Heavenly Kings on either side. Jiang Zhuliu, lost in thought before the statue, mused that regardless of whether it was effective or not, since he was there, he might as well take a look. He knelt on the mat in front of the statue and, with utmost reverence, bowed his head. Then, he shook the divination筒 a few times, and a bamboo stick fell out. Jiang Zhuliu took this bamboo stick and requested Master Kongxing to interpret it. Upon receiving the stick, Master Kongxing opened it, and his expression changed dramatically; his eyes, as clear as autumn waters, became sharp. He then scrutinized Jiang Zhuliu and said, "You have come, indeed you have come." He then sighed deeply.

Jiang Zhuliu had indeed heard of the miraculous qualities of this ancient well with three eyes, but he had never believed it and had not had the time to come here to verify the truth of the rumors. He thought that since he was here today, it would be a considerable gain to take a look at this ancient well with three eyes as well.

Jiang Zhuliu is a senior student in the Accounting Department of Henan University of Finance and Economics, and he is set to graduate next year. The day before yesterday marked the third anniversary of his father's passing, and he took leave to return home to pay his respects at his father's grave. He was already in a somber mood, and unexpectedly, yesterday afternoon, his girlfriend of three years, Du Juan, suddenly called to break up with him, which further exacerbated Jiang Zhuliu's emotional distress

The emptiness and the young monk watched as Jiang Zhuliu's face turned crimson in astonishment. They felt the ground creaking beneath their feet, and the pavilion began to sway, prompting them to rush outside. When they turned around, they realized that Jiang Zhuliu was still inside the pavilion, and they called out loudly for him to come out. It seemed that Jiang Zhuliu either did not hear them or heard them but was unable to move. In the midst of this standoff, a sudden loud noise erupted, and the sky instantly darkened, rendering visibility to zero. All that could be heard were the chaotic cries of birds and distant cattle and sheep. Jiang Zhuliu seemed not to hear, or perhaps he did hear but could not move. Suddenly, a loud noise rang out, and the sky darkened again, with visibility reduced to nothing, accompanied by the frantic calls of birds and distant livestock. After a moment, the sky gradually brightened. The ancient well, the pavilion, and Jiang Zhuliu had vanished, and the location of the three-eyed ancient well had transformed into a flat stone slab. The stone slab was aged, covered in mottled moss, as if it had existed there for tens of thousands of years.

The mountain gate of Yuanshan Temple is not large, but the steps are quite long. Above the gate hangs a couplet that reads: "Teaching has myriad methods, yet the essence is without distinction; one must not cling to methods, abandon methods, reject methods, or consider methods as non-methods; the Buddha fundamentally teaches one vehicle, rooted in differentiation, hence the terms lower vehicle, middle vehicle, upper vehicle, and supreme vehicle." After passing through the mountain gate, one walks about fifty meters to reach the main hall. The main hall also features a couplet, written in an extraordinary cursive style: "Upon seeing, it transforms; once done, let it go; what is there to grasp in clarity? Wisdom arises from awareness, awareness arises from freedom; existence is still non-existence." Jiang Zhuliu gazed at this couplet, reflecting on his own circumstances, seemingly gaining some insight, yet unable to grasp that ethereal sense of void, momentarily lost in thought.

Jiang Zhuliu skeptically poured a little from the first barrel into a clean cup, tasted it, and found it to be not much different from ordinary spring water, just colder; he tried the second barrel, and it was the same, only feeling even colder; when he tasted the third barrel, he shivered, and just as he was about to say it still had no flavor, a wave of warmth rose from his abdomen, traveling up his spine to the Baihui point. In an instant, all sensations of sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy burst forth in his mouth! When he tasted the third barrel, he shivered, and just as he was about to say it still had no flavor, a wave of warmth rose from his abdomen, traveling up his spine to the Baihui point. In an instant, all sensations of sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy burst forth in his mouth!

Please enter! Master Kongxing led Jiang Zhuliu to the main hall

Amitabha! With a single chant of the Buddha's name, Jiang Zhuliu was brought back to reality. He did not know when a monk had stood beside him. The monk was dressed in a bright yellow robe, covered by a kasaya, and appeared to be in his seventies, with eyebrows resembling those of the God of Longevity, yet his eyes were as clear as autumn water. He held one palm upright in front of his chest and addressed Jiang Zhuliu: "I am an old monk of emptiness. I see that the expression between your brows is clouded, as if there is some unresolved concern. I wonder if there is any way I can assist you, benefactor?"

Jiang Zhuliu listened and smiled bitterly in his heart, wondering what good fortune in officialdom meant. If he could be with Du Juan for a lifetime, he would willingly endure a life of poverty and hardship, caught in a moment of contemplation that felt both sincere and uncertain.