148: Chapter 148 Nuwa's Teachings
In the Chaos, Lu Mingyuan froze.
That child?
The child he had saved?
The child who had fallen asleep in his arms, with a smile on her face?
He looked at Nüwa.
"Goddess, that child... is she your descendant?"
Nüwa nodded.
"Yes. And also no."
Lu Mingyuan asked: "How so?"
Nüwa said: "That child is a descendant of the first generation of humans after I created them. By that count, she is my descendant. But my descendants are not limited to just that one. Every person in the world is my descendant."
She looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"The child you saved is just one of them. But when you saved her, you didn't know whose descendant she was. You didn't know her background. You didn't know what kind of person she would become. You simply saved her. Because she was a child. Because she was on the battlefield. Because she needed saving."
She paused.
"That is Creation."
Lu Mingyuan stood there, listening.
As he listened, he suddenly remembered something.
He remembered that at The Rift, he had saved many people.
There were Loose Cultivators, Mortals, children, and the elderly.
Some he knew, some he didn't.
Some who should have been saved, some who perhaps shouldn't have been.
But when saving them, he hadn't thought about any of that.
He hadn't thought about who they were, whether they were worth saving, or what would happen after he saved them.
He simply saved them.
Because they were there.
Because they needed saving.
He looked at Nüwa.
"Goddess, this Disciple thinks I understand."
Nüwa asked: "Understand what?"
Lu Mingyuan said: "I understand what Creation is."
He looked at Nüwa.
"Creation is not just about creating. It is about letting those who should be born be born, those who should grow grow, and those who should live live. It is seeing a child in need of rescue and saving her. It is seeing a Loose Cultivator injured and healing him. It is seeing a Mortal near death and protecting him."
He paused.
"Creation is not something high and distant. It is walking along the path, seeing something, and doing it. Seeing what needs to be done, and doing it. Seeing who needs to be saved, and saving them. Seeing what needs to be protected, and protecting it."
Nüwa looked at him, and there was a light in her eyes.
That light was one of gratification.
"Correct. This is Creation."
She took a step forward.
"Do you know why I created humans back then?"
Lu Mingyuan shook his head.
Nüwa said: "Because between Heaven and Earth, it was too lonely."
She looked into the depths of the Chaos.
"After Pangu created the world, Heaven and Earth were first separated. There were mountains, waters, the sun, the moon, and the stars. There were Dragons, Phoenixes, Qilins, and all things. But as I looked at those things, I always felt something was missing."
She paused.
"Missing someone who could laugh. Missing someone who could cry. Missing someone who could love. Missing someone who could hate. Missing someone who could make the wrong choice, and also the right one. Missing someone who could stand, and also fall."
She looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Missing someone like you."
Lu Mingyuan froze.
"Someone like this Disciple?"
Nüwa nodded.
"Yes. Someone like you. Like those who stood their ground at The Rift. Like those who blocked blades for others. Like those who died, but still had light in their eyes. Like those who lived, but held others in their hearts."
She looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"I created humans not so they would revere me, worship me, or thank me. It was so that between Heaven and Earth, there would be such life. Such hearts. Such light."
She paused.
"The child you saved at The Rift will grow up to be such a person. Because she survived on the battlefield. Because she saw those who stood their ground. Because in her heart, she carries the light you planted."
Lu Mingyuan stood there, listening.
As he listened, his eyes turned red.
He thought of that child.
He thought of the smile on her face when she fell asleep in his arms.
That smile was very pure.
So pure it seemed as if it had never been touched by this world.
But in that smile, there was something.
There was the strength to live on.
There was the hope of growing up.
There was the light of the future.
He looked at Nüwa.
"Goddess, this Disciple understands."
Nüwa asked: "Understand what?"
Lu Mingyuan said: "I understand the meaning of Creation."
He looked at Nüwa.
"Creation is not finished just by creating humans. It is letting people live. It is letting people grow. It is letting people have light in their hearts. It is letting that light be passed down, generation after generation."
He paused.
"At The Rift, I saved that child. She survived. She grew up. She will also save others. The people she saves will also save others. Generation after generation, it is passed down. That is Creation."
Nüwa looked at him for a very, very long time.
Then, she reached out her hand.
"Come, I will pass something on to you."
Lu Mingyuan reached out and took it.
