Chapter 164: Wolf!
Translator: AstralGhost Editor: Kurisu
The snow fell, heavier and heavier; it was as if it wished to drown the earth with its flakes!
A bitter wind accompanied the frosty white flakes, instantly lowering the temperature in the area by many degrees. Even though Bei Feng was holed up in the little cave, he could still feel the cold seeping in steadily. Bei Feng opened his backpack expressionlessly and pulled out a thick down jacket. After putting it on, he felt much better.
"There's no way to travel in this d*mnable weather..."
Bei Feng mumbled as he inserted a sliver of perception into the spatial ring and took out a Buddhist scripture. He lit a small fire in the cave and leaned against the roots and began reading.
The ring was the only thing that was not sealed for this journey. But apart from books, there was nothing else in the spatial ring. There wasn't a shred of food, or any weapon.
Even Extreme Arctic Frost and the golden flying dagger had been left behind in the villa. He did not want to have anything which he could rely on out here.
The Buddhist scripture in his hands was a copy of the diamond sutra. The entire sutra only had 8208 characters, but each word was as precious as gems!
The full name of the diamond sutra was Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. It is a very influential classic scripture, and a key object of devotion and study in Zen Buddhism. One could say that this was one of the most widespread Buddhist scriptures in the world!
This was not the first time that Bei Feng had read it. It's just that every time he did a read-through, the text would leave him with a different understanding. Bei Feng closed his eyes and ruminated on three inspirations he got from the scripture this time.
First, diamond had the meaning of hardiness. Like the diamond which was incomparably sturdy and indestructible, it symbolizes the essence of great wisdom. This refers to our inner self, namely, that heart which is neither tainted nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing, and neither being born or perishing.
The second meaning lies in the sharpness of will. Like Skanda's demon subduing staff, which was all-conquering, capable of destroying all illusions of the world and expelling all the worries and delusions in out hearts, a strong will is capable of sweeping through all obstacles. [1]
The third is the meaning of light. It refers to how the written prajna have form, but the things we obtain from words are intelligence that have no form. From striving with intent to naturally attaining with inaction.
These kinds of inspiration could not be obtained with the teachings of others, because everyone's comprehension is unique. As the saying went, the teacher initiates the apprentice, but their skills depend on the student's efforts and abilities!
This is just like how a teacher may have ten disciples, but every disciple would have different understandings of the same teachings!
Likewise, Buddhist teachings emphasize on the concept of enlightenment. If one is enlightened, they would naturally comprehend. If one was not enlightened, no matter how others may try to teach and explain to them, they would still not be able to comprehend.
Bei Feng kept the sutra into his spatial ring. The three personal concepts he had comprehended were really close to the current state of his will!
'One does not need a powerful body to cross this gigantic mountain; instead, the most important thing is to have an indomitable and all-conquering conviction, as well as the initial unwavering will!'
Bei Feng sat down cross legged and revealed a light smile. Apart from the fact that he had a full head of hair and was lacking a set of Buddhist monk robes, he looked every bit like an enlightened monk.
Bei Feng did not hesitate any further. He hefted the heavy backpack on his shoulders and trudged determinedly out of the cave.
There's a tomorrow after tomorrow; so when would tomorrow come? If he waited until the snow ceased falling, it was impossible to tell how long he would be stuck here.
The snow had already stacked as high as 20 cm thick, causing Bei Feng huge difficulties in walking. Despite that, he grabbed a wooden stick about the thickness of an infant's fist and dug it into the ground for balance as he walked. It also served as a way to detect hidden dangers.
Before it snowed, the terrain could still be seen clearly. But now that everything had been covered in a white carpet, it was impossible to tell what was before him. For all he knew, there might be a large hole or some ditch right in front of him!
Bei Feng continued on steadily. His footsteps left deep marks on the snow as he headed deeper into the snowy forest. His back view looked exceptionally desolate and lonely.
The snow fell heavier and heavier as time went by. Before long, everything within his vision was just a glaring white. Bei Feng felt his head spin and he immediately found a spot under an overhanging cliff and pitched his tent. Then, he found some twigs, dried them and set up a small fire.
Bei Feng looked extremely miserable right now as he huddled up within the tent, shivering like a leaf. He bit down on a piece of beef jerky and drank some water to fill his stomach.
***
In the blink of an eye, ten days passed like that. Bei Feng had lost count of how far he had walked in these ten days. All he knew was that the direction should be right...