In that instant, he felt it.
He felt many, many lives.
Those lives were not all the same.
There were tall ones, short ones, fat ones, thin ones.
There were men, women, the old, and the young.
There were humans, demons, witches, and ghosts.
There were the living, the dead, and the yet-to-be-born.
Those lives were not in one place.
They were in the heavens, on the earth, in the water, in the mountains.
In the Mortal realm, in the underworld, in the Heavenly Court, and beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens.
At The Rift, on the battlefield, in villages, and in cities.
Those lives were not in one time.
In the past, in the present, and in the future.
On the paths he had walked, in the places he had never been, and in the places he would never go.
He saw them.
He saw that those lives were all connected.
Connected by a thread.
An invisible thread.
That thread started from his heart.
It connected to that child.
It connected to that child's children.
It connected to that child's children's children.
It connected to countless people he had saved.
It connected to countless people he had never met.
It connected to countless people yet to be born.
That thread was always there.
Always extending.
Always growing.
Always...
Living.
Nüwa's voice came from within that colorful light.
"Do you see it?"
Lu Mingyuan nodded.
"I see it."
Nüwa asked: "What do you see?"
Lu Mingyuan said: "I see those lives. I see that they are all connected. I see that thread."
Nüwa asked: "What is that thread?"
Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment.
"It is... Creation."
Nüwa shook her head.
"Incorrect."
Lu Mingyuan froze.
"Incorrect?"
Nüwa said: "That is Vitality."
She looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Creation is what makes that thread come into being. Vitality is what makes that thread continue to live. When you saved that child, that was Creation. When that child lived on, that was Vitality. That child growing up, saving others, and letting that thread extend—that is also Vitality."
She paused.
"Creation is the beginning. Vitality is the continuation. Creation happens once. Vitality is forever."
Lu Mingyuan stood there, listening.
As he listened, he suddenly felt that something had clicked into place.
He looked at Nüwa.
"Goddess, this Disciple understands."
Nüwa asked: "Understand what?"
Lu Mingyuan said: "I understand that Creation is the mother, and Vitality is the child."
He looked at Nüwa.
"Goddess creating humans is Creation. Humans living on is Vitality. Humans passing it down generation after generation is Vitality. Humans having light in their hearts and passing that light on is also Vitality."
He paused.
"When I saved that child at The Rift, that was Creation. That child surviving is Vitality. That child saving others in the future is Vitality. The people that child saves saving others in turn is still Vitality. As long as Vitality is uninterrupted, Creation remains."
He looked at Nüwa.
"This is the meaning of Creation."
Nüwa looked at him, her eyes full of gratification.
"Correct. This is the meaning of Creation."
She withdrew her hand.
Lu Mingyuan emerged from that colorful light.
But that colorful light was still there.
It was in his heart.
Colorful and warm.
In that colorful light were those lives.
There was that thread.
There was Vitality.
There was Creation.
He looked at Nüwa.
"Goddess, this Disciple has one more thing to ask."
Nüwa said: "Ask."
Lu Mingyuan asked: "You said that all people in the world are your descendants. Then, is this Disciple also your descendant?"
Nüwa smiled.
That smile was very warm.
As warm as the spring sunshine.
"Yes. And also no."
Lu Mingyuan asked: "How so?"
Nüwa said: "You are my descendant because you are human. But you are not my descendant because you have your own Dao."
She looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"The humans I created have human bodies. But the human heart is something each person grows for themselves. I cannot give a human heart. I cannot give a person choices. I cannot give a person the courage to die standing, or the determination to live standing."
She paused.
"Those things are what you grew yourself. They grew bit by bit at The Rift. They were learned from those who died. They were seen in those who lived."
She looked at Lu Mingyuan.
"Therefore, you are my descendant, and yet you are not my descendant. You are human, and you are also yourself."
Lu Mingyuan stood there, listening.
As he listened, he suddenly remembered a phrase.
That phrase was spoken by his Master, Xuanweizi.
"Cultivation is walking. If you walk the path under your feet well, you will naturally know how to walk the path ahead."
He understood.
He was human because he was human.
He was himself because he had walked his own path.
He looked at Nüwa.
"Thank you for your guidance, Goddess."
Nüwa shook her head.
"It is not guidance. It is telling you."
She turned around, ready to leave.
After two steps, she suddenly stopped.
She did not look back.
"By the way, there is one more thing."
Lu Mingyuan asked: "What is it?"
Nüwa said: "That child is named Acai."
She paused.
"Acai said, thank you to the uncle who saved her."
Lu Mingyuan froze.
Then, he smiled.
That smile was very warm.
As warm as the spring sunshine.
He looked at Nüwa's back.
"Goddess, this Disciple would also like to say something to Acai."
Nüwa did not look back.
"What is it?"
Lu Mingyuan said: "Live well. Live for those who stood their ground. Live for those who fell. Live for those who have light in their hearts. To live is to say thank you."
Nüwa's back paused for a moment.
Then, she continued walking forward.
Walking into that colorful light.
Walking into those five-colored clouds.
Walking into the source of Creation.
Her figure gradually disappeared.
But that colorful light remained.
In the Chaos.
In Lu Mingyuan's heart.
In Acai's dreams.
In everyone's life.
Lu Mingyuan stood there, watching that colorful light.
For a very, very long time.
Then, he bowed deeply.
"Thank you, Goddess."
He straightened up.
He looked at the Chaos ahead.
The Chaos was still the same Chaos.
Grey and murky, with nothing in it.
But in his heart, there was more.
There was Nüwa's Creation.
There was the thread of Vitality.
There was Acai's thank you.
There was the light of those lives.
He took a step.
Continuing to walk forward.
As he walked, he suddenly thought of Acai.
He thought of the child who had fallen asleep in his arms, with a smile on her face.
That smile now had a name.
It was called Acai.
He smiled.
That smile was very light.
As light as the wind.
But in that wind, there was something.
There was that warmth of knowing a name and having one more concern.
He walked.
Step by step.
Not fast.
Not slow.
He just walked.
As he walked, in the Chaos ahead, there was light again.
This time, the light was earthy yellow.
Yellow like the earth.
Yellow like... Houtu.
Lu Mingyuan looked at that light.
He knew that someone was waiting for him ahead.
There was still a Dao to teach.
There was still a method to impart.
There was still a path to walk.
He continued walking forward.
Toward that earthy yellow light.
Toward the next person waiting for him.
Toward the path that should be walked.
In Zixiao Palace, Nüwa returned.
Yuanshi Tianzun looked at her.
"Are you finished teaching?"
Nüwa nodded.
"I am finished."
Laozi asked: "Did he understand?"
Nüwa said: "He understood."
Tongtian asked: "How did he understand?"
Nüwa said: "The child he saved is named Acai. Acai said thank you to him. He said, to live well is to say thank you."
In Zixiao Palace, the several Saints were silent.
In that silence, there was something.
Something that had been touched.
Jieyin spoke up.
"What he said is even deeper than what I have realized."
Zhun Ti nodded.
"Correct. To live is to say thank you. This is the use of Emptiness and Existence are Not Two."
Houtu looked into the depths of the Chaos.
"Then let us see how deeply he can understand when he reaches me."
In the Chaos, Lu Mingyuan continued to walk.
Toward that earthy yellow light.
Toward Houtu's Dao.
Toward the next person waiting for him.
He walked.
In his heart was Laozi's One Qi Transforming into Three Pure Ones.
In his heart was Tongtian's Jie School Dao.
In his heart was Jieyin and Zhun Ti's Emptiness and Existence are Not Two.
In his heart was Nüwa's Creation and Vitality.
In his heart was Acai's thank you.
In his heart was the path he had walked, the things he had done, and the people he had seen.
His heart was empty, yet full.
He walked.
Step by step.
As he walked, he suddenly remembered something.
He remembered that at The Rift, he had buried many people.
Tie Niu, and many other Loose Cultivators who had no names.
He dug pits, put them in, and covered them with soil.
When he covered them with soil, he said one thing.
"Rest in peace."
Now he understood.
Those words were not just for the dead.
They were also for the living.
For the land.
For Houtu.
Because the land held them.
Because Houtu governed them.
Because Reincarnation let them return.
He looked at the earthy yellow light ahead.
That light was very thick.
As thick as the earth.
That light was very stable.
As stable as if it would never change.
That light was very heavy.
As heavy as holding the life and death of all people.
He continued to walk forward.
Toward that light.
Toward Houtu.
Toward the Dao of Reincarnation.