At this point, his clothes had all become black and dirty. His hair was disheveled and his face was dirty. A mustache had appeared under his nose, and stubble had also sprouted all over his chin.
His face and ears were bright-red, and his fingers were filled with dried blood and wounds. Those were the results of frostbite!
There was no longer any more food in his backpack. The only thing he had left was a tent and a water bottle.
Despite that, Bei Feng's eyes were strangely filled with radiance. His entire person was like a diamond in the process of being cut and refined!
"Aowuu!"
A long howl suddenly rang out in the still snowy forest. Bei Feng immediately stopped his steps. That howl was too close for comfort!
As he lifted up his head, Bei Feng saw a full-grown wolf trot lightly through the snowy ground towards him. Its ferocious gaze was trained upon Bei Feng as it measured this prey seriously. A line of saliva dripped off the sides of its mouth.
Seeing this, Bei Feng immediately dropped his backpack and raised the stick in his hands as he faced the wolf resolutely.
Truthfully, he was extremely nervous in this moment. With his current condition, he could not guarantee that he could defeat this wolf. As for running, that was useless. Not mentioning that his speed was vastly inferior to the wolf's, to run about blindly in this kind of dangerous environment was simply seeking death!
The only thing that gave Bei Feng some relief was that there was only one wolf. Wolves are pack animals, and as long as there were enough wolves together, even a tiger would not dare to provoke a wolf pack!
Since there wasn't any other wolves appearing, that meant that this wolf had come out alone!
Bei Feng kept his eyes on the snarling creature. The hair on the wolf's back was bristling with aggression. This wolf was about 1-meter-long, and was covered in a lush coat of fur. Its body was a dirty-looking yellowish brown, and its back was a mixture of black and gray. The fur around its neck, chest, abdomen, and legs was white. Overall, its fur was rather light-colored.
This wolf could be considered a mid-sized wolf. It was neither too large, nor too small. From the looks of it, this wolf was obviously very hungry. Of course, a starving wolf was also the most scary predator!
"Grr!"
The wolf growled and kicked up some fluffy white snow as it moved closer and began pacing around him in a circle.
Bei Feng did not move at all. He continued observing the creature closely, waiting for it to get closer!
As his grip on the stick tightened, the recently closed wounds on his hand also burst open again!
A wolf's sense of smell is extremely sensitive. As soon as the blood flowed out and the alluring bloody iron smell spread into the air, the creature was finally unable to endure any longer. The wolf kicked off the ground decisively and leaped towards Bei Feng's neck with its maw wide open!
"Get lost!"
Bei Feng had been watching the wolf closely the entire time. The moment it shot forward, the stick in his hands had already swung outwards to meet it!
"Wu!"
"Pa!"
A miserable yelp accompanied the loud cracking sound of the stick snapping apart. The wolf had been smacked out of the air and back into the ground after it leapt! It immediately jumped back onto its feet and shook its head with a painful expression. The sharp pain on its body instead made it even angrier, fully bringing out its ferocity!
Bei Feng only had half a stick left in his hands. With this wolf glaring at him like that, he did not dare to stoop over to pick up the other half of the stick. The weather was clearly cold as f*ck, but huge beads of sweat were forming crazily on Bei Feng's forehead!
Wolfs were crafty creatures by nature. However, they also possessed great endurance and tenacity. Oftentimes, for the sake chasing a prey, they could run after the prey for tens of kilometers, literally running their prey to death!
The two characteristics added together resulted in such a creature. For a powerful creature like itself, the wolf saw no reason to let go of this feast in front of it!
"Aowu!"
The wolf howled resolutely and moved! Without any superfluous movements, it charged directly at Bei Feng in a straightforward manner!
"Flee! Get out of here!" A voice screamed in Bei Feng's head as the wolf neared with terrifying speed.
"No! I cannot run! It wants to eat me, but I want to eat it too! Kill!" Bei Feng struggled internally. As he saw the wolf leap into the air, he steeled his heart in an instant!
[1] TL/N: Skanda, also known as Wei Tuo (Chinese: 韋馱), is a Mahayana bodhisattva regarded as a devoted guardian of Buddhist monasteries who guards the teachings of Buddhism. He is also sometimes called in the Chinese tradition "Hufa Weituo Zuntian Pusa", meaning "Honored Dharma Protector Skanda Bodhisattva", because he is the leader of the twenty-four celestial guardian deities mentioned in the Golden Light Sutra. (wiki)